Straddie Island News winter 2011

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MINJERRIBAH/NORTH STRADBROKE ISLAND ’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER

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Talisah Edwards with Kinyinyarra

LOCAL ARTISTS WORLD CLASS

SIN_Winter2011_v3_SIN_Winter2011_v3 20/06/11 11:15 AM

2 STRADDIE ISLAND NEWS — 10 YEARS OF LIVING IN SIN WINTER 2011

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

ROB BRAIN AND RICHARD DUNN ARE OYSTER GROWERSwithin the Ningi Ningi Yum Yum Oyster group. Theirbaskets of rock oysters are tended most lovingly. Eachbag is numbered with detail describing age and whatwork has been done. The various oyster types rangefrom hatchery-bred fast grow to deep-cupped wildoysters caught on the Ningi lease. The oysters, whichrange in age from six months to four years, are dippedin 82º water every 12 weeks. Rob and Richard limit thequantities of oysters by volume in each long line basketto ensure maximum growth rates. This year, barnacleshave been the bane of many an oyster grower. Theseboys enlist various friends to help cull the littlebarnacles off while sipping a coldie – and with the offerof the odd dozen beautiful Moreton Bay oyster fromMyora for their time.— Stuart Patterson

THIS ISSUE I'M STRUCK BY HOW MUCH OF THE NEWS ISabout community — community giving , community sharing,performing, volunteering, fund-raising and, of course —debating. Every group, it seems has something to say aboutsand-mining.

There's a story about the gorgeous Straddie women who callthemselves DOLLS (see page 4 to find out why) and who haveraised more than $500 to buy indoor bo wls equipment for theresidents of Nareeba Moopi Moopi Pa, the community-runaged care facility in Dunwich.

You can read how dedicated our Island firefighters have beenunder the captaincy of recently retired Terry Green (page 9),and about NSI's Youthlink who this year won an Australia DayCommunity Organisation of the Year Award (page 23).

I'm writing from chilly Sydney where it hasn't stopped rainingfor a week, and when it rains here in winter, it’s cold.

Like many SIN readers not lucky enough to live full-time onthe Island, as soon as the winter chill sets in I star t dreamingof Straddie.

All I can think of are the crystal clear waters at Cylinder, still a mild 22º, and how lovely it would be lazing on the softwhite sand, watching the sea-birds diving.

I'm wondering what the tides are doing on Main, if the tailorare biting, and how the fairways are looking at the NSI golfclub. My dad, long-time club member, Joe Lake is sure to giveme an update as soon as I retur n.

Perfect winter weather for me at Straddie means sunny days, crisp nights and light westerlies; not too cold on thebayside, with seas on the surfside slight enough to see whale spouts from miles away. The sort of off-shore weatherthat can sometimes mean perfectly formed glassy barrels for lucky surfers.

And talking about whales — it's now official. According to aUniversity of Queensland survey Point Lookout is “simply oneof the best places in the world to watch whales”.

Well, I guess we already knew that. But it’s nice the rest of theworld is learning about our whale counts too. The good news,for me, is that by the time most of you are reading this, I'll beback on Straddie looking out for whales too.

— Trish Lake

OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD

EDITOR Kate [email protected] EDITOR Trish LakeREPORTERS Maria Tan, PekeriRuska, Harry BrumptonLAYOUT Mr TADVERTISING 3252 4551 [email protected] SIN ON FACEBOOKwww.facebook.com/straddienewsCONTRIBUTORS Editorial contributions are warmlywelcomed. Articles are edited forpurposes of style and space. Wecannot print anonymous material.PRINTER Paradigm Print MediaPUBLISHERFreshwater ProductionsPO Box 86 Point Lookout Qld 4183

NOT ONLY IS GOVERNMENT pulling the Island’s mining industryoff us, they are destroying industries that are supporting whatever is left!The council has consistently shown incompetence in managing the Is-land’s affairs, so any attempt by them to curtail the wedding industry ismystifying but true to their form. The beautiful new Point Lookout hallwill be the showpiece of a ghost town.

And yes, I know of all the plans to revitalise the Island economy. Theyare so tempting and exciting but as yet have no substance. Quite simplywe will need 150 full-time jobs to keep the status quo. Destroying aneconomy is easier than building one. I haven’t seen an Island transitioneconomic master plan: true, there’s plenty of a smiling Anna Bligh andserious-faced minions but nothing to satisfy, give hope or console. — David Thorburn, Point Lookout

LEISA SCOTT’S ARTICLE, ‘Sand Storm’, in the Courier Mail’s QMagazine, presented a good snapshot of North Stradbroke Island. It isunderstandable that many islanders have expressed consternation inthe face of change. However, well before the government determinedthat mining on NSI would end by 2025, the mining company itself dis-closed it would shed half the workforce in 2015 when Yarraman mineends. The mining company offered no strategy to assist the island com-munity to deal with this substantial economic hole. In contrast, the gov-ernment has now announced that a regional economic developmentstrategy will be planned for NSI. Those interested in activating the long-term, sustainable post-mining economic future of the island will havethe opportunity to contribute.— Jackie Cooper, Point Lookout

Helen and Tony Surawski and family would like to express their sincere appreciation for all the kind thoughts, prayers, flowers, cards and amazing support from everyone. We feel very loved.


WINTER 2011 10 YEARS OF LIVING IN SIN — STRADDIE ISLAND NEWS 3

NEWS

VETERAN STRADDIE BEEKEEPER CharlieBowman looks to have won the right to keepmore than one million bees in hives on landrezoned for national park.For 25 years, Mr Bowman has kept Europeanhoney bees in more than 150 hives spreadacross mining lease land, on a permit from themines department. Earlier this year, theDepartment of the Environment and ResourceManagement (DERM) outlawed Mr Bowman’shives under new national parks legislation.

A petition, launched by the Bowman family overthe Easter weekend, attracted more than 1000signatures in three days. It was sent toQueensland Minister for Environment andResource Management, Kate Jones, whopersonally contacted Mr Bowman.“We did get a call from Kate Jones and they’retalking to us about a Resource Reser ve at thesites where we currently are. We’re awaiting thenext move,” he told SIN. “Because of theminister’s intervention there’s a possibility that

we may be able to stay there, but I still haven’tseen anything in writing. We got people out fromParks and Wildlife and they’ve assured us thatwe won’t have to move and that they’ll createResource Reserves. Patience is the word. Aslong as they don’t forget us.”Mr Bowman said it was important to the health of hisbusiness that the hives remain where they are.“Beekeepers that are isolated and don’t move theirhives around are free of the diseases,” he said.– Harry Brumpton

BEES GET REPRIEVE

The exhibition was a collabora-tion between Salt Water Mur-ris Qandamooka and NorthStradbroke Island HistoricalMuseum, caretakers of the

Oodgeroo of the Tribe Noonuccal Custo-dians of the Land Minjerribah Collection,together with the Walker family. LeeceeCarmichael, Elisabeth Gondwe andHeather Way compiled the installation,with many helpers. A lot of stitchery tocomplement the show was expertly doneby Rosemary Thurlow.

About 200 people attended the opening,which even heavy rain couldn’t dampen.The Noonuccal Kunjeil dancers entertainedthe guests, and Lord Mayor Melva Hobsonand artist Belinda Close cut the opening rib-bon. The downpour forced everyone tocrowd into the gallery, where Petrina Walker,

Oodgeroo’s granddaughter, whose vision ledto the exhibition, gave a very personal viewof her grandmother. Helen Pithie from theQueensland Museum, who curated the exhi-bition, also gave a brief introduction.

A variety of styles and expressions were onshow, brought together with a unity of pur-pose, a shared love of Stradbroke Island anda commitment to the upholding of Aborigi-nal cultural values. Oodgeroo’s poetry, bornout of such concepts, ran like a threadthrough the works, binding them together.There was a sense of nostalgia to the works,sadness at the loss of a lifestyle that, in retro-spect, could seem idyllic. In artist BelindaClose’s words (referring to Aunty Kath’sstory, Stradbroke), “…it takes me back towhen I was a child growing up out One Milewith bandicoot traps, parrot stew, fires, freshcreek water, chooks, ducks and guinea fowls

running around, fresh sea mullet, wildhorses, wild cows, dirt, dugong oil medicine,Quampies, wild flowers, laughter, unity, wheneverybody was happy.”

Oodgeroo was the name Kath Walker tooksome years after she became the first Aus-tralian Aboriginal woman writer ever to bepublished. It means “paperbark tree” andKath explained to me many years ago thatone reason she chose the name was becauseher people had used paperbark to recordand communicate messages, which is whatshe did. Oodgeroo is still sending messages:everything about the exhibition celebratedKath Walker’s life, achievements and legacy,and at the same time revealed the depth andbreadth of talent in this present generationof artists. Artworks can be purchased throughthe Salt Water Murris Qandamooka gallery.3415 2373.

Local artists world class

B Y M A R G A R E T S H I E L D S

The exhibition, Oodgeroo– one person can make adifference ran at SaltWater Murris QandamookaGallery in Dunwich for twomonths. Many of theartists were descendedfrom Oodgeroo; otherscalled upon personalmemories of her; othersdrew their inspiration fromher poetry and books.

Leecee Carmichael with The Vicar of StradbrokePHOTO: PETRINA WALKER



NEWS

About 200 people crammed in tothe Dunwich hall to see Roll up!Roll up!, a circus-themed end-of-term concert featuring studentsfrom the local community.

Appearing on stage were a variety of Strad-die kids, including littlies from the Strad-broke Early Learning Centre, members ofthe Dunwich Prep class, girls from the localhigh school, and even some adults joined inthe fun.

Opening with “Make ‘em laugh”, anddressed as rogue clowns, the Dunwich Prepclass had everyone laughing and smiling as

they performed on their own with no adultsupervision, proudly showing off their weeksof training. Their teacher, Marie Goebel, andall of the parents, were impressed with theconfidence shown by the preppies perform-ing their first live show.

Also on the bill were acrobatics, hooptwirling, body bending, white-gloved andneon glowing mime artists, little elephantsswaying too and fro, lions roaring and jazzdancing ponies. A group of girls from thehigh school performed street dance/trickingand looked proud and strong in their streetgear, taking it to the audience. There was

cabaret, with some of the older girls goingMoulin Rouge, before the adults showed offtheir newfound Latin cha cha moves. MrsGoebel stood out in her authentic Spanishflamenco attire. Olay!

Dance teachers Jasmine Stefonovic andCamille Chesterton, of Dancefit, havebrought a fresh approach to the art of danc-ing to the Island and managed to bring thecommunities of Point Lookout, Amity andDunwich together under the ‘Big Top’ to seethe performances. Jasmine and Camille arecurrently completing a fine arts degree, ma-joring in dance, at QUT and travelled toStraddie every Thursday to teach at the prepclass and the high school and spread theirpassion for dance. They were then able totranslate this into a great event, anticipatedand enjoyed by all of the children and theirfamilies and friends. The Aunties of our Island especially enjoyed seeing young peo-ple and their grandchildren perform in thesame way that they had remembered doingas school children, coming together andsinging their songs at the end of school eachyear, in the Dunwich Hall. Everyone in atten-dance at the concert expressed the hope thatmore of these concerts take place in the future, and especially look forward toCamille and Jasmine returning from theirteacher training practicum in the next fewmonths.

Special appreciation goes from the com-munity to Helen Groombridge for initiatingthis wonderful experience.— Vicki Kelleher

For the love of dance

Nearly 50 Island DOLLS at-tended a lunch at the AmityPoint Community Centrewhere $520 was raised for theNareeba Moopi Moopi Pa

Aged Care Hostel. DOLLS (Day Out for the Lovely Ladies

of Straddie) are a group of local womenwho raise funds for Island-based organisa-tions. Their recent event featured a displayof artworks by students of local artist KarenAnderson, who also donated her own workas prizes for raffles. Profits from meals, raf-fles, books and donations were given to Na-reeba Moopi Moopi Pa to buy indoor bowlsequipment for the residents.

DOLLS has been running for 15 yearsand has donated to a range of deservingprojects, helping to pay for facilities at theEarly Learning Centre, enabling kids to par-ticipate in the Dunwich School Music Pro-gram and buying vital equipment for theambulance, Volunteer Marine Rescue andfire brigade.

DOLLS’s new committee members, in-cluding Karen Anderson, Sue McElwaineand Jackie Chadwick, would like to thank

the previous committee members for theirwork and dedication to DOLLS. The nextDOLLS lunch will be at the Dunwich RSLon Tuesday August 16 and will feature atrivia quiz with lots of easy questions.

If you wish to donate a prize or join DOLLSfor lunch, contact Sue viaemail [email protected] orKaren on 3409 7270.

DOLLS bowl for aged care

Karen Anderson and Estelle Jarvis with some of the artworks that were on display at the recentDOLLS lunch.


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The Amity, Dunwich and PointLookout fire stations are in needof new recruits, with up to 20 ca-sual positions available for any Is-land resident interested in

becoming a paid auxiliary firefighter.Firefighter and Point Lookout resident

Bill Ewing told SIN that, although he is cur-rently training 12 new recruits, all three firestations are understaffed.

“When an emergency unfolds, if we havea staff of 12 at one station, we may be luckyto get four persons responding. So we needto have a lot more people on the books thanit would seem [necessary] just to make surethat, in an incident, we get sufficient peopleto fill the team,” Mr Ewing said.

Mr Ewing said full training and equipment would be provided to successfulapplicants.

“They put you through fire and rescuecourses where you learn about things likestructural firefighting, extricating someonewho’s trapped in a motor vehicle and assist-ing someone who may be on a cliff face; sothere’s a lot of skill sets that you attainthrough accredited courses,” he said. “Thepeople that come down here and learn ourskill sets have something to offer, becausewhen someone rings 000 these are the only

people these communities have. No one elseis coming over from the mainland, initially,to help. It’s the people from within the com-munity who are going to be doing it.”

Mr Ewing described firefighting as “an honourable job”.

“There’s a huge thrill and joy in workingwith a group of people and achieving some-thing. If there’s an incident that requiresour assistance, and we’ve gone out and donesomething good, everybody kind of feelsgood about that,” he said. “You’re paid foryour hours, which is a huge plus, but ulti-mately I don’t think many people do it forthe money. I think most people do it be-cause they have some sort of communitycommitment and they feel that they havesomething to offer.”

Any Island resident interested in joiningone of the three local fire brigades is encour-aged to visit the Dunwich or Point Lookoutfire stations during Tuesday night trainingsessions to meet the crew.

“A lot of people aren’t aware of what firefighters do or what’s required to fulfil thisrole, so it’d be good if they came down. Themen and women who are currently workingwill be able to give them a heads up and theycan make a decision for themselves,” MrEwing said. “It’s not just about going out and

fighting scrub fires or fighting house fires,it’s all forms of rescue.

“When someone rings 000 these days,they send a fire and rescue crew, even for amedical emergency, so there’s quite a lot re-quired. For a lot of people that’s a plus andthat can be very interesting.”

Mr Ewing also told SIN that while fitnesswas a “huge plus”, the most important qual-ities that new recruits needed were “open-mindedness and a preparedness to learn”.

“You’ve got to be prepared to try to put insome hard yards to learn and hopefully whatyou learn will give you the confidence to goout and work in the community and help.”

Veteran firefighter and recently retiredCaptain Terry Green served for 21 years withthe Queensland Fire and Rescue Service(QFRS) and recommends firefighting “be-cause it’s really a satisfying career”.

“Basically we’re trained up enough tocover any eventual calamity. I think it’s a verygood thing to be in. You get a lot of satisfac-tion out of it, especially after you put out afew fires,” Mr Green said.For more information on auxiliary firefightertraining and employment, visit www.fire.qld.gov.au or head down to the Dunwich or PointLookout fire station on Tuesday evenings tospeak with a local firefighter.

New firefighters needed

B Y M A R I A T A N

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TREASURE ISLAND

One of, if not the, best lookoutson the Island is from Bippo Pen-bean; 10 kilometres from Amity,nine from the Point and lessthan seven from Dunwich.

Looking to the north, one can see straightup the spine of Moreton Island; to the northand east, the Pacific Ocean; and to the west,Moreton Bay. Bushwalkers have long re-garded this as the rooftop of the Island.

Until recently, a mining lease coveredBippo Penbean, but as an outcome of recentgovernment legislation (the North StradbrokeIsland Protection and Sustainability Act), thislease has gone. Instead the Quandamookapeople and the state of Queensland willjointly manage the land as part of the na-

tional park extension due at the end of theyear.

Water is the lifeblood of the Island; how ittravels through the dunes, where it surfacesor pools, affects a lot of the Island’s habitats.Stradbroke has a great variety of wetlands,lakes, streams and lagoons. The water is quiteacidic and the animals that live there, like theendangered wallum sedge frog litoria olong-burensis, are specially adapted to those con-ditions. If the water chemistry of the wetlandsis altered, it can change the fauna and allowinvasive species to flourish. Water movesthrough the Island in mysterious ways and weneed to be mindful to not interrupt that flow.

With more than 500 species of nativeplants on Straddie, you could spend a life-

Endangered wallum sedge frog Littoria olongburensis

Celebrating Straddie’s natural treasuresB Y J A N A L D E N H OV E N

time learning about them. There are wild-flowers year round and some 30 differentkinds of orchid. Some orchids are tiny likethe little thumbnail size green hoods; othersare giants, like the swamp orchid phaius aus-tralis whose flower stem is more than a metretall. Another damp-loving Straddie plant isthe blue tongue melastoma malabathricum[above pic]. Its masses of purple flowers canbe seen on the edges of the Island’s swamps.Koalas also favour the trees along margins ofmany of the Island’s wetlands, includingFlinders swamp.

Straddie has an unusually high bird counttoo, around 250 species, and is the best land-based whale-watching site on the east coastof Australia. Minjerribah has many treasuresworth looking after.Kathy Stephen’s book The Flora of NorthStradbroke Island is available from Islandnews agencies and the MinjerribahMoorgumpin Elders office in Dunwich.Dr Jan Aldenhoven, a biologist, lives at Point Lookout

Looking north from Bippo Penbean

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About 800 people attended a rallyon Dunwich oval on Easter Satur-day to show their support for thecontinuation of sand mining onNorth Stradbroke Island.

Speakers who addressed the peaceful gath-ering included Nationals’ Senator RonBoswell, Cleveland MP Mark Robinson, sandmining company Sibelco’s representative PaulSmith and Dunwich residents Tony Brown, of

the Straddie Sharks Football Club, and RobynMortimer who organised the event.

According to local business owner JimCampbell, the major concerns of the pro-mining protesters were job losses and lack ofcommunity consultation on the early mineclosure by the Bligh Government.

“Most who attended had concerns abouttheir future and have no faith in the assur-ances given by the Bligh government that

tourism will take over from mining as the Is-land’s future economic base,” Jim told SIN.

Although Premier Anna Bligh was believed to be holidaying on the Island at thetime, she did not attend the rally.

Senator Ron Boswell told the crowd heknew of a group of barristers who had of-fered their pro bono services to attempt tooverturn the decision to end mining earlierthan promised, through the court system.

Only three of the 100 people who at-tended a public meeting to discussthe proposed Sea Stradbrok e/Strad-broke Ferries merger said they opposeda merger.Dunwich resident Bill Giles called themeeting after the Australian Competitionand Consumer Commission (A CCC)contacted him to ask what the com-munity thought about the plannedmerger. Mr Giles told SIN that a cross-sectionof Island business owners and man-agers, employees and residents fromthe three townships attended the meet-ing, which was held at the Little ShipClub in Dunwich. “The spectre of amonopoly with the possible conse-quences of fare increases and reduced

daily services was uppermost in theminds of the community memberspresent,” Mr Giles said.David Thomson, CEO of Stradbrok eFerries, and Graham Leishman a di-rector of Transit Systems, the parentcompany of Sea Stradbroke, addressedthe meeting. According to Mr Giles,they told the meeting that neither ferrywas making a reasonable retur n, norcould they afford an upgrade of infra-structure or v essels. They said the yboth felt that the decline in re venuewas due to a drop in touris t visits tothe island and loss of re venue fromthe reduction in sand mining traffic,after the expor t of sand to the con-struction industry was stopped. Thefuture end to sand mining was also a

consideration, they said. The men as-serted that an amalg amation wouldallow a ne w company to pro vide afirst class ser vice at a reasonablecost. They expected that, under amerged company, one barg e woulddepart Cleveland every hour com-mencing at 5.00 am and one w oulddepart Dunwich every hour commencingat 6.00 am. During times of peak de-mand such as school holida ys, theywould bring in extra v essels from theSouthern Moreton Bay run.The men could not guarantee therewould be no fare increases but said amerger would result in cost savingsfor the new company, which would re-duce the need to raise prices. “All in all I thought Transit Systems

and Stradbroke Ferries presented acredible commercial argument in sup-port of the necessity of a merger,” Billtold SIN. “When I asked for a show ofhands from those w ho oppose themerger, only three people voted againstit. The majority of those who attendedindicated they understood the com-mercial imperative driving the proposaland accepted that the merger shouldgo ahead.”Mr Giles and a deleg ation of Islandbusiness people met with the ACCCto hand them notes from the LittleShip Club meeting. Representativesfrom Redland City Council also he lddiscussions with the ACCC about theissue of a monopoly being created ifthe two ferry companies merge.

Ferry merger unopposed

Community rallies to support mine

NEWS

PHOTO: KATHY EICHMANN



RANDOM DRUG TESTING UNITThe Random Drug Testing Unit (RDTU)has conducted a number of operations onthe Island over the past year. It was disap-pointing to see the number of positive resultsthey processed, particularly during the Easterperiod. Both tourists and locals were caughtvia this testing and as a result it has beenarranged that the RDTU will make regularvisits to the Island. This will be in the form ofcovert, one-day operations, using unmarkedvehicles. Driving while under the influenceof drugs or alcohol will not be tolerated onour roads or beaches.

MOBILE RADARSpeeders beware, the mobile radar that wehave had for a fair while now is continuing tonet offenders. To be honest, I would behappy if we were unable to find anyone com-mitting offences on the roads, but this is notthe case. Be mindful that while we are patrolling, the mobile radar is running, andbelieve me this thing is very sophisticated andwill pick you up from a long distance. It is thatfast – it has you locked on before you can slowdown. Save your licence – watch your speed.

PROPERTY OFFENCESInvestigations are underway regarding abreak and enter at Skip’s First Stop in Dun-wich. One offender has already been located

and will appear before the court and remain-ing offenders have been identified and willbe located. Thanks again to the communityfor the support we received in solving thismatter. Another issue has been damage to ve-hicles in the ferry car parks. A number ofbrainless acts of wilful damage have beencommitted – from scratching vehicles toslashing tyres. Any information as to theidentity of the offender/s will be gratefullyand confidentially received.

NOISE COMPLAINTSNoise complaints remain an issue, particu-larly at Point Lookout. Meetings have beenheld with the Redland City Council, localreal estate agents and other communitystakeholders to find ways to alleviate theissue. This has been somewhat successful.However there are still a few old faithful ad-dresses that keep hitting our radar. A miscon-ception is that 10 pm is the magical hour atwhich noise must abate. This is not the case;excessive noise complaints can be made atany time of the day or evening. If the noise isdeemed excessive, police can, and will, takerelevant action. All that is asked is that yoube considerate of your neighbours, andmonitor the level of noise coming from yourresidence, be it your private home, or a hol-iday rental. Everyone wants to enjoy their

holiday and lifestyle, so please be mindful ofyour noise levels.

PASSING OF DETECTIVE SENIOR CONSTABLE LEEDINGAs I penned this article, my members and Iwere preparing to attend the funeral of Detective Senior Constable Damian Leed-ing, a 35-year-old police officer who was shotduring an alleged robbery on the GoldCoast. The murder of this officer sent a cold reminder, not only to the Queensland PoliceService (QPS) family but also to the entirecommunity, of the inherent dangers that police officers face in the execution of ourduties. We do not seek accolades as we chosethis profession. After 28 years as an opera-tional on-road police officer, I still hold myvalues to help people and strive to make society a safe and harmonious place. I knowthis is true of all QPS members. It is a harshreality that at times this comes at an extremeprice. What we have seen throughoutQueensland, and nationally, is an outpour-ing of community support for the Leedingfamily and the QPS. This has been evident here on the Islandwhere hundreds of ribbons were being worn,and numerous calls and comments of sup-port were received from the community.This has been heartening for my officers andI, and we thank you.

Looking for a local apprenticeLOCAL BUSINESS O WNER, Colin Battersby, is looking for a Straddieresident to undertake a chef appren-ticeship at his popular fish and chipcafé, Fishes at Point Lookout. “A local person will already have some-where to live on the Island and will beable to develop their career locally,”Colin told SIN. While trade apprenticeships are avail-able to young people on the Island,Colin says not enough are being offeredin the hospitality arena. “With a tourismjob you can travel the world, work inall sorts of places and countries; it’sa definite career.”Colin told SIN that a workplace ap-prenticeship generally lasts for fouryears, though it can be less dependingon the commitment to col lege hoursthe apprentice decides to make.

“Traditionally, an apprentice starts offon the pots and pans and mo ves onto peeling spuds, and chopping onions,”Colin said. “At F ishes they will becooking very quickly – breakfast, fishand chips etc. We also prep about 50kilos of garden salad every week, pre-pare and crumb perhaps 500 kilos offresh local fish and so on. Each daywe have one chef w ho just wieldstheir knife doing this stuff. The otherscook and clean up. The goal is, ofcourse, for the apprentice to be intro-duced to the whole kitchen.” Straddie is looking towards sustainabletourism and Fishes is no exception,already doing its par t by introducingsustainable practices to save power,energy and the environment.“We’ve spent a whole heap of moneyin upgrading to a refrigeration system

that uses the least amount of elec-tricity,” Colin said. “The council doesn’trecycle business waste, so we separateour cardboard and take it to the wastetransfer station ourselves. We have amachine that crushes all of our glass,and we separate our organic waste touse as compost.”One exceptional example of recyclingundertaken by Fishes is their methodof recycling old oil. Rather than throwingout the 200 litres of oil used eachweek at Fishes, a local fisherman col-lects it and turns it into bio-diesel tofuel his land cr uiser, which he thenuses to deliver fresh produce to thecafé. Colin says Fishes also supportsother local businesses by using localproduce. “We buy about $500,000 of produceevery year and about $330,000 of

that is spent on local produce, includingseafood, the milkman, the baker, butch-er, and our fruit and vegies come fromthe Island Fruit Barn (in Dunwich). Webuy everything we possibly can onthe Island.” Now Colin and the Fishes team wantto further support the local communityby providing work and training for oneyoung person. So if your passion lieswith food, your interests in local busi-ness, and presentation and punctualityare high on your list of qualities, youmight want to conside r applying forthe position of apprentice che f atFishes. But most importantly, Colin adds, “Theapplicants need to ha ve a lo ve forStraddie; because we don’t just sellfish and chips, we sell Straddie.”

ISLAND BEAT By PETER TWORT Officer in Charge, Dunwich Police. 3409 6020

B Y P E K E R I R U S K A



Fire in his bellyDespite being on call 24 hours a day for 21 years, retired Captain TerryGreen’s passion for firefighting still burns bright, Maria Tan reports.

During his time as an auxiliaryfire fighter in the Queens-land Fire and Rescue Service(QFRS), 16 of those as cap-tain of the Point Lookout fire

station, Terry was on call 24 hours a day, 7days a week. The 64-year-old father of tworesponded to every single emergency call,an extraordinary feat to which his wife Raeand their children can vouch.

“Let me tell you, it’s had its moments,” Raetold SIN. “We joke about it now, but we havea 24-year-old daughter (Peta) and a 22-year-old son (Dane). They’ve grown up and theyreally don’t know anything else except thatif the phone goes off in the middle of thenight and it’s a fire call, Dad goes out to thefire. And not just fires; they go to car acci-dents, they go to drownings, they go to peo-ple falling down stairs and the ambosneeding assistance, they go to all of thosethings.

“I used to get really annoyed because Terrycould get called out, go to a fire, come home,go back to bed and fall asleep while I was stillawake from when he first got the fire call. Butthat was just the knack that he had,” Rae said.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Danejoined the QFRS as an auxiliary fire fighterin 2007. When asked what made him decideto get into the same line of work, Danereplied proudly, “Oh Terry for sure. I’ve seenhim doing it from when I was really youngand I’d always wanted to join as well. So Ijoined when I was 18, as soon as I could.”

Father and son worked side-by-side at thePoint Lookout fire station for almost fouryears before Terry’s retirement in May thisyear. The veteran firefighter spoke warmly ofmoments spent training his son, and with amixture of excitement and concern as he re-called a blaze they battled together nearMyora Springs Environmental Park.

“The two of us turned up to the corner ofGatumba Street and the main road at Myorato be confronted by eight metre highflames,” Terry said. “It was so high that itcrossed the road and burnt up the other sideof the road as well. So we got there at aboutfour in the afternoon confronted by this andwe hit it with as much water as we could andwe knocked it right down.”

While admitting that he worries from time

to time about the situations his son may facewithout him, the former fire captain hasstrong faith in son’s training and the cama-raderie between the QFRS fire fighters.

“We’re all good friends,” he said. “I usuallysee them about two or three times a weekwhen I’m around the place. I still run intothem and some of the retired firefighterswho I keep in touch with, which is good. It’slike a club.”

It is this comradeship that Mr. Green sayshe loved most about being a firefighter. “Allfire fighters are brothers. I really do miss it.”

As a tribute to Terry Green’s 21 years ofservice as a fire fighter and 16 as captain,QFRS officers from the mainland and allthree fire stations on the Island threw him afarewell party, where he was presented witha certificate in recognition of his service,along with a letter from the QFRS Commis-sioner. Fire fighter Bill Ewing, who hasknown Terry for almost 30 years, told SIN“the words ‘dedication and commitment’ ac-curately describe how Terry fulfilled his role.

“In those 21 years there were an enormousnumber of people who came and wentthrough this station at Point Lookout; the attrition rate was quite high. Terry just stuckwith it through thick and thin, under a lot ofdifficult circumstances too, where decisionshad to be made.

“As time went by he just got better and bet-ter at it, because there’s no substitute for ac-quired knowledge in this job. The longer thatyou do it, the better that you get at it just byvirtue of experience,” Bill said. “It’s not thathe was captain that’s the greatest loss. It’s theloss of someone with 21 years of experience.

“The men and women I’m training nowwill be very enthusiastic and they’ll be verykeen. But it’ll take them a long, long time to see and do and learn the things thatTerry’s learnt,” Bill said. “His knowledge andexperience are a sad loss.”

FEATURE

Terry and Dane Green

Dane, Peta, Terry and Rae Green



NEWS

Every second Saturday morning the Is-land comes alive with sound ofmusic, as musical director Ann

Bermingham workshops the Stradbroke Is-land Singers at the Dunwich Early LearningCentre. Now the Island’s younger voiceshave joined in the chorus with the forma-tion of the Stradbroke Island Singlets.

When parents learn with their children,singing class isn’t something that happensonce a fortnight on Saturdays – it’s a life ex-perience shared by the whole family. Jamellaand Satchi Ogilvie’s dad Sean has been amember of the Stradbroke Island Singers fora few years and now his daughters havejoined the Singlets. “It’s good,” they told SIN,“because Dad does it with us.”

Ann is especially good at sparking the chil-dren’s creativity; the children contributeideas and together they create a chorus to goalong with actions. Ann’s warm-up exercisesat the beginning of the workshop emphasisethe concept that singing is a whole body ac-tivity, not simply a vocal exercise, and thechildren’s movement with song echoes this.Not surprisingly, the group-created choruses

don’t always rhyme, so Ann has introducedclapping as a way to anchor the lines. Thechildren themselves added stomping.

Jamella and Satchi particularly like thecombination of song and movement.Singing makes them feel good, they told me;they have lots of fun with friends. And youcan’t say better than that!— Margaret ShieldsSinglets singing workshops are held fortnightlyon Saturdays at the Dunwich Early LearningCentre from 9 to 10 am, followed by someplaytime. Stradbroke Island Singers (SIS)Workshops are held from 10 am to 1 pm, sameplace. For workshop dates phone Sean Ogilvieon 34098 097 (Singlets information) or KeithWhite on 34098 473 (SIS information).

Local Goorumpul woman PekeriRuska, who was educated at theDunwich School to year nine, has

been admitted to the Supreme Court ofQueensland as a solicitor.

Pekeri, who completed her high schooleducation at Cleveland State High, holds a dual degree in law and journalism fromGriffith University.

Since beginning her studies, Pekeri hasgained experience in criminal law, adminis-trative law, human resources law and has un-dertaken pro bono (unpaid) work forAboriginal rights for a number of years.

In March, Pekeri’s parents, Dunwich resi-dents Dale and Tracy, watched with pride asshe was admitted to the Supreme Court as alawyer. Pekeri, who studied in Sweden andother parts of Europe while completing herdegree, now works as a Legal Officer andProject Manager for RBY Projects, an Aboriginal-owned management company.

As the head of RBY’s legal departmentand coordinator of RBY’s social programs,she uses her legal degree to assist Aboriginalgroups to take advantage of the opportuni-ties that arise on their land. She works closelywith Aboriginal communities on projectsthat facilitate the revitalisation of Aboriginallanguage and on scholarship programs, andshe also edits a community newsletter.

Away from work, Pekeri works with herfamily to strive for Aboriginal rights and jus-tice for her people. A recent DunwichSchool newsletter summed up the high com-munity regard for Pekeri.

“Her family and community are proud ofPekeri and her achievements through herhard work and dedication. Her parents areto be congratulated also for their love, assis-tance and determination to educate theirchildren on the Island. Pekeri is an inspira-tion to many in her community and we wishher well for the future.”

Pekeri makes Island proudSin BRIEFSTRADDIE REFERENCE GROUP

Minister Kate Jones has established a NorthStradbroke Island Reference Group to enhancecommunication between the state government,Redland City Council, the Quandamooka Peo-ple, business and stakeholder groups, and thecommunity. The group will include two commu-nity representatives, who were to be selectedthrough a self-nomination process. The refer-ence group is expected to meet on a monthly oras-needs basis.

ISLANDERS MULCH MOREResidents on North Stradbroke, Coochiemudlo,Karragarra, Lamb, Macleay and Russell Islandsare more likely than people on the mainland tocompost or mulch their green waste, accordingto the Redland City Council. RCC also saysmore people living on islands have downsizedtheir waste bin in the past year than those onthe mainland. “By downsizing their waste binsislanders are rewarded for producing lesswaste, by paying less for their kerbside wasteservice,” Mayor Melva Hobson said. “And eventhough island residents can take their greenwaste to transfer stations for free (along withthe rest of their household waste), they are alsore-using their garden waste as compost andmulch.” Residents on the mainland will havekerbside collection of green waste later thisyear. Islanders can register their interest in agreen waste bin collection service “some timein the future”. To register your interest phone3829 8166 or email [email protected].

STRADDIE FUTURES ON FACEBOOKIsland councillor Craig Ogilvie is starting an on-line conversation with his constituents via aFacebook group, Straddie Futures. “It’s just an-other way for the community to have conversa-tions and ask questions about the future,” hesaid. “The site is primarily aimed at Island resi-dents but we all know there are many otherswho love Straddie and wish to contribute to itsfuture.” You can also stay up to date on Islandnews, in between issues of SIN, by “liking” uson Facebook: www.facebook.com/straddienews

LINES IN THE SANDLINES in the SAND is a free four-day festival(June 29 – July 2, 2011) of ephemeral art,workshops, talks, performance, projection, artmarket and auction, as well as other sponta-neous happenings. Share your roots with the Is-land, while welcoming a sustainable influx oftourism. For more information about visitwww.linesinthesand. com.au or contact Julie-Ann Ellis via email: [email protected] orphone: 0423 267 380.

CHAMBER OF COMMERCEAbout 50 people attended the inaugural AGMof the Straddie Chamber of Commerce (SCC) atthe Amity Community Club. David Thomson ofStradbroke Ferries was elected chairman, withMilton Kemp of Dolphin Real Estate votedtreasurer and Robin Barrass of Samarinda Re-sort, secretary. Elected committee membersare: Col Battersby, Discover Stradbroke; GordonDix, Seashells Café; Paul Kemp, Golden SandsServices; Paul Smith, Sibelco Aust; and DebbieWilson, of Transit Systems (Sea Stradbroke). ColBattersby is setting up a tourism sub-committeeand Milton Kemp an economic transition sub-committee. To join or receive updates, contactLiz Weil via: [email protected]

Singing in yer singlet

Proud parents Tracy and Dale Ruska with Pekeri (centre), outside the Brisbane Supreme Court

Young singers Jamella and Satchi Ogilvie,with their great-grandfather Stan Crowther



NEWS

University of Queensland re-searcher, Dr Mike Noad, reck-ons Point Lookout is “simplyone of the best places in the

world to watch whales”. Mike has been involved with the triennial

humpback whale survey, during which vol-unteers count whales as they pass the PointLookout headland on their northern migra-tion, since 2004. Last year’s survey found anaverage of 85 whales passing Point Lookoutbetween the hours of 7am and 5pm eachday.

“Put it another way,” said Mike. “If youstand up at Point Lookout between mid-Juneand mid-July, there’ll be, on average, a newwhale coming into your field of view everyseven minutes or so.”

Though in reality, he says, the whales tendto travel in small groups.

“Some periods you may only have one ortwo new groups appear per hour, but at

other times you may have 20. Also some ofthe groups are easier to see than others. “Butwe have shown from aerial surveys that 80per cent of the whales pass within five kilo-metres of the headland and so they are rela-tively easy to spot.”

Mike told SIN that data from the hump-back survey is used to work out how manywhales are in the population and howquickly the population is growing.

“I analyse the data and the results end upin reports to the federal government (whofund the survey) and in scientific papers tothe International Whaling Commission,which keeps track of whale population sizesand growth rates.

“The east Australia population of hump-backs was nearly wiped out by whaling in theearly 60s and probably got down to about 1per cent of its original population, which wethink might have been around 25,000whales.

“Since then they’ve made a rapid recovery,growing at between 10 and 11 per cent peryear for the past 25 years or so. Last year weestimated we were up to about 15,000whales, which is excellent. We think the rateof growth will start to slow soon as the popu-lation builds back up towards its original size.We don’t really know though where it willlevel out – only time will tell.”

About 18 to 20 volunteers give about 2000hours to the survey. “Most of them are recentgraduates in biology or marine science. Mostare from overseas and come to Australia pri-marily to undertake the survey; it’s recog-nised as one of the best land-based whalesurveys in the world.

“During last year’s survey Redland CityCouncil was extremely helpful and support-ive,” Mike said. “They built us a scaffoldingtower to use as a viewing platform. It was ex-cellent and not particularly cheap. So theydeserve special thanks.”

Mayor Melva Hobson, Aunty MargaretKucirek and Aunty Joan Hendriks (pictured l-r) were among 400 people who attendedthe world premiere of the QuandamookaDreaming documentary film series at theRedland Performing Arts Centre.With funding from the Redland City Coun-cil, and editorial and production control bythe Quandamooka Combined AboriginalOrganisations Forum, filmmaker MarciaMachado created four films about the his-tory and living culture of the Quandamookapeople (people of the Moreton Bay region).Working in collaboration with Elders, com-munity leaders and young people of Quan-damooka Country, Machado captured morethan 70 hours of film, which she then edit-ed into the four short films featuring thevoices of more than 50 people from thecommunity; from pre-schoolers to elderssharing their stories, dreams and aspira-tions. The Quandamooka Combined Aborig-inal Organisations Forum represents thefive incorporated Aboriginal communityorganisations on the Island.

Quandamooka dreaming

WHALES WATCH

“If you stand up at Point Lookoutbetween mid-June and mid-July,there’ll be, on average, a newwhale coming into your field ofview every seven minutes or so.”

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NEWS FEATURE

Karen Williams, the only localcouncillor who openly rejectsnew state government legislationthat will put an end to mining onStraddie, hopes to be elected

mayor of Redland City Council next year. The Capalaba councillor, who says eco-

tourism cannot fill the economic gap left bymining, has told SIN that mining and Indige-nous land agreements are two key issues thatneed to be addressed on the Island.

“Obviously the financial and economicsustainability of an Island that’s facing joblosses through the bringing forward of thedeparture of sand mining on the Island,that’s a critical issue,” Cr Williams told SIN.“The other issue I suppose that’s critical atthe moment is the Indigenous land agree-ments, which I think have a huge impact onthe future of North Stradbroke Island.”

The independent mayoral candidate hascalled the Bligh Government’s plans to con-vert 80 per cent of the Island into nationalpark “premature”, telling SIN, “I think it’s beenpretty much a political hot potato as well.”

During a general meeting at Redland CityCouncil on April 27, Cr Williams asked theRCC to reject the Bligh Government’s newlegislation, asking that: “… Council resolve toput forward their complete rejection of therecent North Stradbroke Island Protection

and Sustainability Act 2011 to the State Gov-ernment”. None of the other nine council-lors present voted in favour of the motion.”

“I didn’t get any support,” Cr Williams toldSIN. “I was surprised because local govern-ment is at the grass roots of the communityand often they look to us to be a voice onthese sorts of issues. I think we could’vedemonstrated better leadership in terms oftaking a role in lobbying against the State act-ing so hastily.”

In a statement released to SIN, Cr Williamsfurther said: “For half a century the jobs andinvestment provided by sand mining have al-lowed the cultural and economic health ofthe Island to remain livable. Eco tourism willnot fill this gap and that has been demon-strated in many places over time.”

Two days after the motion was lost, onApril 29, Cr Williams posted on her blog: “… just because I don’t support their positionthey haul out the personal attacks allegingpolitical affiliations, donations from miningcompanies etc. Quite hilarious really – themayor insinuated I was an LNP member be-cause I laid a wreath on ANZAC Day on be-half of the federal member for Bowman? Forthe record, I am not a member of any politi-cal party and have not received donationsfrom any mining company.”

Cr Williams, who is in her second term at

RCC as Division 9 Councillor for Capalabaand Alexandra Hills, told SIN Straddiewould benefit from stronger leadership if shewere elected Mayor.

“I’ve got experience with local govern-ment that basically gives me an insider’sknowledge as to how government works andhow it should operate. I’m a born and bredRedlander and, as far as I’m concerned,North Stradbroke Island has been part of mylife starting as a child, having visited there etcetera, and having close friends that livethere, and I think that intimate knowledgeof Stradbroke and having a big picture of theRedlands is really important.”

The mother of two was born and raised inCapalaba and attended high school at MtCarmel College in Wynnum before workingin domestic and foreign exchange markets.She ran two “floral studios” in Bulimba andCoorparoo with her husband before enter-ing local politics in 2004.

“I think there’s no doubt that North Stradbroke Island is one of the shiniest jewelsin the crown. It’s a huge natural asset interms of community and its culture is reallyimportant. It has great potential to serve thepeople of not just Stradbroke Island but Red-land City, so I think we need to have passion-ate leadership and put that in the forefront,”she said.

Karen for Mayor?B Y M A R I A T A N

Karen Williams attended the recent Dunwichrally in support of sand mining



Her husband Mark, known tofriends as Spider, has worked inthe mining industry for 14years, enabling the couple topay a mortgage and raise their

kids on Straddie, giving them, as Donnaputs it, “the same relaxed and simple childhood that I was privileged enough to enjoy”.

Donna arrived on Straddie in 1971 withher parents, Jan and Max Craig and two sis-ters, Tracey and Sandra.

“We moved in to a shack my grandfatherhad built in the 1940s from bits and pieceshe scrounged,” Donna told SIN. “The shackwas on lighthouse hill and was called TreeTops. It’s gone now and has been replacedby a pink house with a green roof that wasbuilt to my grandmother’s specificationsafter she won the casket (golden casket lot-tery) when she was about 80.

“It was an amazing childhood growing upon the hill. We did lots of fishing, exploring,swimming, socialising and life was simple.”

Some things change; some stay the same. In 1994, Donna and Spider bought a

1950s Straddie shack, just over the hill fromwhere she had spent her childhood. At thetime they thought the house was “ridicu-lously expensive”.

“Little did we know!” Donna said. “We sim-ply bought because we loved the place, itspeople and the lifestyle.”

The lifestyle included home-schoolingchildren Clancy and Nell for six years, at theend of which the family took off on a six-month surfing adventure, travelling throughAsia while Mark was on long service leavefrom the mine.

Now “… with the mine ending and our fu-ture changing” Donna is making somechanges of her own. The kids have enrolledat Dunwich state school and she haslaunched an event management and stylingbusiness called Stradbroke Island Events.

“I’ve been managing events, party equip-ment hire, grants and acquittals withinYouthlink (a community not-for-profit organ-isation that organises sport, culture and artevents for Straddie youth) since 2000. In fact,it became a passion for me. I gained so manyskills through my voluntary work and getsuch a buzz from being part of a great teamwho can make stuff happen.

“Before I had kids I was employed asrestaurant manager at the Stradbroke Hotel

For Donna,Straddie is the event

Stradbroke Island Events organiser Donna Shannon with husband Spider and kids Nell and Clancy

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Donna Shannon knowsbetter than most thatchange is happening on Straddie.

and I managed many conferences, weddingentertainment and special events there.

“The event service industry ticks all theboxes for me. I get to be part of people’s cel-ebrations, I get to plan amazing events, I getto be over-the-top creative, I get to meet andinteract with lots of people – and all of thishappens in a place I adore.

NEW BUSINESS

“I’ve purchased a lot of equipment, in-cluding a 6.5 metre trailer to transport myequipment. I have banquet tables and chairs,bar tables and stools, bamboo arbors, lots oflighting, table decorations, metres and me-tres of white draping fabric, candles galore,crockery, cutlery, PA systems, marquees – thelist goes on.”

Stradbroke Island Events’ inaugural eventwas the Redland City Council Tourism Sum-mit at the Point Lookout Surf Club in May,for 100 delegates, though by that timeDonna already had another 17 events on herbooks.

“There is a thriving wedding industry onStraddie,” Donna told SIN, “and theirtourism is great for the Island economy. Anaverage wedding includes somewhere be-tween 50 and 80 guests.

“They fill barges, holiday houses, cafes,restaurants, shops, and keep lots of peopleemployed – and wedding guests are gener-ally very respectful and low impact as far astourism goes.

“As soon as I made the decision to enterthe event industry I knew instantly it was theright decision and that I was really going tolove my work.”Call Donna on 0418 301 000 for informationabout Stradbroke Island Events.


The closure of sand miningon the Island has become ahot topic. The ‘Anna, don’tshut Straddie down,’ sloganis pasted all around town. It

is clear that converting Straddie intoa national park is high on Labor’sagenda; but the Aboriginal peopleappear to have been forgotten.What happened to the recognitionof legal land rights of the Aboriginalpeople of the Island?

Aboriginal occupation sites on Min-jerribah have been carbon dated byarchaeologists to be at least 22,500years-old. Archaeologists have alsofound that Aboriginal occupation has,uniquely, continued unbroken to thisday.

In 1994, the Quandamooka NativeTitle claim, consisting of the Nunukel,Ngugi and Goenpul clans, was lodgedon behalf of the Aboriginal people of

North Stradbroke Island. The claimwas the third lodged after the histori-cal case of Mabo, which was pivotal inchanging Australian land law and re-sulted in the introduction of the Na-tive Title Act. The claim was made onbehalf of the community, not a tribalgroup, to ensure fairness to all Abo-riginal people who formed part of theQuandamooka community.

Dale Ruska and Ian Delany wereapplicants to the claim, representingall of the Quandamooka people. How-ever, in 2001, Dale removed himselfas an applicant on the grounds thathe believed no just outcome for Abo-riginal people would be reachedthrough the native title process. Ianremains as the sole applicant to theclaim.

When lodged, the Quandamookaclaim was perceived as one of thestrongest urban claims in Australia,

OPINION

Mining and national parks, butB Y P E K E R I R U S K A

Minister Kate Jones (far left) talks to DaleRuska at a protest against sand exports

North Stradbroke Island is Aboriginal Land:local kids wear their t-shirts with pride

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due to the Aboriginal people’s continuedand unbroken connection to the land. How-ever, the native title negotiation process hasnot been simple. In fact, the process has beenoverwhelming and brought much distressand heartache to the Quandamooka people.

“We have always had to prove ourselves tothe wider community and government, it hasbeen very difficult,” said Ian.

“It’s been very long and extremely difficult,and throughout the journey there has beenvirtually a whole generation of elders, whoheld high hopes in achieving a satisfactoryoutcome, pass away,” Dale said.

Almost 20 years on and there is still muchthat needs to be negotiated and agreedupon. Nonetheless, the legal recognition ofthe Quandamooka people, as the legallandowners of the Island and its surround-ings, is near. But what will native title reallymean to the Quandamooka people?

Darren Burns is the family representativefor several of the family groups to the claim.“Native title will mean recognition that weare the traditional owners of this region wecall Quandamooka, and everything that flowsfrom that, including the rights and intereststhat we are legally entitled to,” Darren ex-plained. “The next generation will have re-sources, processes and guiding principles toenable them to move into the future, with alot more than what my generation had.”

The views of what recognition will meandiffers among the community. “The way it isall being proposed at present, native titlerecognition will actually be legally diminish-ing of our Aboriginal first nation rights toour land. It represents a lot of losses to usand it does not provide us with a secure fu-ture regarding our rights, nor does it ensurewe have economic equity,” Dale said.

Recently, the government introduced theNorth Stradbroke Island Protection and Sus-tainability Act, which authorises the imple-mentation of national parks on the Island.This act was announced, designated andgazetted before the native title group gaveauthorisation to the proposal. Opinions onnational parks are also divided among Abo-riginal people.

“The benefits of national parks means thatonce again we have a legally-ratified processto protect our land … there is also an aim tohave more of the national park wholly con-trolled by the Quandamooka people,through their own specific land managementprinciples and processes,” Darren said.

However, many Quandamooka people be-lieve the most important issue at present isthe recognition of Aboriginal rights, beforenational parks.

“We are the traditional owners, our rightscome first before anything else, includingnational parks. My main concern is that ourAboriginal rights are protected,” Ian said.

“The recognition of Aboriginal rightsshould be the first priority. Before nationalparks, all land that is held by the state shouldbe returned to the Aboriginal people in fulllegal title, then the Aboriginal people canconsider what the future land use optionsare for their land, and national parks maybe a possibility,” said Dale.

To portray the message of recognisingAboriginal rights first and foremost, beforenational parks and sand mining on Straddie,t-shirts bearing the message “North Strad-broke Island is Aboriginal Land, always was,always will be were recently launched. Nowthe shirts can be seen around the Island,worn proudly on the backs of many Aborigi-nal and non-Aboriginal people who feelstrongly about the matter.

The fight and struggle for legal recogni-tion of Aboriginal rights is far from over. Thejourney so far has been one phase of an 18-yearlong journey.

It is questionable whether it will providebetter opportunities to Aboriginal peoplethen generations have had in the past. Onlytime will tell. Pekeri Ruska is a Goorumpul woman fromNorth Stradbroke Island.

what about Aboriginal rights?

ORDER T-SHIRTS BY [email protected]

Please include shirt sizes in your email message. Kids $15. Adults $18.

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Help us keep

Straddie Open.


Together we’re fighting for our families, friends and way of life.

Our tight-knit community deserves a strong and

thriving future.We believe in the long-term

survival of our island.

www.sustainablestradbroke.com.au

SustainableStradbroke



NOTICE BOARD

Ray White North Stradbroke Island is the largest andlongest established Real Estate Office servicing theentire Island. Residential and commercial sales,leasing, project marketing and investment portfoliomanagement are our areas of expertise.

If you are considering renting your valuable holidayproperty at Point Lookout please consider ourprofessional management team who would be happyto provide you with a Management Package for yourconsideration along with advice on how to set yourproperty up for rental, rental rates and recommendedinventory items.

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Rae Green 0417 797 885Alan Carter 0409 873 757

THE ACCOMMODATION CENTRE AND REAL ESTATE SALES

Dan Battersby and the team at Fishes Café are looking foran interested person to begin their chefs apprenticeship.We believe in a positive spirit and strive to show ourguests to the island what Straddie is all about.

Fishes is open 7 days a week, 364 days of the year,servicing local residents and visitors to Straddie withsumptuous breakfast, local sourced produce and a casualbut value for money lunch and evening menu offer.

You will be joining an award winning crew that believes inhospitality, friendship and enjoying each others companyat work and at play!

Above ward wages and generous government incentivesmake this tourism training opportunity significant. Schoolleavers and mature age, career changers encouraged.

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Email your résume to [email protected] we’ll get in touch – go on – make it happen!

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Bay Island Valuations was established in No-vember 1996 by its current principal Paul W

Mergler. The fundamental purpose behind itsestablishment was to provide the people of theBay Islands with a ‘Resident Island Valuer’,something that was previously lacking. Thisgenuine service is now a reality.

At Bay Island Valuations we recognise that receiving competent, professional valuation advice is a critical issue, affectingnumerous facets of the business world, bothin private and public sectors. Accordingly, re-ceiving precise advice, in a professionally es-tablished format is of the utmost importance.By establishing ourselves within our area ofexpertise, we offer service to clients moreexpediently, more economically and with agreater degree of local knowledge. Becauseof their relative isolation and individual prop-erty markets, it is often difficult for mainlandvaluers to properly appraise the Moreton BayIslands. At Bay Island Valuations we take pridein our personal approach to each job. Not as

an outsider, but as somebody who lives in theislands and is conversant with both the peo-ple and the property. By utilising Bay IslandValuations you are able to liaise directly withthe valuer, who will in turn provide you with aprompt, personal and professional service atthe most reasonable fees available.

Bay Island Valuations presently conductproperty valuations on North and South Strad-broke Islands, Moreton Island, Russell Island,Macleay Island, Karragarra Island, Lamb Is-land and Coochiemudlo Island. We are activewithin the following areas of property valua-tion and consultancy — Mortgage securitypurposes, family law & litigation, pre-sale orpre-purchase, stamp duty and capital gains,local authority rating and land tax, resumption& compensation valuations, government,rental determinations and consultancy advice,progress inspections during construction.

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Stradbroke Beauty Skin & Body

Phone 3409 8219Shop 4 – Point Lookout Beach Resort

North Stradbroke IslandOpen Tues – Sat 10.00am – 5.00pm(after hours available by appointment)

Natural Beautyfrom the sea PROVIDING STRADDIE’S

FINEST SEAFOOD FOROVER 20 YEARS

Straddie’s local fisherfor quality seafood

Cnr Tramican & Donahue Sts, Point Lookout

Phone 3409 8353 Mobile 0409 618 353

Mal Starkey’sSEAFOOD HOUSE


NOTICE BOARD

Freshwater pearl and semi-precious gem jewellery. Fashion jewellery,

sarongs, evening bags, homewares, unusual gifts, clothing, decorator

items, shells, toys and much much more! 3409 8798

Open Monday, Thursday, Friday , Saturday: 9.30 am - 5 pm Sunday: 9 am till 1 pm • Open 7 days on school holidays

ANCHORAGE BEACH FRONT RESORT, POINT LOOKOUT

Noreen’s Seaside Shop

stradbroke island events

For all your event requirements call Donna Shannon on 0418 301000 or email [email protected]

SPECIALISINGIN WEDDING AND EVENT STYLING

EXTENSIVE LIST OF HIRE ITEMS��

��

P: (07) 3206 0630 M: 0418 773 783Fax: (07) 3206 4905

Email: [email protected]

Laetitia St Bakerby

Excellence in catering for all occasionsEvent coordination specialists

All you can eat Pizza/Pasta buffetevery Wednesday — $15 / $9 kidsDelicious a la carte menu Thursday to Sunday.Great takeaway deals! Order pizzaand get the second one of equal orlesser value 1/2 price — the samewith pasta. Every night!We deliver at Point Lookout too!Fully Licenced Open Wednesday to Sunday from 5.00pmPh: 3409 8778www.lafocaccia.com.au

restaurant | venue | takeaway



Island Weddingsa

1. Jasmine and Rick

Relentless rain may have forced Jasmine Williamson and Rick

Pacey to hold their wedding ceremony under cover at the Amity

Club, but the couple still managed a short romantic beach walk

between showers.

2. Alana and Marshall

When Alana Brown and Marshall Sigley wanted a beautiful

location for their wedding, Marshall’s father, Barrie, who

manages the Island runway, suggested Amity Point. The pair

were married at the beach and held a reception at Seashells

Café. Guests were delighted when a koala decided to move

between trees, just across the road from the restaurant.

3. Katie and Adam

Katie Turner and Adam Davies recited their wedding

vows in front of family and friends on Home Beach.

4. Alison and Michael

As Michael Jarvis had proposed to Alison Garland in

South Gorge, it was their first choice as the location of

their wedding. Stormy southeasterly winds dropped off

just the day before and the sun came out to produce a

stunning day.

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Tel: 07 3409 [email protected] Sovereign Road, Amity Point, North Stradbroke Island, Qld, 4183

Proprietors: Eddie & Steph Walker

Open 7 daysTrawler Fresh Prawns, Oysters,Crabs, Whole Fish, FilletsLarge range of frozen seafood

Stradbroke IslandBUTCHERY

Friendly Service andBest Meat Guaranteed

1 Stradbroke Place Dunwich QLDOpen Mon-Fri till 5pm & Sat till 12noon

Fax: 3409 9196

EFTPOS AND MAJOR CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED

Phone: 3409 9088

15-17 Welsby Street, DunwichOpen Tuesday to Saturday

10am - 2pm

Adult $3.50 Conc $2.50 Child$1.00

Phone 3409 9699

www.stradbrokemuseum.com.au

Stradbroke Island

BLINDS & AWNINGSYour local supplier of all types of Venetians, verticals,

roller blinds aluminium and fabric awningsShowroom at 7 Ballow Road Dunwich (beside Dolphin Real Estate)

PHONE DAVID THORBURN

3415 32060400 341 532

www.islandweddings.net.au [email protected]

Stradbroke IslandReal Estate Agents, Auctioneers

Property Management

Shop 3 Kennedy DrivePoint Lookout Qld 4183

Telephone: 07 3409 8213Fax: 07 3409 8733

Mobile: 0407 677 751Email: [email protected]

www.pointlookoutrealty.com.auJeff and Joanie Kennedy

For ALL your Sales and Rental Needs.We cover the WHOLE Island.


NEWS

OPENSat 3pm

Drinks on the deckSun 3pm

Sausage Sizzle

• Venue Hire • Weddings • Meetings • School camps • Surf awareness programs

3821 0266TRADING HOURS MAY VARY

POINT LOOKOUT

SURF CLUB

BAR

Straddie Golf ClubENJOY A FAMILY DAY OUT!

Between Brown Lake and Blue Lake at DunwichPhone 07 3409 9999

straddiegolfclub@aanet.com.auwww.northstradbrokeislandgolfclub.com.au

• 9 hole/18 tee grass course• All equipment hire • Scenic viewover Moreton Bay to Glass House

Mountains • Open 7 days • Full bar,snacks, coffee • 9 hole putt putt

MONDAY BARGE

Leaving Kooringal Leaving Amity8.30am 9.30amTHURSDAY - SUNDAY BARGGES

Leaving Kooringal Leaving Amity8.30am 9.30am10.30am 11.45am12.30 noon 1.30pm2.30pm 3.30pm

Moreton Island Visit amazing “

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Straddiefrom Moreton Island Visit amazing

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ma54.111.30pm3.30pm

The year started well for localgroup NSI Youthlink, winning the Redland City Council Aus-tralia Day, Community Organi-

sation of the Year award. For the volunteers behind Youthlink the

award was recognition of years of hardwork winning community recognition andraising awareness, as well as their joy inwatching the children of today become theadults of tomorrow, fulfilling their dreams.

Youthlink was also successful in its appli-cation for a grant from the Gambling Com-munity Benefit Fund. The grant will allowthe group to fulfil an exciting event calen-dar, which kicked off this year with a two-day Skate Biz workshop.

Eight pro-skaters came to the Island todemonstrate skate, scooter and rip sticking.All involved had fun, gained confidenceand learnt some new tricks, as well as win-ning prizes. Youthlink’s next event will be aspectacular weeklong workshop culminat-ing in a one-day Sand Art and Whale Wel-coming Ceremony, welcoming the whaleson their annual migration north.

This extravaganza will start in the midstof school holidays on Sunday July 3 andworkshops will run for two hours each daythat week, with the official ceremony onSaturday July 9, at 11am at Flinders Beach.

The day will showcase Indigenous her-itage, include an inspection of three bam-boo cubby houses that will be made during

the week, and of course the highly antici-pated sand sculpting contest, fire twirling,drumming, circus tricks, educational talksand storytelling.

Youthlink’s 2011 event calendar also in-cludes an adventure weekend, a six-monthband mentoring project and a gala event.

All events are made possible through do-nations from our generous sponsors, tire-less board and volunteers hours and, mostimportantly, the young people of this veryspecial Island home. For more information about any Youthlinkevents, become our friend on Facebook or call0418 301 000.www.facebook.com/nsi.youthlink— Naomi Henny, president of Youthlink


NSI YOUTHLINK 2011



NOTICE BOARD



OPINION

PHOTO COURTESY JACARANDA WILEY

The Protection and Sustainability Act:does it protect or sustain the Island?

The Bligh Government claims that it has acted to protect the Island’s fragileenvironment from destructive sand mining. Does this stand up to scrutiny?

The North Stradbroke Is-land Protection and Sus-tainability Act waspassed by parliamentin April. Despite its ti-

tle and claimed object of endingmining, a principal purpose wasto renew key expired miningleases and enable mining to con-tinue at Enterprise mine until2019 and at Vance mine until2025 (section 11 and schedule 1of the act). Prior to the act, min-ing had been taking place on along-expired lease at Enterprisemine while Vance mine was utilis-ing an expired lease for a process-ing plant.

To assess the government’s ac-tions, it is necessary to understandtwo issues:• the potential life of NSI mineral

sand mining; and • the law relating to expired min-

ing leases.

The potential life of mineral sandmining on NSI All reliable evidence shows thatmining as an economic force onStraddie will have halved by 2014and ended between 2020 and2027. Before being taken over bya privately owned Belgian com-pany, the Island’s two mineralsand mines were owned by Con-solidated Rutile Limited. As a pub-lic company, with duties to reporthonestly to shareholders and theStock Exchange, CRL disclosed(in reports to shareholders, in itsown newspaper The Sand Timesand on its website) that miningwould end between 2020 and2027 (assuming expired leaseswere renewed). A May 2009 letterto the Stock Exchange, just priorto the takeover, was the latest of

these statements. The letter, whichalso indicated that half of miningjobs would go with closure of theYarraman mine in 2013, can beviewed at www.savestraddie.com(along with other CRL docu-ments, under the ‘library-re-sources’ tab). Although the Vancesilica mine potentially has a longerlife, its contribution to the Islandeconomy is minor because it onlyemploys about 15 people.

Expired lease lawsUnder Queensland’s expiredlease laws, which apply everywhereexcept North Stradbroke Island,there is no right to renewal. Infact, the opposite is true. The min-ister for mines must be satisfiedof each of a number of factors be-fore a lease can be renewed. If theminister is not satisfied with evenone of those factors, there is nolegal power to renew (section286A of the Mineral ResourcesAct). And there would be no com-pensation payable because therewas no right to an extension.

Why renewal was unlikelyThere were several factors theminister was unlikely to be satis-fied of in considering whether torenew expired mining leases onStraddie; one being that there hadbeen no breach of the lease con-ditions. In the case of the Vancemine, for example, renewal of twoexpired leases was highly unlikelybecause of the 2010 Court of Ap-peal finding that Unimin/Sibelcohad undertaken unlawful mining.Lease conditions required all non-mineral sand to be used for reha-bilitation not sold off at a profit.

The minister was also requiredto be satisfied that:

Having regard to the current andprospective uses of the land comprisedin the lease, the operations to be carriedon during the renewed term of the lease—

(i) are an appropriate land use; That represents good law. It

recognises that community needsand attitudes may change be-tween the granting of a mininglease, often for 21 years, and anapplication to renew it upon ex-piry. All of the expired miningleases were within the boundariesof the proposed national park, an-nounced by Anna Bligh in June2010 and first promised manyyears ago. How could any ministerbe genuinely satisfied that miningof land earmarked for nationalpark would be deemed “an appro-priate land use”?

Legal opinions, jointly obtainedby Friends of Stradbroke Islandand Stradbroke Island Manage-ment Organisation, before thenew legislation was rushedthrough parliament, clearly statedthe obvious: no minister could begenuinely satisfied that it was ap-propriate to mine a future na-tional park.

The special act of parliamentsidesteps the lawIncredibly, rather than apply theexisting expired lease law, the gov-ernment sidestepped it and en-acted a new law to extend key ex-pired leases. What makes thesidestepping of the existing law infavour of Sibelco even more ob-jectionable is that it occurred de-spite:• last year’s Court of Appeal find-

ings of unlawful mining bySibelco;

• unresolved charges before the

courts and allegations of theftand fraud; and

• the majority of Native Titleclaimant families wanting min-ing to end (confirmed in aCourier Mail, Q Magazine article,published May 21, 2011).The Bligh Government’s spin

has been breathtaking. It has ac-knowledged that the future of theIsland is closely linked to the pro-tection of its environment. Yet ithas taken extraordinary steps tolegislate to avoid protecting Strad-die from further damage.

Mining company criticism,based on exaggeration and half-truths, and motivated primarily bythe financial interests of its Euro-pean shareholders, could becountered by a decisive, genuineand forward-thinking govern-ment, acting in the best long-terminterests of all Queenslanders. In-stead, the cowardly decision toprotect the profits of Sibelco until2025 puts both the integrity of thenational park and the future econ-omy of North Stradbroke Islandat risk, while apparently still notsatisfying the miner!

We believe the governmentshould amend the new act to re-move the extension of several keyleases at Enterprise mine andVance mine, and apply the samelaws that apply elsewhere inQueensland. Otherwise, ques-tions will continue to be askedabout the government’s role inwhat history may judge to be asordid affair. — Sue Ellen Carew, presidentFriends of Stradbroke Island— Ellie Durbidge, president Stradbroke Island Management Organisation



FEATURE

For the love oI’d gravitated to Laos to find an old friend and widely respected coff the Australian media scene. Recovering from a debilitating car sone time diesel fitter from Straddie and gun News Limited photo g

B Y M I K E L A R D E RPaul and Joy’s guest house in Luang Prabang.

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Born in the UK, Paul Wager’s familyemigrated to Queensland and set-tled on North Stradbroke Island.His father worked for Consoli-dated Rutile until his retirement

and it seemed natural for his son to follow.Wager Jr. took a diesel mechanics apprentice-ship but, luckily for the world, photographyheld greater attraction than smelly engines.

He spent a year diving and photographingthe Great Barrier Reef before taking a job aspress photographer on the Mackay Daily Mer-cury, then to Brisbane in the mid-eightieswhere he eventually joined The Australian andthen The Courier Mail (and earned the nick-name Popeye for his oft-disastrous escapadesin small boats).

It was on return from a Courier Mailassignment that Paul was involved in a car ac-cident on the Gold Coast highway. The impact crushed his neck and, eventually, hisspirit.

Medical analysis proved the damage to his

neck was serious. The relating surgery, fusingof steel to bone in his shattered spine, testedhis sanity to the limit. Placed on half pay whilethe protracted legalities of compensation wereargued over, Wager took to his bed where hewas to remain prostrate for four dark years, won-dering if he would ever pick up a camera again,let alone earn a living from a job he loved andexcelled at. As a full time working news photog-rapher, his career was essentially over.

In January 2004, having finally received acompensation cheque, Paul was confrontedwith a “life decision”. Go on as he was, wallow-ing in pain, prescription drugs and self-pity,or take his cameras for a walk. On impulse hejumped a flight and simply vanished.

Popeye is widely respected by his peers andis possessed of a prodigious photographic tal-ent. He is blessed with what snappers enig-matically call “the eye”. Yet Wager wonderedif he still possessed that eye. Without that al-ternate way of seeing light and shade and theinstinctive reflexes a photographer needs to

grab that brief moment in time, he may aswell pack it in. He lugged his gear throughSouth East Asia wandering wherever whimtook him.

“While in Chiang Mai I saw a brochure ad-vertising flights to Luang Prabang in Laos anddecided to go for maybe four days and thencontinue on to Cambodia,” Paul told SIN.Wandering into Laos, sore, hot, and roadweary, Popeye headed into a restaurant keento slake a gritty thirst. It was there he met Joy,the restaurant’s manager, and fell in love.

“With the constant aid of an English-Laodictionary we were able to enjoy a conversationlasting hours by passing it between us,” Paulsaid. “Two weeks later I rang my parents togive them the news that I intended staying inLaos and marrying Joy. I discovered a happi-ness I could only previously have dreamt aboutbut would not have believed possible.”

Since making Laos home, Paul says his re-spect and admiration for the Lao people hassteadily increased.

Joy’s Restaurant.

Paul photographs women working at a brickworks near the provincial city of Pak Lay.

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of Laosd colleague who’d simply vanishedr smash, Paul “Popeye” Wager –o grapher – had gone walkabout.

Left: Children in the picturesque village of Gan on the Ou River in Luang Prabang Province, Laos.Above: Blessed with what photographers call “the eye” Paul takes stunning images as he travels. Below: Paul is escorted to his wedding ceremony by members of Joy’s family.

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“They live at the mercy of the elements andmust overcome all obstacles by themselves. Tosay they work hard is an understatement inthe extreme and what they accept as beinglife obstacles would be regarded as insur-mountable problems by most in the west.

“Every time I go for a drive or a walk I wit-ness new sights and experiences. Most areamazing, enlightening, and wonderful. How-ever some bring the reality of poverty andhardship back into perspective. Living in Laosmakes me feel that I am truly living and notsimply going through the motions.

“My most bewildering experience was at thefamily farm where we were to be married. It be-gan with greetings from hundreds of relatives,some who had travelled on foot through jungleand over paddy fields for two days to be there.

“After our initial greetings we went throughthe ritual of paying for the upcoming recep-tion; it was quite a list, and at the top wereone and a half head of cattle.

“Then a pair of Lao ‘lady men’ arrived to

take care of Joy’s makeup and hair and in-stantly became the life of the party.

“I was dressing in the usual western styleclothes when eight men came into the room,none of whom could speak English and meunable to speak Lao. They made short workof stripping me and dressing me in what I canonly describe as a bright red giant silk nappy,a white shirt, and a sash over the shoulder.

“They led me outside to where at least two hun-dred people waited to escort me to the weddingceremony. All the way they sang and clapped andI can only now appreciate how wonderful it was.

“Of course the ceremony was totally unfath-omable to me. The monks were sitting aroundthe walls chanting, all the guests filled thelarge room sitting on the floor and Joy waitedfor me in the centre of the room looking stun-ning and surrounded by symbolic decorationsincluding a bed.

“It was both enchanting and surreal at thesame time, especially when I began wonderingwhy there was a bed in the room.

“After recuperating for a short time the cel-ebrations began and I was ready to attempt awaltz, but of course this is a different cultureand different dances are required.

“Lao traditional dancing is beautiful towatch, unless you happen to be watching aFalang (westerner) with two left feet whohas no rhythm and is wearing a giant redsilk nappy. At least I gave my new relatives agood laugh.”

Following the birth of their son Dan, Pop-eye’s joy was complete. The couple set uphome in a solid stucco French villa and, cap-italising on Joy’s culinary talents, refurbishedthe shambolic old post office in downtownLuang Prabang and opened Joy’s Restaurant,incorporating a gallery for Paul’s images.

Feasting on Lao food requires a consider-able act of faith. The fermented contents of abuffalo’s stomach are a particular delicacy.The Lao waste nothing that is remotely edibleand, while most dishes are based on recog-nisable ingredients (sticky rice, vegetables,

…Continued next page



FEATURE

noodles, boiled or charcoal grilled meats andscrumptiously crunchy grilled fish) don’t besurprised to find the sightless eye of a de-ceased pig staring blankly back from yournoodle soup.

As an honoured guest you get the best bits. Joy’s Restaurant quickly attracted an ex-pat

clientele. Next, using recycled precious woods,Paul and Joy built a Lao-style guesthouse.

Paul has come to know and respect the gen-tle and shyly enigmatic Lao people and theyin turn have proved overwhelmingly welcom-ing to him.

“The Lao have a thing about noses,” chuck-les Paul, who possesses a prominent snout.“They think large noses are sexy. Maybe that’swhy they worship elephants. Maybe that’s whythey like me.”

The Peoples Democratic Republic ofLaos, sparsely populated by six-and-a-halfmillion ethnic Lao has, in the past decade,tentatively opened its borders to embracewestern democracies. Laos shut its bordersin 1954, after Ho Chi Mihn ousted the ex-ploitative French colonists in a bloody con-frontation. Laos claims the unenviable sta-tistic of being the most bombed, per capita,country on the planet. During the IndoChina conflict, aka the Vietnam War, relent-less bombing by American B-52s led to thedeath of uncountable numbers of innocentLao, perished either by a direct hit or by in-nocently treading on unexploded muni-tions. UXO’s (unexploded ordnances) still

maim or kill villagers in remote regions ofLaos. Paul recently presented a permanentexhibition of UXO victims, grotesquely mu-tilated yet photographed with his trademarkunderstatement and tenderness.

Currently Paul works for a variety of non-government organisations, travelling deepwithin the Lao countryside to shoot assign-ments for UNICEF, the ALOHA medical mis-sion and the Lao government, among others.He recently lent his creative support toLEOT, an NGO that pays for Lao studentsto attend school, college and university(www.leot.org.uk/).

Popeye has been published in numerousinternational publications and has won a num-ber of international photography awards, mostrecently gold and bronze in the 2011 Prix dela Photographie Paris (www.px3.fr), awardedfor a series shot in Lao hospitals on behalf ofHealth Leadership International to help themraise funds to train doctors in Laos.

And he still pinches himself every day.

More of Paul Wager’s images can be seen athttp://paulwager.photoshelter.com/ Paul also con-ducts photo tours through Laos and China withGrasshopper adventure photo tours, grasshopperadventures.comMike Larder is a photojournalist based in Yamba,NSW, and member of the Australian Society ofTravel Writers. His images, includng shots of theLao Pak Lay Elephant Festival, can be seen atwww.pbase.com/lardershots

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A young girl caring for her brother, allowing their parents to work on the farm, northern mountains, Luang Prabang, Laos.

Joy on her wedding day. Below: Dan, Paul and Mike in Luang Prabang.

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PROPERTY

The legalities of buying or owning arental property, whether holiday orpermanent, are becoming more

complex than ever. I thought it timely toremind people of some of the legal issuesinvolved in owning a property.

Selling – when you decide to sell your res-idential property you are required to firstcomplete a Sustainability Declaration, whichis then available for prospective purchasersto view should they wish. If you are selling aproperty that has a swimming pool, you arerequired to have an approved fence andPool Safety Certificate. This applies not onlyto individual dwellings but unit complexes,no matter how big or small. Matters such assmoke alarms and electrical safety switchesalso need to be addressed at this time.

Permanent rental – if you want to chargeyour permanent tenants for water charges to

the property, you won’t be able to do so un-less your home/unit is completely waterwise.Lessors are able to pass on the full water con-sumption costs to tenants if:• the rental premises are individually me-

tered • the rental premises are water efficient• the tenancy agreement states that the ten-

ant must pay for water consumption.Anyone wanting to know the criteria for

making their rental premise water efficientcan collect the information form from ouroffice.

Permanent and holiday rentals – all rentalproperties must have smoke alarms installed.Lessors are obliged to arrange for the instal-lation, cleaning and testing of smoke alarms,and to replace batteries, before the start orrenewal of a permanent tenancy. Tenants areobliged to clean, test and replace batteries in

smoke alarms during a tenancy. In the caseof holiday rentals, the landlord has responsi-bility for all maintenance. We also have an in-formation sheet available on this.

I would also like to remind everyone ofhow important it is to have your house num-ber shown prominently on your property.This is particularly relevant on the Island aswe have no mail deliveries and therefore noobvious letterboxes. Should emergency serv-ices be called to your property, it is extremelydifficult for them to locate a home without ahouse number.

Please do not hesitate to contact us at RayWhite if you would like more information onany of the above. Rae Green is principal of Ray WhiteStradbroke Island and has been selling realestate on Straddie for nearly 20 years.www.raywhitestraddie.com

The Dunwich Primary school gardenis pretty much completed, withseven raised garden beds con-

structed and planted out. A big thank-you to all those who donated

money towards the cost of this project; Ihave not named names for fear of missingsomebody out, but for all those who do-nated money they can be assured good luckis coming their way. I would also like tothank The Big Red Cat for allowing me twofree shopper days to get supplies.

So far we have planted the area with twofig trees, a native lime, a dwarf lime, adwarf lemon, a lemonade tree, a kaffirlime, pineapples, a raspberry bush, midjim-berry, basil, cherry tomatoes, sage, thyme,coriander, rock melons, squash, zucchini,chilies, dwarf beans, nasturtiums,marigolds, mint, capsicum and silver beet.

Our worm farm is also up and running.The next project is the compost. The soil atthe school is not as fertile as I thought itwould be, so progress has been a little slow.In time, and with the addition of fertiliserand our worm wee, I’m confident we willbuild the soil up and get some great results.

Plenty of the kids have shown interest,asking questions and getting their handsdirty, so for those reasons alone, it’s allbeen worthwhile. — Paul Merger

ISLAND PROPERTYBy Rae Green

Kids get dirty in school garden

Paul Mergler is dad to Dunwich State School student, Flynn (Year 2) and principal of BayIsland Valuations, providing property valuations on North and South Stradbroke Islands,Moreton Island, Russell Island, Macleay Island, Karragarra, Lamb and Coochiemudlo [email protected]



FISHY TALES B Y J I M C A M P B E L L

Fishing so far this year hasbeen a bit less than ordi-nary. The Amity Point Fish-

ing Club can attest to this,judging by the number of fishweighed in since the compstarted early this year. Al-though some good-sized fishhave been weighed in, theywere not easy to come by. Dartwere the predominate fishweighed in at the first threecomps for the year. Bob Arm-strong and Arienne Hedley,club champions for the pastfew years are out in front againat this point in the season.Brian McMahon and GregNankervis are on equal pointsin the President’s Handicap.In the heaviest fish categories,the leader board is as follows:flathead: Jo Tudhope 1.885 kg;snapper: Charlie Flynn 3.480kg; parrot: Mark Dibble 1.765kg; bream: Bob Armstrong0.785 kg; dart: Mary Pollard0.575 kg; sweet lip: Kev Davie0.500 kg; tailor: Watto 1.6 kg;spotted mackerel: Barry Dunn1.460 kg. The next round ofcompetition will be on theQueen’s birthday weekend,followed by outings on July 15,16, 17 and August 26, 27, and28. Give Watto a call on 34097075 for more informationabout the Amity Point FishingClub.

FISHERS’ PARADISEThe new pontoon at the OneMile in Dunwich is showingsigns of becoming a fisher’s par-adise. Mangrove jack, trevallyand cod have been caught atregular intervals off the pon-toon during the past few

months. I happened to see oneyoung fisherman using verylight gear to hook onto a codthat would have come in ataround 6 kg, with a mouth as bigas Paul Keating’s during an at-tack on the opposition. The fishwas way too big to land withouta gaff and as a consequence theline broke and the fish got away.It is against local law to fish fromthe pontoon; as is smiling, smok-ing, eating, talking too loud, orfarting in a public place. If youdo, the Fun Police will get youand put you in a corner at coun-cil headquarters and make youfrown for a whole day. If you doit really well, a job applicationwill follow.

SAFE BEACH DRIVINGI read with trepidation the com-ments of an influential localwho said that there were toomany vehicles driving on thebeaches during holiday periods.It was intimated that banning ve-hicles could be the answer. At atime when the Island needs asmuch economic growth as wecan muster, these comments donothing to promote Straddie asa family-friendly place to have aholiday. Although I do agreethat something needs to bedone to slow people down andencourage them to use ourbeaches in a responsible, safemanner. Banning, however, isnot the answer. There are betterways to tackle the problem. Ed-ucating drivers about beach eti-quette and safety would be astart. Putting in place road rulesthat relate to four wheel drivingon beaches, taught as part of thedriving licence test, would go

further. Flinders Beach has aproblem with irresponsible driv-ers on any given day. It can beeasily dealt with; make vehiclesslow down to 15 kph within 50metres of any vehicle, or personor animal on the beach. The neteffect would be that in any givenbusy period, where parkedbeachgoers are spaced about 50metres apart, no vehicle wouldbe legally able to go faster than15 kph at any point alongFlinders Beach. Maybe this an-swer is just too simple for theboffins. If I had added a few for-ward focuses, working families,proactives, reactives, core values,absolutely, primary aims, ‘makeno apologies for that’ or ‘end ofthe days’ they would havethought that I was real cleverlike them.

GREEN SMOKESCREENEver wondered what it would belike to live on Bribie Island?They say Bribie would be a greatplace to live if there weren’t somany people there. Just imag-ine what could be on the cardsfor this Island if the Bligh gov-

ernment decided to sell offhuge chunks of land aroundthe three townships to the de-velopers? There wouldn’t beenough barges to give the newpopulation access to the main-land. The big problem wouldbe to find a way to get a bridgeto the Island while the miningcompany still held leases. If theleases were relinquished earlierthan projected, attaining landfor the bridge would be simpli-fied. With the downturn in thelocal economy due to the mineclosures, building a bridge anddeveloping the available landwould justify their actions. The smokescreen of beinggreen would help garnish votesfrom disaffected mainlandersand not many would be thewiser. Sadly, for most who havelived here for a long time andstill need to work, the bridgeand all it brings will be the onlyway to bring any economic sta-bility. The ‘think green’ idea isa strategy to smokescreen thereal intent. If you join the dots,the picture becomes a whole lotclearer.

OPEN 7 DAYS18 Bingle Road Dunwich

PHONE – FAX

3409 9252

NEW PRODUCT LINES.Dog leads and collars

.Flea, tick and worm treatments for dogs and cats

.Dog beds and replacement mats

Don’t let fun police make you frown

Georgina Rudken bags out in the March comp; the first junior to do so inthe Amity Point Fishing Club’s history.



SURFING

Straddie surfers have been at the pointy end ofa series of close finishes recently.Point Lookout’s Tim MacDonald (picturedabove) finished third at the 10th AnniversaryMP Classic at Duranbah on the Gold Coast, justone point behind Snapper Rocks surfer NickVasicek. The MP Classic, named for iconicQueensland surfer Michael Peterson, was thefirst of four events in the $32,000 QueenslandChampionship Circuit (QCC).On the world circuit, Straddie-raised pro surferBede Durbidge, who was ranked nine in theworld as SIN went to print, tied for third placewith Point Lookout’s Lincoln Taylor (above right),in the Burton Toyota Pro. The Burton Pro is a 4-star event on the Association of SurfingProfessionals’ World Tour. Previously known asthe World Qualifying Series (WQS), in whichsurfers compete to gain access to the WorldTitle Race, events are now known as Prime andStar events, rated in importance from 1-star to6-star. The Burton Pro, held over 12 days atMerewether Beach, Newcastle, was in its 26thyear and featured more than 800 competitorsfrom across the globe.Lincoln also recently achieved a personal best,placing fifth in a Prime event in Brazil, theSaquarema Prime at Itaúna Beach, 90 minutesnorth of Rio de Janeiro. Linc’s dad Murray runsthe local surf school.www.northstradbrokeislandsurfschool.com.au

Linc Taylor, Newcastle

Tim MacDonald, Burleigh Heads PHOTO: DARREN SIMONDSON / SURFIN SNAPPS

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Straddie Island News winter 2011

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Transcript of Straddie Island News winter 2011