Independently Owned, Locally Grown, Community Loved
Representing The Rotary Club of Ayr At The 2025 Burdekin Water Festival Eliza Worlein is no stranger to the spotlight, and after being part of the Burdekin Water Festival as a Junior Ambassador many years ago, accepting the Rotary Club of Ayr’s invitation to represent them as a Senior Ambassador in 2025 was one of the easiest decisions she could have made! “I am representing the Rotary Club of Ayr, an organisation that is well known in the Burdekin community for their generosity and tireless ef
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Friday 25 July Eliza’s Trivia Night 6pm onwards Brush up on your facts and prepare to become the next trivia champion at Eliza Worlein’s Trivia Night! Representing the Rotary Club of Ayr as a Senior Ambassador, Eliza’s event will be held at the Rugby Union Clubhouse at Casalengo Field for an evening of fun and friendly competition. Rugby Union Clubhouse–Casalengo Field Saturday 26 July 50 Years Anniversary Celebration Weekend 10am Market Day & Exhibition to mark 50 years of Pottery in the Burde
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Burdekin Library hosted the launch of Doug Sockhill’s memoir on Saturday. Over thirty attendees enjoyed Doug’s stories and video presentations referencing his memoir, “The Franklin River Springs to Life”. Attendees also learnt the back story of the book, met Doug’s publisher, Belinda Walker, from Just Sparkle Books, and were entertained with stories from Doug’s long-term friend and Burdekin Mayor, Pierina Dalle Cort. Doug spent over 30 years in the Burdekin and has had an adventurous life both h
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A good weekend, for a change. for the Panthers, winning three, drawing one and losing one of the five matches. On Saturday, at home against Rebels, the Premiers won 5-0 as did the Reserves. On Friday, in Townsville the Ladies drew with Warriors 1-1, the Division 1 Men lost 0-1 to JCU Riverway but the Division 2 Men defeated Olympic 4-3. In the Mooney Cup Charity Match, Rainbows defeated Blue Balls 3-0 after leading 2-0 at half time. Jake Lacey scored twice after Mick Lejarraga had opened the sc
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The Burdekin Roosters’ A-grade side delivered a performance that could only be described as “chalk and cheese” compared to last week’s 64–10 loss to Souths. On Saturday, before a large crowd that included many attending the annual Ladies Day, the Roosters turned on the style against strong contenders Brothers, only to go down by two points in the dying seconds. With captain Joel Mason sent off for dissent 16 minutes from full-time, the locals were forced to hang on “like grim death” against an
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Alex and Gary played a singles match on Rink 4 that Alex won on the 26th end. Twenty-eight players turned out for another North Queensland winter afternoon. Today's winners were Steve Doig and Bruce McCallum, who unfortunately had to leave before the photo, so visitor Gary Bibby from Augusta Bowls Club in Perth, WA, was thrilled to step into the winners’ photo. People come from far and wide to play on our hallowed green (pictured). The singles match between Alex Bojack and Gary Nosworthy on Ri
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Burdekin Clay Target Club saw 30 shooters compete on Sunday 13th July. Conditions of a cool breeze made for a very pleasant day for shooting. Thank you to our sponsors for the day, Lui Populin, Glen Rea & BK Constructions. Our next shoot will be on Sunday 10th August. Event 1-20 Target Double Barrel 15m AA Grade 1st Phillip Scalia, Ron Gough, Aaron Lemphers, Lindsay Groat, Michael Zabala 20/20 A Grade 1st Michael Jones, David Stitt, Cornelius Venter 20/20 B Grade 1st Pedro Le Blowitz 19/20, 2nd
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The Burdekin Mixed Touch Football competition is back for another exciting season, with pre-season games now underway at the Wickham Street fields. Eleven teams have nominated so far, including East Ayr, First in Physio, Jigsaw, Nrgize, Petrol Heads, Pink Piggies, Redskins, Renegades, Royal Touch, Slush Puppies, and Touch n Tease. Pre-season games will continue over the next two Wednesdays before the official season kicks off on the 13th of August, which also marks the final day for team nomina
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The community gathered at Regis Aged Care Home, Ayr, on Wednesday, 9 July to celebrate 100 years of beloved Burdekinite Violet “Vi” Liebrecht. The event welcomed family, friends, and familiar faces from across the region, who were greeted by a vibrant, elegant, and warmly decorated hall. Among attendees was Member for Burdekin, Dale Last MP, who was especially proud to celebrate the milestone with Vi. “Vi is one of our pioneers, and has contributed so much to the Burdekin community,” said Mr
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Don West Toyota has thrown its support behind Queensland PCYC's 'Lessons for Learners' driver mentor program, generously donating $5,000 to help sustain its operations. "We donate every year to organisations that we think are essential to the community," said Dealer Principle Don West. "For the last two years, the target has been the youth." Lead by QPS Officer Andrew Sherrington, PCYC’s Lessons for Learners program has focused on assisting Burdekin locals between ages 16 and 25 with obt
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After taking a break from soccer for a while, I’ve had to start getting creative with my methods of exercise. I tried jogging up Mount Inkerman the other day. Mate—what on earth was I thinking. I barely made it a third of the way up before reducing myself to a slow, wobbly walk. Not sure how you guys do it! Maybe I’m just THAT out of shape right now. After that failed mission, I looked for some alternatives. That’s when I stumbled upon Home Hill Swimming Pool. I’ve never been much of a s
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If there was ever a story to illustrate the essence of the Burdekin, it’s four-month-old Zaleyah Codega’s—in more ways than one. It was on Christmas Eve that Burdekin locals Kris and Natalie Codega learned during a routine 30-week scan that their unborn baby had congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH)—a rare, life-threatening condition that restricts lung development. “Once we found out, we were sort of left to our own devices to do a bit of research, and to be honest, it was the worst
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The recent state budget includes $1.8 Billion to extend and expand the Surgery Connect program that has already reduced the waiting list for elective surgery by over 2,500 patients in just one month. With 30,000 more surgeries expected to be delivered this financial year, Member for Burdekin, Dale Last MP, said the program provided obvious benefits to patients on the waiting list. “Over the last decade we have seen the number of Queenslanders waiting for elective surgery more than double,” Mr
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Kelli, Suzette, Michelle, Simone, & Kellie take on Coastrek Kelli Dabelstein, alongside her friends, Suzette Wallace, Michelle Oats, Simone Casey, and Kellie Keates, will tackle the mammoth 30km Coastrek Hike in the Sunshine Coast this Friday, the 18th of July in support of Beyond Blue. Established in 2009, the national fundraising initiative encourages women to take part in a 20km to 50km hike through some of Australia’s most breathtaking coastal trails. Over the years, Coastrek has supp
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The year 2025 marks a centenary since Agatino Rigano arrived in Brisbane alongside his cousin, Constantino (“Con”), in search of a better life after the devastation of World War I. Two years later, Agatino’s wife, Vita Concetta, joined him aboard the Re di Italia, and the family’s Australian story began. To commemorate the milestone, the third Rigano Family Reunion was held on May 4, 2025, with over 100 attendees gathering at Home Hill Memorial Park. The Rigano name traces back to 1453,
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The New Sales Representative at Burdekin Life Outgoing, confident, and personable—three words Mia uses to describe herself, and three reasons why her new role at Burdekin Life feels like the perfect fit. “I loved my job beforehand but was looking for something different—something that broadened my horizons, gave me opportunity to flourish and work in the area I love,” she said. “When this job came up, I knew it was perfect.” Mia has embraced the role wholeheartedly, from training trips to
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School holidays have wrapped up, and it’s been a lively few weeks across the Burdekin and surrounding regions. From local highlights like Burdekin Rags to Runway, to the thrill of the V8 Supercars and Cowboys games, there’s been no shortage of action. And of course, who could forget that State of Origin match—truly one for the history books! This month, I had the privilege of attending the North Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils (NQROC) meeting, which was held on Palm Island for the v
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If there is a better place to enjoy winter than the mighty Burdekin, I’ve yet to see it. Judging by the number of caravans travelling through for a stop and stay, I’d say I’m not the only one who thinks so. The last few weeks my extended family and I have been taking in some of the great fishing and camping spots on offer around our town. We spent a couple of nights in Burdekin River and the kids have been enjoying time camping and fishing with my in-laws and the fishing club at Phillips’ and Pl
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A Trusted Local Favourite for Decades In an industry built on sparkle and status, Spearritt’s Jewellers has found a way to meet those needs while maintaining the warm, welcoming, and community-based approach that has kept them a local favourite for decades. Located on Ayr’s Queen Street and trading under the Spearritt’s name since the 1950s, the store has long been part of the region’s social and retail scene. But under current ownership since 1991, its focus has sharpened into somet
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At the Burdekin Neighbourhood Centre, we value collaboration with everyone in our community. For over 30 years, we have partnered with local solicitors to provide a Free Community Legal Advice service. We are deeply grateful to these firms for sharing their expertise on various legal matters with our community. We are excited to announce our latest collaboration with Townsville-based Free Community Legal Services to host a Community Legal Service Expo in the Burdekin community. Community
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Burdekin residents are invited to take part in a free suicide intervention training session on Friday, August 1, aimed at equipping the community with the skills to recognise and respond to early warning signs of suicide. Hosted by CORES Queensland (Community Owned Response to Eliminating Suicide), the full-day workshop will run from 9am to 4pm at the Burdekin Neighbourhood Centre, 40 Chippendale Street, Ayr. The program teaches participants how to identify someone at risk, what to say,
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Girls with a passion for maths and science were given a front-row seat to the wide range of STEM careers in the sugar industry when they visited a Burdekin sugar mill. The students, from Burdekin and Townsville high schools, gave up a day of their mid-semester holidays to go on an excursion to Wilmar Sugar and Renewables’ Invicta Mill as part of their involvement in the STEM Changemakers program. They heard about the different pathways into STEM careers with Wilmar from three of the company’s
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Swift Action Taken To Contain Threat The National Fire Ant Eradication Program has confirmed a detection of fire ants in Moranbah — a worrying sign that the pest is moving dangerously closer to Central and North Queensland. On 9 July 2025, program eradication officers acted swiftly at the BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) Broadmeadow Coal Mine site, destroying nests using direct nest injection. While Moranbah is not geographically part of the Burdekin region, it does fall within the Burdekin state
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Students from Clare, Millaroo and Airville State Schools combined for a day of robotics and inquiry learning with the team from Paluma Environmental Education Centre during the last week of the school term. The students caught insects and used apps on iPads to identify what they had caught. It was surprising to see the variety of insects that were found on the school grounds. The students also found evidence of photo synthesisers, carnivores, omnivores and herbivores in the school ground
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Ayr State High School students were among the standout achievers at this year’s Burdekin Show, earning recognition across a range of creative and practical categories. Year 10 student Anastasia Craven-Wall took out Reserve Champion in the Graphic Design section, while Peppa earned second place in the same category. In textiles, JahDal Doyle secured first place in the Machine-sewing article section with a reversible bucket hat that impressed the judges. Meggan Laidlow and Jake Erquiaga also perf
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