Independently Owned, Locally Grown, Community Loved
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The Burdekin Clay Target Club wrapped up its year in style with a highly successful Christmas shoot on Sunday, December 8. With 58 competitors braving the steamy heat, the event showcased impressive scores across the board. The day featured six exciting events, and participants from various grades delivered outstanding performances. Event 1 – 15 Target Medley (15m) • AA Grade: 1st Aaron Lemphers (50/50), 2nd Wayne Cislowski (49/50), 3rd Jarrod Coleman (48/50) • A Grade: 1st Tony Robins
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On Sunday, December 1 in Ayr, and Monday December 2 at Home Hill, the lighting of two beautiful Christmas trees took centre stage for the Burdekin community with good sized audiences in attendance, to witness it. Mayor, Pierina Dalle Cort, had the honour of flicking the switch for each tree after the crowds counted down from ten to one with her. Both trees lit up the night skies, despite the prospects of rain, with Sunday’s event held at the Burdekin Theatre forecourt in Ayr, and the Comfort S
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Hi Everyone, You may have noticed a new man around town lately – Mark Rasmussen has joined the team as our journalist and, since he started last week, he has certainly been busy! As many of you will know by now, Miah has sadly left the company, opting to pursue different career options, and we wish her well with her future endeavours. In a couple of weeks’ time, we will also be welcoming Chelsea Ravizza back to town. She has been working remotely from Brisbane as our journalist across three o
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On Thursday 21 November, Paula, Henry and the pioneers behind the Jean Morris fundraising efforts were blown away and left with tears of gratitude by not one, but two extraordinarily generous acts of kindness. A newly illustrated portrait of Jean Morris created by Trevor Neal of Whitsunday Monuments has encouraged plenty of public attention over the past week, not just online. A regular day at Paula’s salon saw two walk-in donations, one of $200 and another $1000, leaving Paula overcome with g
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Jeff Lunn and Leon McCormack, are better knowns as the Christmas Lights Guys. They have been running a Christmas lights display for 17 years, something that was inspired by their childhood experiences. “When I was growing up, mum and dad used to take us around to the houses and suburbs. I thought, ‘Yeah, I could give that a go all right.’ So, I did. I used to put lights up for my folks, and for my grandparents,” Jeff says. “Leon was a bit of grinch the first few years, but now, now he's total
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Opinion Piece. Having seen the impact years of youth crime has held over North Queensland communities, Member for Burdekin Dale Last MP says the Crisafulli Government’s introduction of the Making Queensland Safer Bill sends a clear message to victims of crime that they had been heard and their safety was a priority. The Bill includes the legislating of Adult Crime, Adult Time and delivers on a key commitment to Queenslanders to restore community safety and turn the tide on the youth crime crisi
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On Sunday, December 1, Mayor, Pierina Dalle Cort, flicked the switch to light up Ayr’s Christmas tree for the very first time, now at its new location in the forecourt of the Burdekin Theatre. With a countdown from 10-1 by all those in attendance, the night was a good success despite the heavy rain earlier in the day that threatened to take the shine off the event. Thankfully, it held off long enough during the official tree lighting ceremony, which allowed people to get along and support the n
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On Monday, December 2, Mayor, Pierina Dalle Cort, lit up Home Hill with the flick of a switch that turned on Home Hill's Christmas tree for the very first time, at its cosy Comfort Stop location. With the help of a great crowd attendance, Mayor Dalle Cort led a countdown from 10-1 before the lights flicked on and sparkled into action, much to the approval of the many people that turned out, and even a few truck drivers who drove past at the time honking their horns. Despite the prospects of ra
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Faith Luke has recently celebrated the conclusion of her secondary schooling with pride after graduating from Burdekin Christian College with flying colours as the 2024 Valedictorian. Over the course of her schooling, Faith exhibited an unwavering commitment to her academics, undertaking subjects including mathematical methods, English, biology, physics, and chemistry, whilst balancing a world of extra-curricular activities, including dancing a plethora of styles offered at Rhythm Edge Dance S
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The Burdekin Sports Fishing Club, is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and they’re having a special get together to mark the milestone, with former and current members asked to come along. The club, first founded in 1974, has around 30-40 active members, with Simone Sutcliffe (club treasurer), and her husband Russell (club president), along with the Richard Berryman (club secretary), doing a lot of behind-the-scenes work. Notable achievements include Russell holding the Queensland, and Austral
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Last Wednesday at 7am, November 27, at the Burdekin Theatre, the Burdekin Shire Council hosted their popular Industry Breakfast. Speaking this month was Jet Zero Australia’s managing director, Ed Mason, Industrial Manager, Adam Douglas, new Burdekin Shire Council CEO, Matthew Magin; and an update from The Home Hill Chamber. Mayor, Pierina Dalle Cort opened the breakfast speeches before inviting keynote speaker, Ed Mason to speak. Mason, spruiked the benefits of Jet Zero Australia’s aviation in
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On Saturday 30 November, Austin Dewar, Brayden Rawlins and Campbell Johnston were joined by a few of their close friends and family as they completed the final kilometres as part of their 540km total, officially concluding their mammoth 2024 Three Blokes Running efforts. “It was a pretty good feeling to see how proud mum, dad, my brother, and my girlfriend were to see me cross that finish line, and to know we can have a rest now feels pretty good too,” said Campbell. “The reason we’re doing this
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The Burdekin Neighbourhood Centre held their AGM on Wednesday night which I attended. It was good to see such a big turn-out. The Centre offers some great classes ranging from Exercise, Crochet, Mental Health, Parkinson Support Group, Cooking, Bereavement Counselling, Dementia Support, and free Legal Advice plus many more please support this Centre. I attended the Burdekin Industry Breakfast on Wednesday 27th November at the Burdekin Theatre. It was a very interesting morning listening to
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Over the last fortnight, I have had the privilege of attending two significant events that underscore the strength of our local community and the vital connections that shape our future. The Industry Breakfast was a fantastic opportunity to engage with local leaders, businesses and community stakeholders. On Monday morning, I attended the Port Authority Breakfast, a special event marking the 160th anniversary of our Port. This milestone is a testament to the crucial role the Port has played in
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Angelo Licciardello, QCAR Burdekin District Manager The last two weeks has been a very interrupted period of harvesting and crushing. The first lot of rain that began on November 20 played the major part to the initial disruption; then with some planned cleaning and stoppages from chokes, the output of factories was greatly reduced. The rain over the weekend has really highlighted the dramatic affects a late start and a late finish have on a district that so heavily relies on the sugar crop. U
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Simon Hood Wilmar Manager Grower Marketing As we move into December and the much-anticipated drop off in the Brazilian 2024 crush, the ICE #11 contract continues to trade in shallow downtrend pattern. The recent UNICA report covering the first half of November crush finally saw the season to date numbers drop below last year’s record cumulative total. The data was roughly in line with expectations and the consensus for total Brazilian sugar out is narrowing into the mid to high 39 million tonne
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Cane crushed This week Season to date Invicta 91,470 2,830,710 Pioneer 43,063 1,348,788 Kalamia 37,250 1,482,456 Inkerman 68,366 1,693,908 Burdekin 240,149 7,355,862 CCS Invicta 12.74 14.34 Pioneer 13.16 14.31 Kalamia 11.82 13.82 Inkerman 13.37 14.09 Burdekin 12.85 14.18 Weekly variety performance for region Variety % CCS Variety % CCS Q240 50% 13.29 Q232 7% 12.06 KQ228 23% 12.42 Q183 7% 14.05 Q208 9% 12.82 WSRA17 2% 11.86 Comments: The Burdekin mills processed just over 240,000 tonnes of cane f
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Henry Peterson, is better known as the "Mango Man," in Burdekin. He’s been in the mango business for 45 years. When he started back in about 1980-1981, he began by picking mangoes for $1 a bucket before he eventually established his own mango farm. “When I was in Home Hill, a bloke said, ‘I'll give you $1 a bucket, and then a $1 a tray, to pick that tree’. So I got a ladder, threw it up and went picking. In the end, he gave me $40. I thought, geez, that was easy money, I could make a living ou
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Up to $32.6 million over 4 years will be invested in the future of Australia’s sugarcane industry with research and development projects set to increase the productivity, profitability and sustainability of the Australian sugarcane industry. Sugar Research Australia (SRA) and the Queensland Government’s Department of Primary Industries (DPI) are investing in a diverse portfolio of novel and strategic research activities. The new projects will target improved efficiency, competitiveness, sustaina
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Burdekin Community Association Inc (BCA) enjoyed a great Christmas Luncheon with clients and volunteers on Monday 02.12.24. 178 people attend the luncheon held at the Ayr Anzac Memorial Club. Over 40 Lucky Door prizes, raffle prizes and best Christmas outfit prizes were won by lucky participants. BCA also gave the 38 Volunteers in attendance, a gift bag of goodies and $20 gift voucher to thank them for their service throughout the year. We are very grateful to the many businesses and indiv
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The Burdekin Theatre is delighted to launch six brand new shows for next year. All six new shows will be part of the highly anticipated annual QLD Morning Melodies tour. These shows are voted on, and they will visit many other performing venues across Queensland during their 2025 runs. All shows are $15 per person, which includes a free morning tea provided by the Friends of the Burdekin Theatre. The final show, ‘Home for Christmas’ will be provided free by the Burdekin Shire Council. The six
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Burdekin residents and businesses looking to save energy and money will have an opportunity to consult the experts from Ergon Energy Retail face-to-face next week. The Ergon Retail team will have a stand outside Home Hill News & Coffee from 8am-12pm on Tuesday 10 December. Ergon Retail Operations Manager Ryan Lloyd said the team would be sharing practical tips tailored to each customer’s unique situation. “If you’re running a farm or business, we can have a chat about tariff options and h
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You cannot help but fall in love with the idea of spending a picture-perfect Sunday strolling around the quaint market stalls manned by passionate local and travelling creators and entrepreneurs. Coffee in one hand, and dog lead in another, bring along your friends and family for a morning of sunshine, socialisation and retail therapy as you browse the talents on show at the brilliant Burdekin Plantation Park Markets. Held on the first and third Sunday of each month, the Burdekin Plantation
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Mark your calendars for an extraordinary event as the Burdekin Race Club celebrates its 100th anniversary of Home Hill racing on Saturday, 7 December. The milestone stands testament to a rich history of community, tradition, and thrilling race-day action with locals invited to revel in the once-in-a-lifetime celebration this weekend! Established in 1924, the Burdekin Race Club has stood as a cornerstone within the community, holding five annual race events annually including the Burdekin Growers
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Jim Nuttall, owner of Nuttall’s Garden Centre, has been in the nursery business for 20 years, following a 50-year business legacy started by his father, who ran the local hardware business. “I love business, I love figures, and I've got an accounting degree, but I started with my father, James Raff Nuttall, back in 1968,” Jim says. “He actually invented the ‘return spray system’ for cane farmers, and created the cattle spray, ‘Ready Rect’ and got a grant for a mobile spray, which was widely p
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