Burdekin Local News 01.10.20

1 OCTOBER 2020

www.burdekinlocal.com.au • editor@burdekinlocal.com.au

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BIG SCREEN ACTOR FROM HOME HILL

A performance to remember

Bid to bring Barnesy to Burdekin

DIRT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS This weekend

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EXCLUSI VE

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Water Park funding local LNP election promise

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02 COMMUNITY NEWS | STATE ELECTIONS

Inside this week CONTENTS COMMUNITY NEWS LIFESTYLE SOCIAL SEEN EDUCATION REAL ESTATE ON THE LAND ON THE WATER DIRECTORY CLASSIFIEDS SPORT

02-10 11 12-13 15 16 17-18 19 20 20 21-24

CONTACT US 07 4422 0518 PUBLISHER Scott Morrison scott@burdekinlocal.com.au

EDITORIAL Hayden Menso Journalist hayden.menso@ burdekinlocal.com.au

Marina Trajkovich Journalist marina.trajkovich@ burdekinlocal.com.au

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thursday 1 october 2020

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Member for Burdekin Dale Last, Minister for Northern Australia Keith Pitt, Senator Susan McDonald and Member for Dawson George Christensen in the Burdekin on Monday

Economic prosperity on the cards LNP announces backing for regional Queensland Hayden Menso hayden.menso@burdekinlocal.com.au

FAITH in the local economy is coming in strong from our politicians, in the lead up to this month’s state election.

Speaking exclusively to Burdekin Local News on Monday, Member for Burdekin Dale Last and Minister for Resources and Water in Northern Australia Keith Pitt spoke about their plans to drive infrastructure, jobs and resources.

Upcoming changes to the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) will allow funding for more projects across North Queensland, set to grow job opportunities and create economic prosperity.

“Part of my portfolios are all the big economic drivers, particularly in regional Australia, whether it’s the resources sector, water that helps drive agriculture and industry, or the Northern Australia agenda. All of those are about jobs; first, second and third” Mr Pitt said.

In brief State Election

“As we come out of the Corona pandemic, the country will need to continue to grow, to ensure we can find employment opportunities, particularly for our youth. These will be big parts of the economy, not only here in this regional area but right across the Northern Australia agenda.”

The NAIF has capacity for 5 billion dollars available for loans, of which the NAIF has already funded around 2.4 billion.

“There are still substantial funds available to drive that economic development piece right across the North,” Mr Pitt said.

Praising our local agricultural and resources sectors, Burdekin MP Dale Last said the LNP’s backing of those industries is the result of growth in the area.

“If you’ve got water, you’ve got opportunities.

Certainly, as we come out of this pandemic, it’s the resource sector and agricultural sector which will drag Queensland out of this economic black hole. As a consequence, we are 100% behind both the resource and ag sectors. You only have to look around here at the jobs created and economic prosperity, with benefits from the sugar industry

• There are currently five candidates running for the Queensland electorate of Burdekin in the upcoming state election.

They are in alphabetical order of surname, Michael Brunker (ALP), Sam Cox (KAP), Dale Last (LNP), Carolyn Moriarty (NQ First) and Ben Wood (PUP).

in the Burdekin. Still, with the Burdekin electorate going down into the coalfields as well, those royalties become so important,” Mr Last said.

With a further positive outlook for our region, Mr Pitt highlighted the importance of local resources.

“If you want to be able to pay for the essential health services that all Australians rely on, whether that is in health, and hospitals, roads, schools, other infrastructure, the resources sector and agriculture sector are playing a big part of that.”

With the election only four weeks away, plans are in place to keep North Queensland front of mind.

“Yet we have a federal labour government that wants to put a line through all the gas, they certainly don’t support coal, and on our side of politics, we want more, not less. This is where the growth will be. We’re trying to ensure there’s more water available, not less,” Mr Pitt said.

Voters take to the polls for the state election on October 31.

• There have been reports of election signage being removed and vandalised by residents within the community.

One candidate is reminding people that “we live in a democracy, where people have the right to speak and vote.”

“Election signage and corflutes cost money and are usually candidate funded.”

Acts of vandalism have been labelled as petty, with candidates having to brunt the costs of re-printing and distributing marketing materials.

• Voters head to the polls on Saturday October 31.

burdekinlocal.com.au

STATE ELECTIONS | COMMUNITY NEWS 03

thursday 1 october 2020

Water Park back on the cards

Local member announces funding to build new attraction

Hayden Menso

hayden.menso@burdekinlocal.com.au

THE ongoing slippery saga of whether the Burdekin will get its own water park is back in the fold.

It may be here sooner rather than later, with Member for Burdekin Dale Last announcing $2.5 million in funding.

There have been rumours and plans for a water park to take shape in Ayr for some years, with the community calling for its arrival as far back as 2014.

Amidst concerns of operating costs, land size and financial viability, the to-ing and froing between residents and government comes down to need and purpose.

The desire to have a water park has been billed as an attraction for locals and tourists alike, and encourage visitors to stay, play and enjoy what our district has to offer.

Member for Burdekin Dale Last has announced funding worth $2.5 million for the long-awaited attraction, set to be delivered under an LNP state government.

Plans for the inclusion of a water park have been listed in the ANZAC Park Precinct Master Plan, along with council’s redevelopment of the park and its adjoining areas.

Listed in the report by Ross Planners, the vision for the precinct is “to ensure quality facilities that meet the needs of all existing formal user groups and provide a wide range of appealing and inclusive recreation and event opportunities for residents and visitors.”

Mr Last said it was time to provide local families and visitors with a reason to stay in the Burdekin.

“This is a project that the community, and parents in particular, have been begging for,” Mr Last said. “I want to see families enjoying their leisure time here in the Burdekin because that means more quality time for

p u l fil

them and more support for local business.”

It follows fresh calls for faith in our region, with jobs and resources already a drawcard for Mr Last.

“Rather than leave this project as a concept, the LNP will provide the necessary funds to get it built and would expect work to start as soon as possible.”

The funding will allow the water park aspect of the precinct to enter development.

“Not only will this project be great for families, it will also create jobs and boost the local economy during construction,” Mr Last said.

It seems the water park is a perfect opportunity to not only add to the Burdekin’s activity offerings, but also bring something unique to our area.

“Rather than focussing on one issue, I have spent my time as the local member talking to people throughout the electorate to identify projects that will make life better.”

“In Ayr, Home Hill and the surrounding areas we need to ensure our key industries can prosper, that our small businesses survive and that families have a reason to live here and move here,” Mr Last said.

The development of the water park will not only have social impacts, but is set on having long-running economic benefits to the local community.

“Instead of families travelling an hour down the highway to cool off they will be able to do that here. That should mean instead of spending money on fuel, they can enjoy their time at the Water Play Park and spend that money with a local small business.”

“I’m committed to supporting industries, jobs and families to help this district get back on its feet and prosper.”

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04 COMMUNITY NEWS | STATE ELECTIONS

thursday 1 october 2020

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Meet the Candidates Carolyn Moriarty

North Queensland First Party

Carolyn Moriarty North Queensland First Party

Marina Trajkovich marina.trajkovich@burdekinlocal.com.au CAROLYN Moriarty, the Burdekin representative from the newly formed North Queensland First Party, is a fifth-generation North Queenslander who has spent her life educating and looking after the community. She chats to the Burdekin Local about entering the world of politics, what she hopes to achieve in the region and the party’s inherent goal to make North Queensland the seventh state.

North Queensland is just funding the lifestyle of the south, and we get very little in return, that was a motivating factor.I guess the main thing that really prompted me to do it was that I would really love my grandchildren to be able to have a really positive future in the North and not to feel like they have to go to Brisbane to reach their full potential. I’d really like to see them reach their full potential in the North.

Can you tell me a bit about your personal background and how you decided to run in the state election?

You’ve mentioned making sure the funding from North Queensland’s resources and industries go back into the communities up here.

Where would you like to see this funding go and what kind of projects will you facilitate?

I guess I’ll start at the beginning.

I was born out in Hughenden and raised in Hughenden and went to boarding school in Townsville and Charters Towers. I went to study at James Cook University and came out as a school teacher and worked in Charters Towers for a little bit and then moved to Clermont in 1990. I’ve pretty much lived the last 30 years in Clermont, except for 2015-2019 when I moved across to Bowen and moved to the Big Mango to work as the tourism manager.

I really liked the concept of the North Queensland First Party, so I joined the party and then Jason Moriarty, proposed that I run as the candidate for the Burdekin.

After my initial shock, I had a chat with my kids, and they said: “Mum, you should do that, you’d be really good.” Obviously, a lot of thinking and deliberation went into that decision.I considered how communities in North Queensland have been neglected and the demise of what was once strong, thriving communities becoming shells of their former selves. Also, the current situation, where the revenue from

Shout Out THE BURDEKIN is bidding farewell to a couple who have spent their lives in the local community.

John and Meryl Ross, of Clare and Ayr, are making the move down south, to live closer to family for their future years.

Their family was one of the founding farming families in Clare, with John inheriting the livelihood from his parents.

John farmed sugarcane, rice, corn and small crops in Clare, while many would know Meryl as a registered nurse across the Burdekin since 1985.

The North Queensland First Party, their flagship policy is the 6 billion dollar Real Royalties for the Regions.

Our plan is to quarantine 6 billion dollars of royalties for new North Queensland projects. So they include millions of dollars in upgrades to the hospitals, so people can have, for example, renal dialysis. Or they can give birth to babies in their hometowns, where there are already hospitals, they don’t have to travel to a major centre to give birth.

We’ll deliver jobs, so the construction of bridges over rivers and the sealing of roads, roads that have been neglected and that people have been fighting for 50 years to get them sealed.There’s a lot of projects that we’ve identified, and we’ve been costing, there’s still some money in the quay, so we’re sifting through, working out which projects are gonna deliver some really positive outcomes for the future of North Queensland.

The party has been very vocal about their goal to make North Queensland a separate state. How would this change happen, and how would separating the state benefit North Queenslanders?

The North Queensland Party is the only party to have the creation of a new state embedded in its constitution. So it is our actual goal to achieve separate statehood for the North. We released a policy that has a process included that we hope to follow. It’s well thought out, and it has to be because we’re not gonna get too many opportunities to do this.

We want to make sure we get it right from the start.

The first thing we’re going to advocate for is the establishment of an Independent Commission.

That commission will comprise of constitutional experts and economic experts and people who have invested in the North, it’ll be a real cross-section of people who can advise and deliver the details of the separate state.

The second stage will be a referendum act, so people who will be within the borders of the new state will actually decide on whether they want it or not. It’s a process that’s allowing the people of North Queensland a voice.

Is North Queensland underrepresented within state politics and is there conflict within the state?

There definitely is. There are still a million people in North Queensland, and the focus of significant parties is on the South-East corner.

Unfortunately what the people in the South-East want and what they

aspire to be, has absolutely no relevance to what the people in the North need.

We are continually having to fight for everything, I’ve got communities in the Burdekin electorate that don’t even have public toilets. People aren’t asking for much up here, they’re asking for a bit of equity to enhance our standard of living.

When I speak to people, they seem a little surprised at the concept of a new state, but when you compare the population and representation in similar states, you can see how underrepresented we are. There are still a million people in North Queensland and the major parties, their focus is on the south-east corner. So, for example, Tasmania has half a million people, and they have 40 electorate representatives across the upper house and the lower house. In Queensland, there are 17 representatives for the entire North and Central-North Queensland. In Brisbane there’s 73, it’s not a fair representation.

You’ve mentioned the Royalties to the Region policy, how will that benefit the people in the Burdekin?

So our Royalties to the Region policy will be separated into different segments. One of those projects under that package will be the building of high efficiency, low emission coal power station in Collinsville which will bring back jobs to Collinsville.

We’ve got 1.6 billion dollars allocated for things like the Urana dam, the Burdekin Falls Dam and other water projects, so it’s North Queensland water for North Queenslanders. Not sending our water down south, it’s for projects

In this series we recognise the people in our community that you told us are exceptional, special or simply deserve our thanks.

“John was heavily involved in SES, in fact he instigated the SES and Rural Fire building at Clare,” wife Meryl said.

Memories of earlier years in the Burdekin will always stay with them, daughter Leonie Mitchell says.

“Dad always involved himself in the fishing club, school community and the original Clare Club. We have fond memories of the Picnic Sports, winning trophies from the tractor pulls.”

“There’s also a military history in our family, my uncles were conscripted, as was dad, but dad had begun work on the farm, so he didn’t have to go overseas. Instead, he undertook six years in the

Citizens Military Force (CMF),” Leonie said.

Meryl in her role as a nurse worked in local aged care homes and the Home Hill hospital until retirement.

She continued her community service through the catholic church, fetes and the children’s school events.

The pair were farewelled by friends and former neighbours at a celebratory afternoon last week.

“There were several farmers who lived on the same road in Clare, which came to farewell mum and dad, which was lovely,” Leonie said.

Meryl and John Ross with daughter Leonie Mitchell (standing)

that will actually boost the economy here and to allow industries to expand and prosper.

One of the projects that will impact the Burdekin electorate will be the building of a new police building in Clermont. The police station in Clermont is 80 years old, and I think it’s probably about time that we gave our police officers in Clermont a decent building to work out of.

The party has also proposed a 10 point war on crime plan in the area which would give the police more power in a time where there has been a substantial global spotlight on police misconduct. Are there suggestions within the party to address these issues and to take into account the impact on indigenous communities?

The majority of the law enforcement policy we have released within the 10 point plan, is to increase police presence in the community and the options that police have at their disposal to fight crime. So there’s a police helicopter for Townsville, water police for the Mackay region and 500 extra police officers for the North.

I think that just increasing the police presence is a huge deterrent to crime in itself, so I believe that only by doing that it’ll make a huge difference and people will be less likely to break the law. The idea behind increasing the number of indigenous officers is to address the fact that there is such a high rate of incarceration in indigenous people, so if we can get those indigenous officers in the communities, make them visible, and you know to see if that helps to make a difference in their lives.

burdekinlocal.com.au

COMMUNITY NEWS 05

thursday 1 october 2020

Debra Magatelli showing of her cake-making skills

The icing on top Local cake maker’s COVID adaptation pays off

THERE’S no denying the impacts of the Coronavirus pandemic have affected local businesses, with many having to implement social distancing restrictions and customer capacity limits.

One impacted profession that many may not even think about is local cake makers and decorators.

Bakers who cater for large events, parties and particularly weddings have been forced to rethink their businesses in order to survive.

Ayr cakemaker Debra Magatelli, who operates Debra’s Cake Creations, said it’s been a tough year for the profession.

COVID-19 restrictions regulating the display and sharing of food, mean that wedding cakes cannot be displayed in wedding venues, for photographs or to be cut and then eaten.

“When COVID first came in, it shut me down completely. No work, no income, nothing.”

“People haven’t realised that I’d lost all my work, but as someone who supplies food, it’s been really hard this year” Mrs Magatelli said.

“Gradually people started to come back with birthday parties, but it was only small cakes. Now it’s gatherings of 30, and it’s getting better” Mrs Magatelli said.

“Weddings went right out the window.

I usually have 20-25 weddings a year, and nearly lost everything. Most have been moved to next year, and I’ve got a few weddings this year, but cakes still can’t be on display.”

Debra had to adapt her business model quickly in order to stay afloat, coming up with a genius solution.

She is providing happy couples with the option of including a “fake cake”, made from a combination of Styrofoam and real cake, alongside the real cake.

“If it’s a two-tiered cake, the bottom will be Styrofoam, but the top is actual cake that can be cut. The cake ends up looking exactly like they’ve ordered, it’s just not edible.”

The ‘display purposes only’ cakes have been a great success, enabling cakes to still be featured in the occasion.

“If I hadn’t have suggested the fake cake option, I would have lost two or three of my weddings. I had a recent wedding where the real cake couldn’t be displayed, and almost lost the business from that, so I suggested the fake one and putting the real one out the back to be served.”

It’s a new creative process for Debra, decorating a slab of foam rather than cake.

Laurie’s Love Community Day on tomorrow LAURIE’S LOVE 24 HR ROW FOR A CURE

2020 Program

Saturday 3rd October

Sunday 4th October

11am 11.15am Midday

9am

Midday - 6pm 5.30pm - 8pm 8pm - 11pm

Doors Open Official Opening Row begins Bar & canteen opens Cake stall opens Kids Corner Dinner Live music with Chris Quagliata

Doors Open Coffee Van 11am Ice Cream Smiles 11.30am Closing Ceremony Raffles drawn Row countdown Midday Row finishes!

This is a COVID Safe Event.

Please ensure you are complying with Government Guidelines if you are attending this event.

The Burdekin will come alive tomorrow with a celebration in black and red.

Hayden Menso ON FRIDAY October 2, Laurie’s Love is encouraging the Burdekin to celebrate the foundation with the 2020 Community Day for Laurie.

The foundation is asking everyone to get in on the day, to turn Queen Street and others across the region decorated in the famous black and red.

“We’re asking the community to put their red and black balloons out and wear their shirts, just to pay tribute to Laurie and lead us right into the Row,” Julie Pavone said.

The community day will celebrate Laurence’s life and the success of the foundation so far, on the first anniversary of his passing. For further information, go to the Laurie’s Love Facebook page.

“It’s the same steps to make a fake cake. I still decorate the Styrofoam, but it’s very hard. It slips all over the board, and you can’t get it to stay still. Between layers the cake is held together by icing or chocolate.”

It’s hoped restrictions will ease soon, but this could be a new normal for celebrations for a little while.

“We might not have to do this forever. It’s a good option for now” Mrs Magatelli said.

Hayden Menso

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HELP SUPPORT OUR STRUGGLING FARMERS Our Cane Farmers are already doing it tough.

They’re battling low world sugar prices, soaring power costs and other uncertainties.

But the State Labor Government has made things tougher by introducing new green laws that rob cane farmers of the ability to manage their own farms and, in some cases, not allow them to farm their land at all.

Help our farmers fight back against this Labor green attack.

SIGN THE PETITION: DONTCANEOURFARMERS.COM Authorised by G. Christensen, Liberal National Party of Queensland, 2/21 Milton Street, Mackay QLD 4740.

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COMMUNITY NEWS 07

thursday 1 october 2020

Tangaroa Blue ReefClean project returns to Alva Beach Come along to Alva Beach’s annual clean up this Saturday, 3 October from 8.30am Marina Trajkovich marina.trajkovich@burdekinlocal.com.au BURDEKIN residents are encouraged to lend a hand and join the Alva Beach Clean-up, a citizen science-driven project led by a national environmental not-for-profit organisation, Tangaroa Blue Foundation.

The annual ReefClean project aims to clean up our beaches along the entire Queensland coastline and Great Barrier Reef, using scientific data analysis to gain a better understanding of where our waste comes from and how to prevent it from entering our oceans.

Last year the beach clean up resulted in the collection of 200kgs of rubbish removed from Alva, with things like fishing nets, tyres, bottles and cigarette butts sorted into categories and documented in Tangaroa Blue’s extensive database.

Craig Turner, Tangaroa Blue’s Townsville project manager, says this data collection element is vital to the organisation’s work

around Australia.

“It’s quite depressing seeing the rubbish, but at the same time we go to the beach, we pick up the debris, we sort it and do all this different stuff to categorise it, so we’ve got a good idea of the kind of stuff that washes up.”

“Anybody who’s taking part is contributing to a legacy of data we can use forever. That’s quite empowering.”

“It’s a way to stop and create a solution at the source.”

Analysing specific data better equips the organisation to create real change.

“That’s the power of data.

If you pick up a bunch of rubbish people are going to say ‘well that doesn’t help me’, but through what you’ve found you may be able to work out a solution. It’s a way to stop and create a resolution at the source.”

One example of how Tangaroa Blue has used data is their detection of washed-up weather balloons with electronic radiosondes

Volunteers at a clean up event Chilli Beach Clean-up, in Kutini-Payamu National Park

attached to a polystyrene base.

The Bureau of Meteorology releases about 20,000 of these vast balloons a year across Australia to measure wind speed and temperature, vital for climate science but at a huge detriment to our oceans and waste problem.

“At 130,000 feet the balloon explodes and drops below, so all these fragments were washing up.”

“We contacted them [The B.O.M], and nothing seemed to happen, and then when we were able to show them the data, they changed from polystyrene reflectors to cardboard. So there’s still dangerous stuff in the balloon, but with that data, we’ve been able to make a change.”

He encourages people to get involved in the beach cleanups around Australia, and that passionate volunteers are

vital to the organisations work fighting waste.

“They’re on the beach; they’re not just picking up rubbish; they’re not just cleaning up. Volunteers are giving us more data. The more

have the Tangaroa Blue and ReefClean logo screen printed on them on the day.

“We need so much more data over these next few years, and we’re going to be able to see trends and the big picture

IT’S A WAY TO STOP AND CREATE A SOLUTION AT THE SOURCE.

Craig Turner Tangaroa Blue Project Manager we have, the more we can make a change.”

Volunteers will meet at the Ayr Surf Lifesaving Club on Saturday the 3rd of October at 8.30 am to begin the process of collecting rubbish before being a part of the sorting and the documenting process for Tangaroa Blue’s database.

The event will run until 3pm with lunch provided as a thank you to volunteers.

Tangaroa invites participants to bring their t-shirts to

of what’s going on. The main thing we need to do is focus on reducing at the source and using our data to do that because we can do that.”

Connect now Register for the Alva Beach Clean-up by emailing: reefclean@tangaroablue.org

Alva Beach, Ayr

A baby turtle found with weather balloon waste around its flipper

Weather balloon remains found by Tangaroa Blue

Tangaroa Blue volunteers sorting through debris

08 COMMUNITY NEWS

thursday 1 october 2020

Law+Order Crime Prevention Senior Sergeant Steve Barton Ayr Police IF YOU HAVE any information about crime or illicit drugs, contact police. The more detailed the information you give, the better it will be for all concerned.

Remember to secure your property – lock it or lose it.

You wouldn’t leave a dish containing thousands of dollars sitting on your bench or sitting out in the open, so why do this with your car keys.

Keep them safe by storing

them out of sight and ensuring your home and car is locked at all times.

If you have information for police, contact Policelink by providing information using the online suspicious activity form 24hrs per day at www. police.qld.gov.au/reporting.

You can report information about crime anonymously to Crime Stoppers, a registered charity and community volunteer organisation, via crimestoppersqld.com.au 24 hours per day.

DISQUALIFIED DRIVING On September 11, Ayr Police were conducting investigations into a complaint of an alleged burglary and unlawful use of a motor vehicle that was reported in August. As a result of those investigations, a 22-year-old Burdekin man was issued a NTA for four counts of disqualified driving and one count each of evade police, obstruct police and failing to complete a statutory declaration. He is due to appear in Ayr Magistrates Court on October 26.

DRINK DRIVING At 1.20am on Saturday, September 19, Ayr Police intercepted a vehicle on Queen Street, Ayr. The driver, a 19-year-old Burdekin man, was issued an NTA for drink driving after allegedly recording a breath test of 0.134 per cent BAC. He is due to appear in Ayr Magistrates Court on October 12.

STOLEN VEHICLE AND EVADE POLICE At 1.40pm on Saturday, September 19, Ayr Police attempted to intercept

a vehicle on Ross Street, Ayr, when the vehicle allegedly failed to stop. Checks revealed the vehicle was allegedly reported stolen at the time of this attempted intercept. Further investigations led Ayr Police to a Charles Hill Road, Inkerman where shortly after, police located a 38-year-old Burdekin man who was later charged with burglary alternatively receiving, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, evade police, unlicenced driving, trespass and obstruct police. He was remanded in custody and is due to reappear on October 15.

WILFUL DAMAGE At 8am on Monday, September 21, Ayr Police were called to a disturbance at a hotel in Home Hill. A 26-year-old tourist was issued a NTA for wilful damage and is to appear in Ayr Magistrates Court on October 12.

burdekinlocal.com.au

Rescue pet of the week Ronnie HELLO! My name is Ronnie!

I love going for my walks and runs everyday with my carer and her dogs.

I come to my new name well and I love to swim! I also walk well on the lead and love my toys in the yard.

I am much like a Bull Arab cross, but smaller. I am about 18 months old and I am medium size, about 25 kilos. I need a fair bit of stimulation, so daily walks and playtime would be good and a good enclosure to keep me safe.

My adoption fee is only $150. I come desexed, microchipped, heartworm tested (negative), flea and tick treated and intestinal wormed.

If you would like to meet me, please message Burdekin Pet Rescue on Facebook, email burdekinpetrescue@gmail.com or phone 0455 059 737. See you soon, Ronnie.

Elise Higginson with one of her artworks

Artist receives grant to grow business opportunity Hayden Menso

A LOCAL artist has been successful in receiving a grant to help share her passion with the community.

Dynamic Abstract Artist Elise Higginson applied for the Queensland government’s Start Grant program, becoming one of eight successful artists across the state.

The grant, worth $3,000, provides budding artists

with financial means to further develop business opportunities and artistic practice.

“I’ve been practising visual art for a long time, and really enjoy it,” Ms Higginson said.

She decided to apply for the grant, having always considered going for one, to see where it would lead her.

“It’s helped me be able to sell my work, by getting

printed t-shirts made, an A-frame sign, and upgrading my eftpos Square.”

The grant required applicants meet two criteria; that money be used on marketing and advertising, and to put towards a project.

Ms Higginson has been running workshops in Townsville as a result of the grant, and hopes to bring them to the Burdekin.

“I grew up here, left to go and travel for a while, but I’m back to share my art passion,” Elise said.

“I sell my work at markets, including paintings, gifts, art decoration, and art gifts for kids. There’s a great variety.”

Elise is hoping for further upcoming success in the Flying Arts Regional Art Awards, after several wins in state and local competitions.

Connect now To submit your interest in Elise’s Workshops, or enquire about artwork and commissions, call 0428 763 055 or find Dynamic Abstract Arts on Facebook.

burdekinlocal.com.au

COMMUNITY NEWS 09

thursday 1 october 2020

The Conversation

How the Burdekin is getting back to Business during COVID 19

Pandemic Recovery Marina Trajkovich marina.trajkovich@burdekinlocal.com.au

While some businesses are still recovering from the financial pressures brought about by COVID 19, others are taking the restrictions in their stride as business owners across the board adapt to the new normal.

BUSINESSES across the Burdekin have taken a hit this year, with restrictions implemented to control the spread of COVID 19 and their financial after-effects still felt across the region.

But despite the new pressures on business owners to comply with social distancing restrictions, some are faring better than ever, adapting to new challenges while focusing on keeping their customers safe.

After prematurely removing themselves from retired life in Hervey Bay, ex-Tasmanian chef Nigel Squibb and Kiwi business development manager, John Whitley accepted the offer to run the Ayr Travellers Motel.

Amid the pandemic, they’ve been able to transform the restaurant, aptly named Burnt Sugar in honour of the Burdekin’s famous sugarcane, into a local favourite.

But with the motel at full capacity and hungry diners struggling to get a reservation at the popular venue, COVID restrictions have posed a new challenge.

“The diners now are getting frustrated because they can’t get into the restaurant. It’s a two-week wait now, and that’s every night; generally, we’re booked out,” says Nigel Squibb.

Above: John Whitley and Nigel Squibb Below: Burnt Sugar Restaurant

Restaurant goers in the community are vying for one of 24 coveted seats. At the same time, the motels 56 guests also expect a place to dine and to try the popular, locally sourced cuisine.

“Our accommodation and our restaurant is running at a hundred per cent for every sitting, so we are doing really well, we’re always full, we’re always busy.”

“The thing is, it’s limiting us because we turn away a considerable amount of people because we’re not allowed to accommodate or feed them.”

To make the most of reduced capacity, Nigel and John decided to extend the restaurant experience into the wide hallways of the motel.

“We are very fortunate in the fact that we can offer our in house guests room service. We’ve also created something called ‘hall dining,’ so if they don’t want to eat in their room and we can’t get them in the restaurant they can sit in our really wide, open hallways.”

“We’re quite proud because we are very, very COVID savvy.

We don’t want to be the property or the chain of properties that there’s an outbreak, so we are on to it.”

While Nigel and John’s business is thriving, owing in part to its loyal corporate clientele, the same can’t be said across the board for other businesses in tourism and hospitality.

“It’s been a dramatic change to our industry. Some places are doing well and others terrible,” says Nigel.

“For our motel as a stand-alone, we’ve not done too bad. We are part of a group which is 44 motels, and the revenue from all 44 is down substantially from COVID. So our little old Ayr motel, we’re doing the best,” says John Whitley.

The fitness industry in the Burdekin has also had to make changes, striving to get back to business after this year’s forced lockdowns.

Andrea Piotto, the owner of group fitness gym Nrgize Fitness in Ayr, it’s been far from business as usual.

She remembers the night she discovered that she would be forced to close her business overnight.

“Sunday night the 23rd of March, watching the tv to hear about the schools and they said that gyms would be closing their doors as of Monday the 24th. I turned around and looked at my husband and said ‘did he just say I’ve got to close my doors?’ I just burst into tears.”

Throughout the three months of forced closure, Andrea invested money into setting up online classes but missed the energy of the studio.

“I set up an online business, and that was pretty full-on. I was doing workouts, and people could subscribe to that. I had to outlay a fair bit of money, but it kept me going. It kept my business going.”

“A gym is more than just what I do. A gym is more than just a place where people work out. It’s there for stress relief, and people come to see each other and build relationships, it’s a big thing for mental health as well.”

Now grateful that classes are up and running again, albeit, with slightly reduced numbers, she says that the financial pressure from the overnight closure stays on her mind.

“We didn’t put money away, we didn’t know this was going to come, so I think the first month for me was still living in shock. Financially we’re not in the same spot that we would have been years ago or even last year.”

“I’m lucky that my husband did not miss a day of work and we were ok to pay bills, but there are people around town where it’s going to take a little while to get back on their feet.

But we’re working our way up to it.”

Despite the struggle with closures, Andrea was adapting to restrictions and determined to bounce back, with her dynamic studio classes and boot camps drawing both new and returning gym-goers.

“It was good to get back in there, and the members have been fantastic, everyone’s following the rules.”

“The last thing I want to do is feel sorry for myself, because I’m open again and we start from scratch again, we build up. It’s been baby steps going back into it. Still, I think in the Burdekin region everyone in the fitness industry is getting back on their feet.”

10 COMMUNITY NEWS

Where are they now?

thursday 1 october 2020 FROM QUIET BEGINNINGS IN HOME HILL to a late but determined start in performing in his early 20s, the actor is now living in London with movies like Mama Mia 2: Here We Go Again and Paddington 2 under his belt.

Burdekin Local’s Marina Trajkovich talked to the Greek, Cypriot actor about auditioning for theatre productions on London’s West End, his pivot onto our screens and how it feels to perform amongst Hollywood legends.

So Tom, can you tell me a bit about where you grew up and how you got into performing?

Tom Pitiris Actor

Tom Pitiris never imagined that he would one day become an actor, as an often shy but creative kid growing up on a sugarcane farm in the Burdekin.

I actually grew up in Home Hill. My dad’s family are sugarcane farmers, and my grandparents are still living in Home Hill, and they’re still farming, and my dad is still farming as well. My mum’s family from quite far back were also from Ayr, but they moved to Townsville before I was born in the 80s or 90s.

I finished high school and moved away right after I turned 17 and moved to Townsville for a change of scenery and just kind of hung around there for a while, I didn’t really know what my path was, I didn’t know what I wanted to do.

Then a few years later, I moved to Brisbane, and I connected with an old friend, and he let me know about this performing arts course that he was a part of. I thought this is kind of cool, I’d never contemplated the idea of performing even though I always thought it would be a really fun career.

I don’t know what came over me, but I decided to take a chance, and I paid the non-refundable deposit, and I just threw myself in, and it just built from there.

Marina Trajkovich marina.trajkovich@burdekinlocal.com.au

So you’d entered into this intense performing arts course without much background in dance or acting, how did that feel and how did you work out that performing is something that you really wanted to pursue?

I think as a child, I was quite dramatic. To the people I was comfortable around, I was quite a performer. But I expressed my creativity through other ways because that’s all that was available to me. I used to spend a lot of my time painting and creating things with my hands.

When I went to Brisbane and had this performing arts course presented I thought ‘well why not, there’s no reason why I can’t try it.’ And it gave me a different way of expressing myself, which was really exciting.

But that’s when it kind of sank in just how difficult it was going to be. I was 21, and I had never sung in front of another person, I hadn’t danced the way that they were asking me to dance and to move, and I hadn’t really acted at that point. It was a massive learning curve. I would say that that year was one of the hardest years of my life mentally because I really had to convince myself that I could do what they were asking me to do.

I went from doing almost no physical activity to doing ballet classes, jazz classes, hip hop, tap, contemporary, all of these things, plus singing, plus acting. I did have a lot of injuries in those first few months. I persevered through it because I really liked how being a part of this group of creative people made me feel.

What did you want to focus on when you were leaving school and heading into the industry?

facebook.com/thomas.p.pitiris instagram.com/tomppitiris

At that point, I was new to everything. But I really enjoyed the stage, I really liked the performance element of live theatre. I honestly thought that was the road I was going to go down and fastforwarding to London, I was auditioning for all the West End productions. I had some amazing

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opportunities auditioning for things like Aladdin and Cats, all of these well-known musicals that I never in my wildest dreams thought I’d be able to audition for.

But I am not a strong singer, and I’m very realistic about that. With West End theatre you kind of have to be all three, so I was constantly auditioning for these big stage productions. A lot of casting directors really liked my look, and they liked the way I moved and the way I presented the character, but I just didn’t have that singing technique because I was so late to the game.

In a really interesting turn of events, I auditioned for Aladdin, and I made it through to the final round which was the singing round, and that’s where I was cut. Then a week later, my agent phoned me and said these guys saw your Aladdin audition and they want you to come in and audition for this film.

The film was Paddington 2, so I ended up booking my first film job through a musical theatre audition.

It was an amazing experience to be on set, and I started to realise that that was something I enjoyed a lot more than the gruelling process of musical theatre auditions.

You then got booked for Mama Mia 2, what was working on that film like?

It was probably the best experience I’ve ever had in my life. It sounds really cliche to say, but it really was the job of a lifetime, and I think everybody who was on that job would agree.

It was such a fantastic production team, the director was lovely, the choreographer was terrific and was really supportive of everybody’s skill sets.

He said to our group quite a few times, “I’ve picked you all individually because I like your energy, I like your attitude, and I want this to be an amazing experience, not just a job,” and it was that exactly.

I can recall the day that we shot our main piece of choreography, and it’s of this outdoor jetty on the island when everyone is coming to this big party.

We, as the fishermen, were dancing as part of this big group and I just remember thinking: ‘This is the peak of my career so far’.

I had Julie Walters, I had Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan, all these people in front of me, everyone dancing together, a hundred people with a helicopter floating above us filming everything. I’m really grateful for that opportunity. It’s opened me up to just how amazing film and tv can be.

The performing arts and in particular screen acting is a notoriously tough and competitive industry, how do you stay grounded and do you have advice for young people entering the industry?

I think that for me the most significant piece of advice I would give, and it really helped me immensely as I moved to London and found that I had a lot of competition is, I think you need to be really confident in who you are. No one can do what you do, and no one is you. So going into an audition room or chasing after specific jobs, you need to know what you bring as an individual, and you need to really stick to that.

That’s the other thing, you can’t be personally affected by the fact that you may or may not be what they’re after, all you can do is give them a hundred per cent of who you are.

The rejection is a tough part of the industry, the thing is, it’s never going to go away, it’s just a part of it. It’s more a part of the industry than getting the job is.

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LIFESTYLE 11

thursday 1 october 2020

COMMUNITY NEWS 11

Spring

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Ross Gambino with Laurence Pavone

Remembering a mate and legend Close friend shares fond memories

A STALWART of the Burdekin community is being remembered as a genuine and honourable man, one year on from a years-long battle with brain cancer.

Laurence Pavone, whose spirit lives on through the Laurie’s Love Foundation, was a Burdekin local involved in business and agriculture, and the wider community.

One of those who knew him best, Mr Ross Gambino, says Laurie was a genuine man who lived to do whatever he could to help others.

Ross and Laurence first met about 12 years ago through work at Kalamia Cane Growers and instantly became very good friends.

“We formed a strong, likeminded friendship without an age barrier. Something just clicked,” Mr Gambino said.

Describing Laurence as someone who loved life and its successes, he was a man

admired by many.

“He thought outside the box. He’d find the most unique opportunities in situations, always looking for solutions.

His mind was always open.”

“He was always innovative and doing something new at Cane Growers. He then

with pure motives, whether it be in business or in everyday relationships.

“He was an honourable guy. He lived by the thought that ‘if he could help someone, he would’. ” “He built relationships with people because of his network,

SHARING LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP IN PEOPLES’ LIVES WAS WHAT HE WAS ABOUT. Ross Gambino also found great success with his business Sugar Fix, as a consultant to cane growers.

He’d help them with all aspects of farming and business. He’d help resolve issues between growers and millers, and assist growers in pursuing funding for projects.”

Ross says Laurie was good

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and the man he was. That’s why Laurie’s Love Foundation is thriving, all because of his positive impact.”

Even throughout his tough time dealing with brain cancer, it was a sense of positivity which kept Laurie going.

“I spent a lot of time with him in those last eight or nine

Hayden Menso hayden.menso@burdekinlocal.com.au months. He always had a belief and faith. He had an incredible sense of peace and calm, positivity and strength,” Mr Gambino said.

“He was always smiling and laughing; I can’t recall him not being happy. He found the resolve to overcome challenges and move on.”

This weekend, the Burdekin community will unite to not only celebrate Laurie but also help find a much-needed cure for brain cancer.

“His legacy lives on with Laurie’s Love. Sharing love and friendship in peoples’ lives was what he was about.”

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12 LIFESTYLE

thursday 1 october 2020

Social seen Rugby Union Home Game Saturday 26 September 2020

Burdekin Cane Toads played LARC

Holly Chapple and Sarah Butterworth

Tim Colgrave and Caleb Meep

Scott Watson, Tyler Boxall, Kurt Boxall and Damien Gorizia

Molly Chizanowski, Jack O’Keeffe, Takia-May Solomon and Harry Mintram

Kelli and Macy Debelstein, Jade Boxall and Samantha Carrett

Sam Cox, Tony Chandler, Pat McCarthy and Michael Marson

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LIFESTYLE 13

thursday 1 october 2020

Social seen Rugby Union Home Game Saturday 26 September 2020

Krystel, Christina and Kelsie Kerr (front)

Burdekin Womens defeated Western Suburbs 57-0

Takia-May Solomon and Daniel Pugnale

Hudson and Dan Horan with Aaron Cursio

Emily Vasta and Hayley Forbes

Ashlee Aguirree, Toni Morgan, Louise Grant and Gabby Dal Santo

Giovanni Licciardello, Chris Clive, Archie Bell, Andrew Harper

Gemma White, Chloe Stephens and Cameron Payting

14 COMMUNITY NEWS

thursday 1 october 2020

burdekinlocal.com.au

New centre Bur-Del Co-Operative acquires new site set to be a community benefit Hayden Menso hayden.menso@burdekinlocal.com.au

A LONG-TIME journey to acquire a coveted commercial building in Ayr has come to fruition after 11 years.

The Bur-Del Co-Operative Advancement Society Ltd is celebrating the acquisition of a new centre, located at the old medical centre site in Wickham Street in Ayr. Having the facility in the organisation’s sight since 2001, they secured the building in 2018. Bur-Del CEO Christine Monday said the centre is a blessing for the organisation.

“After three attempts, we managed to secure our dream facility.”

“Within 1-2 weeks of us settling our contract, we had received a government grant to assist us in upgrading one side of the centre, which is our aged care community hall, which will be called the Indiginality Centre.”

“On the other side, we have administration, which will accommodate our housing, aged care and disability staff,” Ms Monday said.

The site has sat empty for

several years and became a perfect opportunity to house Bur-Del’s expansion.

“It’s a lovely big facility, something we’ve always admired. We’re just waiting on council’s final decision for the go-ahead to lay the car park and put in the shed.”

The organisation has even been able to put their stamp on the space, with trainees taking part in the construction and refurbishment.

“80% of the construction that went on in this building our guys had put their hands to.

From cutting out ceiling tiles to gyprocking walls and using nail guns, they did it all,” Ms Monday said.

“Jim Lewty has been amazing, along with Shaun Farrell and Emene Monday, they have embraced those young men from our indigenous community and taught them everything they needed to know.”

The new centre means Bur-Del’s administration can move from its Cameron Street office, which, in turn, is to be

Christine and Zimyra Monday applying new window graphics at the new centre

The new site of Bur Del’s operations on Wickham St, formerly the Ayr medical centre

redeveloped into a business and hospitality training centre.

With final preparations

underway, the new Wickham Street centre will open next month it’s hoped.

“It’s been a good journey, it’s been long, but the timeframe didn’t bother us, because I

knew that when you take your time, you know you’re going to get it right. It was well worth it.”

Thank you for your support!

The team at Burdekin Local News have been overwhelmed with the positive response from our local community since launching the paper!

We are glad to be able to fill a much-needed void in our community, it certainly shows newspaper has an opportunity to share what’s good in our district.

“Looks great, well done!”

”

“Great to see the local initiative to bring the news back in the paper!

“Informative items to read, also seeing many familiar faces that we “Congratulations to everyone who

put together this new local paper,

“Congratulations! It’s great having a new local paper!”

haven’t seen in a long time.”

well done!”

“Congratulations team! What an

achievement!”

burdekinlocal.com.au

EDUCATION 15

thursday 1 october 2020

A performance to remember Local students showcase the Burdekin to Aussie legend Hayden Menso AS PART of the Burdekin’s Sweet Days, Hot Nights new campaign, a local performance school has been involved.

Students from Perform Music starred in a promotional video, in a bid to bring Aussie superstar singer Jimmy Barnes to the Burdekin to perform.

The experience involved students singing the Barnes classic Working Class Man in front of a live burning cane fire.

The all-boys group said it was a memorable experience like no other.

“It was a pretty cool experience, being my first ever promo music video. I’m

used to being on stage, so it was great to do something a bit different,” student Ayden Barnett said.

“It was really good to showcase the Burdekin in it.”

The video, utilising both live and recorded singing, has been viewed over 57,000 times on Facebook, with over a thousand shares.

“When we saw it featured on the news, my mum called out ‘Ayden, there’s you!’, which was a really cool feeling,” Ayden said.

The man himself commented on the video on Facebook, saying “great job guys; we’ll try and get up there soon.”

Student Lucas Donovan

The Perform Music boys squad featured in the local viral video, hoping to attract Jimmy Barnes to the Burdekin

said even if Jimmy doesn’t come to perform, it was still “really cool to do and be a part of it all.”

Perform Music owner Amaia Licciardello said it was an excellent opportunity for the group, “It was really good to have a group of boys do

it, and see them singing and showcase the Burdekin to the whole community.”

IT WAS A PRETTY COOL EXPERIENCE… IT WAS GREAT TO DO SOMETHING A BIT DIFFERENT.

Ayden Barnett – Performer

BCHS Row for a Cure team CJ Nolan, Jones Munro, Beau Crowdey, Alysse Contzonis and Brielle Astorquia; Front Ethan Gwydir, Ciara McDonnell, Amity Cornford and Freya Burbidge. Absent was Noah Prior.

School kids ready to row Hayden Menso

A TEAM of eager high school students are readying for a massive effort, to row as a group for 24 hours.

As part of this year’s Laurie’s Love Row for a Cure, Burdekin Catholic High School’s team of rowers will put themselves to the test, in a fundraising and awareness effort this weekend.

Training twice in after school sessions, this team of Year 10 and 11 students are looking forward to the experience the event has to offer.

Student Ciara McDonnell said the team is glad to offer

their support and fundraising efforts.

“We’ll be rowing in our sleep afterwards… we are very excited to be able to participate in the big event as a school team.”

Each team taking part in the event has been fundraising to meet its goals.

“We’ve been fundraising by selling drinks at our sports carnival, snap sticks at lunchtimes, and selling merchandise and taking donations at the schools’ supporter day.

It’s been great having everyone involved in our

school,” Ms McDonnell said.

Student Alysse Contzonis has a personal connection, making the school’s involvement in the event even more special.

“I’ve lost two family members to cancer, including uncle Laurence Pavone. It means a lot to be a part of the row and have a team to show our support,” Ms Contzonis said.

The event is being held at the Marcellin Centre at BCHS this weekend beginning at 11am Saturday.

BCHS is looking forward to welcoming the Grade 6 students back for their second transition day.

The first day was a great success with the students taking part in a number of rotations to get a taste of what high school life will be like next year.

Following the next transition day on the Friday, 9th October we will host a final transition-taster on Wednesday, 25th November.

16 REAL ESTATE

thursday 1 october 2020

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burdekinlocal.com.au

ON THE LAND 17

thursday 1 october 2020

North Queensland rice industry seeks urgent support Calls for security for the local industry’s future Hayden Menso NEW calls are coming from Burdekin rice growers and industry operators to help secure the future of rice production in North Queensland.

SunRice is seeking urgent support for a new $10 million storage facility at the Brandon rice mill.

The expansion sets to create jobs, grow the economy and assist local farmers in crop diversification.

The additions to the site located on Colevale Road in Brandon will allow production to increase from its current capacity of 8,000 tonnes per annum to 25,000 tonnes.

The rice produced in North Queensland is processed and packaged into branded products at the Brandon Mill and sold to restaurants and other foodservice customers in major eastern seaboard centres.

SunRice and North Queensland rice growers and local council are uniting to seek support ahead of the upcoming Queensland election for the project, said to align directly with the stated priorities of both major

Pricing tool offers real control and flexibility WILMAR’S Grower-Managed Production Risk Scheme (GMPRS) gives growers almost total control of their two biggest risks – price volatility and undersupply.

Introduced for the 2017 season and improved in the 2018 season, GMPRS remains the original and most flexible tool for directly managing the price outcome for almost 100 per cent of a grower’s GEI Sugar.

Under GMPRS, growers can price about 97-98 per cent of their exposure, depending upon how much GEI ends up being in Wilmar’s US Quota Pool.

Growers can commence pricing the GMPRS from May in the year of the harvest and price as much or as little of it as they wish, from that moment on.

Grower Marketing and Pricing Manager PJ Gileppa said this was a unique feature of the industry-leading pricing tool. ”At one extreme, if prices are attractive and a grower is extremely confident about how much GEI their farm will produce, they could

parties.

One of the largest rice producers in the north, Allan Milan, said an investment in the Brandon mill was an investment in the future.

“We’d love to see the rice industry expand across North Queensland; there’s a huge opportunity here for other growers to come on board and diversify their crops. Which would result in a sustainable industry for our future generations with job creation and expansion potential,” Mr Milan said.

Australia is currently facing a national rice shortage, meaning that if the expansion were to go ahead, there would be a more significant opportunity for Burdekin growers to contribute to national supply.

“An expansion of the North Queensland rice industry would be a tremendous boost to farmers across regional Queensland. The Burdekin, with its irrigation systems and perfect growing climate, is a great region because you can do a wet season crop and a dry season crop which creates a lot of certainties.”

“It’s also incredibly exciting

to see our premium branded product now grown and packed locally in 25-kilogram bags before being trucked straight into restaurants in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.”

As a way to diversify their growing portfolio, farmers can become involved in the rice industry as a new form of income.

“The North Queensland rice growing industry has come a long way over the past six years, and government must help us on the next step of the journey so we can have a sustainable industry for many more generations to come.”

SunRice CEO Rob Gordon said expert economic modelling shows Government investment in the project would deliver significant economic and social benefits across North Queensland.

“A $10 million investment at the Brandon Mill in Ayr would allow SunRice to fully utilise local capacity, increasing production to some 25,000 tonnes per annum and taking direct employment at our mill to

Peter McDonnell, Sunrice Operations Manager

25 full-time positions,” Mr Gordon said.

“Our expert economic modelling shows this would create 51 full-time positions in the region, and flow-on economic activity of $29 million each year. Communities along and throughout the North Queensland coastline would feel the flow-on effects, including through new export opportunities at the Port of Townsville.”

PRESS RELEASE BY WILMAR

Local grower Allan Milan

Weekly production figures Burdekin region mills Week 16, ending 26 September 2020

Cane crushed Invicta Pioneer Kalamia Inkerman Burdekin

This week

CCS Invicta Pioneer Kalamia Inkerman Burdekin

158,463 86,621 66,803 86,878 398,765

Season to date

2,121,317 975,187 971,280 1,042,001 5,109,785

15.29 15.58 14.94 15.29 15.29

Weekly variety performance for region Variety % CCS Variety Q183 28 15.58 Q253 KQ228 28 14.85 MXD Q208 24 15.18 SRA8 Q232 17 15.22 Q252

14.07 14.57 14.09 14.37 14.23 % 1 1 1 1

CCS 13.86 15.92 14.92 14.18

Comments: Close to 400,000 tonnes of cane were processed for the week, which was above budget.

The Burdekin mills have now crushed more than five million tonnes of cane for the season. Pioneer Mill achieved its highest weekly throughput for the season so far. Inkerman Mill has scheduled a 25-hour stop this week to do cleaning and maintenance, as well as repair a leaking boiler tube.

Storms threatened in the region last Wednesday but did not eventuate. Harvesting conditions remain favourable.

Average weekly CCS dropped by 0.2 units this week to 15.29 units, which is just on budget for the week. Season to date CCS is now up to 14.23 units.

Burdekin grower Ben Nielson

theoretically price all their GEI even before the harvest commences,” Mr Gileppa said.

“Conversely, a grower might choose to wait until the harvest is finished if they expect stronger prices later or have doubts about how much cane will be harvested in the event of unfavourable weather.

“In other words, the grower has flexibility to consider the level of risk they wish to run and the trade-offs between sugar price outlook and differing GEI production outcomes.

GMPRS provides control and avoids ‘out-sourcing’ the risk decision to someone who doesn’t understand a grower’s particular farm circumstances.”

Growers who use GMPRS say it accommodates their risk appetite during depressed pricing periods, while providing them with the flexibility to maximise returns when higher prices are available.

Burdekin grower Ben Nielson said having the option to price almost 100 per cent of his sugar production for the past three

years had greatly benefited his family’s business.

“It has given us the flexibility to price 97 per cent of our crop in season if the market was where we needed it to be.

Alternatively, we can hold off until late April the following year, giving us greater exposure to positive moves in the market,” Mr Nielson said.

“GMPRS is a simple and straightforward product to use. It’s a powerful tool to help maximise returns without the constraints of being in a pool.”

The highest CCS sample was 18.50 from a rake of Q240 third ratoon cane in the Invicta area.

People travelling away for the long weekend or heading home from the school holidays are reminded to ‘Use your train brain’ and always give way to cane trains.

Parents and guardians are also urged to remind children to stay clear of our cane rail network.

John Tait Cane Supply Manager Burdekin Region

18 ON THE LAND

thursday 1 october 2020

ASMC seek Govt commitment on irrigation water charges

Australian crush roaring ahead

THE AUSTRALIAN SUGAR MILLING COUNCIL (ASMC) left a meeting with the Queensland Government last week remaining optimistic that political consensus for irrigation water price cuts can be achieved to boost regional Queensland’s COVID-19 recovery.

The LNP and Katter Australia Party have made policy commitments ahead of the election to cut irrigation water charges by almost 20% and 25% respectively. A water price cut would boost productivity and provide an economic stimulus for communities that rely heavily on the sugar industry.

Meanwhile, the Queensland Government has frozen irrigation water prices until May next year while it considers a recommendation by the Queensland Competition Authority for further substantial price increases in water charges.

ASMC Chief Executive Mr David Pietsch said milling representatives delivered a clear message to the Queensland Minister for Natural Resources, Mines and Energy, Dr Anthony Lynham at the meeting.

“We have laid out a compelling case for the Government to invest in lower water charges to help regional Queensland back on the road to recovery and support the Premier’s focus on job creation,” Mr Pietsch said.

“The Minister was certainly sympathetic to the challenges facing the sugar industry now and into the future, however the Government has yet to commit to the certainty the industry requires on water charges,” he said.

Mr Pietsch said an independent study commissioned by the ASMC found a 25% reduction in irrigation water charges would cost $68 million over four years but generate an extra $220 million in economic value – a return of $3.20 for every $1.

WITH THE AUSTRALIAN CRUSH continuing at pace – 62 per cent of the nation’s cane had been cut as of late-September – weekly crushing totals were exceeding 1.5 million metric tonnes, matching the peak volumes of previous seasons.

However, Mr Clack said, a rain-delayed lower crush in late July and early August put the crush 10 percentage points behind 2018.

“Operations slowed most in the Burdekin and Herbert regions, before returning strongly and all regions now report the 2020 crush at 60 to 67 per cent complete.”

While cane yields proved strong, the national average of commercial cane sugar continued to disappoint, Mr Clack said, sitting at 13.36 compared to 13.68 in 2019.

“Better results, of over 14, have been recorded in the central, southern and Burdekin regions, with lower results in the north and in NSW.” Considering these figures, Mr Clack said, Rabobank forecasts 4.3 to 4.4 million metric tonnes of sugar output (raw value) in 2019/20 from 31 million metric tonnes of cane.

The Bureau of Meteorology’s ‘active’ La Nina forecasts, and predictions of a 60 to 75 per cent chance of above-average rainfall across Queensland’s east coast in October also represented a potential risk to the Australian crush – late-season rainfall resulting in further delays and a drawn-out tail-end of the crush if realised.

Mr Clack said local currency strength and soft world prices would keep domestic prices in the AUD 370 to AUD 380/metric tonne range during the second half of 2020, below the AUD 430/metric tonne five-year average.

However, he said, the Far East premium was expected to remain elevated to draw imports into Asia amid a poor Thai outlook and limited 2021/22 recovery, with Thai premiums currently trading at 250 to 300 points basis against the ICE#11 Raw Sugar market.

PRESS RELEASE BY ASMC

PRESS RELEASE BY RABOBANK

burdekinlocal.com.au

Confirmed La Nina a cause for concern with more than 30% of the 2020 sugarcane harvest remaining PRESS RELEASE BY ASMC

WITH A THIRD OF 2020’S estimated 30.9 million tonnes of sugarcane yet to be harvested and processed into raw sugar, Australia’s sugar millers are keeping a close eye on the weather forecasts.

The confirmation of a La Nina weather pattern heightens the risk of rain disrupting the final weeks of the crush.

“La Nina-influenced light rain will be manageable and welcome, but heavier falls could be challenging towards the end of the crush,” said Australian Sugar Milling Council Director of Industry and Government Affairs, Jim Crane.

“That being said, spring rain can set the foundation for an improved 2021 crop across most of the cane growing regions,” he added.

“Thanks to the unseasonal winter rains already experienced this year, we are currently on track to realise the forecast crop size of 30.9 million tonnes.”

“That’s almost a million tonnes of cane more than last year’s harvest but the sugar content is tracking below the 2019 average.

A continuation of this trend will mean that 2020 raw sugar production is likely to be only slightly up on last year’s 4.28 million tonnes,” he added.

ENVIRONMENT

Funding boost to help protect internationallyacclaimed wetlands THE BOWLING Green Bay wetlands are a jewel in the lower Burdekin’s crown, and a newlylaunched project will help ensure their health is maintained and restored.

NQ Dry Tropics is spearheading a joint local effort to protect the wetlands – internationally recognised as critical migratory bird habitat – as part of the $2 million Restoring Bowling Green Bay Wetlands project.

The four-year initiative, funded by the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program, will mobilise a range of lower Burdekin stakeholders, including landholders, community groups, Traditional Owners, science bodies and local businesses.

It will also build on nearly two decades of work by NQ Dry Tropics to improve the health of coastal ecosystems in the region.

NQ Dry Tropics CEO Dr Scott Crawford said the initiative would improve the ecological character of the wetlands and adjoining creek catchments by reducing threats such as invasive weed chokes and pollutants – but would also focus on championing the important role wetlands play in the everyday lives of local communities: “We want to raise awareness of how wetland ecosystems benefit the landscape, and support activities such as fishing and bird watching,” Dr Crawford said.

“We will also be promoting the concept that environmental and agricultural outcomes can be achieved side by side.

“Project activities will support better connectivity for native fish species, and help improve the quality of water flowing to the Great Barrier Reef lagoon,” he said.

Dr Crawford said that project activities including managing marine debris, revegetating

habitat and undertaking fauna surveys would be conducted in partnership with Bindal Traditional Owners and Gudjuda Rangers based in Home-Hill.

“Earlier this year NQ Dry Tropics supported Gudjuda to conduct training to better identify and monitor migratory bird species that spend part of the year on the Bowling Green Bay wetlands, he said.

“The Gudjuda Reference Group has a fantastic Land and Sea Rangers program and they will be an asset to the project,” he said.

Gudjuda Ranger Eddie Smallwood said the group was looking forward to sharing its extensive knowledge of the area as well as building valuable new skills: “We are looking forward to partnering with the Bindal Traditional Owners and NQ Dry Tropics throughout this project to provide local knowledge, education and cultural heritage advice as well as strengthening the skills within our team of Land and Sea Rangers.”

Bowling Green Bay is one of only five wetland sites in Queensland listed under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance.

Ramsar is the name of the city in Iran where the convention was signed to recognise wetlands around the world that were especially important according to a range of criteria, such as supporting habitat for water birds and endangered species.

Connect now Visit the NQ Dry Tropics website at www.nqdrytropics for more details

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Bowling Green Bay wetlands; Brolga; Magpie Geese; NQ Dry Tropics CEO Dr Scott Crawford; Gudjuda Ranger Eddie Smallwood

burdekinlocal.com.au

thursday 1 october 2020

ON THE WATER 19

Catch of the week Twice the fun Send us your best pics and detais of your catch through our social media pages and your image could be chosen for our On the Water page!

Kai Delle Baite This week’s catch goes to Kai Delle Baite, with his two awesome Coral Trout.

These beauties were caught at Pakhoi’s Reef, just off Cape Upstart.

Recreational boating is a favourite pastime for millions of Australians WITH more than 85 per cent of the population living within 50km of the coast, it is estimated that more than 20 per cent of all Australians engage in some form of boating annually and that almost 1 in 5 households have a boat or watercraft.

With the span of magnificent coastline, harbours, bays, and rivers, Aussies are spoilt with options for enjoying time in, on or around our waterways.

The popularity of recreational boating can be witnessed on our waterways all year round, and the longevity and history of this favourite pastime is best demonstrated at the fabulous maritime museums Australia wide.

Despite the challenging scenario that the pandemic has presented, recreational boating and the desire for the outdoors has seen a substantial increase in interest and demand worldwide. Where permitted, recreational boating has presented Australians with the perfect remedy for those seeking to de-stress and relax in the outdoors for improved mental health.

Recreational boating is diverse in nature, not only catering for the opportunities associated with having a good time, but also as a conduit to many sporting activities such

as fishing, sailing, water-skiing, wake boating and paddling.

National Boating Week runs until 2 October, fittingly with the weekend of 3 and 4 October being the unofficial start of the boating season in Australia.

The week celebrates the lifestyle of recreational boating and works to help Australians understand pathways to participate as well has help those already active on the waterways.

The purpose of the campaign is to heighten awareness of the joys and benefits associated with recreational boating across Australia.

This week will also see the launch of DiscoverBoating.com.au, an information portal to help all Australians better understand and guide them with information, education and entertainment associated with boating.

The week will occur alongside with National Safe Boating Week organised and delivered by the Australia New Zealand Safe Boating Education Group (ANZSBEG). The BIA works with regulators to support our charter to encourage and promote safe, responsible and enjoyable boating.

Advertise your business here to reach thousands of local readers!

Call our advertising team on 4422 0518 today.

Electrical

Mechanic

Sandblasting

• PAINTING • Fault diagnosis • Installations • A/c repairs

• MOBILE UNIT • INDUSTRIAL PAINT SALES 20 0 110 T AA10

• Servicing new and used cars all makes and models • All mechanical repairs

0417 756 554 276 QUEEN STREET, AYR

timmsysautoayr.com.au

Engineering

Motorcycle Dealer

• WET & DRY BLASTING

37 McCATHIE STREET, INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, AYR WAYNE 0477 779 623 BLAIR 0429 778 438 Email: blast@nqhf.com

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• Tungsten Carbide Hardfacing • Agricultural & Mining Equipment Repairs & Maintenance • Structural Steel Sheds, Concrete & Erection

PHONE: 4782 0144

20 0 110 B M 0 4

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WHERE GREAT DEALS HAPPEN WITH NO BULLS#!T!

266 Queen Street Ayr • 4783 3773 • www.burdekinmotorcycles.com.au

20 0 110 B SC0 8

CLASSIFIEDS Jobs

Deaths Bereavement Thanks

Notices

Funeral Notices

RYAN, Pauline Rae Late of Munro Street, Ayr A Funeral Service for Pauline, was held on Friday the 25th of September, 2020 at the Burdekin Community Church, Beach Road, Ayr, followed by interment in the Ayr Lawn Cemetery.

20 0 110 B F 0 13

Lina’s family extends their thanks and appreciation to all who sent expressions of sympathy, words of kindness and donations to The Murdoch Children’s Research Fontan Registry at the time of Lina’s sad passing.

We especially thank Dr Narelle Martin, Anne Byrnes, Dr Tata and the Staff of the Ayr Hospital for the dignity and respect always shown to Lina.

We would also like to sincerely thank Ken & Elizabeth Wright and Father Sibi for their care and compassion.

Please accept this as our personal thanks.

Lawrence, Patricia & family.

Peter, Glenys & family.

Jeffrey, Lara & family.

86 RAILWAY STREET, AYR PHONE 4783 1608 (all hours)

For Sale HOUSE FOR REMOVAL - FREE Miner’s Cottage. Owner may assist with some removal costs. For details and inspection phone 0429 953 783

Notice of A.G.M. Burdekin Neighbourhood Centre Assoc Inc.

Wednesday, 21st October, 2020 7.00pm Meeting Start

All Members & Community invited to attend (please rsvp for COVID-19 social distancing requirements by 19.10.20)

Burdekin Neighbourhood Centre 40 Chippendale Street, Ayr

20 10 0 1B N C0 1

CASUAL BUS DRIVERS WANTED Trans North Bus & Coach is currently looking for Casual Bus Drivers in our Ayr Depot. The successful applicants must have an MR licence or higher and a Drivers Authorisation. Trans North encourages all suitable applicants to apply for the position.

For more information contact our Depot on 07 3036 2070 or email your cover letter and resume to: ayr.manager@transnorthbus.com.au

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING D ate: T ime: V enue: W elcome: Agenda:

25 O ctober, 20 20 9am Anza c Cove B istro 20 20 F inancial Club M embers 1. O pen/ Apologies 2. M inutes 3. P resident’ s Report 4. T reasurer’ s Report 5. G eneral M anager’ s Report 6. Audited Statement 20 19/ 20 20

ELECTION OF OFFICE BEARERS

For Sale GREY RECLINER LOUNGE CHAIR with remote control lifter, suitable for the elderly.

Excellent condition $500. Bar fridge and small cabinet $150. Phone 4782 1543

20 0 110 B T S0 12

Lina Brotto

WE ARE HIRING

Truck and Dog Drivers and Semi Tipper Drivers wanted due to expansion of fleet.

Must have a minimum HC license and white/blue card. All work is local within the Burdekin region.

Please send your resume to burtrans@bigpond.net.au For further info contact 47833033

Pr esident Tr easu r er 2 RSL Com m ittee Mem b er s

HOME HILL PRIMARY SCHOOL SHIRTS REDUCED TO $25 Limited Sizes.

Home Hill News, 79 Eighth Avenue, Home Hill

GENERAL BUSINESS All G eneral B usiness to be raised must be in writing to the secretary by close of nominations on 11th O ct 20 20

Sheenag h G yss – Manag er / Secr etar y

Driver Training REANDA HEAVY VEHICLE DRIVING SCHOOL HR Truck Driving Lessons Phone Rob Sutcliffe 0400 021 030

To book your Classified listing in next week’s issue call 4422 0518

burdekinlocal.com.au

SPORT 21

thursday 1 october 2020

Track and Dirt Track Championships to tear up the Burdekin

The Brandon Flat Track will be buzzing this weekend as competitors from across the state compete in the annual Track and Dirt Track Championships.

Marina Trajkovich marina.trajkovich@burdekinlocal.com.au THE ANNUAL Track and Dirt Track Championships will be held in the Burdekin this year at the Brandon Flat Track, seeing riders of all ages compete across several divisions and categories.

The event, happening across both Saturday and Sunday this October 3rd weekend will see our locals and riders from across the state go head to head with some fierce competitors and titleholders.

President of the Ayr Motorcycle Club, Tony Taylor, hopes for a great turnout with families across the region and competitors of all ages getting involved.

“We’ve probably got the best dirt track facilities in Queensland, and we run primarily dirt track and some speedway events here.

“The age range this weekend is from four to, the oldest guy we’ve got nominated is seventy-seven. So a pretty wide range of people attending and competing.

“It’s pretty cool when you see tiny kids on motorbikes, and also the older people can still be involved and partake in it, its a good family sport,” he says.

Jarred Brook, the current Australian Dirt Track Champion, will be competing this weekend among other key figures in racing.

“Jarred will be up here and he’ll have some stiff competition from, I call them local people because they always race in our club, but some Townsville people, some Burdekin people, some from the Whitsundays who are probably well within the five fastest guys in the state.

“Some of the top juniors in the country will be up here as well, and we’ve got some speedy local kids who will either keep them on their toes or take their titles off them.”

Jack Miller a top GP racer, and speedway rider Josh Grajczonek who races full time in England and Poland are among local favourites who have grown up racing in Ayr. The sport has been popular throughout the Burdekin with the Ayr Motorcycle Club running regular events and celebrating its 60th birthday last year.

“It’s very controlled. Everyone is driving in the same direction, the rider all have the correct safety gear on, there’s first aid, and there’s coaching offered. It does have its dangers obviously, but I still think its an excellent sport and a good family sport because the whole family gets involved.

“All the parents and families involved in the club absolutely love it; the community support for us has been outstanding.”

Gates open 6.30am on both race days with attendees of the event asked to complete an online COVID safety form before attending.

onsor of the

Proud to be Major Sp

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2020 Queencskland Dirt Tra Championshobipers ct 3rd & 4thorO ts Reserve Brandon Sp

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266 Queen Street Ayr 4783 3773 www.burdekinmotorcycles.com.au

Queensland Track & Dirt Track Titles Ayr Motorcycle Club and Burdekin Motorcycles present...

2020

October 3&4 Brandon Sports Reserve • • • • • •

Gates open 6:30am both days Covid safe event and relevant rules apply Nominations only via Ridernet $15 per car entry fee Canteen facilities available Trophies awarded for all championship and support classes Photo:Cody Harris

22 SPORTS RESULTS Ayr Golf Club Wednesday Ladies Results Last Wednesday twenty ladies played our Monthly Medal event sponsored by Distinctions Hair Studio many thanks for your ongoing support, the Overall Winner was a young lady who is going to be another champion in the future, Jade Escriva. Other grade winners were A Grade Jade Escriva, B Grade Donna Boccalatte, C Grade Karen Christensen then other place getters were Loretta Mauro, Vicki Adcock, Mavis Carvolth.

Thursday Club Results Very good scores were common last Thursday, though the winners may have had some spiritual interventions in having their success with Peter Holmes and Gerry Mc Manus on twenty nine points second on twenty eight points was the Lena family Doug and Jon. Nearest to the pins: 8a Barry White, 8b Doug Cecil 9a Barry White, 9b Michael Stanley, 12a Tony Parker, 12b Peter Holmes, 18a Owen Baure, 18b Peter Holmes. Other winners included Nev (Nifty) Eathorne with the meat tray, and Jon Lena with the carton.

Friday Veterans Results In Friday’s events many counts were required. Allen Clutterback won the men’s event on eighteen points, John Brown was second with sixteen points, then we had three players on fifteen points with third going to Les Andersen, fourth Brendan Trezise and fifth Peter Saxby.

The ladies winner was Patricia Schlieff on twenty two points, with two players on eighteen points and a count back was required with Winsome Threlfall second and Janet Trezise in third.

Ayr Lawn Bowls Results 23.09.20 Wednesday Social; Winners, H. Montgomery, G. Rennis and J. Hall def H. Hazle, M. Chapman and J. Nielsen. Second place, R. Soper, J. Murray and B. Murison def K. Rayner, G. Cameron and R. Aplin. Other games, T. Feakes, S. Darwen and A.Gavuin def A. Cornford, A. Jones and J. Nelson. C. Olditch, B. Young and J. McDonald def D. Poil, R. Lazzerin and B. Pickard.

thursday 1 october 2020

Saturday afternoon 26-920 was sponsored by Valley Cash Store. The Club thanks Di Hutton for her generosity.

Winners T. Feakes, I. Cislowski and B. Cornford def T. Gough, G. Rennis and P. Herd.

Second place; D. Cutting, K. Rummeny and G. Brickhill def C. Olditch, B.Young and J. Hall.

Other games; L. Stidston, M. Chapman ans V. Edwards def A. Cornford, H. Hazle and J. Murray. K. Rayner, J. Edwards and B. Murison def M. Olsen, S. Darwen and J. Beresford. G. Nixon, E. Young and A. Baker def T. Klopper, L. Giumelli ans A. Gavuin

Ayr Ladies Bowls Winners of Tuesday afternoon Social bowls were Jill Beresford, Elaine Young and Pam Power who defeated Val Edwards, Linda Giumelli and Thele Klopper. In the other game Shirley McCane, Jan Ruff, Pat Herd and Mary Poli.

Results of Competition: Championship Pairs.... Merle Nixon/Dot Cutting def Ruth Moore/ Rayleen Hervey.

Competition for Thursday 8th October@1.30 Parkside Triples.... R Moore, Pat Herd, Dot Cutting v J Edwards, K Page, T Klopper Players required for today J Comollatti,I Wilson, M Nixon, D Cutting, K Page, J Edwards, P Power R Moore, R Hervey T Klopper.

Next Committee meeting October 12th Winners Tuesday social bowls Jill Beresford, Elaine Young and Pam Power

Brandon Bowls 27.09.2020: Brandon Bowls Club was the place to be, on Friday night, if you were looking to unwind and have fun playing bowls. Burdekin Skips hosted a great night with plenty of bowlers having a good time.

The team of Leonie Floridus, Lyn Storrie and Joe Yipanazar received first prize courtesy of some high scoring end wins.

The team of Rob DiGugliemo, Steve Poli, and Paolo Mio took out second place in a tight tussle. Paula Langdon, Nadia Lazzarin, Ray Panecassio, and Rino Lazzarin were the winners of the Bradman’s prize.

On Saturday the ‘A’ grade pairs

match between the duo of Ray Panecassio and Rino Lazzarin and the duo of Peter Jorgensen and Joe Yipanazar resulted in a win for Ray and Rino which sees them advance to the finals.

This match was worthy of a semi-final with it going down to the wire.

On Sunday the Julies Pharmacy mixed triples afternoon was contested. The lucky trio of Jamie Woods, Lyn Storrie and Joy Woods took out first prize.

Second place went to the trio of Mick McCloskey, Wayne Coonan, and Joe Yipanazar.

Third went to Kay Garner, Norm Storrie, and Len Feeney.

Matches will be on again on Friday night with names in by 6:00pm for a 6:30pm start and on Sunday with names in by 1:00pm for a 1:30pm start.

Home Hill Community Sports Club Congratulations and best wishers to the Management of the Burdekin Local News. It is good to see local support and confidence in our community.

Thursdays bowling saw three games off pairs with some excellent matches.

The visitors from Moolloolaba showed the locals some top bowling, with Paul Bonnel and Russel Tyson taking first place, with two wins and twenty eight points.

Results for Thursday were Paul Bonnel and Russel Tyson defeated Tony Eadie and Alan Jones.

Julie Bonnel and David Ingold defeated Hugh Montgomery and Karl Rumney. Glen Berryman and Steve Doig defeated Dino Poli and Terry Feakes.

Sunday Bowls , Round one, Terry Feakes and Sue Anderson Defeated Dino Poli and Jan Ruff.

Gloen Berryman and Colleen Ford defeated Mary Poli and Karl Rumney.

Round two. Glen Berryman and Colleen Ford defeated Dino Poli and Jan Ruff. Terry Feakes and Sue Anderson defeated Mary Poli and Karl Rumney.

Upsets in two games but congratulations to the winners and losers.

Overall Winners were Terry Feakes and Sue Anderson.

Remember, to play on

BURDEKIN NIGHT SOCCER Draw 06.10.20

Purple Pennant Teams players M. Olsen, D. Poli, R. Soper, L. Stidston, K. Rayner, H. Hazle, T. Feakes, T. Eadie and C. Olditch

Thursdays and Sundays, have your names in by 1.00 pm and games start at 1.30 pm. Phone number 47821185.

Our club is for the community, and run by local volunteers, and I would like to thank the lady members who have recently joined with a lifetime membership of $10.

We appreciate your support and look forward to many years of companionship and engagement.

For the people who have a Thursday or Sunday afternoon free, feel free to come in for a social drink. For those who want to learn the game of bowls we have free club bowls and free tuition. Most of all, have fun!

DATE

TIME

Saturday 03.10.20

1.00pm to 5.00pm

Damian Ricketts, Chris Wicks, Carl List, Jackson Oats, Brent Barnett, Shane Morgan.

Sunday 04.10.20

9.00am to 1.00pm

James Kennedy, Brooke Cross, Ross Blakey, Ross Rickards, Barry Cross, Carlo Tomarchio.

1.00pm to 5.00pm

Terry Lund, Emma Smith, Dylan Crew, Patrea Bojack, Andrew Kennedy, Erlinda Nunn, Barbara Colls.

9.00pm to 1.00pm

Toni Morgan, JO Morgan, Jenny Morgan, Shane Morgan, Bailey parker,Ben Hisatake, Sage Hisatake, Dustyn Priddle.

1.00pm to 5.00pm

Rory Archibald, Adrianna Higgs – Ward, Danica Archibald, Sharlie Archibald, Flynn Vivian, Mia Vivian, Lisa Vivian.

Monday 05.10.20 (Queens Birthday Holiday)

BURDEKIN NETBALL Draw 01.10.20

FIELD TEAM

6.30 pm

1

FUBC

v

Oary’s Levellers

TIME

2

CRT Local Blokes

v

Fair Call

4:00pm

3

Kick N Miss (L)

v

Amigos (L)

1

Burdekin Floor Coverings

v

DL Lager

2

Tight Nuts

v

Wires Down

3

Real Power

v

BGF Boys

4

The Outsiders (L)

v

Young Guns (L)

1

Smiling Assassins (L)

v

Eliza’s Team (L)

2

Team Kettle

v

TWS

3

Hallerwealth Old Grumpies

v

UDS

4

Mottin Earthmoving

v

Kalamia Hotel

1

Honeycombes Hornets

v

FJV

2

Shoot Your Shot

v

Ryan’s Lot

3

Free Ballers

v

Jessi’s Boys

4

Just for Kicks (L)

v

Hangovers(L)

1

BCC

v

ZDS

2

UDS Ladies (L)

v

Goal Diggers (L)

3

Ankle Tappers (L)

v

Kicken Goals (L)

4

Shin Kickers (L)

v

Bye

7.30 pm

8.00 pm

8.30 pm

L-R President Peter Henderson, Lyn Storrie, Jamie Woods, Joy Woods

AYR SURF LIFE SAVING BEACH PATROL Roster

TIME

7.00 pm

TEAM

burdekinlocal.com.au

4:15pm 5:30pm

7.00pm

8.15pm

CRT TEAMS

Umpires/Scorers/Res Um

3

Net (5-7 Years)

4

SetGo (8-10 Years)

1

Terminators vs Bubblicious Layla Marson , Cara Trindle

2

Skrt Skrt vs Sweaty Bettys

Alicia Butterworth, Jess Cox

1

White Lightning vs Red

Glenys Brotto, Aailyah Gibson

2

Weirdos vs And I Hoop

Amy Butterworth, Shalon Gibson

3

Gazelles vs Picklejuice

Julie O’Shea, Cara Trindle

1

Pizzazz vs Scrambled Legs

Sarah Butterworth, Sheree McKaig Scorer – Yung Wungz

2

50 Shades vs Sugar Plums

Alicia Butterworth, Ashley Fowler Scorer – Tin Cans

Reserve Umpires

Christy Pensini, Zoe Johansen

1

Yung Wungz vs NQIB

Glenys Brotto, Faith Swindley Scorer – Scrambled Legs

2

Tin Cans vs Strikers

Amy Butterworth, Rebecca Watson Scorer – 50 Shades

4

The Birds vs LBC

Kristine Patti, Cailin Betteridge Scorer – Pizzazz

Reserve Umpires

Cara Trindle, Di Armstrong

No NetSetGo during holidays

burdekinlocal.com.au

SPORT 23

thursday 1 october 2020

NETBALL SEASON A STUNNER The 2020 Burdekin Silverlinks’ season wrapped up with a nail-biting match against Neptunes in Townsville The Burdekin Netball Premier League team

AS THE sporting seasons draw to a close, Burdekin Netball Association can reflect on another successful season in the Townsville Premier League competition.

The Bendigo Bank Burdekin Silverlinks narrowly missed out on another grand final berth.

Finishing fourth on the ladder after the regular season they headed into the first week of finals against Marian Vixens in a do-or-die semifinal match. With a very impressive 18 point win the ladies looked polished going into the preliminary final against Minor Premiers Neptune’s.

The Silverlinks were required to put their very best netball out on the court to take down the in form team of the competition. It is safe to say the Silverlinks did just that.

That preliminary final will go down as one of the all-time entertaining matches in Townsville Premier League history.

In an epic double extra time, 80 minutes of edge of your seat, nail-biting netball, the eventual Premiers Neptune’s pipped the Silverlinks by just 2 points.

With every competition comes awards and the Silverlinks were once again among the recipients for 2020.

Following a 3, 2, 1 voting sequence from all coaches throughout the year, the 2020 Premier League Team of the Year was announced. From Burdekin’s talented team of athletes Alix Leckenby was named GA of the year and co-captain Amy Butterworth was named GK of the year.

In a similar 3, 2, 1 voting system points are awarded towards the MVP of the Year. At the recent TCNAI virtual awards night, our Silverlinks co-captain Kimberley Bourke was awarded the honour of the 2020 Townsville Premier League MVP. The local Bendigo Bank Burdekin Silverlinks team awards are still to be announced which will take place at Burdekin Netball’s Grand Final day on 17th October.

Alix Leckenby and Amy Butterworth

Football Matters Cyclops

The Burdekin Panthers had seven matches over the weekend winning five and losing two. The Junior competitions are on the school holiday break.

PREMIERS

PANTHERS V BROTHERS

CHARITY MATCH

The Young Panthers, third on the ladder were up against fifth placed Brothers at home on Friday night. Daniel Wilson put Burdekin ahead with a tenth minute penalty but Brothers equalised soon after and the score was tied at 1-1 at the interval. The second half was an entirely different affair with Kai Goodman and an own goal giving the Panthers a comfortable 3-1 lead and in the last twenty minutes further goals form Riley Christensen 2, and another from Daniel Wilson gave the Burdekin a very convincing 6-1 win.

The Masters Annual Charity Match between Blue Balls and Rainbows will take place on Friday 9 October hopefully with a large roll up of players and spectators. It is all in a very good cause.

with

On Friday night at International Park the Youth team thumped brothers 6-1 and in Townsville the Funkies lost 0-1 to Wulguru. The Women Reserves were down to play Wulguru but the Townsville club forfeited giving the girls a 3-0 win. On Saturday at home to Saints Eagles Souths the Premiers lost 0-2, but the Premier Women won 3-0 and the Reserves won 2-0.

On Sunday the Youth team played Olympic in Townsville winning 3-0.

ADVANTAGE The 5th placed Kalamia Hotel Panthers were up against competition leaders SES in the Premier League match. Burdekin played well in the first half against a very fast, fit SES team. It was 0-0 at the break and home supporters hoped that it might be the Panthers day. However two quick goals straight after the break, the second from the penalty spot, gave SES an unassailable advantage and even after having a man sent off SES were able to hang on and collect the three points. The Panthers carved out some chances but a reluctance to shoot helped out the SES defenders.

RESERVES The Burdekin Tyre Service Reserves currently topping the ladder were up against third placed Saints Eagles Souths. A close game was expected and it didn’t disappoint. Jay Leckenby gave the Panthers the lead after twenty eight minutes with a well taken goal and Antony Castiglione

made certain of the win when he converted a penalty at the start of the second half. The Panthers defended very well limiting Saints scoring chances. With two, possibly three games to go the Reserves have a good chance of being minor premiers.

HOME V AWAY The 3rd Division Austral Masonry Funkies were away Friday night against Wulguru. A number of injuries meant the Burdekin team started the match with 2 substitutes and a first half injury to Adrian West reduced that to 1. The two teams were fairly evenly matched and chances were hard to come by. Late in the first half Wulguru took the lead from the penalty spot after a harsh handball decision against Burdekin. Burdekin took more control of the match in the second half but could not find an equaliser. Wulguru managed to disrupt the flow of the game with a number of late substitutions and held on for a 1-0 win. The Funkies are at home on Friday night against first placed Ross River.

WOMEN’S COMP The Kalamia Hotel Premier Women played very well vs Saints on Saturday afternoon winning 3-0. Tegan Johnson opened the scoring midway during the first half to give the ladies a 1-0 lead at half time. The second half saw Johnson score directly from a corner kick before scoring again directly from a free kick to seal her hat trick and see Burdekin win easily. Burdekin’s defence was outstanding keeping their first clean sheet of the season. Well done to the ladies!

DYLAN DOES IT A hot Sunday afternoon game in Townsville was the challenge for the youth team. Aiming to keep alive hopes of a second place finish a win was a must. From the start the Burdekin side were on top and looking to dominate. After missing many chances it was Dylan Meinicke who opened the scoring in the 42nd minute. After the break it was more of the same. Meinicke completed another brilliant team move to make it two nil before Brent Barnett knocked home a cross to score his first of the season and give the young Panthers a 3-0 win.

CLEANUP TIME The 42nd Season of Delta Cleaners Night Soccer has now played its two “trial weeks” and the serious stuff starts next Tuesday 6 October.

THIS WEEK’S FOOTBALL QUOTE The Quote of the Week this week is from Trevor Brooking, ex West Ham and England star turned T V commentator: “It’s end to end stuff but from side to side”.

24 SPORT

thursday 1 october 2020

LocalSport

Sports PAGE Results 22

NETBALL SEASON A STUNNER

burdekinlocal.com.au

PAGE

23

Panfilo Di Lullo, Martin Grandelis, Dave Flanagan, Russel McNee, John Lewis. Photo courtesy of Peter Peach.

New book to celebrate district’s rugby history

Hayden Menso hayden.menso@burdekinlocal.com.au A NEW book is in production, highlighting the history and success of Rugby League teams in the Burdekin over time.

Former Ayr resident Martin Grandelis are compiling the publication. It will showcase a history of the Ayr, Home Hill and Burdekin Rugby Leagues.

Mr Grandelis had previously written a history of the Atherton Roosters as a celebration of their centenary in 2018, and he was inspired to compile a history of the Burdekin leagues.

From the early twentieth century decades to the disbandment of club competition at the end of 1986, the book will track the evolution of many clubs.

A combination of old newspapers, club and official records, the book will also include player and supporter recollections.

“I grew up in the 1960s when going to Rugby Park on Sunday was the place to be.

With lots of locals playing in the senior and minor grades, there was a four-team club competition. Clubs often signed a coach from out of

town and representing the district was an honour,” Mr Grandelis says.

The book’s aiming at documenting competitions, rivalries, controversies and personalities that played or administered the clubs, as well as the many colourful supporters — and including player profiles and personal stories.

Sourcing as many team

Swimmer of the year Lisa Furnell Burdekin Swim School ONCE a year at Burdekin Swim School we choose a Swimmer of The Year. This year it was awarded to 12 year old Lily Kiehne.

Lily is a member of our Stinger’s Squad, which is made up of our senior swimmers.

The recipient of this award doesn’t have to just be a good swimmer, but someone who leads by example, is happy to demonstrate to the younger squad swimmers and puts in 100 per cent to training.

Lily is always polite,

respectful to her coach and to the other kids in the squad, and is a pleasure to teach.

Lily started swimming at Burdekin Swim School as an 8-month-old in 2008, and along with her older brother Jack, and younger sister Jemma, have been consistently coming to swim lessons and then Squad training two sessions a week, three terms a year since.

Their Mum Amber Kiehne deserves a gold medal, as do all other parents and

grandparents who take their kids to swimming lessons.

We have many names on the Perpetual Trophy going back to 1993, with a number of the swimmers now bringing their own children to Burdekin Swim School.

Other awards were presented, including the Spirit Award to Ben Laidlow, Most Improved Female – Rylee DelleBaite and Most Improved Male – Felipe Teixeira.

Lily Kiehne and Lisa Furnell

photos as possible from the first days of rugby league in the district up until 1986 is the challenge.

Mr Grandelis has sourced over 200 team photographs already, going back to the 1920s. However, many of the names associated with them have been long forgotten.

Martin is looking to talk to anyone who may have a story, old newspaper cuttings or

photographs. It’s aimed the book will be completed and launched in Ayr by the middle of 2021.

To contact Martin to contribute, you can email him at martin.grandelis@gmail. com or phone 0437 047 966.

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