We don t want to be burying anymore brothers or bike riders . That was the message from Sons of the Southern Cross Mackay president Ken Smiley Hyde who urged motorists to take more care on the roads. The memorial at Handlebar Heaven, Ooralea, created by Sons of the Southern Cross Mackay members for fellow late member Wes Pop Carlton who died in a tragic crash in Kyogle, New South Wales on October 20 last year. Pictured are SOSS members Ted Bubbles Walters, James Knuckle McGovern, President Ken Smiley Hyde and Josh Professor Van Loenen. Picture: Heidi Petith
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Subscriber only This year will probably go down in the history books as one of the most eventful in modern history. For some, it was a year they would like to forget. But for others, it was an opportunity to start afresh. No matter how much you were affected by the global COVID-19 pandemic, there is no doubt that 2020 was quite the rollercoaster ride for the human race. From the fallout of coronavirus to disasters we never saw coming and the moments that made us proud to call the region home, here are the 10 events that shaped Mackay in 2020 in no particular order:
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Subscriber only What a massive year it has been for the Mackay region with COVID-19 and the local and state elections undoubtedly the guiding forces. With that there has been a renewed vigour on speaking out on the issues that mattered. So without further ado, here are some of the Mackay region personalities who featured in the headlines throughout 2020:
Vicki Blackburn Vicki Blackburn, a mum plagued by what ifs since her daughter was brutally killed in Mackay almost seven years ago, has never stopped fighting for justice. She started off 2020 by hosting an awareness morning tea before she bravely pushed through the findings of an inquest into Shandee Blackburn s death in which the coroner found John Peros responsible.