Postcard perfect: Young artists put their stamp on New Beith Kookaburras, canine adventures and café treats have provided a pint-sized blueprint for the future of Round Mountain, with three young locals turning the things they love about New Beith into winning works of art.
IF you want to know what makes a neighbourhood feel like home, sometimes it pays to ask the kids.
For three young New Beith artists, the answer is apparently kookaburras, dogs, nature walks and the simple joy of sharing an ice-cream and hot chocolate at the local café.
Those homegrown pleasures have been captured on postcards as part of an art competition run by Frasers Property Australia, with the winning designs now helping inspire the vision for its new Round Mountain community.
The three young artists each pocketed $500 for their creations and were also given the chance to nominate a local charity for a $1500 donation.
The result was $3000 for Greenbank Cricket Club and $1500 for Women’s Legal Service Queensland.
Nine-year-old Charles Broadhurst-Hill caught the judges’ eyes with a detailed kookaburra celebrating the native wildlife and country landscape of New Beith.
Six-year-old James Undery went straight for the good stuff, drawing himself and a family member enjoying an ice-cream and hot chocolate at ONO Café and Flowers.
Meanwhile, 11-year-old Matilda Smith captured another familiar slice of local life, illustrating her two dogs heading out for a nature walk.
Frasers Property Australia Queensland General Manager Scott Ullman said the entries offered a charming window into what young residents valued about their community.
“What resonated most strongly across the postcard designs was the real sense of connection to family, nature and local landmarks that bring people together,” Mr Ullman said.
“These are the themes we want to nurture as Round Mountain continues to take shape, so it’s incredibly valuable to see the community reflect them in such a creative way.”
Those ideas could ultimately leave a much bigger mark than the postcards themselves.
The 246-hectare Round Mountain masterplan is expected to deliver about 2100 homes at the base of Round Mountain, meaning today’s young artists could have had a small hand in inspiring tomorrow’s neighbourhood.
The competition also featured collaboration with proud Mununjali woman and Georgie and Willow founder Robbie Antcliff, whose artworks inspired by Country, culture and community encouraged participants to think about what makes their patch special.
The winning entries were celebrated alongside participating schools and community groups, including Flagstone State School, Greenbank State School, Active Kids and C&K Greenbank Kindy.
Greenbank Cricket Club President Shane Harris said its share of the prize money would be put towards junior equipment and helping grow girls’ cricket.
“We’re so grateful for this funding that will allow us to buy more equipment for our juniors and offer free registration for any girls who want to join the club to keep the female program growing in the area,” Mr Harris said.
“It all goes back into the community in one way or another, by bringing people together through sport and offering a place to make connections.”
And while masterplans usually involve architects, planners and plenty of paperwork, New Beith’s youngsters have offered a much simpler brief: keep the wildlife, make room for the dogs and never underestimate the importance of a good ice-cream.
