Alan Snow

Alan Snow My Uncle Eric taken at around 1940

Alan Snow These are pictures of my Uncle Alf, Mum's brother, who was killed in World War 2. He is buried in a war grave in Libya which we will probably never get to visit. Alf must have been a very clever man, as was my Mum. He won the prestigious Melville Medal for the dux of the Maryborough Boys State High School and went on to become a techier before enlisting. We actually have his award in the collection of memorabilia.

Alan Snow This is my Uncle Eric, Mum's brother. He also served in World War 2 and did encounter Dad a couple of times although they were in different divisions. Eric was a prisoner of war in Malaya? and until the day he died had an intense hatred for the Japanese to the point he would not set foot in a Japanese car. He never married and lived a solitary existence in a block of units in Park Road, Milton. He worked in various jobs and was a civilian in the stores at the Roma Street barracks. The war really destroyed him although we did not realize it at the time. He really did have a tragic life. Uncle Eric died in around 1980 (to be confirmed)

Alan Snow These are early photos of my Mum and Dad, Ailsa Margaret Snow (nee Wilson) and Russell Lyle Snow They married on 24 April 1946 I remember Mum telling me that they they were boarding at a place while they were getting the house at 44 Crown Street Maryborough built

Alan Snow This is my Mum, Ailsa Margaret Wilson who was born on 4 April 1925 and died 3 March 1996 My Mum did not really have a happy childhood, Her mother passed away when Mum was very young and Mum was raised by her sister Florence. who also passed away. Mum's father, George Sloan Wilson remarried and Mum had a stepsister who received preferential treatment from her mother. In later years, I know that Mum maintained a bitterness towards her stepmother. Mum was a very clever lady as was her brother Alf. I remember that my Aunty Eva told me once that Mum was told that she had to leave school to go and work, because that was what young women did. It seems that Mum was very upset as she enjoyed school. She must have learned to play piano because, although we did not have a piano, I remember Mum used to play the "air piano" on the kitchen table. In later years, she purchased an organ and later upgraded that to a better organ such was her love of music. She worked as a domestic at my Aunty Mavis farm (Dad's sister) and that is where Dad met Mum after Dad returned from the war. Mum loved her family, and her grandchildren and loved it when we all came home. She loved having her newly inherited daughters visit. She was so excited when she got the chance to see one of us married and particularly when grandchildren came along. One of the most wonderful things we did was to make the arrangements to have Tania christened in Maryborough. I think everyone in Maryborough knew about the event because there was a large crowd in attendance.

Alan Snow This is Russell Lyle Snowe who was born on 26 June 1918 and died on 1 March 1978. Dad was born in Hampton on the Darling Downs. The family was involved in the timber industry and moved around a bit. Dad had two brothers Spencer, and John and a sister Mavis. They must have moved down to Northern NSW again because I can remember my Uncle John pointing out the stumps of the old family homestead at Tyagarah. Dad, along with all the young men at the time enlisted for the great adventure overseas which just happened to be a war. He was in the 2/15 battalion as part of the 9th Division AIF. They served in the Middle East and were part of the Tobruk campaign. They then pulled them back, a bit of quick training, and then shipped them off to fight the Japanese in New Guinea. Much has been written about that debacle because they still had their khakis which were ideal camouflage attire in the deserts but not in the jungles of New Guinea. Anyway, dad was injured towards the end of the campaign. I can remember even as a boy that every so often, piece of shrapnel would emerge from a raised lump in his body. There were obviously fragments floating around inside of him. My brother Greg has digitized all of Dad’s photos from the war and a great compilation with narration has been made. After the war, he came to Queensland to work on Aunty Mavis property and that is where he met my mum and the rest is history. He married my Mum on 20 April 1946.

Alan Snow This is the family home at 44 Crown Street Maryborough where I spent all of my young life from 1949 to 1968 when I moved to Brisbane to go to the Queensland Institute of Technology After I left, Mum and Dad had the front veranda enclosed to make an extra room. While I was living there, my room was on the left side that I shared with Trevor. Greg was in the back room and then, after i left, there was a juggle. Janelle got her own room and Trevor and Greg moved to the room where I was. I remember that our left side neighbours were the Waltons in the early days, the right side were the Crosses, and the back neighbours were Beth and Vera, two sisters who loved to sit and watch us play in the back yard.

Alan Snow This is my Mum and Dad with my older brother Robin Russell who I never knew. This would have been taken at the Maryborough Show. Dad would have been a bus driver in this picture because that is his leather bag of money from the buses that he has over his shoulder. That is his RSL badge on his coat lapel

Alan Snow

Alan Snow My brother Robin Russell and me. My brother died before I knew him

Alan Snow This is me at 12 months of age.

Alan Snow Alan having a bath at 2 years old. I remember that bathtub. It was a big metal thing that we all used. (before plastic). That is under the tank stand in the backyard

Alan Snow These were taken when I was 2 years old in the backyard at 44 Crown Street. Half of the backyard was a potato patch for as long as I could remember. The back fence was to Bert Rampton's place., He had two daughters Beth and Vera who used to spend their days watching us play

Alan Snow Trevor Mark Snow was born

Alan Snow Vicki Anne Gorring was born

Alan Snow Alan at 5 years old and Trevor at 16 months. Not sure where this was taken but probably in Maryborough

Alan Snow This is the Central State School where we went to Infants School Grades 1 and 2 and then on to Grades 4 to 6. After that, we went to the Maryborough Boys State High and Intermediate School where we did years 7 and 8 (boys only - the girls had their own school). The Central State School was mixed and we never really had a class less than 40, boys and girls. There were three houses, Petrie, Cook, and Flinders. I was in Cook. Uniforms were only optional in Grade 6 and shoes were pretty much optional although the bitumen was too hot to stand on without shoes. School milk was delivered in little bottles that were hot by the time we got to drink it at the first break. There was no such thing as tuck shop and lunch was take it yourself or, if it was a treat, we lined up for an Augie Saur pie which was about 8 pence from memory. We used slates from Grade 1 to about Grade 4 and then we used pencils. One of the coveted jobs was water bottle monitor where you walked along with the bottle for us to clean our slates. Stales were horrible things

Alan Snow Gregory John Snow was born on 27 May 1955 and died far too early on 28 November 2012. Greg and Trevor were very similar in age and grew up as good mates as well as being brothers. If one of us was going to have a strange ailment or accident, it weas Greg. One of Greg’s early accidents involved him sitting on my feet being catapulted in the air, as boys do. That led to a broken arm – the first. He then broke another arm but continued to ride his bike to and from school with his arm in a cast. He had a devilish sense of humour and loved a good game of cards and then was when the rivalry really kicked in. He loved fishing and loved Fraser Island. He had only just returned from a big overseas adventure when he phoned me to tell me that he had cancer which was probably terminal. We went straight down to see him and I devoted a lot of time talking to him over the next few months. One of the memories that is etched in my memory that I will never forget is watching him leave this world on 28 November 2012 from cancer.

Alan Snow My first class photo - Class 1e in 1955 at the Maryborough Central Infants State School That is me 2nd row from the top and four from the left. I can see Robert Walker and Warren Dawes in the photo

Alan Snow This is Mum and Day with Trevor and myself. I think we were probably going to the Maryborough Show. It was a always a big event and everyone got dressed up for the occasion. It was the only time of the year that Mum used to lock the back door because the show people were in town and they were not to be trusted. I am not sure what difference it made because we were nowhere near the showgrounds but it seemed the thing to do at the time.

Alan Snow The school photo taken in 1956. I would have been 7 years old. I remember that we had to go in one at a time to get our photo taken in front of the same book. On alternate years we had class photos taken

Alan Snow School Photo at Maryborough Central State School Class 3c 1957. I am the second row from the top far right

Alan Snow Class photo at Maryborough Central State School 1958 Class 4d

Alan Snow This is the family house at 44 Crown Street Maryborough. This is before we knocked the front fence down so I am guessing around 1962. Dad used to paint the house regularly. It was frightening to get up and pant the gables. We had a huge hailstorm in around 1967 which completely destroyed the roof and was replaced with iron In about 1967, Dad decided to cement under the house. We had a shower installed and then he had the idea as to how to cut costs. We went and gathered old bricks. We put them into the ground and then packed a cement slurry around them. He then wet the bricks and then we poured about a 4 cm topcoat over the top. It seemed to last because it was still in pretty good condition when we sold the house after Mum died. After I moved to Brisbane in 1969, there was a major shuffle of beds. Trevor moved to my old bed, Greg moved to Trevor's bed, Janelle got her own room. Then Dad had the front verandah enclosed which had a few more beds for the expanding foamily as we came home for Christmas etc..

Alan Snow This is the old Maryborough Boys State High and Intermediate School which started life as the Maryborough Grammar School in 1881 – and I am sure there were ghosts running around in the place. It was Boys only; the girls were over the other side of Kent Street. Years 7 and 8 were what was called Intermediate. We did those years and then sat for the Scholarship examination which was a public examination sat for by all Year students in Queensland. The three subjects were Arithmetic, English, and Social Studies which was basically English history with a bit of stuff about Australian explorer thrown in. My teacher was Mr Smith who was my favourite teacher in all my years. He actually taught every one of us including my cousins who he boarded with at a one teacher school down at the Bay. I sat for the very last Scholarship exam and the concept was disbanded the next year. The Year 7’s stayed at primary school and there were then three years to Junior. After that, it was on to Junior where we had multiple subjects and teachers. We tended to stay n the same room and the teachers came to us except for Science where we went to the Chemistry Lab for lessons with Alcohol Col Mason. I left after Junior and went to get a job but in retrospect wished I had stayed at school. There were four houses, Melville, Morton, Glasgow and Barton. I was in Barton. It was a boy's only school; but amalgamation of the boys and the girls high schools happened a few years after I left.

Alan Snow Fraser Island was our playground for a number of years. This was the shack at Yiidney Rocks taken from the hill overlooking the house. The shed in the front with the ladder was the bathhouse which actually had sun heated water every day. We generally went for two or three weeks and, one Christmas, we even took the Christmas chook (alive). This may well have been one of the first instances of integrated tourism. It was a real adventure. We packed up with food etc for about two or three weeks packed into tea cases, all the fishing gear with reserves, kerosene for the fridge and lights, and everything else we may need to live off the grid for a few weeks. This would be loaded on to the boat to take us from Urangan to Fraser Island. We would then be unloaded and loaded into an old truck which were old, converted army blitzes in some cases. Then off we would go over the island and dropped at the house at Yidney Rocks. That would be it for two or three weeks and then they would come back to pick us up and repeat the process. It was really exciting stuff and we all got sun burned to beggary but survived. We first went over with the Hulls, then for a few years the Everett's, and, in alter years, Baldersons. In later years, Lenny Balderson had a Land Rover and things got easier, but I had left home by then. The next photo shows the transportation that was a really rough ride, timber seats that were at least painted.

Alan Snow This photo was taken at the top of the hill overlooking the shack at Yidney Rocks We regularly went up the hill to make sure the pump was working and to get wood to cook the fish. We would go over for three weeks and one year, we even took the chook that had to be killed for Christmas dinner. Fraser Island was our playground for years. This trip, we went with the Hulls from memory and it was the Everett’s after that. There was Dad, Trevor, Greg and myself in this photo.

Alan Snow This was my Dad on Fraser Island. Dad loved fishing. We went to Toogum most Sundays and of course the annual pilgrimage to Fraser Island. IN later years, when Janelle was quite young, They went to Gattackers Bay and stayed at Percy Calver's house but later, it was back to Fraser Island.

Alan Snow I am taking a guess at the year, but it would be around the early 60’s Dad was a bus driver from when I was born. I remember he used to say that he knew he had been driving busses for a long time when the kids he drove to school were taking their kids to school. Everyone in Maryborough knew the bus drivers because they were almost the same crew for as long as I could remember, and they were good mates. Of a night, Dad had to count the takings for the day, tally up, and roll the coins for deposit the next day. These were pennies, half-pennies, threepences, sixpences, shillings, and florins. This was very much a family ritual and one we all enjoyed taking part in. Saturdays were fun because Dad would do the Saturday morning run (remember people used to work on Saturday mornings then). He would be home probably about 1:00 and the bus would be parked outside the house. We would usually have a roast dinner and then, about 6:00, we would all pile into he bus for the pictures run. He would often have to do two runs, but we would get off on the first run to get tickets for the latest movie. Then after the movie, it was back on to the bus for the home runs and then, by the time the bus was back in the depot and we were getting home, it was usually close to midnight. Maryborough had three picture theatres then, the Wintergarden and the Bungalow which were owned by the same group and were over the road from each other and the Embassy which we really did not go to. About one per month, the bus did an excursion to Toddington Weir for the day and off the family would go. I guess this was one of the few perks of the job. The Maryborough City Council sold the bus service in about 1970 and Dad stayed with the council and become a truck driver. He soon became a local contact for the Transport Workers Union and was made a life member just before he died.

Alan Snow My younger sister Janelle Margaret Snow was born and Mum finally had a daughter. I learned quickly to change nappies, put Janelle to sleep, bath and assist with potty training and the little chores that go with that. I guess it was my cadetship for when we had our own daughters. Janelle was born in 1964 and I left for Brisbane when she was 5 and she was always excited when the “big brother” came home. The next to leave home was Greg who went to Brisbane to g to the PMG Telecommunications Training School in around 1972. Then Trevor left to work in Brisbane.

Alan Snow The first weddings I went to were Aunty Mavis children Nancy, Heather, and Don. They were all older than me and Don was the closest in age. This would have been a family wedding, probably Don’s but maybe Heather) and the photo was taken in Aunty Mavis’s front yard. Looks as if I was not carrying a lot of weight then.

Alan Snow My 21st. I just went up to Maryborough for the weekend and Mum put on a special little dinner with a cake for me. It was a complete surprise This is taken in the dining room and Janelle is on the right

Alan Snow Possibly one of the last photos taken of Mum, Dad, Greg, Trevor and Janelle. I seem to remember that this was a gathering for a wedding the way we are all dressed up.

Alan Snow Off to the ball with Vicki. I think this was in about 1973 at the West Leagues Club

Alan Snow Christmas Day in Maryborough was always a big thing and its importance did not diminish as the family got bigger, it just changed. It must have been a logistical nightmare for Mum and Dad working out where everyone was going to sleep because we often changed from trip to trip. Vicki was always in the spare bed in Janelle's room so she had pride of place. Because Vicki was the first prospective sister in law, the brothers often had good hearted jokes with her that she gave straight back - and Greg was the most devious. Chopping wood is a story in itself and the day Greg set Vicki up to with an axe to cut this horrible bit of wood that we had been bypassing for weeks because it looked too hard to cut. It would be fair to say that Vicki did not make a dent.

Alan Snow This is a photo showing Lang Park as it was then during the 1974 floods. The flooding came after near-record rainfall over the wet summer, which was topped off by torrential falls from January 23, caused by Tropical Cyclone Wanda. Continual, heavy rain had fallen for three weeks, leading up to the flood, which occurred on Sunday, 27 January 1974, during the Australia Day weekend. The floods peaked at 6.6 metres according to the Port Office gauge at high tide at 2:15 am on 29 January.

Alan Snow These are more pictures taken during the 1974 floods. I could not get to Hamilton but Kev Melksham who I was sharing a house with could get to DPI at Indooroopilly so I went there with him The problem was that they had no power so we could not actually do anything.so we adjourned to West Leagues Club that did have power and cold beer. The next day I could get to Hamilton and then we were dispatched for a few days to assist with the clean-up of DPI premises at Rocklea. People have said that it is a smell that you do not forget, the muddy, smelly rotting odour.

Alan Snow We were looking at buying a house and found one we could afford at 23 Edge Street Murarrie that cost us $85,000 from memory. We thought our throats had been cut. In 1974, to get a loan from a bank, you needed to have 25% deposit and the affordability to finance the load would only be based on the male wage because women get pregnant and leave the workforce. It was during the 1974 floods that we were looking at houses, so we were well aware of the areas that went under water. The real estate agent we bought the house through was under water but we weren’t. We gradually renovated the house, put walls in, had the place rewired, had a new cart port built, had an extension added on the front that added another bedroom and office and a second toilet and shower, added a large deck on the back, and various other modifications. The extension cost more than the house. Peter and Eric did the work. We sold the house in around 1994. (tbc) The car in the front is Vicki's beloved Cortina.

Alan Snow This was one of the few photos in later years of my whole family and Uncle Eric. It was taken at Vicki and my wedding reception at the Queensland Cricketers Club. From left to right Trevor, Dad, me, Greg, Mum , and Uncle Eric The next photo is one of Mum and Uncle Eric

Alan Snow Photos taken at our wedding. The reception was at the Queensland Cricketers Club. It was not without dramas. We found out at the practice that my ring did not fit so I was running around madly on the morning of the wedding to get it replaced. Success.

Alan Snow Vicki and I were married

Alan Snow This is another dinner dance at the National Hotel. I seem to remember that it was one for the private pathologies but I could be wrong. I actually worked as a drink waiter at the National Hotel in around 1970

Alan Snow I started work at the Otto Madsen Dairy Research Laboratories in Hamilton around 1 August 1972. After ten minutes, I wanted to walk out. They were the most disorganized bunch of people I had ever come across. They did not expect me for another week. Anyway, I stayed and I started in the Microbiology Laboratories never having done Microbiology in my life. I ended up working for DPI in a range of functions for the next 40 odd years and , while it was not without its frustrations, I really enjoyed the work and the comradery. I made a lot of lifelong friends that I have maintained contact with.

Alan Snow Tania Marie Snow was born at the Royal Brisbane Women's Hospital

Alan Snow My Dad unfortunately only got to meet one of his grandchildren and would have loved them all. This was photo was taken with Tania. I remember that when we first took Tania up to Maryborough, we found that Dad had made a tester with ta mosquito net in preparation. Tania was asleep in her cot and we came home to find Mum and Dad with Tania in their arms just looking at her in wonderment, probably wondering how their son could produce such a beautiful baby.

Alan Snow When Tania was very small, we bought a tent. The Continental style tent was all the rage at the time. It had in an internal frame and all sprung together quite nicely – until all of the springs broke, and we then just had a great pile of rods to assemble. You assembled the frame and then pulled the tent over the frame. It was actually very sturdy and quite waterproof. It actually had two sleeping areas with a hanging space in the middle. We had many a good holiday in it. IN this photo, you can see the old trailer in the background that we used to load up with the camping gear, fishing gear, and in later years, bikes etc. That was our first car, a Subaru 4DL that we bought new in 1976. This photo was taken at Evans Head but we camped at Miva, Brunswick Heads, Pipeclay (Lorikeet) Beach, and a number of other places in it. Tania loved it.

Alan Snow This is a pretty good picture of all of the Snow women in the family as it was in 1980 This was taken on the front verandah at the house in Maryborough Mum really enjoyed having her family around and I remember her saying that it was always very quiet when we all returned to Brisbane. No doubt there would have been a game of cards or three this trip.

Alan Snow Michelle Elizabeth Snow was born at the Royal Brisbane Woman's Hospital

Alan Snow Christening for Michelle. The service was held at the Morningside Uniting Church and we had a party at home at the old house at Edge Street Murarrie

Alan Snow This photo brings back great memories of the house in Maryborough. Beside the stove we had a wood box that went through various rebuilds with compartments for wood and chips to start the fire. This was one of the latest rebuilds . From a young age, our job was to bring up wood and fill the wood box. When we were older, we learned to chop the wood and later, learned how to fire up the stove. Mum and Dad went through a series of stoves from the first wood stove to finally a slow combustion stove that was incredibly efficient. Mum created some culinary masterpieces on the stove. In those days, the kitchen was the hub of the house. The wood box was also a seat, and it was a great place to sit by the fire, particularly on a cold night. I can remember that, on particularly cold days, Dad would get dressed there, by the stove. And, of course, one of the huge benefits of a wood stove was the great toast and sitting there with the bread on a toasting fork. This looks as if it was taken soon after Michelle was born, probably here first trip to Maryborough to meet her Nannaborough.

Alan Snow Horsey rides on the knee!! I am giving Michelle a horsey ride and it look's as if Tania is keenly waiting for her turn. I have given horsey rides to my two girls, 5 grandchildren, and probably a few other children along the way. No wonder my knees are stuffed

Alan Snow In 1983, I took a month of my Long Service Leave , we hired a campervan, and headed off for about 5 weeks through the south of Australia. We headed down the coast road, through Sydney, across to Canberra, and then to the snow fields, through Ballarat, back through Victoria to the coast and then back up the Pacific Highway through Sydney and ultimately back to home. We visited Old Sydney Town, mined for gold in Ballarat, and were in Kiama on 26 September 1983 when Australia II won the Americas Cup. It was a wonderful holiday that had its really funny experiences. Vicki had to take the girls in for a shower, washed them, and I would wait outside the ladies showers to collect the girls. Vicki would come out almost shivering then she would have her shower. At least I thought it was funny. The only time they did not get a shower was one night in Ballarat when Vicki said it was too bloody cold for anyone to have a shower. The second photo shows why a shower was necessary at times.

Alan Snow The Snow women in around 1985 (TBC)

Alan Snow I spent a lot of time involved with my union which was the Queensland Professional Officers Association. We amalgamated with the Qld State Service Union in 1992. I was conference organizer this year and ran the whole conference with my committee. Vicki and I had a room at the Parkroyal and from memory the girls stayed there as well

Alan Snow World Expo 88 was a wonderful event for Brisbane and one that as a family, we really enjoyed. We made the decision in 1987 that we would get season passes for the event as it was going to be our holiday for the year. It became a regular event that, every Saturday, it was off to Netball, a quick change in the change room or the car, and then off to Expo for the day. The girls had their passbooks that they had stamped at every pavilion and they still have them to this day, along with their season passes. One of our regular eating places had a bout of food poisoning but that did not stop us. By the end of Expo, we had been to every pavilion, some more than once, and really enjoyed it. That is where we learned about queues.

Alan Snow Australia held its Bicentenary in 1988 and, as part of the city wide celebrations, each ward received a grant to put on local events. There had to be a committee to run the show and I was Secretary of the Doboy Ward Bicentenary Committee. After al the celebrations, a civic reception was held in City Hall which is where this photo was taken with some of my fellow committee members. One of the souvenirs of the events was the Bicentenary Flag which I held at the end and, as no one asked for it back, I still have. It might actually be worth some money one day.

Alan Snow In January 2000, we did a road trip with Jennifer and Peter along the Great Ocean Road. Jennifer and Peter had driven down to Victoria for a wedding. Vicki and I flew to Melbourne and borrowed Cathy's car for a week. We met up with Peter and Jen and started the trip with t trip over the vehicular ferry from Queenscliff and then along the road. We stayed the night at Port Fairy and had a good few days exploring the area including Warrnambool.

Alan Snow Michelle and Damien got married. I remember the first time I met Damien, I arrived home from work and Vicki said "leave your tie on, Damien is coming around." I said "Who's Damien?" Vicki said "Michelle's boyfriend" I said "Hang on, I did not know she had a boyfriend? Who is he again?" Anyway, the rest is history

Alan Snow Grandchild No 1, Brielle Jade Pappalardo was born

Alan Snow Hello Cuz Bethany Snow meeting her cousin Brielle for the first time

Alan Snow I seemed to spend half of my life working on fish names, but it was a project that brought me a lot of joy and met some great people. Some bastards too of course. This was another FNC meeting taken in Canberra in 2004

Alan Snow I had been working on a project looking at Traceability systems in the seafood industry and had given a couple of training workshops around Australia. I was asked to run a workshop for the National Fisheries Association in Port Moresby which was very interesting. Some people have said that Port Moresby can be a frightening place – and they would not be lying because some parts are.

Alan Snow Vicki and I just happened to be in Alice Springs in 2006 when the annual camel races were being held. Well of course we had to go which was a lot of fun but it was surprising that you could not have a bet. You could get a beer of course but there were no bookies. I would have taken pleasure in backing a losing camel. It was a real festival though and had a group of the most awful square dancers giving a demonstration.

Alan Snow The family gathered at Greg and Lynn’s house at Alexandra Hills around the pool. It was always a wonderful time when I got together with the two brothers and sister because we were spread around a bit. There were still two grandchildren to come in this photo.

Alan Snow This was our first overseas trip to Malaysia. When World Expo 88 was held in Brisbane, Vicki and I were impressed with the Malaysia display and we said at the time that we would like to go there. Well it took almost 20 years but we did finally get there and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Kuala Lumpur was hot, humid, and stormed every afternoon, a bit like North Queensland or Darwin. It really whetted our appetite for travel.

Alan Snow Vicki and I have been considering growing up for a few years now. We have decided that next year we probably should, maybe in 2025.

Alan Snow This was a photo of my younger brother Greg and me taken in Canberra. We were downs there for a ceremony for the laying of a plaque to commemorate the 2ms 15th, our Dad’s battalion in World War 11. Vicki and I were down there on a road trip and sp[ent a wonderful couple of days with Greg and Robert. It was not too long after this that Greg started to get ill with the dreaded cancer which goes to show that you must treasure every moment. The second photo has Greg and myself and Paul Everett. Paul was older than us. Ron Everett, Paul’s father served with Dad in WW 2. They had a rose nursery at Tinana called Paulen Park. Our first years at Fraser Island on holidays were always with the Everett’s and Paul and Stephen were our playmates over there. We would disappear for hours and probably only return to the shack when hunger pangs set in. We did a good deal of reminiscing when we met up because I had not seen Paul for something like 50 years.

Alan Snow Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!! This photo was taken at Michelle's 30th birthday bash where the theme was the 80's. It was held at the Camp Hill Bowls Club. Trevor, Greg and myself went as Ghostbusters and made the grand entrance to the theme from Ghostbusters. Greg really got into the idea and spent a bit of time making bits and pieces as part of the costume. It was a fun night.

Alan Snow This was Clayton and Alex's engagement party. I had managed to get a couple of boxes of Atlantic Salmon from one of my seafood contacts and then Trevor, Paul, and I were the cooks for the day. Good to see we were health conscious and all had PPE on. We must have hidden the beers.

Alan Snow In 2014 to celebrate our 40th Wedding anniversary, we went to Las Vegas and did it again. Well we renewed the wedding vows and it was a lovely thing to do. It did not change anything or how we get on with each other, but we thought, “Why not?”. We had a wonderful evening in the old part of Vegas and went to a lovely restaurant called Hugo’s Cellar which is situated in the bowels of the Queens Casino, one of the older ones. The restaurant was down a dingy stairway where I imagined a kidney harvesting business was being conducted but that was not the case and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. (see http://www.fourqueens.com/dining/hugos_cellar/index.php )

Alan Snow We took delivery of our new van to great excitement. We had to get some modifications made to the Isuzu for towing but there was heaps of time for that to be done as it was about 3 months after ordering the van to actually taking delivery.

Alan Snow We regularly went to the Arts Theatre with our good friends Norm and Margaret Wotherspoon. This night, we were going to see Jurassic Park, the Musical

Alan Snow Even Jack our beloved cockatiel came on holidays with us and chattered away over a glass of red. He certainly had a personality that we certainly missed when he went to the big aviary n the sky.

Alan Snow The last days of packing up the Marie Street house. We had a wonderful lounge room, a very spartan bed (the blowup mattress) but we were so tired after packing and shifting stuff that we could have slept on a sack of potatoes. It was certainly all hands to the deck and our wonderful family all pitched in.

Alan Snow This was the day we locked the front door of the house at 44 Marie Street Murarrie for the last time. In 2017, we decided to downsize. We had the van and we wanted a smaller place, low maintenance, that we could lock up and go. We signed up for a unit off the plans that they were just about to start building, put our house on the market and life was good. Then, the house sold, the builder of the unit went broke or decided not to build and we were stuck. - cash rich but homeless. It was a day of mixed feelings when we received the cheque for the sale because we were well heeled but homeless. We were without a fixed abode to two years living in the van, at Tania’s for a few weeks, overseas twice, house sitting for Tania, house sitting for Norm and Margaret, a cottage at Eight Mile Plains (twice), a SC unit at the Koala Motel, and finally a week at the Waterloo Bay Hotel for the last week. But we survived and can only laugh about it later, The good thing was that when we got into our new unit, it was large compared to what we had been living in.

Alan Snow It was a long year watching the unit go from a block of dirt with overgrown trees and rubbish and gradually the unit took shape.

Alan Snow And finally the unit was built. We watched it go up brick by brick anxiously awaiting the date when we had the unit and the keys in our hand. Our unit is the middle floor on the front.

Alan Snow On the 14th December 2018 after waiting for two years and spending about 12 months watching the unit complex come to fruition, we finally received the keys. We were the first residents and had the place to ourselves for about two months, except for the builders who were in every day completing the other units. We were starting to despair that the day would never come.

Alan Snow We managed to get tickets to see the Edinburgh Military Tattoo in its spiritual home of Edinburgh which was truly wonderful. I used to watch the Tattoo on New Year’s evening on ABC TV with Mum and Dad in Maryborough and continued to watch it most years after that. I never imagined in my wildest dreams when in Maryborough that I would get to see it in person but in those days, international travel was unimaginable. Dad loved brass bands and pipe bands. I those days, Maryborough had three brass bands and at least two piped bands. Maryborough regularly hosted the State Band Championships and the national championships at regular intervals. We all went along to see the events. Dad would have been thrilled to have seen the tattoo.

Alan Snow This is the start of 2020 and things looked good. Little did we know what was to happen to the world that year as the world came crashing thanks to the Coronavirus pandemic. Queensland was very vigilant right from the start, and we managed to contain the outbreak very well but other states and countries did not fare as well. The good and the bad that year for me personally were: • My work at QCAT came crashing to an end as face-to-face contact was minimised and more people were working from home • We could not travel so we spent a lot more time at home and saved money • The government gave me a cash boost as part of a stimulus package that I probably did not need • I spent more time on the project and managed to bring two projects to an end • I became very proficient at ZOOM teleconferencing • My family were generally OK and were not one of the unlucky people to be laid off or retrenched • My JP duties stopped, and I was doing work at home but that started again later under sanitised conditions • It helped that Vicki is my best friend, and we weathered the storm together • We purchased a new car at the end of 2020 because we had not travelled • It also meant that we were available for child minding duties more as we did not even travel interstate. • We played more golf ands for the first time, we played every round with the golf club. All in all, we came through OK but a lot of the world has not and the future is still very dark.

Alan Snow As soon as we saw that Adam Lambert and Queen were coming to Brisbane, we bought tickets which means that we had them for twelve months. I was considering listing them in my will we had the tickets for so long. The night came and it was pouring so off we went with a tarp and ponchos in the train, It was a great concert but it never stopped raining. That was almost the last concert before Covid set in and the remainder of that tour was cancelled. Soon after that night, Vicki and I both were very ill with Influenza A (but the symptoms were the same as Covid-19). We quarantined for two weeks because we were really too ill to do anything. Anyway, we recovered to full health, but it is the sickest I have been for a long time.

Alan Snow Christmas dinner 2020 at Tania's house. A wonderful day with the daughters, grandchildren, in-laws, and Trevor and Cathy A wonderful and enjoyable day

Alan Snow this was taken at my last FNC meeting which was the greatest stitchup of all time I got my first shock to find my good mate Gus in the unit. Vicki was in on it l Meaghan had organised the meeting as a non meeting and members talked about my achievements Very humbling

Alan Snow In April, Vicki and I started my full retirement with a trip down into NSW through Ballina, Port Macquarie, around Sydney to Morouya where we stayed for a week at Tomakin, a place we had stayed at previously. It was a great break and spent the time golfing, fishing and touristing. We then headed back to Canberra where we had tickets to the Botticelli to Van Gough Art exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia. I had to go to FRDC in Canberra where they have me a nice lunch and presentation and award to thank me for my services for a number of years. From there, back through Orange and then Coffs Harbour before heading home. A great and enjoyable trip

Alan Snow This seemed like a good idea at the time. The Twilight Run was being held along the Wynnum foreshore and the charity was Guide Dogs for the Blind. I entered to run the 5Km course which I intended to do as a walk. A "walk in the park" because I walk that and further every morning. Anyway, the gun went and off we went, people started jogging, I started jogging and jogged/walked for the 5 Km in around 38 minutes. I was stiff and sore for the next two days and realised that the last fun run I did was over 30 years ago. But I survived to tell the tale