Mal Dodt voted Gympie’s best photographer

After eight years of taking a photo a day showcasing Gympie’s treasures, one happy snapper has taken out a reader-voted best photographer competition.

A man who showcases Gympie history says he is “not a real photographer” despite taking the top gong in a reader-voted competition to decide the region’s best snapper.

Of the 30 photographers nominated in this publication’s best photographer competition, Mal Dodt has emerged the winner.

“I’m not a real photographer,” he said.

Mr Dodt is the administrator behind the Facebook page Gympie The real treasure is the town.

In the back office of Dodt’s Floor Coverings on Mellor St, which he owns, Mr Dodt showed off a gift his daughter made him – two large black cardboard rolls which expand to produce an impressive camera lens, a play on his love for taking photos of Gympie with his phone.

Every day he posts a photo that offers a look at Gympie through a lens, from the weather, black and white photos from decades past or even sparking conversations over First Nations’ history not found in post-settlement textbooks.

Mr Dodt said the photos resonated because it encouraged the “rekindling” of memories.

“I can take a photo of the fire station, and somebody says, ‘I used to walk past that in 1950 something on my way to school’,” he said.

‘If we lose that country town feel then we’re doomed’

Mal Dodt of Gympie the Real Treasure is the Town has won Gympie Times Best Photographer of 2024. Picture: Christine Schindler

In 2016, he started the Facebook page with some mates to change the way people looked at the Gympie region.

“It was to get away from the negativity of the region, so it is a hundred per cent positive,” Mr Dodt said.

“Originally it was three of us who started the page and I’m the only idiot that kept it going.”

Among running the business, being a dad of two and caring for his wife who is on dialysis, he finds time to post to the page.

Despite his busy schedule he is consistent with his posts, which reach up to 700,000 people.

“It feels like it’s helping the town and that’s the whole reason I’m doing it,” Mr Dodt said.

Runs in the family: Ultimate sporting dynasties of 2024 revealed

A then and now from the Fiveways of John Fosters Store in the early 1900s and today 2024 now the home of Love This Furniture & Decor Gympie. Picture: Mal Dodt

Mr Dodt was in tough competition with 30 other photographers in the region, who are celebrated in their own right, capturing the many memories and milestones of people in the city.

He won by 23 per cent of the vote followed by Tracey Devereaux, with 19 per cent of the vote and Leeroy Todd with 15 per cent. Congratulations to all the photographers who were nominated. 

Originally published as Mal Dodt voted Gympie’s best photographer