LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

DRAYTON SERVICE

RECENTLY the National Trust held a free community day at the Royal Bull’s Head Inn in Drayton to celebrate 170 years since the Rev Benjamin Glennie preached his first church service on the Darling Downs, which was held at the Bull’s Head Inn in 1848.

It was pleasing to see so much of the community sharing the the day.

The Glennie School staff and girls helped with the church service as well as lending four pergolas, Fairholme College and Concordia College also lent marquees.

The Drayton school choir performed, as did their dance group. Their chaplaincy program sold coffee and tea, while the congregations from St Luke’s in Toowoomba, St Mark’s in Warwick, St John’s in Dalby and St Matthew’s at Drayton set the scene by walking the last kilometre to the inn for the service, as would have been a familiar sight in 1848.

The congregations walked behind their banners to lead Archdeacon Mark Carlyon, leading a pack horse, and Rev Bill Watson, in a sulky, to the inn.

They also set up displays to show the effect that Benjamin Glennie had on the development of their parishes. The horses were loaned by a Crow’s Nest resident and the sulky originally came from Boomi.

Many visitors brought along a picnic lunch which they enjoyed in the pretty, but very dry, grounds of the Inn. Thanks to the people of our community for making it a great day all round of community sharing and spirit.

HELEN MOLONEY, National Trust Toowoomba branch

WENTWORTH BI-ELECTION

THE independent candidate Kerryn Phelps won the Wentworth bi-election with only 29 per cent of the primary vote, because of our preferential voting system.

Her main election pitch was getting illegal immigrants off Nauru (and restarting the boats), switching to 100 per cent renewables (and bankrupting the economy), and the issue of climate change (virtually nothing to do with human activity).

With only 29 per cent of the primary vote, despite massive support from the ALP, Greens and Getup, fully 71 per cent of electors did not vote for taking illegal refugees off Nauru, 71 per cent did not vote for 100 per cent renewables and 71 per cent did not vote for acknowledgement of the human impact on climate change.

Nevertheless, Labor and the Greens continue to scream that the election of Kerryn Phelps supports their extreme leftist policies. Labor and Greens’ primary votes fell to record lows.

The Wentworth result was all about the dumping of Turnbull and his failure to endorse the Liberal candidate; they’ll soon get over that. It had nothing to do with the crazy policies of the Left.

GLENIS BATTEN, Cranley

SADLY MISSED

IT was with great sadness that I read in the Chronicle on 24/10 of the passing of Jim Bannon.

Along with my friend Judy, also deceased, we were great mates in the 70s. In recent times, any time we happened to meet each other we had a good laugh about the old days. Last time I saw him was about two months ago and he did not look well.

To Carolyn, I pass on my deepest condolences. I may not have seen you recently but you are in my thoughts at this sad and difficult time.

LYN SPAIN, Toowoomba

ABUSE

WITH great fanfare our Prime Minister provides a long-overdue apology to the victims of child abuse in the Parliament. It must never happen again.

But abuse takes many forms, and meanwhile children continue to endure government-sponsored abuse in the living hell of Nauru, their mental health deteriorating, self-harming, at serious risk of death.

The mantra “we don’t want people dying at sea” seems to mean “we’d prefer them to die in Pacific Island prisons”.

As a long-time proponent of this evil policy, Scott Morrison’s apology comes across as shallow and hypocritical.

ALLAN BRUCE, Toowoomba