Mark Henderson - It's all about me

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1952, 53 Born in Maryborough Base Hospital, 6th November

1954,55 Homestead

1955 On the "road" to Homestead, Queensland.

1956, 57 Richmond

1958 298 Wardell Street, Enoggera (Grandma Lanham's house), Brisbane (3 months while Dad bought a house in Ipswich)

1958 - 1968 51 Stafford Street, Booval, Ipswich

1968 - 1974 43 Ailsa Street, Aspley, Brisbane

1973 Aspley State School - teacher; first school; Year 5

Left home at the start of 1974 and the places will be the schools that I was appointed to.

1974, 75 Hughenden State School - teacher; Years 6-7

1976 Crow's Nest State School - teacher; Year 4

1977, 1978 Maryborough West State School - teacher; Year 5, Years 5-7 multi-age

1979, 1980 Imbil State School - teacher; Year 4; Years 1 and 7 multi-age

1981, 1982 Moonford State School - principal Years 1-7

1983 Kogan State School - principal; Years 1-7

1984, 85, 86 Leyburn State School - principal; Years 4-7

1987, 88, 89 Bluff State School - principal; Year4-5 multi-age; Year 7

1990, 91, 92, 93, 94 Boronia Heights State School - principal

1994 Eagleby State School - 3 months Term 4 - principal

1995 South Coast Regional Office - school designer

1996, 97, 98, 99, 2000, 01 Waterford West State School - principal

2002 Lake Cowichan Provincial School, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada - teacher; 

Years 5, 6

2003 Waterford West State School - principal

2004, 05, 06, 07 Broadbeach State School - principal

2008 Retired from Education Queensland

2009 - 2022 Purchased Computer Smart Training Centre - CEO

2019, 20, 21 Created Christa College, Registered Training Organisation #45458 - CEO

2021 Sold Christa College

2022 Sold Computer Smart Training Centre

2022, 23, 24 The Big Lap by caravan - retiree

2024 Arundel - retiree

2025 Arundel - retiree

I'm hoping that the writing of this autobiography is one of self-discovery. 

Without getting too psyched up about it, my interest lies in uncovering just why my life has been one of almost constant movement, in work and home life. Why is my mindset almost nomadic in its nature, being unable, or unwilling, to settle in one place for very long?

Genetically, my family history follows a similar pattern, being a third generation Australian. 

My father's mother, Elizabeth Kane, emigrated from Glasgow in the 1890s, and she did it alone at 19 years of age. She was escaping a very unruly life and made her home here and she also travelled around, after she married Robert Hunter Henderson. 

I think it is this side of the family that gave me the nomadic lifestyle, although my Mum, Sylvia, also moved around a lot as well, with my Dad, Eric. He was a Teacher; Head Teacher and book salesman who once resigned from teaching and sold his education books from the boot of the Wolseley 680 car in 1960. 

Why am I who I am?

Since Aspley, my journey took me to Hughenden, Crows Nest, Maryborough, Gympie, Moonford, Kogan, Leyburn, Bluff, Algester, Gold Coast, and Duncan in British Columbia.

But back to the early life story  - 

Dad took long service leave, hired a caravan (in about 1960) and we all were loaded up and headed north to Cooktown, stopping to sell books at the schools on the way. Six kids and two adults must have been no fun at all.

I was 7 years old so there are only fleeting memories 

- of catching mud skippers in Innisfail (where it rained every day); 

- sneaking in to watch a country footy game (League) in maybe Mackay and seeing a massive brawl (but somehow being so impressed that I played footy for the next 25 years once we got back); 

- and driving with the old man threatening, and giving, a backhander, if you caused trouble. Sometimes, you scored someone else's which settled both you and them down. Four kids in the back, one on Mum's lap; one in the front middle was the system. Ridiculous!

We moved a bit also as a family, with me being born in Maryborough (1952); then moving to Homestead (outside Charters Towers); then Richmond on the Mt Isa road; Ipswich for 10 years; and Aspley in Brisbane until I left home at 21 years. See Homes

... And then, the Big Lap, living in a caravan for at 2 and a half years, travelling around Oz.

Luckily, this journey was with my bestie, Julie, and her bestie, Millie, the Wonder Dog. 

The trip planning began around 2018 and, for various reasons, took 4 years to get going. Covid wiped us out for two of those years and the non-sale of the family business held us back also. 

The business sold and was finalised on Sunday, 30th January 2022, with us planning to go on 1st February if it sold or not. I had had enough of working (or at least the constant battle with COVID on the work environment) even though it was still enjoyable. 

At some point, I will return to comment and explore my battle with emotional/ mental crises that began in the mid-1990s. It is more likely that this challenge began much earlier than that, but I used to find it a bit spooky to self-analyse and here I am writing about it.