This year's ANZAC Day saw hundreds turn out to remember the efforts of Australia and New Zealand's great service men and women. Veterans, schools, clubs and businesses poured into the streets to march in grand parades, and packed in close to attend services held across the Hinchinbrook Shire. Beautiful wreaths were lain and the bugles mournful tones echoed across respectful silences as flags were lowered to half mast. A gunfire breakfast, coffee and traditional ANZAC biscuits kept everyone going
Read the full storyAllan Colquhoun grew up in Sydney, but his life has taken him far beyond the city limits. In his youth, he worked with a station owner named Bob, whose property combined dairy and sheep farming with a focus on Jersey bulls and cows. One vivid memory that’s stayed with him is of Bob chasing down a bull meant for butchering on his stock horse —a beast that, to Allan’s amazement, climbed over the holding fence one hoof at a time to escape. Allan spent most of his working life as a coastal travelle
Read the full storyHinchinbrook Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Tourism held their monthly Coffee Connect last week, being hosted by local business Wild Local. There was a very strong attendance at this event, with Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter and KAP Senate candidate, Robbie Lyon. Rebecca and Dom Zaghini provided a delicious light snacks and gave the audience an overview of their business journey from inception to their current location, the diverse range of products they provide and some insight into t
Read the full storyOver the weekend, the Ingham Kennel Club hosted six rounds of dog shows, featuring judges from across Australia who rotated to ensure fair and balanced competition. Dogs were entered into one of seven group categories, with the Toy Group attracting the largest number of entries. Sunday's shows saw the Italian Greyhound emerge as a standout, making up 20 of the 170 total entries across the weekend. Unique and rarely seen breeds like the Xoloitzcuintli and Briard added excitement to the event, of
Read the full storyWith the New Year underway, I hope everyone enjoyed a well-deserved break and is feeling refreshed for the year ahead. This time of year is a great chance to reflect, recharge, and gear up for what the next 12 months will bring. For Hinchinbrook, there is plenty of work to be done in 2025, and I’m ready to hit the ground running. This year my focus will be on pushing ahead with our major road and marine infrastructure projects
that are critical to the future and growth of our region.
In the northern part of the electorate, I look forward to seeing the detailed design finalised for the Gairloch project. This project also includes the Seymour River stretch where far too many accidents have occurred in recent times. The Dallachy Road project near Tully is due to commence construction at the end of the wet season and it will be great to finally see some concrete and steel coming out of the ground and work commencing to flood mitigate the southern approach to Tully.
In Townsville, the Woolcock Street corridor, running through Burdell, Deeragun, and Mount Low, will be a major priority as the need to alleviate congestion during peak times grows by the day. This problem must be rectified so that more housing options can be unlocked in Townsville’s north.
In the new year we are expecting to see progress with the rock wall and dredging project at Dungeness and in Port Hinchinbrook it appears the State is set to continue the process of acquiring the remaining properties under liquidation. Another major focus of mine is getting the Cassady Creek boat ramp moved closed to the mouth of the creek. These facilities are not only important for locals, but they also play a major role in
attracting visitors to our region.
While it’s still early days, the government has shown encouraging support for the key projects that matter to Hinchinbrook. I’m optimistic that as we head into the New Year, we’ll be in a strong position to push forward and deliver the projects our Hinchinbrook community truly deserves.
I hope you all are enjoying what remains of the New Year break and here’s to a successful and productive year ahead!
Contributed with thanks to Nick Dametto MP Member for Hinchinbrook