Rotary Club of Maleny Bulletin for 4th October 2023

THE RANGE VOL 65 No 7 
Maleny Hotel at 6:30 for 7:00pm for a Dinner Meeting with Guest Speakers Chris and Kristy Paterson of Bamboo Projects.

APOLOGIES
Apologies please to Bernice by noon on Tuesday.

DUTY ROSTER
                          04Oct              25Oct          01Nov
Duty Officer      Peter McQ       Renee H      Jim A
ADO                 Craig S            Sherryl G     Michael G
Registration      Laurelle O       Greg W        Brian A
Fellowship        Malcolm B       Bill H           Des C

WOOLWORTH SAUSAGE SIZZLE
14 Oct    0830 - 1100  Rick V   Sherryl G   Des C

               1100 - 1330  John & Bernice McL   ANO

11 Nov 0830 - 1100  James McC   Jim A   Fran T

               1100 - 1330  Andy S   Phillip S    Greg W

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
 What’s this with so many Rotary members getting bugs/viruses of all descriptions of late? Worst affected has been Renee who got swine flu and had to close her barber shop for about 10 days!! Even though they’re back open this week, Renee is still not 100% and has a really raspy voice. So please support her business as much as possible.

Greg, Neil and myself have all had some kind of illness in the last week too. All on the mend now though! We are referring to it as the ‘Rotary Bug’!

As you all know, Ric Townsend had a major cardiac operation last Thursday after being transferred from SCU Hospital to Prince Charles in Brisbane. He’s bright in spirit although very weak physically still. Most likely, he’ll be in hospital until early next week and Ja and Ric will stay in Brisbane a couple of nights, just in case he should have any sort of relapse. Fingers crossed he doesn’t! I’m sure he’d love to chat with anyone of you want to give him a call. 

Future meetings
Wednesday October 4 
Our guest speakers for this meeting are husband and wife couple Chris and Kristy Paterson from Bamboo Projects. They’re about providing mateship and support. www.bambooprojects.org 
Wednesday October 25 - End Polio Now 
The Rotary International Day to recognise this highly successful project is on 24th October. Being the day after, I thought it’d be a great idea to recognise End Polio Now with everyone wearing something red on the night. I did hear one member say he might come along in his red pyjamas! If you’ve got a red ‘End Polio Now’ tshirt, certainly wear that or anything red you may have.  Also, let’s hope we can hear from Greg Williams about his adventures in Italia, which were scheduled for September.
Wednesday November 1
A former student at Maleny State High School, who went on to study architecture, and then after feeling confined by the four walls of an office, headed to Tanzania to physically build homes, Cougar Lutz, is coming to talk with us about what he’s been up to and his plans going forward which include returning to Tanzania.
Wednesday November 22
A guest speaker from within our club.
Wednesday December 6
Yet to confirm however looking to have the owner of a local gin distillery come and have a yarn with us and there could even be some gin tastings.
Wednesday December 20
Something Christmassy!

MINUTES OF MEETING OF 6TH SEPTEMBER
Rick Vickers opened the meeting in the absence of Paulette, who was unwell.  Actually numbers were down due to Influenza.  Ric Townsend was sporting a new hair cut, which did not escape the notice of Rick V.  I do believe he mentioned something about a lawnmower.   We were also reminded about the Ulysses RV Dinner on 18th October.  We are catering for approximately 130 people at the Show Pavilion, with a BBQ and dessert.  The Zoo parking is well underway, but a replacement is needed for Greg W for Thursday morning.

Chris B spoke about the parking for the Garden Expo on Saturday 7th October, from 9.00am to 4.00p.m. There will be two shifts, 9-12 and 12 to a little bit later.  However, a couple of men will be required around 6.30/7.00a.m. to help get things underway.  Chris will send out the roster next week.

Chris then spoke about the ‘Community Kitchen’ which is held at the RSL on a Wednesday night.  This has been running for 3 weeks now.  On the first night there were 17 people in attendance, the second week ther Pe were nil, and 7 people attended the third week.  

Lionel T informed us the Calendars are on sale.  The cost to members is $5-00, and $6-00 to the public. The Printers who did the Calendar were having a promotion, and we were given 100 free pens, with Rotary marked on them. Bernice suggested that we put one in each bag we present to our guest speakers.

Rick V sadly informed us that Gail Denver is in palliative care in Maleny Hospital. This began when she was a teenager, and this is the third time, each time having been a different type of Cancer.  We certainly keep her and her family in our thoughts and our prayers.

Rick also informed us that 6 out of the 8 applicants for Community Grants were successful……..Naval Cadets, Maleny State School Chaplaincy,  Zonta, Croquet Club,  Historical Society and Hinterland Music.  The money is being returned to local organisations.. Some received more money than they requested to enable them to shop locally. These recipients of Community Grants will be invited to the Maleny Hotel for a presentation at 5.45p.m. on Wednesday 4th October, prior to the commencement of our normal meeting.  A photo will also be taken at this time.  The recipients will be welcome to stay for our dinner and meeting should they wish, but this will be at their expense.

Further to this Rick advised that $500 was donated to ‘Lift the Lid’ for mental health, and $500 to Pain Resolution (this was the cause behind the bike ride that Tim Bagshaw undertook).  The Peace Pole ceremony at the River School will take place on either the first or second Friday in October. 

Jim gave a report on the Golf Day on behalf of Roly.  It was a beautiful day, weather wise, and a successful day all round.  $7,000 was raised.  There were 53 players, but numbers were down on last year.  The Maleny Hotel was incredibly generous, and we received $1,000 from Telstra, through Craig + 4 golf bags.  There were many other supporters/sponsors.  Thank you to all who helped out in the lead-up, and on the day.

Fran gave a brief report on Youth. Apart from four Year 10 students attending the SANTOS Science Experience in January 2024, there is also one Year 11 student attending the NYSF in January. She, with some expert help, will be doing Solar Buddies next term at Conondale State School, and a BBQ and free dress day and a Disco for Years 7/8 at Maleny State High  School.  Fran caught up recently with Cougar Lutze, a former Interact member, who recently spent 11 weeks in Tanzania helping to build a school.

We were advised that approximately 20 people attended the Lift the Lid walk.  One of the young ladies from Toastmasters (a recent guest speaker at our meeting) also attended along with her little one.  It was quite fun and well worth doing.  Sherryl won a bottle of wine.

Sherryl brought in the DV ‘Safe Phone’ box for old working phones.  Already 215 phones have been donated from this area for Speak Up Now.  She also reported on the recent Kite Workshop held at Kenilworth State School.  This was excellent with 16 students from Years 3-6.  It was very windy. The secret is – ‘walk, don’t run in the wind’.  The kites went very high, some ending up in trees.  Others took 10 minutes to wind back in again.  Sherryl now has the next exciting event to look forward to – the kite experience with Chaplain Chris from Maleny State School and 60 students.  Sadly they will not be able to fly them, as you need a 2 hour window to make, decorate and fly them, and the time allocated by the school is not sufficient to allow for take-off.

Ric T spoke briefly about Marvin from SAVITREK at Witta.  He is doing something for the Men’s Shed, and Ric suggested that we may enjoy a tour of the business.  They are making strides in safety and printing industries.  It is exciting new technology, and following the tour we could have dinner in town.  Ric will check it out and talk to Craig. This could certainly make for an interesting vocational night.

As expected, Chris B conducted a very lively fine session, and his story-telling prowess was definitely working well.

Finally, to end, we all had an early night. 

FUTURE MEETINGS AND EVENTS

11 Oct   Board Meeting

18 Oct  Dinner for Ulysses RV Club at Showgrounds

25 Oct  Maleny Hotel at 6:30 for 7:00pm for a Business Meeting

WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES FOR OCTOBER
26th Rick and Cilla

BIRTHDAYS FOR OCTOBER
2nd Helen Wassman  12th Gloria Rogers  14th Keith Rogers  16th Kerry Neiper  28th Bernice McLennan 31st Gillian Allen

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT
COMPUTING THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Rotary Club of Maleny Bulletin for 3rd August 2022

 THE RANGE"  Vol. 65 No.3

WEDNESDAY 3RD AUGUST 2022

THIS WEEK'S MEETING

Maleny Hotel at 6:30 for 7:00pm for a Dinner Meeting with Guest Speaker Nathan Dodd on coaching cricketers.

APOLOGIES
Apologies please to Bernice before noon on Tuesday.

DUTY ROSTER
                           3 Aug             17Aug          7thSep
Duty Officer        Jim A             Sherryl G      Michael G         
Assist DO           Chris B          Greg W         Keith R
Registration        Jeff C            Laurelle O     Peter McQ
Fellowship          James McC   Lionel T         Jared A

WOOLWORTH SAUSAGE SIZZLE ROSTER
 08 Aug   0730 - 1030  Des C   Rick V   Fran T   

               1030 - 1330    Andy S   John & Bernice McL  

03 Sep    0730 - 1030  Phillip S   James McC   Peter McQ   

               1030 - 1330    Greg W   Keith R   Paulette S

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE 
I seem to get an endless amount of emails about different events and causes which I generally pass on to Bernice to forward on to you all. I understand you’re probably too busy to look at all the emails we tend to receive these days. However, a few of these are really interesting or worthwhile so I thought I’d mention a few to you here. You may be interested in attending or donating to them.

The first one is August 2022 Dignity Drive in Maleny. The Dignity Drive is an initiative of charity group Share the Dignity. Share the Dignity believes access to period products is a right, not a privilege. 1 in 5 Australians have been unable to afford period products at some point in their life. All products donated need to be  in original packaging, including pads, tampons, maternity pads, period undies, menstrual cups and incontinence products are accepted. The campaign will be kicking off from 3 August and finish 30 August  2022. Maleny Woolworths and both Star Discount Chemists (Maple St and Riverside Centre) are the donation points. 

Next is the End Polio Now walk. The walk is on Sunday 14th August at La Balsa Park at Harbour Parade, Buddina  from 8am to 11am. It’s only a 2km walk and there’s some lovely scenery. Find details below to register.

Thirdly, ITHACA - CALOUNDRA CITY LIFE SAVING CLUB Patrols : Bulcock Beach, Caloundra are running our popular Grey Medallion course again and have places left for 27 & 28 August. This is a specially adapted 2-day course for seniors covering how to deal with an emergency, CPR, defibrillator, first aid, marine stings, water safety, water wise skills, dry rescue, familiarising grandkids with water etc. Cost $5. People can enrol on line at www.caloundracity.org.au or call for further information 0402 45 46 44 - Patricia Barry (Facilitator and Hon Secretary) secretary@caloundracity.org.au. 

Lastly, we’ve been hearing quite a lot about the Regionalisation Pilot Project lately which we have to vote on in a couple of months. There was an email sent around with times and dates where you can listen and find out more about it. A couple of sessions have already been on and there’s another four to go. So, if you want to be well informed about this Regionalisation Pilot Project, then I suggest you catch one of the sessions left to join in - Sunday 31 July @ 3.00pm, Thursday 4 August @7.00pm, Tuesday 9 August @12.00pm and Friday 12 August @7.00am; hopefully a time there for all of us. I understand they will be recorded as well so you can listen later. You have to register using the following link to select which session you want to attend - https://www.dropbox.com/s/rnjf3h6id5611r3/town%20hall%20invite%20with%20links.pdf?dl=0.

MINUTES OF MEETING OF 6TH JULY
President Paulette opened the meeting by welcoming those members who were present and in good health and wishing that those who were unwell had a speedy recovery.  This was a Business Meeting with no Guest Speaker.

Roly N delivered an update on the farewell which the Club was sponsoring for Rob and Sam Outridge  at the RSL on 21st July.  It was expected to be a wet, cool night which may affect numbers, but 130 people had booked.  The new owners will be attending.

Rick V will run the small programme of formalities that has been arranged. Chris will deliver the Ode before Rob and Sam will be presented with Paul Harris Fellowships for their service in the town.  They really have done amazing things and helped many people over the years. They will be missed.

Post our meeting, some photographs from the event are attached.

Winton Johnson will present them with the keys to the town.

Lisa Plunkett read her commemorative poem which is reproduced below.

Roly and his helpers should be congratulated on the excellent organisation, not forgetting the food.

RYDA was due on  21st July with Fran and Renée attending. It has since been reported to have been a wonderful day.  It went off without a hitch and provided the students with life saving lessons - many thanks to our representatives. 

Arrangements are proceeding for the Pride of Workmanship Awards dinner to be held on 31 August at the Maleny RSL.

Regionalisation webinar - Register for the session convenient for you.

The Treasurer announced that the six monthly dues had not changed and he looked forward to receiving members' payments.

In the absence of the Sergeant, there was a dob in session - a pleasing aspect was that many members opted for self flagellation!

For many years storage facilities for the Club have been provided by a container in John and Bernice's garden. An alternative solution is needed - and long overdue. Rick and Lionel started the planning process for new storage facility and members contributed suggestions on a white board. 

Brian A announced that Probus had Mike Keane as a guest speaker at the CWA Hall on 27 July about the disappearance of flight MH17.  Mike was a former  RAF fighter bomber pilot, a commercial airline executive and member of our Club. Members would be welcome.

The meeting closed at 8.10p.m

FUTURE MEETINGS AND EVENTS

10th Aug  Board Meeting

17 Aug  Maleny Hotel at 6:30 for 7:00pm for a Business Meeting

24 Aug  Rotary and USC Scholarship dinner at USC

31st Aug  Pride of Workmanship Award at the RSL

07 Sep  Maleny Hotel at 6.30 for 7.00pm for a Dinner Meeting 

WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES FOR AUGUST
15th  Phillip and Janice Stark  29th Angela and Mike

BIRTHDAYS FOR AUGUST
17th Malcolm Baker  20th Jocelyn Brooker  21st Craig Sim  28th Mary Wilson and Lionel Tilley

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT

LISA PLUNKETT'S POEM

To Sam and Rob

              With admiration, gratitude and much affection. 

              Dear Sam and Rob,

              You've really made us quite a town

              Throughout the coast we are renowned

              Our IGA is envied, famed

              You've really done us proud.

             

              I bring with me a cavalcade

              An avenue of accolades

              How can we bear to say goodbye

              We've really got it made.

 

              You've helped to put us on the map

              Folk travel far and wide

              They've heard about the Gourmet Fare

              And prowl the aisles inside.

 

              For Noosa ham so succulent

              Asparagus in brine

              For Maggie Beer's Duck Pate

              These three I find sublime.

                        (and I buy them all the time

                         they've even got Beef Jerky

                         which makes us all feel … perky?)

 

              There's brands to make you chortle

              From near and far they're sourced

              Like “Drunken Sailor – Ugly Duck”

              And Pomodoro's sauce (of course).

 

              But while I've eulogised these treats

              I should have mentioned first,

              Community Chest and your bequests

              The Groups that you have nursed.

 

              The Food Hampers for those in need

              The Schools, the Clubs galore

              A million – nearly two I've heard

              You've given them and more.

 

 

              The time ten years ago or so

              When we all were minus power

              You gave us ice and help and hope

              It was your finest hour.

 

              And then there are your wondrous Staff

              I cannot name them all

              But Janelle – no longer with us

              I clearly can recall.

 

              There's Fiona who can put a name

              To everybody's face

              And tiny, cheerful Trisha Lyon

              Who serves with style and grace.

 

              The boy who says “Now can you cope

              Would you like a hand with that?”

              I love it when he escorts me

              ‘Cause your trolleys are a trap.

              They try to get away from me

              I'm not coping with the brakes

              I'm headed for the gully

              Where there lives a big green snake

                                  (only teasing).

 

              It's now high time I praised you for

              Your generous trading hours

              Fifteen hours – all days but one

              You deserve a bunch of flowers.

 

              Or better still – the City Keys

              Or a Statue in Tesch Park

              But why be cast in stone or bronze

              Where the pigeons leave their mark.

 

              Now Andrew, Winston, Everyone

              I've had a wondrous thought

              Find a street that has no name

              And we'll call it “Outridge Court”.

 

 

 

              Developers will have a ball

              With little cul-de-sacs

              And streets named after loyal staff

              With rustic walking tracks.

              Where Owen Gray can lead the way

              We'll have a bivouac

              We'll have a children's Picnic Day

              And then we'll hit the sack.

 

              We'll have a Ribbon Cutting Gala

              We might just ask the Mayor

              And maybe Wills and Kate and George

              The Royals could well be there.

 

              We could have Anastasia

              Or Tony Albanese

              A Marching Band with all the Clubs

              For whom you've made life easy.

 

              The Fire Brigade, the Hospital.

              Cats and dogs from Sippy Creek,

              The Schools can have another break

              And we'll call it “Outridge Week”.

 

              But whether it’s a Statue

              Or a street that bears your name

              Please remember that we love you

              and please – come back again.

 

              We know that Europe beckons

              You deserve a well-earned rest

              And THANK YOU Rob and Sam for making

              our IGA the VERY, VERY BEST.

 

 

                                                                Lisa Plucknett

                              

Rotary Club of Maleny Bulletin for 20th October 2021

WEDNESDAY 20TH OCTOBER 2021

THE RANGE Vol 64 No. 8

THIS WEEK'S MEETING
Maleny Hotel at 6:30 for 7:00pm for a Business Meeting and Guest Speaker Donna Turner MHSH Chaplain.

APOLOGIES
Apologies please to Bernice before noon on Tuesday.

DUTY ROSTER
                          20 Oct             3 Nov              17 Nov
Duty Officer       Michael G       Jim A               Rick V
Assist DO          Roly N             Phillip S          Alan W
Registration       Paulette S       Laurelle O      John McL
Fellowship         Des C             Malcolm B       Keith R

WOOLWORTH SAUSAGE SIZZLE ROSTER
30 Oct    0730 - 1030    Des C   Lionel T   Bill H   

               1030 - 1330    Andy S   Keith R   Neal A

PRESIDENT'S NOTES
Our next meeting at The Maleny Hotel on Wednesday 20 October is a Business/Project Meeting. Don’t forget to log in with your Qld App and continue bringing your masks  which can be removed when seated. 

Sherryl G will speak to us about “Lift the Lid on Mental Illness” which is Australian Rotary Health’s National annual fundraising day for mental health research. Each year approximately 1-in-5 Australians will experience a mental illness and in order to help future generations of young Australians, we need to look ahead through research and find out how we can prevent this type of illness occurring. As we are also celebrating Hat Day, please wear your most eye-catching hat. 

Club Events, Activities and Community Service -
Nomination of Rotary Club of Maleny President Elect for 2021/22:
Huge congratulations to Paulette S on her nomination and election.

Historic induction of 2 new members:
A massive welcome again to Renee Harris and Murray Anderson. Many thanks to Bernice McL, Rick V, mentors Roly N and Sherryl G and all the membership team for your hardwork in ensuring everything was in place for a very memorable occasion. We can be assured that our Club and the Maleny and Sunshine Coast hinterland region will be a better place because of their service and fellowship.

Raising Awareness against Domestic Violence:
More thanks to our Rotarians who attended a luncheon meeting with Andrew Powell and Shadow Minister for Domestic Violence and Child Abuse, Amanda Camm.  I understand that Amanda was very interested in the collaborative work we are doing up here. Through Speak Up Now, we have also been invited by the Queensland Domestic Violence Prevention Council to participate at and present to the Sunshine Coast Regional Council in November.  Sherryl G will be attend on behalf of Rotary along with delegates from Zonta and MNC.

Elder Abuse Forum:  
Speak Up Now are currently planning a second Elder Abuse forum to be held on 13th December with a 9am start and all are welcome to attend.  Please let Sherryl G or me know if you would like to come along. Everyone who attended the forum last year found it interesting and helpful.

Kenny Cluster joint meeting for DG Wendy's official visit 17th October 2021:
Thank you to all our members who have attended our joint Kenny Cluster meeting on Sunday morning. This will be the first of such meetings within our new Cluster and also our first visit by DG Wendy in her new role.                   

Mary Cairncross Reserve:
There is an open invitation to celebrate Mary Cairncross Reserve turning 80 with a picnic on 20th October at the picnic ground at the reserve from 10 am to 12 Noon. BYO food and drinks.

Maleny Selectors Green: 
A Maleny Selectors Green Meeting is arranged with Clare Staines, (Principal Landscape Architect from Council's Landscape Design Planning Department onsite on 28th October at 8 am to do the final layout of the interactive landscape design for the childrens’ play area.

Christmas Tree Lights Display at the Uniting Church:
Paulette S, Jim A, Roly N and myself attended with Nancy Baker from the Uniting Church and their Treasurer on 5th October to decide upon a location for our lights display. A site has been selected on the eastern side of the Church building with access to power. Jim A and Roly N are working on a lights budget and lighting plan.

October is End Polio Month:
Keep an eye out for information regarding the Polio Train and or other events to take action on or before World Polio Day on 24 October to promote awareness of Rotary’s polio eradication efforts, raising funds etc in the fight against polio, because as long as polio exists anywhere, it remains a threat everywhere.

District 9260 AGM:
To be held at 9am on 7th November at Phil Boron Centre (Bostock House), Ellerton Drive, Wacol, Qld, 4076. I will be attending for voting purposes but am keen to have other Rotarians attend along with me. 

Joint Rotary Bus Trip:
Craig S has changed the date for this planned trip and electronic scavenger hunt with our sister Glasshouse Club to  21st November because of a date clash with the District AGM. We will be looking for definite numbers by Wednesday night.

Our 2021 Xmas Party:
There has been a change of venue to Bill and Marlene Hankinson’s home on the Maleny -Landsborough Road on 15th December. 

MINUTES OF MEETING OF 15TH SEPTEMBER
President Greg welcomed members, Partners, new members, a visiting Rotarian and others to a full house meeting.  The highlight of the evening was the induction of two new members carried out by Rick Vickers.  The first was Renee Harris, the owner of Barbers of Maleny who was accompanied by her husband Zach.

The second was Murray Anderson who is a recently retired grazier from Theodore. Both were welcomed into the Club by a standing ovation from those present.

In a surprise move, our guest Val France from Speak Up Now presented a Certificate of Appreciation to Jim Atkinson for his assistance to their organisation.

Although members were delighted to see Chris Brooker returning to our meetings, his resumption of his duties as Sergeant was not so popular.
  

Our Guest Speaker was Dr John Whiteoak, who is a Management Lecturer in Leadership, Strategy and Organisational Behaviour at the University of the Sunshine Coast, and has taught at the Queensland University of Technology, Otago University (in NZ), Griffith University, and Zayed University (in the UAE). His topic was Burnout which is a complex issue.  If it were not, it would have been fixed.  Fairness is one component of Burnout, and it also underpins organisational health.  If we do not feel appreciated, we feel isolated. Burnout is the antithesis of engagement.  It was found that 3 out of 10 workers are engaged in work; 5 out of 10 are not engaged and 2 out of 10 are actively disengaged. In 2019, ‘Official Occupational Syndrome’ was made a ‘Medical’ condition.  COVID has certainly imposed more stress on people, and makes for disconnected workforces.

When looking at the workplace, we have ‘Quality’ and ‘Quantity’.  Quality gives people a good sense of accomplishment.  With Quantity (sales driven) - we can lose the meaning in our work. One very serious and sad note was that 4 workers from Parks & Gardens had committed suicide in the last 18 months.  John stressed that it is important to have the trust of our co-workers, and to have emotional safety.  If you do not feel safe, you do not have a voice. 

John has supported more than 50 organisations with their internal development activities, and is the author of over twenty cultural and management reviews.  He has specialised expertise in developing employee safety and engagement, training interventions in the construction, mining, and manufacturing industries.  In addition, he has developed and delivered practical training for literally hundreds of managers and frontline workers.  He is a respected speaker in these areas.

His talk was accompanied by excellent slides and Fran Tickle gave the vote of thanks.

FUTURE MEETINGS  AND EVENTS

3rd November  Maleny Hotel at 6:30 for 7:00pm for Guest Speaker Shannon Horsfall on Rotary and USC Scholarship.

7th November  District AGM

10th November Board Meeting.

17th November Maleny Hotel at 6:30 for 7:00pm for AGM and a Business Meeting.

21st November  Joint Club Bus Trip

15th December  Christmas Party

WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES FOR OCTOBER

26th Rick and Cilla

BIRTHDAYS FOR OCTOBER

12th Gloria Rogers  14th Keith Rogers  16th Kerry Neiper  28th Bernice McLennan  30th Andy Schouteten  31st Gillian Allen

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT

DEFENCE IS CURRENTLY A HOT TOPIC

A LETTER FROM A SERVING SOLDIER

Text of a letter from a kid from Eromanga to Mum and Dad. (For Those of you not in the know, Eromanga is a small town, west of Quilpie in the far south west of Queensland )  

Dear Mum  & Dad,

I  am well. Hope youse are too. Tell me big brothers Doug and Phil that the Army is better than workin' on the station - tell them to get  in bloody quick smart before the jobs are all gone! I wuz a bit slow in settling down at first, because ya don't hafta get outta bed until 6am. But I like sleeping in now, cuz all ya gotta do before brekky is make ya bed and shine ya boots and clean ya uniform. No bloody horses to get in, no calves to feed, no troughs to clean - nothin'!! Ya haz gotta shower though, but it’s not so bad, coz there's lotsa hot water and even a light to see what ya doing!

At brekky ya get cereal, fruit and eggs but there's no kangaroo steaks or goanna stew like wot Mum makes. You don't get fed again until noon and by that time all the city boys are buggered because we've been on a 'route  march' - geez its only just like walking to the windmill in the bullock paddock!!

This one will kill me brothers Doug and Phil with laughter. I keep getting medals for shootin' - dunno why. The bullseye is as big as a  bloody dingo's arse and it don't move and it's not firing back at ya like the Johnsons did when our big scrubber bull got into their prize cows before the Ekka last year! All ya gotta do is make yourself comfortable and hit the target - it's a piece of p...!! You don't even load your own cartridges, they comes in little boxes, and ya don't have to steady yourself against the rollbar of the roo shooting truck when you reload!

Sometimes ya gotta wrestle with the city boys and I gotta be real careful coz they break easy - it's not like fighting with Doug and Phil and Jack and Boori and Steve and Muzza all at once like we do at home after the muster.
Turns out I'm not a bad boxer either and it looks like I'm the best the platoon's got, and I've only been beaten by this one bloke from the Engineers - he's 6 foot 5 and 15 stone and three pick handles across the shoulders and as ya know I'm only 5 foot 7 and eight stone wringin' wet, but I fought him till the other blokes carried me off to the boozer. 

I can't complain about the Army -  tell the boys to get in quick before word gets around how bloody good it is.

Your loving daughter,

Susan