Youth

Sheep farmer Suzanne Lewis has just published her first children’s book and had no further to look for something to write about than her own front paddock. “Queenie the Quad Lady” is the story of a remarkable ewe that captured Suzanne’s heart after giving birth to four lambs and successfully raising them all despite all the trials and tribulations a sheep can face.

The Allora Swimming Club annual David Rackley Memorial Swim was held under a stunning sunset sky on Friday 25th November. Pictured with Patron Marg Rackley is the 2022 Winner Maggie Philp.

Sarah Martin. Cape York police, including Sergeant Ken White, are urging locals to secure their homes and vehicles to help prevent a rise in crime in the community, following a spate of break-ins. Two people have been charged and police are warning residents to lock it or lose it after another week of home invasions, burglary and fear for Cooktown locals.

At just 16 years of age Narrandera’s Xavier Beauchamp is a young talented up-and-coming professional rap artist from the Western Riverina who goes by Beacho2700 and whose original tracks are available through Spotify, Apple Music, Instagram, Youtube and Sound Cloud. Beacho2700 is a combination of Xavier Beauchamp’s nickname and the postcode for Narrandera NSW where he comes from.

Kendall Jennings. It has been a challenging start to the 2022/23 cricket season for the Murray Raiders Under 16s. Road closures have made it difficult for the team and players to participate in the Swan Hill Cricket Association matches.

Sarah Martin. Cooktown tadpole Maiika Hegamaea has blitzed a Far North record time at the recent Dimbulah Swim Club meet and brought home six first place ribbons to add to her collection. The seven-year-old has been a confident swimmer since she was a toddler and has been a member of the Cooktown Amateur Swimming Club since she was four.

Although she stars as a goalie, Jordon Fenton-Anderson, a 14-year-old from Cambooya, who has been scoring goals in her own way, recently returned to Australia from her first time wearing the green and gold, competing in the sport of futsal. Jordon was a member of the girls’ futsal team to tour the United Kingdom in October 2022.

The children of the Allora Swimming Club were delighted to return to their home pool in November to commence their new season of swimming ... Allora Swim Team members have already competed in the Winter Short Course Championships, Fairholme Time and Technique Meet, Turbo Jets Spring Carnival, Toowoomba Open and a weekend out West for the Chinchilla and Dalby Open meets.

Aurukun is no stranger to unrest but locals fear that issues in the community are at breaking point after a year of violence and sorry business ... Attendance at the school has dwindled as a result of violence in the street and sleepless nights, while the council struggles to find staff for essential roles, meaning services such as the post office and community bank have been closed intermittently.

Imagine being a talented, horse-loving teen stuck in the middle of a war. Instead of dreaming about representing your country at the Olympic Games, you are helping your family set your horses free in the hope they will survive the bombing. The one thing about horse lovers worldwide is they stick together ...

Pam Dillon. Twenty-eight students from three different remote schools spent three days fine-tuning their swimming skills to improve their schools’ chances in the Barkly Region Inter-school Swimming Carnival. With the help from Swimming NT, Royal Lifesaving NT (RLSNT) and the Barkly Sport Education Coordinator, the students ranging from preschool through to Year 8 were put into groups according to their swimming ability.

A North Queensland football coach and first aid officer who has spent his life working with troubled youth has put his hand up to assist in rehabilitation of criminal offenders through a trial of Katter’s Australian Party’s Relocation Sentencing policy. Relocation Sentencing, which has long been touted by the North Queensland-based party as “circuit-breaker solution” to the unrelenting youth crime crisis, would involve repeat offenders being sent to remote properties to work the land while completing compulsory therapeutic programs over a 6-12 month period.

Last Friday, Tennis Victoria, Buldau Yioohgen (Anglicare’s Indigenous Youth Leadership Academy) and the Bendigo and District Aboriginal Community hosted Culture on Court in Castlemaine - an event that mixed culture with tennis plus plenty of fun in a culturally safe environment. Participants improved their tennis skills and experienced cultural activities.

A record number of Australian Catholic University pre-service teachers have headed into regional, rural, and remote areas nationally to complete their teaching placements this year. More than 250 teaching students will have travelled far and wide to learn on the job by the end of 2022 ... “We are hoping they will love it so much they will want to return to these regions as teachers on graduation.”

After 18 years of participating in the Back Plains Speech Competition, which features many primary school students from around the district, Sam has secured Greenmount State School its first win.

Entries are open for the Royal Queensland Show (Ekka) Giant Pumpkin Competition, with anyone able to get seeds delivered to them for free. The competition offers more than $3,400 in prize money, with a new bonus $1,000 for the heaviest pumpkin over a whopping 500 kilograms.

Australia's most famous Maths Teacher Eddie Woo is coming to Narrandera High School to speak to both students and staff about the wonders of Mathematics. Eddie will be coming as part of his leading role with the Mathematics Growth Team.

The outstanding educators and staff at Toowoomba Catholic Schools have been celebrated at their annual Excellence Awards ... Mary Donnelly a Year 5-6 teacher from St Patrick’s School in Allora was an Award finalist. The ‘Mary Donnelly experience' is explained by parents as one in which their child is not only educated but thoroughly engaged by her wit and intelligence.

It’s the sale of the century: six and a half acres of freehold land, right in the middle of Maldon: the former Derby Hill Blue Light Youth Camp in Phoenix Street is on the market. The camp was closed down by Blue Light Victoria in September owing to financial problems caused by the shutdown during the Covid pandemic. Blue Light Victoria is now selling it off...

Emma Pritchard. A member of the LGBTIQA+ community and a proud Indigenous woman from Gubbi Gubbi Country, Amanda Daffey is the first candidate to assume the title of Jacaranda Ambassador in the 88-year history of the Grafton Jacaranda Festival after the Jacaranda Festival Committee announced in February that Australia’s oldest floral festival would become a gender-neutral event in 2022.

Mounted games riders have the late Prince Phillip to thank for the origins of their sport. When Sir Mike Ansell was director of the Horse of the Year Show, the Queen’s husband asked if he could devise a competition for children who could not afford an expensive pony.

A Tennant Creek teacher has become a national poetry celebrity after winning the Australian Poetry Slam competition for 2022. Jo Lang performed her poem titled A Broken System at the Sydney Opera House last Sunday and was received with a standing ovation and a score of 10 from all three judges.