By Dominique Tassell
The minutes of the recent Stanthorpe 150 meeting were noted at the recent Ordinary Council Meeting of Southern Downs Regional Council.
Staff first noted that after Councillor Stephen Tancred stepped down, Councillor Cameron Gow had taken his place as chair.
Listed in the minutes was a suggestion to hold a re-enactment, which Councillor Andrew Gale inquired about.
Councillor Gow stated that in the first term of the amalgamated Council, Mayor Bellingham authorised a re-enactment for Warwick of a Council meeting from “back in the day”.
Councillor Jo McNally joked that even though women couldn’t be part of the Council back then, they were allowed to join in the re-enactment.
Councillor Gale said he was very interested, as he is known to enjoy dressing up for the region’s events.
The motion was moved by Councillor Gow and seconded by Councillor Gale.
Locals Sandra McEwan and Paula Boatfield have also announced new details about their book project attached to the Stanthorpe 150 celebrations.
In a release, they stated that “the largely picture book takes on a ‘then and now’ theme, with images sourced from the past (providing the ‘then’ picture) carefully reconstructed today (thus providing the ‘now’ picture)”.
“In some pairings the comparisons are obvious, others are a bit more obscure and one needs to look for reference points in the images to get your bearings.”
Paula Boatfield stated that “the book will cover many topics including Stanthorpe town and the surrounding areas, residences, industry, transport, recreation, sport, education, religion and military-themed chapters”.
“It also includes a chapter on disasters, as these events have certainly helped to shape our town into what it is today”.
The project has been part-funded by a Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF) grant. The RADF is a partnership between the Queensland Government and the Southern Downs Regional Council to support local arts and culture in regional Queensland.
Warwick Today and Stanthorpe Today will also be producing a book for Stanthorpe 150, dedicating a few pages from every edition throughout the year to celebrating Stanthorpe’s milestone that we will then compile into a book.
