Qld

Out now!

Samuel Davis. Planned upgrades to "notoriously unreliable" telecommunications services have been cautiously welcomed by Cape York leaders. The Torres Cape Indigenous Councils Alliance was briefed by Telstra on upcoming major works earlier this month, including a plan to introduce a 4G network in Lockhart River starting next year. But mayor Wayne Butcher said lives will remain at risk until mobile phone reception improves in the area.

Samuel Davis. A bold new plan to ferry tourists from Cooktown to the tropical paradise of Lizard Island has been revealed by the Cook Shire mayor. Around 90 kilometres adrift from Cooktown, Lizard Island has returned to its former glory almost a decade on from the devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Ita.

Five records were broken at the Weipa Running Festival on Sunday, a fitting result in the events fifth year ... The men’s marathon was taken out by Weipa’s Ross Dawson, who finished in 3:41.59, while Karen Inglis was the women’s winner in 4:36.09.

After taking a Covid-forced hiatus for the past two years, the Laidley Spring Festival is back for 2022, with a raft of new and exciting events set to make their Festival debut. The theme for the 2022 Laidley Spring Festival is ‘Swing into Spring’ and Lockyer Valley Mayor, Cr Tanya Milligan said Council, and the community, were excited to welcome the event back come September.

The countdown to the historic 140th anniversary edition of the Birdsville Races is on, with just over five weeks until the ‘Melbourne Cup of the outback’ reignites the tiny desert town on the edge of the Simpson Desert with thousands of revellers for an outback party and race carnival like no other ... From the Birdsville Cup’s’ first ever female winners and ambassadors to race-stopping outback deluges, horse flus, Prime Minister visits and a global pandemic – here are some memorable moments from 140 years of the Birdsville Races.

A 12 month trial on a cotton farm just outside the rural town of Goondiwindi Queensland in Australia has shown it’s possible to divert large amounts of cotton textile waste at end of life from landfill with no harm done to soil health or cotton yields. Project collaborators are confident that with a solid business plan and more research, returning shredded cotton products to cotton fields could soon offer benefits to soil health, and a scalable solution to the massive global problem of textile waste.

Out now!

A delicate overnight operation recently saw 17 Eastern Bristlebirds successfully translocated from Booderee National Park and Jervis Bay National Park in south-eastern New South Wales to the most southern tip of Australia’s mainland - Wilson’s Promontory National Park in Victoria. The Eastern Bristlebird’s population stronghold in New South Wales was used as a launchpad for establishing Victoria’s second population at Wilsons Promontory.

What the heck is 'placemaking anyway'? - that's the hot topic on the table when Scenic Rim Regional Council hosts its third Arts Dinner of 2022 on Tuesday 2 August. Set against the backdrop of the Life in Focus exhibition, which includes the Scenic Rim Story Marker Trails project, the dinner explores the concept of how public art connects people with places, builds community pride and reflects the space in which it resides.

State Emergency Service volunteers were on their hands and knees last week, helping police search for clues tied to the murder of Thor Morgan in Toowoomba back in March ... “What we do believe is that a person involved was also involved in discharging a firearm at that spot, firing a number of shots across this road,” Senior Sgt McCusker said.

A Telstra telecommunications facility will be constructed on Keding Road at Westbrook following approval by Toowoomba Regional Council, providing improved reception, 4G and 5G services ... The application was submitted by Ventia Australia Pty Ltd on behalf of Amplitel Pty Ltd.

Out now!

After a two year wait the Laura Geitz Statuette was finally unveiled on Saturday with the help of Tracy Dobie who was Mayor in 2020. A gust of wind arrived just as the unveiling was about to happen, hence the fun photo. The super coach and local Allora hero Wayne Bennett sat by in his comfortable arm chair.

At their Ordinary Council Meeting last Wednesday, Southern Downs Regional Council approved a contentious development application by Arolla Pastoral Company Pty Ltd to build a sheep and cattle feedlot at Mount Marshall ... The feedlot is of much interest to the community, with the application receiving 74 submissions, 11 in favour and 63 against.

Gary Hoey. Blessed with fine sunny weather for a change, The Downs Polo Club hosted the annual Cooke O’Leary carnival which has been running since the year 2000. The fields were in tremendous condition thanks to a joint effort between the club and Rec Reserve groundsman, Bruce Gilbert ... After a tremendous Match going into extra time the winning A Grade team was Downs Webster Cavanagh ... Champion A Grade pony was awarded to James Hoey’s “Polly”.

Out now!

Samuel Davis. Pacing across treasured destinations isn't anything unusual for distance runner Jamie Candler. But for some reason, every euphoric stride through Yarraden Nature Refuge felt unlike any trundle he'd been on before ... the mad dash between the remote communities was just a small part of a monumental 1000km journey for the Cairns-based youth worker.

Horses are in Ruth Pattie’s blood and her love for equines has blossomed into a full time, not-for-profit sanctuary. Along with her husband Marty and their six daughters, Mrs Pattie runs the Helenvale Horse Sanctuary and Therapeutic Centre at their property near Kalkajaka National Park, half an hour from Cooktown ... The sanctuary currently has 14 horses, most of them elderly, who found their way from all over Far North Queensland.

Sea Swift is delighted to announce that Dwayne Freeman has been appointed as the new CEO of Northern Australia’s largest shipping company ... “Over the coming months I’m looking forward to getting to know the Sea Swift team, our customers, and building high-quality relationships with all levels of government, industry, and the community.” Mr Freeman ... will be primarily based in the company's Cairns office.

Twenty Sunshine Coast teams have battled it out at the RoboRAVE Australia annual robotics competition at the University of the Sunshine Coast, with ten of those teams from seven local schools winning across 15 divisions ... The energy was electric as students, aged eight to 20 representing 363 teams from across Queensland, ... raced to design, build and program fully autonomous robots to compete in the challenges for each division.  

Rio Tinto Weipa has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with four Traditional Owner groups which details an agreed consultation process around closure planning for the East Weipa bauxite mine. The MoU was jointly developed over a period of seven months between Traditional Owners and Rio Tinto and lays a path regarding the eventual return of their lands after mining at East Weipa stops.