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Stow Gardens on the Geraldton Foreshore will mark the final stop on adventurer and philanthropist John Elliot’s odyssey across the heart of Australia to raise awareness about skin cancer. Before Mr Elliot’s departure in 2019, he undertook a routine skin check that revealed a melanoma on his back, which had it gone undetected may have proven fatal.

Following the success of her recent Queensland tours, British singer-songwriter Emily Maguire is touring community halls in northern NSW in November/December 2022. A contemporary folk artist whose songs have been described as 'music for the soul' (Maverick Magazine), Emily has released six albums and toured the UK extensively with American legends Don McLean, Dr Hook and Eric Bibb.

The remarkable Lee family is proof that a love of horses means a healthy and happy lifestyle. Paul and Lyn Lee, and their four daughters Sherrie, Tamara, Brynie and Ebonie have created a show horse training complex at Whittlesea that has built on their already strong success in the very competitive horse world. This week at Royal Melbourne Show, Ebonie, the youngest of the four girls, won the famous Garryowen trophy in its 88th year riding Simone Padoin’s Wynara Signature.

Kim Woods. Retired station cook and fruit picker Di Looker has battled her way through flood water to make a two and a half month trip from Bendigo to Barellan in a horse drawn drover’s cart. Di, of Lockwood, Victoria, with her Blue Heeler Rhonda and Jack Russell cross, China, has made the trip in an old drover’s cart pulled by her nine-year-old Clydesdale Harry.

Tennant Creek’s Sarah Goddard has been crowned the best Indigenous doctor in Australia for 2022 in the Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association (AIDA) awards. Dr Goddard works at the Tennant Creek Hospital and local general practice, as well as the Ali Curung Health Clinic.

Jeff Hanson. Harness racing lost a legend last week, with Colin Pike passing away in his home town of Temora on Thursday at the age of 90 ... Pike's first horse, Rayjen began racing in 1956 and she was his first race drive ... Rayjen went on to produce one of the greatest pacers this country has ever seen. Paleface Adios (Deep Adios x Ray-den) started 240 times winning 108 races ...

Thomas Gallagher from Tyndale enjoyed a successful season in the 2022 Australian Kart Championship in the Class Tag 125 Seniors division, placing third overall and finishing first in the NSW round at Newcastle and second at Melbourne ... Finding venues to practice and compete has been a challenge since the Grafton Sporting Car Club ceased karting at Mountain View Motor Sport Complex, with the family often travelling to Coffs Harbour, Ipswich and Newcastle.

After several years testing equipment for companies in a range of industries, from fabrication and chemical plants to aviation, Dirk De Beer used his redundancy payment to settle in Kalgoorlie and realise his dream of owning his own business. A 28 year-old single man, Mr De Beer set up a desk in his home garage and invested in tools and a converted telecoms service ute.

Samuel Davis. Music is a family business in Cape York. And for Black Image Band’s Vince Harrigan, it all started in the backyard playing for aunties, uncles and cousins ... This week, the group were one of two Cape-based acts to perform at Savannah in the Round festival in Mareeba featuring stellar acts including the Waifs, King Stingray, Shannon Noll and more.

My sister, notoriously bad at telling jokes (she always gives away the punchline), was born when I was 11 years old, and is now one of my closest friends. I originally interviewed her as an emergency backup, but her story is honest, and brave and gives a personal insight into issues that might help someone in similar circumstances.

A helping hand: Former Denmark Citizen of the Year Roger Seeney is a strong believer in helping others and contributes to his community in many ways, including as an organiser of the annual Black Dog Ride, a national charity that raises awareness of depression and suicide prevention. He recently spoke to Serena Kirby about his life and the struggles which have shaped him.

Senior Australian of the Year 2022 and former Narrandera resident Valmai Dempsey of Canberra was one of ten Australians representing Australia at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II last week. Ms Dempsey, a St John Ambulance ACT Volunteer for more than four decades, has been a passionate advocate for first-aid training for learner drivers.

Kirstin Nicholson. Presenting ribbons to champion terriers, sorting grain, rubbing shoulders with racing’s greats and fine dining were all part of Giorgi Boucher’s Melbourne Royal Show experience last weekend. Giorgi wasn’t there purely for the thrill of the show, though, she was there for the Rural Ambassador Award state finals. Giorgi won the Rural Ambassador Award at the Cohuna Show in March, then won at the Northern District Agricultural Shows Association regional finals.

Age is no barrier to doing what you love. Artist Anthea Moffat turned 90 as her exhibition The Painted Years opened at the Roxy Gallery in Kyogle this month. There is still time to see her work ... The Painted Years is a body of paintings that are “partly my background of where I have lived and an exposition of the joy of life,” Anthea said.

Bec Bignell is a storyteller who believes the best stories are those that are grounded in truth. A writer, actor and film producer, Bec grew up on a farm outside Kojonup, three hours south-east of Perth and her most recent screen story ‘Homespun’ was born from a desire to present a more authentic portrayal of life beyond the city limits.

If determination has anything to do with it, Darwin's Luke Purtill, whose mum says he has as much hardware in his body as “the bionic man”, may be riding for Australia in Germany next year ... “Luke’s goals are to be selected to represent Australia at the Special Olympic World Games,” his mum, Robyn, said. “It’s not just about winning though. Luke knows he wins every time he gets on a horse and would like to inspire every rider, regardless of ability to have the courage to reach for their dreams and be the best you can be.”

Looking at Western Australia’s Wheatbelt of 44 shires between 2001 and 2021, the census has tracked the population fall at a steady rate of just under 1% a year across most of the sub 1,500 person shires in the Wheatbelt ... maybe the current generation of national MPs can come up with a Royalties for Regions II plan.

Serena Kirby. Denmark singer-songwriter Marianna Greenham’s return to music after 30 years has produced works which are now widely adopted for family-life challenges. Marianna, 71, will perform at the Denmark Artshouse later this month presenting her earlier songs as well as many new ones. This follows her appearance at this year’s Festival of Voice and a return to music which she says has been good for her soul.

There are voices that are instantly recognisable, Morgan Freeman is an example in movies, Bert Newton on TV and for the Australian horse community it’s Graeme Barker. This week Equestrian Victoria awarded him "hall of fame" status for his service to the equestrian industry as one of Australia’s finest commentators.

Sarah Martin. Glastonbury, Burning Man and Woodford have nothing on the special vibes of Wallaby Creek Festival, according to international didgeridoo and dance music phenomenon Ganga Giri, who is one of the headline acts at the event. The quietly-spoken musician credits his success to energy, his mum, and a dream as a kid.

David Lee. There aren’t many people who can say they have stared into the face of danger in order to show the world a story that needs to be told, but Narrandera resident and cinematographer Jordan Bryon has done just that; and one of those ventures has led him to work on a feature film for the New York Times (NYT). For almost six years, Jordan has been living in Afghanistan and more recently working alongside colleague, Farzad Fetrat on the feature film.