Interview of OAM recipient, Charters Towers 2013, Shirley Symes by Maria Caesar

According to the Australian Government’s “It’s an Honour” website, the main purpose of the Order of Australia is to recognise, by national honour, those who have made outstanding contributions that benefit their communities, and ultimately our country.

Maria Caesar of the Bush Curlews interviews the Charters Towers 2013 OAM award recipient, Shirley Symes.

Various groups Shirley is involved within the community

During the 1970s there was the restoration of the Stock Exchange Arcade. More recently was the Zara Clark museum, which had been closed down a few years ago. In both instances, Shirley gathered groups of interested people to save the National Trust buildings.

The Don Roderick Gallery had also been closed down until Shirley gathered a group of volunteers to re-open it. The gallery is now a great incentive for local artists to display their work and every year they have a competition, bringing in artists from out of town.

Shirley has always been fond of writing so she is a member of the Bush Curlews. She has had a lot of interest in the schools and was on the Advisory Board of All Souls St Gabriels School for seven years. Shirley’s husband used to own horses so she became involved with the Charters Towers Amateur Race Club, another club that needed reviving as it was very close to closing down.

In her younger years, Shirley played basketball in a team called the “Red Wings”, travelling out of town for several competitions. She was also a member of the Charters Towers Dramatic Society performing in plays in the Theatre Royal before the building was torn down after the war.

It was the loss of this “beautiful timber building with great acoustics” and several other valuable buildings within the town that ignited Shirley’s passion for reviving and restoring historical premises. Nowadays, the heritage structures that grace the town’s central business district are a major drawing card to tourists and movie-makers visiting the region. Shirley says she likes to “encourage people to preserve what we have and to bring about an awareness” of the importance of keeping history alive.

Coming to Charters Towers

Shirley was born in the Burdekin. After the death of Shirley’s father, her mother moved to Charters Towers. Shirley’s great aunt, Mary Palmer, also known as “Maude”, was the proprietor of the Occidental Hotel (located where the Commonwealth Bank is now), then later the Excelsior Hotel and then The Australian (now the Rix Hotel). Aunt Maude was a very elegant, artistic woman and Shirley had always looked up to and admired her.

Shirley was only seven years of age when they came to Charters Towers and has been here ever since.  She worked in a goods and produce agency called Bartlams Ltd (located where the Zara Clark Museum is now), until 1952 when she got married. Her stepfather had been the managing director of Bartlams Ltd until he retired.

Shirley's main achievements

There has been great satisfaction in rescuing and restoring the old buildings but generating awareness amongst other people of what we have is the hardest thing to do. When the group was working towards the restoration of The Stock Exchange Arcade many people were against it. The group constantly asked: “Why restore a building that broke so many people’s hearts?” There was a lot of vitriolic letters going back and forth in the paper. But now it is done most people appreciate the restoration.

You won another Australia Day award in a previous year. What award was that?

It was the Senior Citizen Cultural Award in 2011. As with the Order of Australia Medal, Shirley would have been nominated for the award by the community.

School life 

Shirley attended All Souls Saint Gabriel’s School, but during the 1940s when the war was on the Americans came to Charters Towers and many of the schools were confiscated. All Souls Saint Gabriel’s became a hospital. Some boarders were sent to Richmond, but Shirley’s parents didn’t want her to go out of town so she went to Blackheath & Thornburgh instead.

Charters Towers was a garrison city and there were two airstrips here during the war. The only schools in the city not vacated were Saint Mary’s and Blackheath & Thornburgh.  The military had taken over Mount Carmel – their students moved into the Park Motel. The military used many of Blackheath & Thornburgh’s playing fields as a defence base, keeping artillery there.

It was scary times, but when you are young you can’t quite comprehend the degree of danger. They had an air-raid shelter in the backyard and they each had a little suitcase with clothes and food. Her stepfather was an air-raid warden and used to walk around with a little cap, looking like a character from Dad’s Army.

Hobbies and Interests

Shirley enjoys painting and she tries to do so once a week. She also enjoys writing. Shirley loves music. She used to play the piano and also used to sing in the Eisteddfods every Easter. Shirley was a member of the Charters Towers Philharmonic Choir – there were about thirty people in the Choir. Gardening, beauty and colours all appeal to Shirley’s artistic nature.

Shirley has travelled abroad, visiting San Diego, New Zealand, the UK and Canada but her favourite holiday destination is Paris. She has been there twice, once in the spring and once in the winter and she fondly recalls the cars buried by snow as their windscreen wipers waved back and forth futilely.

Education has always been a main interest to Shirley and she believes that Charters Towers “is a wonderful educational centre. It’s a shame there was never a university located here.”

Shirley cherishes her role as great grandmother. Her first great grandchild was born just before Christmas 2012 and in 2013 she will be a great grandmother again, this time to twins, which is “very exciting”.

Overall, Shirley admits that she loves her life. She has met many wonderful people and has achieved a lot within the community, having saved numerous local heritage properties. It is with thanks to the efforts and dedication of people like Shirley that Charters Towers is now known as a town rich in history, and will continue to be so for many generations to come.

Writers of North Queensland flock to Charters Towers

The Bush Curlews added an extra little twist to their Awards Presentation Ceremony for their annual literary competition.

    This change was inspired after a few of our members attended a couple of informative writing workshops earlier this year. During those workshops we met many wonderful people, learnt heaps & had lots of fun. So the Bush Curlews decided to return the favour and invite our new literary friends to Charters Towers.

     On Sunday, 26 May 2013, authors from Townsville, Home Hill and Ayr journeyed to Charters Towers for a sumptuous lunch buffet, to attend an enlightening awards ceremony and to challenge their imaginations in our writing activity session.

      In total, there were approximately 22 participants during the writing challenges with many additional guests showing their support during the presentation of the awards.

       It was another successful event. The Bush Curlews look forward to more interaction with our fellow North Queensland writers over the coming months and years.

Bush Curlews entertain diners at the CT Civic Club

We are authors not performers, more comfortable seated at a desk with a computer or a notepad or pen. So when the Bush Curlews were invited to entertain diners during the Charters Towers Civic Club’s annual country style feast our response required much deliberation.

     Our Club bravely accepted the challenge. Several members had never before used a microphone, so multiple practice sessions were in order. With the assistance of Dr Kett Kennedy, long term supporter of the Bush Curlews, we learnt how to perform our work not just read it out loud. Adding expression and enthusiasm to our words helped bring our stories and poems to life.             

      On Wednesday, 1 May 2013, several members of our group presented their poems and short stories to a large gathering of patrons during the Ten Days in the Towers festivities. The dining hall had been booked to full capacity. The crowd was wonderfully attentive, laughing and applauding and eagerly listening to every word.

      The event was a huge success and helped to bring our talented authors out of their shells and into the community.

The Judges' Scores

Extract from Maria Caesar’s speech during the 2013 Bush Curlews Literary Awards Presentation, 26 May 2013

Overall, the scores were very close. Only 6 points separate the first Commended award from the first place in the open poetry section. And only 7 ½ points separated the first commended prize from the first place position in the open short story category.

Most of the time, scores between the judges were similar, however others….

Well, we discovered that the gender of the audience plays a big role in the response to a story or a poem, so it good that we have male and female judges for both the poetry and the short story categories.

One of my own stories was a classic example of this. Marnie and Jenny both gave it very high scores, however Kett’s score was more than 10 points less (and no, Kett "will not live that down"). Clearly, that particular story has greater appeal to a female audience. That is just one of many reasons why receiving feedback on our writing is so important. 

Once again we would like to thank our judges for the many hours of hard work required to judge and comment on each entry received in our competition.

Out of curiosity, after compiling the judges scores to determine the winners we thought it would be interesting to see which entrants received the highest score from each individual judge.

Each judge had given a highest number of points to a different entrant.

In the poetry section, both Allan & Sarah's highest scores were tied to two separate entrants.

Allan Georgee's highest score went to Shirley Syme's poem Old Bob and to Cherelle Murphy's poem Bluey.

Sarah Callcott's highest score went to Terry Slack's poem Fields of Green and to Christine Stewart's poem Two-faced.

In the short story section the judge's

Had again given their highest scores to three different entrants.

Kett Kennedy's highest score went to Jeanyne Whitmont Sekel of Nowra, NSW for her story A junior vikingess. Kett comments that Jeanyne's story "a riveting piece, well presented, well constructed and poignant".

Marnie Niemi's highest score went to Maria Caesar of Charters Towers The Final Page.  Marnie said she "enjoyed this light hearted, amusing and very unusual story with a surprise ending"

And Jenny Schaefer's highest score went to Sandy Bogilevu of Charters Towers for her story Suspended Memories. Jenny commented “the writing with its vivid and varied descriptions is an excellent reflection on another’s experience and is able to evoke in the reader an understanding of a new way of life”. 

I just have one final message for all of our authors, published or un-published, prose or poetry:

“Inspiration can be found everywhere and Writing is a process of discovery”

Writers of North Queensland work together

Earlier this year (2013) the Bush Curlews were invited by WITS (Writers in Townsville) to participate in a new and exciting joint project. WITS are putting together an anthology.

     The finished product will include stories and poems from members of writers groups based in Townsville, Charters Towers, Home Hill and Ayr. The anthology is due for an official launch in October as part of the annual Queensland Writers Week celebrations.

     Each group provided submissions based on the theme of promoting their home towns. To keep with page limitations, majority of the accepted stories will have approximately 500 words, whilst poetry will be restricted to 30 lines. Depending on space, quality and topic repetitiveness, there may be a few exceptions to the rule.

    Members of the Bush Curlews worked furiously to meet the project’s deadline. Several of our members have been notified of their successful submissions.  The group is looking forward to flicking through the pages of the final product. 

The Ten Days in the Towers and The Country Music Festival by Maria Caesar

     Over the period during the end of April to early May there is an annual event in Charters Towers known as The10 Days in the Towers. The ten-day celebrations also include two country music festivals: the All Australian Jamboree and the Charters Towers Country Music Festival.

     Jeans, boots and an Akubra hat become commonplace on the streets of Charters Towers as the entire township dress up for the occasion. Store windows feature bales of hay, corrugated iron and various country knickknacks as they compete for the prize of best themed display. Country music can be heard in the town’s many hotel bars and on the streets of the central business district as buskers entertain shoppers and passers-by.

     Locals and visitors can also participate in line dancing, bush poetry and the talent quests during this period or attend the popular markets and various historic tours. Many of the town’s clubs, groups and local businesses host special events such as workshops and dinner shows, so it is an ideal period to explore the many activities and creative opportunities available within the town.

     The Charters Towers Country Music Festival was first held in 1978. The annual event has since grown to become Australia’s largest amateur country music festival.  A parade down the main street made up by numerous floats and hundreds of costumed students representing each local school kick off the three-day country music event. Several hundred contestants make their bid for fame in the talent quest each year. Some of the biggest names in the country music industry are showcased in special cabarets during the first weekend of May. It’s not surprising that thousands of country music fans and performers from throughout Australia and overseas flock to north Queensland to attend each year. 

Many Clubs, One Community by Maria Caesar

     Several years ago my evenings were spent at home watching a DVD and with little interaction other than with the characters on the television screen. Then one day I decided to step outside my comfort zone and meet new people. I enjoyed reading books. Perhaps there was a group of readers in town? I went to the local library and before long I had joined a book club. Afterwards, the book club provided connections to a writers group called the Bush Curlews. Writing stories just so happened to be another hobby of mine.

    From then on I was made aware of various other local clubs and art groups based within the town. There were several painting groups, the Pottery Club, the Towers Players, the Choristers Choir singing group, the Friends of the Theatre and the Don Roderick Gallery group, just to name a few. I soon discovered that Charters Towers has an abundance of clubs. It seems that almost every hobby and interest is catered for.

     If you like to paint, sculpt or photograph, read, write or act in a play, then there is a club that can be joined. If you prefer sports then there are numerous groups that cater for that category as well. From cricket to tennis, rugby to soccer, netball to basketball, swimming clubs, fishing clubs, dancing groups or the pistol club......the list goes on.

     Groups can meet daily, weekly, fortnightly or monthly and new members are always welcome. There is never an excuse to be bored while in Charters Towers; all you need to do is ‘join’.

The Tors Drive-In Cinema by Maria Caesar

     With only a handful of operational drive-ins left in the country, the residents of Charters Towers and surrounding districts have access to a movie experience that most Australians can only dream about.

      Construction of the Tors Drive-in began in 1965 as the result of a bet between Jack Feldt, owner and general manager of Feldt’s Theatres Townsville and Charters Towers, and a fellow exhibitor. Almost everything used in construction had been second hand – bricks, iron, timber and even the cafe counter. A railway line was used to construct the screen tower which is why it hasn’t fallen down despite the battering of the elements and the passage of time.

     The Drive-in was officially opened on St Patrick’s Day, 1966. The opening went well until the Tors was struck by a hail storm during the interval, leaving dents in the roof that are still present today. One by one the local theatres closed down. Eventually the Olympia and Royal Theatre closed their doors, leaving the Regent and the Tors Drive-in as the main theatres servicing the town.  On 25 June, 1983, the Regent held a final farewell screening. Five hundred patrons packed into the theatre to watch “Gone with the Wind”.

      When imagining the hills and troughs of a drive-in cinema, with speaker boxes on rows of white posts and a giant outdoor movie screen, most people immediately think of scenes from movies like Grease or popular television series like Happy Days or That 70’s Show.

      I have many fond memories that came about whilst watching a double feature in the Tors Drive in. Sitting in the front (or back seat) with speakers propped on the open car windows is only one option. Some people like to utilise the seating located outside the cafeteria, but I’ve found the ideal viewing position is from upon an old mattress laid out on the inclined bitumen with a mate or two and a blanket to ward off any chills.

     One weekend, six of us crowded onto the back of a ute. Thankfully we had enough cushions to go around. Though various movies may come and go, I’ve always found that a drive-in experience is a hundred times more pleasantly memorable than a seat in a crowded indoor cinema. 

The World Theatre Complex by Maria Caesar

     After more than sixteen years since the building was opened nowadays it’s hard to imagine Charters Towers without the popular facilities provided by The World Theatre complex. I have lost count of the number of shows I have enjoyed from both local and visiting performers on the stage within the 660-seat performing arts theatre and the list of movies I have watched in either one of the two cinemas is endless.

     The World Theatre complex blends heritage architecture with state of the art technology. It was originally the Australian Bank of Commerce and was built in 1891. In 1992 the property was purchased by the Shire of Dalrymple and developed into a cultural centre complex, opening its doors officially to the public in September 1996. Along with the theatre and two cinemas the building contains a restaurant and a public art gallery.

     Colleges use the venue for their end of year presentations and the local dance schools perform concerts showcasing the many talented youngsters of the town.  I have cheered to visiting pop artists, laughed at hilarious comedians, been enthralled by amazing dance crews and acrobatic teams, and I’ve even wolf-whistled at a few male strippers! The organisers of The World Theatre certainly know how to provide shows that appeal to a wide variety of tastes.