Bridging the Gap

Last week we had a visit from a friend of a friend who was in between jobs and wanted to spend some time in the bush to do some thinking and get his hands dirty. He arrived on the biggest motor bike I'd ever seen ...a Goldwing for thoes in the know. His name is Graham and he was very brave to come out here with out any introductions or even know if he would like us, he had told us that he would like to stay for about 7 to 10 days which is a long time if you don't like the people or the place.

Tony and Graham working in the shed

We and he had nothing to worry about as he is a very nice man and fitted in very well and he seemed to like us in return. He and Tony mucked around doing some fencing and cleaning out stock troughs. This wasn't the easiest of job as it turned out because while Graham was here it started to rain and turned very cold, for the coast that is. So mucking round with water and troughs in the rain wasn't your ideal job in thoes conditions. Tony was so impressed with the way Graham just got in and did things with out any complains. He would come home at the end of the day wet and cold with he biggest smile on his face!!

This is what the weather was like for most of Graham's visit

When Tony went back to work Graham started to work for me in the garden. He really go stuck in and the garden looks great now. He hacked back all that was overgrown and did all the hedging, he did this in the rain as well.

The title to this post is bridging the gap. I am a firm believer that the time as come for us, the people on the land to extend a hand to thoes in the cities. We need the likes of Graham to come out and see what we do on the land, how we run our businesses, how extremely hard and expensive it is to constantly change our ways to keep from offending some one in the city who says we need to do things differently, most of these people have never been near a beef producer, farmer or had any experience of what goes on in a day to day agricultural business. 

Graham leaving. Came as a stranger left as a friend!

We need to encourage people form the non rural areas to come see how we do things. Only then can we change people ideas. Plus you make new friends and that's a wonderful thing.

A little bit a about me

I welcome you to view my paintings and drawings of Outback Australian bushmen, Outback Australian Aboriginals, Outback Australian Horseman and many other Outback Australian inspired work. Some pieces are hanging at the Eagles Nest Bar and Grill in Eagle Street Longreach, if your passing through please have a look. Feel free to contact me if you need any information on the pieces. 

I was born in Longreach in 1957 where my 3 sister’s and myself spent a wonderful childhood riding our ponies and swimming in the local pool. I attended school in Longreach and then later spent 4 years at boarding school in Brisbane. I then jillarooed on property’s in the Blackall district in Western Queensland, until I married and settled on a sheep property south west of Longreach where we had 2 of our 3 children. 

In the early 1990’s our family moved to another property at Augathella, where my last child was born. It was here that I started to paint again something I hadn’t done since leaving school. This time at Augathella was overshadowed by a fall in wool prices and one of the biggest droughts ever to hit that part of Queensland. Surprisingly it took these trying times to make me really use my talents as an artist, I went round the area drawing the impressive homesteads in pen and ink and reproduced them into a calendar. 

They were very successful selling thousands around Australia and overseas. I also donated $1.00 from each calendar to Drought Relief to help other farming families in the same situation. Towards the end of the ‘90’s our family moved again this time to a property in the Bollon district in South Western Queensland. Again my art took a back step to work on the place. After 8 years we moved to a cattle property north of Rockhampton and in the past 2 years I have bitten the bullet and spend about 80% of my time shut away in my art room doing what I love best.