When
I arrived at Pauline's farm gate I was met by security and once cleared drove
through a number of camp sites which had been set up by One Nation supporters
on the banks of a small river that flowed through the bottom part of her
farm.
Story and images by Scott Balson, Global Web Builders
The half hour drive to Pauline Hanson's farm was pretty uneventful except there were threatening storm clouds gathering to the west and the radio had warned of bad storms.
When
I arrived at Pauline's farm gate I was met by security and once cleared drove
through a number of camp sites which had been set up by One Nation supporters
on the banks of a small river that flowed through the bottom part of her
farm.
Although warm the clouds had now darkened and bore over the camp site with rain soon setting in.
I
had time to erect my four man tent on the river bank before driving up the
main camp area (seen right above). Here I found Pauline Hanson serving
hamburgers.
There were a growing number of One Nation supporters gathering under the main camp site as the rain drove down wetting everything in sight. This gave me the opportunity to meet some of the One Nation staff who had flown up from Sydney to be part of this historic weekend.
On
the right you can see Steve Menagh (Membership Coordinator) and Claire
Wright (Branch Coordinator) from Manly Head Office.
Claire was just as I had pictured her - after speaking to her many times over the telephone while Steve was much older than he sounded and his bald head took me somewhat by surprise!
The rain cleared in the late afternoon and left the once dry and dusty soil slightly muddy but perfect for the weekend ahead as the dust would not bother us anymore. We later heard that heavy storms and hail had struck Ipswich and that three people were killed by lightening in the city. Roads were closed by falling trees along the road that I had come just hours before.
Pauline,
meanwhile, had gone walkabout visiting groups at their campsites. Here I
was able to catch up with her again while she was talking to a number of
young kids.
Meanwhile back at the main camp I met a few well known One Nation celebrities.
These included below from left to right. Danielle (Barbara Hazelton's daughter and baby Sam); Helen Dodd (author of Pauline's biography), Alec Wood (From Catherine in the Northern Territory), Steve and Claire (both from Manly office); Haley Jones, Lee Hanson (Pauline's daughter), Sarah Chapman and Kristen Henry.
By
nightfall the tents and camps had started to resemble a trail of lights along
the riverbanks as the guests prepared for the evenings activities. It was
time for my wife Viv, young Alex and I to make our way up to the camp area
by foot.
The
camp was a hive of activity with the most popular spot being the impromptu
fast food area where everybody was lending a hand.
Just behind Barbara is Adam, Pauline's youngest son holding a large bag of instant potato salad.
Below are some of the group images taken at the camp:
I am in the fourth picture in this series - second from the right between Jeff Thomas and Geoff Hazelton.
The barman, Peter James from Ipswich branch, did an excellent job seeing out the whole evening while John Maxwell Jones supported on the guitar by the "Bootlegger" crooned his way into the hearts of several ladies....
Pauline's eldest son Tony can be seen on the right of Pauline in the last picture in the series below.
I
took the opportunity to get some pictures of key One Nation executives in
a relaxed frame of mind... none more so than the one on the left....
David Ettridge - see no evil; Pauline Hanson - talk no evil; Len Spencer (South Australian Party Convenor) - hear no evil.
Later
I caught up with David Oldfield talking to some elderly supporters who had
come all the way from the Sunshine Coast to be here.
In fact people had travelled all the way from Catherine in the Northern
Territory, Melbourne,
Sydney
and all over Queensland to be part of the weekend.
Anton Mycyk, on the left, a member of the Ipswich branch of One Nation produced this magnificent Tasmanian Oak table which is being raffled for $2 a ticket. The table is valued at about Au$400. Anton also produces magnificent wooden candlestick holders which he is selling for Au$8 each - all money going to the Ipswich branch of One Nation. (NOTE: Pauline won the table!)
Below are some special photos for Pauline Hanson supporters. Left to Right:
Pauline Hanson with David Ettridge; Pauline Hanson with Mr and Mrs van Beelen and Pauline with a group (left to right) back row Len Spencer, David Oldfield and David Ettridge, middle row Merv Bostock (state candidate for Cleveland), Pauline Hanson and Joan Gordon (state candidate for Kedron), in front Rodger Pryor (state candidate for Archerfield) and John Maxwell Jones (state candidate for Greenslopes).
At
about midnight it was time to leave and crash in the little four man tent.
As you can see some amongst us did not see the night through!
It was a perfect night, the rain had cooled the land down, the still of the night must have made a big change for the city dwellers. It was quiet but for the quiet background hum of the generator ticking over in the background.....
Overnight, while tucked up on my blow up matress I did not hear one car drive by along the quiet country road.... this is real rural Australia.
The next morning (today) mist shrouded Pauline's farmhouse.
It was going to be a perfect day... a perfect birthday for a perfect political party. One that had come of age. One Nation was here to stay.
This information is being loaded from Pauline's farmhouse onto the Internet....
See you in the morning - today is going to be big with a capital "B"!