Independently Owned, Locally Grown, Community Loved
34 Fighters Cheered On By Crowd Of 800 At Sold Out Event Fight Night IX A Smashing Success! An action-packed Airlie Beach Fight Night IX had the crowd roaring in their seats last weekend as a mixture of Boxing, Muay Thai and Mixed-Partial Arts (MMA) fighters went up against each other in a series of one-on-one combat duals. The sold-out event saw 800 people pack the room to watch 17 different fights featuring a range of competitors from across the state and also local fighters who all had the
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For the past seven days, thousands of holidays makers have been unable to travel with local marine tourism operator, Cruise Whitsundays, who have had to cancel all experiential tours due to a staff strike. While the company hoped to resolve the issue following four separate proposals lodged with the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), sadly the union announced a second week of strikes would commence early next week. The striking workforce were legally bound to return to duties this Thursday and
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Hi Everyone, It’s been a huge week here at the paper as, not only have we been busy producing the newspaper you are holding, but we have also been working on the first edition of our new sister publication, Burdekin Life Newspaper. Over the past few weeks, we have welcomed three new staff members and moved our Mackay journalist to Home Hill where he has become our ‘man on the ground’. As I am writing this on Wednesday afternoon, our entire team are about to head up to the Burdekin to attend a
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Daydream Island and Living Reef took centre stage this week, with Whitsunday Coast Airport announcing a partnership with budget airline Bonza, to launch a range of exciting holiday packages. These new opportunities will benefit both tourists and locals who will be able to book a range of experiences that include air-travel, accommodation, and experiences all in one booking. Tourists will be able to book their dream holidays in the Whitsundays and locals will be able to travel to the 21 differe
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Collinsville Queensland Country Women’s Association (CWA) celebrated the grand opening of their brand-new hall last weekend, Saturday 23. With a fantastic variety of stalls making up their garden market, the women of the Collinsville branch were eager to show off the new faciality, which will become a community asset for years to come. “The celebrations included congratulatory speeches, ribbon and cake cutting and planting of fruit trees,” said a representative from Collinsville CWA. “There wa
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The Zonta Club of Bowen is excited to welcome applications for their annual Tertiary Bursary, worth $1,500. The eligibility criteria includes; being a female student currently studying a tertiary course in second year or subsequent years, you must be undertaking fulltime or parttime study and attend a school in the Bowen district. The 2022 Tertiary Bursary recipient was Elysha Harm, who is currently studying her Bachelor of Education, specialising in Primary Teaching, at James Cook University,
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At Scottville Community Catch-Up The flying fox epidemic was a big topic of discussion at the most recent Whitsunday Regional Council Community Catch-Up in Scottville. Mayor Julie Hall said there was much discussion about the flying foxes that are nesting near houses in Collinsville causing issues for the residents. “There has been a recent increase in flying foxes within Collinsville and Council have tried multiple roost deterrent activities focused on colonies within Carpet Street and Stanley
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Theft Police have charged a 25-year-old employee of a licensed premise with theft, following a short investigation, after receiving a complaint of theft from a licensed premise in Airlie Beach. The employee has been charged with stealing as a clinical servant and will appear before Proserpine Magistrates Court at a later date. Drug Offences On September 22, at 8.15pm, police intercepted a 27-year-old Cannonvale man who was acting suspiciously. Once detained, Police located a black bumbag, whi
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Local mascot, George the Monkey, has gone missing from the main street of Airlie Beach and staff believe he has been stolen and hidden somewhere. On Friday evening, George was not put safely away inside the office like he would normally be, and opportunists have taken advantage of the mishap and allegedly stolen him. “The last known spot George was seen was on someone’s Instagram post at 2am,” said Fergus Dunk from Sailing Whitsundays. “We haven’t gone to the police yet because we are hoping
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The New South Wales and the Queensland State of Origin Shields stopped off in Bowen earlier this week, as part of their regional State of Origin Regional Tour. Encouraging and sharing the love of rugby league, the shields were brought to Bowen by former Queensland Maroons Shane Webcke, Josh Hannay, and Brent Tate. Stopping off for a quick break at the Big Mango, the Shields started their tour in Toowoomba on September 20, hitting Mackay on September 23, before stopping over in Townsville. Bow
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Stage 2 of the Airlie Beach Boardwalk upgrade, from the VMR Boat Ramp to Shingley Drive, is well underway, with demolition works completed early last week, and the new materials ready to be laid. The construction of the new boardwalk, using composite fibre materials, began on Monday September 25. The eco-friendly material will extend the boardwalk’s life cycle and reduce maintenance costs. The new boardwalk will also be wider by one metre, allowing better ease of travel for users and reducing
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Tourism Whitsundays is excited to announce its new Board of Directors for the 2023/24 term, at the TW Annual General Meeting held yesterday. The AGM served as the catalyst for change for TW, welcoming four new members onto the Board of Directors, joining the existing directors of Julie Telford, Crystal Lacey, Jenn Honnery, Matt Boileau, Tom Young, and Daniel Gschwind. Tourism Whitsundays Chief Executive Officer, Rick Hamilton said an Annual General Meeting is the time to reflect on the success
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The Whitsundays has received a glowing report card from the National and International Visitor Survey (NVS and IVS), cementing the region as a popular destination for holidaymakers. Over the year, prior to June 30 2023, The Whitsundays had 765,000 domestic visitors choosing to come into the region, an increase of 11.7 per cent from the last three years, and each spending on average 5.5 nights in the area. While international visitor numbers are down, The Whitsundays welcomed 68,000 internation
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With Bowen Rocket Launch Site Excitement is building ahead of the much-anticipated launch of Gilmour Space Technologies’ rocket ship, with the inaugural flight expected to depart from its base in Bowen before the end of the year. If the launch is successful, Australian company Gilmour Space, could be the first to send a hybrid-rocket into space, and currently the race is on to see which global entity can get there first. Hybrid rockets use a mixture of solid fuel and liquid oxidiser, and desp
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There’s plenty of activity around town with school holidays filling accommodation places around the region creating a real buzz throughout both Airlie and Proserpine. Airlie Main Street - Chamber met with Council CEO Warren Bunker last week regarding maintenance, restoration works, and traffic management in Airle Beach. Our region welcomes around 900,000 visitors annually and there are plans to increase cruise ship visitation to over 100 annually. To ensure a world-class experience for both res
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The team and the guests of Queens Beach Tourist Village in Bowen have had a busy winter tourist season, having fun and raising funds for the Bowen Queensland Country Women’s Association. Hosting live entertainment every second week throughout the peak season of winter for their guests, Peter and Jennie Greer were excited to raise funds for the local Bowen branch of the Queensland Country Women’s Association. Over $8,300 was raised for the branch, with businesses across Bowen donating supplies a
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Puppetry Of The Penis Graces Airlie Beach Hotel Stage The capes are being donned once again, with the original and Australian leg of Puppetry of the Penis hitting the Airlie Beach Hotel Stage for one last show. Stemming from a simple past time of a young boy playing with his bits into a full-blown live comedic performance, Puppetry of the Penis offers a unique insight into the male anatomy, giving the audience a hilarious and adrenaline pumping display of grown men showcasing their genital orig
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At Proserpine Community Market Absolutely jampacked full of some of the best handmade and locally produced jewellery, pillows, baked goodies, crockery, and decorations, the Proserpine Community Markets are any treasure hunter’s delight. Happening only every three months, this quarter’s community market is gearing up to be an event not to miss, with new stalls welcomed, as well as Wildlife Whitsundays Encounters bringing the weird, the wacky, and the wonderful animals for all to see and interact
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Over 3000 people browsed the Hand Made Markets, held at Fair Tree Park on the Airlie Beach Foreshore on Sunday, with many picking up a unique item or simply enjoying the lively atmosphere of this vibrant event. With 32 stalls, the markets offered a variety of handmade wares including pottery, candles, jewellery, and homewares. This year for the first time, organisers also incorporated a food element to the event. “Food is one of the most important handmade items!” said festival coordinator, J
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The glitz and glamour is coming to Bowen, with the annual Bowen Cup making our spring perfect. Dressed in your best and taking to the race course, Bowen Turf Club will be the place to be. For those wishing to ease the day away, perhaps The Field VIP Marquee package, sponsored by Filby’s Motors Mitsubishi is perfect. Including an exclusive drinks package, gate entry, access to the VIP Marquee and so much more, as well as an up-close look at the Bowen Cup Fashions of the Field. The Brown Broth
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Over the weekend 3 Cannons travelled to Mackay to participate in the Duel in the Pool. Remy Hedges, Jacob Bell, Holly Perrin with Coach Mark Erickson were selected for the NQ team which competed against a CQ team. Even though NQ lost to CQ, everyone thoroughly enjoyed the weekend. A big thank you to SNQ (Theresa Manning) for organizing the event and a big thank you to Andrew Bell for officiating. The Cannons hosted another successful Club Night on Wednesday Night. Congratulations to Leo Mulli
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Sunday 24th September saw 28 shooters competing for the day. We had visitors from Silkwood, Burdekin, Mackay/Sarina, and Caboolture joining us for a great day of competition. The day was extremely windy with a scattered shower in the afternoon. The winners were: Ev 1: 25T DB Sweepstakes AA: G Maltby, A Lemphers 25/25, T Coco 24/25 A: J Cerqui, R Zarb, D Stitt, B Gall, C Edgerton 23/25; B: A Perna 24/25, N Kirkman, L Dalton, M Populin, A Aitchison 23/25; C: M O'Reilly, P LeBlowitz 23/25,
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From the early days of playing basketball by himself to making the U18 Division 1 Mackay Meteor team, Liam Steen has come a long way. Recently competing in the State Performance Program (SPP) trials, Liam is one of five youths selected from Mackay, and one of 10 selected from the trials, where a total of 45 youths were vying for a prestigious spot in the squad. Undertaking the professional development and training through SPP, Liam is looking forward to a shot in the North Queensland U18 team.
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This week’s 9-hole stableford saw Peter Bitz in first place with 24 pts and scoring a hole in one on hole 2, second place with a 21 c/b was Edwina Pettiford and third place with 21 pts Dennis Moss. Fridays 9-hole stableford saw Scott Morrissey in first place with 21 pts, second Dee Norman with 20 pts and third place Dom Lipski with 19pts. Sundays 4 ball better ball competition was a great turn out which saw Scott and Jack Williams-Hayes in first place with 50pts, second on 45 pts was David Wall
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A few drops of rain frightened off a few this week. It certainly wasn't as windy as it has been and fortunately the rain held off for most of the day. Ladies were in short supply with only 1 A grade lady, Tiina Randmae a winner with 33 points while Helen Deighton took out B grade with 35 points on a countback from Paula McQuat, with Vickie Wallace in 3rd place with 29 points. Men's A grade winner was Louis Neethling with a very commendable 40 points followed by Warren Deighton with 38 points.
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