You hear the name Walkerston and instantly think of sport, and with good reason.
But thereâs plenty more to the town, the people who call it home and community stalwarts that give it its character.
Walkerston is also a town of great heart that rallies for each other when needed, most recently when Wests was given an almighty kick to the ground.
It is that community heart the
Daily Mercury wants to uncover, celebrate and find more of when My Town heads to Walkerston on Tuesday.
My Town is an initiative with the Mackay Regional Council that puts a different regional area in the spotlight each fortnight.
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Subscriber only One of the region s oldest establishments has come a long way since its origins as a respiratory clinic - but some things - like old-fashioned customer service - never change. Built in 1934, the Eungella Chalet building served as a respiratory hospital in its former life. Two local doctors ran the hospital, but it closed within the first 18 months of operation. When that didn t work out, the original land owner began running it as a hotel, laying the foundation of what the chalet is known for today. Epic views of the Pioneer Valley, great atmosphere and delicious food are just some things that spring to mind.
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Mackay Regional Council has approved the development of a new function centre at Midge Point, dismissing one councillorâs claim that it could potentially lead to a âsewage overflowâ.
Developers will need to meet more than 30 conditions if they go ahead with their plans â submitted to the council in April last year â for a wedding and corporate events centre on Lawson St.
Councillors Laurence Bonaventura, Alison Jones, Martin Bella and Russell Seymour voted against approving the venue, but this fell short of the majority required to flush the proposal.
Cr Bonaventura said he believed the development should not go ahead because it was proposed for rural residential zoned area and because of his own concerns about sewage overflow.
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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: