Quentin Tod brings up 500th On The QT column

From arriving to the Gold Coast to working without Google, Quentin Tod reflects on his time getting to 500 On The QT columns.

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QUENTIN Tod had just returned from studying the newspaper industry in the United Kingdom when he decided to scope out Brisbane for his next adventure.

It was the middle of summer in the early 80s and the “large country town” didn’t appeal to the New Zealand national so he instead drove down to the Gold Coast.

Quentin Tod

While passing through the Glitter Strip, Mr Tod spotted a Gold Coast Bulletin sign. He said within 10 minutes, John Burton, the editor at the time, offered him a job.

“In 1987 the Bulletin didn’t have business pages. I started the business pages … and during my endeavours there, I met a lot of contacts who trusted me,” Mr Tod said.

“When I started there was no Google or RP data. You couldn’t sit at a desk and do things, you had to leave the office.

“We got out and had coffee with people and got a rapport going and that was very important.”

Mr Tod started the Bulletin’s Bizzy Bits in 1987 and ran it until he retired at 55 in 2004.

In 2010, he was approached by former Bulletin editor Peter Gleeson who asked him if he would write a similar column called On The QT.

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This month the soon-to-be great grandfather wrote his 500th column for On The QT without missing a single one.

“I still do it because it keeps my brain going. There’s only so much golf you can play and I enjoy the contact with people.”

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