History
Continued......
Fishing for families
Beach fishing was an income for many families so the need for vehicles to be transported to Fraser Island (K'Gari) to expand operations needed some ingenuity as ferry services were yet to exist. Legend has it that the first attempt had a 1941 Willies Jeep chained to the arm of Mr. Burgess's trawler Cameo. they almost made to the beach, but the truck landed in the water. Lucky it was shallow, so it started and drove out only because of an old war trick of packing the distributor with grease.
Later they used dinghies tethered together with planks and balanced a vehicle on top. The trip had everyone frantically bailing out the dinghies trying not to sink, and it's believed that not one vehicle was lost to the sea.
RSL & Citizens Memorial Hall
Built in 1923 by the Queensland Railway, the hall at Sexton was used for the School of Arts, social venue, general meeting place and library. In the early 1950's the railway structure changed, and Sexton was no longer the change over point causing many people to leave the area and the Sexton Hall ceased to be used
In the late 1950's the Tin can Bay Progress association was on the hunt for a new hall for the bay, so
Bob Reibel suggested they acquire the disused hall at Sexton. After the purchase, Bob and Les Reibel headed the work party that dismantled the hall while numbering every board, transported then reassembled it in Tin Can Bay where it still stands today.
First Councilor Elected
When the Southern Sector of the Tiaro Shire was excised and incorporated into the Widgee Shire, Mr. Tom Steele became the first Councilor elected for Tin Can Bay.
Cr Steele was a hands-on representative of the area and would lead by example. It's said that Tom contributed many man hours to the construction of the early road to the coast by working alongside the road workers for days at a time with grubber and shovel in hand.
After representing the community on the Widgee Shire Council from 1911 to 1921 and again from 1933 to 1936, Tom retired to Tin Can Bay as one of the earlier residents of the area and ran a boarding house with daughter Millie. He passed in 1941 as a result of blood poisoning. His contributions to the community are recognized through naming of Cr Tom Steele Recreation Park that is on Bream St where the water tower sits today.
