Sunshine Coast Hinterland Times

Matt’s Chainsaw Mayhem on Maple Street Maleny

MATTHEW GEORGE and his young son were taking an evening walk down Maple Street, Maleny. The town was going to sleep for the day and the street was defined by its shadows and ragged roof lines. It was then that Matt was struck by an inspiration for a project that is now bringing smiles up [...]

Continue reading...

Co-Creating for the Future

A Hinterland couple find a way to combine work, family and home life by Natalie Brown For Kris Randall and his partner Angel, working together for their Cocreations business encompasses a fine balance of work and play, to perfection. Born of their enjoyment of spending time together and working on creative projects, they decided a [...]

Continue reading...

DON POWELL … MALENY’S MASTER CARVER “I’ll never stop doing it unless I’m physically incapacitated”

by Leigh Robshaw AS A BOY OF 13, DON POWELL loved roaming around his father’s workshop, toying with tools and playing with pieces of wood. His father was the curator at the Marks-Hirschfeld Museum of Medical History in Brisbane and had an extensive workshop filled with every tool imaginable. One day, as he wandered around [...]

Continue reading...

Why I think the Hinterland hillbilly NIMBYs rock…

IT HAS COME TO MY ATTENTION that some people think we’re a bunch of tree-hugging losers up here in the hinterland, especially in Maleny. A whining bunch of unsophisticated hillbilly NIMBYs. NIMBY is an acronym for Not In My Backyard, a pejorative term used to describe residents who oppose new developments in their local area. [...]

Continue reading...

Chris Brooker … the Hyperactive Volunteer

by Julie Shelton CHRIS BROOKER is what one might call a hyperactive volunteer. He contributes around 100 hours per month to his various chosen organisations and also finds time to drive a school bus run for Maleny Schools. His capability, attention to detail and wicked sense of humour make Chris one of Maleny’s cherished assets. [...]

Continue reading...

Tony Abbot … seen simply as the lesser evil

Mungo MacCallum “The mere fact that he is not Julia Gillard has been considered enough. ” TONY ABBOTT’S free ride is finally coming to an end, paradoxically because of his apparently assured success. The fact that the polls now seem to be locked into an easy coalition win on September 14 has meant that the [...]

Continue reading...

Shabby Treatment for our Veterans

“The approach taken by the Australian Government to veterans is considerably diminished by shallow rhetoric and a failure to honor undertakings.” BY GRAEME MICKELBERG RECENTLY THE AUSTRALIAN Government announced that Australia’s military commitment in Afghanistan was to be significantly reduced by the end of 2013. Although this announcement was well received, Australia’s involvement in Afghanistan [...]

Continue reading...

Liars, witches and trolls On the political battlefield

The following extract is from an essay by Mary Delahunty in the current Griffith Review 40 Women & Power. This edition reveals the changing relationship between women and power in the public and private spheres of Australian life and overseas. Mary Delahunty is the author of Public Life; Private Grief (Hardie Grant, 2010). She is [...]

Continue reading...

New violins and a dream to play at Royal Albert Hall

This time last year, the Hinterland Times published a story about Conondale twin violinists Rawhinia and Astar Castle and their quest to raise money to buy better violins in order to progress their music careers. We’re happy to share the news that they reached their goal sooner than expected. They recently purchased two beautiful antique [...]

Continue reading...

Becoming a puppy carer …

TREAT A DOG right and it is your loyal friend. For the vision impaired though, a trained dog comes to mean much more. When a dog is trained to guide someone who is vision impaired it brings that person independence, and provides a huge and positive impact on the quality of their life. BEV BROCKLEHURST [...]

Continue reading...