Independently Owned, Locally Grown, Community Loved
Outrigger Whitsunday has introduced a new session to its calendar where up to 18 new paddlers take to the water at each session – to enormous success already.The new weekly Friday afternoon outrigger paddling is halfway through its first six-week social programme and is a great way for business owners, retirees, and visitors to explore the Whitsundays’ amazing back yard.
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This week at Airlie Beach parkrun 109 wonderful people ran, jogged, and walked the five-kilometre waterfront course, of whom 38 were first timers and 16 recorded new Personal Bests.
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Five Cannonvale Cannons’ swimmers had brilliant weeks at the Australian Age Swimming Championships on the Gold Coast. Coach Mark Erickson said he was proud of the Cannons and their outstanding achievements.
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The WTA’s Winter Competition resumed on Monday after a two week break for Easter holidays. However, not all WTA members took a break. Two of our promising Junior Referees travelled to Townsville for the State Junior North Cup.
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RACQ CQ Rescue is continuing to search for a missing boatie after earlier winching a 43-year-old Brisbane man out of the ocean about 170km offshore.
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RACQ CQ Rescue is continuing to search for a missing boatie after earlier winching a 43-year-old Brisbane man out of the ocean about 170km offshore. The Mackay-based rescue helicopter was first tasked by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) about 9.30pm yesterday to an EPIRB activation at Creal Reef, about 150km north-east of Mackay.
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The North Queensland Cowboys have announced two star Mackay recruits in the lead up to their inaugural NRLW season. After a strong start in the Mackay Cutters first BMD Premiership season, Emma Manzelmann was unveiled as the first signing for the Cowboys with Jasmine Peters being announced soon after. Born and raised in Mackay, Manzelmann returns to North Queensland after a premiership winning NRLW campaign with the Newcastle Knights as an integral signing for Cowboys’ maiden season.
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In December last year, the Mackay community reacted in both shock and support upon hearing allegations of neglect at a North Mackay aged care rental village. A family member of a current resident who would like to remain anonymous alleges that, when Westminster Lodge’s meal service ceased in September, the village’s 38 residents were left to fend for themselves with only a microwave, mini fridge, toaster and kettle in each r
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Hi readers This week’s paper is an absolute mixed bag. The first few pages are the result of some pretty heavy conversations I had in the last week or so. Firstly, on page four you’ll read about Rhiley and Maree Kuhrt, the young couple who were devastatingly killed in a plane crash earlier in the month. I sincerely thank Beccarah and Steven, Rhiley’s sister and brother-in-law, for taking the time to share their stories and memories with me at what must be an unimaginably emotional time.
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The Mackay and Whitsunday Life family is growing as Mackay Editor Amanda and her husband Hamish welcomed their first child, Brydon Michael Wright, into the world on Friday, March 31. After a long fertility journey, Amanda and Hamish are elated to be parents and have been soaking up the blissful days of watching Brydon grow day by day. Amanda says her biggest lesson learnt as a first-time mum is that practise makes progress.
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Living in the police house in Birdsville, overlooking the small town’s airstrip, a young Rhiley Kuhrt was often found perched atop his trike in the front yard, utterly entranced by the nimble machines taking off and landing in front of him. He loved planes, buying his first in October last year and picking it up a week after marrying his “soulmate” Maree.
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One of the Mackay region’s last World War II veterans, Raymond “Ray” Wilson, has passed away at the start of the month, aged 101. Mr Wilson was born in Mackay on July 10, 1921, and attended Victoria Park State School, leaving to work in the cane industry before enlisting in the army in 1941 at the age of 20. He served in New Guinea in the second world war, making the trip on three occasions between 1942 and 1945.
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2023 marks 50 years since the 1973 proclamation of the end of Australian involvement in the Vietnam War. The anniversary was commemorated on January 11, 2023, which marked the beginning of official anniversary commemorations throughout the year. “More than 60,000 Australians served in Vietnam, over 3,000 were wounded and 523 lost their lives in the longest conflict Australia was involved in during the 20th Century,” Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Matt Keogh said.
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A group of residents in West Mackay are imploring Council to dismiss a recent planning submission that, if granted, will see the construction of another 24-hour service station in a residential area. At this particular location, which is near to a school and two churches, there are already 20 service stations within a seven-kilometre radius and two others within three blocks of the proposed site.
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20 illegal dumping cases from across the region have been reported to Mackay Regional Council over the last month. Of those incidents, nine offenders have been caught and were required to clean up their mess or face a hefty fine. Mackay Regional Council Mayor Greg Williamson said illegal dumping was not only unsightly, but it presented dangerous risks to residents’ health and the environment. “The type of rubbish we found dumped across the region last month ranged from general household waste to
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The future of Queensland’s resources industry was on display as a new virtual reality (VR) training lab was unveiled at the Resources Centre of Excellence last week. The VR training software provides immersive scenarios to help students understand the high-risk environment and potential hazards, without compromising their safety. Member for Mackay Julieanne Gilbert said the Resources Centre of Excellence is setting the standard for the sector across the southern hemisphere.
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A 19-year-old Mackay man is currently looking for three housemates of a similar age to join him in one of two new fully accessible homes that have just been completed in Beaconsfield. The Endeavour Foundation built the houses at a cost of $2.1 million and they are fully equipped to provide the vital facilities needed to enable people living with disabilities to live independently.
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At first glance you might think there are very few similarities between movie stars, models and real estate agents. There is a photo of a real estate agent with this column that might help you make a visual assessment of that proposition. It is true that if you go by the touched-up photos of some real estate agents you could well be filled with excited anticipation, or a daunting feeling of inadequacy, as you wait for them to arrive to do an appraisal at your place.
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Registered nurses are invited to participate in an up-skilling program in acute care thanks to a new initiative that gives nurses returning to the profession an opportunity to progress and develop new skills. Elizabeth, who is a registered Mental Health nurse based in Mackay, is one of many who participated in a recent month-long reskilling program.
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Land valuations are a hot topic and so they should be. We have all received our new Land Valuation and there have been massive changes in some areas. Land valuations are set by the Department of Resources, not councils, and are conducted every two to four years – our last was in 2019. If you are unhappy with your new valuation and believe your circumstances on your parcel of land are substantially different to those around you then you can lodge an objection. You have until May 16 to object and
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Good news for Bowen and Collinsville residents who need to attend medical appointments with plans now underway to provide a bus service that will transport patients north to Townsville.
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You can hear the screams from parents right now, can’t you? The parents who haven’t done anything to get ready. The ones who still haven’t cleaned out the lunchbox with the banana in there from two weeks ago. The bags that have got homework uncompleted from weeks ago are still sitting on the kitchen bench.
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April is the cruellest month to depart the Whitsundays. The stifling air is finally running off - the rain, rain has gone away - and I decide to move to the country’s opposite end? The kookaburras on the fence line are laughing at me for that.
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It’s not every day that you hop off the bus and are greeted with a woman, a stranger at that, handing you a single gorgeous red rose, telling you ‘Have a nice day!’ and waving you off.
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Lindeman Island has sold for $10 million to a Singaporean family leaving previous owners White Horse – a Chinese cable television operator – with a $2m loss on investment and $10 million shy of their original asking price.
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