A.B.E.T. Queensland

Aussie Boats for East Timor is a completely non-profit, non-political,
non-denominational organisation dedicated to helping
the peoples of East Timor rebuild their lives.

IT IS ESTIMATED THAT SINCE THE INVASION OF EAST TIMOR BY INDONESIA IN 1975, MORE THAN 200,000 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN MURDERED!

SHOCKED? Then please read on, join us today and make a difference!

Who We Are

As we have stated, Aussie Boats for East Timor is a completely non-profit, non-political,
non-denominational organisation dedicated to helping
the peoples of East Timor rebuild their lives.

We work under the Australian Business Number: ABN# 44905471300.

As of now, we have two locations, one in Queensland, Australia headed by Mike Maskell, which is represented by this site, and one in New South Wales, Australia which is headed by Barry and Michele Wicks. You can find their website located at: A.B.E.T. New South Wales.

We'd like to introduce ourselves individually ...

JOHN WELSFORD

John is the designer of the original 'Fat Canoe' and lives and works for himself in Rotarua, on the North Island of New Zealand. His business, John Welsford's Small Craft Design, is gaining respect worldwide and his book, The New Zealand Backyard Boatbuilder, is a best seller. John, a good friend of Barry Wicks, New South Wales Coordinator, donated his time and effort to the A.B.E.T. project.

John can be contacted by e-mail at: John Welsford

BARRY AND MICHELE WICKS

Barry and Michele, both pensioners, are the Coordinators of A.B.E.T. in New South Wales. Barry is a professional boatbuilder who believed that, once he had retired, he could relax and potter around building small boats and go sailing whenever he wanted. Barry and Michele are now working for others at a pace that would leave many others breathless, and to add to the excitement, their workshop under the house was inundated by floodwaters which destroyed many thousands of dollars worth of tools and boatbuilding supplies donated to the A.B.E.T. project. Michele's comment after surveying the damage was, 'Life happens, pick up the pieces and get on with it'. And thanks to Barry's significant modifications to the original boat design, we now have the Timor Dory, which better accomodates the 15hp outboard motors that were donated for the boats.

Barry and Michele can be contacted by e-mail at: Barry & Michele Wicks

MIKE MASKELL

Mike, Queensland Coordinator of A.B.E.T. is the amateur of the crew but still a better boatbuilder than a banjo player. An invalid pensioner, Mike recently became a 'dinky-di' Aussie after living in Australia for 40 years and wants to put something back into a country that has been so good to him for most of his life. He is passionate about wooden boats and is an active member of The Woodenboat Association of Queensland.

Mike can be contacted by e-mail at: Mike Maskell

Please read on ...

If you would like to help us build boats for the East Timorese people,
by contributing your time and expertise or monetary donations,
or donating in some other way to this worthy cause,
please click on the button below to join us today.