Article provided by Rick Stoker

Up to 1976 (and beyond) there weren’t any activities in which John and Marlene Cooper had participated where they hadn’t succeeded.  

These activities included owning a service station with a tyre outlet in Victoria, operating a dairy farm, and at another time a market garden which included a fruit & vegie outlet. 

They marketed these products through their own wholesale stall at the Melbourne Markets.  

Life was tame - so with their Ford Ltd, pulling a custom built 26-foot caravan loaded with their four children and a dog, they headed north seeking their ‘special place’.  

Crossing the Cardwell range and taking-in the panorama of the Hinchinbrook Passage, they knew they were getting close.

On their way up to Mossman, they turned right off the main road and discovered four miles of coconut palms along a sandy beach which ended in a small, tranquil township, and they knew they’d arrived.  

For sale in the Cairns Post, Marlene spied a Mobil service station with full mechanical repair facilities, located at Craiglie (this is now the 24 hour Shell servo, with no repair facilities).  The year was 1978 when they purchased this business which operated from 7.30am to 6pm.

With four growing children, a dog and a full-time business, they craved yet more action and so in 1981, again from an advertisement  in the Post, John took on the responsibility of part-time real estate salesman in Port Douglas.  Operating from their service station, in 1984 John obtained his full real estate agents and auctioneer’s’ license.  

Later, on instructions from the Catholic Church, he auctioned the property high on the hill, which housed St Mary’s church.  The building was of course moved down to near the Sugar Wharf where it stands today. 

Those were the heady days of the Christopher Skase era and their son Jim took over running the service station until they sold it in 1988.  

John worked closely with Christopher in marketing large land subdivisions, on a previously unprecedented scale. 

Giving back to the community as time progressed, John was a charter member of the Lions Club, a member of the Mossman Ambulance Committee and the inaugural president of the retirement complex, Port Haven.  

To this day he never fails to give of his time, knowledge and copies of historic photographs in addition to many other things to The Historic Society, when requested.  

Retiring in 1999, John found he couldn’t sit still and so discovered and developed his talent for painting.  Now in the 21st century, when called upon, he delivers painting classes at The Neighbourhood Centre.  

He’s also one of our senior citizens who has made the hyper-jump by keeping up with computer technology, and is a full bottle on many software applications as well as social media.  

Now in their mid-70’s, John and Marlene together with  their dog, can be found most Sundays at the Port Douglas markets, selling John’s paintings, some of which have been purchased by international collectors.