I AM NINDERRY STORY.
On the Occasion of the 125th Birthday of the town of Yandina on August 24th 1996 an essay competition was held for children at the primary school to write stories about what Mount Ninderry has seen over the years. The competition was first held during the Centenary of the town in 1971 and now 25 years later it has been held again. The winning entries in 1971 preceed the 1996 stories.

A Town is Built by DulcieWilson winner of the High School Section - 1971
I am Ninderry. I have stood like a sentinel over-looking this settlement for many centuries. I have seen much, for I am far, far older than the age of the Dreamtime. Man has learnt some of my early secrets, but I have no bitterness, for I admire his perseverance. I admire his search for knowledge for this is the way Yandina came into being.
I'd seen an occasional white man pass through this Kabi land but the time came when white men came to stay and settle . In those days there were few comforts for the pioneers, but the waters of the Maroochy helped them in getting what they required.
Further north other men had discovered the yellow metal they prize so highly and this helped build the town further. Like a human stream, men carried their goods to the place of the stinging tree. Horses and coaches passed in my shadow.
Soon little caterpillars reached the town with panting engines to pull the loads. Then horseless carriages appeared and today man made birds pass over my brow.
With this progress the town built up steadily. Today as always, men produce, men serve, but all join in community projects. Churches, schools and halls have been built and recreation areas and even a memorial to show they thought this place was worth fighting for.
I've seen a town built. I've learned that it is not just a collection of buildings. There is much more involved and I know Yandina has been well built and always will be.
This is my story as told by Ninderry by John Ashton primary school section winner 1971.
Everything was peaceful as the river wound its way through the green valleys. The Aborigines sang and chanted songs around the camp fires at night and the birds cheeped out their tunes. Beady-eyed bush creatures shy and timid, ran amongst the undergrowth.
But one day a small raft appeared in the distance and soon a new sound could be heard. The sharp ringing of an axe echoing across the valleys. The splitting crack of monstrous trees hitting the ground mingled in with the deep husky shouts of the burly stout men.
Things began to change after that. Huts appeared and trees disappeared being replaced with different crops. Horses and carts came into the picture as they bumped and rattled over the rough bush tracks and all this time the wild life and Aborigines were forced back and some died out.
A little township grew up known as Yandina. Then a new sight, a railway was built. More people came. A little shop was set up.
After a while I got used to the new surroundings. Each day the people went about their work. I used to like the familiar sound of the steaming and hissing as the train rumbled into the station.
A hotel and a hall were erected and each Saturday night I remember the merry band and the people swinging themselves over the wooden floor- quite different from the natives.
Times still kept on changing. Next came the car, a coach ran without horses. More modern machinery, more people, more land was cleared. Progress pushed its way through the years.
When I look around now and see cars speeding along, and modern machinery down on the farm I realise how different it is from the Dreamtime.
Mount Ninderry, towering sentinel of the Yandina area.

!996 story writers from Yandina State School.
I am Ninderry by James Cordwell - 4K
I am Mount Ninderry. I have seen many changes since the Dreamtime. It all started when black men arrived. They were called Aboriginals. They used boomerangs and spears and lived in miamias or gunyahs. They killed animals for fur and food. The children played by my side chasing goannas and kangaroos.
It was silent and peaceful. All you could hear was the sound of the birds and the animals scattering away. The branches rattled together and the wind would blow leaves everywhere.
Aboriginals used to hunt while the ladies cooked feasts and the children fished. They also collected bunya nuts. At night I would usually see them feast with other tribes at corroborees.
One day I saw a man and his son going out to have his first hunt. They both came back with something. Two kangaroos and a goanna. The kangaroos would be hopping and the koalas would be climbing and the kookaburras would laugh. The Aboriginals never used cars, planes, ships or carriages. These were the sounds every day. Just the whistle of the birds.
Before I knew it white men came and took over. They chopped down trees and built more huts. They bought goods and supplies. Then they built shops and roads. They built carriages and boats. All Aboriginals ran away. It was terrifying. After a while I seemed to like it. I enjoyed watching the people making houses and people cutting down trees and the sounds of cattle moving in herds. Before I knew it everything had changed. The people weren't making houses or cutting down trees. The cattle weren't moving. The people were making roads and bridges. Horse shoes were clicking and sheep were baaing with joy.
Then they started making huge farms. They grew lots of crops. The main crop was sugar cane. They burnt with fire then they cut it by hand. Then they took it to the mill where it was turned into sugar. Now ships took wood along the river. The children went by horse or boat to school. Men then had lots of meetings and women still stayed at home cooking, cleaning and taking care of their children. They used to knit with a lot of different types of wool and they also had very fashionable types of clothes. They wore more than Aboriginals. The Aboriginals wore only a small amount of clothes but white men were covered all over. People travelled by horse and carriage or carts. Children played many games like swimming, riding horses and running on my mountain side. Before I knew everything was different. There were no people making roads and bridges, no sounds of horse shoes, no sheep baaing. But there were still birds singing, guns shooting and frogs croaking. After a while everything had changed more. People arrived on these things that went on rails, and puffed white steam out of it. These were called trains. Then year after year everything had changed. There was something called an airplane. It made a loud noise and it annoyed me at night when I tried to go to sleep! Sometimes men dressed up as birds. Sky diving I think they call it. People jump off me and glide high up in the sky. Now today more and more cars come, people wear less clothes than old white men. Houses are everywhere. Some are even on me. People today explore me, but I still like it. People are still happy and so am I because I get a great view of Yandina State School.
I'm Mount Ninderry. by Lacey Tessmann
When the rainbow is shining brightly over me I know I look fantastic. I also think I look marvellous when the sun comes out. I am rocky in some places and bushy nearly everywhere. From the top of my mountain you can see the Maroochy River and it is very quiet and peaceful. I stand alot because I am enormous. I think I am incredible and very beautiful.
When the first arrival of the Aborigines came to Mount Ninderry the silence was broken. A few trees were cut down and it wasn't quiet or peaceful anymore. After the silence was broken I could always hear the Aborigines fighting or singing. Most of the time Mount Ninderry could see all the smoke from their fires too. Ninderry could always hear the getting togethers for the Bunya nut feasts and the sad cries for help when the animals were getting caught. The Aborigines always used their canoes and often went fishing together.
One morning I noticed some beasts and then realised that they were bullocks. I didn't like that the cattlemen were yelling and shouting all the time. I could always
hear the cattlemen whipping the bullocks too. When the cattlemen were chopping down the trees to send them across the river on the bullocks backs it made alot of noise. A few months went by and the noise went on and on. But then suddenly one day lots more people were arriving and I could notice that they were timbergetters.
Every day the timbergetters would say " TIMBER" as they were cutting down the trees. They would also collect the bark off the trees to make bark huts. They worked on the Maroochy River alot too.
The trees that grew around me were cedar, beech, mountain pine, flooded gum and the beautiful bunya trees.When there were lots of dingoes around it was called Native Dog Flat. Later on a man called James Nash was the first man ever to discover gold at Gympie. Everyone was searching and believe it or not they found it. Next they were rich. Because people were getting money for their gold they had enough to build stores like the General Store, the Butcher, the Bakery, the Barbers and the Dentists.



by Alistair Hopkins 4E
I look over Yandina. After I was created I saw little Aborigines making huts. I watched the white men come 40 000 years later. I saw big wooden ships come past Coolum. The white men chased the Aborigines away. Before men came I was quiet. One day I heard a massive bang. All of a sudden snow came falling out of the sky. Lots of things died of the cold. It got colder and colder until all the dinosaurs disappeared. After many many years it became warm again. All the ice melted and the land was covered in water, fish, dolphins and whales all came here to live. When all the water went away it left behind the river. Some times I saw flames coming out of the other mountains, these were volcanoes. One day a rock from outer space smashed part of me off and formed Dunethin Rock. All this changed the land and made it good for growing crops and trees. The white men made houses. It started with one house and grew to a lot. The men dug up the ground and planted sugar cane. They had no cars. They had horses and carts and they cut the cane with massive big knives. They had no shops so they had to grow their own food.
I saw the wives crying and saying goodbye to their husbands. The men went off to World War One, thirty years later there was another big war called World War Two. This time the men went away on trains. I saw them buiding the train tracks.
My friend Mt Coolum was resting one day when the men climbed up to his top and put up a big red light. This was to stop the flying machines from crashing into him. They are called planes. The first ones I saw were small and slow. Now they are big and much faster. Every day the children go to school by cars and buses and bikes. I remember when there was no road for the buses. I watch the children playing at school. They are the future so I look after them. Some of them can see my face. I am Ninderry.
by Rikki Sommer 5H
I am Ninderry and I am jagged and rocky. I have a smooth part in the front of me. There are fantastic things in the Maroochy River like the birds and fish and ducks. Aboriginal kids are swimming in the river. After a while the Aboriginals came quietly , so quietly and peacefully that I didn't notice them. They broke the nice silence. They cut down some trees to make some huts and killed the animals to have for tea. Every 4 years they had bunya nut feasts. they sang and danced and had a corroboree. They didn't worry me very much. But one day it was not quiet. The bullock teams were coming, the cattlemen were whipping the bullocks and yelling and shouting as mor people were arriving. soon the timbergetters came down the river in their big boats with their cross cut saws which had to be sharp. They were cutting down trees off me to make cupboards and other things.


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