Ex MRCCC chairman, Traveston Dam fighter Jim Buchanan dies aged 82

Community and environmental groups are mourning the death of Jim Buchanan, whose vision and passion for the Mary River and its water basin created a legacy that still reverberates today.

The Gympie community is mourning the death of Jim Buchanan, whose passion for preserving the Mary River and its surrounding basis is still reverberating today.

The Gympie region has lost an environmental champion and one of the Mary River’s most staunch advocates following the death of former Catchment Committee chairman Jim Buchanan.

Mr Buchanan died peacefully at Cooinda Aged Care, aged 82, on March 15, 2024.

A statement issued by the Mary River Catchment Coordinating Committee said Mr Buchanan “was forever looking at ways to improve the future”, a trait that was reflected in his work not only with the MRCCC, but other groups he was involved with including the Historical Society.

He was born at Goomboorian in May 1941, into a family that has been part of the region’s fabric since the late 19th century, and raised “with an ethic of hard work and an appreciation of the demands on the man on the land”.

Mr Buchanan’s involvement in the farming industry led to the creation of the Sandowne Pineapple Company in 1979, with other members of his family.

In 2000 he stepped in to the role of chairman of the MRCCC.

The late Gympie Regional Council mayor Ron Dyne presents Jim Buchanan with his MRCCC life membership.

One of the first priorities during his tenure was the consultation for the Mary Basis Water Resource Plan and was “strongly opposed to interbasin transfers of water from the Mary River catchment to the Sunshine Coast for urban water supply, advocating instead for increased water availability for the Mary catchment and for environmental flows downstream to the Great Sandy Strait Ramsar listed wetland”.

He took an extended absence from the role following the death of his wife Sue in 2003.

Historical society president Jim Buchanan in period costume in front of a 1911 Garrett engine.

Mr Buchanan was a supporter of “climate independent water supplies”, and collaborated with water conservation advocates during the millennium drought to create a white paper recognising “dams don’t work if it doesn’t rain” and calling for new sources like recycling, desalination, and rainwater tanks.

One of the biggest battles Mr Buchanan played a role in was the fight to keep parts of the Mary Valley from being inundated by the ill-fated Traveston Crossing dam.

Jim Buchanan and Ian Mackay.

The MRCCC was among the community forces to rally against the state government’s controversial plan, which was killed in 2009 by Labor’s then federal environment minister Peter Garrett.

Mr Buchanan’s legacy in the Gympie region extended in other smaller ways.

He was “instrumental” in helping find the MRCCC a permanent home and creating a tax deductible fund to raise money for an office, the committee’s release said.

Mary Valley dam protest group (left to right) Darryl Stewart, Steve Burgess, Jim Buchanan, Dave Kreutz and Glenda Pickersgill. Pic Graeme Parkes.

This 10 year effort ended with the purchase and renovation of the MRCCC’s current home at Stewart Tce.

Even after he stepped down from the committee’s top job, Mr Buchanan was looking to the future.

Jim Buchanan with the old photo album of his family history in the Gympie region, which stretched back to the late 19th century. Photo Craig Warhurst.

“In his final years as a resident at Cooinda Aged Care, Jim’s visionary mind produced a plan for future sustainable water supplies in the Mary River catchment, incorporating renewable energy to power desalination and water recycling,” the MRCCC release said.

“Jim was forever looking at ways to improve the future.

“Not just for the MRCCC, but for the community as a whole.

“Although his legacies remain, he will be greatly missed by all who knew him.”