Latest news with #Caloundra
Daily Mail
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Forgotten Home and Away actress reunites with Lynne McGranger years after quitting the show
Sharni Vinson was all smiles this week as she reunited with one of her Home and Away co-stars. The actress, 41, starred as fan favourite Cassie Turner on the long-running Seven soap from 2005 to 2008. Seventeen years after she bid farewell to Summer Bay, Sharni was back in the company of Home and Away stalwart Lynne McGranger. Sharni, who holds dual US-Australian citizenship, took to Instagram on Thursday to share a sweet snap of the pair. Both actors looked chuffed to be in each other's company as they stopped for a happy snap at The Sunshine Coast Events Centre in Caloundra. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Sharni was in the coastal Queensland town to catch Lynne in the musical comedy The Grandparents Club 2. She cut a casual figure in a dark grey sweater that she wore under a long-sleeve flannelette shirt. She also wore a pair of grey jeans and finished her look with a brown leather baseball-style cap. Lynne, meanwhile, wore a pink T-shirt and grey leggings, with a black jumper draped over her shoulders. 'Away from home with @lynnemcgranger,' Sharni captioned the image, adding the hashtag #reunion as well as a push for fans to vote for Lynne to win a Gold Logie at this year's awards. Home and Away fans were quick to gush over the photo, with many still hoping for Sharni's return to Summer Bay. 'Cassie & Irene reunion. I hope we will see you back on Home and Away,' one fan gushed. Another chimed in with: 'The reunion we never knew we needed! I love this!' The actress, 41, starred as fan favourite Cassie Turner on the long-running Seven soap from 2005 to 2008 Two days earlier, Sharni flaunted her enviable frame on a beach, sharing an image to social media. She wore a barely there two-piece bikini that showed off her washboard stomach, as well as her trim and toned pins. She finished her beach look with a pair of mirrored sunglasses and a sun hat to protect her face from the elements. 'Keep your feet on the ground and your head in the clouds,' Sharni captioned the summery snap. The brunette actress was just 22 years old when she debuted on the long-running drama. There have been whispers of a return to Summer Bay for a while, but Sharni has not confirmed any news.
News.com.au
14-07-2025
- News.com.au
‘Absolutely devastating': Bus driver allegedly stabbed in neck during Sunshine Coast attack
A 67-year-old Sunshine Coast bus driver was allegedly stabbed in the neck during a violent altercation at a Caloundra bus station. Emergency services were called to Caloundra Station, near Cooma Tce and Latona Ave, at about 11.30am on Saturday following reports of a fight between two men. Police allege the altercation between a 44-year-old Parrearra man and the older man, a working bus driver, escalated into a stabbing, leaving the 67-year-old with serious injuries. He was assessed by paramedics at the scene before being taken to Sunshine Coast University Hospital in a serious but non-life-threatening condition. According to the Transport Workers Union, he underwent surgery to close the laceration on his neck on Sunday and is now recovering. The 44-year-old man was arrested and charged with serious assault of a person over 60, acts intended to cause grievous bodily harm, and possession of a knife in a public space. He was due to face Caloundra Magistrates Court on Monday. The attack has reignited calls for improved safety measures for Queensland bus drivers, with the TWU demanding the immediate reinstatement of the Bus Safety Forum, a statewide initiative scrapped by TransLink and the Queensland government. In a statement released on Monday, the TWU said the incident was the latest in 'a string of violence' affecting public transport workers, claiming there had been 'countless incidents and five high-profile attacks on drivers and passengers in as many months'. TWU Queensland director of organising Josh Millroy said this latest assault was 'absolutely devastating'. 'TransLink and the state government's decision to scrap these safety forums, without any consultation with drivers or their union, is a disgrace,' Mr Millroy said. 'Five serious assaults since March and countless more incidents of aggression and verbal abuse shows the urgency of this issue.' He said the forum had been the 'only structured platform' where drivers, unions, operators and government bodies came together to confront issues facing the public transport industry. 'Removing the forum removes transparency. It silences driver voices. It strips workers of a vital avenue to influence decisions that directly impact their safety,' Mr Millroy said. The union said it had written to Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg more than a month ago, but hadn't received a response.
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Photographer captures extraordinary surf event off Aussie coast: 'Pretty amazing'
A veteran drone photographer has captured an extraordinary natural phenomenon off the nation's east coast, stunning thousands of Australians around the country with a spectacle described as "truly amazing". Queensland man Doug was filming off the coast of Caloundra, on the Sunshine Coast, just before lunch on Wednesday when he came across the spectacular sight — tens of thousands of mullet swarming to form a massive underwater bait ball. In an interview with Yahoo News, Doug explained he's lucky enough to witness the event annually, but despite its yearly occurrence he still feels fortunate to be able to catch a glimpse each time. "It's pretty amazing, actually," he said. "I live here on the coast, and I've been doing drone footage since 2007. People love seeing it — it's a natural spectacle we're lucky to see so close to shore." While the sight's undoubtedly impressive to view, it's actually fairly normal fish behaviour. Used as a defence against attacks, fish like mullet typically swarm together in tight, swirling formations when threatened by a predator, like a dolphin, shark, or large fish, beneath or nearby. "They bunch up tight for protection — safety in numbers," Doug of Bluey's Photography said. "When something rushes at them, you'll see a real burst of white water on top of them. Could be a big snapper, could be a shark." From above, bait balls look like moving shadows, shifting spirals, or pulsing galaxies in the water. Drones have made it possible to see this beauty from a new perspective, turning marine biology into an art form. "When the fish get disturbed, they panic, flutter and surge — something's lunged up from beneath. I watched for over an hour with a fisherman, [wondering] "What is it? What's chasing them?" — but we couldn't see anything. I've seen sharks and dolphins do it before, but this time it must've stayed deep," Doug said. "They'll break away from the ball, form a long line, then regroup into another ball — all to stay away from predators." Aussie's 'dream-like' moment during rare ocean encounter Aussies flock to coastline to witness incredibly rare moment Pilot captures extraordinary scene during record-breaking event Each year, around this time, generations of the same mullet fishing families gather on the beaches near Caloundra, anticipating the mullet run. Because fishing is prohibited within the Pumicestone Passage — a marine park where mullet spawn — the fishermen rely on lookouts with radios to monitor the fish as they migrate up from Moreton Bay. Once conditions are right — typically when calm seas and westerly winds prevail — the mullet exit the passage and swim close to shore, offering a narrow window for the fishermen to cast their nets, and for Doug to capture his footage. "They use the roe from the females for export, and then send the rest to bait shops, the cannery, or for pet food," he said. In places like southeast Queensland, bait balls are a predictable but short-lived event, tied to water temperature, spawning cycles, and wind conditions. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
News.com.au
03-07-2025
- Health
- News.com.au
‘He told me straight up I had cancer': Sunshine Coast Turf Club's legendary racing doctor Bernie Spilsbury retires
Legendary jockey Chris Munce credits him with being the first person to detect his potentially-deadly throat cancer. Dr Bernie Spilsbury has helped countless other jockeys and trainers and been there for some of racing's magic and also most tragic moments since starting as the Sunshine Coast Turf Club doctor almost four decades ago. The retiring doctor, who has also been a long-time Sunshine Coast Turf Club board member, will get a fitting farewell with the Dr Bernie Spilsbury 3YO Handicap (1000m) named in his honour on Caloundra Cup day on Saturday. Munce, the champion jockey who is now a two-time Group 1 winning trainer, fears what might have been if Spilsbury had not intervened when Munce's 'tonsils were swollen up like golf balls' not long after he rode All Too Hard to be runner-up in Ocean Park's 2012 Cox Plate. 'I rode that horse in the Cox Plate and two weeks later I was brushing my teeth and I saw one of my tonsils was like a golf ball in the back of my mouth,' Munce recalls. 'I went to the doctor and they just gave me antibiotics, I then went back a week later when it hadn't improved so they put me on a stronger dose and it still didn't improve. 'I was at Caloundra races one Sunday and I asked Dr Bernie to have a look. 'Within one second he told me, straight up, that I had cancer. 'It was a lot for me to digest in one afternoon, so I went home in a bit of shock I didn't tell (wife) Cathy or anyone. 'The next morning, Dr Bernie rang my house number and Cathy picked up the phone and it all went from there. 'Thank goodness that Dr Bernie spotted it, because it would have just kept spreading through my lymph nodes and God knows how far it would have got to.' • Guineas bid nod and Winx to Tighe's mighty mare Munce successfully beat cancer and Sunshine Coast club officials say Dr Spilsbury has been instrumental in warning other jockeys about some unusual symptoms that later turned out to be cancer. Sadly, Dr Spilsbury was also there at the scene of a heartbreaking tragedy when jockey Desiree Gill died following a race fall at a twilight meeting at the Sunshine Coast in 2013. 'It was shocking,' Dr Spilsbury recalls. 'I was there and she came down head first. 'I am sure she was dead the moment she hit the ground, but I went to try to work on her to see if she could be saved. 'But in my own heart I knew she had passed away.' Dr Spilsbury has long loved the racing game, breeding horses himself as he followed in the racing footsteps of his father and his grandfather. He is looking forward to heading to Caloundra Cup day on Saturday and hopes he can turn a small betting profit in the race named after him. 'My mantra is, you bet small and you lose small,' Dr Spilsbury said. 'A $6 boxed trifecta is my go and that's what I will be doing on Saturday. 'I am a very low key person, but it is a humbling honour to have a race named after me.' Sunshine Coast Turf Club chairman Peter Boyce hailed Dr Spilsbury's contribution to the club as both a medical professional and a board member. 'He will be missed by us, as he is the most kind and compassionate man I know,' Boyce said. 'His care for fellow human beings is second to none and all done a very low key and unassuming way.'
Daily Mail
02-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Aussie who makes $300k a year reveals how you could too with a three-day course - but the job is a lot harder than what many think
A young real estate agent is pulling in $300,000 in his second year — and he only needed a three-day course to begin. Ethan Forbes, who is based in Baringa on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, was stopped while on the beach and asked how much he makes in his role. He said he 'accidentally fell' into real estate, joking that it was for the 'wrong reasons'. 'I had a mate who was in it. He had the watch, the car, and I was like, I just want to be like that,' he said. Mr Forbes, who works for LJ Hooker's branch in Caloundra, said he took home $130,000 in his first year as an agent. '[I earned] $291,000 in GIC [Gross Commission Income] so probably took home $130,000, but that was working six to seven days a week, 12-hour days, with no holidays,' he said. 'Literally, right now, I'm on my holidays for the first time in two years.' He also described the 'pretty easy' training he opted for to get into the real estate industry. 'It's a six-month course or a three-day course, depending on which one you go with,' he said, adding the short one was in person while the months-long one was online. When asked why someone would choose the longer course, Mr Forbes told the interviewer that it was cheaper. 'So the three days (is) like three grand, the other one's like $500.' During the interview, Mr Forbes said the hardest thing about being a real estate agent is 'emotions with your clients', adding that he is an 'emotional sponge'. 'You got to take everything on and also talking to people that don't want to talk to you,' he siad. 'It's prospecting. 80 per cent of it is like we're glorified telemarketers.' Mr Forbes said the most expensive property he sold was $1.302 million which would suggest his commission might have been within the range of $26,040 and $52,080. The average earnings for real estate agents in Australia vary depending on experience, location, and commission structures. According to SEEK, real estate agents typically earn between $75,000 and $95,000 per year. The bulk of this income comes from commissions which usually range from 2 per cent to 4 per cent of the property's sale price, as noted by Because of this commission-based structure, only top-performing agents are likely to earn over $100,000 annually. In Queensland, the minimum requirement to begin working in real estate is obtaining a Real Estate Registration Certificate. Once certified, an individual is allowed to work as a real estate agent, but only under the supervision of a fully licensed agent. Rules on how long someone must train to become a licensed agent vary depending on which territory or state someone is in. But it is generally understood that, before applying for a licence, someone must complete an approved real estate course and have at least 12 months of full-time work experience.
