Remembering Colin Abell

Proserpine Museum was saddened to hear of the recent passing of Colin Abell in Perth on August 3. Colin was the great grandson of pioneers, Richard (Dick) and Annie Abell, and is the author of “Three Abell Men” and its sequel “More Abell Men”; books which chronicle the part played by the Abell family in the settlement of Airlie Beach. Colin spent twenty years writing “Three Abell Men” - a compilation of the family's stories as Airlie's first settlers.

Colin’s grandfather told most of the stories, corroborated by Colin’s father, Edward, and his siblings. Edward Abell was the first white child born in upper Jubilee Pocket (now known as Airlie Beach). In his teen years, he had an aptitude for photography. He was one of few to have a camera in the early 1920s, a little box brownie, and he spent many months writing down the various stories and events eventually compiled in this book.

“Three Abell Men” is no dry and dusty history of the early days in the Whitsundays. This wonderful family history is full of adventure, laughter and mishaps.  It is a story about three generations of adventurers.

As told by Edward Abell and compiled by Colin, “Three Abell Men” is the story of the Abell family who migrated from Herefordshire, England; firstly, to Boonah in southern Queensland before moving to Jubilee Pocket. In August 1904, Colin Abell's great grandparents stepped onto the Whitsunday coast with nine children and a babe-in-arms. To escape the southern drought, the family had travelled by train to Rockhampton and then a ship, the “Aramac”, took them to Bowen. From there they hired the sailing boat, “Nellie”, to make the journey to their selections in Jubilee Pocket. Colin’s grandfather, Arthur (Pa) Abell, was twenty at the time. The family stood on the beach, laden with luggage and tools and facing a new world.

When the Abells came to Airlie Beach, it was raw rainforest. Here, Colin’s great grandparents, Dick and Annie, selected and purchased the area now known as Airlie Beach for the princely sum of 2/6 (25c) per acre.  Dick arrived with hardly a penny to his name yet he ended up owning the whole of what is now known as Airlie Beach.

Throughout Colin’s book, adversity and laughter intermingle. The Abell children were fortunate in the extreme to live in a para¬dise where hardships and hard work were tempered by daily adventure in the ever changing environment of the beautiful Whitsundays.  

The name “Abell” is still well known in the district.  Abell Point and Abell Road are reminders of the family’s significance in the area.

“Three Abell Men” is a great read and hard to put down as this fascinating family history unfolds through the pages.  Illustrated with wonderful old black and white photos of their homes, boats and friends, this book will induce nostalgia in locals who can relate to the area and fascinate those who are more recent arrivals to the district.

Colin Abell was passionate about the value of recording the first history of mainland settlement in Airlie Beach, believing it was vital to preserve this information.

We are indebted to Colin for this important record of Airlie Beach in its early days.

Vale Colin Abell

Story courtesy Proserpine Historical Museum. Photo by Peter Carruthers, sourced from  “Whitsunday Times” July 9 2017

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