Lee McCarthy
The Cooloola Heritage and Historical Society will be hosting a very special afternoon in Tin Can Bay on 28 September 2024 and you are invited.
Organisers will be sharing their vision for the preservation of the history of Tin Can Bay and they would like to invite resident’s past and present and those interested to come along and join in.
The event will be held at the Lions Park Tin Can Bay in front of the RSL on 28 September at 4pm and organisers say the more the merrier.
There will be guest speakers, food, raffles along with a pictorial history of the region.
Among the guest speakers will be Allen Shillig, who published his book, ‘The Last Fraser Island Puntmen’.
Allan worked as a puntman with his father Des and brother Larry on logging vessels delivering timber to the sawmills in Maryborough and his book gives an insightful look into this important era in the history of the region.
John Anderson from the Hervey Bay Heritage Village will be attending along with local man Kevin Reibel speaking on the sand mining.
Kevin is from one of the original Tin Can Bay families and has a wealth of knowledge with the Reibel family spanning generations and contributing a huge amount to the community.
When talking about the history of Tin Can Bay it is important to mention Nola Bale who was a vibrant member of the Tin Can Bay community and contributed so much to make the bay so community minded and involved.
Nola was a business owner and organised fashion shows, theatre restaurants, and a bridge is named in her honour on the foreshore walk.
In the photo in this article, Nola is sitting in front of Cathy House which was built by the Tin Can Bay Lions Club in 1990 for children from out west or who were unwell to have a holiday by the sea.
It was named Cathy House for Bernie and Nola’s daughter Cathy, who passed away due to Cystic Fibrosis.
The Cooloola Heritage and Historical Society want to show off the work of the Historical Society and see if anyone else would like to become involved.
They have an exciting fun event called Jazz at High Tide coming up on 9 November so make sure you mark that one in your calendars as one not to miss.
Join the fun on 28 September on the foreshore where there will be hamburgers and hot dogs on sale and if you would like more information or can help in any way, please Contact Kerry on phone 0414 444719.
