Independently Owned, Locally Grown, Community Loved
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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Have you ever stopped to think what would happen if your family’s income stopped due to someone dying, getting sick or having an accident? The loss of wages might be manageable for retirees or people later in their working lives who have brought up their kids, paid down their debts and built up their super and passive assets. For families with younger kids, bigger debts and lower super balances it may well be disastrous. Centrelink benefits don’t cover home loan payments and hungry mouths to
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I am excited to announce that Council has partnered with Jobs Queensland in launching Workforce Planning Connect. This initiative brings a range of workforce planning data and resources to help our local businesses and organisations develop effective workforce planning strategies. In today's rapidly changing economic landscape, having a robust workforce plan is more crucial than ever. Our partnership with Jobs Queensland aims to provide the tools and insights needed to access the skills an
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Middle managers are expected to do more today with less. More productivity, efficiency, effectiveness, reporting, personability vs shrinking budgets, employee shortages, and less time to plan. How are you helping your middle management cope, let alone thrive?? Without time to plan, middle management is left coping with an increasingly reactive environment. Some people thrive in reactive environments, however, usually your business doesn’t. Managers come in all shapes, sizes, personalities and sk
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Recently, I was lucky enough to have an incredible outer reef experience with Red Cat Adventures. From start to finish, the whole trip was filled with memorable moments. Our skipper, Reece, made the experience fun, informative, and safe. His passion for The Whitsundays and marine life was truly inspiring. The journey to the Reef was comfortable, with the option of relaxing in the enclosed cabin or enjoying the view from the open-window hutch. I took the opportunity to meet fellow adventur
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The new easy-to-use yet powerful chainsaw from Stihl is available at Bowen Small Motors & Cycles, with the whole community invited to come on down and check it out. The new 172 and 182 chainsaws from Stihl are newly improved models of the 171 and 181. The predecessor was extremely popular at Bowen Small Motors & Cycles and with winter here, it’s the perfect time to purchase. “The 172 and 182 are good for normal homeowners that like to cut timber and go camping,” said Bowen Small Motors & Cyc
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On Saturday, 22nd June, Bowen's McKenna Hall was transformed by dozens of beautiful white dresses, gloves, heels and corsages. Here, gathered 14 debutantes for the St Mary’s Catholic Parish Debutante Ball in Bowen, where the ladies were ‘formally introduced’ into society. The ladies and their partners arrived from St Mary’s Church, in a school bus, to the winter wonderland themed evening, that was decorated with snowflakes, balloons and fairy lights. The ladies spend weeks preparing for the even
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Start the financial year in style as the highly anticipated MG3 hits MG Bowen’s showroom and is now available throughout the Whitsundays. “The MG3 is Australia’s best-selling light hatchback at the moment and it’s now got a brand new generation model,” said Marketing Manager Angus Outram. “It’s a small little hatchback and the newest model has got massive technology upgrades. “Massive upgrades to the infotainment system; Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and all the features you'd expect in a bran
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Jenn Honnery, Chair of Bowen Tourism and Business has newly been appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bowen Gumlu Growers Association. Ms Honnery loves Bowen and the Whitsundays and looks forward to starting her new position. “Right now, I am looking forward to getting out and catching up with the growers themselves, and certainly learning more about crops that I haven't had much to do with,” said Ms Honnery. “I am excited to learn more in this space and see what projects we can cont
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North Queensland Battle of the Young Bands kicked off for the first-time last Sunday afternoon. The young talent performed a variety of fantastic songs to battle it out for the first prize; a whopping $1000 and the opportunity to perform a gig at Northerlies Beach Bar and Grill. The winners of the day were Gleezus, who were also the winners from the last Whitsundays Got Talent. Organiser and coordinator Paula Hovey, mentioned how great the talent was at the weekend and that the first place was a
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The Whitsundays Writers Festival has an exciting new update to their speaker line-up with award winning Whitsundays author and investigative journalist Dr Lindsay Simpson announced to speak at the much-anticipated event. Lindsay is the author and co-author of eleven books including bestselling Brothers in Arms, co-authored with Sandra Harvey and the subject of the Netflix television mini-series Bikie Wars. She also authored historical fiction novel The Curer of Souls which was shortlisted for th
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“Barber by day / singer by night” This is how Soulcutz, performer and band manager, Benson, describes himself. Operating as a barber under the same title, Benson loves his 50/50 lifestyle, weekdays cutting hair and weekends performing in front of crowds on stage. You may remember Soulcutz from the X Factor in 2014, where they reached the top 12. Since then, the A-list musicians have been regular performers at Eat Street Northshore in Brisbane and they are now excited to be sharing their uni
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