If Russell Island had a “call this person when you don’t know who else to call” list, chances are Peter MacLoughlin’s name would be right near the top.
Known locally as “Peter Mac”, he’s the bloke who seems to know a little bit about everything, has a solution for most things, and has spent the better part of two decades quietly helping shape the place he calls home.
Peter’s father was a pioneer, becoming the first person to commercially grow and export kiwifruit in New Zealand. Peter inherited that entrepreneurial spirit, later taking over the orchard, starting export ventures and challenging the rules when growers were told they couldn’t export themselves. Maybe that’s where he gets it from. The belief that if something needs doing, you don’t wait around for someone else to do it. You simply have a go.
Every good island story starts with someone taking a chance. For Peter and his wife Ruth, that chance began when they left New Zealand 35 years ago and arrived in Australia with not much more than determination and a willingness to work hard.
Peter started out earning $8 an hour as a landscaper at Sanctuary Cove, working in horticulture and learning the trade. Eventually, he ventured out on his own, later joining one of Brisbane’s major landscaping companies. When he arrived on Russell Island, he saw something others may have missed; potential.
After starting out mowing and helping islanders for around 12 years, including being the only person doing tractor mowing on the island, Peter built a reputation that became worth more than any advertisement. He did what he said he would do. In a world where reliability is sometimes a rare commodity, that simple promise became his trademark.
As new homes started appearing across the island, Peter saw another opportunity and started a turf business servicing new builds. Before long, the mowing became the side story, and the turf business took on a life of its own. But perhaps the biggest thing Peter built wasn’t a business, it was trust.
Peter and Ruth moved to Russell Island after buying land with a couple of mates, spending a year and a half navigating council approvals and another year and a half building their home. They finally moved in around 2008.
These days, you’ll often find Peter by the water, fishing rod nearby, talking to locals, sharing stories, or helping someone with something. A true island jack of all trades.
He spent 12 years on the board of the Russell Island RSL and fondly remembers the days of Tuesday night pizza nights, when the place would be overflowing with more than 140 people.
“The island has been good to us,” he says, and it’s clear Peter has been good to the island.
But if Peter is the island fixer, Ruth is the island’s reminder that age is just a number, and sometimes numbers need to be challenged.
Ruth has always been active. A physical education teacher, she took up running in her late 30s and 40s, and in 1983, at 40 years old, travelled to Puerto Rico for the World Masters Championships. She won gold in the 5000 metres.
Then came the cross country race. The 10km course was brutal; delayed by the heat, with no water available for athletes along the way. At around the 6km mark, Ruth grabbed some ice to cool herself down, but soon after collapsed from heat exhaustion and woke up in hospital.
She had still finished the race. She had still won. She just doesn’t remember crossing the finish line. Apparently, she even stopped breathing in the ambulance.
Fast forward 40 years and Ruth decided she wasn’t quite finished yet. At 80 years old, she started running again. Recently, she completed the 5 km event at the Gold Coast Marathon, and has now won all three 5km events she has entered as part of the marathon weekend.
“We’ve had a wonderful life,” Ruth says. “We’ve worked hard, met some incredible people and had more adventures than we ever imagined.”
Next February, Ruth and Peter will celebrate 60 years of marriage. Two children, five grandchildren and two great grandchildren later, they’re still laughing at life, still embracing every opportunity that comes their way, and still refusing to let any obstacle stand in their way of a life well lived.
