Life

Kirstin Nicholson. It was a moment of mayham that had people looking on in disbelief – a pig waltzing down King George Street, Cohuna. Well, it wasn’t quite that glamourous, but it was definitely a pig.

Eight units are under construction at 115 Centre St in Casino through Momentum Collective ... Across the region, there is a chronic shortage of affordable housing, said Mark Edwards from Momentum Collective. “This is a positive move to support local people and key workers who may not be able to access safe, affordable housing.”

Emma Pritchard. Blessed with beautiful winter weather and clear skies, more than 80 rowers and paddlers in 31 boats took to the waters of the Clarence River on June 26 to participate in the Grafton Rowing Club’s annual Rowathon to raise funds for the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter ... eager participants traveled from Maclean, Iluka, Coffs Harbour, Murwillumbah, Lismore, Ballina, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Byron Bay and Port Macquarie, with Grafton Rowing Club seniors and rowers from Grafton and South Grafton High Schools also joining in.

A political decision to build a kidney transplant unit at Townsville instead of Cairns has riled medical experts in the Far North. The state government held bids from both Cairns and Townsville hospitals for the new renal transplant unit, but opted for the more southern hospital, despite evidence suggesting more patients would benefit if it was in Cairns.

In this issue of The Winemaker, Bill talks about some of the different ways family wine companies, from famous dynasties to smaller private companies, might handle adversity and succession.

“If we lose churches, we lose the soul of our community,” says Stuart Holm. Stuart is not a member of the St John’s Uniting Church in Adams St in Coraki but he cares about its closure and what it means for the community. He is one of eight people in a working group discussing the re-invention of the church. “The conversation started three weeks ago and it’s building momentum,” Stuart said.

Out of town on the Ellangowan flats, the Diggers Clubhouse is a place where serving and former veterans can meet like-minded people. The former RFS building is the clubhouse for the Diggers Military Motorcycle Club where the men-only chapter of eight meet twice a month. Club president Todd De Bono said it was a place of “no judgment”.

Emma Pritchard. The opening of a new Covid-19 vaccination clinic in Grafton last week has given the Clarence Valley community a massive boost in the fight against the ongoing pandemic ... NNSWLHD Director of Corporate Services and Covid-19 Vaccination Executive Matt Long said the new clinic can currently vaccinate up to 100 people per day, with that number set to increase to 200 in the coming weeks as more staff receive their vaccinations.

Torres Strait lawyer C’Zarke Maza has been appointed as the state’s inaugural commissioner for Meriba Omasker Kaziw Kazipa. “The Torres Strait culture to this day continues to be alive and strong and I am committed to fulfilling the task towards the legal recognition of our traditional child rearing practice,” Mr Maza said.

The highly anticipated 150ZK Truth Telling: Coming of the Light 150 Years (150ZK) exhibition was officially opened with great fanfare at the Gab Titui Cultural Centre on Thursday night. Commemorating 150 years since Coming of the Light, the exhibition is the result of a successful collaborative curatorial project with Torres Strait Artists, Badu Arts, Erub Arts and Moa Arts. It investigates the impact of the London Missionary Society and Christianity on Torres Strait Islanders and the region’s way of life.

The Barossa’s landmark play destination, Barossa Adventure Station at Angaston, has been named South Australia’s Park of the Year. The Barossa Council took out the award at the Parks and Leisure Australia SA/NT 2021 Awards of Excellence, and will now vie for the national title later this year.

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.

Denis Mathews. On 17 June 1871 Duncan Currie made his first selection in what became the land parish of Dunoon. On the same day his brother Archibald also made a selection, a few miles to the south. Archibald was already operating his store near the entrance to the Lismore race course. Currie Park is across the tiny creek which made the site so important to the budding merchant. The park is not actually on that very early selection. It is simply on the “wrong side” of the creek. Merchants were not simply selling supplies but they were buying logs floated down from the Big Scrub. The RRHS Museum has a wonderful display on our early timber industry.

Barkly Mayor Jeffrey McLaughlin has been awarded this year’s Paul Harris Fellow by the local Rotary Club. The event was also an opportunity to meet Rotary’s Area Governor, Ray Fauntleroy, who gave a presentation on some of the important projects Rotary is involved in, and his experience with Rotary’s work in Timor.

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.

If 20 people walked through the door looking for a feed, it wouldn't faze Terrell Lohman. Margaret Davidson started the Casino Community Kitchen four years ago and is thrilled about the enthusiasm and cooking skills of the kitchen's new president ... "Making food is a way of showing affection," says Terrell.

Paint Main Beach pink with Evans Head Malibu Club’s first one-day women-only longboarding competition. Organiser Emma Perrier said the Saturday, June 19 event will be the Breast Comp Ever and will raise funds for the local Breast Care Nurse Service in Lismore.

Kendall Jennings. Before the tragedy struck at the 2021 Tatts Finke Desert Race, Barham local Riley Duncan piloted his motorcycle, a KTM500, to the 40th fastest time in Class Two of the Prologue with a six-minute 17.4 second time ... The first leg of the desert race from Alice Springs to Finke followed the old rail route near the most centre point of Australia – 226 kilometres of brutal Australian terrain, on the edge of the Simpson Desert, surrounded by mountain ranges and rock formations.

Geoff Helisma. The decision to cease producing hot and/or locally prepared meals at the Iluka Meals on Wheels (IMoW) kitchen has drawn pleas from volunteers to “reverse this decision”. In a letter to Page MP Kevin Hogan, a volunteer writes, “I would like to make you aware, if you're not already, of the above devastating decision which will affect many residents of the Lower Clarence community.”