Arabian Prince visits cyclone shelter site at Proserpine School

 Just like in a children’s fairytale, a crowned prince from a far away land touched down in Proserpine late yesterday afternoon bearing a gift for the Whitsundays that would unite two nations forever.

 In a scene that made you proud to be Australian, his royal highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al Nahyan from the United Arab Emirates was welcomed by a sea of Australian and UAE flags held proudly and excitedly by Proserpine State Primary School students who sat collectively to form the letters U, A and E - visible from the helicopter.

 Sheikh Abdullah and his entourage made an historic stopover in Proserpine for the official turning of the sod for the new cyclone shelter, which will be built on the school grounds within 12 months.

 Deputy Premier Andrew Fraser, Local member Jan Jarratt and Mayor Mike Brunker were also there to welcome the distinguished guest.

 "Our relationship with Queensland stretches beyond the government. We want to be friends with you," His Highness Abdullah said.

 "It’s true we come from very different societies and cultures, we talk different and the colour of our skin is different, but there are also great similarities. We all love kids … and we all love you … you are our future," he told the students.

 The Sheikh heard from Major General RG Wilson who heads up the recovery task force who spoke of the restoration process in Queensland.

 "22 lives were lost, three quarters of Queensland was declared a disaster zone and 2-and-a-half million people were in the disaster area. But we are on our way to recovery and I thank you on behalf of everyone in Queensland for your generous donation," Major RG Wilson said.

 School captains Timothy Hines, Logan Donadelli, Darcy Pepper and Dana Madeley then gave personal accounts of their harrowing time during the last wet season, with Tim’s recollection of the landslide.

 "We were lucky to get out alive. Amazingly the mudslide was diverted somewhere a bit further up the mountain but we had mud and rocks through our home for weeks.

 "We were cut off for three days from town," he told the prince.

 "The facility will not only be a cyclone shelter but a hall for the entire community," the captains said.

 The Proserpine State Primary School band played the national anthems for the two nations, which drew applause from the prince before he was invited to officially turn the sod for the new centre.

 Deputy premier Andrew Fraser told the crowd that this was the beginning of a great friendship.

 "We have a saying here in Australia …that you discover who your true friends are in times of need … and it was during the cyclone that this friendship was formed," he said.

Sucrogen offers more money for Proserpine Mill

 Just days away from the members’ vote Sucrogen has announced an extra A$5 million, which will effectively increase net proceeds from the proposed sale of the Proserpine mill.

 “We are providing this extra A$5 million in net sale proceeds to ensure

members receive a greater financial return from the sale - now estimated at

A$38 million,” said Sucrogen CEO Ian Glasson.

 The extra $5million does not actually increase Sucrogen’s headline price but the company’s executive general manager for strategy and business development Shane Rutherford said headline price was not something members should be focussing on.

 “In fact you can actually have a higher headline offer which returns less to members in the end,” Mr Rutherford said.

 “What we’ve been able to do is come up with a way we can guarantee a $5million increase in net proceeds to members, but we are not prepared to disclose how we have done that at this point,” he said.

 “This is a genuine gesture to provide additional funds for members. It’s an absolute commitment. We’ve amended our arrangement with Proserpine. This is riskless, it’s in writing and it’s executed.”

 Proserpine’s members have until 5pm on Thursday to vote on Sucrogen’s offer to buy the mill. Should the offer be accepted, Sucrogen supports the Proserpine board in making an advance payment of up to A$15 million to members before Christmas

2011.

 “Members have told us they strongly support an advance payment of sale proceeds and we’re happy to sit down with the board to work through the process to see if we can make that happen,” Mr Glasson said.

Andrew Fraser revisits Proserpine School

 Acting premier Andrew Fraser took time out from his busy schedule last week to revisit a part of his past at the Proserpine State High School.

 Mr Fraser gave an inspiring address to students from years 11 and 12 currently choosing careers.

 “I think it’s a real falsehood that anyone at age 17 should be expected to decide what they’re going to do for the rest of their lives,” Mr Fraser said, advising his protégés to simply “pick something that’s interesting”.

 “It doesn’t matter if you don’t yet fully understand it. Life’s generally a long endeavour and picking something that grabs the heart of you is half the battle,” he said.

 “If you’re in a position where going to work means doing something you enjoy you’re already winning.”

 Mr Fraser said his education in Proserpine was “one of the best things that ever happened to me”.

 “A public education at a great school like this allows you to write your own ticket,” he said.

 School Principal Chris Roff said Andrew’s visit was “an affirmation of the pride he has in this school”.

 “Considering how busy he is it’s fabulous he’s making the time,” Mr Roff said.

 Grade 11 student Stacey Miotto said hearing Mr Fraser talk had definitely inspired her.

 “I have an idea of something I want to do at uni and this has given me the confidence to go for that,” she said.

 It wasn’t just students who were pleased by the visit with Mr Fraser’s former teacher Jenny Napier reminiscing fondly about the past.

 “All those years back Andrew did a brilliant job of a caricature of Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen in one of the school musicals so it’s always amused me that he went into politics,” Ms Napier said.

 “His characterisation was so clever and so hilarious that even Sir Joh would have been proud”.

Whitsunday Coast Airport's new branding takes off

 The redevelopment of the Whitsunday Coast Airport reached a milestone last week with the revelation of new branding and further funds for a comprehensive marketing campaign.

 Whitsunday Coast Airport business development manager Scott Waters said he was “very excited” to have the facility’s new logo unveiled by the acting premier, tourism minister and mayor.

 Mr Waters described the new branding as “basically the council logo and existing vibrant colours with aviation themes incorporated into it and also a new tag “gateway to the Whitsundays and coalfields”, which very much represents inbound and outbound travel”.

 “This gives us a new beginning. It shows we’re a region on the rise from an aviation perspective. Our tourism industry is a very strong story and one we will continue to tell but we also need to encapsulate where we sit from an economic perspective,” Mr Waters said.

 “This (airport) is the key gateway for the entire Whitsunday region and we can also be a launch pad into the Bowen basin and future Galilee basin as well,” he said.

 Acting premier Andrew Fraser announced a further injection of $80,000 in marketing money, on top of the $7million already spent on upgrading the Whitsundays’ “welcome mat”.

 Tourism minister and Whitsunday MP Jan Jarratt said this was “aviation history in the making”.

 “Just as we have rejuvenated the airport itself, it was imperative to rejuvenate the airport’s image,” Ms Jarratt said.

 “This logo gives a dynamic and professional impression, letting the major players in aviation know we are serious about increasing services and connectivity to the Whitsundays.

 Whitsunday Regional Council Mayor Mike Brunker said the appointment of a business development officer was already paying dividends.

 “Scott’s only been in the hot seat for a few weeks, but he hasn’t missed a trick,” Cr Brunker said.

 “Now we’ll be working together on short, medium and long-term growth strategies for our airport,” he said.

Community divided over upgrade to Airlie main street

 Straight versus curved, land swap versus resumption, four-storey building versus uninterrupted park: these are the issues dividing the community, with the future of the Airlie main street upgrade still up to local residents to decide.

 Just two weeks ago Whitsunday Regional Council recalled its main street survey referring the matter to local MP Jan Jarratt and minister for natural resources Rachel Nolan, but Ms Nolan says a formal application to the state government for the proposed land swap that would allow Des Davey’s building to be turned on it’s side has not yet been lodged. 

 “I will consider such a proposal when and if this happens,” she said.

 Mayor Mike Brunker said due to the costs and bureaucratic processes involved council would not make the submission unless it was sure of community support.

 “There’s no point in putting in an application if the community isn’t supportive, so we’re trying to gauge opinions first,” Cr Brunker said.

 “At the end of October we’re going to have to get our heads together and see whether we proceed or not,” he said.

 “If we’re not going to go ahead with it (the current design) we need to get new designs for a straight road, which will cost a couple of hundred thousand dollars.”

 Meanwhile both the Airlie Action Group (AAG) and Save Our Foreshore (SOF) are continuing to rally support, with SOF taking their pink caravan to the Airlie Beach markets championing the protection of public land and AAG holding a stakeholders question and answer meeting at the Reef Gateway Hotel earlier this week.

 Member for Whitsunday Jan Jarratt said she was engaging in extensive consultations with all groups concerned.

 “Just last week the acting premier Andrew Fraser and I met with Save Our Foreshore and the Airlie Action Group to hear both points of view,” Ms Jarratt said.

 “In the interests of expediting this process for the benefit of our entire community, my office will continue to accept submissions until Monday October 31 and I will make an announcement on the Main Street upgrade shortly thereafter,” she said.

Proserpine cane farmer honours cane cutting tradition

Proserpine cane farmer Lindsay Altmann took his family to the Burdekin on Sunday to participate in a landmark competition that pays tribute to the strong men of yesteryear.

Just days out from the finish of the crush and in the midst of an extremely turbulent time for Proserpine growers, the Altmanns made the effort to travel the 170km north to the Australian cane cutting invitational event to field a strong side for Proserpine - with members from their family alone.

Before mechanical harvesting was introduced, teams of men used to go from cane farm to cane farm cutting the burned cane by hand and it is to pay tribute to this back-breaking line of work that this competition was introduced.

One such man who was skilled in this toilsome craft was Lindsay’s father Eric whom his son says was a “gun cutter”.

“The harvester started on our farm in 1969, so before that my old man used to contract cut plant. So right from when I was old enough - 10, 11 years old - I used to go plant cutting with him. I just used to follow behind and cut the last drill … you learn without really knowing you are learning,” Lindsay said.

Altmann senior was also no stranger to the competitor’s circle, winning four or five Australian championships in a row during the late 60s.

“But just like me, my old man didn’t do it for the glory of winning. He did it because he was proud and loved what he did,” he said.

Lindsay and his wife Denise took their three sons Callum, Joel and Karl to the event in the hope the tradition would continue.

“What I worry about is I am 50 ... so where are we going to be in 10 years time when there is no one still capable of cutting who actually did it for a living!

“Once that happens – the competition dies, and I’d love to pass this tradition on to my kids, just like my old man did for me,” he said.

The Australian cane cutting invitational event was held in conjunction with the Home Hill Harvest Festival.

    Attracting around 100 people, it was the first year it had been held in town, usually taking place in a rural landscape on the farm some 80km west of Ayr at a place called 
Dalbeg.

Quota Care Bears bring smiles to Proserpine Hospital

 Last Tuesday a very special delivery was dropped off to the Proserpine Hospital.

Eighty-year-old Dorothy Wilkes has been knitting 'Quota care bears' which she donates to the hospital for a while now, however a recent donation of supplies from a fellow community member ensured the next delivery would come on time.

 After reading an article about Dorothy and her daughter Anne Lowbridge donating the care bears, published in the Guardian in July, Geoff Hunter of Geoff Hunter Coaches wanted to help them out in any way possible.

 "Stuffing is the most expensive, which is what Geoff donated to make the bears," Anne said.

 Geoff said Dorothy and Anne, a Quota service committee member, are working wonders with their quest to make the bears.

 "It's a contribution to the community, and it does a good thing for the hospital," Geoff said.

 After busily knitting 20 colourful teddy bears and six pairs of comfortable bed socks, Anne and Dorothy kindly donated the goods to the Proserpine Hospital last week.

 Proserpine Hospital facility manager and director of nursing Nicole Young said the community has always been very generous to the hospital.

 "It's wonderful. Anything that makes the children more comfortable helps us to treat them better," Ms Young said, "and the children can take them into day surgery to make them feel more comfortable."

 Dorothy said she enjoys making the bears, opting for brightly coloured wool for them and the darker coloured wool for bed socks.

 "I've done so many bears, I don't need a pattern anymore," she joked, "and I'm up to my ears in wool."

 Each care bear is creatively wrapped and include a nice 'get-well' message. If you would like to make a donation, please call Anne on 4945 1884.

Whitsunday Tourism Awards honour industry's best

 Nearly 300 guests attended the 2011 Whitsunday Tourism Awards, with this year’s red carpet rolled out at the Whitsunday Airport for a night of celebrations with an aeronautical theme.

 Tourism Whitsundays’ CEO Peter O’Reilly made a spectacular seaplane entrance flanked by his wife Megan and the evening’s emcees. Ben Southall (fresh from his ‘best expedition in the world’) and Bruce “Hoppo” Hopkins (all the way from ‘Bondi Rescue’) were on hand for the presentation of 21 awards, paying tribute to the achievements of the Whitsunday tourism industry’s best.

 “It’s been a tough year (for the tourism industry) and this is a night to honour those who’ve gone the extra mile,” said Mr O’Reilly in his opening speech.

 Mr O’Reilly also commented on the tough job faced by the panel of independent judges, responsible for allocating each of the awards.

 “The standard and competiveness of the applications this year was exceptionally high. A number of the awards came down to just a handful of points,” he said.

 “The high quality of submissions shows just how hard we are working to promote the Whitsundays to the rest of the world.”

 Impassioned acceptance speeches were the flavour of the night with industry stakeholders encouraging each other to stay strong.

 Manager of Villa Botanica Janet Hogan, who was also celebrating the eve of her company’s 150^th wedding, said maybe Charles Darwin was wrong.

 “It’s not about survival of the fittest – it’s about co-operation and working together – understanding that each one of us is just a very small part of a larger organism – the Airlie Beach community,” Ms Hogan said.

 Especially notable award winners included young achiever Emily Smart and Volunteer Ambassador Co-ordinator Judi Dunn, who received a standing ovation for her “outstanding contribution by a volunteer”.

 “My husband is not going to believe this  - I am so touched I don’t know what to say,” Ms Dunn announced as she accepted her award.

 Ms Dunn was one of a handful of ladies whose high standards of fashion gave rise to an impromptu “best dressed” competition, with Caroline Allen eventually taking the crown.

 The evening was catered for by Fish D’Vine, with after dinner entertainment by the 1RAR band, who ensured that the Whitsunday tourism industry kicked up its collective heels.

Whitsunday holiday leaves lasting impression

 Pam Ashdown plays host to a variety of interesting guests in her role as manager at Mango House Resort, but none have touched her more than stroke victim Sarah Gapp.

 Just three years ago Sarah was an active 21-year-old woman, working as a legal secretary in Brisbane, but on August 28, 2008 she suffered a massive brain stem stroke.

 On more than one occasion doctors thought Sarah might die, but she in fact lived, left with a condition known as ‘locked-in syndrome’, which only one person in 100,000 survives.

 Sarah’s mother Jane said her daughter was literally ‘locked in’ to her body, able to hear and think but physically only able to blink.

 So began a long process of rehabilitation, left largely to Jane, who never missed a day of her daughter’s care in spite of being stricken with breast cancer herself. Three years on, Sarah can now breathe independently, free-sit, take steps with a walking frame and talk - to a degree.

 Sarah’s journey to the Whitsundays dates back to her darkest days in ICU, when Jane brought various musicians to her daughter’s bedside, including Blues artist Michael Franti, who stayed in touch with the Gapp’s throughout Sarah’s remarkable road to recovery.

 This year, Michael invited Sarah and Jane to the Byron Blues Festival taking them on stage and telling their tale. In the audience was Whitsunday musician Nadine O’Neill, who had just won an accommodation prize in the Airlie Beach talent quest at Relay for Life.

 “Once I got home I had this voucher just sitting there staring me in the face,” said Nadine, who decided to offer it to the Gapp’s.

 When Pam Ashdown learned more about her guests she told them to “stay as long as you like”.

 “To me, Sarah is just an angel. This is a girl with a tracheotomy in her throat, yet when I asked her, “Did you ever feel like dying?” she said to me “I only ever felt like living”,” Pam said.

 While Sarah was in the Whitsundays she was able to make trips to the reef and Daydream Island, where she told the Guardian her favourite experience was “touching the baby shark”.

 Jane Gapp said the holiday was an extremely welcome break.

 “We spend most of our time fighting for something – everything we do takes a considerable amount of effort so just being able to get away from it all has been great,” she said.

 Sarah has a bright future with plenty more of these experiences ahead, but she needs therapy to enable her to walk independently and eat and drink.

 To learn more about Sarah’s story or make a donation visit www.developingfoundation.org.au/family/sarahgapp

Whitsunday community garden launched

 Four organisations, comprising Get Set for Work, Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA), Quota International of Whitsunday and TAFE, have come together to establish a community garden, located at the Cannonvale campus of TAFE.

 Get Set for Work Co-ordinator Kerrie McCallum-Coles said an important focus of the project was helping the youth of the region, with six people from Get Set for Work and seven from the National Green Jobs Core currently taking part.

 “With this particular group of people we’re trying to give them some work ethics, life experience, basic employability skills, and we’re also exposing them to local businesses and employment organisations in the region that might hopefully lead to future job opportunities,” she said.

 “We’re targeting people who need a chance to show they can do something. It’s the teamwork that’s going to be one of the biggest things they’ll get out of this. Also we’re going to be beautifying the grounds of the TAFE and in particular the restaurant,” she said.

 Horticulture teacher Penny Taylor said her students would be able to maintain the garden, learning along the way.

 “For both horticulture and hospitality students this garden is going to be an educational tool,” she said.

 Stakeholders in the community garden project met last Wednesday to pour over the new plans for a green space, which will CVA Regional Manager Caitlin Davies says will be user-friendly, easy to maintain and “adaptable according to the materials that we receive through donations”.

 Ms Davies said the design now before the team incorporated bird and herb gardens along with native and bush tucker plants.

 “We’ve got grand plans but it really depends on what we get – what local businesses feel they can donate to support the youth of the region,” she said.

 Ms Davies said materials such as mulch, soil, compost, pavers or river pebbles and plants were particularly welcome.

 “We welcome any donations and we’re aiming to use as many recyclable materials as possible to make this even more ‘earth’ friendly,” she said.

 Sienna Duffy, who will be participating in the program through Get Set for Work said she was very much looking forward to making the garden grow.

 “I love that it’s outdoors – it’s a moveable project, and hopefully something that will help me get a job or traineeship from” she said.

 The group will work on the garden throughout November, meeting every Tuesday for five weeks.

Eco Barge Services a finalist in State Award

 One of the Whitsundays' own is in the running to take home a Queensland-wide award.

 Libby Edge, director of Eco Barge Services is one of just three finalists in the Peabody Environment and Landcare Award, through the state-wide Regional Achievement and Community Awards.

 Upon hearing the news, Libby said she was lost for words, though she has put the achievement down to a combined effort.

 Although this is an individual award, by no means would I have this opportunity without the support from my precious sponsors, the 200 volunteers who have donned the gloves to help collect marine debris from our coastline, and the support from my husband and kids," Libby said.

 "I really want to thank the community for embracing our Marine Debris Removal Program. We are hoping this award will help promote our program and help us find the funding our program needs to continue protecting our islands and marine life from the threats of marine debris."

 Eco Barge was launched in 2009 and since then, Libby and the passionate volunteers have been working wonders to minimise the threat of marine debris to the local environment.

 So far, more than 55,000 kilograms of debris has been removed from local waterways and islands over the few years.

 The service also hopes to be involved in implementing training programs and initiatives about rubbish disposal and safe environmental practices in local schools in the near future.

 "This (award) means exposure Queensland-wide to show the wonderful work of the program in helping the environment in the Whitsundays," Libby said.

 Libby will attend the Gala Dinner in Brisbane on November 12, where the winner of the Peabody Environment and Landcare Award will be announced.

Sailability Whitsunday receives 'best' boat

 The presentation of Ben Southall’s Hobie trimaran to charitable organisation Sailability Whitsunday turned out to be an even greater occasion than planned when Sunstate Hobie Director Mal Gray unexpectedly announced, “I’ve just decided to tear the invoice up”.

 Mr Gray had previously agreed to sell the trimaran to Sailability Whitsunday at a reduced cost, having already put it to good use during Ben Southall’s ‘best expedition in the world’.

 “I hadn’t given it a lot of thought before now, but I think it’s a good way to finish off the expedition and I’m sure they (Sailability) can put the money to another really good use,” Mr Gray said.

 Mr Gray said one of the main reasons he decided to make a full donation was “because, like Ben, Sailability were prepared to pay”.

 “I am often approached by people with their hands out. I prefer to give to those who don’t want everything for nothing,” he said.

 “I can see what effort you’ve all put in. You are the generous ones,” Mr Gray told a stunned Sailability Whitsunday President Bruce Carter and his crew.

 Mr Carter said he was “overwhelmed by the generosity of everyone concerned”.

 “The advantage of this boat is we aren’t as tide-reliant as with some of the other vessels. It’s extremely stable and with the trampolines we can have a carer either side of the client. Basically, in conjunction with our three Access-3 dinghies, we now have a range of vessels to suit differing disabilities,” Mr Carter said.

 The Hobie trimaran is in immaculate condition in spite of its gruelling journey along the Great Barrier Reef and comes complete with everything but Ben’s Aussie figurehead “Davo” the glove puppet, who has been “retired”.

 Mr Southall said Friday’s presentation was a “poignant moment” as he farewelled his home of four-and-a-half months and flashed back to his charitable roots.

 “Being patron of something like this is significant for me because it takes me back to my days when I worked for a disabled charity in the UK. It’s a big honour, and comes with the responsibility of helping to promote this throughout Queensland,” he said.

 Friday’s celebrations also included the draw of a 38-prize raffle, which businesses all over the Whitsundays donated to. Mr Carter said funds raised from the raffle would enable Sailability Whitsunday to order a brand new Access-3 dinghy, which was expected to arrive within the next few weeks.