AUTUMN 2024
SeniorsToday.com.au
Recognised in awards
Thinking travel?
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PAGES 16-17
Gearing up for Rockynats
Classic builds
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Warren Burggraaff’s handiwork is hard to ignore. ‘Waz’, the master hotrod builder, has carved a name for himself through years of delivering show-stopping creations. He may shun the limelight, but his skill turns heads. STORY PAGE 3
The village that could PAGE 9
It’s just weeks from Rockynats where, amid all the fun and colour, local hotrod builder Warren Burggraaff is set to unveil his latest creation
A survivor Not everyone caught up in the horrors of World War II was a soldier, as Ryszard ‘Richie’ Ziebicki from Rockhampton can attest. ‘Richie’ was 12 years old when Germany invaded his homeland Poland in September 1939. He would spend most of his teenage years in forced labour camps during World War II. “At the age of 15-and-a-half I was
randomly selected for forced labour in Germany along with two other boys from my village, Gielniow,” Richie said. “After several days of travel, we arrived at Wilhemshaven in the north of Germany. “We were taken to a camp – a Russian prisoner of war camp – and started work at a coal business. “The coal arrived by boat or train and my job was to unload 50kg bags and de-
Why the islands beckon PAGE 20
liver by trailer mainly to army barracks, navy bases and businesses in the city, where I had to stow the bags in the cellars. “As we weren’t prisoners of war we asked to be transferred to a civilian camp. Because we lost work time we were given 25 lashes on our backside.” STORY PAGE 8