Maleny District Sport & Recreation Club Community Newsletter
Monday, 18 October 2021
Maleny District Sport & Recreation Club Community Newsletter
Where’s Sam, the Travelling Jackaroo? Well, Sam is now in Darwin. We thought you’d like to read one of his latest blog posts this week….so read on. "One question I get asked a fair bit by people when I pull up is - who are my role models that I look up to? I’ve got a few, including my parents, and Jack Absalom and Ted Egan. But perhaps the biggest of all for me is Joy McKean and David Gordon Kirkpatrick, also known as Slim Dusty. Whilst a lot of people listen to their music and appreciate it, few people realise how much they actually spent on the road travelling the outback -
and in doing so, bringing entertainment to those out west who otherwise would have missed out. Slim being one of my role models is one of the main reasons I’ve got my movie cinema setup, as it’s one of my key beliefs to have fair access for all. This is one of the reasons I support Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia who bring medical attention to all regardless of distance. But back to Slim and Joy. They spent years and years travelling Australia before the bitumen, when getting bogged was a regular occurrence and sometimes you were a few days late. There are thousands and thousands of people they met whose lives they changed (Trumby for example made Aboriginal education rates increase). They made history together, as the records increased by the year, and you’d be hard pressed to nd anyone in this country who doesn’t know the name Slim Dusty. Unfortunately Slim died the same year I was born, so I never got the chance to say G’day - but I’ve been lucky enough to speak with some of those who knew him well, including Gordon Parsons, the son of the Gordon Parsons who wrote the 'Pub With No Beer' for Slim and many other country music singers who met him and even preformed with Slim. But all that aside, one of the biggest reasons Slim and Joy are my role models is that they were (and in Joy's case still is), real Fair Dinkum have a go Australians. Eighteen years ago on 19th September (or as long as I’ve been alive) we lost a true Aussie legend. But both Slim and Joy still continue to change lives and to entertain us all even today. I’ve even named 2 of my vehicles after them, Slim the Chamberlain and Joy the Sierra!”. You can follow Sam’s amazing adventures at: https://www.facebook.com/thetravellingjackaroo
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