More than 430 handcrafted toys and 30 wooden cots were handed over to the Salvation Army on Wednesday, continuing a 29-year tradition of community service.
Representatives from the Blackall Range Woodcrafter Guild (Montville Woodies) and Mapleton Craft Group gathered at the Woodies’ premises at MVA Sportsground in Montville on the morning of 26 November to present this year’s donation to the Salvation Army. The toys and complete cot sets will be distributed to underprivileged families in Queensland as part of Salvation Army Christmas hampers.
Vice President Russ Middlecoat, who also leads the Woodies’ toy team, has been instrumental in maintaining the collaboration since it began in 1996. “It’s really the oldest project, continuous project,” he said. “It actually started just after the club first got off the ground.”
From Trees to Toys
The Woodies’ operation relies on donated materials from three main sources: logs donated by community members which are milled and dried on-site, off-cuts from wood manufacturing organisations, and timber from various woodworking businesses.
Members transform these donated materials into a diverse range of toys including pull-along boats and cars, puzzles, trinket boxes, trains, trucks, jigsaws and spinning tops.
“We’ll probably make at least a couple of dozen different types of toys,” Russ said. The process involves cutting components using templates, assembling them with glue and nails, and finishing with clear varnish.
This year’s production required an estimated 200 hours per person, with approximately eight members working on the project throughout the year. One member produced 180 spinning tops in less than a week.
The Complete Package
The Mapleton Craft Group, which has collaborated with the Woodies since the project’s inception, creates complete bedding sets for each wooden cot. Shameen McPherson and Paige Hempseed, representing the craft group, said members coordinate their work to ensure each set includes a mattress, pillow, blanket and either a crocheted doll or teddy bear.
“We’ve got a sample cot in the cupboard,” Shameen explained, referring to their template system. The current mid-range size was specifically requested by the Salvation Army after previous versions proved too large.
Each complete set takes approximately a week to produce, with members using crochet, knitting, embroidery and cross-stitch techniques. “We’ll bring a tape measure and actually measure the cot,” Shameen said of volunteers who join the project. “They’ll go off and make something, come back, and it fits.”
Paige, who creates some of the dolls, has developed her own patterns to ensure they fit properly in the cots.
Community Impact
The Salvation Army toy project represents just one of more than 12 major community initiatives the Woodies undertake annually. Other projects have included honour boards, seats for the Maleny Hospital Auxiliary Walk of Remembrance, furniture for Sunshine Coast Council libraries, and work for Montville School and the Maleny Community Centre.
One of their most unusual commissions was crafting a silky oak coffin for a local woman who wanted to be buried in timber from the range where she had lived her entire life.
The club has grown from a dozen members in 1996 to 190 today. “People’s fascination of being able to create something out of wood,” Russ said when asked about the growth. “It’s a very rewarding sort of hobby. You can see something for your efforts.”
For the craft group members, the motivation is equally personal. “I love making the dolls,” Paige said. “It’s good that I’ve got a hobby that I can give away because our house is full of things I make.”
Beyond the Handover
The toys and cot sets are packed into Christmas hampers and distributed to underprivileged families throughout Queensland, bringing Christmas joy to children in remote and rural communities.
Shameen recalled taking one of Paige’s crocheted creations to Bali and seeing the joy on a six-month-old child’s face. “That’s what you imagine when they get it,” she reflected.
When asked what she would say to a child receiving one of her dolls this Christmas, Paige’s response was simple: “I hope that the dolly or teddy is your best friend.”
Russ’s message was equally straightforward: “Enjoy. Enjoy.”
How to Support
Both the Woodies and the Mapleton Craft Group welcome new members, particularly those interested in contributing to community projects. Members of the Woodies toy team receive free machinery accreditation, whilst regular members pay $5 per day for machine use.
Whilst most materials are donated, the club uses specific items including dowelling for wheels and axles, and specialised American-manufactured glue. However, Russ emphasised that “one of the biggest things people could donate is time.”
Both organisations continue to accept donations of materials, with Shameen noting they’ll work with “anything we can lay our hands on.”
The Mapleton Craft Group will also be hosting its successful biggest morning tea event next year, raising funds for cancer research and support. In addition to the Christmas cot project, some craft group members create trauma teddies—hand-knitted or crocheted teddy bears given to emergency services, hospitals and other support organisations to distribute to children in distress.
The Mapleton Craft Group meets every Wednesday, 9am to noon at the Mapleton Bowls Club, Post Office Road, Mapleton.
Upcoming Event
The Woodies will showcase their community work at Bunnings Maroochydore’s Christmas Family Event on Thursday, 4 December, from 5pm to 7pm. Woodies member Keith Carter has organised activities where children can make wooden stools and try pyrography (wood burning) on wooden bats decorated with Christmas tree outlines.
This is the third year the Woodies have participated in the Bunnings event, with numbers growing from 50 participants in the first year to an anticipated 100 this year. Bookings are essential for the event at 70-98 Dalton Drive, Maroochydore.
For more information about joining the Montville Woodies or the Mapleton Craft Group, or to donate materials or time, visit https://blackallrangewoodies.org.au/about/
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