It was a very happy birthday for the Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens thanks to a sizeable donation from the Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens Friends Association (MRBG Friends).

MRBG Friends President Maya Harrison presented the Gardens with a cheque for $10,000 to contribute to the purchase of database software.

Gardens Curator Lisa Kermode thanked MRBG Friends for their donation, saying IrisBG Software has been specifically designed for botanic gardens and is used all over the world.

“It’ll be a really great tool for us to manage and record all the plants in our living collection,” she said.

“It’ll record information like the species, where they’re located, the history and origin of that particular plant.

“We’ll also be able to display that information on some maps and that will be available to the public and also to botanic gardens across the world to find out about our collection.”

Mackay Regional Council Mayor Greg Williamson said the significant contribution brings the Gardens into the 21st century.

“Without interest by ‘friends’ groups in our community, we wouldn’t be a community,” he said.

“This database will certainly revolutionise the way we do business as the botanic gardens.”

The Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens were opened on May 24, 2003 and celebrated their 19th birthday last week.

MRBG Friends President Maya Harrison says the association raises funds year-round through the garden shop, community events and fundraising to assist the Gardens and save for such donations.

“The friends of the gardens have been involved in the gardens since before they even opened,” she said.

“The garden friends have basically planted most of what you see here in the gardens as tubestock.

“The Botanic Gardens is really showcasing our regional plants.”

These days, MRGB Friends are involved in planting, weeding and feeding throughout the Gardens as well as leading guided tours and social events.

Last Saturday, MRGB Friends made their next significant contribution to the Gardens, planting 1000 Golden Everlasting Daisies (xerochrysum bracteatum) on the lagoon’s edge.

MRGB Friends have had to reschedule the annual planting twice this year but there was not a cloud in the sky this time around.

“It’s quite spectacular when they’re all flowering and hopefully they don’t get buffeted by wind and rain and stay upright,” said Ms Harrison.

Botanical Art Interest Group

Another branch of the MRGB Friends is the Botanical Gardens Interest Group which is currently running its latest exhibition ‘Where A Plant Begins’.

Similar to the old conundrum of ‘the chicken or the egg,’ the exhibition ponders whether seed or flower came first.

Botanical artists have focused on a particular aspect of the plant’s lifecycle – flowers, pollination, seeds, germination or seedlings using photosynthesis – or they have portrayed the entire lifecycle of a plant complete with flowers, seeds and features of their chosen plants.

Combining detail, accuracy and artistry, the botanical artists have committed many hours to each graphite drawing, pastel drawing, watercolour or acrylic painting.

Each piece showcases how the artists take live specimens and create a living piece of botanical art via their sketch books, photos and art materials.

‘Where a Plant Begins’ is available for viewing at the Lagoons Gallery within the Botanic Gardens Café and is open 9:00am to 2:00pm Wednesday to Friday and 11:00am to 1:00pm on weekends until Sunday, June 26.

For more information on the Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens Friends Association, the exhibition or any other initiatives, contact Maya Harrison on 0436 331 009 or email mackayrbgfriends@gmail.com.

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Mackay Regional Council Mayor Greg Williamson, MRGB Curator Lisa Kermode, Mackay Regional Council Regional Services Coordinator Ross Willis, MRGB Friends President Maya Harrison, and MRGB Friends Penny McMahon, Kevin Jackson, Julie Inkson, Meryl Ritchie and Carolyn Atkinson. Photo credit: Sam Gillespie

MRBG Friends planted 1000 Golden Everlasting Daisies on the banks of the lagoon last Saturday

‘Where a Plant Begins’ is available for viewing at the Lagoons Gallery within the Botanic Gardens Café

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The Whitsunday Voices Youth Literature Festival kicks off its 18th year today after launching at Whitsunday Anglican School last night.

Presenters at the festival, including authors, artists, storytellers, screenwriters, slam poets, musicians and scientists, as well as students, sponsors and organisers gathered to officially launch the festival.

Over the next two days, more than 5000 students from the Mackay, Isaac and Whitsunday regions and 500 students from 21 schools in rural and remote regions thanks to the Winchester Foundation will be immersed in all things literature.

“The great part of why I love this festival is that it provides an opportunity for regional and rural students to experience a world-class literature festival that they normally wouldn’t get a chance to outside major capital cities,” said Whitsunday Anglican School Principal Andrew Wheaton.

“The students walk away tremendously invigorated and excited with a love of literature.

“You start to see students walking with piles of books and they literally can’t wait to turn the physical page of a book and get immersed in the wonderful world of what literature can provide and that’s incredibly powerful in an age which is so dominated by social media and technology.”

Mr Wheaton says the festival has come together thanks to incredible preparation from Festival Manager Tracey Gurdler and Coordinator Liz Russel.

Ms Gurdler says seeing the authors arrive and interact with students and stakeholders makes it all worthwhile.

“Liz and I have been working hard to deliver a festival to excite and encourage the students of Mackay into the world of literature and with this stellar line-up of presenters before us, I feel we have certainly delivered on that,” she said.

“To see children immerse themselves in the joy of literature, reading and writing is incredibly meaningful.

“For me, this is what the festival is truly about.”

Two presenters at the festival include Sydney-based writer and kidlit podcast host Nat Amoore and Queensland author, illustrator and ‘Story Doctor’ Dr Cameron Stelzer.

Ms Amoore says as well as writing and illustrating, festivals are a big part of the job.

“Getting in front of the kids, they’re your audience, they’re your readers so you want to go out and see them,” she said.

“It’s as much about interacting with your audience and getting face-to-face time with the kids that are reading your books as well as keeping them inspired and excited about reading so there’s another generation of writers but also a generation that wants to read.”

“It’s where you get your ideas from as well,” added Dr Stelzer.

“If you’re sitting in a room not interacting, you don’t get the feel of what’s going to work and what the kids want to see.”

After a smoking ceremony and Welcome to Country led by local Yuwi people, the festival was declared open by Principal Wheaton.

An insightful Writer’s Panel followed featuring presenters Melina Marchetta, Jack Heath, Cath Moore and Oliver Phommavanh, hosted by Nat Amoore.

The festival kicks off today with presentations, workshops, competitions and book signings.

Key highlights of the program include the Litchat Educators’ Event presented by Tomorrow, When the War Began author John Marsden tonight and the Flor-Hanly Literary Dinner featuring keynote speaker Dr Richard Harris tomorrow night.

For more information on the festival, the program and the presenters, visit www.whitsundayvoices.com.au.

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Nat Amoore and Dr Cameron Stelzer are among the many talented writers presenting at this year’s Whitsunday Voices Youth Literature Festival

Last night’s launch concluded with an insightful Writer’s Panel featuring Melina Marchetta, Jack Heath, Cath Moore and Oliver Phommavanh, hosted by Nat Amoore

A Bowen-based group of art enthusiasts are eagerly preparing for their next exhibition at the Community Hall on the corner of William and Leichardt Streets next weekend.

The Bowen Art society has been collating its collection of local paintings for the last year, much of which was painted at their studio in Archer Street.

This year will be the society’s 61st exhibition.

Over three days from July 31 to August 2, the exhibition will be judged by artist Rosemary Payne, a local who studied at the Birmingham College of Art and the Southampton University in the U.K.

Ms Payne has taught at Mackay Tafe, and is currently teaching at Art Space Mackay. She has won numerous awards and prizes for her painting and teaching skills.

President of Bowen Art Society, Margaret Gaul, said the group has been steadily planning the event for the past month, as well as creating the artwork for display.

“The studio is always packed this time of year with our southern members coming up; it’s such a beautiful place to paint,” Ms Gaul said.

“We’re quite spoilt for wonderful artists here in Bowen and the exhibition reflects that. We’ve been dithering away getting it all prepared and we’re quite excited – this will be my first exhibition as President.”

Ms Gaul said the Society’s Secretary, Judith Potts, was in charge of the exhibition this year, and that there was an excellent range of water colours, pastels, oils and acrylics being displayed at the event.

“It will be quite the show,” she said.

The Society meets every Wednesday at their studio on Archer Street, a building that has almost as much of a storied history as the group itself.

Once the first Queens Beech State School, the old, wooden building has now become home to Bowen artists.

“We’re very lucky to have a building like this, and I think all of the Society’s members know that,” Ms Gaul said.

“That, combined with our artists, is why this group produces some incredible work. To watch them progress during the year is something very magical.”

At the Society’s exhibition in late July, artwork will be sold, as well as prizes and awards distributed to some of Bowen’s creative crop.

Ms Gaul said if anyone would like to join the Bowen Art Society, they should enquire at their premises at 18 Archer Street on Wednesdays when they host studio sessions.

When: Saturday, July 30 3.00pm to Tuesday, August 2 9.00am to 4.00pm

What: Bowen Art Society Annual Exhibition

Where: Community Hall,

Tickets: $10 on Saturday, Free on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday

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Bowen Art Society President Margaret Gaul and Secretary Judith Potts at the society’s studio in Archer Street. Images: Declan Durrant

The society will be displaying work from artists based in Bowen as well as interstate

With the price of fuel on a seemingly unending uptick, there’s not been a better time to put on a helmet and re-kindle a favourite pastime than now.

Scott Raisbeck at Bowen Small Motors and Cycles said his store on Williams Street, Bowen – a mechanical-haven for all things garden equipment – is seeing a corresponding uptick in bike sales.

A spike that’s helped by being the only bicycle shop in town.

“It’s becoming very popular again with the price of fuel, and with Bowen such an accessible place for biking it’s really a great time to start riding again,” Scott said.

In what was originally an auxiliary part of the business, the cycle portion of Bowen Small Motors has become a favourite amongst Bowen locals.

Both offering bike repairs and bike sales, they have a range of push and battery bikes: children’s bikes, mountain bikes, racing bikes, and folding bikes – as well as tubes, tyres, and more.

They also have electric bikes which can travel up to 25 kilometres per hour or more, getting around 50 kilometres distance before a recharge.

And, anything they don’t have, they can get specially ordered in.

“We can get anything they want; we have lots of bike fanatics now and we’re really welcoming them at the store,” Scott said.

“It’s nice and flat, the roads are so wide, and it’s great for families – you can buy yourself one and get the kids into it as well.

“Come in and take a look, have a chat, and maybe you’ll end up riding home!”

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Bowen State High School Year 8 and 9 students travelled to Mackay as part of their F1 Academy Classes, a program which sees them design and race their own miniaturised Formula 1 Race Cars.

The local students have been taking part in the STEM based program over the past year, starting in term 1, and travelled to the F1 in School’s Regional Finals in mid-June.

Teacher Leigh Middleton’s Year 8 class entered a total of eight teams in the Cadet Class, while Mr Kayne Fayolle’s Year 9’s entered six teams in the Development Class.

This is the first time Bowen State High has ever entered the competition.

Mr Fayolle said the program not only gets students working in teams, it also provides them with industry applicable schools, most notably through the use of industry-level programs.

“They use Computer Assisted Design and a CNC Router Machines where anything they’ve designed in the program can be automatically cut, milled or anything like that,” he said.

“In this instance, over the course of Term 1, they were creating cars, collating the data, testing it, and making a better design for competition.”

The F1 competition involves teams designing their own F1 car model with consideration given to Newton’s Laws of Motion, Aerodynamics, weight, friction, and other key principles of physics.

For the grade 9 students, they were also tasked with looking at the business side of F1 – things like team uniforms, business cards, and expenditure.

Mr Fayolle said the students competing in Mackay did exceptionally well.

“It was so pleasant to have so many of our students make it through into state level in Brisbane,” he said.

“We’ll have four teams heading there on October 31 and they’re so pumped about that! The program has already been successful and I think students are getting so much from it.”

Bowen State High School students performed exceptionally at their F1 Academy Classes, which saw them design miniaturised Formula 1 Race Cars

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Bowen’s Bubble N Sudds Car and Dog Wash owner Shane Clohesy said you’d be surprised how many people don’t know how to use the self-serve bays at car washes – nor how convenient they are.

“It’s both cheaper than other types of car washes, and, once you get the hang of it, it’s really simple and saves you a lot of time,” Shane said.

So, for those out there a little confused, here’s a quick, three step guide on an easy variation of clean:

1- Pop a coin in the slot and wash away: Press the “wash” or “water” option on the control panel of the main machine and grab the spray pipe. This is for a little ‘pre-clean’ to wash away any muck, as well as put on a light soaping solution mixed with the water. Wash your car’s exterior properly and don’t forget to clean the tyres too.

2- Soap it up: Grab the brush – it looks a lot like a broom – and start applying the soap after you’ve pressed the soap button. This is the most thorough step – really dig in there!

3- Rinse off the soap: Once you’ve soaped your vehicle, it is time to rinse it off. Press the button on the panel and start taking off the soap. This will be a high-pressure wash and should get rid of any bug-splats not caught by the brushing.

And that’s it! Simple, quick, efficient. The self-serve bays at Bubble N Suds can be fast, or they can be a deep-clean where you use some of the brush and sprays other settings like buff, wax, and more!

Give it a go yourself this weekend.

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Shane Clohesy using one of the self-serve baysat his business, Bubble N Suds

When Taylor Trewartha was two years old, her family relocated from Adelaide to Airlie Beach chasing the sunshine and blue waters. She’s fundamentally Airlie Beach through and through and is the newest member of the Mackay and Whitsunday Life team, joining as our specialist Graphic Designer.

Taylor has always loved art of all forms. Her most frequented medium is digital design, but she also dabbles in drawing, painting and watercolour when the mood strikes. She entered many art competitions growing up and in 2017 she won the Lady Potter Young Australian Artist of the Year award which saw her travel to Melbourne to present a speech on national TV.

Taylor was a regular at Smart Arts Studio in Cannonvale, where she would take lessons before ultimately being asked to give them. She taught manga lessons and thrived in sharing the skills of her craft. She also worked at McDonalds while she studied her way through a Bachelor of Digital Design at CQU, graduating last year.

Taylor is a gamer, preferring the more intricate, creative indie games over multi-million-dollar Halo-esque epics. She aspires to be a game designer herself, with a vision for telling stories through immersive simulation games. With Virtual Reality becoming more and more prevalent, she hopes to utilise the technology to its fullest.

A lover of animals, Taylor has a conure named Prisma and a border collie named Spirit. These two demand much of her love and affection which she is more than willing to give.

Keep an eye out for Taylor’s creative handiwork every week in Mackay and Whitsunday Life.

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Did you know current research suggests 70% of all staff would consider leaving for better work conditions? And that includes your long-term, loyal team-members. Global engagement entities are now teaching us not only how to attract staff but how to REATTRACT your current long-term staff. If you haven’t changed how you engage your workforce by now, they may already have one foot out the door.

1. Flexibility – This is the #1 factor of influence when workers are seeking their new employer. Are you offering flexibility in regards to work hours, workdays, & remote working (work from home)? Many businesses globally have taken on a hybrid workspace where team-members are offered a choice of home & office days to suit both the individual and the business needs.

2. Having a voice – Do you include your team-members in decision-making? Do you ask their opinion on upcoming or current changes? Feeling heard & like we have the capacity to make a difference makes us far more emotionally connected to your brand & your goals.

3. Humancy – Gone are the days of telling your team to “park your emotions at the door”. Workers are looking for a better work/life balance and are putting their family needs before their employers. Include family members in social activities and take an interest in your workers’ families, friends & pets! Showing you care creates a reciprocal effect that results in increased loyalty and longevity in the workplace.

4. Feedback & recognition – Saying ‘thanks’ at the end of the day isn’t enough. Taking time to provide your team-members with an update on how they’ve been performing, and thanking them specifically for a task or job they have just finished shows you value them, you see the difference they make, and you care enough to take time out of your day to show appreciation.

5. Coaching conversations – Most workplaces have discarded the annual ‘performance review’ in favour for quarterly coaching conversations. These are a 2-way conversation which discusses progress, provides 2-way feedback, and motivates through the ‘what’s next for you’ discussion. These discussions are far more positive and no longer include the negativity of opinion-based metrics – which are disputable and unreliable. They provide a confidential and transparent platform for your team-member to have a say in their development as well as give feedback on what they feel they need to succeed.

Contributed by Shiift’s Judy Porter

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In a three-hour mission, RACQ CQ Rescue winched a person with a serious medical condition off a remote beach on Whitsunday Island last Thursday.

The 31-year-old was travelling on a 13-metre catamaran in Hook Passage just after lunch when they began suffering seizures and required immediate medical evacuation.

RACQ CQ Rescue was tasked by Queensland Health about 1.30pm to retrieve the patient from the vessel located 120km north of Mackay, near Hook Island.

After making radio contact with the boat, a decision was made by the helicopter crew to winch the patient off the rocky shoreline of Cairn Beach, on the northern end of Whitsunday Island.

The ill man was transferred from the catamaran to the beach by tender, accompanied by two others from the vessel.

The Mackay-based helicopter orbited the island before winching the RACQ CQ Rescue rescue crewman down onto the shoreline as the aircraft hovered about 15 metres overhead.

The patient was assessed and secured into an Air Rescue Vest and winched up into the helicopter accompanied by the rescue crewman before receiving further treatment from the doctor onboard.

The winch and safe retrieval of the patient was completed within 20 minutes of arrival on scene. The patient was then flown to Mackay Base Hospital in a stable condition arriving about 3pm.

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A31-year-old patient suffering seizures was winched off Cairn Beach onWhitsunday Island yesterday by RACQ CQ Rescue

RACQ CQ Rescue

Over the years since the first lease taken out by D C Gorton in 1883, South Molle Island has witnessed many owners come and go. But the Bauer’s tenure was by far the longest and one of the most successful.

In 1937, when Ernest (Ern) Bauer observed islands for sale in the Whitsundays, he chose South Molle with its north-facing bay and permanent water supply.  He wanted to provide a healthy environment for his eight children and figured twenty guests per week would sustain their needs. Since their home was already a focal point for young people to gather socially, there appeared little adjustment necessary.

Ernest took over the lease from Henry Lamond who possessed the island since 1923. The purchase involved a swap of the family’s dairying property in Brisbane with a large furnished family home for the island, livestock, primitive dwelling with no electricity and a pit lavatory. Enter the pioneers: daughter, Ruth, recalled, “My mother cried. We children thought we were in heaven. The water was so blue, clear and warm - nothing could keep us out of it and we became as brown as berries.”

The arrival of the weekly Correspondence School course, however, put an end to their little games. But there was great joy when the electricity generating plant arrived by cargo ship, which also homed their pony, “Star”, who was lowered over the side to swim ashore behind the boat.

While existing resorts had corrugated iron bungalows with coral for the floors, the Queensland Government Tourist Bureau insisted that Ern build fibro cabins with wooden floors before they would be included on the books.  These building materials had to be shipped from Brisbane.  The cabins and a large central complex of lounge, dining room, kitchen, shop, office and family accommodation were eventually completed, and a slow trickle of guests began to arrive.

Ernest and Anna became far too busy to supervise their children’s schooling, so Anna took a house in Proserpine where the children attended school and went home weekends to help.  Ruth especially remembered peeling potatoes around an iron tub as their contribution to the Sunday influx of day visitors who dined on roast dinners, plum pudding, fruit salad and island cream.

The Bauer’s self-sufficiency included home-grown lamb, pork, fresh vegies, milk, cream and butter.  Sheep had to be rounded up for shearing, the wool baled in the woolshed and shipped to Dalgetys in Brisbane.

Progress was steady and each year extra cabins were constructed.  Guest numbers increased to the extent that shipbuilders had to be commissioned to construct a 72-foot TSMV (named “Crest”) suitable for both cruises and transport. Even with these larger numbers, the Bauers were still able to retain the “family” atmosphere.

When the Pacific War was declared, shelters were dug in the hills and provisions cached there. Since Japanese luggers had called in for water supplies, the family feared they would return.  However, the only “invasion” was from army personnel from a camp outside Proserpine and Air Force personnel from Bowen-based Catalinas which landed in the bay on R and R.  The Navy’s presence in Cid Harbour and manoeuvres down the passage were a comfort to the family.

Reg Ansett’s purchase and development of Daydream and Hayman Islands heralded the entrance of “Big Business” to the Whitsundays, an area previously operated by family units. But under the Bauer family’s ownership, South Molle remained a “Mecca” for families and young people.

It is indeed sad, today, to see this once popular island languishing.  

Story and photo courtesy of Proserpine Historical Museum and recollections from Ruth Dunstan (nee Bauer)

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This is a question we get asked all the time.

Statistic – ‘For a couple aged 65 today there is a 50% chance that one person will still be alive at age 95.  Source ABS.

A sobering thought when you’re working out much you need in the super and investment nest egg to retire.  Generally, people fall into one of two camps when it comes to retirement planning: 1. Those fortunate enough to have built such a large nest egg that it represents up around 20 times their required annual retirement income.  I.e., They want $70,000py and have built up over $1.4mill.  For these few people, their nest egg will grow throughout retirement as they will only spend a portion of the interest earned; 2. The more common scenario is those whose nest egg represents around 15 times their required income.  I.e., They want, say, $60,000 per annum and have around $900,000 built up.  This is most people, and they will be gradually eroding their nest egg to meet their income requirements and will eventually run out of money.

The key to good retirement planning is to do all the smart things to maximize your financial position throughout retirement and try and have your money run out when you think you will run out.  It is no good running out of money in your early 70’s but it’s also no good scrimping and saving, not enjoying your retirement and having heaps left in your 90’s.  

As an example: we recently reviewed a couple’s situation, Jim and Mary (names changed for privacy) decided they wanted $800pw or $41,600py as a pension from their super.    This coupled with part Age Pension entitlements of around $26,000py would get them up to $67,000 odd per year income in retirement to cover living, hobbies and travel in today’s terms.  We projected they were currently on track to build up around $450,000 in super and investments by their preferred retirement age.  As ‘balanced’ investors, expecting 7%pa after fees and costs, this meant their nest egg would run out in around 14 years, after allowing for inflation.  As Jim and Mary were 50, and planning on retiring young at 60, they weren’t comfortable with running out at age 74.  We implemented strategies to put away an extra $1,000pm tax effectively to ensure they built their nest egg up to over $700,000 which should now provide their required income and last them until age 90.

If you’d like a cost and obligation free review of your retirement projections, give us a call.

Written by Justin Butler, Managing Director Eclipse

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Clinicians across the region enhanced their emergency trauma skills with the latest round of Rural Emergency and Trauma Simulation Training last week.

Collinsville, Proserpine and Bowen hospital staff each attended the simulation sessions which focused on non-critical and critical trauma presentations.

The training also included skills stations which honed clinicians’ approaches to managing unexpected complications and intraosseous – directly into bone marrow - needle insertions.

The participants faced a number of scenarios, utilising the Telehealth Emergency Management Support Unit (TEMSU), as well as a Mackay Base Hospital senior Emergency doctor.

The Telehealth Unit assisted virtually with treating the fractured elbow of a 14-year-old patient, following a fall from a tree, to ensure safe reduction of the fracture in a first scenario.

The second challenge the groups faced was a critical scenario with a 29-year-old patient involved in high-speed motorbike accident.

The patient had been under the influence of drugs, and sustained thigh injuries and contusion of left lateral chest and abdomen.

Participants used their existing skills and knowledge to stabilise the patient with the assistance of Retrieval Services Queensland (RSQ) who provided virtual oversight of ventilation, intubation, fluid resuscitation and subsequent retrieval.

“Skills stations provided an opportunity for participants to refresh their critical thinking and review their own practice to consider various approaches to procedural sedation and to anticipate complications,” a Mackay Hospital and Health Services spokesperson said.

For authenticity, rib meat models were used to perform intraosseous needle insertion into real bone and place intercostal needles and tubes.

“Many of our rural clinicians are highly skilled in dealing with trauma emergencies, however it’s reassuring for them and junior staff to know they are supported by teams who provide a crucial link to consult with specialists when needed,” the spokesperson said.

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Proserpine, Collinsville, and Bowen hospital staff took part in trauma simulation training over the past week

The training helped the staff hone their skills in emergency trauma situations in a safe environment

Advanced Practice Enrolled Nurse Debbie Phillipson first walked through the front doors of Proserpine Hospital 40 years ago and she hasn’t looked back.

She was only 21 and on a trip around Queensland with a friend, having just finished training at St Vincent’s Hospital in Toowoomba. That friend stayed on in Mackay at the Base hospital, while Debbie travelled north to Proserpine.

After an interview with the Proserpine Hospital’s matron, Debbie, to her surprise, received a phone call to say she was starting that night.

“There was no orientation, I just walked in the front door and started night duty,” she said.

“I came in and never left. I soon fell in love, got married and had children so this community is definitely my home.”

Aside from a year off after the birth of her two children, Debbie has worked continuously and still holds court across the wards and in the operating theatre as a scout nurse and also attends to the sterilising.

Debbie says she has no regrets about spending four decades in the same workplace.

“Everyone says ‘gee you’ve been here a long time’ or ‘you looked after my mother’ or I see children I saw being born having their own children and I think, they are right, I have been here for a while,” she said.

“It’s a lovely connection, most people know you are a nurse and relate to you for something in their life. You feel close to everyone even though they are not your family”.

Debbie says one of the qualities of a good nurse is always doing your best to look after people, and she has no plans to retire as one of the hospitals longest serving nurses.

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Debbie Phillipson, an Advanced Practice Enrolled Nurse, has been at Proserpine Hospital for forty years

A by-election to vote in a new Mayor for Whitsunday Regional Council will be held on 13 August 2022 according to Electoral Commission Queensland (ECQ).

Currently there are six candidates running for the office: Jan Clifford, Al Grundy, Mike Brunker, Peter Hood, Julie Hall and Phil Batty.

Two separate Meet The Candidates Events will be hosted by Bowen Chamber of Commerce and Whitsunday Coast Chamber of Commerce respectively.

Bowen Chamber of Commerce will hold their Special Mayoral Candidates Meeting on Wednesday, August 3 at 5.45pm at the Larrikin Hotel. Whitsunday Coast Chamber Of Commerce will host their Meet The Mayoral Candidates Event on Monday, July 25 from 6 to 8pm in the Reef Gateway Function Room.

ECQ Commissioner Pat Vidgen said there were a number of ways people could vote.

“Don’t worry if you can’t make it on polling day, we have several options available including telephone voting for people who meet the eligibility criteria - like those who have tested positive to COVID-19 and anyone interstate or overseas,” Mr Vidgen said.

“There will also be two weeks of early voting and postal voting and both of those options are open to everyone.

“We know there are more than 23,600 registered voters in the Whitsunday region and we want to make voting as quick and easy as possible for every one of them.”

Postal vote applications are open now and close 7pm on 1 August 2022.

Early voting starts at 9am on 1 August 2022 and finishes at 6pm on 12 August 2022 at three early voting centres in Bowen, Cannonvale, and Proserpine.

On election day there will be five polling booths in Cannonvale Beach, Proserpine, Collinsville, Bowen and Hamilton Island.

Mr Vidgen reminded people in the Whitsunday region voting is compulsory and failure to vote fines increased to $143.75 from 1 July 2022.

Candidates may still nominate for the seat of Mayor until Monday, July 25.

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Campbell Irvine’s face underneath his iconic, well-worn hat, framed by thick grey beard and hair, is of “Never-give-in, of bright heat and of help-your-mate,” as Henry Lawson would have said.

One of Australia’s last bush poets, the true essence of Waltzing Matilda, has been wandering up and down the country’s coast for the last four decades.

He regularly stops in near Mackay, and on a recent trip through Airlie Beach where he performed poetry at the Airlie Beach Foreshore Markets, our Whitsunday Life reporter caught up with one of the country’s last swagmen.

Wearing blue jeans and a red button-down, Campbell the Swaggie had five or more festival bands on his wrist — he pointed to one and said it would be gone soon, replaced by another.

He hunches when he walks from years of carrying heavy swags and billy kettles on the road — as well as being born disabled up one side — but when he sits down there is an instant ease and gladdening.

With a swag, a few bags, and his hat, the Swaggie has trekked most of Australia. He’s performed countless round-trip tours of the country, taking part in festivals in South Australia, Victoria, Queensland, and Darwin in a life under the stars.

He’s become an icon of folk Australia – although a New Zealand born Mauri – since he arrived in the country in 1975 following a band, The Bushwhackers. It was a first infatuation with the cultural history and character of the lucky country and most importantly its swagmen.

“I’m a bard, I guess you could say. An Itinerant, nomadic, traveller,” Campbell said.

“It was Waltzing Matilda that drew me to the swaggie’s life; and I’ve been doing it for 40 years now, living life on the hoof.”

Famed Australians and poets Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson would have called him a swagman. Others have called him a walking storybook and the embodiment of the bush ballads and poems. He performs the poetry of Australia’s past, as well as his own originals, and has made friends across the regions.

Especially in Airlie Beach, where most know him for his performances at Wintermoon Festival near Calen.

“I love the Whitsundays; it’s the Great Barrier Reef for me that is so special. I’ve only been there once but that was enough to know how important it is,” he said.

“There’s the bush side to it too: tramping the stock routes outback Queensland, I was reborn and raised into the whole thing from the Bushwhackers band and Australian folk music — that was back pretty well in the early ’70s and ‘80s,” he said.

“An apprenticeship between learning to love the land and being a swagman on the old routes of cattle musterers in Winton and places like that. I take on that character and tramped those routes.

“It bore down to a love of pretty much everything that’s Australian; I hold dearly to it and celebrate it, that sort of thing. I came here at about the age of 23 and I’ve never left this country — it’s been 47 years, now.”

Appearances at festivals have kept the storyteller on his chosen path, as well as busking in between those gigs to make ends meet. That keeps his pockets filled and the damper cooking — although he once claimed a government allowance but has not done so for more than 25 years.

He said it was a love of poetry that kept him travelling.

“It’s a history. It’s education, that’s the way I see it, you know,” he said, “it’s about my home, my new home that I’ve nearly been in for 50 years already.”

He said being a swagman, a traveller and to recite poetry on the road was “like bringing things to life.”

Campbell is 70 now, but still recites his poetry by memory, as well as hoofing it much of the country.

As if he weren’t extraordinary enough, he uses much of his busking money — as well as festival hauls — towards charities like the Flying Doctor’s Service and Australian Conservation.

“Old bush legends like me,” he said.

He also wants Waltzing Matilda to be the national anthem: “It has more to do with Australia than that other song we’ve got,” Campbell said.

Campbell will be travelling through Airlie Beach once again in the coming weeks, dropping by to see some old friends, recite some poetry, and have a laugh.

His final message for the people of the Whitsundays was “I’ll catch up with them on the road.”

Photography and story by Declan Durrant

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Campbell Irvine is one of Australia’s last swagmen, a bush poet who regularly travels up the country’s coast, including Airlie Beach

Campbell the Swaggie’s iconic hat. Two torn wide brims on top of another, held together by tarn and cloth

Campbell’s only belongings when he’s hoofing it up the coast reciting poetry for a living