Kurrajong Straw-billies
This display was presented under the banner of the Kurrajong Comleroy Historical Society and was set up and displayed with the valued assistance of society members. The wonderful Model A Ford truck that carried the display belongs to society member, Bryan Wyborn.
In keeping with the interests of the Kurrajong Comleroy Historical Society, we used this display to depict, in a humorous way, a pioneering family of the Kurrajong district of NSW. Early families that settled in the district had to live off the land and use the resources of the land to survive. So the display included a kerosene lamp, camp cooking equipment and a still for distilling crude alcoholic drinks. Also essential to hunt game for food were a double barrelled shot gun and a dog.
| A wide array of Australian animals were also featured in the Kurrajong Straw-billies display to represent the close association between these early pioneering families and the Australian bushland. |  |
When the display was in full operation, smoke billowed from the top of Granny's moonshine still and from Granny's gigantic double barrelled shot gun.
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 Photo by John Wagner |
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The Kurrajong Straw-billies
Meet the Kurrajong Straw-billies scarecrows:
| Jed Clampett, a good natured family man, headed this Kurrajong Straw-billies clan.
Photo by John Wagner |
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| Feisty old Granny or Daisy Moses sat in her rocking chair in the back of the truck. Elly May stood behind Granny to rock her back and forth in time with the music. |
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| Dim witted, Jethro Bodine, in his bright checkered shirt sat in the driver's seat of the Model A Ford. |
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| Voluptuous Elly May Clampett, with her masses of golden curls, stood behind Granny's rocking chair in the back of the truck. Standing with her feet 1.2 m above the ground, Elly May's tall figure, with its radiant hair glowing in the sunshine, could be seen for a long distance through the town. |
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| Duke, the hunting dog, helped to provide food for this pioneering family. |
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Granny held her oversized double barrelled shot gun ready for action! Granny warned the audience, 'You want to tangle with me?!' Beside Granny was her elaborate moonshine still and bottles of XXX brewed grog. There was an early record of a 'sly grog shop' at Little Wheeny Creek in the Kurrajong district. This would have used a still to brew whisky.
| Here are some of the Australian animals featured in the Kurrajong Straw-billies display: | ||
 possums |
 lizard |
 kookaburra |
 frog |
 koala |
 lizard |
The Kurrajong Straw-billies go to Town
The Kurrajong Straw-billies scarecrows entertained the crowds in the main street of Kurrajong on Saturday 25th October 2008. Then on the Sunday, we started up the old truck. With lots of cheering and clapping, and a toot of the horn, the truck loaded up with the Kurrajong Straw-billies chugged its way down the main street of Kurrajong Village.
 Scarecrow, Jethro, was shifted to the back of the truck while Bryan Wyborn took the driver's seat to chauffeur the Kurrajong Straw-billies to the park in his Model A Ford. |
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 Photo by John Wagner |
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 Photo by Paul Hulbert |
 Photo by John Wagner |
Granny and her shot gun rocked in the rocking chair on the back of the truck; the kerosene lantern swung from the tailgate; the koalas and possums clung to the sides; and the kookaburra perched jauntily on top of the windscreen throughout the trip.
When the truck finally came to a big stop at the bottom of the hill, the crowd clambered over it for a special Kurrajong Scarecrow Festival photograph.
Photo by Paul Hulbert
The Kurrajong Straw-billies scarecrow display was voted the best display in the 2008 Kurrajong Scarecrow Festival by the people of Kurrajong.
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