Money can't buy this priceless gift
COOLOOLA Cove schoolgirl Sarah Douglas was singled out from a crowd of thousands last year when boy from the bush Lee Kernaghan stopped singing on the Muster Main Stage, leaned across to the mosh pit and handed her his black Epiphone guitar.
His spontaneous act of kindness and generosity blew the 13-year-old country music fan away.
Other excited fans offered her up to $3000 cash for the guitar that night, but no amount of money was going to part Sarah from her new most precious possession. And it just got better.
Sarah's family makes up an integral part of the Tin Can Bay State Emergency Service and, following this year's January floods, were all invited to a thank you day at Dreamworld for the emergency service workers who toiled so tirelessly during the state-wide summer disaster.
Knowing Lee Kernaghan was going to be one of the performers at the event, Sarah took her "precious" along for the trip.
"We met Anna Bligh and Jessica Watson and the hot Neighbours' star who plays Andrew," Sarah said. "The Noll brothers were performing, and then Lee Kernaghan."
Sarah's mum Donna said Lee recognised Sarah immediately "because she had her (signed Brigalow) hat on".
It was the hat, covered in country music star autographs, that first drew Lee's attention to Sarah, Donna believes.
"She held the guitar up and he just started laughing," Donna said. "He had no hesitation. He took (the guitar) off her and strummed it and said 'oh, it's still in tune'."
Lee then signed the guitar with a special white pen the family had taken along for just that reason. The instrument presides over Sarah's bedroom from a special stand in the corner where family and friends are allowed to look at it, but not touch.
