Latest news with #Mackay
Sydney Morning Herald
4 days ago
- Climate
- Sydney Morning Herald
Lightning halts women's rugby Test as ‘humdinger' winter storm lashes Brisbane
A large rain band moving across Australia brought soggy conditions across large parts of the country, stretching from much of central Queensland to Tasmania and over to coastal areas of South Australia. The stormy weather in Brisbane even led to lightning causing play to be suspended in a women's rugby Test between the Wallaroos and Wales, which the tourists eventually went on to win 21-12. The sunshine state copped an 'unseasonable' amount of rain including in the central highlands, where 45 millimetres was recorded in the 24 hours to Saturday morning, Bureau of Meteorology Senior meteorologist Angus Hines said. 'Through the remainder of the day today, we'll see this band of rain move eastwards across Queensland, southeastwards across New South Wales and Tasmania,' he said. 'The rain band will linger across parts of Queensland. 'It's a wet night in Brisbane tonight and actually wet really up to around about Mackay maybe.' Meanwhile, lightning forced a suspension of about 35 minutes in the women's rugby Test between Australia and Wales at Ballymore in Brisbane. The game was halted in the 12th minute with Australia leading 7-0.
The Age
4 days ago
- Climate
- The Age
Lightning halts women's rugby Test as ‘humdinger' winter storm lashes Brisbane
A large rain band moving across Australia brought soggy conditions across large parts of the country, stretching from much of central Queensland to Tasmania and over to coastal areas of South Australia. The stormy weather in Brisbane even led to lightning causing play to be suspended in a women's rugby Test between the Wallaroos and Wales, which the tourists eventually went on to win 21-12. The sunshine state copped an 'unseasonable' amount of rain including in the central highlands, where 45 millimetres was recorded in the 24 hours to Saturday morning, Bureau of Meteorology Senior meteorologist Angus Hines said. 'Through the remainder of the day today, we'll see this band of rain move eastwards across Queensland, southeastwards across New South Wales and Tasmania,' he said. 'The rain band will linger across parts of Queensland. 'It's a wet night in Brisbane tonight and actually wet really up to around about Mackay maybe.' Meanwhile, lightning forced a suspension of about 35 minutes in the women's rugby Test between Australia and Wales at Ballymore in Brisbane. The game was halted in the 12th minute with Australia leading 7-0.
ABC News
6 days ago
- ABC News
Rail trail set to open in Queensland's Pioneer Valley
Retirees Mike and Margie Browne say Queensland's Pioneer Valley Rail Trail has been a reason to get out of bed in the morning. They have for the past two years been helping to build a 40-kilometre trail for mountain bikers, walkers and horse riders by connecting disused sugarcane railways west of Mackay. The work got harder in January when Mr Browne was diagnosed with lymphoma and the couple had to start visiting a hospital for chemotherapy. "It's given us something to think about rather than dealing with anything to do with health," Mr Browne said. The couple joined the volunteer group of about 15 people with the aim of creating a tourist attraction. "We want to help get Mackay and Mackay's small communities on the map," Ms Browne said. She has been by her husband's side to help with the physical and logistical work. During the wet seasons they have travelled around Australia and tested out their bikes on other rail trails. "We've been living in our caravan motorhome till now," Ms Browne said. "We both love to travel, but this [project] has given Mike some time to rest up and I've been able to do stuff that he can't sometimes." After thousands of hours in conversations with cane farmers and hard work battling fences and natural springs, the first section of trail has unofficially opened to the public. "Eventually it'll be part of the entire section that will run from the harbour up to Finch Hatton," Mr Browne said. The total length of the more than 100 rail trails in Australia has grown from 2,100 kilometres in 2014 to 3,180km. The success of other trails, such as the one in the Boyne Burnett Valley, should act as a model for new routes, according to Rail Trails Australia president Damian McCrohan. "They've seen a lot of people specifically going to that region now to ride it," he said. "There's a hotel opened at Many Peaks [population 149], there's cafes setting up along the way to cater for rail trail users." The organisation did not have hard numbers on visitation, but Mr McCrohan said the popularity of some routes close to city centres had pushed totals into the hundreds of thousands. He said the challenge for volunteer-run trails was maintaining them. The dream for the Pioneer Valley volunteers is to connect Mackay's city gates to Finch Hatton, 60 kilometres to the west, which is the trailhead for a recently opened series of mountain biking tracks. Adam Carter bought the Criterion Hotel in Finch Hatton in 2022 and said the community had welcomed the increase in visitors. "The trails that they've built within the mountains behind us here are just amazing," he said. The Brownes intend to keep working on the next stage of the rail trail. Mr Browne is optimistic that connecting the existing mountain-bike park in Finch Hatton to the broader valley will see the tourism spend spread. "We've seen these small communities [across Australia] just exploding, like Finch Hatton has and will, because of all these people coming to the area," he said. "It's a natural spin-off."
NZ Herald
6 days ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Gisborne auctioneer Neville Clark talks farm to forestry conversion, bull sales on Newstalk ZB's The Country radio show
They also spoke about a subject Clark has strong views on: the loss of farmland to forestry. Clark said land-use change was the biggest change he had seen in his more than 40 years in the livestock industry. 'We're starting to see it up here with a lot of land going into forestry - good sheep and beef country that's going into trees. 'It's so wrong,' he said. 'It's going to hit a lot of places and 300,000 hectares of farmland has been lost across New Zealand since 2017. 'It always entertains me when people in town say they cannot believe how expensive food is,' he said in reference to the farmland conversion. 'If you keep taking the food away of course it's going to get bloody dear. It's not rocket science.' The pair also talked about the successful bull sales season in Tairāwhiti, including the record East Coast Angus breed sales. 'What a couple of days we had,' Clark said. 'The $156,000 Cricklewood record (NZ record sale for a bull) on the Sunday, then the next day the stars aligned again at Tangihau [stud] and a new record was set at $161,000. Listen to Jamie Mackay interview Neville Clark on The Country below: 'I have never known the beef market to be so buoyant. 'We're going to see a wonderful spring in this region. We're wet now and when a little bit of heat turns up, we're going to have a lot of grass.' Mackay suggested Clark should be knighted for all the charity work he had done as an auctioneer over the years. 'Neville, you never say 'no'.' Clark replied: 'Well, if we all do a little, then some don't have to do so much.' Clark is auctioneering at an event on Saturday and on September 12 will donate his talents to the Eastland Helicopter Rescue Trust Annual Charity Auction. 'I'm happy to do it. It's one way I'll get to heaven, I guess.' As for the October Spring Show, which will mark 150 years of the Poverty Bay A&P Show Association, Clark said it would be a chance for people from throughout the region to once again come together. 'It's a feel-good event, a great occasion,' Clark said to Mackay. 'We're going to go all out to make it the best ever.'
West Australian
22-07-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Lotto: Mystery Queensland man pockets $900k Lotto win after delayed ticket check
The search is over for Mackay's mystery millionaire-in-waiting. A local North Queensland man has finally come forward to claim his $900,000-plus Saturday Gold Lotto prize just days after his winning ticket sat unregistered and unchecked. The Andergrove resident held one of seven division one winning entries nationally in draw 4591, scored on Saturday, July 19, and now has a very tidy $913,137.13 to his name. Unlike registered players, who receive automatic alerts, the man's win remained undetected until he strolled into his local newsagency and scanned the ticket himself. 'Woo-hoo! Thank you very much,' he exclaimed. 'I went and checked the ticket at the newsagency, and I couldn't believe it. 'I play every week, and I never expect to win anything! 'Celebrations are definitely a given!' But despite joining the ranks of Australia's newest Lotto elite, he says there's no master plan just yet. 'I honestly have no idea. I'll have to think about it,' he said. 'I'm too stunned right now, but I'm sure it will go to good use.' The winning entry was bought at Newsextra Village, Shop 6, 23 Oak Street, Andergrove, where the excitement was just as electric. Store owner Susan Vella said the win was a landmark moment for her team. 'It's definitely a great start to the week! I was going through my emails on Monday and received a shock when I read that we sold a division one winning entry,' she said. 'I had to re-read the email a couple of times to make sure I was reading it correctly. 'This is a very exciting milestone for us, as this is the first division one winning entry we've ever sold. We will be decorating the store with balloons and streamers'. Of the seven national division one winners, four hailed from Victoria, and one each from South Australia, Queensland and Tasmania. The Lott's division one winning tally for 2025 now stands at 241, with 99 of those wins going to Golden Casket customers. In 2024, Saturday Gold Lotto minted 149 new millionaires and paid out over $400 million in division one prizes. The winning numbers in draw 4591 were 7, 42, 36, 17, 15 and 22, with supplementary numbers 34 and 9.
