Tales from the Grave
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JULY 3-4, 2021 DEADLY SERIOUS TALES FROM THE GRAVE WILD WEST RACING ESCAPE TO IN THE THE OUTBACK REGIONS SPECIAL EDITION GLAMOUR STAKES How a lucrative fashions on the field competition turned a struggling country race day into a tourism triumph MICHAEL MADIGAN FEEDBACK Upfront 18 Mel Buttle 3 William McInnes 3 Ordinary People 11 Features Dressed for Success 4 Country Carnivals 8 Fashions on the Field 10 Funeral Crasher 24 Life+Style Arts 16 Culture Club 17 16 You & Me 18 Cafe 19 Recipe 20 Dining 21 Travel 22 Books 26 Weddings 28 Big Quiz 30 My Life 31 21 women to the event and, they surmised, BOXING CLEVER the men would follow. The idea worked Commonwealth Games bronze medallist and the event – with its Fashions on the Taylah Robertson (“Fighting spirit”, June Field competition now worth $50,000 in 19-20), is certainly an inspiration to the prizes – attracts more than 4000 people to boxing world. This pint-sized blonde a town of 3000. The community also got bombshell hasn’t let size or gender behind it with many volunteering their prevent her from pursuing her love of time and growers donating vegetables to boxing. Her dream is to claim the world give away. title and Taylah’s commitment, Many regional race clubs across the determination and sheer guts will take THIS ISSUE state host similar cup days. There’s plenty this boxing phenomenon to the top. of opportunity to attend such events for Go Taylah! the rest of the year – and it’s a great excuse Helen Holdey, Brighton to get out and explore Queensland. For this special issue of Qweekend, in Also this week, Jill Poulsen interviews partnership with Racing Queensland, Bill Edgar who has made a name for POLITICAL STAGE writer Michael Madigan and himself crashing funerals. As a “coffin This is the show that we had to have photographer Mark Cranitch were given confessor”, he speaks on behalf of the dead (“Channelling Paul Keating”, June 19-20) the enviable assignment to attend the who want to deliver their last words from and Jonathan Biggins decided that the QWeekend Edition June 19-20, 2021 Burdekin Growers Race Day in Home beyond the grave. The former private time was right. If imitation is the Hill, North Queensland. investigator and one-time criminal has sincerest form of flattery, The Gospel There, they mixed with the locals and turned his unusual career into a book, and According to Paul pays our former prime Contact us discovered that 20 years ago the has a new United States reality TV show minister the ultimate compliment by Write to the editor, Qweekend, and successful community racing carnival was and a Hollywood film in the works. being totally irreverent.Paul Keating include full contact details so we can poorly attended and looking like being Enjoy reading. could be as subtle as a sledgehammer but establish bona fides. Please keep cancelled. has left an indelible mark on this country. letters to 100 words or fewer. Letters Members of the club got together and That is the gospel truth, which is just how may be edited for brevity and clarity. came up with an idea to boost the Paul Keating likes it. EMAIL [email protected] Fashions on the Field prize pool to attract Michael Wouters, Bundaberg instagram@qweekend facebook.com/qweekend qweekend.com.au Cover Louisa Daley Photography Mark Cranitch Editor Natalie Gregg Deputy Editor Alison Walsh Arts Editor Phil Brown Design Sean Thomas Advertising/ Sales Matthew Clymo, [email protected] Qweekend Magazine Mayne Rd & Campbell St, Bowen Hills, Brisbane 4006 02 QWEEKEND.COM.AU JULY 3-4, 2021 V1 - BCME01Z01QW MEL WILLIAM BUTTLE McINNES “My face felt Why we can’t very warm and I bank on tech ran inside to check The online banking outages that befell Australia the other week caused just enough irritation and panic to remind if I still had everybody of how reliant we’ve become on the internet and the provision of its eyebrows” services to go about our lives. Almost instantaneous transactions and access to funds are only noticed when things go bung, we’ve grown used to getting something almost as soon as his may seem weird to say, we want it. but I’ve always liked fire. I Banks. Odd beasties. I remember was really into it as a kid. My when they were only open till four grandma lived on acreage o’clock in the afternoon and the idea of and would have what she staying open till 5pm on a Friday was Tcalled a “burn up” of all her old tree breathtaking. Everything was done branches. This was back in the day when over the counter, person to person, you could do whatever you wanted, with little ledger bank books detailing Brisbane had incinerators in back yards one’s account. and if you saw your neighbour burning a My first account was a Donald Duck tree stump, no eyelids were batted. and Friends Passbook from the Bank of As a little kid, I’d run around her yard New South Wales and the fact I still in Toorbul and collect things to throw on have it with evidence of only one deposit the fire, when I saw it dying down. Little transaction of $2.57, showed a certain sticks, dry grass, I’d even sneak old lack of interest to pecuniary matters. envelopes and bills outside in my pockets The banks all had a kids’ range of to help make the flames rise. products to entice customers at an early Also, around this time, I’d just read the age. Novelty money boxes were all the Roald Dahl book Matilda. For those rage. The National Bank had a blue safe unfamiliar with it, Matilda is a little girl complete with a combination system who can move objects with her mind. So and there seemed to be a parade of naturally, I, too, believed if I stared at the unhappy looking Australian animals fire and willed hard enough, it would with coin slots in their heads or backs relight. You know what? Sometimes it and creatures called Dollarmites. did! Either I was a magic eight year old Banks seemed unchangeable until with special powers or, frankly, I don’t the ATM, the hole in the wall bank. care for any other explanation. didn’t quite have the interest in gathering dropped down to once every couple of I remember a pal telling me how her As society moved away from setting twigs from far reaches. years when I booked a holiday house with father, who was in charge of rolling out light to your problem in your back yard, it That’s when I got the idea to squirt a a fireplace in Maleny or the like. ATMs across Brisbane, would take was quite some time before I was around teeny, tiny, little bit of petrol on the fire, Cut to my second winter in my home family and friends on a drive to show a fire again. When I was 12, we moved to you know, just to help it along. There was in the outer west of Brisbane. There’s no where these “space age” machines acreage and setting light to rubbish in a kaboom – to quote Roger Ramjet. The other way to say this, but it would freeze would be placed. My pal’s old man 42 gallon drums was back on the agenda. coffee cup-sized fire now shot out the top the balls off a brass monkey out here. So would become so engrossed in showing I quickly learned that rubbish was hard to of the drum. My face felt very warm and I on a whim I went into a fireplace where the things were going to sprout, light; I’m not sure why we didn’t have a ran inside to check if I still had eyebrows. showroom, just for a look. I’d signed he became oblivious to tensions and wheelie bin, probably Dad found a way to Luckily, yes I did. I was in Year 8, and had paper work on a wood heater within disinterest in the car. save money on the rates by entering into the same haircut as Kramer from 15 minutes after Brian gave me a demo on Now even ATMs seem prehistoric, for his own form of waste management. Seinfeld. I needed eyebrows and Mum to how to light the fire properly and I was nobody really uses cash much anymore, Rubbish needed a helping hand to get stop directing my hairdresser to “cut it so hooked. I’m now the proud owner of a the pandemic encouraging people to itself going, so once again I used the skills it fits under her school hat”. Hair is very wood heater in my lounge room. I’ve told swipe and touch to pay for transactions. gained at Grandma’s. I piled dry leaves flexible, Mother, it goes where it’s told. myself it adds value to the house, but I All very modern, very space age and and twigs on top of the bags of rubbish I got a bit gun-shy after the petrol think, deep down, I’m just keen to test out convenient – except when the bloody that were to be burned. This was a whole incident, then Dad invested in a council my magic powers again. online banking goes on the blink. process though, I was now a pre-teen and bin service, so my contact with fire Mel Buttle is a Brisbane comedian William McInnes is an actor and author V1 - BCME01Z01QW JULY 3-4, 2021 QWEEKEND.COM.AU 03 04 QWEEKEND.COM.AU JULY 3-4, 2021 V1 - BCME01Z01QW RACING IN THE REGIONS such as Home And Away stars were lured to come on up north and add a dash of glamour.