ALWYN Todd was made for the history books and he has spent various hours exploring the Todd name.
With an autobiography and a few family history books under his belt, Alwyn successfully rediscovered his roots in Beaudesert.
“I’ve always been interested in family history. I’ve been doing research on that for many years,” he said.
“I actually wrote a book about our Todd family history, and I thought I’d write down a few things about my life.”
Alwyn was born and bred in the Scenic Rim where he was raised on a dairy farm in Laravale, eventually moving to Beaudesert with his wife June, in 2015.
His father bought the farm in 1925 which Alwyn has now passed on to his three children: Cameron, Philip and Bethwyn.
He managed the dairy farm from 1954 until he moved, and he also maintained a career path in accountancy and eventually became the Administrator of Wongaburra Garden Settlement.
“Throughout my life, I was much more interested in figures. I was a qualified accountant,” he said.
“My father decided that if I didn’t like farming, I needed something else – so I started accountancy by correspondence.”
Since Alwyn was fond of his family history, he decided that the significant events he had encountered throughout his life were worth compiling into an autobiography.
“I’ve been working on information for many years, but my book only took less than a year to write,” he said.
“I’ve got a million pieces of paper with things written up. I suppose I had a fairly good memory, but I was able to corroborate with newspaper clippings.”
His autobiography peers into various historical events in Beaudesert, including growing up near the Round Mountain US Army Detention Camp during the Pacific War and being part of the First National Servicemen.
“Fortunately, there were no wars that we had to go to – the war finished at about that time,” Alwyn said.
“We never saw a bullet fired in anger.”
Alwyn has spent his life engaging in community affairs and giving back to his country town.
He has been part of the Junior Farmers Club, Beaudesert Show Society, Historical Society, Beaudesert Artificial Breeding, Beaudesert Local Ambulance Committee, and is an active member of Beaudesert Probus.
“They tell you that once you retire, you don’t have time to do things – but we’ve fitted everything in,” he said.
Alwyn was delighted that his books could contribute to Beaudesert’s history as his autobiography can be found at the Beaudesert Historical Museum.
“There’s nothing much being written about the Todds. It’s really exciting when you discover something that nobody even knew,” he said.
“I think it’s very important that we record history.”
