Independently Owned, Locally Grown, Community Loved
Airlie Beach Bowling Club celebrated a special event last Tuesday, with over seventy ladies from the district welcoming visitors from Bowen, Mackay, and Sarina. The occasion marked the 36th anniversary of ladies bowling, and it was a fabulous event with all rinks being utilised.
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On Wednesday Proserpine Bowls Club had two games of triples played in Social Bowls. John Anderson, Warren Wilson, and Trevor Herd defeated Nick Fernbach, Pat Bownds, and Mike Harrison, 19-11.
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Wangaratta Bowls Club member Lyn Danvers reached a significant milestone in bowls on Tuesday, being presented with her Veterans badge by President Margaret Wilson.
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Wednesday’s competition was a single stroke event for the April Midweek Monthly medal sponsored by Bowen Golf Club. Ladies’ winner was Sue Heisswolf 69 nett, runner up Julie May 71 nett, while Men's winner was Wesley Smith 64 nett, Marcus Yasso 65 nett.
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Louis Neethling shot a brilliant 65 nett to win the Club's Tuesday Men's Monthly Medal and Peta Thomas was in form with a very nice 68 nett to win the ladies Tuesday Monthly Medal.
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Proserpine Veteran’s Golfers arrived in great number for the April Monthly Medal – including two new members.Weather forced the Club to play the front nine twice but the conditions didn't seem to worry Louis Neethling, who finished with a fabulous score of 65.
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This past week with the cooler weather and school holidays was a great one at Whitsunday Green Golf Club. The weekly competition winner was Jack Hayes – Williams with 23 points, this was a narrow count back win over Zac Flynn also on 23 points. Kody Ribaux was third with a hearty 22 points.
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Despite humid conditions last week, 107 inspirational people ran, jogged and walked the 5km waterfront course.
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An aerial search mission has ended in tragedy after a young couple were found deceased in the wreckage of a light aircraft earlier this week. The Piper Cherokee aircraft was reported missing around 6:30pm, Sunday, April 2 when it failed to land as expected at Bloomsbury’s Lakeside Airpark.
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Last month, Mackay Life reported on teacher Mohamed Johnson-Kanu requesting school supplies to send to impoverished schools in his home country of Sierra Leone. Contacting primary and secondary schools throughout the region, as well as Mackay Regional Council, he is requesting the donation of supplies such as textbooks, novels, furniture, computers, filing cabinets and other resources.
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Mackay Base Hospital staff were touched by positive support from parents Hannah and Andrew Farrar, who had been through a “rollercoaster pregnancy”. The couple’s twins, Mackenzie Rae and Vincent Brent Farrar, were born almost two weeks ago at the local hospital, arriving just ahead of their due date at 37.5 weeks.
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You may or may not have heard that WA band Spacey Jane are heading our way in June. The indie rockers seemingly came out of nowhere, developing a sound that saw them become arguably the biggest band in Australia. I was surprised and excited when I saw Mackay on their regional tour. It’s surely got to be one of the bigger contemporary acts to come north since I’ve lived here, and I think it will be a fun and important night for Mackay music.
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A key group of local youth sector stakeholders set out to have conversations with 1,000 youth, aged 10 to 21, to find out how they feel about living in the Mackay region and what they would like to see change. Mackay Regional Council Mayor Greg Williamson, who was at Teen Shed Mackay earlier this week to launch the product of those conversations, the YOL1000 report (Youth Out Loud) – congratulated the project team on engaging with so many of our region’s young people.
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A Mackay school student has returned from Western Australia with a gold medal after succeeding at the 2023 Australian Surf Life Saving Championships. Nate McKinnon, a year 9 student at Whitsunday Anglican School, finished first in the U14 Male division on the weekend of March 25-26. The achievement is the result of many hours of study and training, making Nate the first national gold medallist from the Eimeo Surf Lifesaving Club and region.
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The Greater Whitsunday Council of Mayors Suicide Prevention Taskforce has unveiled an innovative community-led suicide prevention model aimed at improving mental health care in the Greater Whitsunday region. The Pathways Connect model is designed to work in alignment with all existing services, community groups and initiatives within the region.
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Banks across the region had staff dress up in colourful clown props last week to raise funds for an important cause. Clown Doctors is a national program that provides highly trained, professional “medical clowns” to help uplift the spirits of sick kids by delivering doses of laughter and joy throughout hospitals. The Commonwealth Bank branches at Caneland Central, Mount Pleasant, Proserpine, Airlie Beach and Bowen rallied with CBA branches across the country to raise much needed funds for Smile
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When Nanyima Aged Care invited residents to “make a wish”, Colleen and Ken Walker suggested fish and chips on the beach. The local pair, who met at a Friday night dance as teenagers, have long loved the beach. “My parents had a beach house, and we were down there all the time,” said Colleen. “At that age, all the young ones were at the beach of a weekend. “It’s just a lovely place with lovely people.”
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Schools across the region are now more informed about the hazards of screen time addiction, ‘sextortion’ and other digital dangers that are impacting the well-being of children. The Australian Institute of Family Studies found that children between four and five average more than two hours of screen time per day.
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Vehicles have been clamped and seized in the latest attempt by the State Penalties Enforcement Registry (SPER) to recover outstanding fines. SPER’s field enforcement officers recovered more than $400,000 in unpaid fines and penalties from debtors across Mackay and payment plan commitments of a further $1.8 million. SPER Enforcement Director Kim Easton said the operation resulted in the seizure of 21 vehicles. “SPER officers clamped and seized vehicles from Mackay and the surrounding areas, inclu
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Australia’s newest airline’s newest twice weekly flight from Cairns to Mackay touched down in the Sugar City on Wednesday last week. Customers onboard the low-cost Bonza Airline connection were both travelling for holidays and to visit friends and family. According to Bonza CEO Tim Jordan the airline’s newest flight path embodies the company’s goal: changing behaviours of travellers by making air travel accessible to the many, not the few.
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It’s been almost four weeks since one-year-old Amity Buchanan ingested a button battery which became lodged in her throat, causing metal shards to come dangerously close to her aorta and boring an eight-centimetre burn into her oesophagus. She was lucky to survive and since then, her parents have been on a rollercoaster ride of emergency airlifts, surgery, scans, scopes and medical appointments.
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A young Sarina boy had a lucky escape following a sudden encounter with a snake outside his school on the last day of term. Last Friday, four-year-old Izaiah was running to the school gates with his older brother, Oden, when a snake wrapped around his leg before darting off to hide under a nearby parked car. His mum, Katherine, feared the worst when she heard a terrible scream.
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Mackay motorists are advised to take extra care on the roads over the Easter holidays to ensure everyone in the family returns home safely to loved ones. To assist in initiating this important safety advice, Queensland Police Service (QPS) Acting Assistant Commissioner Chris Stream has joined forces with Emergency Services to launch the Easter Road Safety campaign.
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After plenty of hype and rehearsal, seven Mackay identities showed off their moves at Mackay Hospital Foundation’s Dancing with Heart last Friday, and they didn’t hold back. With funds still being tallied, at least $50,000 was raised for the Mackay Hospital Foundation throughout the event.
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A three-day Innovative Grazing Forum will once again attract attendees and exhibitors from across the state. The Grazing Forum is a one-of-a-kind event in the Mackay Region, with innovative ideas and methodologies to enhance grazing practice at the core of its program. Celebrating its 10th year, the forum boasts notable industry speakers, stallholders, two practical on-site field days and plenty of networking time.
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