Tourism

Attracting government officials, international dignitaries, visitors and community members from across Cape York and Australia, the Cooktown & Cape York Expo 2021 came to a spectacular close last night with the final performance of the Warrma and a fireworks display over the Endeavour River. The largest event in rural Queensland since the COVID-19 lockdowns, The Cooktown & Cape York Expo 2021 – which ran from 11-20 June – delivered more than 150 events, exhibitions, performances, installations, workshops, and a two-day Dynamic Business Symposium.

Peter Davenport. Last week the Tennant Creek Eightball Association hosted the Northern Territory Eightball Titles. This falls on Tennant once every five years and all other centres travel here to compete. It was a great week seeing some excellent games being played by the best players in the NT.

A sense of excitement has arrived along with the cold weather as Whyalla kicks off Cuttlefest 2021, a colourful celebration of all things cuttlefish. The Giant Australian Cuttlefish (sepia apama) swarm into rocky areas off the Whyalla coast during May, June, July and August to mate and reproduce, in the process creating a remarkable spectacle of cunning games, underwater lightshows and colourful kaleidoscopic displays.

The 2021 Rockhampton Agricultural Show has proved to be a great success, attracting 33,000 visitors over three days last week. Rockhampton Region Mayor Tony Williams said the community has well and truly supported this year’s event. “Whilst the majority of ticket holders were from the local Rockhampton Region, it was wonderful to see outside visitors in attendance, experiencing what our community has to offer," said Mayor Williams.

The Queensland Minister for Main Roads and Transport, Mark Bailey, says he is blown away with the progress of the Lockhart River community every time he visits the place. “What they are doing there is absolutely trailblazing,” he said on Friday after his visit. “They are the leading community in the Cape in what they are doing in terms of having a vision and getting it done.”

The first of its kind in Australia, a new online and interactive wine tourism guide called The Wine Adventurer has been published designed to inspire and inform international and domestic visitors to help them plan their trips into WA’s wine regions. Eight wine regions are featured in the e-brochure that includes each region’s unique wine tourism experiences and hero wine varieties.

Winterwords is a week full of talking, listening, watching and doing, which aims to foster the celebration of words in all their forms and functions, and includes workshops, performances, exhibitions, discussions, interactive sessions, and displays, of visual and performing arts, literature, poetry, storytelling, games, and music.

A report to be considered by the City of Ballarat Council this month will recommend the commencement of works to extend Ballarat Airport’s north south runway. The report to the 23 June ordinary meeting of Council will also recommend a commercially focused board be appointed to oversee the management of the Airport, with Council retaining ownership of the facility.

Tourism businesses and organisations are invited to come on board to work together to build greater awareness and encourage visitation to the Wagga Wagga + Surrounds region ... “Domestic travel is booming in regional areas as people are exploring a little closer to home, which is a significant opportunity to leverage off.”

Bendigo’s newest food precinct, Lyttle Eat Street, has been launched on the footpaths at Lyttleton Terrace in the city centre to celebrate and indulge in delicious global street food. Fourteen local businesses from Lyttleton Terrace have joined forces to create Lyttle Eat Street, an initiative to create a new ‘street food vibe and neighbourhood’ in the city centre. It is the first in a winter-long series, Slow Smoking Saturdays, to entice more people to visit the area on weekends to enjoy unique dishes and drinks.

Over 12,000 event attendees celebrated the return of the nine-day Argyle Diamonds Ord Valley Muster held in Kununurra, Western Australia ... New events added to the program this year included Art in the Park featuring 40 local artists, Storytelling Night around a fire by Miriwoong elder David Newry, and the free family-friendly event, Party in the Park to close the festival ... The nation’s most remote party was headlined by one of Australia’s most successful female artists, Jessica Mauboy, who last performed at the Muster as an up-and-coming 16 year old in 2006.

Emma Pritchard. It was the perfect opportunity for the local hockey community to showcase their skills and home turf pride when the Grafton Hockey Association hosted the Men’s Masters Over 50’s State Championships last weekend ... “For Grafton to be able to host a tournament of that calibre in these current times, and for it to make a significant contribution to the local economy is a big thing for the community,” said President of the Men’s Masters Peter Gibbons.

Richmond Field Days coming up!

Ticketed events for this month’s Cooktown Expo are close to selling out, but there is still plenty of accommodation available for those wanting to take advantage of 10 days and nights of free events from this Friday ... Cooktown’s Reconciliation Rocks precinct where Australia’s first recorded act of reconciliation took place in 1770 between James Cook and a Waymburr Warra Elder will be officially opened on Friday.

Greg Targett said he is here to make hard decisions. He was a publican in Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory for years and owned his first hotel in the Territory in 1988 when he was 20 ... Now in ‛semi-retirement’, he lives in Yamba and is the new chief executive of Club Evans.

With 2021 show festivities due to commence in June, the hype, excitement and planning is well underway! This year’s events are set to thrill, entertain and engage people of all ages.

Start getting excited for some adrenaline pumping fun, because the Rockhampton Agricultural Show has just announced its entertainment line-up! Rockhampton Region Mayor Tony Williams is excited to announce Camel Racing is coming back to the Rocky Show. “We’ll have Camel Racing proudly presented by The Capricornian drawing crowds to Centre Ring on People’s Day followed by the spectacular Rooftop Express and fireworks” Mayor Williams said.

Weipa's newest tour guides are loving life on the Cape. Darren Corke and partner Jane Monacella are five weeks into their stint for the tourist season ... “I’m really impressed with the area and how many crocs there are in the water. The amount of wildlife; from fish to dolphins, turtles, snakes and birds ... there’s something different to see with every boat trip,” says Darren.

Tutor Siri Omberg was in town this week building up the hype for the Alice Springs Festival and brought the warmth to Tennant Creek by holding beanie-making workshops at the Paterson Street Hub to encourage more entries into the festival.

New walking trails will be ready to explore in just a few weeks, with work underway on the river walkway link from Lower Sterne Street in Eastgrove through to Cemetery Street ... “This area of Goulburn is just another gem waiting to be discovered, and I think many residents will be pleasantly surprised when the project is complete” said Mayor Bob Kirk.

Norco Primex has welcomed back bumper crowds after the event was put on hold last year because of covid restrictions. “We have beaten the odds,” Primex director Bruce Wright said.

Musicians, visual artists, and school students will take centre stage at this Saturday’s Somerset Art Beat Festival in Toogoolawah. The celebration will showcase all things art and culture, with market stalls, live music, dance performances, workshops, food and more.