A BUILDER, an opera singer and an environmental activist walk into a bar … and they were all the same man.
Former Mount Gambier resident Lance Payne – who is now based in Mackay Queensland – wears many hats.
He is best known in his adopted Queensland city as an outspoken environmentalist and recently made his surprising stage debut, performing in critically acclaimed production The Witch’s Curse.
But before he moved interstate in 2012, Mr Payne helped construct a number of iconic buildings in the Blue Lake city.
“I worked for Templeton Construction until its fall and helped to change the landscape of Mount Gambier,” he told The Border Watch this week.
“We built Conboy’s nursery and eventually helped to take it down, which was quite sad.
“I was also a one-time timber stacker with NF McDonnell and Sons and worked in the press room at The Border Watch in 1990.”
The former Grant High School student has remained in the sunshine state as he battles a number of health issues.
“I had a breast cancer scare and now glaucoma – among a few other health concerns – so I have stayed put,” he explained.
“I figured living in sunny Queensland and in the warm weather up here was the best place to be.”
Soon after his move to Mackay, Mr Payne noticed the beaches were “rank with coal” and started to lobby relevant government representatives.
“I live in coal country now and until I moved here I never realised how clean the beaches are down that way (in the South East),” he said.
“Here they are spilling coal into the Great Barrier Reef and it washes up on the shore – there is more coal than sand on some beaches.
“Coral is under siege by so many elements and this is something we can and should protect it from.”
Mr Payne has authored several articles for Greenpeace and was featured on BBC World News.
He has relentlessly pushed for action to prevent coal spillage from mining ports near Mackay.
“I’m not a member of Greenpeace or Sea Shepherd, but my values are aligned with those organisations,” he said.
“A number of politicians have joined me on the beaches for a look and scientists in Columbia have been taking an interest.
“I will take it to a federal level – I’m determined to stop the coal spillage and protect the reef and the ocean.”
As for his recent turn as an opera singer, Mr Payne said he had “always felt a strong cultural pull”.
“In the ’70s as a young boy I would go to see stage plays – I still remember going to see Peter and the Wolf,” he said.
“As an adult I still love to go to the theatre and I have always had the desire but never the opportunity to perform.
“Up here there is a great initiative to involve members of the community in theatre and allow them to audition, get up and have a sing.
“I had a go and to my surprise I was selected to be a member of the choir.”
Mr Payne said he was humbled by his selection and delighted to join the cast, especially given he had no prior singing experience.
“The rehearsals for the show were gruelling but it was an amazing feeling standing next to the lead actress and singing with professionals,” he said.
While he intends to live in Mackay for the foreseeable future, Mr Payne said he still visits family in the South East.
“Mount Gambier is a beautiful place, but I do not miss the cold weather,” he said.
