PENNY Edwards and Gail Denver from Friends of Pattemore House spent more than a year diligently researching, recording and fact-checking the Maleny area’s history since the arrival of Europeans on the Blackall Range.
Their work has been presented in a series of themed historical information boards depicting an illustrated history of Maleny. The boards are now on display in Selectors Green on the Maleny Community Precinct.
There are six individual display boards that specifically acknowledge Maleny’s first selectors, particularly the hardy women who arrived on the range since 1875, and the area’s timber industry history. The boards feature early photos, maps and letters.
Gail said the boards were situated on the selection of 160 acres (65ha) made by John Hankinson on July 6, 1880 on Portion 1276, Parish of Maleny.
Still to come are a series of individual stories about some of the range’s earliest women who were living on the first selections in Maleny. A row of native trees has been planted in advance along Parklands Drive so their stories can be displayed underneath.
The Friends of Pattemore House were invited by the combined community group team, which created the Selectors Green, to provide the information and boards. The community group includes Maleny Lions, the Rotary Club of Maleny, Maleny Apex, Maleny RSL Sub Branch, the Friends of Pattemore House and the Maleny Garden Club.
The next time you are walking by Parklands Drive on the precinct, why not take a lovely diversion through Selectors Green and read the stories?
To find out more about the Friends of Pattemore House check out their Facebook Page www.facebook.com/pattemorehouse
