Independently Owned, Locally Grown, Community Loved
Celebrating its 27th birthday in the Burdekin region, Optique Eyes stands as a business operating with a centralised focus on serving the community with “exceptional eye care and exquisite eyewear”. Established in 1997 by Helene Holmes, the Queen Street optometrist has withstood the changing tides of business for almost three decades. Helene established Optique Eyes after moving to the Burdekin to purchase an existing practice to seize an entrepreneurial opportunity. In 2018, the business relo
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Groundbreaking automation for a soil-scanning process developed at the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries’ Central Queensland Smart Cropping Centre could be vital to the future of successful broadacre cropping planning. Electro-magnetic survey scanning has long been used to identify variability in soils, including assessment of salinity, water and clay content. The process has usually involved a scanning sled being dragged behind an all-terrain vehicle. However, in a possible world-first, t
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Griffith University’s Dr Yunying Fang has successfully progressed with a research proposal regarding the Soil CRC’s Round 24-1. The Soil CRC (CRC for High Performance Soil) works to connect scientists with farmers to uncover practical solutions for Australia’s underperforming soil. The organization aims to enable farmers to increase their overall productivity and profitability levels through providing them with knowledge and tools to improve the performance of their soils. The success of Dr
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The Burdekin Football Club is set to host their annual Ladies Day on Saturday 17 August and 2024 will showcase the best fashionable florals yet. Spring Fling; a theme of vibrancy, a theme of florals, and a theme of fun. Subtly drawing from the fashions of 2024’s Met Gala, the Burdekin Football Club will liven up Beach Road’s International Park from 3:30pm with Spring colours and fabulous florals. The evening will provide a smorgasbord of raffles, lucky door prizes, and of course the infamous
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Saturday 15 June Perform Studios presents Rise Saturday from 2pm and 7.30pm Perform Music presents their annual showcase concert - RISE! Burdekin Theatre Wednesday 19 June Home Hill Community Meeting Wednesday, from 9am Residents of Home Hill, particularly new residents and over 60s, are invited for a chat and cuppa to meet Labor Candidate for Burdekin Anne Baker. Raise your concerns and share your views, ideas and hopes for the community. Morning tea supplied. Home Hill Community Sports Club
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The Japanese Film Festival Online 2024 will brighten our television screens across Australia for another year from Wednesday 5 June until Wednesday 3 July. The program for 2024 will showcase a dynamic collection of cinema and television released over the past 70 years as presented by the Japan Foundation. The festival celebrates the breadth and diversity of Japanese storytelling, serving as a cultural bridge connecting global fans of Japanese cinema. The 2024 program will host a diverse selec
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On the evening of Saturday 8 June, Hotel Brandon hosted a celebratory 50-year school reunion for the Burdekin Catholic High School (BCH)’s graduating class of 1974! A fabulous night was had by all with the cohort recalling the establishment of BCH in 1974 following the amalgamation of the Marist Brothers and St Francis Xavier Convent High School. Many of the attendees travelled far and wide to catch up with one another, with some travelling from Toowoomba, the Gold Coast, Yeppoon, Tin Can Bay,
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On Friday 7 June, the Burdekin flocked to Alfie’s Bakery to get their hands on a precious round treat for National Doughnut Day! Deon Crowdy hand-made over 500 delicious doughnuts to satisfy the cravings of hundreds of locals and visitors for one of the biggest events on their calendar. “It was a huge day, we had lots of support from locals, people from Townsville and other out-of-towners, and we had lots of support from the schools and businesses coming to collect doughnuts to have for smok
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The annual Burdekin Show will light up the Ayr Showgrounds on Wednesday 26 June, with a plethora of special guests scheduled to attend. One of Australia’s most inspirational and award-winning dog trailer and trainer, Steven Elliot, will make his Burdekin Show debut as one of the event’s special guests, and his story is nothing short of extraordinary. Steven has led a celebrated career, and following a rodeo accident in Townsville in 2003, his life took a turn, leaving him confined to a wheelch
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From the 7 to the 8 May, the Ayr High Hawks basketball team put it on the court for the Molten Championship Basketball School of Queensland – Townsville Regional Tournament (CBSQ). The competition, making its Townsville debut, encompassed 26 schools from Cairns to Mt Isa for a two-day jampacked event. The U19 boys played in Division 2 of CBSQ and showcased exceptional team spirit throughout each game, providing mixed results to conclude the event. The 2024 team included a range of skills, with
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Local Last weekend the Burdekin Panthers had three games, losing all of them. On Friday the Division 1 met Brothers in Townsville and lost 0-7. On Saturday the Premiers, Under 23s were away to Saints Eagles Souths. The Premiers lost 0-2, the Under 23s lost 0-2 and the Women Premiers had a bye. This weekend the Funkies are away to Brothers in Townsville on Friday night and the Premiers, Under 23s and Ladies are at home to JCU Riverway. The Annual Mooney Cup Charity Match will take place this S
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On Thursday 6 June, the Home Hill Bowls Club was packed with a huge attendance of 32 players ready to have a go at social bowls. The day saw Tony Caruso, Stephen Doig, and Wayne Newton as the celebrated winners, Mick Olsen fortunately winning the meat tray raffle, and Stephen Doig scoring $125 after picking the correct jackpot lucky ball! All 32 players gave it their all over 5 games of triples, and the results are as follows: Rink 3: John and Henry outclassed Yogi, P. Saur, and J. Taylor 20
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On the weekend from the 1 to the 2 of June, eight of the Burdekin region’s best bowls players travelled to Townsville to play in the Pennants Bowls Competition against seven other dedicated clubs. After a 10 years hiatus from the pennants scene, the club took out fifth place in the competition out of the eight teams. Contributed by Stephen Doig
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With picture-perfect weather, 15 teams of avid pickleballers made their way onto the Home Hill Tennis Courts to compete for the 1st Annual Cane Country Cup. With teams visiting from Cardwell, Townsville, Bowen and the Whitsundays, the matches were both competitive and social at the same time. Team winners were spread across the north. In the Competitive section the Airlie Norfolk and Chance 231 points took out 1st place by a mere 2 points, followed by Legendary Lobbers from Townsville on 229 p
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From Thursday the 23 May to Sunday the 26 May, the Burdekin’s very own Ayr High Northern players representing North Queensland in the under 19’s Basketball State Championships in Townsville. The tournament hosted an action-packed four days, overflowing with nail biting moments, plenty of close calls, and an abundance of celebratory moments. The under 19 girls did exceptionally well over the 2 days, with Ayr State High School’s Jayla Tinus, Lacy Horan, Ashlee Colls, and Zandi Bonanno winning
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The recently formed Burdekin Mabo Day Committee hosted celebrations to mark Mabo Day on Monday, June 3. Mabo Day honours the achievements of Torres Strait Islander Eddie Koiki Mabo and his successful efforts to overturn the legal fiction of terra nullius, or ‘land belonging to no-one’. The day was celebrated by the local Indigenous community with breakfast, a flag raising ceremony, speeches from First Nations elders and youth, traditional games and a ceremonial dinner and dances. “We’re acknowle
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I remember when I was first announced as Burdekin Life’s new and first journalist on the publication’s Facebook page, the post was met with countless comments anticipating my arrival in the beautiful Burdekin. It was August 2023, I was at a friend’s wedding at the time, and I would read through the comments of support any time I found phone service, getting more and more excited by the opportunity and proudly showing my friends how welcoming my new community would be. This was an early and ext
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Burdekin Netball Association (BNA) has secured the sponsorship of Bowen Pipeline Company (BPC) with a cheque being handed over on Thursday, May 30. BPC is the company behind the proposed Bowen Pipeline Project to connect Bowen with the Burdekin River, and BPC Director Sean Brown said the majority of the project’s 41 investors come from the Burdekin and Bowen shires. “This project is about leaving a legacy so that children and families can stay in these two regions,” Mr Brown said. “We feel the B
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Earlier this week, on Tuesday, June 4, Wilmar Sugar and Renewables advised more than 1,200 waged employees that anyone participating in industrial action from yesterday, Wednesday, June 5 will be locked out until further notice. Workers have been told that if they are locked out, they will not be paid until the lockout is lifted. A company spokesman said the decision to lock out was not taken lightly. “We respect employee rights to union membership and their right to take lawful industrial ac
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Opinion piece A lack of crisis accommodation units and more than 80 very high-level social housing applications has painted a stark picture of the Burdekin’s housing crisis, according to Member for Burdekin Dale Last. After waiting longer than expected for the Minister to answer a question on notice regarding crisis accommodation in Ayr and Home Hill, new figures have also revealed 82 very high need applications were waiting an average of two years for social housing in the Burdekin. “As we have
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I and quite a few other readers of the ‘Burdekin Life’ newspaper are readily counting the “to do” list that Federal Member for Dawson Andrew Willcox and his State counterpart for Burdekin State Opposition Minister Dale Last are adding to with every weekly newspaper. Each major political party, when in Government, has the opportunity to implement their plans for Australians that they had proposed to implement when elected, while those in opposition and the minor parties are able to argue that th
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Burdekin Mabo Day Committee, in partnership with the Burdekin Library, presents the ‘Remembering Mabo’ display of significant items from the life of Eddie Koiki Mabo. The display was launched on Tuesday, May 28 with light refreshments taking place on Thursday, May 30. The display can be found at Burdekin Library’s Ayr branch, as can books and resources providing background information on Eddie Koiki Mabo and the significance of Mabo Day.
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One of the Burdekin’s local boys, Luca Lawry, travelled as part of the Northern School Boys team to Toowoomba to participate in the 2024 Inaugural 10-12 years Boys Netball School State Championships. For the first time ever, boys from 10 regions across Queensland converged to take the courts for four days from May 23 to 26, to select a State Team which will later travel to the National Championships in Melbourne. With a massive push for boys' netball nationwide, in the lead up to a possible
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Elders, youth and members of the local community gathered to commemorate Mabo Day on Monday, June 3. Photo credit: Sam Gillespie
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The release of the first ever Regional Telecommunications Review survey offers rural, regional, and remote Australians another way to give feedback on telecommunications issues. The Review, which takes place every three years, sees the Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee examine the experiences of people in regional, rural, and remote parts of Australia with telecommunications delivery, as well as considering the unique needs of First Nations communities. Submissions and fac
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