History & heritage

How do you honour the incredible life and memory of our late Sovereign, Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II? That is the question Toowoomba Region Mayor Paul Antonio would like to ask residents as the Council seeks community engagement to consider memorial options for Queen Elizabeth II.

Researcher Jacqui Kennedy knows how to save photos and history. She helped Coraki Museum, Ballina Library and Ballina Naval Museum digitise their photos collections … a visit to Ray Hunt’s home at Tuckurimba two years ago led Jacqui to some astounding photos.

With a new roof and a fresh coat of paint, the historic Old School at Beechmont has a smart new look ... "The Old School is part of the history of Beechmont and will be an important community centre well into the future as a venue for weddings, functions and local events which bring locals together and attract visitors to the region": Scenic Rim Mayor Greg Christensen.

After Katy Brown notched up her fourth broken bone at the tender age of 10, her mum decided that if she couldn’t buy her daughter a safe pony she had better breed one ... it was the choice of the Highland that set in motion an association that would become a life’s work for the young animal lover – saving livestock breeds facing extinction.

A milestone in the long road to recovery for a leading Scenic Rim visitor destination following the 2019 Black Summer bushfires has been marked with the opening of new facilities at Binna Burra Lodge ... the bushfire ... not only destroyed the heritage-listed Binna Burra Lodge and pioneer cabins but also the jobs of some 60 staff, who had to be retrenched after the cancellation of 4000 bookings including 15 weddings.  

The tiny town of Dardanup is celebrating its rich history with the opening of a new heritage trail, telling the fascinating stories of its first inhabitants. The trail covers 12 historic locations across the townsite ... The Old State School, Dardanup Post Office and Thomas Little Memorial Hall are just some of the landmarks featured.

Julalikari Council Aboriginal Corporation. Warumungu representatives Jimmy Frank Jnr and Laurence Williams met with Māori delegates in Aotearoa on Tuesday for the repatriation of priceless Warumungu cultural materials. The important objects, which had long ago been sent to New Zealand, were from the collection of obtained by anthropologists Spencer and Gillen during the time they spent with the Warumungu people in early 1900s.

2022 has been a busy year for the staff and volunteers of the Victorian Goldfields Railway.  In addition to operating trains every Wednesday and Sunday throughout the year, 2022 has seen a very popular program of special trains operated, including Murder on the Orient Express Driver Experiences and the ever-popular Ales on Rails trains.

The latest two additions to the Koondrook Barham Red Gum Statue Walk were publicly revealed on Sunday, November 13. The Roy Higgins and Sidney Reid statues brings the Red Gum Statue Walk to a total of 20 features capturing the twin towns’ history, ecology and pioneering spirit ... “This walk is a very unique feature of our towns and highlights the versatility and magnificence of sustainable red gum timber": Tom Chick, KDC chairman.

Regional Development Minister Alannah MacTiernan has launched Dive Ningaloo's new dive charter vessel at an official naming ceremony in Exmouth. The newly restored Lady Ningaloo will provide tourists with access to the underwater wonderland of the World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef and Muiron Islands.

Kate Foran ... did you know that there are also purple poppies? These are worn to recognise the service of animals to our Australian Defence Force ... Most of the animals who served alongside our soldiers, whether officially in service, or casually in trench mateship, ended up losing their lives in both World Wars ... Lest we forget.

Wayne Finch has been trying for years to find a home for his father’s collection of maritime memorabilia ... For 55 years, Frank  housed his collection  at his Highfield Rd home. He built a ship structure with a crows nest towering above the garage. The lookout had views across Kyogle town ... “It became known as the Ship on the Hill and was a truly unique museum in Australia,” Wayne said.

Following the opening, the Tarrangower Times published the Hospital’s rules. The first rule required the Hospital to provide medical and surgical aid to poor persons ‘irrespective of their creed, country or colour’, and for casualties. It went on however to say that any person found able to afford medical aid would be liable for all expenses incurred for their treatment.

The previous Battles of Menin Road and Polygon Wood had involved troops from 1st Anzac Corps. Those troops were still in place and because of the comparatively light casualties suffered they were good to go again at Broodseinde Ridge. The big excitement of this battle was the fact that 2nd Anzac Corps was going to be joining in as well ... This was going to be the first time where an Anzac Corps would have another Anzac Corps going into the fight alongside them.

The Hartley District Progress Association (HDPA) and the community of Hartley welcome the Federal Government’s decision to pause funding on the NSW State Government’s proposed Great Western Highway “upgrade” from Katoomba to Lithgow. Stopping the “upgrade” provides a critical opportunity to reconsider how best to improve travel times across the Blue Mountains and how best to direct infrastructure funding.

Sometimes, the good things happening in our region have the smallest of beginnings. In this case, it was a letter that Maldon resident Lee Mead sent to her local State Member Maree Edwards.  “It started during the first year of the pandemic when I did a lot more walking around the Maldon Historic Reserve,” Lee said.

Elders of Australian forestry temporarily reinstated sustainable fire management more than half a century ago, before a new generation of ecologists dismantled it. These new experts employ the Climate Cop-Out to explain the inevitable resurgence of pestilence and megafires. Now Forestry Australia is collaborating with them to ‘reimagine’ our future. To achieve this, they have to reinvent our past.

Sarah Martin. As the dust settles on the inaugural Arthur Beetson Foundation Future Immortals Tour, which saw a cohort of rugby league legends spend a long weekend in Kowanyama, the excited superstars are already asking when they can return to community. Kowanyama Aboriginal Shire Council chief executive officer Kevin Bell, a passionate rugby league fan, said the positive outcomes from the event were already being felt.

The crowds poured into Cambooya State School on Sunday to celebrate the school's 140th birthday. “We couldn’t have asked for a better day,” Claire Fogarty, President of the Cambooya State School P&C Association, said. “The weather was perfect, the numbers exceeded our expectations and the atmosphere was just brilliant."

It’s just a kilometre or two off the New England Highway at East Greenmount and easy to miss if you don’t know it’s there, but Steele Rudd Memorial Park is a must visit attraction for locals and tourists. Arthur Hoey Davis, better known by his pen name of Steele Rudd has certainly left a legacy, not just for the our local area but for the whole nation as his fictional work ‘On Our Selection’ has helped shape Australian culture.

Robert Onfray. Many negatives are written about the clearing associated with developing Western Australia’s Wheatbelt into a farming paradise ... The Wheatbelt has played a pivotal role in a trend that has seen world poverty and starvation decrease despite  a 50  per cent increase in the world's population since  1990 to over 7.8 billion people.

Forty years ago, south eastern Australia was in the middle of a prolonged drought and facing a perilous bushfire season. A new e-book by retired Victorian forester, Peter McHugh, provides a detailed account of the 1982-83 bushfire season from a new perspective ... It was a long and hectic fire season for the Forests Commission Victoria (FCV) which attended 878 fires on State forests and National Parks totalling 486,030 ha, which was well above the 11-year average of 141,000 ha.