Transport

Greg Twelftree. SA author and journalist Max Fatchen wrote: "It's not hard to imagine the square-rigger days when the sou'wester sweeps up Spencer Gulf, hustles past Wardang and sends whitecaps racing and fishing boats rolling at their moorings by Port Victoria jetty" ... From the 1870s to 1949, farmers toiling in the dry, dusty paddocks of Koolywurtie and Wauraltee would glance seaward as 100-metre long, four-masted barques filled the horizon.

Greg Twelftree. Celebrate 150 years of Port Victoria and Wauraltee over the March long weekend, Friday 6th to Sunday 8th, with a jammed-packed program offering something for everyone. We will welcome a flotilla of two Tall Ships and other sailing vessels from the Port Adelaide Sailing Club, the Cruising Yacht Club of SA and the Wallaroo Sailing Club at 3pm on Friday, March 6.

Annabelle Cleeland has criticised the Allan Labor Government’s so-called “Big Switch”, saying it has failed to deliver for regional Victoria, with overcrowded, unreliable services on the Shepparton and Albury–Seymour lines while Melbourne continues to receive the lion’s share of upgrades.

Tasmania’s visitor economy has been given a significant boost, with a record number of travellers passing through Launceston Airport on a single day last month. The airport saw 6880 people passing through its gates on 23 January, the eve of the Foo Fighters concert in Launceston.

A picturesque barbie boat ride almost turned to tragedy for mother of 3, Leitchville dairy farmer Stephanie Dehne ... Their plan was to boat upstream from Murrabit and enjoy lunch at the Royal Hotel Barham before a lazy afternoon return journey, but things quickly escalated into a life-or-death race against the clock.

There’s a piece of industrial archaeology sitting in the river bend just north of where Hay’s bridge crosses the Murrumbidgee. It looks like debris, like something that should have been cleared away decades ago. But that rusting turntable is actually a remnant of an era when the river was a highway, when paddle steamers were the primary means of moving wool and supplies, and when a bridge had to accommodate both road traffic and river commerce.

This is yet another instalment in my running theme: the State rail debacle. A saga of privatisation, monopoly infrastructure, and governments that appear to have misplaced both the keys and the contract. Twenty-five years after Western Australia leased out its freight rail network, one basic question still has no straight answer: what does the Brookfield/Arc lease actually require?

Regional Capitals Australia (RCA) and the Australian Airports Association (AAA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that sets out an agreement to work together to advocate for fairer airfares, stronger connectivity and more sustainable airports across regional Australia.

The Crisafulli Government and Port of Townsville Limited are strengthening trade and supply chains in North Queensland with upgrades to berths three and four at the Port of Townsville. This upgrade removes a key bottleneck by extending the operating reach of the Port’s Liebherr Ship-to-Shore crane across both berths, improving vessel turnaround times for containerised, general cargo and other trade-critical freight. 

In 1990, Graham and Margaret Ryan bought a 1939 Austin 10 at an auction in Woodburn. They paid $2400 for it ... As part of the Australia Day celebrations at Bonalbo this year, the vintage car will be auctioned at noon at the Bowlo – and there is no reserve price on it.

The Sunshine Coast-based LifeFlight aeromedical crew ... airlifted a man to hospital after a motorcycle crash in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. The LifeFlight helicopter was tasked by Retrieval Services Queensland at 12.15pm to a State Forest near Kenilworth and landed on a dirt road close to the scene.

We now have a bumper crop, a tax windfall for government, and broad agreement across agriculture, transport and local government that the system is stretched. The buy-back was presented as a serious response to a real capacity, efficiency and safety problem. The only question left is whether the government is prepared to act.

A powerful show of community resilience and strength unfolded at Nobby ... as family, friends and supporters gathered to honour the life and legacy of 21 y/o Lauren Smith, whose life was cut short by epilepsy ... the Smith family, alongside local haulage company OBrienco Transport, officially unveiled a specially branded B-Triple truck dedicated to Lauren’s memory...

The Nationals Member for Euroa, Annabelle Cleeland MP, has criticised the Allan Labor Government for designing the Metro Tunnel around Melbourne priorities while leaving regional Victorians to battle difficult, impractical connections.

The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) has secured a Federal Government commitment to extend Right to Repair reforms to agricultural machinery, hailing it a historic win for farmers and a direct result of years of advocacy from the farm sector.

The Crisafulli Government currently subsidises and regulates seven air routes to ensure Queenslanders living in regional and remote communities can continue to have access to essential medical, educational, social, and business services. Over the coming weeks, 22 consultation sessions will be hosted across regional Queensland to hear directly from locals about how future air services can better meet community needs.

Saturday morning saw vintage car enthusiasts arrive in Herbert Street for a show and tell ... Mary Poppins House - the perfect backdrop for Lester Diggles with his Model A Ford 1928 on the left and Alwin Chalk with his 1928 Chevrolet on the right.

Samuel Freeman, Justin Walsh and Adam Nikitins of EY Parthenon as Joint and Several Voluntary Administrators of Regional Express Holdings Limited (Administrators Appointed) and a number of its subsidiaries (together ‘the Rex Group), announced creditors voted in favour of a Deed of Company Arrangement (DOCA) proposed by Air T at the Second Meeting of Creditors for the Rex Group.

The Northern Territory Government welcomes confirmation that Top End Barge Services will commence barge operations between Darwin and Wadeye from mid-November, ensuring freight deliveries to the West Daly region ... “This is a great result for Wadeye, the community came together, identified what it needed, and found a commercial solution": Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Steve Edgington.

Never has a ‘38 Dodge had such applause on its arrival. When Mark and Sue Butler pulled into town with the 1938 Dodge Kyogle ambulance on the back of their tilt tray truck, everyone wanted to see it ... The Kyogle ambulance has been returned for three months to be part of the Kyogle Memorial Hospital centenary celebrations on November 15.

The Murray Region Forestry Hub recently hosted its managers, representatives from relevant government agencies and industry groups at a conference. A number of items were listed for discussion as well as a packed field trip including the Visy Pulp and Paper Mill, Hyne Timber, Fire impacted plantation regrowth sites and a trip to Ardrossan to see first hand some of the fire infrastructure investment.

Gulf and North West deserve service, not continued failures, Katter’s Australian Party (KAP) Leader and Member for Traeger Robbie Katter has said. Mr Katter reiterated his call for genuine reform to air transport services in the region, noting that the fleet that the new American owners have acquired is not fit for purpose in the Gulf.