PRESIDENTS REPORT The 2014 State Rally at Nanango, attended by 237 caravans, from 28 Clubs has proven to be a most friendly rally according to the comments I received during and after the event. Various announcements made during the rally, will over time, have a positive impact on the future of Caravan Clubs of Qld Inc. Perhaps the most important of these was the presentation of the new logo in the form of a Rostrum Banner and our new Association Flag. The CCQ Committee in building a 5 year plan, believe that the new image will assist clubs in achieving new members, particularly if the new van stickers supplied at the rally are attached to the rear of your caravan proclaiming our existence. More stickers are available. Just ask your club secretary to contact Barbara Rutherford. The North Qld Club have requested a car sticker to assist in a membership drive, but more importantly to assist in creating an awareness of the 2015 State Rally and its venue. These will be produced and distributed in the near future. You will no doubt be aware that the 2015 State Rally venue will be the Stanthorpe Showgrounds, commencing on Monday 21 st September. (the worst kept secret ever) The rally sub-committee will keep you informed. Announced at the Nanango State Rally Closing Dinner: The CCQ agrees to subsidise Public Liability Insurance to all Clubs participating in programs set up by the CCQ. e.g. If a club submits a minimum of 9 months shopper docket expenses incurred by club members at a rally. Further the CCQ may offer an extra discount, i.e. a minimum of 50% (to a club) by way of a draw of the participating clubs. The overall subsidy will commence at the renewal date in 2015. Finally when travelling through Nanango in future look for new signage relating to the CCQ. Yours in caravanning, Bob McKernon Bob McKernon with the new CCQ flag and banners Page 1
REPORT ON THE CCQ 38TH STATE CARAVAN RALLY AT NANANGO NANANGO STATE CARAVAN RALLY ORGANISING COMMITTEE Bruce McCoist President Bob Larkin Vice President Ken Maddison Secretary Peter Zgrajewski Asst. Secretary Jim Edge Williams Treasurer Kevin Gallagher Advertising Co ordinator Jean Rooney Promotions Co ordinator Alan Carter Planning the Program Ian King Committee Member John McNamara Committee Eddie Pratt Committee Member Liz Scott Market Day Co ordinator Elaine Sutherland Morn/Afternoon Teas Co ordinator Leon Schoenknecht First Aid Brian Lewis Electrician John Moffat Plumber Bob Barnett Registrar Carolyn Healey Photography Co ordinator Kevin Day Line Dancing Drag Racing Queensland Club A Great Team all working together to have a successful Rally MONDAY The weather on Monday was quite overcast and blustery. Marshalling of the caravans was accomplished smoothly by the volunteers and the registration team in the office was efficient under the watchful oversight of Registrar Bob Barnett. The Official Opening of the rally was held at 4pm on Monday afternoon. The Official party consisted of Councillor Barry Green of the South Burnett Regional Council (SRBC), Alan Kerr Chaplain of the Salvation Army, Bob McKernon President of the CCQ, Les Schloss President of the Nanango Agricultural, Pastoral and Mining Society, and Bruce McCoist President of the Rally Committee. An apology was given on behalf of the South Burnett Regional Council Mayor Wayne Kratzmann. Bruce McCoist welcomed the invited guests to the ceremony and then asked Councillor Barry Green to welcome everyone to Nanango on behalf of the Wakka Wakka, traditional owners of the land on which the rally was being held. Alan Kerr then blessed the rally and led everyone in prayer. Bob McKernon welcomed the club members on behalf of Caravan Clubs of Queensland. The Australian National anthem was performed by Tori Somer as the club flags were raised. A Meet & Greet Happy Hour was held each afternoon during the rally. After the Opening Ceremony a Welcome Sausage Sizzle sponsored by the South Burnett Regional Council was held in the main hall. The Sempf Family then performed a selection of Country & Western songs to round out the first day of the rally. TUESDAY Day Two was the beginning of the seminar program. First up was a presentation by the South Burnett Regional Council (SBRC) at which Councillor Barry Green gave a passionate presentation on the benefits of living in the South Burnett. He then introduced Mayor Wayne Kratzmann who then went on to highlight the industry and commerce of the region. The other seminars throughout the day were presented by Springers, CIL Insurance and Kingaroy Biscuits. The Book Club met to debate the various books that had been listed for discussion. They also met on Wednesday and Thursday to continue their discussion. Each afternoon there was line dancing in the Heritage Hall. A night visit to Maidenwell Observatory was the first of the tours to take place. Registrations for the Mini Drag Competition, Golf, Disc Bowls and the Photographic Competition also took place throughout the day. The evening s entertainment was provided by the group Nite Hawk consisting of Val & Noel McGrath. CCQ Executive President: Bob McKernon Secretary: Barbara Rutherford Treasurer: Adrian Skinner All correspondence to: CCQ Secretary 1 Colvillea Close, Carseldine 4034 Or via email: secretarycccq@gmail.com CCQ Web site is: https://sites.google.com/site/caravanclubsqld/ Page 2
38TH STATE CARAVAN RALLY FLAG RAISING CEREMONY Photo courtesy of Lyn Lofgren Kookaburra Caravan Club OPENING CEREMONY OFFICIAL PARTY Raising the Australian flag while Tori Somer sings the National Anthem. From the left are: Les Schloss, Cr Barry Green, Bruce McCoist and Bob McKernon. Not included in the image is Allan Kerr. Photo courtesy of Edd Gibson Campervan Club CLUB FLAGS ON DISPLAY Photo courtesy of Lyn Lofgren Kookaburra Caravan Club The Bulletin Volume 14, No. 5 October 2014 Page 3
REPORT ON THE CCQ 38TH STATE CARAVAN RALLY AT NANANGO WEDNESDAY Wednesday was another busy day. The golf tournament teed off at the Nanango Golf Course at 7.30am followed at 8am by the Nanango heritage Walk. Judging of the Photographic Competition took place and Springers commenced the seminar program for the day. Telstra presented two very well patronised seminars. The first on Introduction to Email and the Internet in the morning followed by Introduction to Smart Phones & Tablets in the afternoon. El Monte RV Hire & GOSEE Touring provided information on the hiring of RV s for travel in North America. A Wine & Cheese Tasting by South Burnett Cheese provided quite a bit of angst with members who were expecting to have a Wine & Cheese Evening followed by a movie. There was much grumbling before a resolution of sorts was worked out. However the movie Backyard Ashes was a resounding success. An Australian movie it was about a backyard cricket challenge between warring neighbours and as the name suggests the combatants were traditional rivals. Two teams battle it out for the greatest game of backyard cricket ever for the Backyard Ashes. THURSDAY Thursday s program commenced with a catered breakfast that was very well patronised. The morning program was rather busy with Biomagic presenting the first seminar on the topic clean water solutions/filters. Bare foot bowls was held at the Nanango Bowls Club. A practice session for the Downhill Drag racing competition took place. A winery tour of the district vineyards was popular. Telstra presented their third seminar session. The CCQ Delegates meeting was held at 1pm. Councillor David McMahon of the Goondiwindi Regional Council addressed the meeting putting forward a case for a future CCQ State Caravan Rally to once again be held at either at Goondiwindi or at Inglewood or Texas all of which are in the Goondiwindi Regional Council. There was discussion about the feasibility of holding a State Caravan Rally in 2016 the timing of which would be the same as the National Caravan Rally in Canberra. The CCQ will ask clubs to discuss the topic with their members. Bob Barnett provided a Locality Expenditure Report. Hannamay Park held a seminar titled Meet the Alpacas. Hannamay Park staff had brought along some alpacas a well showing a range of alpaca woollen products for sale. Natalie Fenton entertained during the evening. FRIDAY The disc bowls competition commenced at 8.30am with a large audience who were to see a very competitive series of matches before the final match was held to decide the winner. The final was played off between Team 31 Gold Coast Caravan Club comprising Graeme Lancaster & Barry Autken and Team 5 Queensland Caravan Club comprising Graham Ball & Ray McDonald. The Gold Coast team took the honours after an extra end had to be played. RUNNERS - UP WINNERS Ray McDonald Barry Autken Graham Ball Graeme Lancaster Photo courtesy of David Gilchrist A bus tour of the Bunya Mountains departed at 9.30am. A National Park ranger gave a talk on the history of the Bunyas particularly highlighting Aboriginal culture relating to the bunya tree and it s importance in their relationship with other tribes in the wider area. He also went on the talk about the logging of the mountain in the early days of white settlement. The ranger also gave a warning about the inherent dangers of ticks and stinging plants while hiking on the mountain. The morning seminar program commenced with presentations by Carafix Van maintenance followed by CEQUENT Towing Solutions. The finals of the Mini Drag racing took place after lunch. The championship results were: Fastest Lady - Kim Baker Fastest Man - and overall winner Allan Hendrie Fastest Child - Chloe Ziebel Afternoon seminars were presented by Queensland Health and Cheese World Goomeri who gave an explanation on the cheeses they produce. Page 4
FRIDAY (cont.) The winners of the Photographic Competition were: Australian Scene - Dennis Williams, Jabiru Scene With A Van - Beryl Briggs, Coolum Novelty Section - Barbara Gallagher, Sunshine Australian Fauna - Marianne Endurs, Toowoomba & Golden West Grand Champion - Bonny Williams, Jabiru. The Disc Bowls, Mini Drag Racing and Photographic competition winners were presented with their awards at the Meet & Greet Happy Hour. The evening was wrapped up by a performances by Toni Somer, Bruce Webb and The Butterworth Bush Band. SATURDAY 8am on Saturday morning was market day. Clubs were able to set up their stalls to sell wares. There was an early rush of caravanners looking for bargains but the market settled down to a more sedate pace later in the morning. The market closed by 12 noon with attention then starting to focus on the Closing Ceremony. By 3pm the assembly was getting restless and urging the Official Party to commence proceedings. The Closing Ceremony commenced with the drawing of the Monster Raffle after which were the Blind Registration and the Shopper Docket draws were held. The Blind Registration draw was for one lucky member to have get a refund their rally registration. A prize was awarded to one lucky member who had placed their shopper docket in the barrel. Bruce McCoist introduced the members of the Official Party and called on Chaplain Allan Kerr to provide a blessing of the ceremony. Bruce then invited Les Schloss to address the assembly and to receive a Certificate of Appreciation from the CCQ for the work he and the Nanango AP & M Society had done for the rally. Bob McKernon presented Val Marlow the RFDS representative with a cheque for $8000.00 from the Affiliated caravan clubs and the CCQ. He then announced an incentive scheme to encourage all clubs to participate in the Locality Expenditure scheme. He then unveiled the new CCQ flag and banners. Bruce McCoist then invited Cr Campbell to provide a farewell from the Nanango region and to officially close the rally. The club flags and the Australian flag were then lowered. That concluded the Closing Ceremony Val Marlow receiving the CCQ and Caravan Clubs cheque from Bob McKernon Photo courtesy - Edd Gibson Campervan Club The Official Party seated from the left were: Bob McKernon - President CCQ, Shane Pegg - University of Queensland, Greg Paige & Val Marlow - RFDS, Cr Keith Campbell - Deputy Mayor South Burnett Regional Council & Mrs Campbell, Mrs Schloss & Les Schloss - President of the Nanango Agricultural, Pastoral & Mining Society, Chaplain Allan Kerr - Salvation Army & Mrs Kerr standing partly obscured is Bruce McCoist - President Rally Organising Committee. Photo courtesy - Edd Gibson Campervan Club Page 5
SATURDAY (cont.) The Official Dinner commenced at 5.30pm in the main hall. During dinner Bruce McCoist thanked all of the rally coordinators and their team volunteers. Bob McKernon unveiled a Friendly Town road sign and presented three of them it to Cr. Campbell. South Burnett Regional Council have agreed to display the signs on each of the three highways entering Nanango. The Friendly Town signs are specific for those Regional Councils and towns that are welcoming of caravanners and the specific needs they have. These include things such as longer parking bays etc. Bob McKernon presenting Cr Campbell with the Friendly Town sign Photo courtesy of Lyn Lofgren Kookaburra Caravan Club Bob also announced Stanthorpe as the venue for the 2015 39 th CCQ State Caravan Rally from Monday 21 st - Saturday 26 th September. The host clubs are : Jabiru & RV Club Bayside Caravan Club Queensland Caravan Club Toowoomba & Golden West Caravan Club The Executive Committee comprises: Chairman - Carolyn Healy Jabiru Secretary - Juliet Raymond Jabiru Treasurer - Bob Carney Queensland Registrar - Bob Barnett Kookaburra After dinner many of the Monster Raffle winners took the opportunity to collect their prizes so they could get an early start on Sunday morning to make their way home. The evening and the rally wrapped up with great entertainment by Tina & Joe St Clair. SUNDAY The bump-out crew were at work early on Sunday morning disconnecting power and water so the showground could be handed back to the Show Society in readiness for their next event. There was a steady stream of caravans leaving early. 38th State Caravan Rally - aerial view of Nanango Showground looking east Photo courtesy of Edd Gibson - Campervan Club Page 6
OVERNIGHT CARAVAN PARKING IN PROSERPINE This is an edited version of a letter sent to the Whitsunday Regional Council by the CCQ Secretary regarding overnight caravan parking in Proserpine I am writing on behalf of the Caravan Clubs of Qld Inc. (the State Association of 34 affiliated caravan clubs throughout Queensland) to make your Council aware of an incident which has been brought to our attention regarding overnight parking in Proserpine. In the early hours of Sunday morning, 3 August 2014, a couple of caravans who were parked overnight adjacent to the Proserpine Junior Sporting Club Complex were issued with an infringement notice by a Council Officer to the sum of $227 each. The matter was brought to our attention by one of the caravanners involved. The caravanner is fairly new to caravanning and had been travelling for quite some time on Saturday, 2 nd August 2014, when fatigue caused him to make a responsible decision to pull up somewhere for the night. Finding the caravan park in Proserpine closed, he noticed a couple of other vans stopped near the Sporting Complex and decided to join them. There were no signs to say that camping was not allowed. It is imperative that road safety be an absolute priority in the consideration of such infringement notices. To create a situation where the caravanner would have to drive quite some extra distance to find a caravan park or some other suitable overnight rest area would be highly irresponsible in his reportedly fatigued state. Road safety signs across the country urge tired drivers to take a break. We are of the opinion that your Parking Officer was over zealous in duties in that the infringement notice was issued around 0430hrs on the day in question. It seems to us that a more acceptable approach would have been to wait until the van occupants were able to discuss the issue at a more reasonable time of day. I am sure you will agree that officious behaviour of this nature does nothing to further RV Tourism in your region. With this in mind, perhaps you might consider withdrawing the fine placed on the caravanner who should be congratulated for his responsible decision rather than punished for it. Our Association has been working in conjunction with the University of Queensland to collect data relating to spending by caravanners in regional Queensland towns and this has indicated the huge economic boost that caravanners generate in the areas they visit. We are also embarking on a project to recognise Caravan Friendly Towns by way of signage indicating such at the entrances to towns and would welcome the opportunity to discuss this project with your Council which can only result in mutual benefits for your Shire and caravanners. 38th State Caravan Rally - aerial view of Nanango Showground looking west Photo courtesy of Edd Gibson - Campervan Club CCQ DISCLAIMER The material in The Bulletin is in the nature of general comment only and is not necessarily the view of the CCQ Inc. or of the editor. Articles are submitted by third parties and are accepted in good faith by the CCQ. The CCQ makes no representations or warranties about the accuracy, reliability, completeness or suitability for the intended purpose of any product, service or material in The Bulletin Barry A. Roberts Editor Page 7
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