Bush legend tells a tale
Story of Alwyn Torenbeek’s life
IT STARTED as an article for the RM Williams magazine, but after David Gilchrist sat down and listened to bush legend Alwyn Torenbeek he knew he had a much larger story to tell.
“I said to him there was so much more than 1000 words in his yarn, he’s probably got about five lifetimes in one,” Mr Gilchrist said.
“He’d been thinking of his family and friends and wanted to get the story down but it was a long process so I got the idea that I’d put it together.”
Mr Torenbeek’s childhood in outback Queensland in the 1940s was spend chasing wild horses, catching death adders and dreaming of becoming a rodeo champion.
At the age of 14, he left Kokotunga for good, taking with him a bushman’s spirit, a natural riding ability and a determination to succeed.
By 21, he was an international rodeo champion who travelled far and wide and became friend with
David Gilchrist: I said to him (Alwyn Torenbeek) there was so much more than 1000 words in his yarn, he’s probably got about five lifetimes in one.
RM Williams and Wally Mailman.
After a horrific accident that nearly killed him, he worked as a drover and established a stockman’s school to teach underprivileged teens to become jillaroos and jackaroos.
Mr Gilchrist and Mr Torenbeek co-authored the book Life in the Saddle and were in Toowoomba recently for a book signing at Dymocks.
“It was an absolute thrill to have people tell me they’d been waiting to read about him,” Mr Gilchrist said.
“It’s an absolute delight to have people tell you they couldn’t put it down. It was great for him (Mr Torenbeek) as well, he had an opportunity to reunite with some people he hadn’t seen in years.”