ABOUT ME:
Leesa Bongers (aka Twerpy Smith) – Taroom Tales
‘Once you drink the water from the Dawson River, you never want to leave.
It’s an old fable, but it has some merit. It’s been more than 35 years since I left, but Taroom still feels like home to me.’
– Leesa Bongers aka Twerpy Smith
IN A NUTSHELL: Leesa Bongers author Taroom Tales
‘Give me the simple life. Country living, no crowds and one or two good honest friends.. ones that have always got my back.’
My type of friends are those who don’t mind a bit of dust when they drop in for a cuppa… and who don’t mind an instant coffee. There’s no fancy coffee machine in my kitchen. And sadly, a glass of wine is no longer an option for me, I’m a Sober Susan these days (the after-effects just aren’t worth it) but don’t let that stop you popping a cork in my company. I only wish I could join you!
I love my dogs Tilly, Fred and Remi (in that order) and I try not to show any bias, especially in front of Pippi the cat. It’s been waaay too long since I’ve been on a horse and I do miss that a lot since I practically grew up on one, being a Taroom girl and all.
I’ve been lucky in love from a very tender age, happily married to my one and only for 37 years and counting, with three great adult kids to show for it, who come and go to our little piece of paradise just as often as their work and uni commitments allow. We currently have 1.5 kids living at home… one is about to hit the road again. Which makes us almost-empty nesters I guess, since they live independently under our roof when they do make it back here.
TAROOM TALES with Leesa Bongers (aka Twerpy Smith)
‘It all started from dad’s stories, and the old Glenhaughton photos’
Author Leesa Bongers with her father Lex Smith at the site of the Tin Hut horse yards, where all the fun was had on bucking horses over 60 years ago [photo Tim Bongers 2023]
WHY DO THEY CALL ME TWERP?
In Taroom, everyone calls me Twerp. Except for dad.
It’s been my home-town name for as long as I can remember… for over 50 years if I was to guess! My uncle Graham Hay laughingly started it before I could even walk, when I was found in the kitchen cupboard helping myself to the vegemite and making a great mess. “Little Twerp” became a term of endearment, and it just stuck. The schoolteachers I liked best even called me “Twerp”. I don’t mind, it’s kind of fun to see the look on people’s faces when they hear it for the first time, and it’s a Taroom thing. It’s a bit special.
If I’m to be formal though, mostly for those without any links to my Taroom heritage, who find my nickname a little off-putting, I’m known as Leesa, with two “E”s, and I have to spell it every time. I like that too; it works well phonetically and is a bit out of the usual. It’s good to be different.
That must be the artist in me.
I say artist, but I haven’t really explored that “gift” properly yet. I’ve always enjoyed drawing, I’ve just never found time to immerse myself in the selfish world an artist needs to be creative.
I’ve been tinkering with drawing and finding other imaginative outlets for about as long as I’ve been known as Twerp. When I’m in that creative mode, I lose all sense of time and space. And I forget to eat. That’s fine for me, but it’s not good when you’re a stay at home mum to three little kids who were usually hungry but were smart enough to make the most of my creative hiatus, learning to help themselves. They did get up to some mischief while I was lost in my art! So, obviously that didn’t work, I needed my wits about me while the kids were at home. My art “career” would have to wait. (Hats off to anyone who can manage to do both… Super-mums, or dads, they surely are!)
‘Life just seemed to get in the way of my art aspirations…
(Leesa Bongers, on exploring her creative side)
there always seemed to be something more important I should be doing. I have given numerous careers a go.’
I became a tennis coach. Loved that. Missed it immensely when I stopped a decade or so later.
I especially missed the kids. I loved the kids. Particularly because my new role was the polar opposite to what I really wanted to be doing. I’m not complaining though – for five years I sat behind a desk, in air-conditioned comfort, working for ‘the people’ with the best boss ever. Colin Boyce MP, a Taroom friend, is one of those rare politicians who isn’t in the game for the career prospects, there are more enjoyable ways he could be spending his time making money. I can vouch for the work he puts in trying, for very little reward, to make a difference for his constituents and all of rural and regional Australia.
‘I learnt a lot about myself, and human nature, in a country electorate office, and I achieved things that I never thought possible. ‘
(Leesa Bongers, on working for Colin Boyce MP)
It’s amazing what can be done when there’s no other choice.
Every day presented new challenges and I learnt to juggle, wearing many hats! It was a great relief to hang those hats up for good, freeing up my time for family, and art, when Col moved from State to Federal politics. As happy as I was for Boycey to move on to bigger and better things, for me Federal government would have been a whole other level of crazy, and I was done! It was a whirlwind ride – being a PA for an MP. I learnt a lot, it paid the bills, got my kids through school, and I’ll always be grateful for that. I was in need of a break and ready for a change.
While my life has been full and adventurous all these years, a big part of me, the artist, has been on the back-burner, and it is high time to let her loose. Every day I’m a step closer to where I want to be.
Taroom Art Show and Glenhaughton Ringers display
For the first time in over 30 years I entered an art show:
I finally got the pencils out and even bought some new acrylics, to have a go at that, trying to come up with something the locals might enjoy at the Taroom Art Show. It was a few weeks before the Ringers Reunion, and I really needed to advertise! The following images are what I managed to produce, under pressure, so I had something to hang that would spark conversation in the community. It worked. That was fortunate for me (since I picked up a prize😁), and a sign of the growing interest in the Glenhaughton Ringers and early Taroom history:
All of this has eventually led to my ‘Empty Nest Project’, the TAROOM TALES blog and podcasts
Leesa Bongers with father Lex Smith,
1957 Glenhaughton Ringer at The Tin Hut
The Road Ahead
I’ve embarked on a journey down the Blogging Lane, and I’m on my way to Podcast Place. It is a trip I’m enjoying immensely. I’ve been a little distracted on the Reunion Road, with some detours up Movie Mountain and out to the Photobook Paddock for a quick job that proved bigger and better than expected. I took a fast and furious trip through Art Avenue recently – and cross-my-heart – I will return again… just as soon as I’m done with Study Street!
Yes, I’ve become a university student for the first time in my life.
Out of necessity, rather than ambition.
Open Universities Australia is a great place to start if you are looking for a way to upskill. And for me, I’ve found the subjects through UniSA have been perfect, each step of the way. I’m old school though, the technological challenges are immense, and I’ve had my share of problems simply due to the poor telecommunication services out here in CQ. (….actually, I might know an MP who I could talk to about that!) However, nothing is insurmountable, and the tutors have been incredibly supportive. I think they find my Gen X problems a refreshing change from those of the Gen Z cohort, lol. It’s been quite fun being an online student, although I will never have the chance to experience the O-week mayhem that my daughter enjoyed so much. (I’m kidding…. there’s no way I would ever have kept up! 😊)
My Blog Mission
- To tell the stories of a bygone era,
before this precious history is gone forever;
- To record the recollections and images
of those who were there, back in the day;
- To pass on valuable insights for future generations,
so they may be aware of, and thankful for,
those humble men and women who paved the way.
I want to honour the aging residents by giving them a voice.
I have so much respect for these special characters who helped shape the little town on the Dawson River. They all played a big part in making Taroom the friendly, thriving community that it is today.
Photo Book
GLENHAUGHTON RINGERS, A Collection of Photographs and Yarns 1957-1965 was self-published (on Snapfish), in an effort to share the precious archive images I’ve been fortunate to find.
High Quality 120pp glossy hardcover book, available for purchase directly through the author Leesa Bongers. For more information or orders, email the Author at Glenhaughton Ringers (below).
CONTACT AUTHOR
Leesa Bongers Taroom Tales (aka Twerpy Smith)
Glenhaughton Ringers – Glenhaughton content
E: glenhaughtonringers@gmail.com
Taroom Tales – Taroom content
E: taroomtales@gmail.com
SOCIALS
FACEBOOK Glenhaughton Ringers
FACEBOOK Taroom Tales
INSTAGRAM Glenhaughton Ringers
INSTAGRAM Taroom Tales
The road to the Amphitheatre, once a part of the 900 square mile Glenhaughton Station in 1957, now a part of the Expedition National Park.
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