A service of thanksgiving and celebration was held in the Presbyterian Church, Main Street on Monday May 19 at 11.30am.
It was conducted by former pastor Rev Kim Dale.
Beautiful piano and organ music was played by Jim and Grace Vine from the convention centre.
The funeral directors were Bethel of Brisbane and a burial followed at the Tamborine Cemetary.
Family and friends travelled from Alice Springs, Wyalla, New Zealand, Sunshine Coast and Brisbane.
Alwyn is survived by his wife Vivienne, four children, seven grand-children and seven great-grandchildren.
Alwyn William Horne was born in Wondai, Queensland.
His parents had a dairy and small crops farm at Chelmsford.
He attended the one teacher school not far away, passing scholarship and boarding for four years Ipswich Grammar.
He was elected Head Prefect in 1952.
After passing Senior, he worked his father’s farm for a year. He studied piano in Kingaroy that year and passed the practical exam of ATCL.
Moving to Brisbane, he began his architecture degree at Queensland University and graduated in 1961.
Alwyn met and married Vivienne in May 1959 and the couple built their home at Chapel Hill attending the Little Chapel on the Hill. They were the second young couple.
It was then a rural area but soon became populated.
The little church on the hill was soon outgrown.
Alwyn designed a church hall and supervised the erection of the first stage.
He worked for various Brisbane firms including Ken Baker who designed the cenotaph and was retired at Tamborine.
In 1966 he applied for and was accepted for a position with the Department of Commonwealth Works in Port Moresby.
He travelled with small family, his wife and three boys, to Papua New Guinea on the ship Bulolo.
He travelled extensively in the country and all he designed was built.
His daughter was born in PNG 1967.
Government servants needed to work themselves out of jobs because Independence approached.
The only suitable employment available was in Darwin, and the family moved there in 1970.
Before leaving PNG Alwyn walked the Kokoda Trail.
A government house was rented in Malay Road, Wagaman, a new suburb.
It was on Christmas Even 1974 the family experienced Cyclone Tracy.
Sheltering in the small bathroom the house disintegrated around them. The decision was made to move downstairs.
Vivienne was on the third top step when the bath they had been clinging to shot through to the bottom of the stairs.
The whole half of the floor had severed – hit the house next door and landed on the next corner.
They were fortunate to move when they did as a family nearby was thrown to the ground and badly injured, others were killed.
The Besser block store was breaking and they moved to the EH Holden sedan where they stayed all night, cold and wet.
Day dawned and the devastation revealed.
Darwin was destroyed.
They moved across to a low set home opposite which was not badly damaged for a time, then to the school and back to shelter half a floor. It was hot, quiet and sunny.
Mid afternoon a friend from the rural area of Howard Springs parked his car as close as possible and was walking down the road.
His first words were, “Why didn’t you come to Christmas dinner?”
Roads were being cleared and after checking on others Alwyn and his family drove the friend’s home and slept on the tiled floor, thankful to be alive.
He started his generator and power, water and gas were available. Eighteen people lived there for three months in tents and caravans. Alwyn, Vivienne and their family stayed there, living as a community for two years.
The power and water was not restored to the town for three months and thousands left by plane and car for the south.
Later, demountables were brought from the south and installed either side of the houses.
Their friends, Jim and Yvonne, insisted the family continue to live with them.
Not badly damaged homes began to be transported to the rural area.
Jim acquired a boarding house which was placed on his five acre block next door and they lived there for three years.
Alwyn was offered an historic house at Myily Point built which was to be demolished.
It had to be removed and the site cleared in six weeks. It was built in 1936 – one of three built that survived the Darwin bombing in 1942.
After the cyclone Alwyn continued to work assessing damage done to homes and buildings and taking photographs.
It had unique asbestos louvers and roof. It was cut in two for transport and joined together three months later.
Alwyn continued working a month assessing damage to homes and buildings and taking photographs.
The family were offered the holiday home of Sir Arnold Bennett QC (who they knew as young people) in North Street, Tamborine Mountain.
It was gratefully accepted.
Alwyn and Vivienne gathered their children from relatives (they were taken south by Hercules for fear of disease) and they experienced life on Tamborine Mountain for the first time, two wonderful weeks. The population at the time was only 600 – this was back in 1975.
Land was being sold near the escarpment in Sequoia Drive and a block was purchased with contents insurance and kept for 20 years.
Taking early retirement they moved to the mountain in 1994 and initially were caretakers of the convention centre for six months.
The house was built by a Brisbane firm in late 1994.
Alwyn and Vivienne soon became involved in the community and attended the Presbyterian Church.
Alwyn played for the choir in the 11am service and later became the organist until 2018, when his health began to fail.
He began accompanying the Lyrebird Choir in 1999, conducted by Meredith Plant (TMSS Music Teacher).
The choir was entered in the Gold Coast Eisteddfod and received many awards.
The Small and Big Night Outs were special evenings featuring the choir and band, trained and conducted by Steve Broxton.
Vivienne took over from Raymond Curtis playing of the singalong of the Kiah Club, a friendship group which met each Monday in rooms under Rosslyn Lodge. It was run then by Betty Hetherington (now deceased).
She joined the group, became Secretary, organised funded bus trips for participants while Alwyn assisted by taking photographs.
Alwyn played for many weddings at the Chapel in Beacon Road and was asked by Jim Hill before he died to be Administrator and run the Committee of Triumphant Life Fellowship (TLF) as it was known then – it is now Tamborine Life Centre (TLC).
Today this is a beautiful building and very popular with groups and families.
After a stroke five and a half years ago, Alwyn was admitted to Blue Care Haven, Bethania, bedridden.
The dedicated staff became his friends and family until he died on May 10, 2025.
Alwyn lived an interesting and productive life until he suffered a stroke which confined him to bed for five and a half years.
He was cared for by the dedicated staff of Blue Care Haven Bethania until his death on Saturday May 10, 2025.
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