I have written before about my Swedish heritage,which came to me through my mothers side of the family. On the left is a photo of my mother and her parents. Mums mother, Ethel, was the daughter of Hilda Strandquist, who was born in Sweden, and Francois Peres who was from Alsace-Lorraine.
In July 2008, I took my LandRover for a run to Queensland. In central Queensland west of Rockhampton I passed through small towns with names such as Jericho, Anakie - I like that name - Emerald and Springsure.
At Springsure the Landy was thirsty for diesel.
Dusk was approaching and I asked the lady who came out to fill up the Landy what there was at Rolleston which was 70km south east. I figured I could make Rolleston before dark and would spend the night there.
"You won't find much at Rolleston", she said, "you'd be better off finding a motel here."
True to form - I set off for Rolleston.
As I drove into the small country town I crossed the Mackenzie River via the Tom Strandquist Bridge!
It was a Friday night and the local pub was full of jackaroos and jillaroos from the surrounding cattle properties, so there was quite a bit of noise in the bar. I found out that the pub had a vacant room in its attached motel so I settled in for a few glasses of house white, and something to eat.
After a while I asked somebody if they knew anything about the Tom Strandquist Bridge.
"Oh, that's named after old Tom. He lives just around the corner - must be in his nineties by now."
"How do I get there?"
"Just go out the front door, turn right, first turn left and it's the first house on your right."
I waited till next morning and found Toms' weatherboard house. I cautiously knocked on the door. A young woman appeared and I explained who I was. She explained that she was Toms' grandsons wife and went off to find Tom.
Soon a sprightly old man appeared and invited me in for a cup of tea and some banana cake. He produced photos of the Strandquist family. I recognized some of the faces as he explained that he was the son of of the youngest son of my great great grandfather. I was able to confirm my bona fides by recalling family names that had not yet been mentioned by Tom.
We chatted for some time before I felt it was time to hit the road. Tom told me to call in on Julie Strandquist at the Winton Hospital on my way back. I had already passed through Winton on my way to Rolleston. On my return journey to Alice Springs I did drop into the Winton Hospital only to find that Julie was in the top end of the Northern Territory on holiday!
Next time I pass through Winton I'll call in again; and I'll also call into Springsure and tell the lady at the Petrol Station that I did find something in Rolleston!
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