Geoff Guest's Legacy (Petford FNQ)

Geoff Guest is much loved & well known around the country and overseas due to his outstanding success in working with young people. We were introduced to Geoff on a recent visit to Petford & were moved by his great understanding and love for people. We learned that over 40 years, he has engaged over 4,000 disadvantaged children & young adults, both indigenous & non-indigenous, with breathtaking results. Today, in his 90s, Geoff urgently requires help to continue his legacy of service.

Like many indigenous children, Geoff was taken from his family when very young (only three years old) and raised in an orphanage and then in a series of foster homes. After running away at the age of nine, he survived using his wits & skills in horsemanship & later traveled all over the world with the Navy as a medic, horse trainer & troop mentor. In 1945, after the war, Geoff returned to the Queensland bush, where he found himself surrounded by a crowd of Indigenous boys watching him break horses. Many of these boys were disadvantaged and already heavy drinkers & he discovered that his work with horses was yet to fulfill a greater purpose.

Geoff’s Youth Camp continuously operated independently of government funding & helped young people (those suicidal, suffering from drug and alcohol abuse & those in trouble with the law) by equipping them with the confidence & skills to find work at nearby stations. Geoff's wife Norma acted as a Mother to the youths and a cook, providing over 100 meals a day for the 40 children staying with them at any one time. Meanwhile, Geoff specialized in teaching horsemanship as well as healing disorders & addictions by correcting nutritional deficiencies & instilling wholesome values in a loving family environment.

The results caught the attention of the community & soon youths were being referred by psychologists, police & local support services. Healing happened through elevating the children’s confidence, self-esteem and respect for self and others enough for them to discover direction & purpose in life. Geoff's life work is laid out in the book “The Geoff Guest Way 2020”. He has appeared in several documentaries available on YouTube & been awarded the Order of Australia.

At 95 years of age, Geoff continues to live at his property in Petford but requires help to maintain the retreat and care for the animals. Funds will go toward the Petford Wellness Trust to fund a feeder box capable of growing food for the horses & fixing the solar system which enables the property to function off-grid. All excess funds will go toward taking care of publishing Geoff’s latest books & ensuring his ground-breaking techniques and heart-warming message will continue to be shared after he is gone.

"My door is always open... come up and see how I work with young people and I'll be happy to pass on what I've learnt." Geoff Guest