Guided tours of Amiens Legacy Centre & Robert Shannon winery, Stanthorpe – Monday, 12 September 2022

Well, we had a small roll up of twenty (20) on this occasion which included two (2) new members Denis McCarthy & Mark Tranter – Welcome Denis & Mark.

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend this event & the following notes & attached photos have been provided by Warwick Dingle & Peter Taylor – Thanks Warwick & Peter. 

The first stop of the day was the Amiens Legacy Centre which was well represented by volunteers Alex & Denise (both descendants of returned soldiers) who provided an excellent presentation over Smoko covering:

  • Amien’s Legacy Centre was established to remember returning soldiers from WW 1 in the 1920’s.
  • Returned soldiers to the area were allotted 40-acre blocks to work with to grow apples, fruit & vegetables.
  • The movies presented the history of the Centre & the Prince of Wales visit there.
  • A new building & refurbishment is currently underway to house the presentation & movie area.
  • The Railway Carriage on site was decked out with memorabilia.
  • Qld. Government provided a grant to fund the upgrades & refurbishment.

Very well done.

The second stop of the day was at Robert Channon Winery. Unfortunately, Robert was unavailable but, he was well represented by his chief wine maker who presented four (4) whites & four (4) reds for tasting along with all the history of the local winery. There were quite a few bottles of wine bought by members on the way out.

Based on the feedback I have received, members in attendance were very satisfied with both tours & tastings etc. – I am disappointed that I was unable to attend.

The last stop of the day before turning for home was the RSL Club for lunch.

Following lunch members birthdays falling in September were acknowledged & celebrated in our usual way Viz. Brian Douglas, John Foley, Bryan Hunt, John Mullen, Pat O’Dea, Don Stansbie, Allan Stenzel, Ray Wells & Greg Whitley.

Special thanks to All who contributed to making this another safe & enjoyable event for all attendees, including Alex & Denise for their welcome & presentation; Chief wine maker for the tastings & his presentation on the history of the area; Peter Taylor for organising this event; Warwick Dingle for his overall coordination of this event, keeping the group together during both tours, & ensuring all members were accounted for before the coach departed after each leg of the trip; Russell Mauch for assisting Warwick, looking after the money collection etc, & the handing out & collection of our name badges; Peter Thompson for ensuring we all got on & off the coach safely at each stop; Bob Whittaker for his usual gig as our trusty first aid officer; Eric Canning, Pat & Tim Sullivan for looking after our hydration needs etc; Michael Bermingham for providing the group with an update on the Status of our current grant application; Jan Neal for making our much appreciated birthday cake; The RSL  kitchen staff for the great lunch provided; & last but not least our driver Peter for transporting us to & from Stanthorpe Safely.

Dick
21st September 2022