Communities Don’t Run Themselves
Long before the gates open, before crowds wander through the displays and before the first axe strikes timber, Charlie Fancett is already hard at work.
Stuart Davidson | Urunga Chainsaw and Mower
More Than a Festival — A Connection to Community
Sometimes, a connection to a place begins with a single drive through town.
For the owner of Urunga Chainsaw and Mower, that first introduction to Glenreagh came in 2010 while working as a parole officer in Grafton.
Travelling through the small village left an impression.
Six years later, after transferring to Coffs Harbour, he and his wife purchased a home in Glenreagh.
By then, the village had become more than somewhere they passed through. It had become home.
He attended the Glenreagh Timber Festival each year until COVID forced the event to pause. By the time the festival returned, his own circumstances had also changed.
He had purchased Urunga Chainsaw and Mower—and he could not wait to become part of the festival in a new way.
From Festival Visitor to Gold Sponsor
Shez had always hoped to return to the Orara Valley to raise her two daughters, Lilly and Katy, in a quieter rural community.
After moving to Glenreagh with her husband, Justin, she relocated her eight-year family daycare business, Shez’s Family Daycare, to the village. The family quickly became involved in local activities, organisations and community events.
For Shez, country living means being able to slow down and appreciate the small moments that can easily be missed elsewhere.
“It’s a hot chocolate on a cold morning on the front verandah, watching the fog slowly lift and the morning light creep over the mountain ranges,” she says.
“It’s being able to hear the birds and see nature all around us—from the river and paddocks to the mountains, trees and sandstone escarpment.”
It is also about raising children in a place where neighbours look out for one another and families can feel connected to the community around them.
Timber in the Family
Urunga Chainsaw and Mower has supported the Glenreagh Timber Festival since its post-COVID return in 2022.
Now a Gold Sponsor, the business uses the festival as an opportunity to showcase its range of machinery and outdoor power equipment while connecting directly with the people who use it.
For a specialist local business, that face-to-face exposure is invaluable.
Customers have walked into the store as long as six months after the event and said they first discovered the business at the Timber Festival.
“That advertising is priceless,” he says.
The festival has also created connections with other businesses throughout the area, opening the door to new relationships and valuable networking opportunities.
But the partnership is about more than business promotion.
It is also a way to support the community he and his wife have called home since 2016.
The First Sounds of Festival Day
His earliest memories of the Glenreagh Timber Festival are tied to its unmistakable sounds and smells.
The chuffing and puffing of wood-fired steam engines.
The piercing call of a steam whistle.
Axes striking timber during the woodchopping.
Chainsaws screaming as they cut through posts.
The smell of two-stroke fuel mixing with smoke from the barbecue and aromas drifting from the food stalls.
Together, these sounds and smells create an atmosphere unlike any other event.
They connect visitors with the machinery, skills and industries that helped shape Glenreagh and the surrounding region.
Asked to describe the festival in three words, his answer is straightforward:
Great day out.
And when asked for the one word locals might use to describe festival day, the answer is just as clear:
Awesome.
A Community That Gets Involved
What keeps him returning each year is the connection to the community.
The Glenreagh Timber Festival does not simply appear overnight. It takes months of preparation and the combined efforts of committee members, volunteers, local organisations, sponsors and businesses.
“Everyone gets in and helps out to make this festival happen,” he says.
That willingness to contribute is what makes Glenreagh special.
There are people throughout the community who continually give their time, share their skills and support events that bring the village together.
For him, several people immediately come to mind when he thinks about the characters behind the festival.
Rikki, Amber and Leanne from the festival committee.
Peter Shipman and his involvement with the woodchopping.
Mike, who volunteers endlessly throughout Glenreagh.
Colin, Chantel and their family from Sherwood Cliffs.
Jamie, who keeps the community informed through a local newsletter and website.
They are part of a much longer list of people who work behind the scenes to support Glenreagh and ensure its community events continue.
“The list is endless,” he says.
Keeping Timber History Visible
As the owner of a business specialising in chainsaws, mowers and power equipment, he has a close connection to the timber industry and the people who depend upon it.
He has also witnessed significant changes in the industry.
In his view, the establishment of the Great Koala National Park has contributed to a difficult period for local forestry workers, businesses and timber mills.
He says generations of timber jobs have been affected, with the flow-on impact reaching businesses such as Urunga Chainsaw and Mower through reduced chainsaw and equipment sales and servicing.
For him, these changes make it even more important that the history of the local timber industry is not forgotten.
The Glenreagh Timber Festival provides a place where people can see traditional machinery, watch timber sports and better understand the work that sustained families and communities throughout the region.
It gives younger generations an opportunity to connect with an industry that might otherwise become something they only hear about in stories.
More Than Timber
Although timber heritage lies at the heart of the event, the festival brings together people with many different interests.
Visitors travel from across the region and beyond to see vintage machinery, watch timber sports, explore market stalls and enjoy food from local vendors.
It is an event that appeals to families, history enthusiasts, machinery lovers, local shoppers and anyone looking for a genuine country day out.
“The Timber Festival is an event that brings people together,” he says.
“Not only the local community—people travel from all over to see the vintage machinery and timber sports, grab some nice food and find a bargain at one of the market stalls.”
That mix of heritage, entertainment and community creates an atmosphere that cannot easily be replicated elsewhere.
Supporting Business by Supporting Community
For Urunga Chainsaw and Mower, sponsoring the festival has delivered strong commercial benefits.
It has increased awareness of the business, introduced its products to new customers and built connections with other organisations across the region.
However, the value of the partnership cannot be measured only in enquiries or sales.
Sponsorship also helps ensure the festival can continue providing a platform for local businesses, community groups, volunteers and heritage displays.
It is a cycle of support.
Businesses help make the festival possible.
The festival brings visitors into the area.
Those visitors discover local businesses and organisations.
And the benefits continue flowing through the community long after the festival grounds close.
Nothing Compares to Glenreagh
Ask what he would say to someone who has never attended the festival, and he offers a comparison to two of Australia’s best-known agricultural shows.
“Sydney has the Royal Easter Show. Brisbane has the Ekka. But nothing compares to the spirit of the Coffs Coast’s own Glenreagh Timber Festival.”
That spirit does not come from the size of the event.
It comes from the people behind it.
It is found in the volunteers arriving early to prepare the grounds.
The committee members working throughout the year.
The competitors keeping traditional timber sports alive.
The exhibitors sharing vintage machinery and equipment.
The businesses that provide financial and practical support.
And the visitors who travel to Glenreagh to enjoy the finished event.
Bringing People Together
For Stuart, the Glenreagh Timber Festival is ultimately about connection.
It connects businesses with customers.
It connects visitors with the history of the timber industry.
It connects local organisations with supporters.
And it connects people from different communities through a shared celebration of country life.
The steam whistles, chainsaws, woodchopping and machinery may be some of the first things visitors notice.
But behind those sights and sounds is something even more important.
A community working together.
A local industry being remembered.
And a festival that continues to give people a reason to return to Glenreagh year after year.
Read More Tales
Country, Community and Keeping Traditions Alive
For more than 40 years, the Glenreagh Pony Club has helped local children build confidence, develop horsemanship skills and discover a love of country life.
Glenreagh Rural Fire Brigade Coming Home to the Orara Valley
For some people, finding home means discovering somewhere new. For Shez, it meant returning to the valley where her family’s story began.
