December 5, 2016
The Bunya Mountains hosted an extra-large gathering of guests over the weekend.
The visitors were all relatives or friends of well-known Kingaroy Quotarian Wendy Tully and her husband John, and the cause for celebration was Wendy’s 70th birthday.
Guests booked out the two large cottages behind Poppy’s On The Hill along with several others nearby, then came together for a weekend of family fun.
As things turned out – with a heatwave scorching the rest of the region – they couldn’t have chosen a better location for the celebration.
While lowland areas sweltered through most of the weekend in temperatures approaching 40 degrees, the visitors got to enjoy a pleasant stay in the cool mountain air.
Even a blustery thunderstorm on Saturday night failed to cause any real concerns, though it did provide a spectacular light show.
About 100 relatives and friends travelled from all over Queensland and interstate for the party, and one of Wendy’s sons even flew out from London.
Wendy said she was “astonished” at the roll-up, but very pleased to see everyone – especially her nine children and 25 grandchildren.
She said a personal highlight of the weekend was a Powerpoint slideshow of her life put together by her son Jonathan, which included old movie clips he’d shot as a youngster, along with recollections and memorabilia provided by her sisters.
Thanks to the Internet, Jonathan had been able to put the presentation together in London, then bring it along with him.
“Everyone had a wonderful time and the children really enjoyed it because the Bunya Mountains are such a special place,” Wendy said.
“And I don’t think I heard anyone say they weren’t having a good time, which was really the best present of all.”
How wonderful to see this family celebrate their beautiful mother. Well done Wendy!! I hope you got to have more than two slices of bread! I am going back to re-read the book to associate your kids with the stories.