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Kayaking To Help Save The Reef
The Great Barrier Reef Foundation hosted eight travellers from across Australia with the goal of raising funds to protect and restore the reef The group enjoyed a spectacular showing from one of the World’s Natural Wonders, including picturesque sunsets and whale shows
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The participants raised a total of $25 thousand for the Great Barrier Reef Foundation leading up to five-day kayak adventure
Agroup of eight people from across the country set out earlier this month to paddle their way around the Whitsundays by kayak, raising over $25 thousand in much needed funds to protect and restore the Great Barrier Reef. Coinciding with the Great Barrier Reef Festival, the inaugural Whitsundays Kayak Adventure for the Reef took off from Shute Harbour on August 4. With a host of Queenslanders, New South Welshman and Victorians – as well as a few locals – the Great Barrier Reef Foundation organised trip saw its contingent “put their paddles where their passion is”. The group – who each contributed to a $25 thousand fundraising campaign - included the likes of sisters celebrating a 40th birthday, a married couple from Sydney who’d taken stock of their lives and committed to giving back, and a UK expat living in Victoria whose visit was their first ever to the reef. Bec Plant and her husband Edward Plant were two participants who took part in the five-day kayak adventure and had their own story which inspired their journey. “October last year, my husband and I realised we were coming up on ten years married. It was a big occasion and we wanted to make it something special,” Mrs Plant said. “What could we do instead that we could have as an adventure, but also tickled our philanthropic bone? “We had an experience where we’d seen some of the bleaching [at the reef] in previous years, and my husband has a definite passion for the area, having grown up in Townsville. “This opportunity for the kayak adventure came up, and with Great Barrier Reef Foundation helming it, that just ticked all the boxes.” It certainly was an adventure, with the paddlers kayaking an average of 16km per day. Great Barrier Reef Foundation rep and experienced kayaker Laura Dunstan led much of the Wednesday to Sunday trip, which wove a path from locations including Whitehaven Beach, around Hasselwood Island, past North Hook Island and back to Mt Jefferies. “My role on the Whitsunday Kayak adventure was to be the representative; to pass on all of my knowledge and passion of the reef, reef creatures, and what threats there are to it,” Ms Dunstan said. “As well, to show what the Great Barrier Reef Foundation and all its partners are doing to reduce those threats and build reef resilience. “A big part of my role was to thank the participants for all of the funds they’ve raised and will continue to raise for the Foundation and our projects.” Ms Dunstan, who has a background in Marine Biology, said it was an incredible experience being able to go back and “inspire people about the reef.” The genesis of the kayak adventure began in the Great Barrier Reef Foundation’s fundraising team to get people involved on a monetary level and then on an experiential level. “To physically go out, see the reef, have that connection to country and to the reef, to see where that money was going,” Ms Dunstan said. “To go to a reef that had experienced major catastrophic events like Cyclone Debbie, to see all the baby coral that we and other organisations had planted and are spawning, it instils hope for the reef.” Strong connection to country was an important cornerstone of the kayak adventure – which Ms Dunstan said will become a regular, annual event for the organisation. A welcome to country was performed by Eric Lymburner, a Traditional Owner and proud Ngaro man – which Ms Plant said was an experience unlike any other. “To have both Eric and Laura on the trip with us, both wellsprings of knowledge on everything, it was fantastic, and I can’t thank them enough,” she said. On the final day of the trip, Ms Dunstan and Mrs Plant said the Reef put on a show for the impassioned fundraisers. “A beautiful sunrise with the whales coming in and playing around the kayaks in the early morning. You can’t put a price on that,” Ms Plant said. “We were paddling out in the dark, come around the corner from Maureen’s Cove – a completely coral beach with no sand – and the colour in the sky. “Everything was quiet and still, there was no sound, and you hear the whales breathing – big plumes out of the water. It was the best day ever. Thinking about it now, it was that moment where you think: this is connection to country, land, and sea. “That trip gave me hope for the reef and made us want to keep fighting to save it.” The Great Barrier Reef Foundation hopes to run the trip and fundraising arm of the Whitsundays Kayak Adventure into the future and interested parties can reach out to them via their website.
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Bowen RSL observed Vietnam’s Veterans Day “In Memory Of All Fallen Comrades” Wreaths were lain during the ceremony, which coincides with the reunion of the battle of Long Tan in 1966.
Veteran Rusty Vincent laid a wreath on behalf of Vietnam Veterans on the day
Member for Dawson Andrew Willcox gave a poignant speech on bettering the treatment of veterans
At 11am on August 18, the country marked Australia’s Vietnam Veterans Day with a minute’s silence. Whitsunday RSLs commemorated the day - which coincides with the anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan, the single largest unit battle fought in the war by Australian soldiers - with their own ceremonies and wreath laying. The Bowen RSL Sub-Branch was a packed house for its memorial, which included dignitaries like Member for Dawson Andrew Willcox, and Whitsunday Councillor Mike Brunker, with Member For Burdekin, Dale Last, an apology. Sub-Branch President John Eyles officiated the Veteran’s event, welcoming war widows, families, currently serving defence personnel, and the veterans themselves. Member For Dawson, Andrew Willcox said it was an honour to address the crowd at the Sub-Branch on such a solemn occasion. “It is a day that is very, very important. The anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan in 1966 – a fierce battle which took place at a rubber plantation near Nui Dad in South Vietnam,” he said. “Where a contingent of 100 Australian soldiers, outnumbered by at least 10 to one, managed to hold off the vastly superior Viet Cong attack. Suffering the heaviest Australian casualties in a single engagement in Vietnam. “It is an incredible story of winning against the odds; a story that reflects the ANZAC spirit: courage, mateship, tenacity, and humour.” Mr Willcox took the opportunity to not only honour the past, but to look towards the future – particularly in reference to the treatment of veterans. “Veterans today are entitled to be treated with professionalism and respect. I hope the current Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran’s Suicide serves as a call to action,” The Member for Dawson said. “We need urgent action to deal with the backlog of veteran claims and make it easier for veterans’ voices to be heard. “To find that more current and former ADF Members have died by suicide than in combat in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars shows that the system is broken. “As a nation, we need to do more for our veterans. We must do better.” Mr Willcox thanked the veterans for their service: “Thank you for making Australia the best country to live in. If we are truly to honour the ANZAC spirit, we must live by it; as a nation, we must stand by our mates.” Sub-Branch President John Eyles read the ode after a few wreaths were lain, most notably by ‘Rusty’ Vincent, who laid his wreath on behalf of the Vietnam veterans. “Lest we forget,” Mr Eyles said.
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School’s Step On The Journey To Inclusivity
An assessment piece from a local Bowen State High School student has highlighted the power of the written word, leading her school to open an LGBTIQA+ section of its library. The local high school met “another milestone in its journey to inclusion” with the unveiling of the small section in its resource centre, which is dedicated to representation. Teacher Stephen Murray, Head of the English Department at Bowen State High School, said the genesis of the idea didn’t come from faculty, but instead from an essay written by a well-read student. “They stated in the text they’d created that they saw no representations of their identity in the books that they read, despite being a voracious reader of fiction,” Mr Murray said. “They found no queer characters, no characters that were gender fluid and that struck a chord with me. I thought: Bowen State High School is on an inclusive journey; we want everyone to feel included. “It struck me that it’s just not right.” Mr Murray took the issue to his fellow staff members, and together they vetted and gathered a collection of appropriate, highschool level texts (including award-winning and excellently written novels) which promote inclusivity or tell stories centred around queer or gender fluid characters. The eight books which form the basis of the section are now available to be signed out by students in an honour system where they may take the books home anonymously, without signing them out. There were immediately five of the eight books borrowed in the first few days, coming back in drabs before being borrowed again in what the school said is an excellent success.
Head of the English Department Stephen Murray and Acting Principal Steve Baskerville next to Bowen State High School’s new, and growing, LGBTIQA+ section of its library To officially unveil the section, a rainbow cake cutting was held in the resource centre, with leadership, teachers, and students enjoying the inclusive celebration. “The student who wrote the essay which prompted this whole section is proud of what she wrote and the end result of what’s been accomplished,” Mr Murray said. “We value every student, so it’s important for me as a teacher and for the team as a school to feel there’s a safe and supportive environment for them.” The plan is to grow the section every year with student and staff recommendations taken into consideration. Acting Principal of Bowen State High School, Steve Baskerville, said it was fantastic to see texts being a representation of the diversity of the students. “That’s important for the students who identify in those diverse ways. But it’s also important for every other student as well as they make their way through the school and out into the world where they’ll engage with people from a range of different backgrounds,” he said.
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Marathon Man Runs In For A Mango Sorbet
Lachlan Spark has run almost 222 half-marathons in a row each day for the better part of a year, and dropped into Bowen for a Mango Sorbet as he approached his journey’s end in Cairns
Lachlan Spark, an avid runner and mental health advocate who’s spent most of 2022 running half marathons up the Australian east coast, dropped into Bowen’s Big Mango last week in the latter stage of his epic 5000-kilometre journey from Hobart to Cairns. Over 200 days ago, Lachie began his mission in cold Tasmania to run 228 consecutive half-marathons up the country’s eastern seaboard in what he calls ‘The 222 Run’, arriving in sunny Cairns. He had two goals aside from the physical and mental challenge of running 21.1 kilometres per day for the better part of a year: to raise funds and to raise awareness for Australians living with depression and anxiety, an issue deeply close to Lachie’s heart. “I’d come up with the idea many years ago while I was living in Melbourne. I was incredibly depressed and was worried about my future because of it,” Lachie said. “I thought I could do something extraordinary. So, I came up with the idea that I wanted to run the length of the Australian east coast.” Lining up with the charities R U OK? and Heart On My Sleeve to raise awareness and funds, Lachie began his long, personal journey with an altruistic goal. Last week, on day 196, Lachie dropped in at Bowen’s Big Mango for the “world’s best mango sorbet”. “The mango sorbet is honestly the best thing I’ve ever tasted,” Lachie laughed. Now in the journey’s closing stages, he reflected on what it all meant. “The thing I’ll take with me once the race is finished is the impact that we’ve had on people who’ve never felt comfortable having a conversation about what they’re feeling,” he said. “In a small way, I feel we’ve given their voice volume – just having a chat can do that. Keep having those conversations.” You can donate to Lachie’s cause here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-222
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