Charleville or bust — Waterloo Wanderers travel 900km to see an old friend
Reflections
“Being sincerely loved and missed by many, 14 parishioners from Anglican Parish of Waterloo Bay — nicknamed “The Waterloo Wanderers” — headed to Charleville to catch up with their dear friend, The Rev’d Jim, in his new environment. We travelled more than 900km in cars and vans over two days, staying overnight in caravan parks and cabins along the way,” says Margaret Carr from The Parish of Waterloo Bay
“Sure, pop in anytime!” smiled The Rev’d Jim Cosgrove as he departed westward to Charleville. The Rev’d Jim Cosgrove is a retired Lt Colonel Australian Army chaplain. He was also a member of The Anglican Parish of Waterloo Bay (APWB) for 15 years. Arriving in Birkdale in 2009 with Jeanette, his wife, he was working full time as an Army chaplain. In 2011, he was posted to Afghanistan. Following a final four-year posting to Sydney, they returned to the parish in 2017.
Jim and Jeanette were much loved at APWB and while Jim assisted in parish ministry, they were both members of a Bible study group and of the Tuesday Mainly Music team for five years. Tragically, Jeanette suddenly passed away in 2022 and is dearly missed and loved by all. Fr Jim continued to minister in the parish until 2023 when he decided to heed God’s call to assist parishes who had no clergy and, following consultation with Bishop Cam Venables, he accepted the opportunity to minister at Charleville, Augathella, Cunnamulla, Wyandra and Morven churches in the Maranoa Region. This is typical of Fr Jim — kind, generous and keen to assist when needed. He resides mainly in his caravan in front of the open carport near the rectory.
The Rev’d Jim Cosgrove ministers at Charleville, Augathella, Cunnamulla, Wyandra and Morven churches in the Maranoa Region (image taken in 2024)
Being sincerely loved and missed by many, 14 parishioners from Anglican Parish of Waterloo Bay — nicknamed “The Waterloo Wanderers” — headed to Charleville to catch up with their dear friend, The Rev’d Jim, in his new environment. We travelled more than 900km in cars and vans over two days, staying overnight in caravan parks and cabins along the way.
Accommodation for the visitors in the spacious Rectory grounds at Charleville included vans, camper trailers and rectory bedrooms. The rectory, which was once a grand building, needed some TLC, so some cleaning was undertaken to make it more serviceable. The Wanderers also tidied up the gardens and pathways.
Waterloo Wanderer green thumbs from The Parish of Waterloo Bay helping out in the rectory of All Saints’ Church, Charleville church in 2024
A primary focus for our group was assisting Fr Jim with his parish ministry that included his regular Eucharist and singalong at the Waroona Multipurpose Centre, a 45-bed residential aged care home. It was heartening to see him conducting the service, including delivering a beautiful message that “God Loves You” and playing his guitar. The home’s lifestyle coordinator, Eula, devotedly cares for the residents and knows much about the 10 regulars. Each resident was given a felt heart or cross, which was handmade by the group as part of a project initiated by Susie Ryan. Following the service, Fr Jim visited those who could not join us. The morning finished with a fully catered morning tea and an enthusiastic singalong.
Eager to help in any way, the following day the Wanderers enjoyed gardening at Charleville’s Healthy Ageing centre and cooked a barbeque lunch for all the locals who frequent this vibrant community centre. Being a part of this practical interaction between the Church and wider local community showed us that The Rev’d Jim is making a real impact in Charleville.
A special bonus during the visit was accomplished Waterloo Wanderer chef, Jim Luthy, preparing a celebratory dinner for fellow Wanderers Brian and Kay Blinco who were marking “milestone” birthdays. To dine in that imposing dining room in the old rectory was a treat and it held all 15 people with room to spare.
Visiting the tourist and memorial places. Fr Jim accompanied us to the Charleville Cosmos Centre and on a tour of the historical and very elegant Hotel Corones. We also visited The Secret World War II Army base and the Angellala Bridge Explosion memorial site.
A tour of the second biggest date farm in Australia, owned by the Charleville Lutheran minister, was fascinating. It was equally interesting to find out that the next day, he would be conducting his service at All Saints’ while Fr Jim was at Augathella.
The Rev’d Jim Cosgrove at a service in Augathella in 2024
Sunday was our final day, and we travelled to Augathella for a service where we met the small-in-number, but huge-in-enthusiasm, parishioners. The opportunity to attend this service certainly swelled the numbers significantly and added to the joyous singing during the service. A generous country morning tea was supplemented by APWB.
As they say, all good things must come to an end, so after farewells, we headed back to base in time for Birkdale’s Tuesday Mainly Music.
A lasting legacy of the visit is the newly renovated/painted sign, “THE RECTORY”, that hangs proudly from the lintel over the rectory’s front steps. This project was undertaken by Russell Hockaday who sanded and repainted it. Russell is a man of his word — he said he would repaint the rectory sign in a day, and he did! The painting of the building might just have to wait a little longer.
Waterloo Bay parishioner Russell Hockaday painting the Charleville rectory sign on a 2024 “Waterloo Wanderers” trip to see The Rev’d Jim Cosgrove
