18 BUILDING MINING COMMUNITIES
Queensland Industry Advocate | September 2015
SUPPORTED BY CANNINGTON
Tyrone Hookey with his fleet.
Entertainer Phil Emmanuel with ‘Croc’ and Senior Constable Des Hansson from McKinlay police at the Fight Night.
Fight Night benefits blue The North West showed how to put some punch into charity recently when about 150 people turned out for a fundraising Fight Night at McKinlay, sponsored by South32 Cannington. Cloncurry Police Citizens Youth Club (PCYC) organised the event at McKinlay’s Walkabout Creek Hotel, famous for its appearance in the Paul Hogan movie Crocodile Dundee. “We put on some exhibition fights in the car park under lights and there was a concert by Phil Emmanuel and Pop Standen,” PCYC branch manager Sgt Mick Maguire said.
Boxers from the Cloncurry PCYC took on other fighters from Mount Isa and Longreach clubs, he said. “The main event was between the police officer at McKinlay, Des Hansson, and the local plumber from here (Dane Swalling of Cloncurry),” he said. “There was so much leaning going on I think it was a draw.” Sgt Maguire said it had been a fantastic night with a lot of laughs, raising $2250 for beyondblue through charity auctions. “We had about 150 people along for the night – which is pretty good because there’s
usually only about 10 people in town,” he said. South32 Cannington principal, corporate affairs Graeme Nielsen said mental health charity beyondblue had been chosen to benefit from the night and this aligned with the mining operation’s support of that group in its Charity of the Year campaign. “We want to thank the PCYC for putting it all together, Queensland police for their support and the McKinlay community for getting behind such a great event,” Mr Nielsen said.
Gladstone SES scores well More than 100 players chipped in for a good cause at this year’s Gladstone Engineering Alliance Charity Golf Day, raising funds for the local SES. GEA administration and events officer Lycinda Steen said 38 teams had participated in the three-person Ambrose format, played over 18 holes at the Gladstone Golf Course. The Westpac team placed first, followed by Ulton and Lee Crane Hire. Ms Steen said GEA was able to present almost $4000 to Gladstone SES as a result of the event, with Projects Unlimited coming on board for the third year as principal sponsor. The GEA Charity Golf
Day has previously supported organisations including the Mount Maurice Rural Fire
Brigade, Salvation Army, RSPCA and Roseberry Community Services.
Work results from life link with mine Tyrone Hookey grew up around trucks and heavy machinery in the family business, Hookey Contracting, in Mount Isa. Now the father-of-five runs his own business handling onsite freight and commodities for Century Mine. Mr Hookey, 29, recently marked one year as a contract partner with MMG’s Century Mine as the director of Hookey Logistics. He is proud to follow in the footsteps of his parents Reginald and Mandy, who own and operate Hookey Contracting - established in 1998 from an opportunity through the mine’s Gulf Communities Agreement. Mr Hookey was 12 when his parents started their business and says “I pretty much grew up at the mine.” He left school at 15 and started work with them as a labourer, building up experience around the trucks and heavy machinery.
The GCA also paved the way for his business, initiated with a proposal submitted to MMG in 2011. Hookey Logistics has taken on an on-site service previously provided by Toll/ NQX. Its fleet consists of a prime-mover rated at 140 tonnes, an eight-tonne body truck and a skel tipping trailer. Mr Hookey hoped there would be further work opportunities with MMG beyond the imminent winding down of Century mining and processing operations, and he also has sights on other potential business opportunities in the Gulf region. MMG cites the success of Hookey Logistics as an example of the company’s commitment to fostering Aboriginal businesses that will continue long after its mining, processing and shipping operations have finished at Lawn Hill and Karumba.
Callide steps up to replace teaching kit
GEA general manager Carli Hobbs (centre) with SES representatives Zeta Ware and Rhonda Denney.
Cannington Proudly supporting mining communities
Anglo American’s Callide mine has donated $4950 to help the Cyclone Marcia recovery effort at Thangool State School, south of Biloela. More than 80 per cent of the school’s library books and teaching resources were destroyed and classrooms were left ruined in the wake of the cyclone in February. Thangool State School Principal Michael Nielsen said the support and donation from Anglo American had been critical in helping to relieve the pressure on teachers, staff and community members who had been working tirelessly to get the school reopened.