What s not to love about a town with a famous tourist attraction? Sarina is one of the only places in Australia with a fully working miniature sugar mill and distillery. The unique town has the best of both worlds - from sugarcane to gorgeous sea shores. Sarina also boasts the title of the gateway to stunning North Queensland. But there is undoubtedly more to the town - and the locals know it. And now My Town and the Daily Mercury want to learn more, whether it is good people who deserve recognition or an issue that needs addressing in your patch.
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Queensland Ambulance Service Commissioner Russell Bowles says the service is monitoring the need for any extra ambulance stations in the Pioneer Valley.
Mirani MP Stephen Andrew quizzed Commissioner Bowles during budget estimates on whether there were any plans to install a station or a precinct to service Marian and Eton.
Mr Andrew said there were “some very wild stretches of road” in the area and “long response times to get there”.
Commissioner Bowles said the State Government owned a block of land at Marian that had been bought for future use.
But he said areas inland from Mackay still had a “very low workload”.
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Annie Norrish could be described as a plant mother, lovingly tending to her babies until they’re hardy and ready to be sold to customers.
Owner of Annie’s Nursery at Bucasia, Mrs Norrish said she spends her days propagating, re-potting, shaping and caring for the plants that comprise more than two-thirds of the nursery’s stock.
“I’ve been in the industry for over 30 years,” Mrs Norrish said.
“I started on the kitchen table.
“There’s so much to offer with plants – by the time you propagate to the time they grow up, with the colours and flowers, the scent, and getting them sold when they’re looking their best.”
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Subscriber only A SCENIC tour company operator flying over the picturesque Whitsundays islands said adding a 1950s seaplane to their fleet was a real novelty . The 1957 DHC-2 Beaver is under the hangar for maintenance at an airfield village an hour s drive from Mackay. GSL Aviation owner Trent Brown said the retro aircraft was added to the collection after acquiring Air Whitsundays earlier this year. GSL Aviation chief maintenance engineer Matt Harding (centre) with first year apprentice Theodore Brown (right) and fourth year apprentice Cal Taylor (right) standing in front of a 1950s seaplane at their hangar at Whitsunday Lakeside Park Estate, Bloomsbury. Picture: Heidi Petith