
30 minute read
Community
Folktale spirit sales help families in Nepal and India
AFTER losing a colleague in Delhi to Covid in mid-May, the team at The Imperial Hotel and Eumundi Distillers were desperate to do what they could to assist families in India and Nepal in the midst of the crisis.
Advertisement
The hotel immediately announced a donation of 100% of sales of Folktale Gin and Vodka products to registered charity Forget Me Not Australia for the rest of the month – to help purchase PPE, funeral items and food.
Imperial Hotel Manager Paul Thomas said the hotel has a long association with Forget Me Not – a Queensland-based registered charity serving to honour the rights of children in India and Nepal and working to ensure children are thriving, vibrant and connected to family, community and opportunity.
“Each Folktale bottle is embellished with a beautiful, beaded tassel – made for us by Banaras Beads in Delhi, who are also strong supporters of Forget Me Not projects in India.
“We were absolutely gutted to receive the news that the Managing Director of Banaras Beads, our friend Akash Gupta had passed away due to Covid. Akash was a fit 48-year-old man, a husband and father of two little girls.”
The situation is truly catastrophic.
“We are told that loved ones are dying at a rate of one person every four minutes; there are next to no ICU beds, oxygen supplies are dwindling and people do not have access to medical care and medicines,” Paul said.
Paul explained the complexities around burials. “Hindus must have individual cremations for reincarnation, and every cremation of a loved one requires sandalwood, ghee and timber – all substantial expenses in desperate times.
“Luckily the team at Forget Me Not Australia have the people on the ground in India and Nepal to ensure funds directly assist people in their time of need,” he said. Direct donations can also be made to Forget Me Not Australia at www.fmn.org.au
COOROY MOUNTAIN SPRING FESTIVAL THIS AUGUST

THIS is that once a year chance to come and enjoy a family fun day packed with events and activities at the Cooroy Mountain Spring Festival. Billy tea and damper plus a hearty BBQ breakfast to start the day. Stroll through the rainforest walkway, climb the mountain or just enjoy entertainment from the Pineapple Crush Uke Band. There will be food and a range of exhibits and activities for the young and not so young.
Carol Johnston, President of the Rotary Club of Cooroy said, “This will be a great day out and we will be raising money to support local charities including local disability group Sunshine Butterflies that is helping babies, kids, tweens, teens and adults with a disability and their families.
“We are very grateful to our two main sponsors, Cooroy Mountain Spring Water for providing access to the mountain and McDermott Helicopters who will provide short flights over the mountain and Cooroy.”
One hour will be ample time to walk to the top up a rocky track. Closed footwear is mandatory for walking up the mountain and we recommend you bring a hat, some water and sunscreen. No dogs allowed. There will be SES and first aid officers along the track.
Carol Johnston added, “Cooroy Mountain is suitable for all ages taking approximately 2 hours return when done at a leisurely pace with rest stops.”
Sites are available for market and community stalls. For more information and application forms contact secretary@cooroyrotary.org.au. Cooroy Mountain Spring Festival Sunday August 22, 6.30am - 3.00pm. Adults $10, children under 12 free. www.cooroyrotary.org.au

UPDATE TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM CYBERCRIME FEDERAL Member for Wide Bay and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Llew O’Brien is encouraging people to take simple steps like updating software to protect themselves from cybercrime, as part of the Australian Cyber Security Centre’s ‘Act Now Stay Secure’ campaign.
“Updating the software on electronic devices like computers, smartphones and tablets is one of the easiest and most important ways to protect yourself from cybercriminals and defend against online threats,” Mr O’Brien said.
“Leaving your devices with outdated software and apps is the virtual equivalent of leaving your home’s doors and windows wide open when you’re out of the house so intruders can enter.
“Software developers regularly issue updates for their products to plug these gaps when they are identified, as well as to improve functionality, so it’s an important step to take to protect your personal information and finances.”
Easy-to-follow advice on how to update software on Microsoft, Apple and Android devices is available at www.cyber.gov.au.
Cybercrime can be reported through ReportCyber which is managed by the Australian Cyber Security Centre on behalf of law enforcement agencies, providing a single online portal for individuals and businesses to report cyber incidents.

IT’S ALL CURTAINS FOR COOROY MEMORIAL HALL FANTASTIC new curtains have been installed in the Cooroy Memorial Hall thanks to another grant from Noosa Council.
The curtains themselves are light enough to be easily pulled together by the public, yet heavy enough to effectively absorb some noise. The creation of an additional space is very effective, and has left clear pathways to the exit doors and to the toilet and bar area. In addition the curtains help to separate the main hall and kitchen area allowing for minimal distraction and noise to an audience enjoying a performance. Thanks to the support of Noosa Council the Cooroy Memorial Hall has further lifted as a high quality premium venue available for community use.


Congratulations Maria Griffin who is the lucky winner for her photo ‘Smokey Sunday’ and receives a Gift Voucher for $100 to spend at Cooroy Butchery. Thank you to all the wonderful entries - see page 21 for some of our other fabulous entries. Start snapping for this months competition - see page 3 for details.

JUNE WINNER: ‘Smokey Sunday’ - Maria Griffin


RUNNER UP: ‘Best friends’ - Jocelyn Pope PEOPLES CHOICE: ’Watching the sun go down’ - Leanne Airey

NEW Sauces, Rubs, Relishes NOW IN STORE! Make your meat extra delicious
Suppliers of Retail & Wholesale
Trent & Angela Kirkpatrick – Owner/Operators for 15 Years

20C Maple Street, Cooroy I Ph: 5447 6641 I cooroybutchery@gmail.com OPENING HOURS: Monday to Friday 7am to 5:30pm I Saturday 7am to 1pm
your local
PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS DIRECTORY
ACCOUNTANTS
Specialists with Small & Mid-Sized Business Bookkeeping, Accounting, BAS, Tax and Advice Shop 3/6 Emerald Street, Cooroy
Blue Dragon Business Services PH: 5412 7111
www.bluedragongroup.com.au
ACCOUNTANTS

For all your • Accounting • Taxation • Superannuation • Bookkeeping & Business needs 3/11 Garnet Street Cooroy Sunny Coast Accountants PH: 5442 6727
www.sunnycoastaccountants.com.au
FINANCIAL PLANNER

LUKE YOUD
FINANCIAL PLANNER Heartwood Financial PH: 0478 669 470
www.heartwoodfinancial.com.au
SOLICITOR - LAW

• Conveyancing Residential and Business • Wills • Enduring Power Of Attorney • Estate Planning • Probate and Estate Administration • Business and Commercial Law including leasing matters
Sykes Pearson Miller PH: 5440 4800
Photos: Alan Lander Valley’s rebirth

KANDANGA FARM STORE IS LIGHTING THE WAY TO A NEW FUTURE FOR MARY VALLEY By Alan Lander
WHEN the Queensland government Her initial passion was wool post-uni, They had just settled the Amamoor farm been our dream - you had to show that proposed a new dam to be built at Traveston but the industry was “not great”, so she purchase as the Traveston Dam proposal you can create economic development in 2006 following one of the state’s fiercest worked for a multinational agribusiness was announced. and because we’d run the store in western droughts, it tolled the death knell for much “but I got squashed and disillusioned, so I “We were okay as we were outside of the Queensland that was the thing that proved of the Mary River Valley community. left that and went into animal husbandry dam area, and we were just wanting to run we had the track record.
By the time the proposal was scrapped equipment sales”. cattle and have kids - but we watched this “We were successful so now we’ve got 200 by then-federal environment minister Peter It was later that she re-met Tim. The whole area and community be destroyed. It acres here in Kandanga.” Garrett in 2009, hundreds if not thousands couple tied the knot and moved to was a horrible time for everyone involved,” The initial store was set up across the of residents had sold their land to the state Augathella in western Queensland to run a Amber said. road from its present location. and moved on, many never to return. rural store – an experience that would later A few years later, “It was a great But the region has since undergone a renaissance, with new people – many with prove critical. “We absolutely loved it out there,” Amber Tim was working for a company selling its “But to go down our path deal, and after three years we got to own it new ideas and seeking lifestyle changes – said. product out of their we’ve had to totally outright – or (at least) re-populating the bucolic hills and dales that make up Noosa hinterland’s neighbour. “We would have been happy to stay out there but we wanted to have our own shed, which then decided to centralise its re-invent everything, so the bank did. “Part of the deal was
It’s not all roses, however. property and to do that out there you had operations in Brisbane, we’ve made the feel of the we had to build the To some degree, a culture clash has emerged between the surviving, old to have millions of dollars. “We were looking to buy – Tim was forcing everyone to relocate there. farm store also appeal to store, so we started with the house across traditional farming communities, and treechangers with different values and attitudes travelling a lot for work at the time – so we thought we needed to be closer to (an) airport. No-one took the ‘offer’ up, including non-farming people.” the road (in 2015) and had the plans to build toward management of the land. “Tim’s always had an affection for this Tim – but that was also here (in 2017).”
Owners of the Kandanga Farm Store, area, so we found a little farm at Amamoor the moment when Garrett declared the But the pair were dedicated to an organic Amber and Tim Scott, are two of the region’s and bought it. There was nothing on it, so Traveston Dam a dead duck. approach to livestock production – which ‘new pioneers’. The pair initially met at we put a little shed on. And that was the catalyst for Kandanga wasn’t the ‘traditional’ way in these parts. university in Gatton – Amber studying “We were only supposed to live in that Farm Store. The Augathella region where they had agricultural business, Tim doing rural science. shed for two years, and nine years later we “The government issued parcels of land worked was parasite-free and west of the
Amber was born a city girl, in Brisbane, were still there. on economic development leases and so we then-tick line, so it was actually organic by “(but) I always knew I was not destined to “Then we had a taipan in the house, and applied,” Amber said. default, requiring no chemicals. be in a city,” she said. I said ‘no, I’m moving’.” “You couldn’t just run cattle - which had And that had suited them perfectly.
“From when I was very young, I always thought it was madness that there was poison in the food chain. I just do not understand it. At uni, you learned why all these poisons have to be used - but I didn’t believe that,” Amber said.
“When we (first) moved down here, I went to every rural store and said: ‘we want to do organic’ and they just laughed and said: ‘you can’t – you need to move west of the tick line’.
“We believed them for a while and did the poison thing. But I was having children and didn’t want to go near the cattle. And we weren’t making any money anyway: just selling the cattle through saleyards in Gympie. It was costing us.
“So one day I said to Tim: ‘if we can’t make money out of this we should stop producing our own meat and buy from someone else who can’. But he said: ‘no, this is what we do’ – he grew up on an organic farm in Western QLD – so he went to work out how to do it in this area.”
It has been a huge challenge, given the traditional role of a rural store. Typically, at the beginning, for each five customers, one would buy something: two more would be looking for a job; and the last two would be “looking for chemicals to kill something”.
“And that was the first few months – but to me, that’s a broken system.”
“Rural stores are underpinned by chemical sales. It’s totally normal for 50% of sales to come from selling RoundUp alone. It’s all cyclical, spraying at this time, then six weeks later doing it again. It’s fantastic in terms of cash flow for a business.
“But to go down our path we’ve had to totally re-invent everything, so we’ve made the feel of the farm store also appeal to nonfarming people.
“It’s all about a way to have a farm store in a place [that] doesn’t really want us.”
But things are slowly changing, as a new – or old? – village life is returning.
“When you focus on death and poisoning things and controlling things, there’s no room for creative endeavours: it’s just about killing and reducing costs.
“We’ve focused on life and abundance and all these things that are important to us.
“Now we’ve got popping up all these little businesses that, because we can help to support them, we’ve got people coming in that have grown extra stuff in the garden; we can use it in the café, we can sell it in the store.
“Local artisans are making things, hobby horses are selling in the store, guitar makers too, all sorts of things and all this creative endeavour is happening and it’s all because we’ve got a community happening with diversity and life and abundance and building more, better things.”
Amber describes the post-Traveston Dam era as a “massive social experiment”.
“You’ve got all those people who left, and all this space and so many new people from so many backgrounds – mostly not from farming – and it’s so completely different. It’s fascinating.
“There are lots of [tree]-changers who love the same idea I had – an idyllic country life - and most if not all want that organic chemical-free vision.
“We are attracting them, but we do get a lot from further away too, because there are no other stores that focus purely on organic and regenerative solutions. We sell a lot all over Australia now.”
They see a fair number of people from neighbouring Noosa Shire, too, given the store now has a caférestaurant which has a menu of locally grown products – and the farm is the only certified organic beef producer in the region.
“We had a party of 22 from Noosa in the other day. We did a special lunch and farm tour for them.
“The response is really good. A big part of what’s wrong is we’re disconnected from our food, and that’s allowed industrial farming to happen, so if you look at our menu it’s all local, everything’s explained where it comes from, and that to me is about trying to reconnect people with where their food comes from.
“The more people are engaged the healthier. We should be thinking about our food; for every other species of animal, they spend most of their lives looking for food - and we’ve forgotten that.”
But education is always the antidote to disagreement, so another feature of the store is the regular workshops it holds on a variety of horticultural and farming practices for all types of growers.
“There are lots of new people here looking to maybe go into farming,” Amber said. “Some have been incredibly successful in their chosen careers and are now wanting to do something local – and they have a lot of time and money to do it.
“We are connecting people. We’ve been asked to be a venue for events – that’s really exciting as it is the same vein of interest that we’re into.”
The store was recently visited by ABC TV’s Landline, which has turbocharged activity. But there’s still a long way to go.
“Unfortunately, we’re still seen as a bit alternative - but all this will soon be mainstream.”



Tim and Amber Scott at their store in Kandanga Kandanga Farm Store’s cafe-restaurant is always busy
A steady flow of customers at Kandanga Farm Store

A good SOB story for Boomer blokes
YOU might be one of those guys who snuck out for school smoko behind the bike sheds back in the day – and you might just be feeling the results all these years later, along with all the other excesses of the twentieth century.
But you’re not alone. In fact, there’s already a group of you who have conspired over the last 18 months to ensure their ongoing existence on the planet by getting a bit of regular exercise, not to mention a lot of talk, too.
They hang out down at Cooroy’s Anytime Fitness (AF)on Wednesday and Friday mornings.
And they’ve become known as the SOBs – the Sweaty Old Boys - though you can conjure up your own interpretation once you’ve met them.
It all started with one of their wives noticing how this initially small group would gather round the water cooler, or any other available structure in the gym for that matter, and talk about, well, whatever such blokes talk about. And sometimes the talk would last longer than the exercise, but hey, nobody’s perfect.
So she suggested that Anytime Fitness head trainer Greg devise a special class to suit you guys – which he gladly did.
Next thing, over an ale or three at a local restaurant, the SOB sobriquet was born to describe inmates of the new class, to begin on Wednesdays at 10.30am. And having now become so popular, there’s an additional class running Fridays at 12.45pm.
And something good must be happening because the once 30-minute classes have stretched out for up to an hour now.
But don’t panic: this isn’t a boot camp. It’s not a competition either. It’s about a bit of simple, regular exercise, employing up to 13 weight machines, and stretching. Then a lot of talk.


10 second countdown brings a smile to Marks face The boys are back, one goal, never give up And if you’ve had a medical setback of some kind, you can have a chat with the AF people first and they can work with you to modify the program to take it into account. It’s worth a look. And all you have to do is be aged 55 or over and enjoy social contact with like-minded blokes – and talk. Non-member cost for each class is $15; members $5. You can call Anytime Fitness for more information on 5447 6488 or drop in for a chat at 13 Kauri St, Cooroy.
Captain Rascal Russ reaching for the stars

Introducing . . .

Stash+Lode is the new name for a well established Sunshine Coast Institution, operating for over 33 years as Combined Coastal Removals with an impeccable reputation.
For pre-packing, storage and all relocation services - call us! 15 Jarrah Street, Cooroy


Curtain solutions CURTAIN CARE WITH TRISH SHIPP One of the most common questions I get asked is how to care for curtains. Over time curtains collect dust, become marked and even grow mildew. There LONG-time Cooroy local Trish Shipp Based at Lake MacDonald in Cooroy, if they have perished,” she shared. are different cleaning options for each started her sewing career as a teenager Total Curtain Solutions has a purpose- A member of the Window Coverings different curtain type. sewing school uniforms for Mrs Haack at the Cooroy Drapery. She offered guidance and advice to the young Trish. Now with over 30 years’ experience, Trish has a broad range of sewing expertise - from swimwear and uniforms to bridal – but curtains and soft furnishings are her passion and she constantly works to update her knowledge to keep up with current trends. built workroom and showroom, which is open by appointment. “Our range includes shutters, made to measure blinds, roller blinds, venetians, roman blinds, all styles of curtains, and we stock curtain tracking which we make to measure,” Trish enthused. “We also re-cover outdoor foams with a wide range of outdoor fabrics to choose from and we can even replace your foams Association of Australia, Trish and her team take great pride in manufacturing curtains to the highest standard. Total Curtains offers a full service with a free measure and quote which include; advice on what would suit each window, where to install the curtains, and the pros and cons of different curtain styles. After hours appointments are available. Total Curtains also offers customers loaner curtains to give you privacy while you are waiting for your new curtains to be made. Unlined curtains are typically lowmaintenance and easily washed at home. Lined curtains are more difficult to wash yourself and are best dry-cleaned by an experienced dry-cleaner. Although there is a new range of washable block out linings, they do become heavy when wet. Removing curtains from their tracks and popping them in the washing machine sounds like the easiest way but this is not appropriate for some fabrics and there are important steps to follow to keep your favourite You can contact Trish on 0447 477 302 or curtains in top condition.for more information head to www.totalcurtain.solutions I highly recommend hand washing your curtains as this will protect any delicate fabrics and pleats. Due to the amount of fabric you’re cleaning, a bathtub is ideal. Using a mild detergent, gently wash the fabric without soaking, rubbing or wringing. Bleach is a no-no and should not be used as it will break down the fabric. To dry your curtains, best practise is to hang them by their hooks in the shade. Don’t put your curtains in the dryer, use pegs or hang them over anything, as you will get marks on the fabric. In between cleaning, you can use a vacuum cleaner attachment to keep your curtains dust free.

The Ballad of Dave and Misty - a ‘tail’ of two twenties By Alan Lander
DAVE Yabsley reckons he’s “spent a lifetime” working his Cooroy Produce store. But his store cat, Misty, actually has spent her lifetime in the same place and is the longest-serving employee.
Tucked away at the bottom of the town’s Garnet Street, past the post office and next to the railway, Cooroy Produce has been around for many years.
Dave, who once worked there part-time, while also working at the IGA “just as it was changing from the old Four Square”, decided to buy the store on June 1, 2001.
That was 20 years ago, and he’s celebrating – for both the store, and his cat.
“The people who owned this place wanted to move on and offered it to me to ‘have a go’. We’re talking a lifetime ago.” Dave said.
Born in Lismore, with the family moving first to Caboolture then to Cooroy in 1998, Dave’s almost a local.
“More than half the shop was cattle food, with a bit of horse and chook food,” Dave said.
“Now there are so many hobby farms with the chooks, the dogs, the goats on smaller acreages there’s a more diverse range of clientele and we cater for them all. And our pet lines are different from the supermarkets.
“The word ‘rural’ is starting to get pushed out now. In the last twelve months new people with money to burn will bring six horses with them, buy a million-dollar house, then come to me and say ‘what’ve you got?’ I say ‘I’m Dave what can I do for you?’”
Dave has since opened a second store in Noosaville near the Mitre 10 – but that’s enough to deal with, he reckons, as “you can’t be in two places at the same time”.
After 10 years, Dave thought about marking the occasion, but gave it a miss.
“But twenty years is a long time. And there’s myself and Misty – and she’s about to turn twenty.”
Dave initially inherited a very old black cat, who passed about six months later, “but then someone came through and put this six-week-old kitten on the counter.”
Misty had arrived.
“Kids used to come in – little ones barely walking – to see Misty,” Dave said.
“Now they drive in to pat the cat they patted when they were toddlers. It’s unbelievable.”
She’s in a palliative state of health and weighs in at a tiny 2.3kg these days.
Touchingly, Dave has arranged a few ‘steps’ for the old girl to more easily reach her favourite hangout spot on a sink in the back of the store.
But he’s not about to write her off. Quite the reverse.
“I’ve had people come in and say ‘why don’t you just put her down and get another cat?’
“If I could give the response I wanted to, it wouldn’t be printable in a newspaper,” he said.
“I give her a couple of pills every morning. She’s totally deaf, just skin and bone, but still loving life like a champion.” Dave reckons Misty’s used her nine lives up and then some. “She used to get in customers’ cars – she’s been taken to Gympie twice, by accident – I’ve had to drive up and bring her back. “She went on deliveries in the early days – she’d sleep on the dashboard and we’d drive up the hills, and maybe stop for lunch.
“She got stuck in the hospital one night. They couldn’t catch her so they left her in for the night. She just cruised around all the wards.”
Misty got bitten by a tick – on two different occasions.
“We had to say goodbye to her twice, but she came through.
“[Then] she got run over and was totally done and dusted – but she came back from that, too.
“She just keeps going.”
Dave’s admirable care for animals doesn’t stop there, as he brings his 12-year-old ex-customs Labrador, Lara, into work every day too, where she has her own bed in the office.
“She’s an old dog, but this is her routine,” Dave said.
“But I reckon she’s got good breeding, being a customs dog, so she’ll probably do 14.”
Misty will inevitably go one day – but Dave’s staying on to run his successful business.
“I started the other store in Noosaville nine years ago – that was my mid-life crisis,” he jokes.
“I’ll maintain these two [stores]. I think maybe make some changes, refresh them, do things up.”
Cooroy Produce staff Darcy Goerlrtz (top), owner Dave Yabsley (centre), Mick Schwalbe (lower left), and Lidia Davidovics-Smith with her dog Loki

COOROY’S Yoga Studio & Centre for Ayurvedic Medicine
Enjoy the benefits of Ayurveda, the world’s oldest and most complete health system


LET US BRING THE WORLD TO YOU with some Beautiful Spanish Style


• Ayurvedic health consultations • Detox & rejuvenation programs • Indian oil massage and therapies • Yoga & meditation classes


A BIG BOTANIC GARDENS DAY ON JUNE 6
NOOSA’S own Botanic Gardens will come alive in many ways on Sunday, June 6, with a host of activities taking place.
Live music, an avian walk, artistic fun and a visit to a special place are given a colourful backdrop by the gardens’ own late-autumn splendour.
Kicking things off from 8am you can join a guided bird walk with Karl Granzien, who will introduce you to the many and varied avian species inhabiting the gardens.
From 10am, classical sounds will permeate the gardens as the Three Clefs – a Cooroy trio blending a harmonic mix of cello, viola and violin will set a soundtrack to a magical Sunday morning.
Meanwhile artist Beatrice Croft invites you to create ‘ephemeral arrangements’ using nature’s own resources – withered or wilting materials from the gardens themselves to create spontaneous and memorable artistic imagery in a unique form to connect you with the moment for the day.
The ‘special place’ is the Shade Garden – the inspirational heart of the whole scenery of the gardens – which will be open from 9am to midday, with Friends of the Botanic Gardens members on hand to guide you through and answer any questions you have.
It’s a serene location for a family picnic with a number of lakeside locations – or sitting at the famous Amphitheatre - to enjoy all that nature offers in the eight-hectare gardens. Dogs on leashes are also welcome.
The gardens are on Lake Macdonald Drive, about 4km from Cooroy, with plenty of parking. Registration for the bird walk www.noosabotanicgardensfriends.com/what’s on Registration for Beatrice Croft workshop www.noosa.qld.gov.au/connecting-noosa

Beatrice Croft and guests with artwork at Noosa Botanic Gardens Over 90 attendees at the Biggest Morning Tea held by Patches of Cooroy on May 25 in Cooroy Memorial Hall. Mayor Clare Stewart spoke on the topic of resilience and over $2000 was raised to support the Cancer Council. Job well done!

COOROY RSL BACK THE RIGHT HORSE

Siona Howard and Helen Hollingworth at the Chamber Networking night. THE Cooroy RSL have showed amazing community support by a very ample donation to sponsor the Cooroy Horse & Pony Club. Pony Club President Siona Howard put a call out to the community to assist with the much needed repairs to their existing grounds. Cooroy RSL Manager Helen Hollingworth and board members responded promptly and generously.
“These funds will cover the costs of new roofing, cladding and guttering to the club house. It is truly amazing and so generous!” said Siona
The club have many plans in the pipeline plus their upcoming annual Gymkhana in September attracting riders from across the South East. It is a really vibrant year for the club and they welcome new members and further community support.


Need some feed?
GRAINS
Look here for all your Produce needs...
Whether you want to supplement your horses diet, or you have poultry to take care of, come on in and check out our great selection. HAY
No matter how many animals you have to feed, we can take care of you. In addition to feed hay, we also stock a large amount of mulch hay for garden use. POULTRY
We are the trusted local sellers of poultry, and our friendly staff will teach you everything you need to know. Unit 3 / 37 Gateway Drive, Noosaville PH: 5470 2535 noosavillestockfeed@hotmail.com
Warm Winter Dog Coats Now Available
2 Garnet Street, Cooroy PH: 5447 6002 cooroyproduce@msn.com

Bells gather for a big ‘ding-dong’


BELL’S Transport is a name that will ring down the years of Cooroy history.
The transport company, started in 1938, was sold 70 years later in 2008, and on Sunday, May 2, the family arranged a huge get-together to celebrate and reminisce.
“It’s not often you can get so many Bells in one location and everyone thoroughly enjoyed sharing stories and memories,” Angela Bell said.
“Alice and James Bell migrated from England and Scotland respectively and had nine children: Betty, Wally, Bill, Colin, Ray, Alan, Keith, Jean and Reg.
Alice and James initially started in share-farming in Lower Wonga, then moved to Cooroy and bought the thenBlack Mountain ‘cream run’ connecting farmers with the railway, additionally supplying bread, meat, molasses, timber, farm produce – even the mail.
The Second World War was good to the company – but the going was tough at first.
“Their truck was fitted with a gas producer mounted in front of the engine and gas was produced by burning charcoal,” Angela said.
“Around this time James also became an agent for fuel and kerosene, and delivery of firewood was added to the business when a tip truck was acquired.
“A log timber truck purchased was then used to cart timber to the sawmills.”
The Bell’s truck also proved to be one of the first tourist carriages, taking people on day trips to Noosa.
Post-war the business grew to 56 trucks and six depots, focusing on delivery of building supplies and road infrastructure.
Some more unusual deliveries were made over the time, too, including delivery of the Sunshine Coastmanufactured Rockhampton bull statues that stand to this day.
“Trucking was always in the Bell blood,” Angela said.
“All nine siblings either worked in the family business at some stage or had their own trucks elsewhere.
“Even today, some of the next generation are driving trucks and the Bell’s Transport namesake continues to operate in Papua New Guinea currently.”


More information can be obtained from Cooroy-Noosa Genealogical & Historical Research Group – and a more detailed record of the interview was published in a book in 2011 titled Echoes of the Past – Cooroy & District Families, edited by Betty Sutton.
The Bell Family (L to R) Alan, Colin, Betty, Jean, Wally, Pop, Reg, Bill, Mother, Keith and Ray
The Bell Family home, Kauri Street, Cooroy


WE DO TYRES & ALL MECHANICAL REPAIRS
WE DO NEW TYRES FOR ALL MAKES & MODELS • Small • Medium • Large Vehicles • SUV • 4WD • Light Commercial
WE DO
• Wheel Alignments • Rotating & Balancing • Puncture Repairs
1/23 Jarrah St, Cooroy NOW OPEN
PH: 5442 5099
WE DO
• Log Book Services • Scheduled Maintenance • Brake Repairs • Steering & Suspension • Including Full Lift Kits • Electrical Repairs • Road Worthy Certificates


