The Bribie Islander

After nearly 39 years in business, Bribie Island icon, Dianne (Di) Wells is starting the next chapter in her life. She plans to rest for a while, then travel around Australia in her 6 metre Golden Eagle Tourer. Di took this luxury van on an 800-kilometre trip last Christmas. She said she was pleased with her achievement only scaring herself on one occasion when a large truck sped past her and sucked the van to the point of swaggering.

Once her grey nomad adventure is over, Di plans to settle down to enjoy her golden years on our beautiful Island. She said ‘with its Aussie wildlife diversity and beautiful sandy beaches there is no other place on earth I’d rather be than right here on Bribie. It’s in my heart and in my soul as are the friends I have made here.’

Di has been living on Bribie Island since May 1980 when she and her husband John moved here as newlyweds. Their first home was in Banya Street. John worked for Queensland Rail and Di was nursing at Prince Charles Hospital. They drove to and from Brisbane each day maintaining 100 kilometres speed most of the way and rarely saw another car on the Bribie Island Road.

In 1980, Bribie’s population was around 7,000 and Di said it was like living in a small fishing village. Their neighbours used to stretch fishing nets across the road so they could mend any holes. All the other neighbours would drive around the nets and toot and wave. It was a friendly, relaxed and happy neighbourhood.

Di opened her first business in Bongaree on 14 August 1982. ‘Allure Boutique’ was in the shop front now occupied by the Post Office. The business was very successful and within 18 months Di had moved to larger premises in Kangaroo Avenue where she opened ‘Deckout’. When the Shoe shop next door became available, Di took over that premises, took down a wall and operated the ladies fashion and shoe shop together.

By 1989, ‘Deckout’ was a thriving business that supplied a variety of ladies fashion brands, as well as shoes for men, women and children; however, Di had a vision of opening something big. In August 1994, ‘Wells Cargo Barn’ (WCB) opened on First Avenue. The new venture was a cooperative trading area for women. The Bribie Island Orchestra played at the official opening of WCB, which was attended by Mayor John White and 100 guests. The ‘Barn’ was home to seven businesses – Di’s ‘WCB’; Linda Walcott’s ‘Barn Hair Studio’; Sharon Hawkins‘ ‘Island Accessories’; Sue Cunningham’s ’Clover Magic’; Jackie Russell’s ’Gifts go Troppo’; Donna Overton’s ‘Donna’s Discounts’; and Carol Dobson’s ‘Island Collectibles’. The Kangaroo Avenue ‘Deckout’ was moved to the new First Avenue premises. The name change to ‘Wells Cargo Barn’ solved one delivery name problem that came up from time to time when parcels would arrive addressed to ‘Dickout’. This caused much laughter among staff members and couriers; however, some companies even managed to refer to the new name as Wells Fargo.

In 2003, when the Bribie Island Shopping Centre opened on Goodwin Drive, WCB’s 356 square metres of family shoes and ladies clothing and accessories, ceased trading. The arrival of major shoe and clothing stores in the new centre necessitated a reinvention for Di’s business. So she returned to the Kangaroo Avenue premises and opened ‘Grosso Modo’ which provided fashion for the mature woman. The business had a name change to ‘Anna’s in 2014 and remained in Kangaroo Avenue until 2020. Due to COVID-19, Di traded from her home for a few months. She then opened in the Bribie Island Shopping Centre and finished her retail career in March 2021.

As well as running these successful businesses, Di and her husband John were raising four children and were both very active in the community. Since 1991, Di has been a member of the Bribie Island Surf Life Saving Club. She is a highly qualified volunteer surf lifesaver who has coached all lifesaving disciplines. She also managed the training of our local nippers making sure they understood surf awareness and safety.

John died in 2005 and Di said she, David, Peter, Raylene and Anna all think about him and talk about him often. I asked Di if she had any advice about this next chapter in her life and she said “Stay safe in the retirement, value good health and good relationships. Be generous, optimistic, adaptable and keep on learning. In the words of Clint Eastwood ‘get up every morning, go out, don’t let the old person in’.”

Di was so welcoming to me when I was new to the community and knew no one. She invited Michael and I to join her group of friends at various events and always went out of her way to help me organise Rotary functions. On behalf of our community, I wish Di safe travels and a long, happy retirement.

Hello there, my name is Maria Christina and I ‘Support others in creating more love within themselves and their life’, with the aid of services such as:

• Aroma Magic Technique
• Crystal Healing
• Emotional Clearing Technique
• Reiki
• Young Living Essential Oils
• Mosaic Creative Therapy
• Guidance and Empowerment
• Meditation

I have always had an interest in natural health from a child and have always worked in industries where I was of service to others, often finding that people will just open up to me and tell me about intimate details of their past, in a short space of time, even in a first meeting. I feel this is because people feel they are in a safe place to share and be truly who they are with me.

• I practice a combination of modalities such as the Aroma Magic Technique which is a soft form of massage that aids in relaxation, reducing stress and building the immune system.
• Crystal therapy is a gentle noninvasive form of alternative healing that works holistically to harmonise the mind, body, emotions and spirit.
• The Emotional Clearing Technique is a very powerful technique that guides the recipient through the barriers and blockages they have set up that are ultimately holding them back in areas of their life.
• Reiki is a healing technique based on the principle that the therapist can channel energy into the patient employing touch, to activate the natural healing processes of the patient’s body and restore physical and emotional well-being.
• I offer appointments for Guidance and Empowerment sessions as well as Meditation.
• Young Living Essential Oils can be used for such things as depression, anxiety, colds, low immunity, sleep issues and even issues in the bedroom. I offer free consultations for physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing.
• I am pleased to announce that I will be starting to run Mosaic classes at the Bribie Island Gallery commencing the 27th of April which will run for 7 weeks from 6 pm – 8.30 pm.
• I find in this class not only do people learn a skill, but they also take time to quieten the mind as well as promote relaxation and have some fun.

If you have any questions or are unsure of how I can assist you, phone for a FREE consultation.

I can also be contacted on 0405 361 882 or creativeandhealingtherapies@outlook. com. Alternatively, you can find me at Woorim markets 2nd Saturday of each month, look out for the purple gazebo!

I believe we are all perfect in our every state, evolving from who we are now, to who we will be tomorrow. Blessings in Abundance, Maria Christina.

The exploits of Corporal Leslie ‘Bull’ Allen, of the 2/5th Australian Infantry Battalion, produced one of the most remarkable photographs of the Wau-Salamaua campaign. On 30 July 1943, during an attack by American troops on Japanese positions up Mount Tambu, Allen carried to safety twelve wounded Americans. The man he was photographed carrying had been knocked unconscious by a mortar bomb.

Like many men in the veteran 17th Australian Infantry Brigade, of which the 2/5th Battalion was part, ‘Bull’ had earlier served in the Middle East. He had come to notice there for determination and bravery as a stretcher-bearer, recovering wounded men during battles in Libya and Syria. Later, after being sent to New Guinea, during the defence of Wau in January 1943 he had rescued men under intense fire, and was awarded the Military Medal.

Born at Ballarat, Victoria, in 1918, Les had a tough childhood – he and his sister were raised in an orphanage, and at about the age of 12 the boy had to start earning a living. By the outbreak of war in September 1939, he had been in the work force, mostly farm labouring, for almost a decade. Then in April 1940, aged 21, he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force. He was reinforcement to the 2/5th Battalion, which was training in Palestine, and was made a stretcher-bearer in ‘D’ Company.

Les acquired the nickname of ‘Bull’ in Palestine. A keen sportsman, with an imposing physical stature – 5 feet 11 inches (180cm) tall, solid and strong – he would charge down the opposition while playing Aussie Rules, hence ‘Bull’. He also had a wicked sense of humour and a booming voice and laugh – one of his mates recalled, ‘You could hear him a mile off!’ ‘Bull’ was thus one of the battalion’s most recognisable, and one of its most popular characters.

‘Bull’ was revered by the men he served alongside. He was said to be one of the very few who never showed fear. The citation for his Military Medal pointed to ‘courage and untiring efforts’. Bill Carty, a cameraman who later witnessed ‘Bull’s rescue of the Americans recalled a ‘gigantic man striding up Mount Tambu like he was on a Sunday jaunt’, describing Allen as ‘a huge man with obvious physical and emotional strength, perhaps borne of a difficult childhood’. But this was an incomplete picture of the man. While he did not display his fears, ‘Bull’ was inclined to bottle them up.

Shortly after his first campaign, in Libya, in early 1941, ‘Bull’ had been admitted to hospital suffering from ‘anxiety neurosis’. After treatment and rest, he returned to his battalion, and performed admirably in Syria and then at Wau, and throughout the WauSalamaua campaign that followed. Time and again, he gave his all to bring in wounded men. Mount Tambu was merely another episode.