Fitness and Festivals

It’s been a ‘head down’ month for me. Along with the HT and family life, I have other jobs occasionally helping friends with marketing/PR and presentations for their businesses, but it means I find it hard to switch off.

To help me do that, and aware that my work can be quite sedentary, I recently bit the bullet and headed to a new fitness studio near me. Thanks to a good coach and great music, my mind focuses purely in the moment and I can feel my energy levels increasing, which is encouraging – I just need to keep it up, as I am known to leap into fitness with enthusiasm and then fizzle....anyone else relate?

Someone who needs no encouragement to keep fit is father of three, Greg Casey, who recently represented Australia in the World Skate Games in Argentina, his amazing story is on pages 10/11.

We also have stories on the hiking/karate-playing Bowen therapist, Katarina Heywood; the ballet dancing octogenarian, Colleen Ahern, and four awardwinning artists at Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve.

In our Taste Trail pages we share the exciting new venture of Andrew Lancaster, who has created a delicious gin right here in the hinterland, at his own distillery.

As for things to do, you have four pages of events and shows to choose from this month in our Creative Cuts pages! How about the vibrant Rangebow Festival, the Black Square Quartet tour, or the upcoming Horizon Festival? I personally can’t wait to see IAGO, or the Horizon Festival Glambour launch party for two exhibitions at The Old Ambo, Nambour!

So, sit back with a cuppa, and have a browse through your August HT, I’m sure you will be moved and entertained by the wonderful people and groups filling these pages.

Enjoy.

INSIDE THIS MONTH FEATURES

Local people, local stories

4 – 11

TASTE TRAIL

There’s a new gin in town, plus market listings

12 – 14

LET’S TALK BUSINESS

Q&A with Roger Loughnan Real Estate

15

LOCAL MUSINGS

16

CREATIVE CUTS

Artist profiles, entertainment and news on the arts

18 – 21

LETTERS, LEUNIG AND LIGHT RELIEF

Letters, poetry, crosswords, Sudoku 22 – 23

COMMUNITY NEWS

Including HT Young Writer of the Year entry details 24 – 25

HOLISTIC Health and wellness, plus Look Beyond the Label 26 – 30

BACK TO NATURE

Savings joeys, stopping invasive vines, and adopting animals

34 – 35

REAL ESTATE 36 – 40

There’s something intensely pleasurable about entering a great bookshop. From the slow meditative spell that comes over you as you browse the shelves - the covers promising adventure, excitement, and knowledge; to the wonder of finding the perfect book, curling up with a coffee and turning the first page.

If this sounds like your idea of heaven, you’ll love Labyrinth, a dance theatre work, performed in three of the Sunshine Coast’s most beloved bookshops during Horizon Festival.

Two lonely booksellers find themselves standing on the edge of eternity hurtling towards the end of all things. Together in their isolation, they spend their days frantically unearthing and preserving the last remnants of the books that remain.

The story unfolds within three chapters taking you on a journey of the region:

Chapter 1: The Book Bucket, Maroochydore - Thursday August 31, 6pm

Chapter 2: Rosetta Books, Maleny – Friday September 1, 6pm

Chapter 3: Berkelouw Books, Eumundi - Saturday September 2, 6pm

Tickets can be purchased for each chapter and enjoyed as a stand-alone show, or you can view the full three-part story.

Tickets cost $9.95 per chapter or $24.95 for all three. Shows last 45 minutes leaving you plenty of time to grab a drink and find a new gem to take home.

The Horizon Festival runs from August 25 – September 3 this year, and promises a plethora of entertainment through free and tickets events to the region.

Horizon Festival Director, Hannah Clissold, said, “Labyrinth is one of our Homegrown projects, an initiative that supports local artists to create and perform works in the festival and is one of hundreds of unique arts experiences.

“There really is something for everyone in the program this year. We’ve added a heap of experiences to our kids and family’s program, introduced an even greater diversity of free and ticketed events, including live music, theatre and circus; comedy, family events and much more.”

Explore and book your Horizon Festival experience at horizonfestival.com.au

By GAY LIDDINGTON

Katarina’s humility belies her extraordinary skills. Our association began in 2022 after I responded to an advertisement in the Maleny Neighbourhood Centre newsletter where she offered free Bowen Therapy sessions, an opportunity to contribute to the community and accumulate hours for her training.

The youngest of three children, born in the mid1960s, Katarina shared her thoughts about those formative years.

“Life was great as a child and I wanted to be a pilot or a princess. We had little money, but in summer we played games, went swimming and camping. We also had wonderful winters skiing and skating. When I was eight, I started playing basketball—a sport that had a great influence on my life.”

In line with the Swedish education system, Katarina finished school at Year 9, then attended college, but I was intrigued to know how she journeyed from skiing and skating in Stockholm to living in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland.

“By the time I was 18, I played basketball competitively and had reached the top level. After a few odd jobs, I landed a job at the hospital working as a physiotherapy assistant. Being a caring person, it really clicked with me—learning about the body, an interest from playing sports, and the healing process. So, I decided I wanted to be a physiotherapist.”

Katarina found she didn’t have the grades or had studied the right subjects, and a student counsellor advised her to ‘consider computers because that is the future’ and directed the 20-year-old to a course at university to become a programmer.

“That was how I got into computers, and I’m still working in that area. It was not what I wanted, but there was so much work around and the money was good. Being a programmer also presented opportunities to travel.

“A friend and I went to the Caribbean on holidays then thought it would be pretty cool to live there on St Lucia. So, we went home, resigned our jobs and moved to St Lucia where we lived for about a year. When we finished there, we went to Chico in California for a few months, then back to Stockholm to get back to real life.”

Unbeknown to the 25-year-old, life was about to become even more ‘real’ when she met her husband-tobe, an Australian.

“The company I worked for bought Australian computer software, and he came over to do the training of that system. We married three months later and soon moved to London for a year and then back to Sweden. An unplanned pregnancy told us to expect twins.

“We lived in my parents' summer house, which didn’t have an indoor toilet, so there I was, eight months pregnant, running across the yard to get to the outhouse. We would place pieces of Styrofoam on the seat to make it warmer. The twins were born in November when it was about minus 11 degrees Celsius.”

A new path opened up for the young family when the company where Katarina’s husband worked closed down, and they received notification that a railway was going to be built through their house. “So, we thought we’d try Australia, and that was 31 years ago.”

The family lived in Brisbane, then Bridgeman Downs. Trips to the Hinterland led Katarina to Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve and reignited her love of photography.

“On one of those occasions, I didn’t go straight home like I used to, but drove along Mountain View Road and thought, this is so beautiful. Then, I went into Maleny with all its cute cafes where I stopped, had a coffee, then rang my husband and said, ‘I think I know where we’re going to move to.’ That was six years ago.”

Katarina’s home is near to Mary Cairncross Reserve. We chatted about forest bathing and the healing energy of the forest.

“I’ve trained in karate for 22 years and when we have Japanese instructors over I have taken them to the reserve. It’s not a long walk or an extensive area, but when they are in the forest, they get it.”

I asked Katarina about her connection with martial arts.

“We moved to London with our three children in 2000 and karate was the sport close to where we lived, so I got the kids to sign up and saw there were adults training as well. I thought, no one knows me here, so it doesn’t matter if I make a fool of myself.

“After two years, we returned to Australia, and I continued training, but not so much since we moved up here because my Dojo is in Brisbane, so I’ve gotten into hiking more.

Sitting opposite this unassuming woman in the tranquil outdoor setting, I reflected on how she began martial arts training plagued with self-doubt and noted Katarina’s current ranking: 4th dan (black belt) and, she has competed overseas and won several Australian championships in both Kata (form) and Kumite (fighting).

“Photography and karate for me is meditation, because you have to focus. You’re in the moment, and I really love that.”

Bowen Therapist, IT specialist, champion basketballer, hiker, photographer, and Yūdansha, Katarina says, “Don’t worry about where the path leads, just enjoy the walk.”

Protecting Yourself If The Bank Wants Their Money Back

A r e c e n t a r c l e i n a e l l - k n o n n e s p a p e r disc ssed a s to spot a mortgagee sale With , loans across A stralia d e to change from lo fi ed rates to m ch higher ariable interest pa ments, it is an cipated some homeo ners ill decide to sell before banks force their hand. When lending ins t ons force mortgagee holders to sell, t h e i r p r i o r i t i s t o s i m p l e n s r e t h e d e b t i s repaid…obtaining the highest possible price for the seller is a distant second.

S o m e a ge nt s i l l a c t al l s e “ m o r t ga ge e ” o r “distressed sale” in their ad er sing. Le ng a b er kno a sellers’ me frame or deadline is one of the ke principles of nego a on to a oid.

A sa b er ill o�en ask an agent the seller ’s reason for selling or “are the mo ated”? Good agents ill NOT disclose the reason a propert o ner is selling. It pa s to “m ster shop” agents before lis ng b asking a fe q es ons rela ng to h a ho se is being sold and hat is the me frame? Kno ing a deadline or a reason s ch as “the sellers are ge ng di orced” or “the bank ants the ho se sold b ” gi es b ers a h ge ad antage and irt all g arantees that the home ill be sold belo its tr e al e.

Good agents ill do e er thing in their po er to protect their clients and their reasons for selling. Rising interest rates and cost of li ing increases ill p t more and more press re on mortgage holders. Real estate agents e perienced in nego a on and the sec rit of their clients’ personal and financial informa on are itall important.

For f rther informa on and ad ice please call or email, e are a ailable da s per eek.

Testimonial Expert Local Knowledge

We absol tel cannot recommend Monica and the team at Roger Lo ghnan highl eno gh! Both Monica and Roger ere brilliant to deal ith thro gho t the sale of o r propert in Fla ton. Their kno ledge of the local area and market as in al able. The kept s pdated and ere al a s a ailable to ans er o r q es ons or talk things thro gh hene er needed. To top it off, the 're both j st reall lo el people ho are ob io sl ell kno n and al ed in the local comm nit We are er gratef l for the onderf l e perience e had selling ith them!

Re ie s bmi ed b R & A West (Vendors) J ne

Tues, Wed, Fri 9am -

by JUDY FREDRIKSEN

Naturally art exhibition will showcase diverse pieces depicting environmental awareness through the art of woodcarver/sculptor - Gary Field; rainforest artist – Leisa Gunton; environmental artist – Jono Bateman, and multidisciplinary artist –Cholena Drew Hughes.

Multi-award winning woodcarver Gary Field has spent 50 years developing his unique style of woodcarving. Many readers will know him from the Maleny Wood Expo where he has won the highly sought-after Wootha Prize and Design Excellence Award, while dozens of his delicate pieces now adorn collections all over the world.

Salvaging and recycling gnarled timber from places like ethical timber salvage operators, ancient river beds, hang-dog fences or dilapidated buildings, Gary gently moulds the pieces until unseen forms emerge, with the result being an exquisite carving inspired by his respect and love of nature.

In preserving our environment, Gary says, “I try to show (that) every single bit of the tree can be used, so I’m using roots, I’m using the main trunks of the trees, and I’m using all parts of the trees and waste products. I’m actually trying to show what can be made from what’s normally discarded”.

It was at the Maleny Wood Expo where Gary met Leisa, who also regularly exhibits at the event. Instantly, Gary became captivated by her work and the two became firm friends.

Inspired by the forest, even as a young girl, Leisa appreciates trees, their forms, and incorporates pieces character. She feels a soulful connection to her home environment of Booloumba Creek, a pristine rainforest environment with which she has been interacting for the past 30 years.

“It’s quite a special place – it’s a 325-million-year-old valley – it’s one of the oldest parts of the Sunshine Coast,” Leisa says.

“I do ceramic art, as well as drawing and painting, and the ceramic parts of it contain pieces of the forest, like leaves or a bit of gravel or ash and slips of natural clays. I like to hone in on things; rather than a huge scene, it will be a tree – looking up into the canopy – or it will be like the junction of the ferns.”

Her earthy pieces charmingly capture the energy and essence of the valley.

Leisa has taken out many awards for her sculptures and ceramics, notably the best work overall at Kenilworth Art Prize in 2012 and in the same year, was a finalist in Sunshine Coast Art Prize.

In her earlier years, while developing her creative talents at TAFE, Leisa attended the same classes as Cholena Drew Hughes, now a successful First Nations multidisciplinary artist here on the Sunshine Coast. In 2022, Cholena was a finalist in the prestigious Sunshine Coast Art Prize.

Born on Turrbal country and now living on Jinibara country, Cholena loves to spend time in the natural environment and connect with the spirit of Country.

“My work shares the feelings of that experience. If people are inspired to pay more attention to Country and connect with it themselves, they will feel more inspired to walk gently and preserve and cherish what we have.”

Cholena uses a large variety of materials and processes, cultivating her inspiration by wandering in the bush, listening, breathing in the air, allowing her senses to observe all the intimate details with a feeling of incalculable significance and importance with the connection to her environment.

Many of Cholena’s works now hang in galleries overseas.

As the connector between the four artists, Leisa also knew botanical artist – Jono Bateman – whom she met during the BioBlitz at Mary Cairncross in 2018. The BioBlitz was a unique exercise that saw scientists and artists come together to explore the forest canopy.

Jono’s art is a natural extension of his work as a bush regenerator, with his personal mantra being: The natural world needs a voice Let her stories reach you through my art.

“The artwork that I’ve been doing for the past 20 years is the way of articulating what I see and feel doing my work, and starting to observe those processes that occur in the natural environment, and the patterns they form, and the processes that inform us a little bit about ourselves.

“It’s those processes that I bring to the page, canvas, paper, inks, multitude of mediums and just turn those will see it in a different light. Maybe they will experience a walk through Mary Cairncross quite differently after they’ve seen what we’ve seen … because what we’ve seen inspires us to create what we create,” says Gary. of three, Greg Casey, who recently represented Australia in the World Skate Games.

Naturally will run at Mary Cairncross Reserve, 148 Mountain View Road, Maleny, 6–20 August. Entry is free.

by REBECCA MUGRIDGE

unshine Coast father of three, Greg Casey, recently had the experience of a lifetime, representing Australia in the World Skate Games in

“I found out about six weeks before I left that I was on the team,” Greg said. “I have been downhill skating for 32 years, since I was ten years old, but I’d never thought anything of it. One of the other inline skaters on the Australian team asked me to go.”

And everything just lined up.

S“I spoke to my boss and said I need to save the money for my plane ticket and my boss said, ‘Look, you can’t miss this opportunity, it may never come up again,’ and he actually bought my ticket for me!

“I didn’t have a passport as I’d never travelled overseas or anything and the passport actually came through super quickly. All of a sudden, I found myself looking at my uniform the team sent me and then I was on the plane with the rest of the team on my way to the World Skate Games.”

Greg said the World Skate Games is like the Olympics of rollersports, and happens every two years ina different country with almost 60 countries represented.

“There was artistic skating, quad hockey skating, skateboarding, inline, luge, figure skating, ice skating, skate racing events and all these kinds of sports.”

The popularity of skating in Argentina is massive, explained Greg.

“In South America, inline and quad skating are the second biggest sports behind soccer. And in France, inline is one of the biggest sports there as well.

“On the last night, the Australian Team went out to dinner and in the restaurant and every TV in the city the Games was on, celebrating winning the quad hockey. There were car horns tooting and everyone was celebrating.” His first time competing ever, and

Greg said it was an incredible experience seeing all

“Whenever anyone placed, they were taken for drug testing straight away. I didn’t know what to expect. Even hemp seeds are fortified protein, so they are banned, and asthma puffers have very strict restrictions because they do actually contain a steroid. Asthmatics are only allowed so many puffs per day and they can test the amount in your blood.”

Bravery is clearly in Greg’s blood. While hurtling down hills at speeds of up to 100km sounds terrifying to most, Greg is no stranger to extreme sports and even has a dangerous job.

“I climb communication towers for a living and do work out of a helicopter” he said modestly, but explained that while both his job and sport are scary and exciting they also teach you to always really think about what you are doing, at all times. A skill that absolutely benefits downhill skaters.

“Because of the speeds, we are hitting 100kmph, you have got to know what to do to minimise any sort of damage.

“I’ve always said the best skaters are the best fallers. I’ve seen people stand up in a pair of skates and fall over and break bones, and I’ve seen big stacks and people just get up and keep going. It is about knowing your body and when to roll, when to stop or slow and what to do when you get in those situations, because it happens so quickly.”

This is where training is vital, said Greg. Not something always easy to do for those in this sport, as it does use public roads and you need to navigate cars and people.

“You’ve really got to pick your times,” Greg said, adding that they will usually train very early on a weekend to avoid traffic as much as possible.

In places like Townsville and Victoria, the local councils do close off roads for the athletes to train and hold events. Something Greg says the Sunshine Coast Council could look into, given the perfect conditions on the Coast.

“There is the opportunity to do something with these hills, as there are plenty of them that would be absolutely amazing to have closed off, just occasionally, for just a few hours. You could even have a special weekend that people from Brisbane and beyond from the inline community come up for.”

Beerwah-Peachester Road, Maintenance Road and Phillips Road are just a few that come to his mind when asked where the best hills are.

“Phillips Road is my favourite, because it is the fastest. It is an absolute monster!” Greg laughed and

admitted, ”I can’t get anyone here to do that hill with

It can be dangerous for both skaters and cars when they try to train, but it also affects how they use the road too, which can hamper their training. “There are some hills where you need to go over to the right hand side to be able to get back into the corner of the left hand side effectively at racing speeds and that is too dangerous on a ‘live road’,” Greg explained.

One of the greatest things about following his dreams is also knowing others are watching on, like his kids and his dad. “My kids got to take my leather racing suit from the Australian team into ‘show and tell’ at school, so they are quite stoked. It has been a passion of mine for years.

“Because both of my brothers have passed away, I do it for them as well because that is where I started, doing it with them. And it’s for my kids and for my dad, as well as for

Greg is looking forward to representing Australia again in Rome and is already in training for the next World Skate Games in two years time.

“Since I’ve been back from Argentina I have done more hills than I had in the last 15 years,” he said, as he increases his training and competitive side.

“The next race is actually at Mount Panorama in Bathurst, and I never thought I’d get that opportunity either.

“That will be exciting,” Greg said with a wide smile. You can follow Greg’s journey on Instagram at Greg.casey.7

If any businesses are interested in sponsoring Greg they can get in touch via his Instagram or email: gregorypcasey81@hotmail.com

Greg is very happy to share tips on equipment and how to get into the sport with other athletes and is looking at potentially coaching at some stage.

Much Ado About E Asements

An easement is the right to use another person's l a n d f o r a s t a t e d p u r p o s e. I t c a n i nvo l v e a general or specific por tion of the proper ty.

An example of where an easement can benefit a proper ty is where John owns a tract of land that borders the a national park which is a popular area for bushwalk ing and fishing. Mar y lives nex t door to John, but her land does not adjoin the national park To avoid trespassing, she must access the national park by walk ing or driving to a public entr y p o i n t I n s te a d, J o h n gr a n t s M a r y a n e a s e m e n t a l l o w i n g p re s e n t a n d f u t u re o w n e r s o f M a r y ' s proper ty to cross John's land to access the national park

How does an easement effec t the person who grants it? The landowner who grants an easement usually cannot build struc tures within an easement area or use fencing that would hinder access Other ac tivities might also be prohibited I t is therefore impor tant that before you a purchase proper ty you k now where all easements are located and what restric tions are associated with them.

Easements can affect proper ty values - consider these examples:

Ÿ S e v e r a l e a s e m e n t s o n o n e l o t o f l a n d m i g h t seriously limit the choice of building sites

Ÿ H i g h te n s i o n p owe r l i n e s r u n n i n g t h ro ug h a n easement near an other wise great building site can be unsightly Resale values may be affected since many people feel that living too close to power lines is a health risk

Ÿ Buyers may simply not like the idea that others have a right to use the land in some way.

Don' t that because an easement is not will never be used As long as r e d o n t h e t i t l e o f t h e s a p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t t h e f ro m i t w i l l d e c i d e t o

Monday, Tuesday Thursday, Friday 8:30am - 5:30pm; Wednesday 8:30am - 4:30pm; Saturday by appointment

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