the real people of noosa

1    Why Noosa?  What brought you here?

I first visited Noosa about 40 years ago, as a teenager on family holidays. It was love at first sight. I couldn't get enough of the glory of the ocean, sun and natural wonderland. My parents bought a beach house at Sunshine Beach and I automatically became completely at home in the National Park and around the headlands and bays. The magnificence of the light, the purity of the ocean, the ancientness of the rocks, the wealth of wildlife and marine life completely absorbed me. Here I found a sense of belonging to the earth and sea, blessed by the vast blue sky with its ever expressive moods and moments, a child of the Sun. I was also filled with a sense of the presence of the ancestors, the aboriginal spirit of place. I could not escape the feeling of Eden and always felt as if this place had been paradise to its former inhabitants. I've always been sustained by the feeling of this ancient presence somehow being embedded in the land itself and its perfect partners, the sea and sky.

2    What did you do in a former life, before coming to Noosa?

I did a bit of country journalism, worked in my family's restaurant in Toowoomba, and created a homestead on Obi Obi Creek where Lake Baroon now stands. There I began a long-term career in art blacksmithing. After my humble beginnings in my first smithy at Baroon Pocket, I relocated back to Toowoomba and grew my art practice and business. The business grew and the jobs got bigger and finally reached a point where there were about 16 people creating original, innovative architectural art metal and furniture for projects all around Australia. It was an exciting and challenging experience, made all the richer by an international artist-in-residence programme that embraced English, German, Austrian and American visitors. Some of whom stayed for a few months, a few years or became Australian residents and are still here making a creative input.

That's my former professional life. Former lives are another story.

3    What makes you stay in Noosa?  Describe your relationship with the place?

Pure love and addiction keep me here. It is the land itself. I love the nature of the landscape and feel I've lived many lifetimes here. It’s a primal connection. I have travelled quite a bit and even fallen in love with beautiful people from other beautiful countries with wonderful qualities, but here I have a sense of belonging to the country itself. My creative and spiritual nature is at home here. Here the earth talks to me as an old friend. The magnificence of the landscape of the whole coast and hinterland is just full of magic that gives me a sense of eternity. The beaches spread out like great surrendered bodies. The volcanic mountains rise up like Earth Mother worshipping the heavens and we can climb up there and see views that give us the feeling of being in the heavens. The valleys with their shady watercourses, full of the precious juice of life, cradle infinite reflections of creative mastery. It is the spirit of place and a sense of pure belonging that keeps me here. Noosa also embraces the pure diversity of human expression. This is priceless.

4    What do you do?  

I am a creator, healer and transformer. I am a spiritual soul who's returned to Mother Earth to heal and be healed. I make art in as many forms as I have faculties. I work with steel, wild wood, recycled materials, landscape, sound, light, written and spoken words, food, massage, energy healing and I am a Keeper of the Light. My life has carried me along the way of the shaman. I have become a master of reinvention by necessity, perhaps by design. I love the processes of transformation and the power of love. At the Eastern entry to Kin Kin is my studio, gallery garden with my artwork on public display. It is my life shared in the spirit of love and hospitality. My Duelling Banjo gates and Welcome Wave letterbox stand as invitations to the passing world. I provide guided tours of my personal art collection that documents my journey as an unfolding soul. I give inspirational insights and introduce visitors to the magic of chaos, quantum potential and sympathetic resonance. I promote love and sharing, kindness and hospitality. I grow organic food and beautiful plants and share with whomever visits me. I make friends with open hearts who come my way. I seek inspiration and give it freely. I create wonderment from what was discarded. I give rebirth to all I can and I grow peace and harmony wherever I find a fertile opportunity. I make magic for the joy of all who are open to it. I sell my creations and services to nourish myself and those who come my way. I respond to everything and everyone I can in a spirit of devotion to the Infinite possibilities of the Magnificence of Being Alive. In the words of a great friend, life is my religion and living happy is my daily prayer.

5    What makes Noosa ‘tick’ and what are its unique characteristics?

Noosa ticks because it is heaven on earth. I am sure I have already described its unique characteristics. The Seven Wonders of the World tell it all in what we see, hear, feel, touch, taste, smell and sense. These experiences of Noosa tell it all in the unique language of all who find the stillness to celebrate it.

6    How would you describe Noosa to someone with no knowledge of it?

Noosa is a magnificent marriage of land, sea and sky. She is a multi-jewelled cradle of life. Noosa is a sanctuary, a healing place, a reminder that nothing is greater than being at-one with nature. Her culture provides endless opportunities to nourish and restore the soul, so don't rush it. Listen to her call. Take the time. Be at home in her and she will give you an opportunity to meet yourself and remember that life is divine.

7    What’s your favourite haunt/spot/view/thing to do around Noosa?

My favourite thing to do in Noosa is to be anywhere in her diverse and generous topography and feel the resonance of her healing powers melting away the ravages of struggle.

8    Your most unusual Noosa experience…

Several years ago I sat on a garden seat outside a cafe with a friend sharing a sacred moment. A Pee Wee (Mud Lark) came wandering by. I spoke to the bird saying ‘If you are a great entity and know me, you can peck my toe’, and she did. I said, ‘Will you join us?’, and she jumped up onto the back of the bench between us and faced me, only centimetres away. On an impulse, I pressed saliva through my lips and leaned forward to her. This bird eyed my lips and came forward and took three sips of my moisture. She then flew down and continued her journey, meeting and greeting the visitors to her world. My friend and I knew we were in heaven.

9    Where was your last holiday?

In my garden.

10     Name someone who has inspired you and why?

Einstein said ‘Inspiration is everything’. Ramtha says the meaning of life is ‘to make known the unknown’. Stuart Wilde says ‘Life wasn't meant to be a struggle’. ‘The Secret’ says the universe is created by what we think. Louise Hay says ‘We are perfect exactly as we are and we are free to change whenever we are willing’. Inspiration is everywhere. Life is magic in the here and now.