Issue #

Clay Bauman Wins Election By 20 Votes

After a tight election race, which came down to preferences and a close count of postal votes on Tuesday this week, Clay Bauman was officially declared Councillor of the Division 2 Seat on Wednesday morning.

Editor's Note

Hi Everyone,Writing stories read by thousands of people each week is a great privilege, but in the words of Spiderman’s uncle – is also a great responsibility.This week I learnt this firsthand when I accidentally assumed something about a person and wrote a story which inadvertently offended a reader.At Whitsunday Life, we are grateful that many people trust us with their stories and allow us to transfer their experiences into words so that we can share it with the community.

A Bloomin’ Mistake

When local real estate agent Sarah Nutley returned from a family dinner late one evening she saw a beautiful bouquet of flowers waiting for her on her doorstep.“I thought I had a secret admirer!” said Sarah.

Two Survive Bowen Rollover

Two men in their twenties are lucky to be alive after the vehicle they were travelling in rolled over on Mount Danger Road in Bowen over the weekend.

Affordable Housing – Can We Find The Sweet Spot?

With federal and state government focusing resources on assisting with urgent social housing needs and developers prioritising financial return on high yielding projects, local experts believe mid to low range affordable housing is “falling through the cracks”.

$7M Bowen Hospital Medical Imaging Wing Opens

Bowen Hospital’s $7 million Renal Unit and Medical Imaging expansion officially opened last weekend after 20 months of construction.The major project saw the addition of a new, comprehensive hospital wing which now houses a range of services including a CT scanner - ending the need for Bowen patients to travel to Proserpine or further for important medical scans.

Council Announces New CEO

A new Chief Executive Officer, who formerly specialised in environmental sustainability, growth management and capital works programs, has been announced by the Whitsunday Regional Council this week.

Bowen Nature Sign Smashed By Vandal

A colourful sign depicting the different flora and fauna that can be seen in the local area has been damaged by upwards of 30 strikes made by a sharp metal object that eventually led to the offender piercing and ripping the Council-owned metal road sign.

The Big Mango Gets Ripe For Christmas

Bowen’s iconic Big Mango has received a fresh lick of paint to ensure it looks ripe and delicious for Christmas and the festive season.The 10-metre mango was built in 2002 at a cost of $90,000 and has become a tourist attraction for countless visitors ever since.

Bags Of Goodies Help Those In Need

For the past 15 weeks a group of work mates have been collecting a variety of Christmas themed food items to create 25 gift bundles for local families ‘doing it tough’ this year.

Chamber Chat

A busy couple of weeks to launch us well into December. The Division 2 election has been held and with the result too close to call, it is going down to the wire. It looks so close, that recounts are expected to be requested.

New Coach Starts At Proserpine Golf Club

Our local golf club is expanding its services following the start of a successful training period of a new golf coach who says he is excited to help increase the range of golfing opportunities available at the Proserpine Golf Course.

Hillery Group Named State Finalist

One of Bowen’s largest independently owned companies has been named as a finalist in the Telstra Best of Business Awards, beating over 20,000 other applicants to become among the top 250 in the state.

Parnell’s Celebrates First Year As Part Of The Stratco Family

Celebrating over 75 years in the area, this third-generation family business has seen significant change in 2022 since joining the Stratco Group 12 months ago. Parnell’s unique local experience is now backed by one of the largest producers and marketers of quality building products in Australia.

Whitsunday Green Club Is Growing!

Airlie Beach’s only Par 3 Golf Course and Club is rapidly expanding with construction works now well underway.Works at Whitsunday Green Golf Club are steaming ahead including a new, larger Clubhouse and corporate facility followed by plans for an over 50’s Lifestyle Village, new residential subdivision, a motel and expanded golf all progressing steadily behind the scenes.

Using Less To Grow More

Meet This Years’ Starfish Reef Guardian Superheroes

Last week a Bowen kindergarten group was recognised for their efforts in raising awareness for important environmental issues such as preventing boat strikes on turtles, ensuring litter does not wash down drains and eradicating ghost nets from oceans.

KITCHEN GARDENS With Norina Jane Whitpro

Here in the tropics, we are privileged to have a variety of fruit that makes us the envy of southerners. Passion fruit and dragon fruit (on my favourite list) can be grown in small gardens. Lychee trees which are fruiting their hearts out at the moment, can be grown in a normal house block, along with lemons, grapefruit, avocados and limes. Mango season is also upon us but remember these trees can grow very big and they are the most common fruit trees that our Arborists are called in to prune

Holidays Are For Golfing

The best thing about golf is this: You can always improve your game.It’s you and the club, the wind, the green, and the open air. And at Christmas, the weeks roll out ahead of you – there’s free time to work on the gamut of golf’s disciplines: your drive, your putt, anything and everything.

Santa Did The Rounds At Bowen Street Party

Bowen’s Christmas Street Party was an overwhelming success earlier this month with over 1,000 people filling the town and local shops with festive cheer.Santa entertained the crowd and live music created a party atmosphere while dozens of market stalls lined the streets inviting passers-by to try their hand at a game or purchase a product.

Christmas Time Is Pool Time

The holiday season in Australia is inseparable with warm weather, especially in North Queensland – and where better to beat the heat and cool down during Christmas than the pool?

Saturday Night at the Movies: The Eldorado Theatre

On December 16, 1922, 100 years ago to this day, the Proserpine public were treated to the opening of the Eldorado Theatre. Described by the “Proserpine Guardian” as a “picture palace”, it was to provide enjoyment for residents for over six decades before closing its doors on December 8, 1984. The last movie shown was “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”.

Busking Brilliance

Airlie Beach local Noah Robertson continued his rise to fame with a winning performance amongst the country’s best busking talent in the finals of the 10th annual Australian National Busking Championships in Cooma, New South Wales.

Whitsunday Poetry: All The Fun Of The Faire

Whitsunday Life newspaper is endeavoring to give a voice to the region’s writers in this new, recurring poetry section which will publish original works of up to 40 lines. In this first edition of Whitsunday Poetry, Whitsunday Life journalist Declan Durrant shares one of his own poems to “get the ball rolling”.

Whitsunday Writer’s Festival Back in 2024

A small group of passionate writers gathered for an informal meeting last week and the subject of conversation was centred around reinstating the Whitsunday Writer’s Festival. First established in 2010 and taking place annually until 2017, the Whitsunday Writers Festival was a popular event for lovers of reading, writing books, and words.