Independently Owned, Locally Grown, Community Loved
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St Mary's gears up to mark its centenary milestone this August, with events that aim to bring together past and current students, families and staff in a celebration of the school’s significant contribution to the local Mackay region. Established just a few short years after the end of the Great War, and with Mackay still reeling following the devastating cyclone of 1918, St Mary's school began its journey with a commitment to providing a quality Catholic education for the families of South Mack
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Two separate tragic family losses are the reason Dr Alison Pighills is so passionate about falls prevention. The Mackay researcher has been awarded $4 million in funding to conduct a five-year study into reducing fall-related injuries which will have an enormous impact on the ageing population worldwide. It’s the culmination of 20 years of hard work and a project very close to the heart of the Mackay Hospital and Health Service Principal Research Fellow and Adjunct Associate Professor with Jam
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Primary producers in the Mackay district have the opportunity to expand their knowledge, free of charge, at a series of Rabo Client Council workshops. The workshops are designed to help provide the financial skills essential to managing an agricultural enterprise and will provide farmers with an opportunity to both upskill and network. The initiative has been spearheaded and funded by food and agribusiness banking specialist Rabobank’s Rabo Client Council, a group of the bank’s farming clients w
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This time last year, post the annual Dubai sugar conference, there was a reasonably consistent view that the market had upside potential on supply constraints. In effect, the fundamentals played out for most of the year and the speculative money helped push prices to record highs. This spectacularly unwound at the end of our season, and we are now in the mid to lower end of last year’s trading range. The views this year are much more two-sided. The Brazilian crop is obviously the primary focu
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Greater Whitsunday Alliance and the Resources Centre of Excellence are hosting the region’s first ever decarbonisation summit in May, to help local businesses understand their role in carbon reduction. Greater Whitsunday Alliance (GW3) chief executive officer Ms Kylie Porter said the Decarbonisation Accelerated Summit is focused on unlocking thinking around decarbonisation and to provide a platform for actionable change across our region’s businesses, industries, and economy. “This summit will
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Queensland mining company QCoal and its partners have launched a public campaign against the State Labor Government over a decision which they say will force 800 mine workers to live in a town without shops, permanent police, or medical facilities. QCoal, which owns and operates six mines across Queensland, says it was blindsided by the State Government “cynically introducing targeted legislation attached to a child protection bill”. “The secret legislation will force the closure of an establ
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Emerging engineers at Moranbah State High produced pulley systems, programmed roaming robots and completed a design challenge as part of the Big STEM Day last month. Over 120 Year 8 students participated in the full-day event rotating through activities delivered by the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA) with the support of BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA). School principal, Michelle Pole, said the Big STEM Day gave the students an introduction to a range of science, technology, en
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One evening recently I noticed our family dog curled up next to my wife in a tight, protective ball, clearly scared and seeking protection from me and positioning herself as far away from me as she could get while remaining in the loungeroom. This dog that I take running and play-fight with and pat and hug and spoil was scared of me and hiding behind my wife. I said: “What’s wrong with Millie?” My wife said: “You’re watching the footy.” I’m an AFL person and a Sydney Swans fan and I was watchin
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While others were collecting easter eggs over the busy Easter weekend, the team at Mackay Pet Rescue Inc were collecting kittens. Two mother cats, Fifi and Persia arrived in foster care pregnant with their previous set of kittens and have been at the forefront of attention since. Despite the challenges, the team is thrilled to announce that all of their previous kittens have found loving homes. On Saturday, Fifi surprised everyone by giving birth to another litter of six kittens, meanwhile, o
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If you are a community group attending the Mackay Anzac Day main ceremony and would like to lay a wreath as part of the service, please submit the name of your community group and your contact details on Mackay Regional Council’s website before 4pm on Thursday, April 11. Website link: www.mackay.qld.gov.au/community/events/anzac_day_wreaths
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I want to move out of Mackay and the Whitsundays. Yep, you read that right. I don’t want to live here anymore – in fact, if I’m completely honest with you I don’t want to live in Australia anymore. Why, you may or may not be asking? It couldn’t be the incredible reef on our doorstep, it couldn’t be the spectacular hiking trails or the secluded waterholes and it definitely couldn’t be the amazing venues to dine and drink with your nearest and dearest… so, what in the bloody hell made this proud
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In a fun-filled event last Thursday, families gathered at the Great Barrier Reef Arena, Harrup Park, for the Triple M Jay and Dave Easter Egg Dash. Attendees of all ages eagerly hunted for tokens, with lucky winners taking home an array of Easter eggs and fantastic hampers. With separate hunts for Tiny Tots/Under 5s and school-aged children, plus the added treat of an onsite coffee van, it was a delightful day out for the community. The crew from Kool Beanz childcare centre made the most of the
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Tee It Up Until 12th April 10am – 2pm Can you ace a hole-in-one for a chance to win an awesome prize? Test your skills against friends and family on all seven holes determining who resigns supreme in the world of mini golf! No bookings required. FREE activity for kids! Caneland Central, Centre Court (near Myer) BLUEWATER LAGOON Open 7 days 9am to 6pm Cool down and splash around with the whole family at the free, three-tiered Bluewater Lagoon. Overlooking the picturesque Pioneer River in the he
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This year marks eighteen years of artistic excellence with entries now open for Mackay`s prestigious Woollam Art on Show Awards as of March 22, 2024. Mackay Show Association is proud to announce the launch of Mackay`s highly anticipated National Art Prize as the event returns on the 2nd of August and will remain open until August 5, introducing new additions to further enhance art and culture within the region. Susi Muddiman OAM, is a special guest that will be the judge of the event, bringi
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In collaboration with Sugar City Art Deco and Modernism Society, Film Arts Mackay have something very special underway for April. A production that will have you giggling and gasping in their next comedy-drama film, The Crime Is Mine. Diving into the depths of Paris in the 1930s, Madeleine, a pretty, young, penniless and talentless actress, is accused of murdering a famous producer. With the help of her best friend Pauline, who is a young unemployed lawyer, she is acquitted on the grounds of s
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Excitement strikes as the upcoming CommBank Women’s T20I Series against New Zealand is announced to take place at the Harrup Park Great Barrier Reef Arena. These two games of T20 between the Australian and New Zealand women will take place on September 19th and 22nd, marking a significant event, not only for cricket fans but also for the entire Mackay community. After announcing the season line-up, Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley said, “This is one of the most highly anticipated summers of
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The last match decided a closely-fought final of first-division Mackay Table Tennis Tuesday night fixtures. With the matches tied 5-all between Lexus and Jaguar, it came down to a decider between Andrew McHugh and Tim Sheehan, which Andrew won in four games. Lexus got away to a good start, winning the first two matches in five-game marathons. Andrew beat Vince Boeske 8, -4, -4, 10, 12 and Janice Kent got up over Tim Shehan 5, -8, 5, -6, 9. Anne Sheridan opened Jaguar’s account with a win ove
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Last month, ahead of Easter, teams journeyed to Gargett for the Marian Mill Shield, engaging in three matches throughout the day. Mackay Club advanced to the Final at Marian Club. Facing Northern Beaches, the team exerted a commendable effort but narrowly missed securing victory. Congratulations to all the players for their outstanding dedication. On Saturday, April 6th, three teams will compete in the Wilmar Sugar Plane Creek Mill Shield at the Sarina Club. Team 1 G.Luck, R.Bell, N.Hollt, R.
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The Mackay Contract Bridge Club Pairs has been played over the last three Wednesdays, with some interesting hands of cards being played. The winning Team – the Terrence Sheedy Team, consisted of Terrence Sheedy, Thelma Caruana, Max Holewa, Diane Holewa and Mick King.
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Mackay Road Runners hopped to it on the Easter Weekend for another Easter Sunday Burrito Bolt social 5k, 10km from Mackay’s Zambrero’s. Nearly thirty local runners plus Southern Queensland athletes including Anthea Ford, John Seartson and Stuart Maish joined locals in vying for the fun food-inspired prizes. It was a heavy shower of rain that set runners off on their run. Mick Scholer put his club Vice-Presidency hat to good use as the master of ceremonies giving runners course directions t
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The North Mackay Sinkers continue preparing for a major meet with the Masters Swimming Qld State Championships providing the main focus for April. As part of the preparation more sessions have been scheduled along with several club nights to assist race preparation. The most recent night held Friday 22nd March saw members swimming chosen events with 25, 50, 100 and 200/400m events available to improve starts, turns and race pace skills for the event.
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Mackay Table Tennis Tuesday morning fixtures March 26, 2024: Division 1: Jaguar (Branko Vucurovic, Peter Goodson, Kevin Abbott) d Leopards (Charlie Payne, Cheryl Pearson, Judy Zahn) 7-5. Judy d Peter 9, 8, -10, -7, 3. Pumas (George Camilleri, Coral Morgan) d Tigers (Don Boettcher, John McGee) 7-2. Coral d John 8, -5, -5, 8, 7. Lions (Tony Bowman, Pam Joyce, Bran Marshall) d Cheetahs (Donna Abbott, Iris Grasso, Val Austin) 10-2. Bryan d Val 5, -13, -10, 8, 5. Division 2: Lime (Helen Ware, F
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Taylors Property Specialists announced this week that they’ve purchased long-standing Proserpine real estate agency, Whitsunday Realty. Principal of Taylors Property Specialists, Rob Taylor, said that Proserpine is an exciting and energised place to do business and he anticipates further significant growth in the township.
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Hi Everyone, Whether you are enjoying some time off with the family, working extra hard over the busy school holidays or simply continuing with life as normal – I hope you are having a happy and satisfying week. I had a very inspiring meeting with the Trudy Crowley Foundation ‘Teal Angels’ recently and was incredibly touched by their dedication to helping people living with cancer in the Whitsunday community. As many of you will know, I had bowel cancer five years ago and, after six months of
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