Cancer Survivor Walks From Townsville to Airlie Beach

Three ex-Australian Defence Force personnel with more than 40 years of military service combined have made the walk from Townsville to Airlie Beach in aid of a charity supporting veterans.

Orchestrated and walked by Pete Schefford, who was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic bowel cancer three years ago, and two others, the long walk was aimed at recognising and continuing to embody military values, all while faced with insurmountable odds.

Over September 19 to 24, the trio of Schefford, Beau King, and Jason Handsaker made the more than 270-kilometre journey to prove that something as small as just walking can make a major difference.

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The Long Walk To “Make A Difference”

Pete Shefford has already beaten the odds.

Diagnosed with a form of terminal bowel cancer just after his 50th birthday, the Townsville man and Defence Force veteran was issued with a life expectancy of roughly two years.

That was almost three years ago, and he wants to keep beating those odds – which is in part why he and three other men from Queensland’s far north took on the walk from Townsville to Airlie Beach in blistering heat last week.

In the face of his prognosis, Pete saw an opportunity to establish a legacy for future veterans; reinforcing his belief that “diagnosed medical conditions need not define nor restrict us.”

In collaboration with charitable organisation Eyes Front Ltd, he established the ‘Pete Shefford Enduring Spirit Award’, aimed at recognising the esteemed military values within a critically or terminally ill veteran and provide an opportunity for them to tick something off their bucket list.

“A ‘Make-a-Wish’ opportunity for community-minded ex-defence personnel if you like,” Pete said.

“I’ve had a good life; I’ve done a lot of good things. I know that not everyone had the opportunities I had and they get too old or too sick to do things they might wanted to have done. The idea is to give back to people who are giving already while raising money for hands-on charities.”

Joined by ADF veterans Beau King and Jason Handsaker, the three ordinary blokes – fathers, husbands, footballers, mates, and veterans – set out to prove that “one doesn’t need to be a celebrity or a socialite to make a difference.”

They walked the shoulder of the road for roughly 270 kilometres, through Ayr, Gumlu, Bowen, Proserpine, and finally Airlie Beach, raising roughly $7,000 (at the time of writing) along the way.

“What we realised along the walk was that everyone was willing to give us a hand. Places like Travellers Motel, The Grandview, Original North Australian and Metropole Hotel looked after us,” Pete said.

“Free food, free accommodation. We had lots of chats with locals, too, lots of interest in what we were doing, and quite a few people who donated as much as they could. People just dropping cash into my hand and things like that.”

They walked for as long as 13 hours a day during some of the stretch and looked forward to a dip in the Airlie Beach Lagoon come the end.

“The message we want to get out there is: we want people to focus on what they can achieve – who they can help. None of the buts, just what you want and to focus on that. And it’s a reminder that you can do things if you’ve got support,” Pete said.

“That’s been my message. It’s not about the physical side of things. It’s about having a go, it’s about three ordinary blokes who are saying, we can make a difference, and we can do it together.”

You can continue to donate to the Enduring Spirit Charity via the link: https://enduring-spirit.square.site/enduring-spirit-award

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Image: Kinglsey Theiber says Wests couldn’t operate the way it does without volunteers Robyn Stevens and Alexis Lake. Photo credit: Sam Gillespie

It’s often said that volunteers are at the heart of every community.

While volunteers can sometimes go underappreciated, Wests Leagues Club cherishes its volunteers, particularly Robyn Stevens and Alexis Lake.

“Both ladies are integral to our club operations,” said General Manager Kingsley Theiber.

“Clubs don’t operate without volunteers and these ladies have been with the club for numerous years.

“They don’t have children who are playing sport, but they have the club at heart and just continue to support.

“I can’t speak highly enough of what they do for our venue.”

Close friends for over 40 years, Alexis and Robyn have been involved in Wests since the 1990s.

Robyn began volunteering in the late 1990s, first getting involved through her sister-in-law.

“My nephew played football and my husband’s family come from Marian, they grew up in Marian, so they’ve always been Wests Tigers,” she said.

“We just got interested in the club and started to volunteer at the canteen, that’s how it all came about.”

Robyn has previously filled the role of club secretary and board member but now spends her volunteering time in the canteen.

A life and foundation member of the club, Robyn says she has made lifelong friendships through volunteering with Wests.

“I just feel I want to help while I can, because I’ve been honoured with that life membership, I would still like to do volunteering for the club,” she said.

“I just love it, I just love the club.

“It’s like part of the family.”

Close friend and fellow foundation and life member Alexis is formerly a Manager of Wests Leagues Club, a role she filled for six years before leaving to travel.

Upon returning, Alexis joined the Board of Directors and has been in the role for the last eight years.

“With that job, you’ve also got to do a lot of voluntary work so that’s when I just kept going and doing voluntary work for the canteen,” she said.

“It’s just a very friendly, very family-orientated club.

“They’re just a good bunch, we love it.”

Friends through thick and thin, Robyn and Alexis will be volunteering together in the Wests canteen until the end.

“We always say we’re going retire, Robyn and I,” said Alexis.

“We’ve got a pact: when one retires, the other one is going to go with them.”

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Image: Kingsley Theiber plans to deliver a multi-sport facility to the Pioneer Valley community. Photo credit: Sam Gillespie

For decades, Wests Leagues Club Mackay has been a social and sporting hub for the communities in the Pioneer Valley and beyond.

With the valley’s population growing and the demand for sporting facilities rising, the club has big plans in the works.

“The club acquired a farm that’s directly behind our current facility, over 60 acres we purchased, with the vision to create a multi-sports complex out here in the Pioneer Valley,” said General Manager Kingsley Theiber.

“Unfortunately, there is a massive lack of facilities out in the valley so the club’s taken it upon themselves as part of their vision to complete and construct a multi-sports facility for all residents in the valley and surrounding communities.”

The club currently incorporates two fields which support junior and senior rugby league and soccer and senior soccer as well as a set of cricket nets adjacent to the fields coupled with an undercover bowls green.

The construction of the multi-sport complex will include additional fields to support AFL and cricket, netball courts, more cricket nets, lighting, security, community facilities such as a men’s shed, covered seating, unisex dressing rooms and canteen and bar facilities.

The project will provide a first-class sporting facility for multi-sports in Walkerston for all of the Pioneer Valley, something Mr Theiber says the community is hungry for.

“We have had feedback from our members that have junior children driving into town for training and it’s an hour into town back and forth for some of these people and people are time-poor as it is, which then turns into children not getting opportunities to participate in sport,” he said.

The project is expected to create 160 jobs during construction, 19 full-time club and 30 permanent part-time club positions and bring the community together in more ways than one.

“It’s an essential part of the community, not only for the sporting side of things but from a social aspect as well,” said Mr Theiber.

“Obviously, coming out of Covid, that had a major effect on people’s mental health not being out and social.

“Our role in the community is to be able to provide that social aspect, not only to our sporting codes but to all members of the public.”

The next step is to secure funding for the project.

“All of this is going to be reliant on funding from state, federal and local governments to work in partnership with the club,” Mr Theiber said.

“We look to support from all levels of government to make sure we can create this and make it a reality.”

What Will The Expansion Bring To The Pioneer Valley?:

• Provide a first-class multi-sport sporting facility in Walkerston

• Engage community and enhance the community spirits

• Provide opportunities for all in the region

• Promote and increase participation in sports, through the provision of universally designed facilities

• Be an inclusive club where everyone is welcome

• Develop facilities for girls and women in their chosen sports

• Fill the void in quality sporting and training facilities in the community

• Provide further opportunities for future heroes and role models to be homegrown from the region

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With more and more businesses allowing flexible working options which often include working from home, it can be easy to fall into a routine of laziness and simplicity when the work desk is mere metres from the bed. On the contrary, working from home allows the freedom and flexibility to take exercise and leisure into your own hands. Read on to discover tips and exercises to incorporate into your routine, making the most of your workdays.

Start Your Day With A Walk

Starting your day with a walk is a great way to boost your energy first thing in the morning. Put on a podcast, catch up on current events or spin some bangers to get yourself moving and begin your workday already exercised, motivated and ready to go.

Depending on your schedule, you can also break your day with walks before, during and after your workday. Leaving the desk and the house is a great way to reinvigorate and re-energise your body and mind as well as avoiding the dreaded cabin fever.

Stand During Calls

Sitting for long hours can be terrible for your blood pressure, back, posture and more, especially when sitting on the couch or at the kitchen bench. Regularly standing or walking will decrease your sitting time and doing these things while working will integrate them into your workday seamlessly. Walk around the house or the block when on a work call or stand at your desk when on a Zoom call. Investing in a standing desk or finding somewhere to properly prop up your computer can help you get up out of your chair and boost your concentration and focus.

Turn Your Office Equipment Into Gym Equipment

With enough space, your desk or chair can serve as push up equipment to help you exercise from home. All you need is something stable to be able to complete push up exercises, including:

• Tricep dips: keep your arms bent at a 90-degree angle on your chair while pushing up and down.

• Desk push ups: place your hands on your desk in a push up position and push up and down.

• Wall push ups: again, place your hands in push up position on the wall and push back and forth.

Make sure to keep your legs at an angle and your entire body in a straight line for best positioning and results.

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A popular new fitness offering in Mackay that provides both Pilates and Yoga in one place is becoming a huge hit. So much so that its owners have just opened a second location to meet rising demand.

When Madeleine Snaith and partner Jake Salomone moved up from Brisbane in July last year, they were surprised to discover this combination was not yet available in the region.

Eager to share how these two disciplines could work together to enhance both physical and mental wellbeing, the couple opened their first studio, Contro Pilates and Yoga in January this year.

With their Rural View location frequently booking out and a wait list of three weeks, they decided to investigate their client list. They quickly noticed clients were often travelling from the other side of Mackay to participate in classes.

Deciding to make it more convenient for their growing clientele, the couple decided to open a second studio on Shakespeare Street in Mackay City earlier this month.

With a total of 12 instructors spread over two rooms at each location, Contro offers a wide range of class options including Reformer Pilates, Matwork Pilates, Yoga, Hot Yoga and Barre.

A maximum of 10 people per class ensures a relaxed and intimate environment, enabling instructors to build positive connections with each and every client.

“It’s such a beautiful community that we’ve built, a lot of clients have now become our friends,” said Madeleine.

“We’re all about making people feel special for an hour and I always tell my staff to remember everyone’s names plus a fast fact about them – that way we have a personal connection.”

The membership structure at Contro has been flexibly designed and purposefully priced to meet the needs of everyone.

Enquire now to find out how Pilates and Yoga can work together to challenge your strength, stability, flexibility and inner wellbeing.

Image: Madeleine Snaith and partner Jake Salomone from Contro Pilates and Yoga

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Seniors of all ages and stages are invited to come together at the Big Shed on the Mackay Showgrounds later this month for an event that promises to offer a wide range of opportunities to maximise quality of life during retirement years.

The annual Mackay Seniors Expo is a popular event which often attracts upwards of 2000 people who enjoy browsing over 75 different stalls.

There is plenty to see and do - discover avenues to volunteer your time to charity organisations, sign-up to sporting activities such as pickleball and learn about your health options including managing hearing loss or how you can receive Meals on Wheels.

Mayor Greg Williamson said the expo is a great place to connect with others.

“This expo is all about making connections, whether with a group you’d like to be part of or a sport or hobby you’d like to try, or maybe just with old friends that you haven’t seen in a while,” he said.

“We’ve found that community members are interested in learning more about leisure and lifestyle activities as well as the more ‘practical’ considerations of growing older and staying active and healthy.

“This expo really offers a tremendous mix – in the Big Shed this year you will find everything from senior-friendly sports and hobbies to retirement living and healthcare services.”

The event forms part of the Queensland Government’s state-wide Seniors Month celebrations which aim to improve community attitudes towards older people, facilitate community participation and activity by older people, and enhance community connections and inter-generational relationships.

WHAT: Mackay Seniors Expo

WHERE: The Big Shed at the Mackay Showgrounds

WHEN: Tuesday, October 11 from 9.00am to 1.00pm

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Do you have an exciting creative idea and need a bit of financial assistance to get it off the ground?

Mackay Regional Council is here to help you through the Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF), offering almost $95,000 in grants during the latest funding round.

RADF Committee Chair Councillor Fran Mann said this round of funding was again offering three different categories to promote creativity across the Mackay community.

“RADF will again offer General Arts grants, as well as the Youth Arts grants which aim to support young people to pursue creative career pathways,” Ms Mann said.

“There will also be Green Arts grants available, which will support initiatives that focus on environmentally based arts and cultural practice and that highlight issues relating to our unique local biodiversity.

“Creativity makes communities connect, and RADF promotes the role and value of arts, culture and heritage as key drivers of diverse and inclusive communities and strong regions.”

This funding round of RADF (round one for 2022/23) is open now and applications close Wednesday, October 5, 2022, for projects commencing after Monday, November 14.

This round will offer $46,000 in General Arts grants, $33,934 in Green Arts grants, and $15,000 in Youth Arts grants.

Previous RADF grant recipients have used the funds to publish books, record music, hold art exhibitions and more.

Council is also looking for new RADF committee members and you or your arts organisation can still apply for RADF funds if you are a RADF committee member.

To apply for a RADF grant, visit mackay.smartygrants.com.au.

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One of Mackay CBD’s many laneways is now a whole lot brighter thanks to local artist Cynthia Gregg.

The space next to Sam’s Singapore Restaurant on Wood Street has been transformed, with Cynthia spending a week painting the whole wall white before creating her masterpiece last week.

Cynthia, who is also a Crossroad Arts Wearable Art Co-Facilitator and performer, created the artwork using water-based exterior paints to celebrate the deep blue waters of the Pioneer River.

“The mural consists of a human silhouette spreading outwards into a large dynamic splashing of droplets in aquamarine blue hues,” Cynthia said.

“This form will suggest a welcoming river spirit, inviting the audience to interact.

“The themes are playfulness, vitality, appreciation of and engagement with arts and the natural marine environment.”

Brightening the street, the artwork invites passers-by into the laneway to interact with the piece.

“This type of painting is designed to engage its audience with photo shoots and selfies,” Cynthia said.

“It consists of shapes designed to smoothly frame and uplift the appearance of a person standing directly in front of the mural.

“In photos, it will appear as though the person featured is one with the painting and wearing wings of splashing water rising, encouraging a cultural embrace with the river and street arts in Mackay.”

Cynthia was able to complete the mural after receiving an Activate My Place! (AMP!) program micro-grant from Mackay Regional Council to create this new work.

She also had the support of Crossroad Arts and Horizon Clubhouse.

With the whole wall now painted white, Cynthia hopes to secure more funding to fill the wall with similar figures.

Members of the local community are invited to take part in photoshoots with the completed mural, encouraging connection and share to social media using the hashtags #BlueRiverSpirit and #MackayPride.

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By Kevin Borg, Chairman, Canegrowers Mackay

Looking north, and seeing the deep troubles experienced in other growing regions in sourcing labour to transport cane to the mill, the Mackay region cane growing community is thankful for a couple of factors that have served us well this crush.

Canegrowers Mackay, working with our CQ Queensland Agricultural Workforce Network officer, went out hard and early, recruiting workers not just from within our community, but across the country. We used electronic billboards, social media and online jobs boards focused on backpackers and grey nomads. We ran ads in local media, and state rural press.

We even went old school, with posters and flyers delivered to roadhouses and caravan parks.

Beyond that, Canegrowers Mackay is almost unique among Queensland’s milling districts in that part of our recruitment strategy is to actively train haulout drivers. The course is led by growers and harvesters and a registered training organisation. This year, we had 20 trainees, 19 of whom passed the course and were work-ready by the end of their four-day training course, with some good in-paddock experience.

We think it’s important, to help raise skill levels of new workers to the industry, and thereby improve safety and productivity. That’s why we are currently applying for funding to run two courses in 2023.

This year, the course also taught us something. The majority of the trainees were older workers, looking for seasonal work to supplement their early retirement income. Many had experience in other ag sectors and were looking to apply these to cane harvesting. It’s interesting and gave us a pointer on places to focus efforts in 2023.

Overall, taking this multi-pronged recruitment approach has been a good success, thus far, with a list of people seeking work updating on our website jobs board, and members, for the most part, are not flagging that they are having difficulty sourcing labour.

However, with the crush now expected to extend into January, the sector will need to ensure that we can retain the labour needed to see the crush through, or if not, attract new workers. It’s a hard call, but many farming operations unfortunately end up relying on family members to scrape through that end part of the season.

We are lucky that, for the majority of harvesting operations in this region, a C-class licence is all that is needed to be a haulout driver. Like many regions, the sugarcane industry can suffer attrition to the resources sector. It can’t be helped – those are high paying jobs in an affluent industry.

But what the sugarcane industry can offer is a worksite that’s a green paddock, not a black and brown hole. And to be home with your loved ones every day. There’s a good lifestyle trade off.

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Headspace services in the Mackay region will now be delivered by North and West Remote Health (NWRH) as the remote allied health service took over as lead agent on September 12.

NWRH is a not-for-profit organisation providing mental health and wellbeing, outreach allied health, aged care and disability services across regional, rural and remote Queensland and will now deliver headspace services to Mackay as well as the Sarina and Whitsundays headspace satellite sites.

Based in Townsville, NRWH service from Mornington Island to Birdsville and from Emerald to Ingham but Executive Coordinator Simone Campbell says Mackay is a new region for the organisation.

“We just wanted to be involved in Mackay because it’s not an area we’ve looked at or been in before,” she said.

Earlier in the month, NWRH board members visited the region to meet with members of the headspace consortium.

The NWRH Board and Chief Executive Officer hosted a meet and greet with local headspace staff, traditional owner elders from the Yuwi and South Sea Islander Communities, The Village Leaders, the Mackay Hospital and Health Service staff as well as other community service providers.

The NWRH team then met with Mackay Regional Council Mayor Greg Williamson, Deputy Mayor Karen May and Councillors the next day.

“What we want to do is start a consortium partnership with some of the local people … so we could start meeting and getting involved in the community to promote headspace, to promote NWRH’s other services to see what else we can do down there and how else we can get involved,” Ms Campbell said.

“The board is very interested in getting to know the community down there and see what they can do to help.”

While headspace may have a new lead agent, they still provide the Mackay region with the same great services they always have.

Headspace Mackay offers free confidential counselling services for young people aged 12 - 25 across Mackay region, making sure young people have the best support, information, and services for their health and wellbeing including physical health, mental health, drug and alcohol issues, employment and education support.

Headspace Mackay can be contacted on 4898 2200, headspace Sarina 4842 6750, headspace Whitsundays 4842 6760.

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Whether it’s a sea change or a tree change, there is a movement away from the big cities to regional areas and Mackay is one of the beneficiaries.

Recent figures show that populations across regional Australia grew by 70,900 or 0.9 per cent in the 2020-2021 financial year and the population figure fell by 26,000 or 0.1 per cent in capital cities.

Covid-induced border closures are now well and truly behind us and there is a feeling that this trend will only increase.

High-profile real estate identity John McGrath’s latest McGrath Report, quoted in The Australian newspaper, said big city escapees look for a cheaper destination, not something that is as expensive as where they are leaving, when choosing their sea or tree change.

McGrath pointed out that a sea change to Noosa Heads does not look so enticing when the median price is $2 million compared to regional Queensland’s $569,000 median price.

One of the reasons people make the change is to reduce debt and financial stress. Yes, people want good weather, access to beaches or other forms of natural beauty, reliable services and medical facilities but cost is a big part of it.

McGrath has noticed how those factors have led to an increase in property sales and price rises in our part of the world.

“Central Queensland, where many city dwellers from the southern states have moved, recorded the largest uptick in sales volumes of houses of 42.9 per cent in the year to February 2022,” the McGrath Report said.

It also pointed out that sales volumes in the Greater Whitsundays, which also includes Mackay, were up nearly 41 per cent.

The on-the-ground evidence at open homes and buyer inquiries absolutely confirms that Mackay is very much on the list of those wanting to make the change.

Our average house price is in the low $400,000s, there is virtually no unemployment, we have beautiful beaches and rivers, lovely hinterland bushland, easy access to Whitsunday Islands, good health and educational facilities and we’re a short flight to Brisbane.

One change that has been created by technology improvements and spurred on by Covid is the trend to work from home.

There are now people who work in the digital world who pretty much work from home all the time.

The organisation you work for might be based in Sydney but in many cases you can work from home in Manly, the Gold Coast or Mackay.

Whichever way you look at it there are positive signs for real estate in Mackay.

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Have you considered working for Mackay Regional Council as an option for a rewarding career?

With about 1200 employees, we have a huge variety of roles with endless possibilities.

As a councillor I get to interact with staff on a daily basis; they are a dedicated bunch, it doesn’t matter whether I get to the office at 6.30am or I am leaving at 6.30pm, there is always someone there.

I see our workforce as proud of the role they play in working to improve our region for their family and future generations, and when I ask staff for the reason they work for council, they are quick to answer:

• “I get a lot of satisfaction when I work with a team of people who want to help provide services to the community.”

• “Council offers me the ability to have a great work/life balance.”

• “Council provides me the opportunity to gain new skills and undertake further training to advance my career within the organisation.”

• “Working at council provides a lifestyle and flexible arrangements for me to be home each night and on the weekend so I can enjoy time with my family and volunteer at various sports our family is involved in.”

Like all businesses in the region at the moment, we are struggling to fill roles because prospective employees are spoilt for choice.

We currently have 183 vacancies, of which 31 are currently advertised, and this affects our ability to deliver services to the community in a timely manner and puts stress on other employees to fill the gaps so we can continue to be proud of our region.

The available positions cover all aspects, from working in our parks and gardens so we can keep them looking great, to a role as a principal development engineer that helps plan the layout of or region into the future.

Applying is easy with vacancies listed on council’s website – mackay.qld.gov.au/careers.

If any of this has sparked interest in you or maybe you know a school leaver who needs a start, or an out-of-town family member who is considering moving town or state, please contact them and say, “Have you considered working for Mackay Regional Council?”  

Cr Laurence Bonaventura

Mackay Regional Council

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Plenty of tears.

Monday is the D Day for kids as they have to head back to school after the spring holiday break and I reckon there will be a handful of kids and parents alike that won't be happy with it.

My suggestion is if you're heading to the shops tomorrow to do your monthly shop, maybe grab an extra box of tissues just to be sure.

I know over the past couple of weeks we've had some fun.

I ran the Sydney Marathon two weeks ago, plenty of families have had fun camping at Eungella and water skiing at Kinchant Dam, whilst others have had a chill out session in front of the TV watching Netflix and watching footy.

Whatever you've been doing I hope it's been fun.

Can I make a suggestion though before Monday? Get the whole family together this weekend, grab some pizzas and some cans of fizzy drink and all sit down together and nut out what you want to do in the Xmas holidays. They will come around quicker than you think.

The decorations are out on the shelves now so that means our minds are tuned to the festive season and all that it brings. Tinsel, trees, presents and holidays in the summertime.

Does it mean an overseas holiday is in order now that the premier has thrown away the pool gate key now? Does it mean you can relax with the whole family in the car driving down to Brisbane and spend some quality time with the cousins?

Whatever you choose to do, start organising it now. Don't put it off because the next thing you know it will be too late and you'll be kicking yourself that you didn't listen to Uncle Rob.

Write down what you want to do, where to go and how you're going to pay for it all. Stick it on the front of the fridge so it reminds you each day of what you are doing, then in a few short months you will be relaxing with thousands of others at the best time of the year.

Oh, one other thing. Lose some weight. You will want to look your best at the beach in that one-piece orange bathing suit. I know I will.

Have fun.

You can join Rob Kidd from 5am weekday mornings on 4MK 1026 AM in Mackay and Proserpine, 91.5FM in Airlie Beach or just ask your smart speaker to play 4MK on iHeartRadio!

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Long-standing Mackay Real Estate Agent Noel Durnsford has re-opened his doors and is now taking clients for well-established Noel Durnsford Town and Country Realty.

Renowned for professional service with an emphasis on communication and personal connection, Noel pays careful attention to detail and focuses on customer requirements.

“We take the time to get the best possible price for a property, that the market will allow,” said Noel.

“I know the region intimately from cane farms to coastal grazing blocks, as well as all types of residential properties, and that’s the reason we are called Town and Country Realty.”

Born and bred in Mackay, Noel operated a cane farm at Yalboroo (located just 70 kilometres north of Mackay) for over 30 years before moving into the city with his wife, Robyn.

His father and uncle moved to the farm in 1927 from Nebo and it has been in the family ever since.

Noel’s two sons are now third generation farmers on the property, along with his 26-year-old grandson.

Poor health saw Noel step away from the real estate industry for some years but 12 months ago he re-opened the doors under the same name and with the same service.

“We’re homegrown so I do understand the circumstances in Mackay, whether that be rural or town properties and I understand the layout of the land from Sarina to Proserpine,” he said.

As the principal of his agency, Noel is the person you will talk to for all business dealings regarding comparative market analysis, the listing process, settlement and everything in between.

For all your real estate needs, reach out to Noel Durnsford Town and Country Realty and experience some good old-fashioned service.

Image: Noel Durnsford and his wife Robyn from Town and Country Realty

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Image: Former NASA astronaut Susan Kilrain was the guest of honour as STEM Punks launched their Space 2101 program in Mackay last week. Photo Credit: STEM Punks Education

A total of 50 local school students got a taste of working in space as the Space 2101 program launched globally in Mackay last week.

The five-day program was facilitated by world-leading STEM education providers STEM Punks, teaching students skills in coding, design thinking, 3D design, innovation and creativity, all with the theme of living and working in space.

“We’re putting the kids into the future,” said STEM Punks CEO Michael Holmstrom.

“It’s all about giving them STEM skills in the context of space and then we use something called design thinking to get them to transform ideas into outcomes really fast.”

The students were given the scenario of producing a new module for a futuristic space station.

“In the end, they get a really creative mindset,” Mr Holmstrom said.

“It’s about problem-solving, and they basically use those STEM skills in a problem-based learning scenario to produce an outcome.”

The program also featured former NASA astronaut Commander Susan Kilrain who flew in from the USA to present with STEM Punks.

“She was there as a mentor, as a validator of the ideas, and to share her inspirational story about being blasted off into space,” Mr Holmstrom said.

Grade eight student Olivia Pearce has always wanted to be an astronaut and says meeting Ms Kilrain was inspirational.

“It really showed me that I could be an astronaut and that it is possible and if you do well in school and join clubs you’ve got opportunities,” Olivia said.

“I had quite a good chat with Susan, and she really told me that I could do it and it’s really good that I’m a female because that’s bringing more females into the field.”

Fellow grade 8 student Hunter McGeary agreed.

“That was amazing,” he said.

“First astronaut ever to come to Mackay apparently.

“I’ve just loved space and coding and programming, and I heard there was a lot of that with this program.

“We’ve mainly been learning programming, but we’ve done a bit of circuitry and 3D design which is cool.”

The Mackay program is the launch of a world tour for STEM Punks which will now head to Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Bahrain, UK, India and the USA.

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