Backward Glance: Preserving our past: writers and storytellers – Part Two

Today we continue to shine the spotlight on some of the Sunshine Coast’s many authors and environmentalists acknowledged for their dedication to preserving the region’s natural environs and rich history.

Landsborough’s Stan Tutt, a friend of many on the Sunshine Coast, contributed with heritage and environmental writing which endeared him to this region.

Born in Murgon in 1914, Stan lived his childhood in the North Coast region where his father was a timber cutter and later a banana grower and poultry farmer.

Early in Stan’s life, the family lived with dirt floors and no running water or electricity, as did many early families.

Stan’s mother was a school teacher and educated her children from an early age in timber getter dwellings of the time.

Stan was a founding member of the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland and served on the executive for many years.

He supported the works of Dr Arthur Harrold of Noosa and Caloundra’s Kathleen McArthur.

A prolific letter writer to the editor of the local paper, Stan was not afraid to be outspoken though eloquent with his wording and demeanour.

He wrote regular articles on wildlife, nature and heritage and published and collected much of the region’s early history.

Stan’s community service for services to local history and conservation was awarded with an OAM in 1994.

In 1998, Stan was awarded life membership of the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland and in 2000, an honorary senior fellowship from the University of the Sunshine Coast.

During his life, Stan wrote or edited seven books on the history of the Sunshine Coast.

His last publication, an autobiography titled In the Company of Ghosts, is available at Sunshine Coast Libraries.

Fred Fink’s research and collection of the history of the Sunshine Coast is also an important legacy.

Fred was born in 1918 and lived most of his life in Yandina.

He cut sugar cane before enlisting in World War II.

A member of the 2/15 Australian Infantry Battalion, Fred was a highly decorated infantry member who served in the Middle East and New Guinea, attained the rank of sergeant and was awarded the Military Medal and Bar.

After the war he continued to cut sugar cane and began banana farming until wiped out by the 1974 cyclone which caused considerable damage to the Sunshine Coast region.

He spent the next six years working for Maroochy Shire Council in the weed spray gang.

Fred discovered his love of history while preparing for the 1971 centenary of Yandina.

Over the next 30 years, he chronicled much of the district’s history.

In honouring his work, Maroochy Shire Chairman Fred Murray said that he made a massive contribution to the shire’s social fabric.

Fred was a keen supporter of organisations in the Yandina community, especially the Yandina School of Arts, the Historical Society and the RSL.

Fred’s research was done by laboriously sorting through documents and copying records on a typewriter.

His history of land selection for the Sunshine Coast is an outstanding achievement and his memory lives on in the valuable resources, the Fred Fink Collection, available at the Heritage Library, located on level one of the Nambour Library.

Another very important contributor to this region has been Audienne Blyth.

Audienne is a fourth generation Yandina resident and has lived most of her life in the town.

Next year is the 150th year of her family, the Lows, arriving in Yandina.

Since retiring as a teacher 20 years ago, local history has been her hobby and Audienne has authored or co-authored 11 books which cover early buildings, pioneers in the timber and farming industries, land settlement and the naming of streets and roads.

Audienne has written articles for newspapers and magazines and spoken on radio.

She said recently: “My interest came from all those forebears, the Bury, Bade and Low families of Nambour and Yandina. I have always had a great curiosity about what makes us the way we are and I enjoy documenting places and people.”

She has also a keen interest in conservation and has been part of the Christina Low Park conservation group since 2001.

Writers and researchers such as Hessie Lindsell and Berenis Alcorn have also made a significant contribution to heritage research on the Coast with some excellent works on places such as Buderim, Maroochy River and the whole of the Sunshine Coast.

It is through the hard work and sheer determination of these and others like them that we have a wealth of historical knowledge to draw on.

Our local museums are also custodians of our heritage.

Yandina’s Historic House holds some of Fred Fink’s research work and is a great place to take a look at local history.

Landsborough and Caboolture Museums hold works and research by Stan Tutt and significant others.

To discover the Sunshine Coast’s many unique and rich cultural heritage locations, visit council’s website.

Thanks to Sunshine Coast Council’s Heritage Library Officers for the words and Picture Sunshine Coast for the images.

In 2017, we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Naming of the Sunshine Coast. For more information on this milestone anniversary visit www.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/fifty

Image captions: Hero image: Fred Fink and family members with his first car a 1925 model Dodge, Yandina. Pictured L to R Fred, Garth, Lois and Cyril Fink. Taken at in front of the family home on the north east corner of the Coulson Road and School Road intersection, Yandina

Carousel images:

Image 1: Fred Fink on his banana plantation on the southern slopes of Mount Ninderry, 1967.

Image 2: Group of Sunshine Coast identities L to R Alec Way, Stan Tutt, Ray Tilney and Harold Scholes gathered at an event ‘Old days Old Ways’ held at Caloundra Library, Caloundra, 1998.

Image 3: Landsborough Historical Museum, Landsborough - Maleny Road, 1987. One section of the museum was originally the Landsborough Shire Council Chambers July 14, 1924 to July 29, 1968.

Image 4: Caloundra City Council Mayor Cr Don Aldous and Sunshine Coast author and historian Stan Tutt seated on the right chatting over billy tea and damper, ca 2001.