Octagon July, 2016

a new chapter will be formed that may be called the
Whitsunday Chapter.
After morning tea Gary & Julie Kunst and Sandra
Armstrong had to leave the group to spend the
day with visiting family while the rest of the group
headed via the scenic highway to Byfield where
Garth & Leslie Barnes joined the group as did
Phil Henry after recently arriving home from the
American tour he and his wife Margaret took.
We then toured through Yeppoon beach front to
Farnborough then over the small range on the
Browns lane road to Byfield. On arrival Trevor
Andersen found that a New South Wales couple
had spotted him in his Daimler Dart in Yeppoon
and followed him to Byfield to allow them to have a
chat with Trevor as they too are the proud owners
of the same model. We were also greeted by new
owners of the Byfield store and found the quality
of the meals etc still the same. It was here that the
Poker run winners were announced with Stuart &
Ada Clark winning for the Coastal group with a pair
of threes and Ian Wilhelmsen winning for central
with two pair.
GREAT NORTHERN TOUR, June 13 - 20 by Ian
Wilhelmsen ………. Assistant Coordinator
The GNT as it shall henceforth be known, began
under grey skies and light rain. Gathering at the
Kershaw Gardens were Stuart and Ada Clark,
Terry Dwyer and Anne Burbidge, Robbie and Gary
Galloway, Gary and Julie Kunst, Ian Carleton, Phil
White and Ian Wilhelmsen, all resplendent in their
T shirts especially made for the occasion thanks to
Terry. The other party of Ron Atwell and his son-inlaw
Phillip would join us in Blackwater for morning
tea. We then hit the road with a tour to Lake
Maraboon and the Fairbairn Dam, travelling over
the dam wall and back to Emerald. The next leg
saw us heading to Clermont for our first overnight
stay.
A tour around Clermont started the next day and
we visited Hoods Lagoon, a grotto marking Mary
MacKillop’s Sisters of St Joseph activity in the area,
a memorial to Billy Sing “The Crack Sniper of the
ANZACS” and the piano in a tree. Thus began the
most daunting part of our trip, the long lonely drive
to Charters Towers with only a stop at Belyando
Crossing for lunch. Wednesday was explore
Charters Towers day and with so much history and
a council promoting it excellently, there was no
shortage of things to see and do.
It’s now Thursday and time to pack up and drive to
Townsville but before we get there, Phil White has
arranged for us to visit Lansdown CSIRO Research
Station at Woodstock. On the road again, we took
a detour to Mt Stuart to have an elevated view of
Townsville and surrounds and everyone remarked
what a good hill climb track it would make. Arrival in
Townsville saw us checking in to our motel and then
afternoonsies on the deck overlooking the Coral
Sea. Friday was the day for everyone to do their
own thing with Robbie, Gary G, Ada, Stuart, Gary
K, Julie, Phil, and the two Ians deciding to go to
Magnetic Island.
In the morning we gathered for the leg to Bowen.
We met Cathie Meredith from Mackay in her
yellow 1978 MGB and Graham Hoyle from Bowen
in his MGB GT and had lunch at the café on
Flagstaff Hill. Cathie then lead the troops to our
accommodation for the night in Mackay. I would like
to thank everyone for the great spirit in which the
adventure was undertaken and we certainly have
many stories to tell of the Great Northern Tour of
2016.
New members Jack and Ray Cowie at Tanby Gardens,
Neville and Barbara Funch at Byfield and Car Line up
Tanby Gardens.
48
The Octagon - July 2016
A large collection of photos from this major
trip can be viewed at https://1drv.ms/f/
s!AvkQV9Nvi9aNnltQHujR39OGkuCH - space
allows for publication of only a small selection of
them.