Photo: courtesy of Bright Stars Modelling.

Well, they’re not the words that 15 year-old Stacey Bentley would use, nevertheless, she is the best young Paint Horse rider in the country, and this striking young woman will soon leave for Fort Worth, Texas to prove her own worth as one of the best riders of the Paint Horse in the world. Stacey spoke to Hinterland Times editor, Michael Berry about this rarely known, but growing sport.

“Competition is like a western type of show with the emphasis on what they call Western Pleasure”, says Stacey. “You wear what the cowboys wear – leather stock curved saddles with shiny silver ornaments. The aim is that the
horse goes around in a relaxed manner with you being as relaxed as you can too, but having full control. The horse goes around on a long rein; they have to look willing. There’s a bit of an art to it.

Photo: courtesy of Agile Photographics.

“You ride around the outside of the arena, the judge will stand in the middle and they will call out to walk or to jog or lope which is a form of cantering but slower. They judge on how well trained the horse is, how well you ride yourself with position and leg aids.”

Paint Horse riding has become the second biggest show horse event in the US. The special quarter horse and thoroughbred  breed has striking white patches ‘painted’ over its body and the genuine  Paint Horse rider looks like a cut-out from Wild Bill Hikock’s Wild West Show.

When you see her all dressed up Stacey Bentley wears her wide cowgirl hat, silver belt buckle, wide chaps with frills down the leg, wrangler jeans, high boots and rhinestone covered shirt. A good paint horse rider must also learn equitation – a form of etiquette in the saddle. You have to look prim and
proper, relaxed but not sloppy.

Stacey is raising money for her airfares and expenses to Fort Worth in June when she will be in a team of four under eighteen year-olds.

Photo: courtesy of Francene Neuendorf.

“When we get there we literally draw a horse out of a hat”, says Stacey. You only have about 40 minutes with the horse before your event. So, you’ve got to be able to ride any horse, adapt and do your best. You might get a horse
that has been trained completely differently to what you’re used to, so there’s a bit of luck and some strategy to it to be the best rider that you can be.

“They also have a team relay on foot where you run from station to station having to piece together a bridle, then to another and say, put together a map of the world. Then there’s knowledge of the horse competition, a teams
parade with a set theme. Then they add up all the results. Last year Australia got fourth.”

Stacey was born into a horse-riding family. Their Kunda horse stud in Peachester has its own ring and stables and Stacey trains and rides her own paint horse called Odette. Stacey’s grandmother and mother have both been
champion riders and their trophies from decades past literally line the entire lounge / dining room of the grandparents’ home.

“My mum rides, trains and breaks paint horses, so I was kind of born into it”, says Stacey matter of factly. I started competing when I was 12. I have been to the state and national championships every year since then. In the last two years I have got high point junior youth (14 and under). At the state show I got high point junior for two years and high point youth overall (18 and under).”

Is there a secret to Stacey’s winning form? “Well, you see some people riding around who have such plain, scrunched up expressions. I enjoy myself and the bond that I have between me and my horse, Odette.”

“Presentation is the key”, adds Stacey. “I make sure all my tack and clothes are clean and I am fit well. And I pay attention to things like hair, make-up, clothes, etc. If you come into the arena on a dirty horse, with a bad outfit you will not place; the judge won’t even give you a second look.”

Stacey, who is a Year 11 student at Beerwah State High, is also doing a retail traineeship. She rides 4-5 days a week and when she leaves school she has ambitions of going back to America to work as a ranch farmhand.

Win or lose in Fort Worth Texas, one thing is sure. Stacey has her hands firmly on the reins of her future.

The Pattemore homestead, first known as ‘Fairview’ has now been re-named ‘Pattemore House’

ROB PATTEMORE has fond memories of his first five years in Maleny around the house built for his great grand-father, John Robert in 1908. Pattemore House is now owned by the Sunshine Coast Regional Council and forms part of the 126 hectare Maleny Precinct.

John Robert Pattemore was a butcher by trade and arrived in Australia from Somerset when he was five. He came to live in Maleny in 1907. His four sons had come on ahead to built the home that John Robert lived in until he died in 1947 aged 97.

In the early 1940s Rob Pattemore remembers his elderly grandfather’s home because he remembers picking persimmons from his tree and receiving a very sore tongue.

John Robert’s son Bill and Stan had bought the land in 1906, known these days as Armstrong’s Farm. This large and close family had been farmers and butchers in Central Tilba, but too many dry seasons persuaded the Pattemores to move north to the Sunshine Coast hinterland.

The Pattemore family gather on their verandah during the early part of the 20th century.

John Robert also bought adjoining land parcels and the heavily timbered land provided the materials to build the elegant Pattemore House. It was typical of the times that the Pattemore brothers were not only farmers, but good builders and carpenters. They cut the timbers in a saw pit, then planed, tongue and grooved the cedar and white beech by hand for this spacious house with its deep verandahs and tall windows.

The only other surviving building in Maleny constructed with local pit-sawn timber is the first stage of the Maleny Hotel.

Keep in mind that there was no shire council until 1912, so there were no annoying building regulations to worry about. During this first decade of the 20th century Maleny grew with the dairy boom. An ES&A Bank came in 1906, a hotel was built the following year and there was a butcher and general store. Maleny was officially listed as a township in 1912 and it had a population of about 510.

When John Robert came to live in his new home in 1908 he set to planting a vegetable garden and fruit orchard around the house. At the turn of the century, if you didn’t grow or raise your own food, then life could be very tough. Ernest lived in the house with his father and mother Emily, and he became the share farmer taking a lease on the Pattemore land until 1923.

Robert and Shirley Pattemore. Robert is the great grandson of John Robert Pattemore who first settled in Maleny in 1908.

The Pattemore brothers – Bill, Stan, Albert and Ernest were industrious builders. For example, after Pattemore House, they built Forest Lodge, the house that stands at the crossroads in north Maleny. It’s believed they also built Lawley House and Priscilla Cottage now combined into an historical village in Bryce Lane.

In John Robert’s latter years his son Stan helped him grow corn around the home and he took on local farm work. His sisters continued to look after the house and their parents.
Councillor Jenny McKay says Pattemore House is fully protected by the Sunshine Coast Regional Council. “It is the first piece of the Precinct jigsaw in place and the first step has been to secure it for its historical value”, she said.

Rob Pattemore is president of the Friends of Pattemore House and hopes this rare Maleny homestead, which is on the state heritage register, will be maintained in perpetuity.
“Personally, I think it should be put together as an educational centre so people, particularly children, can see what life was like in the early 1900s. The old cow bails should be moved up there too, perhaps with a typical cream shed. We need to be reminded of how hard life was in those early days”.
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF ROBERT PATTEMORE

Helen and David Crewe moved to the Hinterland only ten months ago. Their treechange was seeingly huge – from the small Mediterranean island of Gozo to the Blackall Range. However, this English pair are used to regular moves. Now in retirement they are building their first ever home in Maleny.

Why did you come here?

HELEN: Well, we had never thought of coming to Australia but my daughter has settled here. She is the director of marketing for the National Trust in Sydney and we decided to come out to have a look.

DAVID: We like getting in a car and driving and so we travelled around Australia -went to Alice Springs, Uluru, the Great Ocean Road -all those major tourist places. Someone suggested that we have a look at Maleny which we hadn’t heard about. We looked at properties here but I think the decision to buy the land here in Maleny was a spur of the moment decision.

HELEN: Since we’ve been together we’ve moved 17 times. We lived in a Georgian townhouse in central London, a cottage in Kent, a cottage in France and a four hundred year-old fortified farmhouse in Malta. We are very much people who get on and do things. So when we went to see that lovely piece of land with its lovely rainforest the creek is lovely, the waterhole is lovely -we said, where are we ever going to do better than that? So we bought it and settled here in May. In coming to Maleny we are also surprised at the number of English people here. I’m a great mimic and I thought in no time we would be talking like Crocodile Dundee. But it’s quite the reverse. We’ve sat around this table with all English people. I certainly didn’t think Australia had many people who weren’t Australian.

What have you had to change in coming here?

DAVID: Well, we lived in the Mediterranean so one big adjustment for us is the non-existence of night life -the fact that everyone gets up early, entertains early and goes to bed early. We’re not used to that. We’re used to having people around for drinks at about eight o’clock, going out to eat about nine, getting back about half past eleven. So, I suppose it’s getting used to that different social time clock that we were used to in Malta and in London as well.

Helen: We are delighted with all the services here, and the shops, with just about everything that you want. And the politeness of 99 percent of the people has been quite staggering.

DAVID: We are certainly used to change. We were living in the centre of London and then we moved to this tiny island of Gozo, the sister island to Malta. We had moved from a very urban existence into the country really. So it’s not such a shock moving here but on the other hand it is different to what we have experienced. The weather and environment are certainly different to England and of course Malta is just a rock basically. Building our first house at our age is a big change.

HELEN: We got the idea for it when we were in South Africa in the January before we came here. We saw the design in a magazine and we both fell in love with it. We both liked the blue and the grey because we thought that reflected the sky. So, we thought we’d put the sky colours onto the green. It’s kind of like a low-set Queenslander.

What would keep you here?

HELEN: Well Victoria is my only child so it’s quite nice for me to have her here. For her to come to see us, at least she is in the same country. Generally though we are quite independent of family. So, it’s very much the here and now for us. If we decided we wanted to do something else, I’m sure we would do it. But there is so much we want to do in Australia. There is a great deal here in Maleny that will meet our needs and I think we have only just scratched the surface so far. My mother used to say, see the seasons through before you get committed, and I didn’t want to get involved until I was ready for it. Like David I am very interested in plays and singers, and I would quite like to do some voluntary work. But I need to be available on a regular basis to do that and I am not quite there yet.

DAVID: We had a public relations company in London I was always writing things for clients. But when I retired and we went to Malta I wanted to write more creative things. So I wrote a musical with a friend about the siege of Gozo by the Turks and it’s been performed three times and was very successful. Coming here I thought let’s see what I can do. I was under pressure really to write The Trial of Millicent Malville and being a journalist you’d understand that deadlines are always a help. I’m now under pressure writing a Cinderella pantomime.

DAVID: Just in the short time we’ve been here we’ve got involved with the Maleny Singers and the Maleny Players. The fact that people were prepared to put ‘The Trial’ play on even though we’ve only been here a few months, I think is very special.

HELEN: they didn’t know you from Adam but they trusted you.

DAVID: Yes, that said a lot about the nature of this community. People are very welcoming and that’s something that’s quite important. If you want to join something, you can easily be a member of ten organisations here. So I think you have to be careful to ration your time.

“We led a very hectic life in Brisbane”, says Christine, “so we can’t wait to get into the relaxed lifestyle Montville has to offer”.

Montville Country Cabins has been run successfully as boutique accommodation for over 10 years. It has nine cabins and the 16 acre property backs onto Kondalilla Falls National Park, successfully mixing landscaped grounds with untouched rainforest.

“The previous owners did a great job fitting out the cabins with features such as private decks and spa baths, but we look  forward to adding our own special features to the place”says Christine.

Montville Country Cabins will remain fully operational whilst the family makes renovations to each of the cabins.

For further information please contact
Montville Country Cabins on (07) 5442 9484 or: www.montvillecabins.com.au

Lenore recently visited this orphan girls home in Livingstone, Zambia.

THE FIFTY members of the Sunshine Coast Youth Orchestra will devote a Sunday afternoon concert to supporting the Friends of Ebenezer Trust and its work with Zambian orphans.

In Zambia, Africa, there are over 1 million vulnerable children affected by Aids and poverty.

Friends of Ebenezer child care is a world-wide, tax-deductable trust, and its Maleny chapter, run by Lenore and her husband Richard, has become well known and respected in the community since it started in 2005.

Funds raised help to educate 300 children in the Ebenezer Primary School, 44 in secondary and 3 students at university. In addition, 29 orphans are housed at the Ebenezer Children’s Village and 15 elderly grandparents are assisted in raising their orphaned grandchildren.

A babies’ home able to accommodate 20 infants is soon to be completed. The trust ensures that 100% of all funds donated go direct to supporting orphans -providing them with a home, security and education.

This strong financial support is made possible because all administration costs are covered from money earned from the sale of beautiful Malaika of Maleny cards, handcrafted by Friends of Ebenezer team members Vicki and Dawn.

In addition, Lenore and her husband Richard, have a direct link to the Ebenezer Child Care Trust in Livingstone, Zambia through their close friendship with Ranji Chara the director since they were neighbours in Botswana in the early 1990s.

Hinterland resident Marj White is co-ordinating the afternoon of music at the Maleny High School Activity Centre.

Date: Sunday 23rd May 2010
Time: 2.00pm-4.30pm
Venue: Maleny High School Activity Centre
Admission: $20 per adult
$15 for concessions holder and high school children,
$10 for primary school children over 5 years. Under 5 – FREE.

Afternoon tea will be available at a cost of $5 per head.

Pre-purchase of tickets essential from the Bowerbird in Maleny.

Also by contacting Lenore on 54 29 6194 or email ric1945len@yahoo.com.au
or phone Dawn: 54 94 3410.

Sherryl and Peter are well known to many Coast residents and they have made their tree change to Mapleton with the aim of making their ‘Heaven’s Hideaway’ more private and secluded.

Sherryl told the Hinterland Times that she and Peter were planning to add more cabins with their own landscaped surrounds and private balconies, at the same time retaining some caravan and camping sites.

The beautiful, sloping seven acre site on Obi Obi Road has patches of rain forest and mature gardens and creeks. Its massive palms complete the picture of a relaxing and tranquil weekend breakaway at the top of the Range.

www.mapletoncabinscaravans.com.au

ON A RECENT television news bulletin a distraught resident of Port au Prince in Haiti faced the camera to declare that, “I have lost my wife and my children. I only have God now”.

The horrific earthquake in Haiti and the 2004 tsunami that devastated coastlines to our north, are only two natural events that many still see as ‘acts of God’.

History reflects these tragedies many times where whole societies are bewildered and disorientated by rampant death and destruction. Inevitably it seems, people turn to their gods for the who and why of such events.

It was not until 1906, when San Francisco was wrecked and set ablaze by a giant earthquake that a different explanation was given, and God was taken out of the equation. The governor of California set up a commission of enquiry of scientists to work out what had taken place. The final report was a classic of modern geology, and it defined a 1300km-long fracture in the earth’s crust that they named the San Andreas Fault. God was not in the report.

Mind you, scientific explanations for natural catastrophes have not stopped faith-based thinking on such events. Despite the science, Pentecostalists in 1906 believed their earthquake was evidence of ‘God’s vehement disapproval’.

Retired Anglican priest and academic Ray Barraclough has tackled this complex issue in a book called Why -how to explain life’s tragic experiences.

Ray Barraclough’s book essentially traces the who and what of earthly calamity including diseases such as epilepsy.

The religious and supernatural causes stretch from the multitude of deities to the stars. He acknowledges that Christians have always approached God with the difficult questions. For example, if God is omnipotent and all loving why doesn’t he stop catastrophes occurring, and why does he let people go through such prolonged suffering?

Rarely in the book though does this former priest reveal a conflict between his own belief in an omniscient God and scientific explanations for disasters. But he does display a very open mind on the matter. For example, on illness he says, ‘There are too many people whose suffering has been relieved, or even removed, by modern medical procedures for me to be so dismissive of people’s belief in modern medicine’s capacity to affect what is within its claims to affect’.

Ray Barraclough inclines towards the social justice core of liberation theology which is where he comes close to his Catholic colleague and rebel priest, Peter Kennedy. Like Kennedy, he is wary of Church dogma and fundamentalism: “There is a need for alternative Christian voices to speak softly of God in the midst of resurgent strident expressions of faith.”

It is in his final chapter that Ray Barraclough focuses on the Why of his book. When nature becomes destructive of life and ‘the brook becomes a destroying flood’ it is Ray’s view that ‘in the face of these dimensions of nature, hymns of praise sound heartless.’

When tragedy strikes, Ray asks, what use are words, religious or otherwise?

Grief is intensely personal and Ray acknowledges that ‘God-talk’ is manifestly inappropriate and a hangover from past theology.

Ray Barraclough’s book Why is a fascinating insight into the role of calamity in our lives. We humans want certainty despite the scary randomness of horrific events. Many will not go as far as Richard Dawkins to claim that God is a delusion, but Ray recognises that within the underbelly of theology: “…pious explanations will tend to make the floor more slippery”.

Ray feels on more solid ground with the message of liberation theology where he sees social justice as the very core of the Christian gospel in action. It may not be the total answer to why but, “No explanation can repair the fractured faith so damaged by the realities of experience”.

Ray Barraclough is now a Hinterland resident who will join rebel Catholic priest, Peter Kennedy in a community conversation on Wed March 17, 6.00pm in the Maleny Community Centre. Bookings at Rosetta Books. These two thought-provoking clerics will explore the relevance of God in a contemporary world that must cope with the Haiti earthquake, AIDS, global warming and other natural and man-made calamities.

This was a crisis that had been brewing for several years and was as much about Peter’s shedding of Church formalities as it was about his personal struggles with the relevance of a heavily doctrinal church.

Kennedy was accused of not wearing vestments at Mass, of allowing lay women to preach and of using alternative Eucharistic prayers. More concerning for the dogmatists is Kennedy’s worrying out loud that Jesus was a human being rather than a divine one.

Peter Kennedy has been strongly supported by his articulate congregation at St Mary’s Church in South Brisbane. Following Kennedy’s sacking they became St Mary’s-in-Exile and re-located to the Trades and Labour Council building also in South Brisbane.

Journalist Martin Flanagan has assembled a number of commentators who reflect on Kennedy’s personality, the people who worked with him, his social justice work with the disadvantaged in Brisbane, and the complexity of his doctrinal fight with Catholic hierarchy that went all the way to Rome.

Broadcaster Paul Collins is clear on what side of the line he stands -”the temple police seem to be the kind of people who psychologically can’t tolerate the fact that others may have different approaches to faith to them…”

The specific combatants were Kennedy and Archbishop Bathersby who was once Kennedy’s friend, and Collins now sees the clash of two pretty big egos. He puts the blame for the sacking on Bathersby who he sees as having ‘a very narrow view of the nature of ecclesiastical communion’.

Age journalist Martin Flanagan’s sensitive portrait is of Kennedy the lonely but determined and charismatic man.

That charisma was felt by Millie De Conceicao a Timorese migrant who was the community garden coordinator at

beliefs.

History professor Ross Fitzgerald goes further to suggest that, ‘Fr Kennedy is the victim of an institutionalised Church more concerned with papering over the cracks than in cleaning up its own act as a force for good in the world.’

Catholic nun, Veronica Brady takes up that theme and is worried that the Catholic Church is bureaucratic and follows the model of the old Roman Empire. “The Law seems more powerful than the Spirit and prophets are regarded with suspicion”, she says.

A differing point of view comes from theology professor Neil Ormerod who says that when Kennedy brings into question the divinity of Christ, he can’t then call his beliefs Catholic or Christian. He frowns on the schism caused by Kennedy and says that ‘notoriety is almost guaranteed to produce St Mary’s. A strong Catholic, Millie is deeply saddened by what has happened at St Mary’s. ‘It’s taken a lot of people’s home away’, she says conscious of the homeless people who came to rely on the community garden and the church grounds. ‘The church without Peter … is nothing’ she adds.

Like Millie there are a number of short contributions in the book by St Mary’s supporters and a wide range of thoughtful people who were drawn to this vibrant church community.

Some are concerned at being ‘out of communion with Rome’, still others are angry at conservative church vigilantes who secretly reported on Kennedy’s wayward interpretation of church doctrine. Kennedy is said to have ordered one vigilante out of St Mary’s for taking photos at an unorthodox Christening.

Michael Morewood, a former Catholic priest believes what has happened to Kennedy is symptomatic of the wider view of Christians who don’t see relevance in orthodox theology or Catholic sacramental practice. He says these people are not being unfaithful, they just want their religion to shift to more contemporary views of men,

women and their relationship to each other and their

popularity’. In the end it comes down to whether Kennedy’s parish can claim to have upheld central Christian and Catholic beliefs.

Australian songwriter Shane Howard has sung at St Mary’s. He attempts to analyse the dilemma that caused Kennedy’s sacking and like many essayists in this book, sees an inflexible Church unable to embrace a modern world.

He concludes with what the Church has perhaps forgotten, that they and Father Peter Kennedy are on the same side: “Fr Peter Kennedy and St Mary’s ‘crime’ was to lean toward a modestly different kind of Australian Catholicism. It’s not a foreign country. ‘All are welcomed, none are turned away’.

Cathy extracts a tile from her Raku kiln.

LOCAL CLAY ARTIST, Cathy Lawley has been busily working on a water feature in clay for the past few months, exclusively designed for a house that has been entirely built by women.

Instigated by Sam Sheppard, owner of The Buildmore Group, The Women Into Building Housing Showcase project aims to elevate awareness and acceptance of women who choose the building industry as a career of choice. It also draws attention to the importance of environmental design and building to sustainable guidelines.

The project involves a house being built by a predominantly female team on a 385sqm block of land in Investa’s Bellflower neighbourhood.

Cathy’s water feature will be mounted on the two besser block walls directly either side of the entrance to the home at Sippy Downs.

Cathy said she felt compelled to contribute to the project after hearing Sam Sheppard’s story of being a teenage runaway, and hearing of her down-toearth approach with the troubled youth she dedicates herself to.

“Together we came up with the idea of using the froggy tile as part of a water feature on two block walls outside the main entrance of the building,” Cathy said.

Cathy Lawley’s studio is tucked away on the Blackall Range, and it’s where she creates what she calls her “raw beginnings”.

Each of the 12, 5-10kg pottery plaques created by Cathy is different and unique, and she’s used the ancient raku method of firing the clay. She first rolls out large slabs of local raku clay, then selects rocks and pinecones to press into the slabs to give the effect of rock formation. They are then gently laid into a timber frame template, left to dry to leather hard, and then turned out.

Cathy uses white hand building clay to make the leaves, frogs, geckos, platypuses and fungus.

Cathy and Sam Sheppard work with clay in Cathy's North Maleny studio.

It is believed that Raku first originated in Japan more than 400 years ago.

The raku kiln is made of fibre wrapped around wire mesh and fitted with a fibre lid. This kiln is heated to 1000 degrees using a gas burner. As soon as the temperature is reached, the burner is turned to low and the pots have to be removed quickly (using tongs). They are then placed in bins of sawdust and straw and “smoked” or reduced for 10 minutes. Then, while the pots are still hot, they are removed once again with tongs and hosed off.

“As each piece is hosed they change colour revealing their own uniqueness, and that’s when the “life’ in a pot appears and when the unpredictable “magic’ of raku is experienced. Its hard work and I’m exhausted after a day of firing. My arms ache, smoke gets in my eyes and sometimes blisters form on my fingers, but with a glass of red in hand, the aches are soon forgotten as only the passion remains!” Cathy said.

Sam Sheppard is opening doors for all women looking for apprenticeships in the building industry. The all-women house will be show-cased for two years, and is set to be completed this month.

Cathy’s work can be viewed at the Women Into Building Showcase project at Investa’s Display Village Bellflower, Sippy Downs, from March. For more information go to www.womenintobuilding.com.au or visit Cathy’s site at www.friedmudd.com

Photos courtesy of Brian Rogers Photographics

Email: info@brphoto.biz  Phone: 0417 535 503

R

Speakers at the service spoke of Grant’s compassion, loyalty, and mischievous sense of humour. He had joined the navy at 14 and served on ships and at shore postings around the world including the UK, Vietnam and Washington DC. He was regarded as a fine officer and a gentleman.

After retirement Grant and his wife Robbie settled in Maleny but continued their interest in sailing - circumnavigating Australia and reaching New Zealand in their beloved catamaran.

Grant was also a great supporter to young people through naval cadets and TS Centaur. He could be a tough mentor but also a loyal friend and confidant. He threw himself into Range community activities and showed himself to be a strong team player.

Grant leaves his wife Robbie and three children, Dixon, Elizabeth and Sara.