New outdoor area, Steele Rudd Memorial

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Evan said he could remember his days as a seven-year-old attending Back Plains State School, which is immortalised in a photograph that can be found on the pub’s walls.

Close to 70 years later, after a long and storied life travelling all over Australia as a truck driver he wound up not far from home.

You can’t have a pub without beer so naturally beer played a key role in the celebration.

An old wooden keg of Castlemaine Perkins XXXX beer was dusted off and opened, with Evan, fittingly, having the first

$11,990 sip.

Great-grandson of Steele Rudd, Peter Glenn, did the honours of opening the keg.

Also speaking was a representative from the Queensland Hotels Association, a body that was instrumental in helping Evan and Gayle secure their licence.

The memorial was officially opened by Deputy Mayor of the Toowoomba Region Cr Geoff McDonald.

Cr McDonald spoke about the importance of recognising the region’s figures of the past, such as Steele Rudd.

He suggested it would be a nice idea to have something like an annual Steele Rudd day held at Rudd’s Pub.

After the presentation, Gary Fogarty recited bush poetry and a raffle was held which included replica inaugural Broncos jerseys which include Power’s as a sponsor.

In his days a truck driver, Evan drove one of the first truckloads of Power’s beer out of Yatala.

THE MAY VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH IS

Sara-Jane Howell

Over the last decade or so, Wyreema has grown considerably as new housing estates have brought hundreds of new families to the area.

The Wyreema Community Hall has played an essential role in helping to connect new families together, through the efforts of its volunteers.

One such volunteer is long-serving secretary Sara-Jane Howell. She has helped run the hall’s events, including trivia, markets and much more.

Perhaps Sara-Jane’s most impactful contribution has been in organising the hall’s annual Halloween Trick or Treat event, which sees hundreds of children take part, incredible considering the town’s population, and requiring an immense workload to set up and run.