Eddie’s devotion is bloomin great
EVERY day for years, 89- year- old Eddie Rouse has been setting sprinklers, picking up branches and feeding the bush turkeys around the park at Toomulla Beach that bears his name.
Now, his job might be about to get a bit easier, with Townsville City Council hoping to help him out by installing a watering system.
The council has applied for funding to help make it easier for him to look after Rouse Harvey Park.
The park takes its name from Toomulla Beach residents Noel Harvey, now deceased, and Mr Rouse.
Mr Harvey took it upon himself in the early 1990s to transform what was then just a vast area of guinea grass into a park, with Mr Rouse becoming involved in the later part of the decade.
Mr Rouse and his wife, Shirley, devoted a lot of time to the park, even planting cuttings from their own garden into the beds.
Although he now receives assistance from Townsville City Council, Mr Rouse enjoys his daily duties, particularly looking after the turkeys.
“There’s probably about 50 or 60 of them living around here,” he said.
Over the years, Mr Rouse has seen five weddings in the park, and even one proposal.
He takes a lot of pride in the park.
“Some caravanners were there while I was watering one day and they said this is the best little park between here and Darwin,” he said.