Cups queen eyes Cooktown crown
Janel Ryan isn’t sure which horse will win the Cooktown Cup this year, but will take a three-pronged attack into the feature race in a bid to add another trophy to her growing collection. Janel and her husband Ronnie Ryan have won four Cups this year, securing the Atherton, Gordonvale and Cairns Cups, as well as the famous Banana Cup at Innisfail.
No bull! Run returns
Modesty went out the window and the PC brigade was turned away as the world-famous Running of the Bulls was revived in true Weipa style on Sunday morning ... Lit up by the moon and a few streetlights, the eager herd carried plastic bags and buckets, hopeful that enough residents had stayed up past 1am to make a charitable donation to the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
Emotional day for mayor as new Aurukun airport terminal opened
Aurukun mayor Keri Tamwoy was a little emotional at the opening of the town’s new airport terminal last week, paying tribute to her late mother Alison Woolla, of whom the passenger lounge was named in her honour ... Local builder Cameron Herbert is thrilled with the final product ... Mr Herbert makes his own concrete, the only one to do so in Aurukun, and said he was thrilled he could use locals to help with construction.
Banners put a taboo topic in forefront of community
A brainchild of Weipa Community Care, the banners on Central Avenue were erected to send a message about domestic violence and sexual violence ... Weipa Community Care support worker Lucy Waugh said domestic and family violence, as well as sexual violence, was too high in Cape York. “We need to change the thinking about what a healthy relationship is,” she said.
Telstra fails … again
Mobile phone services went down in Coen, Laura and Lakeland last week, prompting criticism of Telstra ahead of the wet season, when telecommunications struggle to cope with the heavy rainfall. Travellers were left with no mobile reception between Cooktown and Weipa as a result of the outage, which Telstra said lasted around 30 hours.
Carbon partnership giving opportunities in the Cape
A partnership between the Aboriginal Carbon Foundation and a major bank has helped preserve Cape York country and employ a number of Traditional Owners. As part of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s carbon neutrality, the bank supports traditional Aboriginal fire management generating Australian Carbon Credit Units for the second year running.
Bulldogs well prepared ahead of footy carnivals
The Napranum Bulldogs will dust off the cobwebs this weekend when they play their first competitive game for two years at the Gordonvale Indigenous Rugby League Carnival. With no organised competition in Cape York this year and COVID-19 killing off games in 2020, the Bulldogs have been training for a long time to prepare for a string of carnivals.
