
Ayr Golf Club has marked another successful Mona Coburn & Di Oats Day, with 23 players taking to the course for the much-loved annual event. Held on Wednesday, the day was a celebration of both competition and community, honouring the lasting contributions of two important figures in the club’s history. The event was made even more special thanks to the continued sponsorship and support from the families of Mona Coburn and Di Oats. Club members were pleased to once again welcome Bruce Coburn and Sandy Oats, who attended the day and presented prizes to the winners on behalf of their families. Ayr Golf Club said it was an honour to have them present, acknowledging the ongoing role both families play in supporting the event and preserving its significance within the club. The annual day serves as a reminder of the strong sense of tradition within the club, with many family members continuing to stay involved and contribute to its success. Club representatives said they were grateful to have such dedicated support, noting that events like these highlight the important legacy left by past members and the community spirit that continues to thrive today. Congratulations were extended to all prize winners, with the club also offering a heartfelt thank you to Bruce Coburn, Sandy Oats and their families for their ongoing and generous support. CAPTION: The annual event continued to honour club legends while bringing members together on the course. Photo source: Ayr Golf Club
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Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority has increased disaster recovery grants to up to $50,000 Support covers small businesses and not-for-profits impacted by recent severe weather events Funding can be used for clean-up, repairs, equipment replacement and recovery costs Burdekin Shire is included as an eligible disaster-affected region
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On Thursday, 2 April, concerned local resident Matthew Russell came across an unexpected visitor paddling through Nelsons Lagoon on Adelaide Street, Ayr. In a post shared online, Mr Russell alerted locals to the presence of a small freshwater crocodile, with many community members remarking on how unusual it was to spot a crocodile in the park, particularly so far from larger waterways. Unlike saltwater crocodiles, freshwater crocodiles are smaller, shy and slender-snouted, typically feeding on fish, frogs and insects. They are not considered a significant threat to humans. Nonetheless, Mr Russell followed Queensland Government regulations, taking the initiative to report the sighting to the Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI) via the QWildlife app. Sightings can also be reported through DETSI’s online portal or by calling 1300 130 372. “We encourage you to report any crocodile you have concerns about – even if it’s deceased,” a DETSI spokesperson said. “If you are not concerned about a crocodile you have seen, you can still report it. This information can help us keep track of the movements and behaviour of crocodiles in the area.” No waterway in Northern Queensland can ever be considered crocodile free. DETSI reminds residents who come across crocs in the wild to keep a safe distance, stay away from the water’s edge, report the sighting immediately and remain croc-wise at all times. CAPTION: Mr Russell spotted the croc last week and immediately took action. Photo credit: Matthew Russell
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Ayr State High School will be under round-the-clock security surveillance these school holidays following a recent spike in vandalism. In a public notice shared with the community, SRW Security Services confirmed a 24/7 presence at the school, with two security officers rostered on every shift to monitor the site. “Due to a significant amount of damage caused in recent weeks, SRW Security Services will now have a 24/7 security presence at Ayr State High School for the duration of the school holidays,” the post read. The increased security aims to protect public assets and deter further incidents, with a clear message directed at potential offenders. “This is about protecting community assets and putting a stop to ongoing vandalism. If anyone is considering trespassing or causing further damage — don’t. You will be dealt with accordingly by QPS.” The move comes amid growing concern from locals about damage to public facilities, particularly during school holiday periods when sites are more vulnerable. Authorities are also reminding residents of the importance of community vigilance through the School Watch program, which encourages locals to report suspicious after-hours activity at schools. Empty schools can become targets for unlawful entry, arson, theft, graffiti and property damage, particularly during holidays, impacting not just repair costs, but the wider community. The program, a partnership between the Department of Education and the Queensland Police Service, provides a direct way for the public to report concerns, even if they seem minor. On average, more than 700 calls are made to School Watch each year. Residents are urged to “Look, Listen, Report” by calling School Watch on 13 17 88, or Triple Zero (000) in an emergency. SRW Security Services said the update was also shared in response to community questions about the visible security presence at the school. “We appreciate the community’s support,” the post continued, encouraging residents to share the message and help protect local infrastructure. The added security is expected to remain in place throughout the holiday period as efforts continue to prevent further damage and maintain safety at the site. CAPTION: Additional 24/7 security has been put in place at Ayr State High School. Photo source: SRW Security Services
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Local graziers attended an informative workshop at Warrawee Station to learn how to achieve optimum reproductive performance for their breeder herds.
This two-day workshop focused on the theory and practical skills of pregnancy testing and foetal ageing in cattle, and how to integrate skills and information to make decisions about livestock efficiency and performance.
Eiren Smith, Dreghorn Station, said pregnancy testing was a valuable management tool to monitor reproductive efficiency and detect problems early in the breeding season.
He said discussions about pregnancy rates, patterns of conception during a mating period, and what that data meant for future planning and management, was helpful.
Eiren also said the course focused on how to optimise pasture use to maximise the kilograms turned off per hectare while maintaining the resource base.
“The productivity of our business is reliant on the number of weaners we can turn off per year and not the number of cows we run,” he explained.
“Running less cows for the same amount of weaners means less input costs, better land condition and better profitability.”
North Queensland Dry Tropics Senior Grazing Field Officer, Chris Poole, said a challenge for the northern beef industry was to find ways to expand output and improve the quality of livestock despite the constraints imposed by a highly variable climate.
“While graziers can’t change rainfall or land type, they can manage coverage of P3 (perennial, palatable, productive) pastures in their country and increase water use efficiency and pasture production,” Chris said.
The workshop was supported by The Herding Change Through Grassroots Recovery project, funded by the partnership between the Australian Government’s Reef Trust and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation. The project aims to strengthen graziers' capacity to increase perennial groundcover at the end of the dry season, and reduce run-off of fine sediment to the Great Barrier Reef lagoon.
Photos supplied
Presenter Ian Braithwaite is flanked by Dreghorn graziers Eiren and Tegan Smith
Merricourt cattleman Jacob Gallagher and Warrawee grazier Kellie Healing preg-testing a cow
Ian Braithwaite uses a cow's pelvic bone to explain the physiology
Photos supplied

Just as leaving your doors unlocked poses a risk, neglecting to install and maintain smoke alarms in your home can jeopardise the safety of yourself and your loved ones.
With more Australians dying in residential fires on average than by all natural hazards combined, it’s sparking a renewed call from experts for Australians to protect themselves with a working smoke alarm. Smoke alarms provide a critical early warning to give you and your loved ones time to escape, so testing and maintaining them plays a crucial role in the device’s purpose, saving lives.
While Queensland has the most stringent fire safety laws in the country, the latest data shows just 73% of households tested their smoke alarms last year. While nearly two in three (62%) of those who do not have interconnected smoke alarms installed say they are likely to install them in the next 12 months.
Research from Brooks Australia reveals that the majority of Aussies (90%) don’t test their smoke alarm to the recommended standard – which is once a month.
Furthermore, a stunning one in five (22%) Aussies that have disabled their smoke alarms admit to never having replaced the battery when it ran out.
Cathy Brand, CEO of Brooks Australia, says testing your smoke alarm isn’t a task, it’s a responsibility.
“Smoke alarms are the most effective early warning sign when there is a fire, but if they aren’t tested and maintained properly it can put you, your family and your home at risk. Unfortunately, our research has found that households across Australia don’t regularly test their smoke alarms, placing Aussie families at significant risk,” Brand says.
“We’ve seen in recent months just how important smoke alarms are in saving lives including the escape of a family on the Gold Coast earlier this year.”
The absence of working smoke alarms can increase the possibility of a fatal fire by 60%.
Brand says testing your smoke alarms should be a regular maintenance routine of Australian households.
“While the recommendation is to test your smoke alarms once a month, cleaning the device to remove any dust, insects or cobwebs every six months can minimise false alarms and help smoke reach the internal sensors easily,” Brand says.
“Testing smoke alarms is a lot simpler than people might expect, just remember 10 - smoke alarms need to be less than 10 years old, take less than 10 seconds to clean and less than 10 seconds to test. That’s why we are encouraging Aussies to set a reminder every month to test your smoke alarm.”
Smoke alarms are a crucial safety feature in every household, but they can only protect you if they are working properly. To ensure that your smoke alarms are always functioning correctly, Brooks Australia recommends performing regular maintenance checks.
Brooks Australia is urging all Australians to check their smoke alarms once a month by joining #TestitTuesday where on a Tuesday during the month, households set a reminder to test their smoke alarms. To find out more about it, head to https://www.brooks.com.au/homesmoke-alarms

Hi readers
My mug has once again made it into the sport pages of Burdekin Life after the team I play cricket with, Guardian Pharmacy, took out the Home Hill Cricket Association grand final on the weekend.
You’ll find a photo of the team on the back cover and a report on page 29.
It was only my fourth game of the season, but I started to find my radar with the ball in these last few games and I was happy to be a part of the win.
Congratulations to my teammates on the win, to the other two teams on a terrific season of cricket and to the administrators and volunteers of Home Hill Cricket Association – it’s been a pleasure to write these reports all season and I look forward to experiencing my first Canefield Ashes in a few weeks!
You’ll also see my name mentioned across the page on page 28 it Stephen’s Home Hill Bowls Report, so it would be remiss of me not to mention my stellar bowls form at the moment.
I seem to be finding the jack consistently enough and, along with some other talented bowlers and teammates, have had a few wins in the last few weeks.
Most importantly, I’m loving my sport at the moment and enjoy getting out, meeting new people and having a crack.
Lastly, I must congratulate the talented performers who took the stage on Saturday for the NQ Fast Track Talent Showcase.
The level of talent on that stage absolutely blew me away – you can find results and photos on page 19.
I hope you enjoy the read this week!

It is likely that Ayr travel agent Pierina Dalle Cort will be declared the next mayor of the Burdekin Shire Council after Burdekin residents hit the polls for the local government election on Saturday, March 16.
At the time of writing, 84.85 per cent of the 12,248 enrolled electors’ votes for mayor had been counted, with 52.92 per cent of those going to Ms Dalle Cort and 47.08 per cent going the way of incumbent mayor Lyn McLaughlin.
Although close, Ms Dalle Cort is expected to be declared the next mayor by the end of the week and said she received a phone call of congratulations from Ms McLaughlin on Saturday evening.
“It was tight to start with and I didn’t expect to get a call from Lyn,” Pierina said.
“I’m excited, the phone hasn’t stopped ringing and, basically, I can’t wait to get in there and start work with the new Burdekin team.”
Ms Dalle Cort served as a councillor on the Burdekin Shire Council for 12 years before being voted out in 2016.
She then unsuccessfully ran for mayor in the 2020 local government election, saying Covid-19 restrictions affected the reach of her campaign.
“I’ve always been interested in council, I’ve been in business for 42 years, been the president of the Chamber of Commerce, I’ve always been involved,” she said.
“I’ve got a very supportive partner who said he’ll support me through this, so I needed to do it, and if I didn’t do it, I would’ve lived with regrets, and they always say don’t live with regrets.”
Ms Dalle Cort said she is eager to improve communication between council and community.
“We need to work together to go through some of the problems that have been facing our community for some time and what’s been holding up our process,” she said.
“I’m there to listen.
“Me and the team (of councillors) have been selected by the Burdekin and we want to hear your message and want to listen to you.”
At the time of writing, 84.79 per cent of the 12,248 enrolled electors’ votes for councillor had been counted, with Amanda Hall, Michael Detenon, Max Musumeci, John Furnell, Fina Vasta and Callan Oar likely to fill the six seats on the Burdekin Shire Council.
In the ten days of early voting leading up to election day, 7,502 residents casted their in-person vote at the Burdekin Sports Club Hall.
Meanwhile, 567 postal votes were issued throughout the shire 365 of those being returned and 337 accepted.
10,190 formal votes for mayor had been accepted at the time of writing while 202 informal votes were received.
Ms McLaughlin had been contacted for comment.
Caption: Pierina Dalle Cort is likely to be declared the next mayor of the Burdekin Shire Council

Students and Staff gathered at Home Hill State High School in the heat to help reduce the impact of rubbish to better their school and community on Sunday March 3.
The school thanked all staff and students involved in Clean Up Australia Day including Jack Srisoongneon, Cheynne Worland, Ava Protstat, Zoe Bonanno, Grace Ogomeni, Maliq Ogomeni, Rowen Petersen, Saxon Petersen, Eli Ogomeni, Lucy Young, Louise Hayne, Bridget Zimmerlie, Daniel Hayne, Cruz Torkington, Sean Phayre-Leung, Sharni Smerdon, Faryn Poli, Saelym Poli, Ashlyn Poli, Adam Young and Talin Poli.
Staff involved were Bruce Gall, Lisa Todeschino and Julie Young.
Home Hill State High School thanked everyone involved and said thanks to Tony and the Crown Hotel for the discounted pizza and garlic breads.
Since it’s beginnings over thirty years ago, over twenty million Australians have stepped up and donated their time to improve the environment for Clean Up Australia Day.
The cause’s focus is as much on preventing rubbish entering the environment as it is on removing what has already accumulated.
Clean Up Australia Day is on the first March of every year and everybody is encouraged to participate to help reduce waste in Australia and your community.
Caption: Home Hill State High School students participated in Clean Up Australia Day earlier in the month. Photo supplied

High school students from four Burdekin schools have been equipped with potentially lifesaving tools following the delivery of Road Safety Education Limited’s RYDA (Rotary Youth Driver Awareness) workshop last Friday, March 15.
The program included a full day workshop of six practical, interactive and powerful sessions about road safety for students at Burdekin Catholic High School, Home Hill State High School, Burdekin Christian College and Burdekin Educational Engagement Program, delivered at the Burdekin TAFE Campus.
RYDA Coordinator for the Burdekin Tony Goddard said the program lays the foundation for safe road use throughout their lives and challenges students to think about the role they play in road safety.
“It gives people an awareness of what can go wrong when driving a motor vehicle for the first time,” he said.
“That’s why we’re targeting drivers that are either about to get their Learner’s or are on their Learner’s or maybe they’ve already progressed onto their Provisional license.
“I think there’s been a dramatic decrease in the number of road crashes on our roads … so we hope the program’s working and the message is getting across.”
The program was coordinated by local Rotary clubs, with up to 12 volunteers from Ayr and Home Hill Rotary Clubs assisting on the day.
Sessions were delivered by driving instructors, teachers, police officers, Rotary volunteers and crash victims, with a particularly impactful session coming from guest speakers Lorna and Raymond Abde.
Raymond was left with a brain injury and years of intensive rehabilitation after an incident on May 15, 1998, just nine days shy of his 18th birthday.
Since then, he and his mother, Lorna, have advocated for road safety at events across north Queensland.
“Raymond was a similar age to the students when he had his accident and you can see that the students connect with that while also getting a better understanding of what can happen as a result of road accidents,” said Member for Burdekin Dale Last, who was a police officer based in Charters Towers at the time of the incident and was one of the first on the scene.
“The RYDA Program encourages young people to take a more responsible attitude and Raymond’s story definitely helps in sharing that message.”
Caption: Guest speakers Lorna and Raymond Abde with RYDA Coordinator Tony Goddard

Opinion Piece
In a bid to reach a supercharged carbon emissions target, the Federal Government has just announced a proposed Family Car and Ute Tax, which is said to cause extra financial strain for families as well as complications within the automotive industry.
Federal Member for Dawson Andrew Willcox met with several car dealerships within the Dawson electorate this week and said that a major concern is spreading throughout the industry.
“We know this policy is going to have consequences, and those include higher vehicle prices, both new and old, decreased market choice, as well as the very real possibility that consumers will become disincentivised to upgrade their vehicle,” Mr Willcox said.
“These dealerships contribute to the local economy in an enormous way.
“Not only do they employ hundreds of people in the regions, but they give back to the community by supporting multiple charities and sporting clubs.
“During a Labor created cost-of-living crisis, families and individuals in our electorate of Dawson are already hurting and struggling to make ends meet.
“We know that the cost of Australia’s most popular SUVs and Utes will rise by up to $25,000 and in some cases that could push the price up so much they will incur the luxury car tax on top of that, but vehicles as small as a Toyota Corolla will increase in price as well.
“Electric vehicle mechanics are also already in short supply.
“Less than half of all advertised EV technician jobs were filled last year, so even if an individual or family can afford to upgrade their vehicle under this scheme, how are they going to get it serviced?
“We need a sustainable approach to lowering our emissions and this ill-advised policy is not the answer.
“The Coalition believes in a common-sense approach to protecting our environment, but we cannot stand for anything that is going to make it harder for families to manage their budgets, especially during a cost-of-living crisis.”
To have your say and stop Labor’s Family Car and Ute Tax visit www.familycar.tax to sign the petition.
Alternatively, if you have any concerns about the proposed changes, please contact my office at Andrew.Willcox.MP@aph.gov.au.
Caption: Andrew Willcox MP addresses the potential issues that will affect both the community and automotive industries
Photo Supplied

The long-awaited Millaroo Rural Fire Station was officially opened over the weekend more than 12 months after it was announced.
The new $1.8 million home for the Millaroo’s rural firies has provided volunteers with an expanded space, new amenities and a training room for volunteers.
Member for Burdekin Dale Last said the new facility for the rural fire brigade was both a credit to the brigade volunteers and an achievement the community could pride itself on.
“For a number of years now the Millaroo Rural Fire Brigade has operated out of a limited facility that was not meeting the demands of the brigade so it’s fantastic to see this community receive a rural fire station it can be proud of,” Mr Last said.
“Ensuring our firies have resources on the ground as soon as possible during an emergency is the difference between whether property and lives are lost or not, so it’s vital that our rural firies receive the investment they need to keep communities like Millaroo safe.”
Mr Last said the fact that Millaroo Rural Fire Brigade had managed to enlist three new recruits was commendable.
“At a time when the number of our frontline volunteers in many areas have been left to dwindle, the fact that Millaroo Rural Fire has recently welcomed three new recruits is a credit to first officer Wayne Ferguson, Kate and the rest of the brigade,” he said.
“I have no doubt that having a new training area will mean that not only are new volunteers able to learn the skills they need to fight fires but ensure further training opportunities are also available for current volunteers.
“We know that when it comes to living in rural areas of our state there is added risks and whether it is bushfires, cyclones or floods it is our volunteers that answer the calls for help.
“No matter where they are in Queensland, our front-line volunteers deserve to have facilities and equipment that will keep them and their community’s safe.”
Caption: Member for Burdekin Dale Last said the opening of the Millaroo Rural Fire Station is a credit to the brigade volunteers

Fast Facts
Rehoming Fee: $450
DOB: 12/07/2023
Sex: Female
Breed: Bullarab Cross
Kid Friendly: Yes
Cat Friendly: Yes
Other Dogs: Yes
Fences: 6 Foot
This confident and sociable lady is looking for her forever home. Vixen is a lovable and playful girl, who enjoys adventuring and exploring the world around her. She is so sociable that she would suit a home with another dog, to let her be playful and tired with another animal.
Vixen is a queen of routine and loves her regular walks, with her lead training progressing well.
Vixen loves her toys, and is always ready for a play with her foster siblings. She is a people orientated dog, and thinks that everyone is her friend, so she can be a little too enthusiastic with new people and other dogs.
She is still learning to sit and wait for her food, but she is crate trained and sleeps well with her foster siblings.
Vixen is desexed, microchipped, up to date on her vaccinations, flea, tick and intestinal worm treated, and is on heartworm preventative.
If you’d like to schedule a meet and greet, please complete and submit an animal enquiry form at https://www.angelpawsinc.com.au/forms.html

Lena Courtney has lived in her Ayr house for 68 years.
It’s where her five children grew up and where her family calls home.
But after Lena’s children left and her husband passed away, she longed for more social interaction and involvement with her community.
That’s where Fiona Tomarchio came into her life, thanks to Burdekin Community Association’s (BCA) Aged Care Volunteer Visitors Scheme (ACVVS).
The ACVVS is a national program funded by the Australian Government allowing community organisations like BCA to improve the quality of life for lonely and isolated people living in residential care or living at home with support from Home Care Packages.
Lena was introduced to Fiona by BCA Volunteer Service Manager Rita Quagliata over four years ago and, since then, a beautiful friendship has blossomed.
“She’s been a wonderful friend,” Lena said of Fiona.
“Having a person like Fiona to talk to is very nice, because we can communicate to one another and that’s something great.
“I can open up to her and Fiona opens up to me; it’s just like being a sister.
“I miss her when she’s gone.”
Fiona became a part of the ACVVS to give back to her community and has established a loving friendship with Lena in the process.
“She has no family present in the Burdekin so, in a sense, she has become part of our family,” Fiona said.
“She’s met all of my family, some of my girlfriends, she’s had coffee with them, we’ve had endless amounts of laughter.
“Lena is a very strong lady and I love that; she has all of her faculties and she’s allowed me into her life.”
In Rita’s 20 years as a Volunteer Service Manager for BCA, she has met amazing, compassionate, caring people and seen many wonderful friendships develop.
When Lena needed someone to visit her, she looked for a suitable match and came across Fiona four years ago.
“Ever since then, their relationship has developed immensely and they’ve got such a special connection and a special bond,” Rita said.
“For Lena, Fiona’s like an extended family member, they’ve become that close.
“Most of our community visitors, they all develop this special bond with the people they visit, it’s just beautiful.”
For Lena and Fiona, their weekly visit often involves going out for lunch, coffee with friends and family or simply a chat and a laugh over a cuppa at home.
For other visitors, spending time with their clients could mean playing cards or board games, working on a joint hobby like gardening, taking a walk, or watching a movie.
“Some people want only an hour a week or an hour a fortnight, but some, once they’ve developed a wonderful relationship, like to spend a couple of hours a week and do more together because they do become very close,” Rita said.
Rita will look at things people might have in common when matching a client with a volunteer and is always looking for friendly, outgoing people who have at least an hour a week to spend with their client.
“With the ACVVS, we have a lot of people like Lena who want visitors, but the problem we have is trying to get volunteers, so I’m constantly promoting the service, looking for people and asking people if they know of someone,” she said.
Fiona recommended volunteering to anyone looking to give back to their community.
“It warms your heart; Lena warms my heart,” she said.
“I think it’s really rewarding, and I think, if you do have some time on hand, give it a go.”
To find out more about the ACVVS, contact Rita Quagliata on 07 4783 3744 or Rita.Quagliata@bcaburdekin.org.au.
Caption: Lena Courtney and Fiona Tomarchio

Millaroo State School’s Leadership Induction was held on March 13.
Congratulations to Harris Petersen who was inducted as the new School Leader for 2024.
Harris has been a student at Millaroo since Prep and said that after watching all the leaders inducted, he’s very happy to be getting a badge himself.
Thank you to the parents and community members who attended and a special thanks to Constable Brendan who attended from the QPS.
We are looking forward to the rest of 2024!
Contributed by Gillian Harris
Outgoing P&C President Kerrie Cervoni presenting Harris with his badge
Constable Brendan giving Harris some leadership advice
Photos supplied

A Home Hill cane farmer who was involved in the discovery of one of the Great Barrier Reef’s most horrific shipwrecks has revisited the tale almost 150 years on from her demise.
On the afternoon of Saturday, June 10, 1967, 17-year-old Peter Rubiolo joined two friends for a spot of spearfishing off Cape Upstart.
“They liked to go spearfishing so I went with them with a small dinghy so they could hop in, have a rest, take the fish off and reload the gun before going back over the side again,” Peter said.
“They were fishing along there and when the sharks would come up, they’d jump back in the dinghy until it quietened down again.
“This time around, they both got out, there were a few sharks around, and one of them had a look and spotted the clipper bow of a boat underwater.
“He went down with his spear and tapped steel on steel and heard that ringing sound, and he said, ‘Do you know there’s a wreck down there?’ and I said, ‘Not that we know of.’”
Over 18 months later, the shipwreck was identified as that of the SS Gothenburg, an iron-hulled sail- and steamship that was built in England in 1854.
The ship originally sailed between England and Sweden and then between Australia and New Zealand before she was rebuilt in 1873 and began operating in the Australian coastal trade.
The Gothenburg was chartered by the South Australian Government and regularly sailed between Adelaide and Port Darwin.
She had left Port Darwin on February 17, 1875, with a number of dignitaries and government officials onboard.
On the evening of February 24, 1875, the ship was heading south along Queensland’s east coast when it encountered cyclonic weather conditions.
The captain, Captain Robert George Augustus Pearce, altered the course of the Gothenburg when it struck a reef.
After attempts by the passengers and crew to lighten her load and float free of the reef, the ship eventually went down.
22 people survived the wreck while up to 112 are believed to have been killed.
It wasn’t until Peter and his mates went fishing that fateful day, over 92 years later, that the Gothenburg was rediscovered.
“We discovered the wreck on Saturday afternoon and on Sunday the boys went out spearfishing again, went a bit further north and found an anchor and chain with nothing on the end of it,” Peter said.
“There was no name on the bow – over a period of time, it would’ve come off – so how we identified it was by the government arrows on the porthole.”
The Member for Bowen at the time was Peter Delamothe, a history buff himself, who directed Peter and his friends to Brisbane based shipwreck historian Commander Norman Pixley.
Commander Pixley used markings on the porthole and the coordinates of where the shipwreck was found to identify it as the SS Gothenburg a year and a half after it was discovered.
“He worked it back to that era and that’s how we came up with the Gothenburg,” Peter said.
Since the discovery, Peter dived the Gothenburg himself and even still owns a porthole retrieved from the wreck.
“It was nothing out of the ordinary at the time,” Peter said.
“After that, I went and got some scuba gear and dived it myself a few times.
“We weren’t out looking for a wreck, we were just spearfishing along when we came across it.”
Today, the Gothenburg is a protected wreck and provides food and shelter for a variety of marine life including soft and hard corals, anemones, clownfish, coral trout, cods, sea perch, black tip reef sharks and other reef fish.
Caption 1: Peter Rubiolo with a porthole retrieved from the wreck of the SS Gothenburg. Photo credit: Sam Gillespie
Caption 2: SS Gothenburg docked at Port Adelaide wharf in 1873. Photo supplied: John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland
Caption 3: The stern of the SS Gothenburg shipwreck. Photo supplied: Dive into History – Queensland Shipwrecks, Department of Environment and Science

Did you know that Burdekin Community Association Inc (BCA) can help you to access community services and get more involved in the Burdekin community? We offer a very wide range of services, under 36 programs, for people of all ages and backgrounds. Most services are FREE.
Our team is very well qualified and experienced and can provide you with information and/or help you to access local and outreach services. For example, aged care, disability care, housing, crisis accommodation, financial coaching, social activities and support, psychological counselling, rehabilitation and exercise programs, domestic and family violence services, essential food and toiletries, telehealth, legal services and much more.
You may also be interested in joining our “Community Connections Group” and/or “Make It Happen Life Skills Group”. Meetings are held at our Burdekin Centre for Rural Health and are a lot of fun! Great off-street parking and disability access.
For information on community and health and wellbeing services and being more involved in our community, please contact Burdekin Community Association Inc. on Ph 4783 3744, visit the Support Centre, 130 Queen Street, Ayr, Email bca@bcaburdekin.org.au or www.burdekincommunityassociation.org.au
Debra Cochran

Have you ever been lost for words or not know how to start or conduct a conversation?
You are not alone - it happens to us all at one time or another.
So, what is the Art of Conversation? Good conversation involves being able to connect with others, share thoughts and ideas, actively listen to what they have to say, and being respectful by not interrupting or making everything about yourself.
Conversation is a work of art – there is more than one creator!
We all can communicate or converse; sometimes, we just need to practise. Have you ever heard of Human Libraries, Death Cafes, Conversation Clubs, or Speed Dating? These are all examples of social activities where conversation is a way of getting to know someone or of hearing their stories.
Recently, community members have approached us asking if there is anywhere in the Burdekin where people can practise their English. We would love to get a Conversation Corner happening at the Centre where community members can meet to practise their conversation skills, improve their English, decrease their loneliness, and increase their confidence. Helping each other is an excellent way of improving our well-being.
The Burdekin Neighbourhood Centre is happy to offer a place to meet, help, and support groups interested in starting a new project or activity. If you are interested in joining a group or starting one, please let us know. We would love to hear from you and provide you with the necessary support. Please call the office on 07 4783 4243.
The Team at the Burdekin Neighbourhood Centre values conversation and welcomes the opportunity to converse with the community. So, come on in and have a yarn with us. Let's start a movement -#letsgettalking.
Wishing you all a great week!
The Team
Burdekin Neighbourhood Centre

Did you know that the Burdekin Shire Council has a set of local laws that cover various aspects of community and environmental management?
Local laws are rules and regulations that are made by Councils to address specific topics, issues and challenges. Local laws complement the broader laws and regulations of the State and Federal Governments and help Councils to manage their local areas in a way that meets the needs and expectations of their communities. Local laws are made and enforced under the Local Government Act 2009 and are necessary or convenient for the good rule and local government of the area.
The local laws govern areas of interest in the community such as parking, waste management, animal management, and the use of council-controlled areas and facilities.
The local laws also include subordinate local laws, which provide more details and specifications for each topic. You can find the list of current local laws and subordinate local laws on the council's website or inspect them at the Council Chambers at 145 Young Street Ayr. The local laws are specific to the Burdekin Shire Council and reflect its unique characteristics and needs as a thriving agricultural region with abundant resources and opportunities.