Friday, 24 June, 2022
Thinking of selling? You know who to call
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Lex inspires the Tigers
Teary support for PTSD dogs
Story behind the dolls
40-page liftout Property Guide
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PAGES 20-21
INSIDE
Sunshine Beach State School students Grace, Holly, Madeline and India.
PR OP ER TY
Picture: ROB MACCOLL
Noosa Junction abuzz with electric travel options Noosa Junction was buzzing with electric vehicles on Sunday when the Noosa Electric Vehicle Expo and Street Fest showcased the latest in electric vehicle technology.
Among the many displays was a project devised by Coolum teacher John Fuller for Sunshine Beach State School Year 6 students to explore the electric car phenomena using
battery operated remote-controlled cars and the concept of a 35km travelling ranges. “It taught them a bit about electric vehicles, a bit about geography and a bit about
tourism,” Mr Fuller said. “It gets kids thinking about the future.” Story page 5
Seachange crash By Margie Maccoll
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Two years of Covid and rising rents proved too much for business operators Bob and Bridgit Conway who will farewell their Gympie Terrace newsagency on 30 June, warning there will be many more as local business owners fall victim to a tightening financial squeeze. “We’re a really good example of where things are at the moment,“ Bob said. The couple have run Newsextra Noosaville for the past 13 years in the premises that has been a newsagency since 1985. Their depar-
ture ends an 81-year tradition of newsagencies on Gympie Terrace since the first one opened in 1939. The business was a seachange dream for the Conways that had become a reality until the pandemic changed the game. “I wanted to have the coastal lifestyle,“ Bob said. “We came from Central Queensland. I’d been in the mining and construction industries. We love it here. “It was like this garden of Eden.
“We’ve come through two years of Covid. Anybody in retail will tell you it’s been a nightmare. But they don’t like telling you that. They don’t want to advertise they’re struggling. “We’re country people. We’ll tell you straight. We’ve taken the punches. We’ve had good support from the community. “Noosa is set up to be busy. When we’re not busy, times get tough. Locals give you support but it’s not enough.“ Bob said for two years when tourist numbers dropped during Covid, the couple shouldered the losses and waited for it to pass, but
as southerners moved to Noosa and real estate prices soared, rents also soared. “Landlords in Noosa do not take backward steps,“ Bob said. “They want retailers to take all the pain,“ he said. “We can’t afford to be here. “It hurts. We paid good money for this investment. We got no return on the investment. It’s a sign of the times. Continued page 3