Gympie Show.

A non-urgent update; It still hasn't rained!!!! and BTW sometime
over the weekend some body should get to be my 50,000th
visitor... can you imagine that... I can't.


Have you ever experienced a country towns annual Show? Due in
part to Gympie's location we have the first Show on the long trek
up the coast of Queensland, over the next 3 to 4 months the
traveling show people who provide the side show alley component
of Shows everywhere will set up their wares and rides in dozens
of towns both small and large between here and Cairns in NQ.

Chainsaw sculpture has become a popular art form and this very
Australian piece was a perfect start to my visit to the show.

By chance rather than choice I was confronted by side show alley
as soon as I entered, while the youngsters find this an appealing
place to be it isn't my favourite area, never has been.

The rides on offer today make the old "merry go round" seem a little
insipid so perhaps it's just a matter of what was available when I
was young?

The wood chopping area is a big part of the Show in Australia and
always draws a big crowd.

Well... yes.. a little, but as they offered no clue as to what they
offered in the way of treatment... I moved on without a visit.

Some of the quite large crowd inside the main pavilion to look at
the exhibits there.

There were two portrait artists available for those who felt their
faces worthy of recording.

As with all the Shows in Australia they are venues for the
agricultural produce from the area to be exhibited.

The main grandstand was pretty well packed as it offers the
best vantage point to watch the show-ring events and the
grand parade.

Local retailers of everything from Cars and Trucks to Farm
machinery and home equipment take advantage of the 3 day
Show to display their wares to the public, today, Friday, was
a public holiday in town so it was a very busy day.

There is a strong equestrian influence here, this magnificent
beast (the horse was nice too) caught my eye (several times.)

As did the now almost obligatory motor cycle stunt riders, not that
I am for one instant decrying their talent and bravery... Stupidity??

As you can see the sky got more and more threatening looking,
it's just about part of the tradition that it rains during the Gympie
Show, but this year the drought will probably win out.

I have a confession to make.... I have never ridden on a Ferris Wheel...
it's not that I'm particularly afraid of heights, it's more just one of the
many things I've never got around to doing... next lifetime maybe??

Marilyn Monroe; Part 2

This is another favourite Marilyn image, a classical beauty.


Don't you love the artists capture of her beauty with just a few lines,
I'm a sucker for this almost cartoon style of drawing.


Part 2 of Marilyn's Biography;

In early 1955 Marilyn again returned to New York she was to renew her acquaintance with Arthur Miller and have an affair with him before their marriage over a year later. To Marilyn, Miller represented the serious theater and an intellect that she found attractive. To Miller, years later..."It was wonderful to be around her, she was simply overwhelming. She had so much promise. It seemed to me that she could really be a great kind of phenomenon, a terrific artist. She was endlessly fascinating, full of original observations...there wasn't a conventional bone in her body."

Marilyn returned to Hollywood in February 1956, after over a years absence, to film "Bus Stop". After completing the film she returned to New York in June. Miller also returned to New York after obtaining a divorce in Reno, Nevada. They where married June 29 in White Plains, NY.

The Millers departed for London soon after their marriage so that Marilyn could start production on "The Prince and the Showgirl" with Lawrence Olivier. As early as July, Arthur began to have doubts about the marriage. Sidney Skolsky remarked that..."Miller looked on Marilyn strictly as an ideal and was shocked to discover that she is a human being, a person, even as you and I and maybe Miller."

"Bus Stop" opened in London in October 1956. A Times review said..."Miss Monroe is a talented comedienne, and her sense of timing never forsake her. She gives a complete portrait, sensitively and sometimes even brilliantly conceived. There is about her a waif-life quality, an underlying note of pathos which can be strangely moving."

"It's not that I object to doing musicals and comedies...in fact, I rather enjoy them...but I'd like to do dramatic parts too."

Marilyn Monroe did not return to Hollywood until 1958 to make "Some Like It Hot" with Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis. Her health continued to deteriorate due to increased dependency on drugs and involvement in an unhappy marriage. She often came to the set late and was unable to remember her lines. Director, Billy Wilder later said... "Anyone can remember lines, but it takes a real artist to come on the set and not know her lines and yet give the performance she did."

Early in 1960, Marilyn was consulting with Dr. Ralph Greenson, a prominent psychoanalyst to Hollywood stars. As common during this period, he relied heavily on drug therapy...routinely prescribing barbiturates and tranquilizers in addition to his psychotherapy.

July 1960 marked the start of filming "The Misfits"...a short story by Arthur Miller adapted for film.

Allan Snyder recalled..."It took so long to get her going in the morning that usually I had to make her up while she lay in her bed." But once again, she managed to give an exceptional performance.

"Everybody is always tugging at you. They'd all like a sort of chunk out of you. I don't think they realize it, but it's like "grrrr do this, grrrr do that..." But you do want to stay intact...intact and on two feet."

On November 5th, the day after "The Misfits" was completed, co-star Clark Gable suffered a serious heart attack and died on November 16, 1960. Marilyn felt a great deal of guilt, commenting..."I kept him waiting...kept him waiting for hours and hours on that picture."

Marilyn divorced Arthur Miller in January of 1961, the same month that "The Misfits" was released. Another unhappy marriage was terminated.

"Mr. Miller is a wonderful man and a great writer, but it didn't work out that we should be husband and wife."

In 1961 Marilyn purchased a house in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles. At the urging of her psychoanalyst, Dr Greenson, she hired Eunice Murray as housekeeper. Murray, calling herself a nurse, had neither the training or credentials. It is suspected that she was a "spy" for Dr. Greenson who continued to have more and more control over Marilyn's life, seeing her almost daily when she was in Los Angeles.

A reported affair with John F. Kennedy began in late 1961. At the President's gala birthday celebration in Madison Square Garden on May 19, 1962, Marilyn sang her now famous "Happy Birthday" tribute to JFK. The Attorney General, Bobby Kennedy was also reported to have had an affair with Marilyn shortly before her death.

Marilyn had been seeing Joe DiMaggio frequently during this time and had finally agreed to remarry him. The wedding date was set for August 8, 1962. Fox rehired her on August 1 to complete "Something’s Got to Give" with a salary of $250,000, which was two and a half times the original amount. Of course these events would never come to pass due to her untimely death on August 5, 1962.

Much has been speculated about the events surrounding her death and others involvement in it. But whatever the cause...it is highly unlikely that it was suicide. Possibly the result of a tragic accidental drug overdose...and possibly administered by someone other than Marilyn herself.

A saddened Joe DiMaggio made arrangements for the funeral, inviting no one from the Hollywood scene or press...but only close friends and relatives. As he said..."they had only hurt Marilyn." For over 20 years flowers were delivered weekly to her crypt from Joe...

Scudda-Hoo! Scudda-Hay!, Fox, April 1948, with June Haver, Lon McCallister, Walter Brennan, Ann Revere, Natalie Wood

Dangerous Years, Fox, December 1947 (filmed after Scudda-Hoo! Scudda-Hay! but released first), with William Halop, Ann Todd, Darryl Hickman, Jerome Cowan

Ladies of the Chorus, Columbia, October 1948, with Adele Jergens, Rand Brooks, Nana Bryant

Love Happy, United Artists, April 1950, with Marx brothers, Ilona Massey, Eric Blore, Vera-Ellen, Raymond Burr

A Ticket to Tomahawk, Fox, May 1950, with Dan Dailey, Anne Baxter, Rory Calhoun, Walter Brennan, Marion Marshall

The Asphalt Jungle, MGM, May 1950, with Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen, Sam Jaffe, James Whitmore

All About Eve, Fox, October 1950, with Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders, Celeste Holm, Gary Merill, Hugh Marlowe, Thelma Ritter, Gregory Ratoff

The Fireball, Fox, November 1950, with Mickey Rooney, Pat O'Brien, Beverly Tyler

Right Cross, MGM, November 1950, with Dick Powell, June Allyson, Ricardo Montalban, Lionel Barrymore

Home Town Story, MGM, May 1951, with Donald Crisp, Jeffrey Lynn, Marjorie Reynolds, Alan Hale, Jr

As Young As You Feel, Fox, August 1951, with Monty Woolley, Jean Peters, Thelma Ritter, Constance Bennett, Albert Dekker

Love Nest, Fox, October 1951, with June Haver, William Lundigan, Leatrice Joy, Jack Parr, Frank Fay

Let's Make It Legal, Fox, November 1951, with Claudette Colbert, Macdonald Carey, Robert Wagner, Zachary Scott, Barbara Bates

Clash by Night, RKO, June 1952, with Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Ryan, Paul Douglas, Keith Andes

We're Not Married, Fox, July 1952, with Ginger Rogers, Fred Allen, Louis Calhern, Zsa Zsa Gabor

Don't Bother to Knock, Fox, July 1952, with Richard Widmark, Anne Bancroft, Donna Corcoran, Jim Backus, Lurene Tuttle

Monkey Business, Fox, September 1952, with Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, Charles Coburn, Hugh Marlowe

O. Henry's Full House, Fox, October 1952, with Charles Laughton, David Wayne

To have become the Star that she was on the strength of the following 11 films is quite astounding.

Niagara, Fox, January 1953, with Joseph Cotten, Jean Peters, Casey Adams, Richard Allan, Denis O'Dea, Don Wilson, Lurene Tuttle

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Fox, July 1953, Jane Russell, Tommy Noonan, Charles Coburn, Elliot Reid, George Winslow, Norma Varden

How To Marry a Millionaire, Fox, November 1953, with Betty Grable, Lauren Bacall, William Powell, David Wayne, Rory Calhoun, Alex D'Arcy, Cameron Mitchell, Fred Clark

River of No Return, Fox, April 1954, with Robert Mitchum, Tommy Rettig, Rory Calhoun

There's No Business Like Show Business, Fox, December 1954, with Ethel Merman, Dan Dailey, Donald O'Connor, Mitzi Gaynor, Johnny Ray

The Seven Year Itch, Fox, June 1955, with Tom Ewell, Evelyn Keyes, Victor Moore, Robert Strauss

Bus Stop, Fox, August 1956, with Don Murray, Arthur O'Connell, Eileen Heckart, Betty Field, Hope Lange

The Prince and the Showgirl, Warner Bros., June 1957, with Laurence Olivier, Sybil Thorndike, Jeremy Spenser, Richard Wattis, Esmond Knight, Maxine Audley

Some Like It Hot, United Artist, March 1959, with Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, George Raft, Pat O'Brien, Joe E. Brown, Joan Shawlee

Let's Make Love, Fox, September 1960, with Yves Montand, Wilfrid Hyde White, Tony Randell, Frankie Vaughan, Madge Kennedy

The Misfits, United Artists/Seven Arts, Febuary 1961, with Clark Gable, Montgomery Clift, Eli Wallach, Thelma Ritter, Kevin McCarthy, Estelle Winwood, Ralph Roberts

Something's Got to Give (Incompleted), with Dean Martin, Cyd Charisse, Phil Silver, Wally Cox. Production was shut down on June 12, 1962. Marilyn Monroe died on August 4, 1962. The film was rewritten and recasted with Doris Day and James Garner as "Move Over Darling"




This could fill a post on it's own, here are a few samples.

Although Marilyn attended Lee Strasberg's "Actor's Studio", she was never an official member. She was just another student who sat quietly in the back.

Marilyn's first television debut was on the Jack Benny Show.

Marilyn's favorite beverage was champagne--Dom Perignon 1953.

Marilyn smoked periodically from the late forties through the mid-fifities. Photographs of MM "practicing" smoking for role of Rose Loomis in Niagara can be seen in Jock Carroll's book "Falling for Marilyn: The Lost Niagara Falls Collection."

MM's Los Angelos bank at the time of her death was City National Bank in Beverly Hills. She had $2,200 in her checking account at that time.

Collier's Magazine was the first national magazine to publish a major feature article on MM. The article was titled " 'Hollywoods' 1951 Model Blonde," and appeared in the September 8, 1951 issue.

In 1959, MM was presented with the Crystal Star Award- the highest movie-acting honor in France-as the "Best Foreign Actress." she received the award for her work in "The Prince and the Showgirl." The same year MM was presented with the highest, most prestigious acting award in Italy-the David Di Donatello Award. She won "Best actress in a Foreign Film" for the same movie-"The Prince and the Showgirl."

Everyone knows MM's passion for Chanel No. 5. She was also known to take a splash with Arpege and Joy fragrances.

In 1960, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce awarded MM her Walk of Fame star. The exact address of her star is 6774 Hollywood Boulevard.

MM idolized Abraham Lincoln A photo of the sixteenth president could be found in all of her homes. In 1955 she traveled to Bement, Il to dedicate a museum in his honor.

Not well known as a poet, again there are some insights here.

I could have loved you once
and even said it
But you went away,
When you came back it was too late
And love was a forgotten word.
Remember?

~~~~~~~~~~~

O, Time
Be Kind
Help this weary being
To forget what is sad to remember
Loose my loneliness,
Ease my mind,
While you eat my flesh.

~~~~~~~~~~~

I

I left my home of green rough wood,
A blue velvet couch.
I dream till now
A shiny dark bush

Just left of the door.
Down the walk
Clickity clack
As my doll in her carriage
Went over the cracks-
"We'll go far away."

II

Don't cry my doll
Don't cry
I hold you and rock you to sleep
Hush hush
I'm pretending now
I'm not your mother who died.

III

Help help
Help I feel life coming closer
When all I want to do is die.

~~~~~~~~~~~

From time to time
I make it rhyme
but don't hold that kind
of thing against me-

Oh well, what the hell,
so it won't sell.
What I want to tell-
is what's on my mind:

'taint Dishes,
'taint Wishes,
it's thoughts
flinging by
before I die-
and to think
in ink.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Good nite
Sleep
and sweet repose
Where ever you lay your head-
I hope you find your nose-

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So there you have it folks, the holtieshouse view of the wonderful Marilyn Monroe.



"There was my name up in lights.

I said 'God, somebody's made a mistake.

But there is was, in lights.

And I sat there and said,

'Remember, you're not a star'.

Yet there it was, up in lights."

Marilyn Monroe

My favourite Marilyn Monroe Image, one of the worlds first
"Beautiful People"


52 years on, and still some of the best known images in the world.
How about those sexy knickers in the first one!!!




Marilyn would be an 80 year old if she were alive today, I can't help but wonder how the years would have treated her, some, like Sophia Loren who is 72, have aged with grace and very little damage, others, who it is kinder not to mention by name, have not been so fortunate.

I would like to think that Marilyn would have done it well, her generous figure, which varied between size 14 and 16 would no doubt have expanded a bit but in my minds eye I still see those curves, not at all like the stick thin "super models" of today.

Biography of the worlds favorite blonde Marilyn Monroe.

Born as Norma Jean Mortenson on June 1, 1926 in Los Angeles General Hospital, her mother, Gladys, listed the fathers address as unknown. Marilyn would never know the true identity of her father.

Due to her mother's mental instability and the fact that she was unmarried at the time, Norma Jean was placed in the foster home of Albert and Ida Bolender. It was here she lived the first 7 years of her life.

"They were terribly strict...they didn't mean any harm...it was their religion. They brought me up harshly."

In 1933, Norma Jean lived briefly with her mother. Gladys begins to show signs of mental depression and in 1934 was admitted to a rest home in Santa Monica. Grace McKee, a close friend of her mother took over the care of Norma Jean. Grace was captivated by Jean Harlow, a superstar of the twenties, and Marilyn would later say..."and so Jean Harlow was my idol."

Grace was to marry in 1935 and due to financial difficulties, Norma Jeane was placed in an orphanage from September 1935 to June 1937. Grace frequently visited her, taking her to the movies, buying clothes and teaching her how to apply makeup at her young age.

"The world around me then was kind of grim. I had to learn to pretend in order to...I don't know...block the grimness. The whole world seemed sort of closed to me...(I felt) on the outside of everything, and all I could do was to dream up any kind of pretend-game."

In September 1941 Norma Jean was again living with Grace when she met Jim Dougherty, 5 years her senior. Grace encouraged the relationship and on learning that she and her husband would be moving to the East Coast, set in motion plans for Norma Jean to marry Dougherty on June 19, 1942.

"Grace McKee arranged the marriage for me, I never had a choice. There's not much to say about it. They couldn't support me, and they had to work out something. And so I got married."

Dougherty joined the Merchant Marines in 1943 and in 1944 was sent overseas. Norma Jean, while working in a factory inspecting parachutes in 1944, was photographed by the Army as a promotion to show women on the assembly line contributing to the war effort. One of the photographers, David Conover, asked to take further pictures of her. By spring of 1945, she was quickly becoming known as a "photographers dream" and had appeared on 33 covers of national magazines.

In the fall of 1946 she was granted a divorce...later saying, "My marriage didn't make me sad, but it didn't make me happy either. My husband and I hardly spoke to each other. This wasn't because we were angry. We had nothing to say. I was dying of boredom."

On July 23, 1946 she signed a contract with Twentieth Century-Fox Studios. She selected her mother's family name of Monroe. From this point on she would be known as Marilyn Monroe to all her fans.

Johnny Hyde, of the William Morris Agency, became her mentor and lover in 1949. Also, in 1949, Marilyn agreed to pose nude for a calendar. A fact that was to stir controversy later in her career as a superstar.

"Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul"

Monroe's first leading part in a serious feature was to be in "Don't Bother to Knock", filmed in 1952.

Marilyn met Joe DiMaggio in early 1952, she was 25 and he was 37. DiMaggio, recently retired from baseball, had expressed a desire to meet this famous star. By February the romance was in full bloom.

"I was surprised to be so crazy about Joe. I expected a flashy New York sports type, and instead I met this reserved guy who didn't make a pass at me right away! He treated me like something special. Joe is a very decent man, and he makes other people feel decent, too!"

In 1952 Marilyn began filming "Niagara" with Joseph Cotten...a film that was to establish her stardom. After her next big film, "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes", she and Jane Russell signed their names and placed their hands and feet in the wet cement in front of the Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard...the same place she had visited with Gladys and Grace years earlier as a child.

"I want to be a big star more than anything. It's something precious"

On January 14 Joe and Marilyn were married. The wedding captured the headlines worldwide. Joe was an extremely jealous type of guy and resented her popularity among other men. He desired a housewife, not a star of such magnitude...the marriage was in trouble from the beginning.

"I didn't want to give up my career, and that's what Joe wanted me to do most of all."

On May 29, Marilyn began filming "There's No Business Like Show Business". Throughout the summer she was ill with bronchitis and anemia. For the first time, Marilyn began showing serious side-effects of the many sleeping pills she had been taking for the last few years...often groggy, lethargic and crying on the set.

The famous "skirt blowing" scene from the "Seven Year Itch" , filmed in 1954 was to be a hit with both amateur and professional photographers. Several hundred, along with 2000 spectators gathered outside the Trans-Lux Theater in New York City in the early morning hours of September 15th to see and record her as she posed for over two hours for her adoring fans.

In the fall of 1954 Marilyn and Joe separated...later to divorce.

"When I married him (Joe), I wasn't sure of why I married him, I have too many fantasies to be a housewife."

There is a whole lot more of this story to come so I'm going to break it up into a two parter like my mate Wazza does, give us all a chance to catch our breath.


Marilyn was quite a witty person and is credited with some pretty smart quotes, but she was also subject to fits of depression and self doubt as can be seen by her comment below.

Everyone's just laughing at me. I hate it. Big breasts, big ass, big deal,
Can't I be anything else ? Gee, how long can you be sexy?






"I want to grow old without face-lifts...

I want to have the courage to be loyal

to the face I have made. Sometimes I

think it would be easier to avoid old

age, to die young, but then you'd never

complete your life, would you? You'd

never wholly know yourself."

Melbourne Cup

The race that stops a nation has been run and won for 2006.

This year it was a quinella for trainer Katsuhiko Sumii,
when Delta Blues beat stablemate Pop Rock home by
the shortest of margins.

Delta Blues became the first Japanese horse to win the Cup in it's
long history.


Delta Blues Wins A$5.1 Million Melbourne Cup Ahead of Pop Rock.

Tuesday Nov. 7, Delta Blues won the 146th running of the A$5.1 million Melbourne Cup, giving Japan its first victory in Australia's richest horse race.

Trained by Katsuhiko Sumii, Delta Blues beat stablemate Pop Rock by a head at Flemington Racecourse to claim the A$3 million first prize. Maybe Better ran third.

Run on the first Tuesday of November, a public holiday in Melbourne, the race is seen or heard on television or radio by about 85 percent of Australia's 20 million people, according to the Victoria Racing Club. It attracts about A$150 million in wagers as once-a-year bettors join more experienced gamblers.

A humpy ride in Gympie.

Around Australia, people are celebrating the race that stops the nation in their own ways.

In Queensland, Gympie residents are gearing up for their annual camel race. Up to 1500 people are expected to pack Turf Club for the event, which is being held for the fourth time this year to raise money for a local cancer charity.

Among the day's events is a "celebrity race", in which local politicians and media personalities act as jockeys.

"It's our biggest day of the year, but it's not a day for the serious racegoer," said club president Spencer Slatter.

The Inaugural TK Derby Carnival Donkey Race.

They may be 11,000 kilometres from Flemington, but that hasn't stopped Australian troops in Afghanistan from getting into the spirit of the spring carnival.

Australian Defence Force personnel serving in Tarin Kawt, southern Afghanistan, as part of a NATO reconstruction taskforce, have honoured the day with the inaugural TK Derby carnival donkey race.

The 600-metre race, which kicked off at 3.15pm local time yesterday, covered one lap of the ring road at Camp Russell, within Camp Holland, the toops' heavily fortified desert base.

Soldiers donned brightly-coloured wigs and fluorescent silks for the race, while uniformed troops watched from the tops of what appeared to be shipping containers positioned along the edge of the dusty track .

The eventual winner was a donkey ridden by Darwin-based second cavalry regiment trooper Tim Brusch, who was hoisted on the shoulders of his mates and presented with a small silver cup trophy.

About 400 Australian personnel are serving in Oruzgan province as part of the Netherlands-led Provincial Reconstruction Team.

The ARL Grand Final

Broncos Victorious!



Some joy for we who live in Queensland, the Brisbane Broncos defeated
the Melbourne Storm in their Grand Final match, the game is
traditionally played in Sydney and in fact this was the first time ever
that there wasn't a Sydney based team playing in the Grand Final.

This sparked fears that the match would not draw a good crowd, they
need not have worried, Australian crowds seldom miss the chance to
see a good sporting spectacle, there was an excellent crowd and they
were treated to a very good game.

Both teams have won every Grand Final they had contested up until
now so it was obvious that one side or the other would loose that
particular honour tonight, the Melbourne Storm had a one for one record
while Brisbane Broncos were defending a five for five record, now six for
six.

As well as that the Broncos coach now holds the league record for six
premierships, while the Club has six flags out of the eighteen years in
the league so there were quite a lot of records broken with this victory.

I am not a huge fan of Rugby League but it is always good to cheer for
your home side so I enjoyed the game.

Steve Irwin; The Crocodile Hunter.

...................................The Crocodile Hunter

Steve Irwin; The Crocodile Hunter. 1962 - 2006

Steve Irwin was killed today, Monday Sept 4^th, while filming an
underwater documentary of the coast of North Queensland near
Port Douglas.

The cause of his death was a strike to the chest by the barb of
a giant sting ray which caused a heart attack, Steve would have
taken some heart from the fact he was doing what he most loved,
enjoying nature.

He is survived by his American born wife Terri, she was from
Oregon, and their two children, daughter Bindi aged 8 and son
Bob almost 3.

It is tragically ironic that his death occured the day after Fathers
Day here in Australia, as Steve was also a dedicated Father.

Steve who’s catch-cry “Crikey”, was known world wide, he was
also a world famous environmentalist and a staunch supporter of
the much feared saltwater crocodile that lives throughout coastal
Northern Australia.

Australia Zoo, located just North of Brisbane was the jewel in
the crown of the Irwin empire, it offers a unique glimpse of the
animals that Steve was so dedicated to in spacious and spotless
conditions.

The Irwin’s have gathered around them a team of people who
show the same dedication and enthusiasm that Steve and Terri
had, it will continue to attract big crowds just as it always has
and will serve as a very fitting memorial to Steve.

I must admit when he first burst onto the public scene I was a
little embarrassed by his exuberance and thought, “I hope
people overseas don’t think all Australians are like that.”

As I learnt more of his dedication and the good work he was
doing however I started to think more, “it’s a pity there aren’t
more people like Steve around, the world would be a better
place if there were.”

Heartfelt sympathy goes to Steve’s family, he will be greatly
missed as a “true blue Aussie”

The Gympie Muster 2006.

A pictorial walk around the Gympie Muster site.

The double "Main Stage" with an almost deserted "Snake Pit" below it.

"The Theatre" is a large marquee complete with breakfast bar, the
Bush Poets open the day here with a breakfast show at 8am

A very small section of the camping area, this is the only formal
part of the campground, the rest is scattered around the natural
bush setting and is much more attractive.

I liked the play on words here, not sure "The Dixie Chicks" would?


There is always a few shy retiring types around isn't there?

Vicki and Rex just kicking back on a lovely day.

While the sun was out the day was all about hats.

And more hats.

By mid afternoon any shady spot had become very popular.

As had a cat-nap to prepare for a big night.

The sun has gone down and "The Hill" is just starting to come alive.

The big screens are just starting to show up as it gets darker

25th Anniversary of The Gympie Muster 2006.

Well the Muster is over for another year, as usual it was an
excellent festival, also as usual it was bigger and better
attended than ever before, and again as usual the artists we
saw on Saturday were all top class acts.

Because daughter Vicki has some health issues we decided
on making a day of it on Saturday rather than both Sat and
Sun as we had contemplated.

This turned out to be a perfectly acceptable plan, the acts
that we most wanted to see perform were on at some time
over the 12 hour period we were there, the weather was
perfect and the huge crowd gave us all the atmosphere we
could soak up.

I touched on the way this festival is laid out and run a few
days back but it bears a little further coverage to explain
why this is rated as the best country music festival in
Australia, and I would guess at least the equivalent to any
in the world.

First the concept of a service club running it as their major
fund raised for the year, this has enabled the vast majority
of the staff to be volunteers and enabled well over $10
million to be raised for local charities and causes.

Next the location that has been home to the Muster for 21
years now, the first 4 Musters were run on the private
property of four brothers who still perform regularly to
this day.

This site located in a State conservation park contains the
natural elements that make it work so well, a natural
amphitheatre for the main stage, an area of natural bush
land for the many campsites and large cleared areas for
car parking.

Planning and experience have provided the rest of the
attributes that go to make it so successful, a fenced
entertainment area containing no less than 13
separate venues, these are all located within easy
walking distance of one another and cater for everything
needed to make the site tick.

There are venues for; country music, blues music, line
dancing, clogging, talent search, and bush poetry, these
range in size from small intimate wine bars with a stage
area, through to very large marquees, and of course the
main stage located centrally in the amphitheatre.

This has two adjoining stages with a large flat area in front
of it known as “The Snake Pit” for the true enthusiasts to
gather to sing along and dance in, the land slopes gently up
“The Hill” where the bulk of the very large crowd gathers,
estimated to cater for up to 20,000 patrons all of whom get
a good view of the stage area.

This is helped along by two large screens that carry the
pictures of the act on stage to anyone who wants to see the
action from closer up, these come into play after the sun sets.

Lining the top of the hill are dozens of food outlets all of
which are run by local schools and clubs and provide their
main revenue raisers for the year, there are also dozens of
stores set up around the perimeter selling everything from
souvenirs to country styled clothing, Cds and the like.

Once you pay your entrance fee there are no further charges
levied for the entertainment, the range of foods is excellent
quality and value, there are bars and wine areas as well as
plenty of soft drink stalls to keep everyone well hydrated.

There are family concessions available and a large part of the
crowd is made up of families, all enjoying the fun of the
festival, to help make this safer there is a total ban on glass
within the entertainment area, likewise no alcohol may be
brought in, but as stated there is a ready supply for anyone
of age and not intoxicated.

If you are starting to get the impression that I am a fan of
both the music and this festival you are dead right, to the
organizers, promoters, sponsors, entertainers, patrons and
most of all the volunteers who staff everything from the car
park attendants, the ticket sellers, the staff of the many stalls
that are run by schools and clubs, the bus drivers who run a
constant shuttle service between the car park and the
entertainment site, (a distance of about two miles)
a resounding well done.