How a miraculous outback find changed the fortunes of the Wynnum Fringe
In July 2023, Tom Oliver was looking at the cost of renting a Spiegeltent from Europe and wishing that his Wynnum Fringe festival could own one permanently.
At roughly the same time, 750 kilometres west of Brisbane, Oliver's newly retired parents rolled into the town of Augathella, population 328, on an outback road trip.
They saw an abandoned Spiegeltent in a field, and sent the disbelieving Oliver a photo.
'So we now, as a festival, own a 400-seat Spiegeltent that was found by my parents in western Queensland,' Oliver says with a laugh.
Prized as portable venues for festival shows, Spiegeltents are like small, glammed-up circus tents, often made with wood and stained-glass detailing.
The structure in Augathella was designed and built in 2008 by Belgium's Klessens family, fifth generation makers, for Queensland's 150th anniversary celebrations.
Called the Q150 Shed, it hybridised a classic European Speigeltent with the Isis Downs Woolshed, a famous outback Queensland shearing shed, and hosted commemorations all over the state in 2009.
'And at the end of the tour, the state government gifted it to the town of Augathella,' Oliver says.
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How a miraculous outback find changed the fortunes of the Wynnum Fringe
In July 2023, Tom Oliver was looking at the cost of renting a Spiegeltent from Europe and wishing that his Wynnum Fringe festival could own one permanently. At roughly the same time, 750 kilometres west of Brisbane, Oliver's newly retired parents rolled into the town of Augathella, population 328, on an outback road trip. They saw an abandoned Spiegeltent in a field, and sent the disbelieving Oliver a photo. 'So we now, as a festival, own a 400-seat Spiegeltent that was found by my parents in western Queensland,' Oliver says with a laugh. Prized as portable venues for festival shows, Spiegeltents are like small, glammed-up circus tents, often made with wood and stained-glass detailing. The structure in Augathella was designed and built in 2008 by Belgium's Klessens family, fifth generation makers, for Queensland's 150th anniversary celebrations. Called the Q150 Shed, it hybridised a classic European Speigeltent with the Isis Downs Woolshed, a famous outback Queensland shearing shed, and hosted commemorations all over the state in 2009. 'And at the end of the tour, the state government gifted it to the town of Augathella,' Oliver says.
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In July 2023, Tom Oliver was looking at the cost of renting a Spiegeltent from Europe and wishing that his Wynnum Fringe festival could own one permanently. At roughly the same time, 750 kilometres west of Brisbane, Oliver's newly retired parents rolled into the town of Augathella, population 328, on an outback road trip. They saw an abandoned Spiegeltent in a field, and sent the disbelieving Oliver a photo. 'So we now, as a festival, own a 400-seat Spiegeltent that was found by my parents in western Queensland,' Oliver says with a laugh. Prized as portable venues for festival shows, Spiegeltents are like small, glammed-up circus tents, often made with wood and stained-glass detailing. The structure in Augathella was designed and built in 2008 by Belgium's Klessens family, fifth generation makers, for Queensland's 150th anniversary celebrations. Called the Q150 Shed, it hybridised a classic European Speigeltent with the Isis Downs Woolshed, a famous outback Queensland shearing shed, and hosted commemorations all over the state in 2009. 'And at the end of the tour, the state government gifted it to the town of Augathella,' Oliver says.
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