Director of Catholic Education in the Diocese of Rockhampton, Miss Leesa Jeffcoat AM was farewelled by the Diocese at a Mass of Thanksgiving at St Joseph’s Cathedral, Rockhampton followed by a Reception at Rockhampton Leagues Club as she concludes her time as Director after more than two decades in the role. Catholic Education sector leaders and representatives from across Queensland and Australia were in attendance, together with many Priests and Religious, government representatives, Catholic
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Kucom Theatre proudly presents… ‘The Appleton Ladies’ Potato Race’, a comedy by Australian playwright Melanie Tait, opening on July 18 for a two-week season at Kucom Theatre. Inspired by a true event in Robertson, New South Wales – home of the playwright and The Big Potato – ‘The Appleton Ladies’ Potato Race’ is a hilariously inspiring tale about women taking action to break down the long-held male-based traditions of a small country town. The famous Appleton Potato Race offers a prize of $1000
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By Dunes Harbour Beach, part of Urbex. Dunes sets a new benchmark in beachside living. Modern tropical homes will seamlessly integrate amongst tourism nodes to create a relaxed life by the sea. Located near Mackay Harbour, the new development hosted a free beachside breakfast for the community, complemented by relaxing yoga. Delicious bacon and egg rolls were provided by the Mackay Surf Lifesaving Club and kids were treated to free face painting. Keep an eye out on Dunes Harbour Beach’s Facebo
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Friday 28th June Bold Botanicals Open until 28th July 6pm The Photographic Art of Loren Vanzella - Bold Botanicals solo exhibition serves as a platform that fosters risk-taking, experimentation, & freedom of expression, enabling me to push the boundaries of my creative process & produce innovative new works. This opens doors for experimenting with surreal elements, abstract concepts, and imaginative storytelling. Lagoon Gallery, Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens Crochet & Conversation 9am
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On Saturday, 18th of May, 15 dedicated athletes from Mackay, all representing Tri-ActiV8, achieved a monumental feat at the Great Wall Marathon in China. Nikki Giles, Tri-ActiV8 Director, Head Coach and participant said, "We have a strong team spirit, camaraderie, and sense of adventure amongst us. It started as an idea and then suddenly a lot more of our tribe wanted to be a part of the journey." The team tackled various distances: two participants competed in the 8.5km Fun Run, one in the 21
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Mackay Cutters rugby league Head Coach Michael Comerford has a sharp eye for talent. When the Cutters and North Queensland Cowboys renewed their Hostplus Cup partnership for the 2024 season the respected mentor had no hesitation in drafting 18-year-old young guns Jaxon Purdue and Xavier Kerrisk into his top-grade squad. The astute Comerford was well aware of the duo’s natural ability and skill set having coached the former Queensland Schoolboys representatives during his teaching days at St Pa
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Over forty runners and supporters enjoyed the annual historical Farmer’s Long Gallop from Evans Avenue on a very breezy but sunny day last Sunday on June 23. The forty-eight-year-old event is a favourite among members for its technical difficulty in the 17km and fast out-and-back racing in the 5km. Junior champion runner, Luke Leven unfortunately missed the 17km event due to double booking himself, however, his sister, Lily showed her speedy style in the 5km coming in 2nd behind previous Jun
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Delma and George went all the way to 21 on Tuesday morning, George wearing her down -12, 9, 19, 8. Mackay Table Tennis Tuesday morning fixtures June 18, 2024: Division 1: Hawks (George Camilleri, Andrea Nicholson, John McGee) d Plovers (Delma Knight, Doug Dungavell, Bryan Marshall) 8-4. George d Delma -12, 9, 19, 8. Parrots (Janice Kent, Charlie Payne, Marie Taylor) d Owls (Branko Vucurovic, Steve Mathieson, Coral Morgan) 8-4. Janice d Branko 10, -3, 8, 11. Ibis (Tony Bowman, Noreen Freder
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Mackay product and GC SUNS AFLW defender Wallis Randell is among four players to have inked contract extensions on the Gold Coast. Foundation player Jamie Stanton, Season Eight debutant Darcie Davies and 2023 draftee Sienna McMullen have all joined Randell in signing extensions through until the end of the 2025 AFLW season. The quartet of Queenslanders are the latest players to commit to the club beyond 2024, joining a growing list of names including Claudia Whitfort, Lucy Single, Lauren Bella
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North Mackay Ladies held their finals of both the Open Club Pairs and the "B" Grade Pairs during June. In both games the lead changed throughout the games and Nug Pratt and Dot Wise were able to come home triumphant in the Open Pairs over Jean Zamparutti and Marie Duck who provided stiff opposition. In the "B" Pairs it was Hilary Jones -Rowan and Sue Hazledine who finished the game ahead of Helen Goldston and Sue Beale. Contributed By Helen Fleming
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The 2024 Mackay Bridge Club Championship Pairs were played over 3 Saturdays, (8th, 15th and 23rd June 2024) with seventeen pairs competing for the prize. This year the Club Championship pair is Eric Goodchild and David Ting. Weekly Results Monday 17 June 2024 – 8 Table Mitchell Green Points N/S E/W 1st Monica Darley / Nancy Martin 1st Pamela Finger / Ming Ting 2nd David Ting / Eric Goodchild 2nd Margaret Lane / Barbara Tait 3rd Janelle Conroy / Christine Fitzpatrick 3rd Kitty Ranson / Bob
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Mackay local Stefan Tomerini has been selected to play for Australia in the Indoor Cricket Masters World Series in Colombo, Sri Lanka this year from September 27th to October 5th. The Australian team was selected based on performances at the inaugural Australian Masters Over 55 Championship held recently at Joondalup Perth, Western Australia. Tomerini represented the North Queensland Vikings 55 Men that only dropped one match in the lead-up to the finals, however narrowly missed out on taking
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June is a month of merriment for St Catherine’s Catholic School Year 12 students who celebrated their School Formal on Thursday evening last week. Friends gathered, parents with tears in their eyes looked on and school pride infused this special celebration to mark the nearing of the end of their school years and the beginning of adult life. See the photo gallery at https://www.mackayandwhitsundaylife.com/social-pics/shimmering-dresses-and-stunning-sunsets-at-st-catherines-catholic-college
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Hi Everyone While Rach is away on holiday this week, I’m filling in this part of the paper and thought I would introduce myself and let you know what I’ve been up to. I’m Daniel and I’ve been in the Whitsundays for almost four months now and the time has flown by! I’m originally from England but my family and I moved to Adelaide when I was seven and I had been living there until I accepted the position here. I’m absolutely loving my job at Whitsunday Life Newspaper and what a beautiful place
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The annual Proserpine show went ahead last Friday, and 13 helpful students from Proserpine State High School volunteered to help the Proserpine Lions Club in serving food at the show. The Lions Club are a group of individuals who get involved with humanitarian efforts locally, nationally, and internationally. The Proserpine Lions Club had members away due to illness and an annual conference, and the 13 fantastic students jumped in to help the 45 volunteers on the day. The students were offered
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Did you know that the Whitsundays was officially designated as a Whale Heritage Area on 25 March 2024? On Wednesday 19th June, an excited group of individuals met up at the Whitsunday’s Sailing Club for a whale information night, hosted by Whales of the Whitsundays (WoW) a community group concerned about the health and future of cetaceans in our region. WoW organised for special guest speakers from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority to come and share their knowledge. The speakers updat
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There were plenty of thrills and a couple of spills as Collinsville residents celebrated the official opening of the town’s eagerly anticipated $300,000 ‘pump’ bike track. Located in Darcy Munro Park, the Collinsville pump track is designed for bike, scooter riders and skateboarders to make their way over a thrilling series of rollers, jumps, and berms by generating momentum through up and down body movements, instead of pedalling or pushing. Whitsunday Regional Council Mayor Ry Collins said t
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Every year, in the winter months of June to October, whales – in particular, Humpback whales –migrate 10,000km from Antarctica to Tropical North Queensland and back. The Whitsundays is a birthing ground for the whales due to the warm and protected waters at the hub of the Great Barrier Reef. Following the tremendous success of the inaugural event in 2023, and to stamp the beginning of whale season, The Whitsunday Regional Council and Yooribaya Cultural Experiences are hosting another NAIDOC whal
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In light of the current challenging economic climate, on the 26th June, the Whitsunday Regional Council unveiled a cost-of-living budget focused on the community’s most critical needs. Mayor Ry Collins said that the 2024-25 Council budget ensured the essential services that our community relied upon were maintained, while, also positioning the Whitsunday region for future growth and prosperity. “The Council’s priority for this budget has been to maintain essential services, address legacy issue
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By Ruth Puddefoot At the weekend Bowen Fire and Rescue Station reached a blazing milestone of 100 years of life saving service. To celebrate the occasion, the station held an open day which included memorabilia, kitchen fire demonstrations, food and coffee vans and fire trucks, including an original 1920’s Truck. Senior Firefighter Ian Patchett and Firefighter Ricky Skipper organised the day, and Ian expressed that he was “really pleased with how it turned out”. “We are really excited, I mean, w
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Who doesn’t love a good cane fire? Many visitors to our district are keen to witness a burn and farmers often receive phone calls asking if /when there is going to be a cane fire. While a cane fire is a magnificent sight to behold, they generate an incredible amount of heat. Caution is important for both farmer and onlooker alike. To burn or not to burn? Initially, most of the sugarcane crop was cut green, with residual trash (green leaf matter) burnt on the ground. Burning prior to harvest was
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Originally from England, Ruth came to Australia to restart her journalism career and was thrilled with the opportunity to pursue her passion in one of the most beautiful locations in the country. Ruth brings a whole lot of experience to the team; she studied a Social Research Masters at University and an Undergrad in Politics, then covered the UK General election for Sky News in London. Having fallen in love with the fast-paced nature of the newsroom, Ruth said it was a lot of fun to be back i
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Earlier this month, Zonta Club of the Whitsundays hosted a changeover meal to appoint Marlene Reiffel as their new President over the 30 members in the charter. The meal was followed by Zonta’s monthly meeting, where Marlene chaired the meeting for the first time. Marlene mentioned her predecessor Dianne Truman, who provided “three years of wonderful service to the club and community”. Marlene also expressed excitement for the wonderful, but busy year ahead and enthused that she is “really look
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This month’s Ask An Expert with Whitsundays Chamber of Commerce and Industry asks: What is the one thing I need to know about financing my small business? Chamber members responded: Fiona Erquiaga of Smooth Sailing Financial Consulting says “You need a solid understanding of your business cashflows – your current position, historic financial performance, future plans, and cashflow forecasts – so to highlight your finance requirements and how they will be managed.” “Also be mindful of your
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The Your Say Whitsundays portal is an essential tool used by the Whitsunday Regional Council to gather community input on a wide range of initiatives, from infrastructure projects to policy changes. Your thoughts and feedback help shape the decisions that affect our community, leading to better, more informed outcomes. Join the #OurWhitsunday community today by registering on the portal and have a say in shaping a better, more informed Whitsunday. https://yoursay.whitsundayrc.qld.gov.au/
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