The Innisfail Years
Innisfail - Early Days
1988 - 1990
It was time to finish my extended holiday at Wonga Beach and move back into the real world and start making some money. I had already sold the Landcruiser and my campervan and it was time to get a job. In the meantime, I had purchased an older car, just to get around with, as the luxury of the Landcruiser was no longer needed.
My move to Innisfail started with staying with Pat and Elvio for a few weeks. They had a large house on a cane farm where Elvio worked and were happy for me to bring along my two enormous great danes. Pat immediately fell in love with Spartacus, a relationship that lasted for the remainder of Spartacus's life. There was a small house near Pat and Elvio that I had my eyes on, however at the time it was already rented out. We did find an interim solution at Whoopen Creek about 23 kilometers north of Innisfail with a cane cutters house .
It was a small place, between nothing but cane fields as far as the eye could see. There was a small creek running past the house and a water hole just down the road, which the dogs loved.
The barracks at Whoopen Creek
Between all the cane fields
I had a few bookkeeping jobs and some tax return customers but not really enough to keep myself busy. The lady whom I was renting from thought it would be good idea to volunteer some time to the school her children were attending. So, for about eight months I taught computer classes at St. Rita's Catholic Primary School in Babinda on a part time basis. I did this until the house in Innisfail became available when it became too far to travel to Babinda on a regular basis. The principal was very grateful for the time I had spent at the school.
The house used to stand on this corner
(Cyclone Larry took it out in 2006)
(Cyclone Larry took it out in 2006)
With Pat and Elvio just up the road
I ended up living here for almost eight years and met some wonderful people during this period. It was also during this time that I opened my own business, Innisfail's first computer shop and Small Business Solutions centre. The shop was within walking distance from home in what was locally known as the Old Advocate Building. Below are the three ads that were printed in the Innisfail Advocate when I opened shop. Looking back at the prices of computers and disk storage makes you wonder how anyone could afford a computer in those days. Mind you a mobile phone was the size of a shoebox back then.
A photo of myself at the Innisfail Annual Show
The business started off well and I had some great clients; the local radio station; a few cane farmers converting over to computerised payroll; a large bus company in El Arish and IBS Engineering Supplies. Unfortunately, I was way ahead of my time and it soon became evident that my venture would not succeed. People in town were just not quite ready to accept computerisation. With a heavy heart I had to close the business down.
Fortunately for me IBS Engineering Supplies wanted to computerise not just their payroll, but streamline their whole accounting operations thus a new job opened up for me. This turned out to be the longest career in my working life, some twenty odd years.
Thank you for joining me on my journey