And the rest is History

Listening to his father tell stories of the old bullocking days lit a spark in Ray Humphrys that has led to decades of researching and documenting local history. Born in Dalby’s Burra Bru Private Hospital, Ray has lived all his life on the family property, originally settled by his grandparents, at the foothills of the Bunya Mountains. 

“In my 20s I was collecting photos for a Yamsion school reunion and I was drawn to stories of the past.”
After 24 years of research and interviews, in 1992 Ray (who is President of the Bunya Mountains Natural History Association), published Bonyi-Bonyi-Life and Legends of the Bunya Mountains.  “I feel by putting history in a book I am able to preserve it much better,” he says.

Ray encourages others to be proud of times gone by. For 40 years he’s been reporting for Dalby Newspapers and he enjoys giving readers a glimpse into the past with columns like “Pioneering Days. Dalby is a very old town first settled around 1847. The town has its own unique history that has seen it develop into the way it is today.”

Ray finds it difficult to pinpoint his favourite stories from the past, but he does feel that of one of the region’s founding fathers, Henry Dennis, rarely gets enough credit. “I call Henry Dennis the forgotten explorer. In 1840, he trekked from the Liverpool plains near Gunnedah with the aid of only one aboriginal tracker to look for land for Richard Todd Scougall. Thanks to Dennis, Scougall later settled on Jimbour Station. Ray’s even written a song about how Dennis sadly died at sea when on his way to be married in Sydney.

Listening to Ray tell this story of love lost, it’s easy to see he’s a bit of a romantic. It’s no wonder his interest in history even helped him find the love of his life.  It was the unveiling of a Historic Plaque at the Bunya Mountains in 1977 that led to him meeting his wife Helen who at the time lived in Brisbane. Helen, a dedicated local kindergarten assistant, shares Ray’s passion for the past and bubbles with excitement as she talks about meeting Ray all those years ago. “I get goose-bumps when I think about what a miracle it was that we were both there that day.”  They have been married for 33 years and have three grown children.

When he’s not researching for the newspaper, Ray can be found lecturing in local history at U3A, tending to the cattle on the farm, recording weddings for his videoing business, or playing a little music with family and friends. And quietly but strongly he too makes his own impressive mark on our local history.