March 16, 2017
Wondai isn’t the only South Burnett town to draw praise from afar – six traders from Nanango have drawn praise and gratitude from Yeppoon holidaymakers who almost came to grief as they were passing through on a camping holiday.
Paul Mitchell, his wife and three children were travelling from Cania Gorge to Toowoomba earlier this year when a tyre on their camper blew out 30km north of Nanango and almost caused a roll-over.
Because the accident happened on a Sunday and they had non-standard tyres, the family were forced to make an unexpected two day lay-over in Nanango while local mechanics worked to get them safely back on the road.
The friendliness, thoughtfulness and helpfulness of everyone the family met made a deep impression on the them, and in late January Mr Mitchell sent an unsolicited email to South Burnett Mayor Keith Campbell, which has since been passed on to the Nanango Tourism and Development Association (NaTDA).
Here is what he said:
To Mayor Keith Campbell and Councillors:
My wife and I and our three children – twins aged 6 years and youngest aged 3 years – went on our maiden caravan holiday from our home in Yeppoon to Toowoomba.
We had been travelling on our leg of the journey from Cania Gorge when the left hand tyre on the camper blew out, and as a result we nearly rolled both the camper and car off the highway 30km north of Nanango.
We were all pretty shook up at the time and the kids, who were already restless, were crying as it was pretty traumatic.
We decided to unhitch the vehicle and my wife drove into town with the kids while I waited on the side of the road with the camper for RACQ to assist.
I was unable to change the tyre there as we were on a steep grassy slope on the highway, so it was impossible to even get under the camper, let alone change a tyre.
In a very short time Graham arrived with his truck.
He took great care of my camper and made sure I was safely out of the way the whole time while loading it.
His friendliness, care and service did not stop there – once we got into town he also changed the tyre, checked the pressure in both tyres, then parked it for me in the CWA car park off the road.
He was also planning on watering an elderly lady’s garden after work while she was away.
While he was doing all of this the owner of the Fitzroy Hotel came out and gave me and my wife a cold drink on the house, knowing what we had been through.
He and his wife were accommodating to all of our needs while we were stranded in town.
We had to book in for 2 nights all up as it was a Sunday, and it turned out the tyres were not a standard so had to be ordered in from Brisbane.
Monday morning I contacted the tyre shop, who even sent someone down to check out the tyres to order them.
They stayed in contact with us throughout the process, updating us on how the order was going.
While the young lad was fitting and changing the tyres he noticed there had been a little damage to the guards under the camper from the blow out, and panelbeat it back in place for at least until we got to Toowoomba to have it properly repaired.
The strain of the accident on the car had damaged the air conditioner, so I went down to Michael’s Mechanics. And even though he was busy, he had a look at it and then referred me to the air con specialist Eddy.
I rang Eddy’s mobile air con whose van happened to be off the road, but he said I could come out to his place out of town and he would have a look.
Ten minutes after I got there he had fixed it and did not charge for the service.
I went back the next day and gave him $50 for his trouble, as he had a vehicle off the road and his strawberries had all died from the drought.
He was very appreciative.
I then went to a car part store in the main street and Jackie, the young girl there, without knowing any of my story gave me advice and a discount on the items I bought.
She was very friendly and had many suggestions on things to do in town, and things to look out for while continuing my journey to Toowoomba.
In our moment of need and after such a traumatic start to our trip, your residents made us feel so welcomed and at ease.
Every one of the people listed were extremely friendly and helpful.
If they had been any different the situation would have been a lot more stressful and more difficult on myself and my family.
You have some amazing people in your town and they must be recognised for their amazing efforts and service for locals and tourists passing through.
Next trip we will most certainly be stopping back in to Nanango.
Our thanks go to:
- Rodney and his wife at the Fitzroy Hotel
- Graham from Clayton’s Towing (RACQ)
- Michael from Alexander’s Garage
- Kevin, Brendan and Greg from Tyrepower
- Eddy from Eddy’s Mobile Aircon
- Jackie from Nanango Spare Parts
Keep up the great work!
Paul Mitchell, Yeppoon
NaTDA president Gloria Kirkness said she was delighted the town had made such a positive impression on the family, but not surprised.
“A couple of years ago the Courier-Mail recognised Nanango was the most generous town in Queensland on a per-capita basis, and their story is now on a special billboard we placed at Tipperary Flat.
“Nanango has lots of great businesses and friendly people, and everyone who deals with them knows this already so perhaps we don’t say “thank you” to them as often as we should.
“But this wonderful letter from Mr Mitchell has reminded all of us about what a positive impression natural friendliness and good customer service can create on visitors to our region.
“So I’d like to add NaTDA’s thanks to Mr Mitchell’s, because all the people he’s named are terrific ambassadors for Nanango and the South Burnett.”
- Related article: Wondai Draws Praise From Afar
