Tourism

West Wimmera Shire Council is pleased to announce that construction has commenced on the new cabins for the Kaniva Caravan Park. The new cabins are part of the 'Cabins Across the Wimmera Mallee: Strengthening the Visitor Economy' initiative, a collaboration between Council, the Wimmera Development Association, and Hindmarsh, Buloke, and Yarriambiack shires.

As the cost-of-living crisis hits Clarence Valley families and individuals hard, people across the region are still pouring their money into gaming machines, with the latest data revealing pokie profits have increased by $1.5 billion in NSW on pre-pandemic levels with locals contributing more than $20 million ... In clubs across the Clarence Valley LGA between June 1 and November 30, 2022, 465 gaming machines across 11 clubs in the Local Government Area LGA generated a profit of $12,925,359.00.

Alyssa Walker. The Charlton Show ‘N’ Shine started with a sound. A low roaring, a rumbling you could feel in your chest, reverberated throughout the community, as the Ford Coupe Club of Australia drove down the highway. It was one of those whims of chance that Craig, the Ford Club president, had chosen to stop in at the Charlton bakery; and it was even more coincidental that Greg had happened to be in said bakery when he heard the thrum of the engines.

After smashing records last year with attendance figures increasing an astonishing 28 per cent to 364,775 and generating $22.61 million in direct and incremental spending in Queensland, the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers will this year bloom across all of September, with Toowoomba Region Mayor Paul Antonio launching the 2023 program at long-time Exhibition Garden host, Val Peachey’s garden.

Natasha Hall. My guitarist and lead vocals Jarron Hall, guest vocals Indiga Hall and bassist and vocals Timothy Marshall played as the group Delicscape at the Wimmera Steampunk Festival.

Fin Hansen. A shared path for cycling, walking and running on the Copper Coast has been fully connected. The final stages of Copper Coast Council’s $1.6 million project were completed when the final section from Cornish Terrace to Magazine Road, Wallaroo, was sealed recently. The region’s trail network spans about 25 kilometres and links the Kadina to Wallaroo Copper Rail Trail with the Wallaroo to Moonta Shared Path, which finishes/starts at the Moonta Tourist Office on Blanche Terrace.

Patrick Goldsmith. Five troublesome parcels of unalienated Crown Land within the Yorke Peninsula Council area will stay in the care and control of the state government after discussions regarding the environmental impacts of increased visitation numbers ... Unalienated Crown Land is public land which is owned and managed by the state government, giving council no authority over the activity which takes place on it.

In what will be music to travellers’ ears, Bonza has launched its Melbourne (Tullamarine) to Tamworth route on 2 May 2023. The new route, connecting Australia’s Country Music Capital with its Cuisine Capital, will operate twice weekly on Tuesdays and Fridays with fares starting from $59 per person (one way).  

Planning is underway for the nation’s largest gathering of harnessed draught animals, The Good Old Days Festival, at Barellan in southern NSW on September 30-October 1, 2023. The committee is putting together a full program of authentic heritage events ... Barellan Working Clydesdale Committee member Bruce Bandy, and Aleks Berzins, of Exeter, will drive a team of over 20 heavy horses pulling a wool wagon around the arena.

The Kimberley’s Ultimate Festival is back in 2023. The Boab Metals Ord Valley Muster will be held 19 - 27 May 2023 in Kununurra, Miriwoong and Gajirrabeng country, in Western Australia’s northwest ... A curated program of special events, from big concerts to lunchtime sessions, station luncheons, comedy, Indigenous culture and arts and family-friendly festivities kick off the East Kimberley’s tourism season.

Regional South Australia has rocketed toward its 2025 tourism target and a new record-high, hitting almost $4 billion in 2022 – some three years ahead of schedule. Latest data shows regional visitor expenditure hit an all-time high $3.98 billion in 2022, just $200 million shy of its $4.0 billion target set for December 2025.

The ‘Bird in Hand’ gold deposit area at Woodside in the Adelaide Hills has been proclaimed by the Governor at the request of the State Labor Government, protecting it from future mining applications. The land protected under the proclamation is the same area that was subject to a previous development application by Terramin Australia, with the move effectively prohibiting any future applications over the known Bird in Hand gold deposit.

The region is set to enjoy a boost to economic, cultural and educational opportunities as The Barossa Council gears up to enter into a formalised  sister-city agreement with the  City of Grapevine, Texas  which is the fifth largest wine producing state in the United States. Barossa Mayor Bim Lange said as major wine and food destinations, the two regions share many similarities and a global reputation for premium wine, food and events.

The Manager of the Goldfields Hotel was not a happy camper this week when a customer emailed him the latest Tourism Central Australia (TCA) Dining Guide publicised on its website to promote restaurants and caf̩s in the central NT region ... "The Barkly seems to be the Bermuda Triangle of the Territory Рforget the Berrimah Line Рit should be the Capricorn Line Рeverything north of Alice is forgotten about": Jason Groves.

The 45th annual All British Rally, held last weekend, brought classic vintage British motorcycle enthusiasts from as nearby as Yandoit and as far as the Apple Isle into Maldon’s Main St for a day of riding revelry ... The full canon of vintage British bikes was all on display; Norton, Triumph, Royal Enfield, BSA, Velocette – all the big hitters.

A new $150,000 walking trail has been unveiled in Kununurra's Mirima National Park in the heart of Western Australia's East Kimberley ... This is the fourth trail within the national park and the longest at 3.5 kilometres.

Fin Hanson. SA Masters Games is set to return to the Copper Coast in 2024. It will be the third time the Copper Coast has hosted the event in four years and the first time in SA Masters Games history a region has hosted in back-to-back years.

The countdown is on for the 2023 South Australian Wooden Boat Festival (SAWBF), which is set to take place this weekend (29-30 April). Thanks to major sponsors Coorong Quays, this year’s festival will be held at Hindmarsh Island’s – Alexandrina Cove, providing visitors with front-row seats to the action.

After completing his apprenticeship in the junior ranks by winning two titles in 2028 an 2019, Tooma-based horseman Travis Bandy has taken out the senior Stockman’s Challenge at this year’s Man From Snowy River Bush Festival. Travis is following in his father Scott’s footsteps, a five-time victor of the prestigious event.

Georgina Swan. As stockwhips woke the echoes, they gathered at Banjo’s Block to celebrate the tradition that gave rise to the Man From Snowy River festival - bush poetry and music. For the audience, it was a chance to pay homage to Banjo Paterson’s iconic poem, to hear favourite classic verses and to discover new poets and works...

According to Toowoomba Region Mayor Paul Antonio, this week’s arrival of Bonza Airline’s inaugural Melbourne to Toowoomba flight is a massive boost for regional tourism and business operators, event organisers and travellers.

An estimated record number of spectators tartaned up and headed to the riverside community of Maclean on April 7 and 8 to experience a jubilant, colourful, and cultural celebration of all things Scottish during the 118th Maclean Highland Gathering. Amidst the dominant humming of bagpipes, Chief Peter Smith from the Lower Clarence Scottish Association declared the crowd was the largest he had seen in more than 20 years...