With the aim of creating a display with a difference, local resident Arthur Usher has spent the past three years building on his Australian-themed Christmas decorations for all to enjoy.
Creating every piece of the display by hand, Arthur was looking for a point of difference to the common light shows that are on display across the region.
Arthur said the idea to do an Australian-themed display came to him when he was thinking about how lucky we were to call Australia home.
“The idea came to me mainly because most people have light displays, and I thought I should do something different to change it up,” Arthur said.
“Instead of having lots of lights, I have created a display that shows an Aussie Christmas.”
Arthur said he couldn’t put a time frame on how long it had taken him to produce the display, as it was an ever-growing project that he continued to build on each year.
“This particular set up has been going for three years,” he said.
“The biggest challenge is putting all the pieces into place as it takes around a month to put together, and especially getting the pieces onto the roof.”
Not only has Arthur built and designed all of the pieces of the display, he has also created moving pieces.
“I have used small motors to create movement throughout the display,” he said.
“For example, the mother kangaroo moves up and down, the Santa on the roof lifts his arms up and down with the reigns and the six kangaroos go backward and forwards.
“I have also used a programmed computer board so that the koalas out the front are playing soccer, the first koala kicks and then the lights act as a ball before the other koala kicks the ball back.”
Arthur said his main reason behind putting the display together was to bring joy to others.
“I just want everyone to enjoy it,” he said.
You can find Arthur’s Aussie Christmas display at 26 Greatheads Road, Kepnock.
Miniature Rooms add to unique Christmas displays
Local resident Rieckie Muchow has also created a Christmas display with a difference, using miniature rooms to showcase the meaning of Christmas.
Rieckie said more than 25 separate rooms had been created in 60cm by 60cm display boxes and were being showcased at her home in East Bundaberg.
She said the display had taken a couple of weeks to put together with both the miniature boxes and lights making for a unique showcase of Christmas.
“Inside the house there are about 30 separate miniature rooms, and the front yard is all under lights which my husband put up,” Rieckie said.
“I have been working on the dioramas for around 10 years and each year I change them a little bit so they are never really finished.
“It has taken a few weeks to put it all together but all the miniature displays add something different to the traditional light display.”
The themes of each of the miniature displays have varying themes including:
- Santa Claus Christmas
- Typical Aussie Christmas Lunch
- Men’s shed
- A Japanese garden
The best time to view the display is around 6.30 pm at 17 Morrison Street, East Bundaberg.
You can find out more about unique Christmas displays around the region via Facebook.
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