NEWS
In the Vibe
The Stradbroke Island Singers perform with the Singlets at Island Vibe
BY PEKERI RUSKA few thousand music lovers came to Point Lookout for a three-day weekend of dance, culture, music and art at the sixth annual Island Vibe festival — and local shopkeepers reported they were bigger spenders than September school holidaymakers. The local Yulu Burri Bah dancers officially opened the weekend, captivating the audience with a superb display of Minjerribah culture performed to the powerful voice of local man Joshua Walker. Nine-piece urban roots sensation, Blue King Brown, brought their heavy dancehall style to the Vibe for the first time, while international hip hop artist Chali 2na returned,
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backed by a full funk ensemble. Grace Barbè, with roots in Western Australia and the Seychelles, sang soul-reggae numbers in French, English and Kreole. Jipajiroa, an 8-piece string band from Vanuatu, got the crowd jiving with traditional songs and popular hits given the Melanesian string band sound. Adding to the global Vibes were homegrown bands, Salt Lickin’ Hicks, Pippi Lips and Midjimberry Road. Local man Mark ‘Bernie’ McCabe drums in each of these bands and has played at every festival since 2006. Bernie told SIN the festival gives local musicians the opportunity to interact with other performers and express the Island style
through music. “There was plenty of praise for the Island talent this year. We now have our own music scene on Straddie, ranging across many different styles including ska, roots, rock and reggae.” As well as music there was a ukulele workshop, screen-printing, boomerang painting and foods from around the world. Straddie is of cultural significance to local Aboriginal people and Vibe visitors witnessed this first hand. “We have a beautiful island, vibrant, with a unique culture; the visitors respect that,” Bernie said. Aboriginal Elder, Donna Ruska closed the festival, acknowledging the revitalisation of the local Aboriginal culture through dance.
Beekeeper stung BY MARIA TAN traddie beekeeper Charlie Bowman says he is the first person to lose his job due to the new national park. The veteran beekeeper runs a small business with his wife and son, producing the popular local honey sold in Island shops and at the Point Lookout markets. Within weeks of the national park announcement, and new national park legislation being introduced into parliament, Mr Bowman had received a “show-cause notice” from the Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM), asking him to justify keeping his hives on land declared Naree Budjong Djara national park. With the help of Michael Dalton, of Fino Food in Bulimba, Mr Bowman gathered 1000 signatures for a petition in support of keeping the hives on national park land. The Bowmans also received a personal visit from then environment minister Kate Jones
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SUMMER 2011-12
and DERM staff. During the visit the Bowmans were promised that “resource reserves” would be created within the national park, allowing the hives to remain. Minister Jones told The Australian newspaper the show-cause notice had been poorly worded and alternate locations for the hives would be sought. “Frankly, I don’t believe the communication with this individual has been clear enough and I apologise if there has been any confusion,” Ms Jones said. However, Mr Bowman’s beekeeping permits were cancelled on June 30. “DERM was intent on getting them cancelled,” Mr Bowman told SIN. “There was no doubt about that and they just went ahead with it anyway. So much for Kate Jones and her baloney about us misreading it and it being badly worded. “The government achieved their objective, which was to call off the dogs. We were starting to embarrass them,” Mr Bowman
said. “It was perfectly clear to me what they were going to do and they did it.” Since having his permits cancelled Mr Bowman has written to DERM and met with numerous government officials, including those from the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and Seqwater, in the fight to keep his business alive. “All we wanted was to be left alone so that we could continue on with our beekeeping as we had done for the past 28 to 29 years,” the veteran beekeeper said. “It’s very, very close to us having to again decide whether we continue on and fight, or we close down.” DERM’s general manager for Sustainable Communities and Landscapes, Geoff Clare, told SIN: “We are still working with the beekeeper on a solution that will ensure his business can continue better than ever and are negotiating some positive outcomes. The discussions should be finalised very soon.”
10 YEARS OF LIVING IN SIN — STRADDIE ISLAND NEWS 5