…about people who change their lives to settle on the Range and why they choose to stay
Fiona Dempster and Barry Smith are social researchers and writers, working for government, the not-for-profit and community sectors, developing new programs and policy. From their hinterland home they work in tandem, depending on the personal skill sets required for each project.
Why did you come to the Range?
We were looking for a sense of community, a peaceful place and somewhere we could do our work and somewhere that had a sense of environment. We just drove up here one day for a picnic, saw the shed on this block and decided straight away. It fulfilled the requirements of what we wanted and needed. We guess treechangers like us are also looking for reasonably accessible facilities. It has good Internet connection; local and regional hospitals. We are an hour from a major airport, good access to a major capital city. You can drive to Landsborough, jump on the train and be at central station in Brisbane at ten to nine.
Here, we’re now getting a balance into our lives, so it is a big change for us. We came to Maleny to be part of a community, to be part of a lifestyle. Analytically, because that’s how we look at things, we were very much aware that Maleny was special… the first community-based credit union in the whole of Australia, one of the first LETS schemes in the whole of Australia, probably the first permaculture village in the area, and good local services and shops, community participation, volunteering, and lots of community groups. But there’s also experiencing the place. We have more time now to get to know people than we did in Canberra.
Why did you change course?
In Canberra we were senior executives in the Australian government public service; very busy jobs. At different times we worked in family policy, indigenous housing, community programs, carers, early childhood and disability areas. Before leaving Canberra Fiona was in communication and I was heading up a disaster recovery unit - for example, looking after the social recovery in the aftermath of the tsunami and the second bombing in Bali. I was on call 24 hours a day. So, for us leaving Canberra was about looking for a change of pace, somewhere to slow down but not retire.
What keeps you here?
It’s the clean green reputation, the artistic reputation, the community engagement, and then from a work point of view, we can operate from here without compromising our health. We are at a stage of our lives when we want to live differently, and we’re making time to contribute to community.. We’ve made very conscious decisions about joining community groups associated with our interests – COMA, Friends of the Library, Maleny Neighbourhood Centre, Book A Brain, local netball. We see ourselves as part of the place now.
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