Helltown stench lingers like a wheelie bin after rubbish day

It has been 21 years since the disgraced and since jailed "criminologist" penned his ludicrous Penthouse article

Laughing at the Helltown label is one approach. Picture: Contributed

PAUL Wilson has a lot to answer for.

CLICK HERE: Helltown author guilty of child sex offences

The Gympie Times reacts to the 'Helltown' article written by Paul Wilson and published in Penthouse in 1997. Picture: Contributed

It has been 21 years since the disgraced and since jailed "criminologist" penned his ludicrous Penthouse article labelling Gympie a violent, redneck Helltown and a "place of dark and sinister forces".

The mud has stuck.

The front cover of that infamous 1997 Penthouse edition.

This city and region has undergone an amazing transformation in the past two decades, including a population that has doubled and a demographic and economic base that has diversified.

Our jobless numbers are the best in Wide Bay - still not good, but getting better.

Who with and where Mr Wilson spent time during his alleged visit has never quite been made clear. His egregious article made national headlines at the time, and yes, people like me don't help when we keep banging on about it.

I guess some of us never quite got over the outrage.

Kudos to the local entrepreneurs who have tried to parlay the infamy into visitor numbers and tourist dollars.

One of the dragsters at the fundraising event for Captain Cuso at Helltown Hot rods. Picture: DONNA JONES

Helltown Hotrods on the southerns outskirts of town, is one example. They have made that sticky negative something positive and shown we have a sense of humour.

Hellboy stands guard in Helltown Hotrods. Picture: DONNA JONES

According to a recent focus group, the Helltown label lingers like the smell of an empty wheelie bin after rubbish day. Getting rid of that stench is going to need some clever heads, but it must be done.

Originally published as Helltown stench lingers like a wheelie bin after rubbish day