Sunny Coast Times November 2021

FREE SUNNY COAST TIMES

FROM CALOUNDRA TO NOOSA ISSUE #16 November 17 – December 14, 2021

Survivor’s Message From cancer to motherhood to reality TV, Sandy Scott has had her share of battles Pages 10 – 11

PLUS

Keep it local Christmas gift guide Pages 24 – 25

Hooking in

Canine force

Musical medley

How a fishing trip will bring blokes together for Movember

Meet the Coast’s police dogs and their handlers

Theatre prepares for return of classics in new show Encore!

3

4–5

22

FROM THE EDITOR

INSIDE THIS MONTH

FESTIVE FEELINGS

FEATURES Dog squad to the rescue

P Published third Wednesday of the month

EDITORIAL / ADVERTISING 5499 9049 Editor

Chris Gilmore chris@sunnycoastmedia.com.au

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WRITERS Seanna Cronin Chris Taylor Michele Sternberg

utting together this month’s Sunny Coast Times, I was surprised to be hearing about so many festive events this far out from Christmas. But a quick glance at the calendar and I realised here we are with barely six weeks until Santa makes his annual visit. Where did the year go?

This month’s Community News and Creative Cuts sections in particular are overflowing with Christmas-themed events. We also have our ‘keep it local’ Christmas gift guide (see pages 24-25), which highlights where you can find that perfect present while also supporting our treasured Coast businesses.

Whatever your plans are for the end of the year, make sure you take the time to look back over the past 12 months and celebrate all you’ve achieved.

In keeping with the celebratory theme, this month’s features in the Sunny Coast Times honour the efforts of those achieving great things in our community. We have Rebecca Mugridge’s story about the Coast’s police dogs and their handlers, who work each day to keep us safe; Michele Sternberg writes about Chris O’Dempsey, who has been helping poor kids in Vietnam for more than 30 years; and Chris Taylor profiles inspirational cancer survivor Sandy Scott.

We hope you enjoy them, plus all our other regular columns and features.

If you know of anyone out there in our community that you think we should feature in the Sunny Coast Times, please feel free to let me know. We love to highlight the great work of some EDITOR of our unsung heroes as much as possible.

Gilmore

100% independently owned: While great care has been taken to ensure the accuracy and contents of the publication, the SCT accepts no responsibility for inaccuracies. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the views held by the SCT. All content is copyright and may not be reproduced without permission. The production of this FREE newspaper is only made possible by you continuing to support our advertisers.

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Reaching out to Vietnam

6–7

Paramedic’s work pays off

8

Sandy’s staying strong

10 – 11

FOOD, DRINK AND DINE

12

HISTORY

13

COMMUNITY NEWS

14 – 15

LETTERS, PUZZLES AND POETS’ CORNER

16 – 17 NATURE

Chris

A date for the diary.......

Summer deadlines to be noted!

2

4–5

18

CREATIVE CUTS

21 – 23

FESTIVE GIFT GUIDE

24 – 25

HEALTH, WELLNESS AND BEAUTY

26 – 27

MOTORING

28 – 29

CLASSIFIEDS

30

SPORT

31

Cover image: Cancer survivor, mum and SAS Australia contestant Sandy Scott Image by Chris Taylor Story pages 10 – 11

Dece • Pub mber 6 th Dece licatio mbe n r 15 th Janu • Pub ary 10 th Janu lication ary 1 t 9h SUNNY COAST TIMES

Paddlers emabarking on the 2020 Row for a Bro. Image by Sam McMahon

Fishing for a cause

by CHRIS GILMORE

B

en Bischoff is determined that men’s mental health is not the one that got away.

The 44-year-old from Sippy Downs is the organiser of Row for a Bro, in which a group of keen kayak fishers will head offshore on November 21 to catch fish and raise awareness and funds for Movember. But for Ben, it’s all about the conversation.

“The goal is to encourage others to come out and talk to each other and meet some new people,” he says. “It’s just that ripple in a pond type of thing – a small conversation here and a small conversation there can end up making a big difference. That’s the main goal of it and if we raise some money along the way that’s a bonus.”

The father of three started Row for a Bro in 2018 after what he describes as “a moment” that made him focus more on his mental health.

“Going back four or five years ago I had that moment in my life where things weren’t great,” he says. “I think some people call it a mid-life crisis but whatever it was it wasn’t pleasant – a bit of a depressed state, I think you’d call it.

“From there it was really around ‘what do I need in my life?’ to work through that, and having people around me and a decent group of friends; being able to get outdoors

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Ben Bischoff (left) with a mackerel and Kevin Long with a tuna

and do things that help you mentally work through different times of your life. So I guess for me Movember is a way of being able to share that experience to an extent.”

The inaugural Row for a Bro had seven participants and raised about $1700. The 2019 version didn’t come to fruition, but last year’s event attracted 32 people and raised more than $4000.

The fundraising target is $8000 this year, but Ben says “if we get there or not, it’s not our main goal, it’s an added bonus … it’s about having a conversation, which is the main message we’re trying to share”.

This year, instead of paddling from Mooloolaba to Old Woman Island off Mudjimba and back, participants are starting from Moffat Beach with the aim to spend more time fishing.

Ben is also enlisting some help from his mates Dom Manca, Sean van der Walt, Adam Hempenstall, Brendan Schembri, Nathan Kirby and Sam McMahon to run the 2021 event.

“This year I’m trying to get a few of my mates who’ve always wanted to help with this sort of stuff,” he says. “I’ve thrown it out there to them if they want to give me a hand they’re quite welcome to. It’s not just me organising this year.”

Row for a Bro will be on Sunday, November 21, from 6am at Moffat Beach. It will be followed by a barbecue and cold drinks at 11am, hopefully with some fresh fish.

The free event is for capable off-shore kayak fishers only and participants paddle at their own risk. To register visit fb.me/e/2Izd3ay6M. Donations are appreciated but not expected via au.movember.com/events/view/id/JNX6.

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3

Our four-legged force

by REBECCA MUGRIDGE

Sunshine Coast Police Dog Squad members Chuck, Chico, Darth, Brocky, Maloo and Ninja with handlers Sergeant Craig Law, Senior Constable Justyn Mergard, Senior Constable Dan Hayward, Senior Constable Matt Mayo, Senior Constable Trent Reynolds and Senior Constable Martin Wilson

O

ne minute they are relaxing at home, the next they are leaping into the back of a ute ready to catch a criminal. These are the Coast’s police dogs.

“You think you have no chance of finding someone but the dogs will track them,” says dog squad officer-in-charge Sergeant Craig Law. Sgt Law says that while there are always variables in each situation, he has seen many successful police

operations conducted with dogs and couldn’t imagine working without one.

“One time at the national park someone was missing, basically a couple of hours from death, and they were located,” he says. “Another time in Nambour, an attempted murder, they were tracked down even though searching began an hour and a half later.

“My previous boss Darrell, when Sian Kingi happened,

he and his dog were one of the first ones who attended the scene.

“They don’t get a lot of accolades – they sort of go in, do the job and leave. It is more about what we bring to other police. You can get to a party and there are 400 people out of hand, 10 police cars there, and they all don’t care less. An angry police dog turns up and that all changes.

The dogs are later rewarded for their efforts.

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Sgt Law in front of an honour roll for Sunshine Coast police dogs.

Image by Rebecca Mugridge

“They get a big pat and a play, maybe a sausage roll after or something,” Sgt Law says. “They enjoy it.”

The dog squad started on the Coast in 1982 with two dogs, increasing to four dogs by around 1996 and now has six operational dogs.

There are also different types of police dogs, Sgt Law says.

“General-purpose dogs, track armed offenders, the drug detection unit, cadaver work,” he says. “Dogs went down to Victoria in the bushfires for searches, and others are used in high-profile murder cases. Some are blood detection, even a money dog.”

The skills are something technology can never replace, he says, which is why the dogs are used globally.

“About three years ago I spent a week with a canine unit in the US – great experience,” Sgt Law says. “I went along to a training session, next thing a chopper comes over, ‘LAPD!

LAPD! Canine is training in your block – stay in your house or you may be bitten!’

“Wind scenting is a technique many dogs use in tracking. We were at a high school break-in, the wind changed and the dog’s ears pricked up. He charged right at the bush. I’m calling out, ‘Police! ‘Police dog! Come out, hands on head.’ And they literally stood up just a metre right in front of the dog.”

Sgt Law was drawn to a police career.

“My dad was in the police and it was something I just really liked,” he says. “My own son just started at the police academy – we call him ‘the fourth’ because my grandfather was in the Victorian coppers, a

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mountie – and my dad was NSW Police, and I am here in Queensland.”

Sgt Law has had four dogs since he started – Ty, Ajax, Chuck and Monty (who died aged about five of natural causes).

“Ty was an outstanding tracker and athlete.

Outstanding. But he was also the biggest sook,” he says.

“Ajax, his tracking was nowhere near Ty’s level, but he just wanted to catch and detain people. He was so good at house entries and major incidents, sieges and just scaring the hell out of people.

“And now I have Chuck, who is a really good balance.

It’s hard to get dogs like him that have that really nice calm balance between being great at tracking and stand their ground through anything.

“Ajax became a family dog when he retired – he ran around home with the kids until his recent passing.

They really can go from family pet to in the workspace and back again. They are pretty smart animals.”

The partnership becomes symbiotic for the human and canine officers.

“If I’m calm, he is calm. If I am amped up, he is amped up. It just sort of flows down the line,” Sgt Law says. “We are conscious of our dog all the time.

“We also work by ourselves so we are together the whole time. He listens to all my problems that are going on and just nods and never says anything – a staunch confidante!” he laughs.

Even the vet that cares for the police dogs has developed a bond with the animals.

“Beachside Vet Dan in Coolum has looked after our dogs for about seven or eight years now,” Sgt Law says. “He has a great relationship with them. A lot of dogs become the handler’s issue and expense when they retire but he looks after our retired police dogs for free.”

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5

A hero to millions in Vietnam

by MICHELE STERNBERG

B

uderim green thumb Chris O’Dempsey has somewhat of a celebrity status in Vietnam, yet is virtually unknown back home in Australia.

The former paramedic and pastor helps young children in Vietnam get an education, sets up medical clinics, provides medical training for doctors and has sent an ambulance boat to the Mekong Delta to reach people in isolated rural villages.

In fact, Chris has helped thousands directly and indirectly over the past 32 years.

Many in the impoverished nation know him and in 2019 the Vietnam Government presented him with the Memorial Medal in recognition of his humanitarian aid service, making him the first non-Vietnamese person to be awarded the honour.

Chris first set up Project Vietnam and then Heart Reach Australia, which provides programs, medical facilities, education and assistance for Vietnamese people living in sub-standard conditions due to poverty.

The avid gardener opens his award-winning 1000-square-metre Buderim property filled with orchids to the public every year as a major fundraiser. This year they raised $5000 through entry fees, cafe takings and the sale of orchids.

Chris says that being a small charity, they could ensure 100 per cent of the money raised goes to people in need.

“As a voluntary organisation, no administration or running costs are taken from donations,” he says.

“People respond tremendously because they can see our track record.

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“I just get sad when I see the millions and millions of dollars that major charities get given and how little hits the ground.”

Heart Reach Australia also helps young children get an education through the Peter Brock Memorial Child Sponsorship Program, in honour of his old school mate who was a big supporter from the start.

“Project Vietnam was where I started and then in 2000 I felt the need to just focus more on the urgency of getting medical equipment and medical expertise into doctors and hospitals and clinics,” Chris says.

“And so on the back of that I rang Peter Brock, who is an old schoolmate of mine, and said ‘Brocky, I’m pulling the pin on Project Vietnam and starting Heart Reach Australia’ and he said ‘I’m with you mate’.

“So we started to focus on setting up programs that could take in donated hospital equipment, bringing young eye doctors out to Australia – to the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane – for training so that we could lift the standard of eye surgery, getting equipment for them, using them to do clinics with poor people down the Mekong Delta.

“All these sorts of things were to try and have a direct impact on lifting the level of health and hygiene and expertise in Vietnam, and that had a huge success.”

Over the years the child scholarship program has also had many success stories, including a young girl named Mai who has, with the help of the charity and a full scholarship, finished high school and graduated from RMIT. “We've got more kids in uni now than we've ever had in our program before,” Chris says.

The global coronavirus pandemic has made his job harder, but not impossible. Chris has received donations of medical equipment that are still at his house, waiting for the time when he can take them overseas.

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Charity recipient Mai graduating with a degree from RMIT

Chris wants to educate children in Vietnam to break the cycle of poverty

Chris's charity helps set up medical centres in Vietnam

In the meantime, he stays in touch with his volunteers on the ground with donated mobile phones and has sent some care packages that have arrived safely.

“During these Covid times, the mobile phones have been a lifeline,” Chris says.

“I've got kids in the centre of Vietnam and the Mekong who I am now able to communicate directly with because we had the vision to get mobile phones, but I could use another 20 to take on the next trip.”

He says Covid has created an urgent need for basic food as well as medical supplies in Vietnam. He’d heard that vaccinations were starting to be rolled out but the virus was rampant and he was worried because he knew so many had little or no access to medical treatment.

His first priority was to get the ambulance boat repaired because he’s been told it had stopped working.

His second was to encourage more people to donate or sponsor a child.

“Covid has impacted our giving,” he says. “We've lost a couple of sponsors because they couldn't afford to sponsor kids any more, even though it's only 40 bucks a month Australian.

“I've got so many kids that we can't help because we don't have sponsors.”

His third priority is simply to raise awareness to keep the donations coming and bring his plans to fruition.

One goal is to reduce the road toll in Vietnam, which is so high due to the number of motorbikes on the roads.

“My goal is to get a first-aid kit, just a basic first-aid kit, that goes under the seat of a motorbike for all senior high school students, because it's one thing to give them first-aid training but they need the equipment,” he says.

Chris and his wife Angel celebrated 23 years of marriage this month and, while he says it can sometimes be hard to push on, constantly begging for money and donations, he only has to look back at the achievements of Heart Reach Australia to know it was worth it.

Heart Reach Australia teaches critical skills such as CPR The Heart Reach ambulance boat

How can you help? If you have an old mobile phone to donate or want to sponsor a child, email heartreachaustralia@gmail. com or go to heartreachaustralia.com.

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Paramedic rewarded for his tireless efforts F

Paramedic Billy Kneale

rom being an early school leaver to working as a commercial fisherman and lifeguard, Billy Kneale’s pathway to becoming a paramedic was never straightforward.

But now the Tewantin advanced care paramedic has been named as the recipient of the United Workers Union’s Graduate of the Year Grant at Queensland Ambulance Service’s KJM Patrons Day. “After working alongside paramedics while I was a lifeguard at Noosa Main Beach and Sunshine Beach, I felt it was a natural progression if I wanted to challenge myself further,” Billy says. “What drew me to the service was the extra level of care paramedics can give and how calm and professional they are – it’s a bit like looking up to an older brother in a way.”

Billy grew up on the Coast and left high school early, working from offshore fishing boats off the Cairns coast diving for crayfish and lobster. Later, seeking a greater challenge, he returned to the Coast and became a professional lifeguard, where he still enjoys working casually.

“I didn’t finish school but realised later I badly wanted be a paramedic, so I had to do a bridging course called a tertiary preparation pathway so I had to do a lot more study to get into paramedicine in 2016,” he says.

Billy graduated from the University of the Sunshine Coast in 2019 and became an

advanced care paramedic in November 2020, working at Caloundra Ambulance Station until October, when he moved to Tewantin.

The $2000 grant goes to a student who has demonstrated exceptional personal and professional leadership qualities. Billy said he felt proud to accept the award.

“This just highlights early school leavers can get degrees,” he says. “Being a mature student at uni was really a great thing – I wasn’t there to party, I was there to get good grades and I loved learning.

“I think it shows that all the hard work at uni, to not just pass but to excel, pays off and it’s all worth it in the end.”

Billy says he’s now keen to concentrate on mastering what he’s doing.

“While I’m keen to continue to gain new skills, I’m also conscious of ensuring I learn to walk before running,” he says.

“But my partner Zoe (who is also a paramedic at Tewantin) and I would like to head out to work in a rural community at some stage.

“What I enjoy most about my job is the clinical side of it – learning about disease processes and heart attack diagnoses. I’m really interested in the clinical side of paramedicine and physiology knowledge and being able to start to piece together what’s going on with our patients – the problem-solving side of the job.

“I also love the fact that our job is so different every day.”

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9

Sandy Scott showcased her mental and physical strength on SAS Australia

Cancer battle inspires mum Buderim's Sandy Scott wanted to use her place in a reality TV series to highlight the importance of early detection

by CHRIS TAYLOR

F

acing off against multiple contestants on Channel Seven’s recent series of SAS Australia, Sandy Scott was portrayed as “just a stay-at-home mum” who emphasised family over career. But her journey from humble housewife to stepping into arguably the world’s toughest reality show was inspired by her close call with cervical cancer a few years ago and her desire to live life to the fullest.

The 36-year-old mother of two hoped her cancer experience, which she shared with the show’s no-nonsense ex-special forces staff in intense interviews, would have been featured by the network to prompt female viewers to get regular checks. But her message never made it to the final cut.

“That’s the only thing I was disappointed with,” she says. “We spent a lot of time talking about having cervical cancer and none of it aired on the show.”

Even though her “15 minutes of fame” has since ended for the Buderim mum, Sandy is not giving up on warning others to get tested – especially those who, like she

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was, are in their early 30s.

At just 30 a regular pap smear detected irregular cell growth in her cervix. The problem was, she was not made aware of the potentially life-threatening cancer until two years later at her next check.

“They were like, you’ve got abnormal cells, when was your last pap smear?” she says.

A change of address was not followed up by her previous GP practice, and she had assumed “no news was good news”.

But doctors reviewed Sandy’s records and found she had the abnormal cells two years prior.

“So unfortunately the cells could have been there between two and four years growing,” she says.

“I was only 32 and we’re in that age where it was before the HPV vaccination was in schools and the changing-over from pap smears to cervical screening. Once we found out, a month later I had a hysterectomy and that was pretty brutal.

“I was lucky I had two healthy happy kids – they were six and four (at the time of the procedure),” she says.

Sandy with husband Robert and children James and Lily. Image by Chris Taylor

But she says women are now choosing to have children later and should make sure they have their regular checks.

Sandy and husband Robert, who both come from threesibling families, say a third child was always on the cards for them until her hysterectomy.

“All of a sudden I felt having that opportunity to have another child was taken from me,” she says.

Sandy says the cancer is preventative, with Gardasil vaccines in school and new five-year early detection cervical screening tests.

“There shouldn’t be any cervical cancer in anyone under 20 now,” she says. “That should be it, there shouldn’t be anyone not able to have kids.

“What it comes down to is, mums can be so busy and so focused on the kids and the family and home that sometimes you forget those little things.”

Originally from the UK, Sandy migrated to Australia with dreams of becoming a surfer or doing outdoor education but she ended up studying an accounting degree to get her citizenship. Up until her diagnosis,

Sandy had been working with a busy Mooloolaba accounting firm for 13 years but says her cancer scare really put life into perspective.

“After returning to work, within six months I handed in my resignation,” she says. “Straight away I was like, ‘What am I doing behind this desk?’

“The cancer’s changed my path, from being in the office talking to clients to wanting to be outdoors. And because of that I’m always looking for opportunities, which is why the SAS thing came up. After the cancer I was like, I want to learn, I want to grow and I want to

always challenge myself.

“I don’t want to have any regrets, I don’t want to waste life – life is for living. And I don’t feel I was living doing accounting. I was just existing.”

Even though she loved helping her clients, Sandy says she couldn’t have faced another 13 sedentary years as a CPA and is now on new a path to find her niche in the world.

She comes from a stoic British military family, with dad Peter a former paratrooper in the Falklands War and twin sister Louise a squadron leader serving in the RAF, along with brother Simon.

“So, as you see on the show, I got called ‘the civi’ in my family. And I always thought there was a path for me in the military,” she says.

SAS Australia was a chance to prove to her father that she could do it, and an opportunity to use the mental resilience and positivity that got her through her cancer.

“Finding that was the start of finding something else – life after work,” she says. “And part of the show Sandy gloved up with tough SAS Australia chief instructor Ant Middleton

Sandy taking on one of the SAS Australia challenges

was not that I’d lost purpose, but just lost direction.”

Sandy now wants to combine her love of the ocean in her next potential career move. She has also become a keen free-diver and applied for Channel Ten’s Survivor.

Although SAS Australia captured her on screen as saying “I’m just a stay-at-home mum”, Sandy says the “unedited” premise was always “at the moment I’m just a stay-athome mum”.

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Noosa’s Beermuda Triangle THE BEER FROM ROUND HERE

by JOSH DONOHOE Sunshine Coast Craft Beer Tours

W

hile the Bermuda Triangle in the Atlantic Ocean is shrouded in mystery around the supposed disappearance of numerous aircraft and ships, the Beermuda Triangle in Noosa is quite the opposite.

On a map you can draw a classic isosceles triangle and find that three breweries have mysteriously appeared in very close proximity to each other in the Noosaville region.

With 1.2km being the furthest distance between them, you would be right to assume there must be something special in the water or, more likely, the availability of space required to build a brewery. Or, even more accurately, that this is where council advised that breweries had to be located due to zoning. Mystery solved!

With the Sunshine Coast being touted as the Craft Beer Capital of Australia due to its 20 breweries, you can see why Noosa would have its fair share of that number.

Just a short drive out of town you can also find Eumundi Brewery, Terella Brewing (North Arm), Copperhead Brewery (Cooroy), Eco Brewing Co (Boreen Point) and Noosa Hinterland Brewing Co (Cooran). Maybe a Beermuda Octagon? Doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.

So back to the Beermuda Triangle and the mystery of good beer and good times.

The first brewery to mysteriously open its doors

in Noosa was Land & Sea Brewing. It is set up in a jawdropping venue that is decorated with motorbike and surfboard collections, and polished concrete floors that open up to the brewery and distillery, which provide a stunning backdrop to enjoy a meal with a few beers.

The next brewery to suddenly appear was Heads of Noosa, which is known for making exceptional lagers, including the widely distributed Japanese lager that is fast becoming a Noosa favourite. It boasts the title of having the biggest capacity of any brewery on the Sunshine Coast.

The third brewery to pop up and complete the triangle was Boiling Pot Brewing Co, which has created another amazing venue for locals and visitors to enjoy.

Named after a location in the Noosa National Park, Boiling Pot provides a range of beers to suit everyone and a beautiful outdoor deck that puts you among the trees while you enjoy a beer and a bite to eat.

These three breweries all offer something unique in their range of beers, their food offerings and also the layout and feel of each of the venues. If you want to really appreciate the beer styles and mysterious stories behind these venues, then jump on a brewery tour of Noosa with Sunshine Coast Craft Beer Tours. Grab a group of mates and book a private tour or join one of their regular day tours visiting the Beermuda Triangle and beyond. Visit sunshinecoastcraftbeertours.com.au or phone 5449 3477.

Support local business, drink local beer and disappear into the Beermuda Triangle!

9 9

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HISTORY

From infantry to entertainer

by BETTY GARRAD Genealogy Sunshine Coast

G

eorge Edward Garrad was born on June 16, 1918, and raised on a pineapple farm in Palmwoods. His parents, George Garrad and May Gregory, married in 1915 and he had three brothers: Herbert Gregory, Cecil Ross and Stanley Edwin.

Regrettably, the boys’ mother died in 1926, about the time George Jnr, aged 14, left school to work with his brothers on his father’s farm.

George Snr married for a second time in 1934. His new wife was Barbara Alice Yarrow. Barbara Garrad, a half-sister for the boys, arrived in 1940.

Standing half an inch over six feet with fair hair and light brown eyes, George Jnr was a hard worker and even toiled for a season or two as a cane cutter.

He enlisted in the militia in 1941 and after 75 days’ basic training, spent four months in Townsville before being shipped to New Guinea to serve in the Second World War. He was part of the Australian infantry landing at Port Moresby on July 19, 1942. With the help of American engineers, they were to clear the jungle and build airstrips at Milne Bay to counter the expected Japanese attack. George’s militia group was reinforced by an AIF brigade that had served in the Middle East. Those airstrips proved a valuable asset when the attack came in late August – the Battle of Milne Bay was the first land defeat inflicted on the Japanese army.

George Garrad

He was eventually returned to Brisbane on the Georgetown Victory and given an honourable discharge on May 9, 1946.

On September 7, 1946, George married Ivy Florence Duffield in the Palmwoods Methodist Church and they had two children. They first lived at Sippy Creek and farmed bananas. In the early 1950s they moved to a dairy farm at Yandina where they settled into community life.

George joined the Yandina RSL and Ivy the Yandina RSL Women’s Auxiliary. They eventually retired to Nambour, then to Maroochydore, and finally made the full circle back to Palmwoods.

Ivy was a talented pianist and while in Yandina they formed a dance band called the Blue Hawaiians. While the names of the band and the players changed over the

George served in New Guinea in the Second World War

years, George was always the popular but strict master of ceremonies and Ivy was in control on the keyboard.

When George died in 1991 at the age of 73, he had well and truly made his mark on the Sunshine Coast. He was buried in the military section of Woombye Cemetery.

Source: National Archives of Australia; family information from Betty Garrad.

Betty Garrad is a life member of Genealogy Sunshine Coast.

The Genealogy Sunshine Coast Resource Centre in Petrie Park Rd, Nambour, is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 9am-4.30pm.

Visit sites.google.com/site/genealogysunshinecoastinc or facebook.com/gscnambour, phone 5329 2315 or email genealogysc@gmail.com. Members are always seeking information and photos of military personnel in local cemeteries and memorials. Please contact the group if you can help.

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Buderim

Maroochydore

Carols return

Proud in pink

Buderim Village Park will once again come alive with festive spirit, with the Buderim Community Carols set for Sunday, December 12.

The carols will be directed by local entertainment professional Riley Cope, with performances by Buderim Youth Theatre of Excellence, Sunshine Coast Youth Choir and Cope Creative. Newsreader Rosanna Natoli will return as MC. Entertainment starts at 6pm for a 6.30pm start. Food, glow stick candles and more will be for sale. Entry is by gold coin donation.

Pictured are committee chair Andrew Butterworth, Rosanna Natoli, Santa Claus, Riley Cope and (front) Finlay and Montana Kilburn from BYTES.

The women of Maroochydore VIEW Club dressed up in their finest pink outfits for Breast Cancer Awareness Month to honour women everywhere, whatever their experience of cancer.

The club’s November 26 meeting will have a festive theme as it will be the final luncheon of the year. The guest speaker will be radio host Caroline Hutchinson. There will also be a ‘bring and buy’ stall and donations for the annual Learning for Life stationery drive will be finalised.

To attend as a visitor phone Maggie on 0418 793 906.

Pictured are Lynda, Lorri, Maggie, Sue and Rae.

Nambour

Bokarina

Living with loss

Looking for gifts?

Loss is universal and grief is a natural reaction to it.

Recognising that we all will be faced with death, it’s important we know how to deal with grief.

A free seminar on grief and loss will be run by grief counsellor Sue Adams on Monday, November 22, from 1011.30am at Drysdale and White Lady Funerals, 33 National Park Rd, Nambour.

Sue will offer practical tips on managing grief and how to talk to someone who is grieving.

Register by phoning 5441 1366 or email julia.knock@ drysdalefunerals.com.au.

Find some unique Christmas gifts made by Coast locals at an artists’ market being held on December 4 at HTK Church, 11 Meridian St, Bokarina.

The market will include painting, sculpture, woodwork and photography. For the family there will be a jumping castle, face painting, sausage sizzle, popcorn, coffee and refreshments.

It runs from 8am-2pm and proceeds will go towards Hummingbird House, which provides palliative care to babies, children and young adults.

For more details email artmarket@htkchurch.com.

QUICK CATCH-UP Club milestone

Golden Beach Garden Club has celebrated its 45th birthday, with attendees enjoying a morning tea and cake cut by long-time members Muriel Bates and Joyce Corlis.

Fellow member Lorraine Gallagher has been nominated for the Person of the Year Award through the Queensland Council of Garden Clubs. The club is looking for new members, email linnettcox@bigpond.com.

14

NOVEMBER 2021 SUNNY COAST TIMES

Perfect presents

The annual Lions Christmas Fair returns to the Buderim War Memorial Community Association Hall from 8am on November 27. Stallholders will have the perfect gifts for the festive season. It is run in conjunction with the Buderim Craft Cottage and Library. All funds raised are returned by Lions to the local community.

COMMUNITY NEWS Specialist advice for residents and prospective residents of retirement villages, over 50's resorts, and manufactured home parks, including entry, exit, dispute resolution.

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Montville

Tanawha

’Tis the season

Festivities for pets

Main St in Montville will be the place to celebrate the season from December 4-17 thanks to the Festive Street Fair.

Be entertained by live music, a puppet play, children’s Christmas craft, balloon art and face painting from 4pm each day.

The Montville Village Hall will be the wet weather venue if needed.

Many shops, galleries and eateries will open for extended hours. There will also be Christmas stalls and the Blackall Range Lions will have their sausage sizzle and prawns on a stick.

Follow @MontvilleQueensland for details.

Sunshine Coast Animal Refuge (SCARS) will welcome Santa Paws and his Christmas market on Saturday, November 20, from 9-1pm.

It’s your chance to bring your pets for their Christmas photo with Santa. Tickets are $15 and payment is required at the time of booking on 5494 5275. Spots fill up quickly.

SCARS is also running its November Needy Nine campaign to find homes for long-term cat and dogs. Cats are $49 and dogs $149 to adopt during the month.

Visit sippycreek.com.au.

Caloundra

Caloundra

Dressed for success

Charitable vision

Quota Caloundra has successfully raised funds through a fashion parade, its final event for the year.

The club supports programs that help the disadvantaged, disabled, aged and hearing and speechimpaired in the community.

Social coffee mornings are held on the first Friday of every month at 10.15am, and business meetings are held on the second Thursday at 7pm at the Caloundra Power Boat Club. To become a sponsor, new member or volunteer, or for further information, phone Karen on 0451 075 677.

Pictured are Jan Woodhouse, Karen Zeier, Mary Holder, Tracie Mason and Dianne Bennett.

Locals awaiting eye treatment will benefit from almost $70,000 of equipment delivered to the ophthalmology department at Caloundra Hospital.

Wishlist, a not-for-profit charity, has purchased six pieces of investigative and treatment equipment to enhance treatment and slash waiting times at the eye clinic.

The spend adds to Wishlist’s $430,000 contribution over the past 10 years.

Wishlist CEO Lisa Rowe says the equipment will help hundreds of patients, from children with ‘squints’ and traumatic eye injuries to bed-bound adults and those with retinal conditions.

Visit wishlist.org.au.

QUICK CATCH-UP Festival returns

The Noosa Festival of Surfing will return to its usual March dates next year. The Covid pandemic forced the postponement of the 2021 festival to mid-May, but it will run from March 5-13 in 2022. It will be the 31st edition of the event.

Christmas artistry

The Sunshine Coast Art Group is holding its Christmas Art Market and Exhibition, featuring all things creative, bright and beautiful handmade by local artisans. There will be demonstrations, coffee and food, a silent auction, prizes and live music. It is on Sunday, December 5, from 9am2pm at Sunshine Coast Art Group Studios, 1 William Parker Place, Buderim.

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The Bungle Bungles is one of the most stunning geological topography on the ball, proposing a remote outdoor exploration. The prehistoric landscape, vast hyaline sun-warmed boulders, ascending stone arrays, rainforests, rousing escapade, and rich culture have transformed it into a dreamland for millions of explorers across the globe.

The indigenous tribe had lived over here for thousands of years and the land clench rich, abiding imprints of their life. Prehistoric burial locales and the stone craft can be found across the park and you can visit some of them by joining a tour with a local travel guide.

Everlasting Contingency at Cathedral Gorge Want to take a promising glance at everything?

Well, nothing is resisting you from taking your own time and walking through Cathedral Gorge on a guided tour. Remarkable geology with incredible acoustics will fascinate you and take you on the adventure of a lifetime walking around, camping, dancing with local folks, and learn about lifestyles of the aboriginal people. The exotic flora and fauna will delight the nature lover inside you, and you can even discover about them from local guides to have a comprehensive knowledge of the range.

Endure Scenic Beauty The magical Echidna Chasm is the heart of the Bungle Bungles. Home to Livistona Palms and full of amusing escapades, the place is a dreamland for adventurers. If you like to take up challenges, then this place is exactly tailor-made for you! The site is also a photographer's delight with the ever-changing light within the gorge which serves as a perfect setting for you to click some amazing photographs.

Kungkalanayi Lookout The lookout offers a panoramic of the Western face of the Bungle Bungles National Park, awfully glorious at sunrises and sunsets. This is a great place to orientate you in the park's landscape.

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Time to act for the planet

Covid Convenience

It's interesting to note how much people are talking about climate change but how little do most of us contribute to slowing down the effects?

Leaders from some of the world's largest polluting countries did not even attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, so what does that tell you?

If only we could recognise the basic influences and act on them, then surely small changes could start to enhance global efforts.

Man-made growth of our planet is so much to blame for the mess the world is now in and over-development is the driving force.

One only has to drive around the Sunny Coast to see new housing estates with homes built on tiny blocks and only carpet grass on many. These new builds are so close together the need for air-conditioning is paramount. Trees are ripped down callously, and almost every purchaser has two or more cars.

This is all man's doing and instead of having population caps in certain areas we simply keep on building.

The writing is on the wall but no one can see it. What does it take for people to act? I wish I knew.

by JENNA WALKER Sunny Coast Times/Hinterland Times Young Writer of the Year 2021 runner-up In October we announced the winner and three runners-up of our annual award. Here is another of the winning entries.

B

Jan Hopkins, Reesville

We would love you to share your thoughts and experiences with us and our readers.

Email editor@sunnycoastmedia.com.au.

Please include your name, location and contact details (for verification, not to be published). Letters may be edited. As we are a monthly publication, we are unable to print time-sensitive letters.

Trivia questions

Jenna Walker

ang! A shockwave swept through me as a loud crash drowned out the sound of my laboured breathing. They were back for more. I had nothing left to offer them. But it was rare that they listened. I whirled around, ready to face my attackers. Alas, it was only the howling wind that had blown my shop door open.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I strode across the mottled brown tiles and locked the door. I ripped my black mask from my face, inhaling the cold night air. You didn’t have to wear them on your own. I glanced around my small convenience shop floor. The shelves were bare,

Crossword

Across

9 10 11 12 13 14 16

19 21 22 26 27 28 29

with Allan Blackburn

Crossword answers:

Trivia answers: NOVEMBER 2021 SUNNY COAST TIMES

Across: 9 Extremist, 10 House, 11 Solve, 12 Palestine, 13 Accelerate, 14 Ends, 16 Limpopo, 19 Student, 21 Owns, 22 Measurable, 26 Afterlife, 27 Conga, 28 Ganja, 29 Expensive.

1. Madras, 2. $100, 3. Daisy, 4. Six, 5. Holly Golightly, 6. 32, 7. Sweden, 8. US President, 9. Adelaide, 10. As, 11. Ship, especially a cargo ship, 12. MMXXI, 13. Yoko Ono, 14. Green, 15. Canberra, 16. Clumsy, 17. Jacinda Ardern, 18. Water, 19. Sedimentary, 20. February.

16

Down

Down: 1 Mess hall, 2 Italic, 3 Rebellion, 4 Kipper, 5 Athletes, 6 Shush, 7 Audience, 8 Renews, 15 Lubricant, 17 Monotony, 18 One-sided, 20 Teenager, 21 Orange, 23 Sleepy, 24 Bandit, 25 Trial.

1. What was the name of the Indian city Chennai prior to 1996?

2. In the TV show Millionaire Hot Seat, what is the value of the first step?

3. Complete the saying, “As fresh as a …”.

4. How many points does a Star of David have?

5. What was the name of Audrey Hepburn’s character in the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s?

6. At the beginning of a chess game how many squares are empty?

7. Activist Greta Thunberg comes from what country?

8. The Oval Office is the official work place of what politician?

9. In what Australian capital city is the principal campus of Flinders University?

10. What is the symbol for the element arsenic?

11. What mode of transport displays a Plimsoll line?

12. What is this year in Roman notation?

13. Who did John Lennon marry in 1969?

14. What colour is a ripe choko?

15. What city is the base for the NRL team known as the Raiders?

16. What word is closest in meaning to lummox: clumsy, sleepy, noisy?

17. Who was Prime Minister of New Zealand after the 2020 elections?

18. In a cup of black tea with sugar, what is the solvent: tea, sugar or water?

19. What type of rock is shale?

20. What is the only month with a variable number of days?

Radical (9) Accommodate (5) Find the answer (5) Holy Land (9) Increase in speed (10) Finishes (4) "The great grey-green, greasy − River" (Kipling) (7) Scholar (7) Possesses (4) Quantifiable (10) Heaven or hell, maybe (9) Sort of line dance (5) Marijuana (5) Dear (9)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 15 17 18 20 21 23 24 25

Army dining room (4,4) Leaning letter (6) Armed resistance (9) Smoked herring (6) Sporting competitors (8) Silence! (5) Group of spectators (8) Makes over (6) Grease (9) Lack of variety (8) Unequal (3-5) Adolescent (8) E.g. Seville (6) Drowsy (6) Outlaw (6) Experiment (5)

POETS' CORNER nothing but a few obscure cans and toothbrushes hiding on the second level.

Another Covid cluster had been announced in the community. With a lockdown looming, people had panicked and flooded my store for essentials. They ravenously raided canned foods, pasta, bottled water, toilet paper and other products deemed imperative for survival. Shutting the lights off and stepping outside into the dim car park, I closed the door to my tiny convenience shop, imperative for my survival.

I slumped into my car seat like a sack of rice.

A non-stop twelve-hour shift was like running a marathon. Today had felt especially taxing. I guess that was to be expected when half the population decided to ‘beat the rush’ simultaneously.

As I turned the keys in my ignition my white Corolla sputtered to life, the engine coughing like my old cat Percy, who awaited my arrival home. The roads were fairly empty. The occasional flash of headlights signalled the only evidence that the apocalypse hadn’t occurred. That I wasn’t completely alone.

It had been months since I’d seen my family. We were all dotted across Australia, from Cairns to Cradle Mountain. In between lockdowns and border barriers it was impossible to plan anything. I felt like I had been in a lockdown all of my own lately, even without the government mandates.

Running the corner store was a full-time job, especially when I had to run it all on my own. While I loved the job, it didn’t exactly allow me a butler to

ODE TO THE LEAF BLOWERS OF NOOSAVILLE When my life ends as soon it will Down the path to Purgatory I’ll slide Past pearly gates on down the hill To meet the Styx dark, evil, wide The pumiced path to hell it greets With fire and brimstone, screams and shrieks.

On either side of the satanic track Ten deep and mulling, singed and keening Wide eyed, demented in rags of black The welcome dire, a nightmare seeming Raise roasted hands in bleak torment Clawing ghastly instruments.

Then with a wail the chorus rises From bowels of darkness it’s created Layer on layer this dirge surprises Its horror Lucifer mandated A heinous host of worn leaf blowers Joined by old unsilenced mowers.

The gates of hell now open, call With fire and sulphur, heat and flame Demonic blowers rise and fall To welcome those who’ve lived in shame.

Charred limbs and bodies, shouts of pain Blow down the path, then back again.

fold me laundry or do my dirty work. Nevertheless, I was happy. I was a lot better off than many people.

This disease wasn’t only killing our people in crowded hospitals, it was killing their livelihoods.

Their connections. Their ways of life. I’d won the lotto. I had my cat, my apartment, my books. What else do you need in life?

My throat ached as I pulled into my single parking space. That was new. Slinging my backpack over a shoulder, a small cough escaped me, probably an effect of the layers of dust caking the garage.

The LED light above the stairs blinked haphazardly, the closest thing to a rave party that would occur in the tiny block of units. Unable to face the fifty or so stairs up to my floor, I took my chances with the ancient elevator. The metal groaned menacingly before collapsing on the fourth floor.

Pushing the doors open sent spots before my eyes.

I almost dropped my keys when I barged into my apartment.

Percy mewed expectantly, I had taken too long, and he was starving. “In a minute Perc,” I replied as I flopped onto my couch with a heavy sigh. Why was I so exhausted? The incessant ring of my phone pulled me away from the edge of sleep. “Is this Audrey Smith?”

“Yes?” “We have reason to believe an infectious Covid case has been in your store recently. You may be at risk.”

NINETY SPECIAL YEARS Ninety isn't really old, it's only years gone by, For some of us it's been a blast, Good time we'll not deny.

We never had computers, To drive us up the wall, Pen and paper did the trick, In person we would call.

Some of you have walking sticks, And others mobile chairs, But they won’t hold you back, Your wisdom you will share.

You pass on to the young ones, Important thing you've learned, Like saying thanks for things you have, And save from what you've earned.

Don't ever think the life you've lived, Has been a time of waste, You many times stood toe to toe, With problems we have faced.

We thank you for our heritage, Your years of gifted toil, To build this land of beauty, To which we will stay loyal.

So if you’re destined for this fate I’d get some practice before departure Grab your blower, meet your mates To hone your skills for the hereafter.

On Sunday early, soft and still Go join the host in Noosaville.

The privilege, it has been mine, To write this poem for you, You've shown us how to live, A life that's good and true.

© Angus Richard

© H.R. Buckpitt

GAZING BACKWARDS AT MOOLOOLABA For over sixty thousand years What eyes have called this home And wondered at the splendour, blue With all the froth and foam What little feet have paddled forth In rock pools’ tidal fun And kicked and splashed through childhood days Beneath the scorching sun What happy lips have smiled and laughed As waves crashed on the sand And whispered legends timelessly About our sunburnt land What minds have questioned time and space And gods and broader schemes And dared to channel energies To realise big dreams And I am just a single mind Who ponders what has been A part of the continuum Who briefly took the scene © Matt Young

Send us your poems – we love receiving your creative work!

To submit your work for possible publication email editor@sunnycoastmedia.com.au.

Word limit per poem (due to space) is 300 words.

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17

NATURE

Mystery fate of the frogmouth family

by VIC JAKES

F

or many years a pair of tawny frogmouths (Podargus strigoides) has chosen one of the several massive mature eucalyptus trees on my property as their ideal site for that year’s nest. I say ‘ideal site’ but on many occasions, from a non-tawny frogmouth perspective, the chosen site has looked far from ideal. One particular year, the sensible decision was made to site the nest between three nearly vertical substantial offshoots of the main trunk of the tree, with the nest firmly wedged in a most secure position, but in other years nesting sites have appeared highly questionable.

Frogmouths usually lay up to three, but most often two, white, slightly glossy eggs. Unfortunately the nests are invariably quite fragile and even a successful breeding season may see the growing chicks having just a bare branch on which to perch, their nest having totally disintegrated over time.

Despite their shortcomings as nest builders, tawny frogmouths, which pair for life, are dedicated parents, with the male incubating by day and the female by night, during which time the male continues the nocturnal hunting regime, catching a wide variety of ground-dwelling creatures, mainly larger insects, but sometimes small mammals, frogs or reptiles. These are caught using the powerful beak, rather than its claws and feet, which are rather weak when compared to owls. The night-time hunt will see food being regularly brought back to the female to sustain her during her incubation duties, which will continue for around 30 nights. After hatching, the young frogmouths are by both parents for around 30 days before they are able to fly from the nest – or what remains of it.

Relocated 'Furbies' with their tawny frogmouth parent.

Image by Vic Jakes

I always keep an eye on the nest and daily routines of the parent birds once I have identified the exact location for that particular year, and never cease to be impressed by the stoic determination of the parent birds. A few years ago, after a night of unusually strong gusty squalls, I approached the known nest site in the eucalypt with eyes focussed upwards, looking along the horizontal branch to the fork where the nest should be. No parent bird, no twigs, no chicks. Nothing.

It was then, as my eyes turned downwards, that I noticed, on the grass several metres away, what was clearly the remains of the nest. Then, to my delight, a small chick, still alive, a few metres further on.

This chick was clearly far too young to be safe out of the nest and my thoughts turned to how best help it survive. As it happened there was a substantial round fence post near the shaded base of the eucalypt and I decided that, if I could secure the nest to the top of that, then place the chick inside, there was a reasonable chance the parents would resume their normal duties. Having done that, and about to retreat to a decent distance, I happened to notice a second chick on the ground in a different direction. This joined the first one in the nest.

In less than half an hour, I was delighted to see one of the parent birds fly to the relocated nest and, from then on, resume feeding and protecting the pair of chicks, which looked remarkably like the inspiration for Furbies. Then, after two weeks, my regular morning check revealed the post completely devoid of nest remains, chicks and parents. Why had everything disappeared? Had a fox or another predator managed to get to the nest or had the birds simply reached the stage where they could be safe, subject to continuing care from their parents, with a life away from the nest? I shall never know, but like to think the tale had a happy ending.

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NOVEMBER 2021 SUNNY COAST TIMES

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NOVEMBER 2021 SUNNY COAST TIMES

CREATIVE CUTS SUNNY COAST TIMES

Arts centre hosts prestigious awards

C

ooroy’s Butter Factory Arts Centre is playing host to an exhibition showcasing the work of the finalists in Ceramic Arts Queensland’s Siliceous Awards.

Now in its sixth year, Siliceous is the organisation’s premier event, celebrating and encouraging ceramic excellence. The Butter Factory is the first regional gallery to host the exhibition.

It includes many well-known ceramicists, as well as a few new and exciting ones. Both the Butterbox and the Creamery are filled with ceramic artworks in myriad forms and shapes.

Among the works on show is the winning piece by Nicolette Johnson, who claimed the $7000 top prize.

This year’s judge was Diana Warnes, head of curatorial projects at the Gold Coast’s Home of the Arts.

“CAQ is committed to promoting and elevating the ceramic arts not only in Queensland

but nationally, and this year’s sixth award is the largest prize award to date,” says CAQ president Dianne Peach.

The Butter Factory has a long history with potters, and it boasts its own pottery studio alongside the historic building. Throughout the year it offers wheel-throwing and hand-building courses to beginner and advanced potters in the region.

The free exhibition runs until November 28.

The Butter Factory’s next exhibitions are [SQUEEZE], which involves work from more than 35 art educators from schools across the Coast; and the Asia Pacific Video on Tour, which brings together some of the leading artists of the Asia-Pacific region through video works from the Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art collection.

Both run from December 3 until January 16, with an opening event on December 11.

Visit butterfactoryartscentre.com.au.

Siliceous Awards 2021 winner Nicolette Johnson

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CREATIVE CUTS

Shows so good they are worth repeating

O

ver the past five decades, Noosa Arts Theatre has earned a reputation for producing wonderful shows. With so many great moments to look back on, the theatre has created a show that celebrates the multitude of great musicals it has presented.

From November 19, the theatre is presenting Encore! featuring a stellar ensemble of more than 25 people, including 16 performers, singing 36 songs from The King and I, Oklahoma, Hello Dolly, Chicago, Cabaret, Mary Poppins, Oliver!, The Sound of Music and more.

Creating the show has been both a challenging and rewarding

Chicago is among the musicals featuring in Encore! by Noosa Arts Theatre.

Image by Travis Macfarlane

undertaking, in determining the selection of songs making the final cut. Regulars will recognise some familiar faces amid the cast, together with some exciting new performers.

Directed by Ian Mackellar, it will be an uplifting, entertaining

Caloundra

and engaging musical tribute, plus the fabulous and flamboyant costumes will bedazzle.

Shows run from November 1927, with matinee and evening times.

Tickets are $23-$32.

Book at noosaartstheatre.org.au or phone 5449 9343.

Caloundra

Royal welcome

Christmas treat

The Sunshine Coast Jazz Club is presenting Nicole ParkerBrown and the Jazz Kings from 1pm on Sunday, November 21, at the Caloundra Power Boat Club.

Nicole and the band – Col Atkinson (bass, vocals), Rod Ford (drums), Peter Uppman (vocals, trumpet), Gordon Matheson (guitar) and Mike Wade (keyboard, vocals) – are one of the most sought-after jazz bands on the Gold Coast and beyond, and released their first album, Out of Nowhere, in December 2020. Although formed in 2017, each member has decades of experience in the music industry.

Tickets are $25-$20. To book phone Richard on 0427 782 960.

Join the Caloundra Chorale and conductor Kim Kirkman (pictured centre with Peter Wilson and Sue Hawes) for a festival of carols, uplifting music and singalongs to start off your holiday season.

A special treat this year will be concert cellist Christoph Blickling.

Come early to shop at the Christmas market for delicious goodies and gifts.

Performances are on December 10 at 7pm and December 11 and 12 at 2pm.

The group is also doing a radio-style presentation of The Phantom of the Opera from November 17-28.

For times and tickets for either show phone 0490 329 912.

SHORT CUTS

Proms favourites Voices soar The Sunshine Coast Symphony Orchestra will present its end-of-year Proms concert on December 4, with the theme of World War II memories. The concert features perennial favourites including Jerusalem, Fantasia on British Sea Songs and Pomp and Circumstance. The show is at Venue 114 from 7pm. Tickets are $35-$40, visit sunshinecoastsymphonyorchestra.com.

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NOVEMBER 2021 SUNNY COAST TIMES

Celebrating singing with the Sunshine Statesmen Barbershop Concert from 6.30pm on November 27 at Buderim War Memorial Hall. Among the groups performing are Benchmark, Hot Ginger, Escapade, River City Clippers, New World Rhythm and the Sunshine Statesmen themselves. Tickets include a light supper and glass of wine. Visit trybooking.com/BVHZG.

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Exotic art exhibition

Important message

Exotic Expressions, an exhibition by Buderim artist Dr Christine Velde, will open at the Art Hub in Cooroy on November 19.

Christine is a former university academic who has spent 20 years working and travelling in south-east Asia.

“Drawing and painting are important to me because they bring back many treasured memories of living in exotic places, which, in turn, inform my art practice,” she says.

A meet-the-artist opening event will be held on November 19 from 5pm. The exhibition runs until December 21 at 3/2 Emerald St. Find the Art Hub Cooroy on Facebook.

Author Allison Paterson has released a new picture book inspired by the Sunshine Coast’s beaches, our need to care for them and the crisis of marine pollution.

Called I Wonder, it is a gentle story about caring for our belongings and our world, reducing waste and sustainability.

The Peregian Springs-based author of both adult and children’s books was a teacher-librarian for more than 20 years and now works full-time as a writer, publishing consultant and presenter in schools.

The book by Big Sky Publishing is available at local book stores or via allisonmarlowpaterson.com.

Forest Glen

sales@sunnycoastmedia.com.au

To have doubt but to do it anyway.

To quieten, squash and diminish doubt.

To be brave and be unapologetically you.

Buderim

Gypsy jazz

Soul-stirring carols

Get swept up in the Gypsy fever with toe-tapping jazz manouche from the Shenzo Gregorio Quartet and the Rodrigo Santiago Duo at the Jazz Sessions on November 28.

Shenzo (pictured) has been freelancing as a professional musician for 23 years, forging a varied career that has kept him in demand as a multi-instrumentalist, composer, musical director and more.

With Shenzo on violin, his quartet consists of Peter Walters (bass), John Reeves (accordion) and Camaron De La Vega (guitar).

An Afternoon in Paris – Gypsy Jazz Spectacular is from 3-8pm at Forest Glen’s Glass House Brewery. Tickets are $35, visit stickytickets.com.au/TheJazzSessions.

The Sunshine Coast Choral Society is presenting Christmas with Rutter on December 12.

The community choir, which has been going since 1994, will feature the music of John Rutter, who has composed many Christmas carols. They will sing a selection such as Nativity Carol, Shepherd’s Pipe Carol, Jesus Child and more.

Adrian King is the conductor with accompanist Natasha Koch (both pictured).

The 2pm show is at Gregson & Weight Memorial Chapel, 158 Wises Rd, Buderim. Tickets are $25 or $23 concession and can be purchased at the door, by phoning 0431 550 713 or via suncoastchoral.org.au.

SHORT CUTS

Exquisite birds Ocean connections The Holmes Prize for Excellence in Realistic Australian Bird Art returns from November 18 to wow art lovers.

Thirty-five artworks from bird artists across Australia will be on display daily at the Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve in Maleny until December 12. With a total of $20,000 of prizes up for grabs, the competition attracts artists of international repute.

Two exhibitions at the Caloundra Regional Gallery are exploring our connection to the ocean. I Sea U is a black-and-white portrait series by photographer Keith Hamlyn, while Healing Garden, by Japanese-Australian artist Hiromi Tango, explores how nature, colour and art making influence mental health. Both run until December 5. Visit gallery.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au.

NOVEMBER 2021 SUNNY COAST TIMES

23

FESTIVE GIFT GUIDE

Go local this Christmas Support the Coast's makers and creators this festive season by buying gifts from around our region

by SEANNA CRONIN and CHRIS GILMORE

T

he festive season is nearly upon us and that means it’s time to start planning your Christmas shopping list.

With backlogged supply chains, record levels of online shopping and delays in delivery services, there are more reasons than ever to shop local this year.

Why give a generic gift card when you can give your loved ones something thoughtful, personalised and unique while supporting local makers and operators?

Here’s part one of our guide to the variety of products and experiences the Coast has to offer. Part two will feature next month.

Look good, feel great Auburn Designs

Sisters Lauren and Kathryn design and make all of their resin jewellery, accessories and homewares at their home studio in Woombye. They have a dedicated following thanks to their unique designs, use of hypoallergenic surgical steel studs and affordable prices with earrings starting from just $12. See their Christmas range in person at the Buderim Lions Fair on November 27 and the Sunshine Coast Collective Markets in Coolum on November 28. etsy.com/au/shop/byauburndesigns

Lady Bird Noosa u

Treat the special woman in your life by making them feel comfortable and beautiful with the help of Lady Bird Noosa. Specialising in lingerie for maximum comfort, they have bras for everyday right up to those for special occasions, sports and mastectomy, as well as underwear and sleepwear. ladybirdnoosa.com.au

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NOVEMBER 2021 SUNNY COAST TIMES

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FESTIVE GIFT GUIDE Food and drink

Experiences

Christmas gin u

Caloundra Holiday Centre

Something special Nardurna art

Buderim-based contemporary Aboriginal artist Ryhia Dank is a proud Gudanji/ Wakaja woman who grew up in the Gulf of Carpentaria and worked in marketing in Melbourne before turning her attention to painting full-time during the pandemic. As well as prints and original paintings, you can buy her art on phone cases, stamps, journals, tote bags, gift cards, swatches, vinyl stickers and gift wrap. nardurna.com

Want a getaway without needing to travel far? Caloundra Holiday Centre has one of the largest portfolios of holiday rental accommodation in the area, and has been assisting holidaymakers find their perfect place for more than 35 years. It’s your chance to rediscover what it is that makes the Coast so special. caloundraholidaycentre.com.au

Pomona Distilling Co’s signature Christmas gin is perfect for those who love a tipple. This small-batch release is available for pre-order now, and delivery or pick-up in early to mid December. You can also get into the festive spirit with Sunshine & Sons’ barrel-aged gin. The Woombye distillers have captured the taste of Christmas in a glass with their Tongue Tied G&T featuring Wheel of Silver Tongue Foods’ spiced orange syrup. pomonadistilling.com.au, sunshineandsons.com.au

Blessed Earth

Maleny business Blessed Earth prides itself on the purity of its products and being as natural as possible, helping customers connect with their own nature. Treat someone you love to something from Australia’s finest range of organic textiles including carpets and rugs, mattresses, linen and clothing, as well as healthy lifestyle products. blessedearth.com.au

Craft beer and food tours

Give a beer drinker something to froth over with a behind-the-scenes brewery tour. Sunshine Coast Craft Beer Tours has three different brewery trails to choose from covering the coast, Noosa and hinterland.

The company also offers farm-to-fork experiences showcasing local coffee roasters, farmers and brewers. sunshinecoastcraft beertours.com.au Maleny Chocolate Factory u

For the chocolate lovers, Maleny Chocolate Factory has the freshest handmade delicacies. Using cream from nearby Maleny Dairies, the chocolates are free of preservatives, artificial flavourings or vegetable oils. Drop in to watch the chocolates being made then grab some to take home with you – if you can wait that long! malenychocolate.co

Be prepared for Christmas festivities...

p Axe throwing

Looking for something a bit different?

Axe throwing is a fun and unique activity which is great to do with a group of mates. Caloundra’s Mad Axe has 10 indoor throwing lanes and competent, friendly instructors who cater to all abilities. Each 90-minute session begins with a safety induction and training briefing, and ends with a competition-style scoring round. madaxe.com.au

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Sinclair Tour and Travel

Use the Christmas break to explore our own backyard, or slightly further afield, on a fully escorted bus tour. Coastbased Sinclair Tour and Travel offers day trips to Brisbane and elsewhere in south-east Queensland, as well as extended tours to places like Lord Howe Island, Torres Strait and more.

If you’re feeling adventurous, you can also join a mystery tour – don’t forget your toothbrush! sinclairtours.com

A Caloundra Holiday The best way to unwind!

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07 5491 5444 | caloundraholidaycentre.com.au

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25

HEALTH, WELLNESS AND BEAUTY

Welcome to Better Family Health Open 7 days Bulk-Billing Appointments can now be booked via HotDoc

Oral Art Denture Clinic and Dental Ceramics will give you a new reason to smile. We use the best quality materials from Switzerland and take pride in our excellent service and workmanship. Your satisfaction is our priority.

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NOVEMBER 2021 SUNNY COAST TIMES

Mouthguards/ sports mouthguards and occlusal splints Dentures on implants All ceramic and implant work for dentists CAD CAM and 3-D printing Most private health funds and DVA claims are processed immediately Registered with Dental Board of Australia | Australian Dental Prosthetic Association

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Shop 5, 168 Main Street Village Square, Montville www.oralart.com.au

HEALTH, WELLNESS AND BEAUTY

Let inspiration be your motivation

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IMAGE

by KERRIE FRIEND

A

Diamond Light Quantum Transformations

s this unforgettable year draws to a close I’ve been thinking a lot about how we can allow envy or jealousy to ruin our life. It seems easier than ever before to do as there are so many situations that can cause us to fall into the comparison trap. Use self-control to turn those negative emotions that can wreak havoc on our souls into something that motivates and inspires instead of defeats. We have one precious life, why waste it being envious allowing those feelings of low self-esteem affect us so poorly. They never allow our best image to emerge, are toxic and leave us with an array of unhelpful emotions not good for our soul. In their place let them fuel you passionately towards inspiration, focus and motivation.

During this current day and age that’s seemingly filled with constant ‘comparisonitis’ and ‘shiny life syndrome’, we must learn to control those feelings or they will control us. Start your envy assessment by evaluating who and what you are comparing yourself to. Adjustments can then be made to keep you from going down the wrong envious roads. Use this review to choose who to follow, unfollow or delete on social media, detox your entertainment and place boundaries on those you are envious of in person or from afar. Comparisonitis is real and now more than ever we need to adjust accordingly to what or who we allow or don’t allow in our lives.

Understand that most of what we see on social media is highlight reels of people’s lives not their dayto-day life. Don’t be ensnared by everything you see as we all go through challenges. No one’s life is perfect. We do all however have perfect moments and that’s often what we see promoted on social feeds. Remember, ‘comparison is the thief of all joy’ and the best thing we can do for ourselves is to focus on enjoying and transforming our glorious life. Don’t care so much about what others are doing, the question is what are you doing?

Don’t damage your self-worth by constant comparison, rather spend time journalling about all the things you love about yourself and your life, and flourish from there. Be sure to include all of the things you enjoy and those you look forward to in the future because your life is a masterpiece. You’ll feel happier and more determined to put plans into place to make your life better. Our superpower is created not in comparison but when focused on our own image.

God bless.

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OFFICE HOURS Monday to Friday: 8am - 4pm | ADDRESS 3/106 Sixth Ave Maroochydore NOVEMBER 2021 SUNNY COAST TIMES

27

MOTORING

Don’t get tyred out this summer A

s the Christmas holidays approach and many of us prepare for a summer getaway, it’s important to remember the importance of tyres for on-road safety.

Dustin Skewes from TyrePlus Nambour says it’s important to get the right tyre for your car.

“Tyres can make or break your daily drive, so choosing the right tyre for your vehicle is vital for your driving experience,” he says. “They are the only part of your vehicle touching the road.”

Dustin says driving during summer can present particular dangers for drivers.

“During hot summer days, when you drive the temperature of tyres increases faster,” he says. “Consequently, the heated air inside the tyre expands and its pressure rises quickly, which can lead to tyre blow-out with disastrous consequences. So always make sure to pump your tyres up when they are cold.”

He recommends the following safety checks for people heading off on long driving holidays: • Check your tyres are in good condition and are set at the right pressure, including the spare.

• Check your fluids such as engine oil, coolant, brake, clutch and automatic and power steering.

• Check all your lights are working.

• Check to see if your battery is in good condition.

• Don’t forget about your favourite music and snacks.

For those who might be heading off-road, Dustin adds that there are extra things to consider when it comes to tyres and other equipment.

“You will need an all-terrain or mud terrain tyre,” he says. “If you are going places with no reception, it’s highly recommended to have a satellite phone. Get a paper map

of the area you are travelling to as your phone may not have reception.

“Carry plenty of food and water, extra fuel and always keep tools and a recovery kit in the car. If possible, try to travel

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SUV TYRES

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236 Nicklin Way Warana Call 5493 4522 *Offer available November 1 2021 to December 31 2021 or while stocks last at participating Goodyear Autocare stores. Tyres must be purchased and fitted in sets of four in one transaction. “Buy 3 tyres and get the 4th free” is only available on Goodyear Assurance TripleMax 2 range, Goodyear EfficientGrip SUV & EfficientGrip Performance SUV ranges. Additional service and fitting charges may apply. Excludes fleet, commercial and account customers. Not available with other offers. No rain checks.

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NOVEMBER 2021 SUNNY COAST TIMES

TyrePlus Nambour is at 17-29 Lamington Terrace.

Phone 5441 9055 or visit facebook.com/tyreplusnambour.

195R15 MICHELIN AGILIS 3

215/55R16 MICHELIN PRIMACY 4

215/50R17 MICHELIN PRIMACY 4

$105 $130 $170 $195

BUY 3 GET 4TH FREE 185R14 MICHELIN AGILIS LIGHT TRUCK

with another four-wheel-drive in case one of you get stuck.

And always tell friends or family where you are going.”

195/60R15 MICHELIN XM2

185/65R15 MICHELIN XM2+

245/40R18 MICHELIN PILOT SPORT 4

245/45R18 MICHELIN PILOT SPORT 4

$90 $120 $195 $190 PURCHASE 4 OR MORE MICHELIN TYRES AND RECEIVE UP TO

$100 CASH BACK

Offer ends 31st October T&C‘s Apply see in-store for details.

PRICE INCLUDES FITTING, BALANCING, DISPOSAL FEES AND WHEEL WASH

TYREPLUS Nambour 07 5441 9055 17-29 Lamington Terrace www.facebook.com/tyreplusnambour

MOTORING

THE LATEST REFINEMENT OF LUXURY THE LEXUS ES IS A NEW CLASS OF LUXURY Improved steering response * and stability, further enhanced ride comfort at a first-class level. Refined styling and advanced safety systems, this is the latest in the world of luxury sedans.

CONTACT LEXUS OF MAROOCHYDORE FOR MORE INFORMATION 63 Maroochy Boulevard, Maroochydore | PH 07 5452 8777 | www.lexusofmaroochydore.com.au 1005549

Overseas model shown. Australian specifications & features may differ. See your Lexus dealer for details.

NOVEMBER 2021 SUNNY COAST TIMES

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CLASSIFIED DIRECTORY HEALTH, WELLNESS AND BEAUTY METAPHYSICAL PRACTITIONER Diamond Light Quantum Transformations Carol Aravena Providing services and products in the emerging field of bioenergetics. Restoring health in Body, Mind & Soul by assessing & correcting YOUR energy flow & internal communication systems.

0427 106 009, diamond-light.com, carol@diamond-light.com

PLACE YOUR LISTING HERE

To place your listing contact sales@sunnycoastmedia.com.au

TRADE AND SERVICES ASPHALT DRIVEWAYS

TREE SERVICES

Roll Formed Driveways Roll Formed Driveways provides a range of asphalt, bitumen and road base to residential, commercial and civil customers. Trust us to complete your project. Call us for a free measure and quote. PHONE (07) 5446 7104

PLACE YOUR LISTING HERE

BRM Tree Services Locally owned and operated, qualified and insured. Tree to stump, we do it all. Tree removal and pruning, mulching, stump grinding.

Free quotes call Tim 0401 441 945

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES SITUATIONS VACANT STORE MANAGER _BETTS Maroochydore We are seeking an experienced Store Manager to join our team in Maroochydore.To apply for this exciting opportunity, please click on the ‘Careers’ tab at www.betts.com.au

PLACE YOUR LISTING HERE

We can help in so many ways...

• House Paint • Wallpaper • Woodcare • Roof Paint • Texture Paint • Paving Paint.

We stock all your favourite brands: Dulux, Porter’s Paints, Berger, Intergrain, Avista & more.

CURRIMUNDI 788 Nicklin Way 5491 4888

NAMBOUR 92 Howard St 5441 1873

InspirationsPaint.com.au

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NOVEMBER 2021 SUNNY COAST TIMES

NOOSA Unit 1/8 Venture Dr 5449 8008

PLACE YOUR LISTING HERE

SPORT

SUNNY COAST TIMES

Coast product signs with Roar

A

-League side the Brisbane Roar has signed Sunshine Coast soccer star Jez Lofthouse to a two-year deal.

Jez grew up on the Coast and played for several local teams, starting with the Pacific Jets at Pacific Lutheran College then the Sunshine Coast Junior Premier League side.

He had a quick stint at the Sunshine Coast Fire before moving to Maroochydore FC for a season and then returning to the Fire.

In 2017, aged 16, Jez graduated to the National Premier Leagues Queensland with the Fire before switching to Olympic FC in Brisbane in 2018, winning the league’s Young Player of the Year in his first season.

The 21-year-old winger, who is part-way through a Bachelor of Sport Studies program and a member of USC’s High Performance Student Athlete program, said he was “super excited” to have signed with the Roar.

“After growing up going to games at Suncorp Stadium and watching the Roar play, it’s a cool feeling to be in the position those great players were in and I'm very keen for the season to begin,” said Jez, who is the son of Channel Nine newsreader Andrew Lofthouse.

Roar head coach Warren Moon said Jez was a skilful, exciting player who had fitted in well with the group during pre-season training.

“Jez has done very well at NPL level for a few years now and we look forward to helping him take this next step in his career,” he said.

Jez Lofthouse playing for the Roar in a pre-season game against Capalaba

IN BRIEF Langman joins Spartans

The USC Spartans have secured New Zealand’s most-capped representative netball player Laura Langman as their coach for 2022.

A former Sunshine Coast Lightning midcourter and captain, Langman (pictured right with Zoe Lewis) will bring 18 years of top-level netball experience to the local Thunder Premier League competition.

She retired as a player last year after featuring in 163 matches for the Silver Ferns between 2003 and 2020, plus 225 national league games for the Magic, Northern Mystics, Swifts and Lightning.

She also won two Commonwealth Games gold medals, a World Netball Cup and two World Netball Series.

Golf club wins big

Maroochy River Golf Club is preparing to host the Queensland Senior PGA Championship from December 12-13, hot on the heels of the club claiming a trio of awards at the Queensland Golf Industry Awards Night.

The championship is the flagship event of the Legends calendar and is played over two days as a pro-am format. The club will host the event for the next three years.

It comes after the club claimed the 2021 Club of the Year gong at the awards night at The Star Gold Coast. It also won for Legends Tournament of the Year and the Superintendents Achievement Award for Stuart Campbell.

NOVEMBER 2021 SUNNY COAST TIMES

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VI N S SI OW TA T O SE GE U L 3 R L D IN IS G PL .

AY .

CLUB EDEN

Be part of the Coast’s most inspired over-50s community.

The revolutionary, nature-inspired over-50s community of Greenwood Forest Glen, has proven very popular with those looking for a convenient, low-maintenance lifestyle in harmony with nature. So popular, in fact, that all homes in stages 1 and 2 are now sold.

The good news is that Stage 3 is now selling. It’s your opportunity to be part of this very special active-lifestyle community. Just some of the features praised by previous Greenwood buyers include: • Club Eden. Residents’ exclusive $6 million community fitness and social hub, including a 25m pool, gym, tennis court, bowling green, library, events centre and bar, arts and crafts centre, movie theatre and more.

• Private forest reserve. Five-hectares of protected natural rainforest and walking trails.

• Shared growing spaces. Grow your own with over 2,400m2 of vegetable plots and orchard space.

• True convenience. Just across the road from Forest Glen Village Centre, cafes, health and community facilities.

Right now, Stage 3 buyers can choose from one of three home upgrade packages, plus receive a bonus $1,000 Bunnings gift card.

Visit our sales display open Mon to Fri 9.30am to 4pm. Sat 10am to 3pm.

16 Grammar School Way Forest Glen. www.greenwoodforestglen.com.au

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$

HOME UPGARDE PACKAGE +

1000

Freecall: 1800 80 90 20