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The Committee Celebrating 100 Years of Settlement in Montville

Updated: Jul 22




The Original Committee of the Montville Historical Group consisted of four people.

Left to right: Jean Capper, Alan Sly, Steph McLennan and Betty Bennett, 1987


In her absence, George Carpenter voted Steph McLennan as Montville Historian at an MVA (called Hall & Progress Assoc then) meeting. That’s how it happens sometimes!


  1. Steph McLennan was the young one and working! Steph did most of the research spending hours at John Oxley library and contacting families doing many family trees, taping interviews with past residents she found in Brisbane and elsewhere and borrowed photos to copy. She attended lectures at Nambour library on doing history and then through a library program and with a Nambour librarian and the help of a girl called Amanda from Maleny 100s of photos were copied which were to be stored by Nambour library. Most originals were returned to the owners.

  2. Jean Capper was a long time resident who helped record early stories

  3. Alan Sly spent a lot of time photocopying photos

  4. Betty Bennett helped with collating information

Left to right: Jean Capper, Alan Sly,

Bryan McLennan and Betty Bennett, 1987

People involved in the centenary 1987 celebrations were the above plus


  • Bryan McLennan managed the Centenary Bridge building Project which linked Memorial Close and Carpenter Place providing a safe walkway over Razorback Road

  • Ian Russell

  • Jenny Russell who helped Steph organise the ball and 100 years of fashion. The other members helped where they could.

  • Judy Rolle did a fabulous job helping Steph run stalls to raise funds to organise the Centenary Celebrations.  Judy was also treasurer for the CEP Project building the Centenary Bridge

  • Ian Rolle

  • Mrs Ethel Smith (Monty’s wife) on south side of Western Ave talked with Steph about early Montville.

  • Jane Minor (Hamwood) kindly provided a loan to have the centenary booklet printed. After sales at Centenary we were able to pay her back.

  • The Centenary Montville tea-towels were designed and screen-printed by well-known screen printer, Judy McCallum.

  • Kay Breeden Williams artist (Hunchy married to Evan Williams) painted and donated a gorgeous painting of the Montville Rose for raffle. She was very generous too and I was thrilled to find her stamps she had done for the government in a stamp shop in the city to post out Centenary envelopes with our own stamp with Alf Smith house (Misty's) on it from Montville PO to those who had helped. Kay’s father was the first blacksmith.

  • Bill Lilley, Bill was great with small motors and the like. He also helped Mac supervise the Centenary Bridge project which was a CEP project.

  • Steph and Bryan’s two daughters Anna McLennan (Lough) and Siri McLennan (Grabski) who were in school but they and their friends were willing and capable workers on stalls on boarders weekends and during the centenary celebrations.

The Centenary Celebrations was huge a day with all the history displayed and many, many old residents. It was a wonderful day.


Margaret Sidall was still teaching but was fabulous with her school stories and information as was Madge Glover who lived in the first settler’s home (Thorvald Weitemeyer) on Mill Hill Rd. Pete and Phyllis Smith on the north side of Western Ave were also generous with their time and stories.

 

 

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