Temple of the Sacred Spiral

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The new Pagan sanctuary is a 50 acre property on the Stanley River with a delightful creek meandering through it - both river and creek are permanent. In addition it has 3 houses and 5 sheds and an old dairy, so enabling me to live here, and develop the site as a Pagan Festival site. Its name is 'Imarbara', which means 'Peacemakers' in the dialect of the Dingadau aboriginals who lived here.

Entrance to Imarbara

Main Homestead - built 90 years ago.

We intend to run it on the lines of Circle Sanctuary in USA, only with free use of the land for Pagan rituals and conferences, and camping facilities, and basic accomadation for travelling pagans. We will turn the dairy into a 32 bed hostel, and the whole site into a festival ground, with Pagan Autumn Gathering, held by CAW, Aust at Easter 2000, being the first festival to be run on it. Any other ideas and/or help will be gratefully received.

Other houses on the property

A big dedication ceremony of the whole land will be performed shortly, and as many Pagans as we can get will be needed to add their energies to this sacred land! WATCH THIS SPACE!!!

View from Imarbara

The River bordering Imarbara is the Stanley River, and into it runs the Cedar Creek.

Cedar Creek

At their junction, we have set up some beehives, from which we hope to get beeswax for ritual candles, and honey for mead. Other crops we hope to get underway this year include a large herb garden, an orchard (30 trees already planted) and vineyard, for pagan Wines. There is a small winery at Delaney's Creek, about 15 km from here which we will use to crush our wines.

Snake Gully

The sacred heart of Imarbarav is Avendesora (named after the Tree of life in the Robert Jordan novels), which is an area surrounded almost completely by Cedar Creek, and with a canopy of trees sheltering it. In it is the dedicated and consecrated circle of the Temple of the Sacred Spiral.

On the way to Avendesora is a pathway along which are several notable features, some of which have amusing names.

The first is the main swimming hole, called Mairwar Pool (Platypus Pool), crossed by means of a giant log.

Mairwah Pool

Further on is a small mound, probably a rubbish tip covered with soil and now nicely grassed, which our resident humorist called 'Fairy Mound' - and the name has stuck!

Fairy Mound

Still further on are several cattle bones (virgin steers, of course) - called by the same wit 'Virgin's Graveyard' - and again the name stuck! (In Australia we are not so worried by people mistaking ironic humour for something more sinister - the 'fundies' are regarded as even wierder than us, and far more of a nuisance!)

Virgin's Graveyard

If you keep along the path, you will pass a natural Amphitheatre (called the Amphitheatre) on the left, and a boggy swamp, called the Bunyip's Bog.

Bunyip Bog

In fact it is the source of another smaller stream, not always flowing the full length all year, which flows away from Cedar Creek, hence it is called Menda (turn-around) Stream.

Track past Bunyip Bog

Menda Stream

Finally you get to the entrance to Avendesora, the most beautiful sacred spot you can imagine.

A detour from this path, just after the Amphitheatre brings you to the Coven of the Crescent Moon Circle, where a young coven holds its rites each month. There is also a lovely feasting area under the trees for fun and games after.

On 11th - 12th September, 1998, we had our first flood, and Cedar Creek burst its banks, as did the Stanley in places. Avendesora even was 5' underwater for 24 hours! But nothing was lost, and it is fitting for this cleansing to be done by the Goddess and God just before we celebrate our first Sabbat at Imarbara, with Ostara on the 18th September.

Sketch of Mairwah Pool by Harmony Web.

At Lughnassadh in February 1999, we asked for rain - and two days later, the Stanley overflowed its banks completely, cutting us off from the outside world, and putting Avendesora 9' under water! But it was the record level since records began last century, and we did really put a lot of energy into the ritual!!

At the back of the main homestead, is where the main camping area will be. For now, it is full of dead cars that the previous owner collected (!) and refused to move. So we will be cleaning this area up very soon.

The main camping area, or Dead Car Yard!

More next month, with pictures of the God and Goddess trees, Menda billabong, the Stanley River and the Dairy, our first big project.

Sketch by Harmony Web of Harmony Glade, a beautiful meditation area by the Stanley River.

Early Woodford History

The first settlement in the Caboolture was at Durundur Station, in 1841 by David Archer, only months before Governor Sir George Gibbs issued a proclamation which reserved much of the coastal land north of the settlement for aboriginals. The Archer name is seen in the main street of Woodford, and Mt archer at nearby Neurum.

The Durundur sheep station became a base for exploration of the region, and the cradle of Caboolture pioneer settlement. (Durundur is aboriginal for Moreton Bay Ash) Durundur homestead has now burnt down, but was situated 8 km south of where Imarbara is now, and Mimburi was originally part of Durundur station.

Henry Wood was hired as manager in 1867, and later became a partner in the property. He is commemorated in the name "Woodford", the nearest township to Imarbara (14 km away), and his descendants still reside in the area.

About 100 years ago, the Imarbara area was acquired by the Tripcony's, who gradually sold off their holdings, till the heart of the Tripcony property, Imarbara, was sold to me in June 1998.

From these early beginnings grew some of the best dairying and cattle farms in SE Queensland. Timber became a lucrative industry, still productive today, and giving rise to a number of local World Champion woodchoppers. Today the area abounds in strawberry, pineapple, hydroponics, bananas and herb farms with a budding new wine industry taking hold. Crayfish, ostrich, eme and alpaca farms are a few of the more modern industries developing in the farming sector. And last but certainly not least, it is the home of the annual Woodford Folk Festival, held at New Year, and culminating in a most pagan Fire Festival.

Next month, some views of historic Woodford.

Email us at kimandq@caliph.net.au

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