14 minute read
IMBIL XMAS TREES
State of our Region update
It’s time to connect, reflect and celebrate our collective achievements with Mayor Mark Jamieson’s annual State of our Region update. The Mayor and a number of community representatives will share their thoughts on the region’s economic recovery, outstanding achievements, and priorities ahead. Head to Council's website to watch it now.
Enjoy The Festive Garden
Don’t miss The Festive Garden, Council’s new walk-through Christmas lights experience taking place from 17 to 21 December at the Maroochy Regional Bushland Botanic Garden. You’ll find Christmas spirit, beautiful lights in a magical setting, face painting, Santa, elves and entertainment—all for free! Bookings essential via Council's events website and entry is via Park and Ride only.
One for the calendar
Watch Council’s next Ordinary Meeting online –Thursday, 9 December at 9am.
Want an office in the great outdoors?
Calling on new or existing businesses – apply now for a three-year highuse / high-impact permit available for a range of commercial activities on public land such as surfing and kite surfing schools, jet ski or boat hire, stand up paddle boarding, skydiving, refreshment vans and mobile dog washing. Applications for permits at 29 locations close on 12 December 2021. Permits will be valid from 1 July 2022 until 30 June 2025. For more details, visit sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au.
CUSTOMER CONTACT
sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/Council/ Contact-Council The QCWA Imbil Christmas Tree Festival on 27 November 2021 was a great success, with 60 unique trees on display! One entrant even drove up from Brisbane. Individuals and businesses decorated and/or created the trees, competing for Best Tree in ten different categories. Eight of the winners were decided by our three local judges – Police Sergeant Bill Greer, Heinke Butt and Glenn Todd – and two by People’s Choice voting. Isla from Pomona won the Kids’ Traditional category (9 years and under), and Emily from Brooloo won the Kids’ Novelty pictured below far left. The two Youth prizes were won by Shail and Lilly, Imbil locals. While the Kids/Youth People’s Choice was won by Isla’s brother, 5-year-old Jack. The Open Traditional category was won by Jo Lockwood, and the Open Novelty was won by Fran Shearer pictured top right – both are from Imbil. Mary Valley Uniting Church won the Traditional category in Business/Organisation, and the Imbil Post Office won the Novelty with their detailed reproduction of the Post Office, right down to the resident tail-less ginger cat. The People’s Choice award went to the Railway Hotel, Imbil. Imbil QCWA would like to thank all the sponsors of the festival. Over $2,700 was donated in total: about $1000 of the donated goods/services were raffled off, including a Garden Design Plan by The Plot Thickens (worth over $500), and a two-night stay at Yabbaloumba Retreat (worth $320), and the remaining donations were distributed among the ten Best Tree winners. To view photos from the festival, please go to the Imbil QCWA Facebook page, and if you visit any of our sponsors, please thank them for so generously supporting QCWA and their local community. Sponsors of the Imbil Christmas Tree Festival: BCF Gympie, Borumba Deer Park, Bunnings, Bunya Nut Pesto, German Delight, Golden Apple Hairdressing, Harmonious Disability Care, Imbil Bakery, Imbil Butchery, Imbil Camping Retreat, Imbil Friendly Grocer, Imbil Garage, Imbil Post Office, Imbil Railway Hotel, Kandanga Farm Store, Kenilworth Dairies, Kumbak Kamping, Mary Valley Rattler, Mary Valley Traders, Nestle (Gympie), One More Gift, Pure Beauty, Puzzles on Yabba, Ride On Mary, Rosey&Me Injectables, Seeds to Serendipity, The Plot Thickens, The Rattler Café, Yabba Creek Café and Yabbaloumba Retreat.
Council closures over Christmas
Council’s customer contact counters and reception desks will be closed from 2pm 24 December to 4 January. The Maroochydore Planning, Building, Plumbing and Development counter will also be closed. From 29 to 31 December, Council can be contacted via phone, web chat and email.
07 5475 7272 mail@sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au
KENILWORTH Plumbing & Gas
Formerly Kidaman Creek Plumbing & Gas 0477 017 976
Residential • Rural • Commercial Repairs, Replacements & Minor Renovations
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THE MARY VALLEY VOICE © OCT 2021
Slashing | Light Scrub Clearing
4WD tractor, 6ft slasher, 8ft stickrake Call Jos Wilson 0407 944 563
Well, what a wet month! I've been in this area since 2016 and it's finally great to experience what the long term locals say is “a normal season.” It feels strange to experience the amount of rainfall you receive here in one month. On my home soil in SA we would get the same amount for a year! Great in some ways but the soil and pastures need different management. Why? Soil compaction from livestock and pasture pugging can be a real issue. The best thing to do is obviously move livestock to drier ground but also move them quickly. At least in our climate a week of dry weather and some sun can make a huge difference to our management and pastures. Areas south of us like Gippsland, Victoria can stay super wet for months, and what a challenge that is with 600 dairy cows on 400 acres! Gumboots for six months of the year and cows calving in mud! Let me tell you this is not what I call fun. The other challenge with the wet and humid conditions is how damn fast the grass grows! You can either stockpile it for winter, run more cows or top it. Which brings me to my next topic ... slashing. If I received $20 for every slasher sold in the Hinterland I'd be a very rich man! I've never seen so much slashing in my life as I have in the Hinterland. Now I don't have a problem with it but there are correct times and correct techniques to perform this process. “ If you need high prices to stay in If all you care about is simply getting rid of excess grass and wanting the place to look nice without any consideration for soil or pasture health then go for it. However for soil health, better pastures or business, you lawns then there are rules. The other question will eventually is also do you slash or flail mulch? go out of business.” ~ Tim Goodnight In my experience over the years they both have their place. In rough country the slasher is more robust but doesn't leave a good finish like a flail mower. In heavy conditions the slasher also leaves windrows which is not conducive to improving pasture quality or soil health. A thick layer of thatch acts like a mulch layer. It prevents moisture loss but if it doesn't break down then all that moisture is of no use if nothing is growing. Not only that, for the grass material to break down it uses up nutrients which is robbed from growing pasture. So ideally it needs to be fed to help the decomposition process. This is where timing is important. In my opinion slashers are good for topping at a high level to keep pasture in its vegetative stage, meaning just remove the seed heads. At the same time you are also stopping weeds like cotton bush or thistles from flowering. The worst thing to do is slash so low the pasture is scalped. The pasture will take longer to recover allowing weeds to take over. Flail mowers do not make good topping machines. They are designed to run low to the ground to break all the grass material into finer pieces so it breaks down quicker. However there are times you do not want pasture taken to ground level as you need the feed. Once the field is slashed or flailed the grass should be allowed to rest for a long period before putting livestock on it. This is crucial to grow better pastures. With new technology there are machines now that perform the job of both of a slasher and a flail mower. Yes they are expensive but they are efficient, quick and effective. It's the new generation of grass topping technology. Anyway this topic alone can take up this whole magazine. If you want to have more of a chat on this topic just drop me an email. Stephen Nussio 0427 609 454 advancerural@hotkey.net.au The Mary Valley Voice
CR DAVID LAW DIVISION 10 SUNSHINE COAST
Highlight of 2021 – I’m especially pleased to see the Kenilworth Community Transport Service continue to grow this year, into one that’s a popular community transport service available to everyone. The service now includes residents from Belli Park, Cambroon, Conondale (part), Coolabine, Eerwah Vale, Gheerulla, Kidaman Creek and Obi Obi. As well as trips to Nambour, Maleny, Mapleton and Eumundi for $8 per trip, the service now includes trips to Sunshine Coast University Hospital for $25 per person per return trip. This service is operated and administrated by a sub-committee under the Kenilworth Chamber of Commerce and supported by Council via the Transport Levy. I give particular thanks to the volunteers who run this service. Their time and dedication is invaluable. Thank you so much. • Kenilworth Town Park fence renewal – Council recently upgraded the fence in the heart of town, just in time for Christmas activities. Council allocated $20,000 towards this upgrade. • Calling all green thumbs – Keep an eye on my Facebook page next year as I’ll be happily hosting a free tree day and drop-in Councillor sessions in 2022. • Season’s greetings – I’d like to personally wish you and your family and safe and happy Christmas and a healthy New Year. This time of year can be stressful for some, so please look after each other, and be extra safe on the roads during the holiday period. Particular thanks go to every single volunteer in our wonderful community groups in Division 10. Until next year, all the best. E david.law@sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au – @DavidLawDivision10
CR WINSTON JOHNSTON DIVISION 5 SUNSHINE COAST
Dalton’s Bridge Rehabilitation – Stage 2. In September 2021 council completed strengthening and repair works on the timber bridge spanning Mary River at the southern end of Eastern Mary River Road, Conondale. These works address current defects and extend the life of the bridge to ensure a safe river crossing for decades to come. Additional works were identified during completing the original scope of repairs to extend the life of the bridge. Stage 2 works will involve construction teams accessing the underside of the bridge via a truck-mounted, underbridge inspection unit. Unfortunately, temporary road closure is unavoidable, and I appreciate your patience while we undertake the next stage of construction. The project is expected to start in the week commencing Monday 13 December and completion is anticipated within two weeks, subject to the weather. • Over the past few week our region has experienced heavy rainfall with falls between 100mm and 200mm. The forecast has predicted more over the coming weeks. Prolonged wet weather makes for a lot of mowing. Right now, our teams are out and about caring for our 1183 hectares of parklands and reserves across the Sunshine Coast region – that’s equivalent to 2210 football fields. • I’m pleased to share there’s new picnic settings installed across Maleny. The one at Cedar Grove Park offers locals the perfect spot for a bite to eat after playing in the park.
NEW SPEED LIMITS FOR TWO ROADS
New speed limits are in sight for KenilworthSkyring Creek Road, following a review of the area. Rob Skelton, Queensland Government Member for Nicklin, urged drivers to keep an eye out for the new speed signs and be aware of the changed 70km/h speed limit scheduled to be implemented by the end of 2021, weather and conditions permitting. Slower speeds on Ben Williams Road will be in effect from 6 December in a bid to improve safety through the area. Mr Skelton said a 1.5 kilometre section of the road near the Brandons Road intersection would be reduced by 20 km/h. “The safety of all drivers is the number one priority,” he said. “We recently reduced the speeds on both Maleny-Kenilworth Road and Kenilworth-Brooloo Road to reduce the risk of crashes and provide drivers with a safer experience on our roads. A section of Maleny-Kenilworth Road will also be widened to allow for safer passing distances – bolstering our commitment to safety. I want to see every Queenslander get home safe and these initiatives help us do that.”
TED O’BRIEN MP FEDERAL MEMBER FOR FAIRFAX
It was a delight to visit the children of North Arm State School recently to inspect their brandnew chicken coup which was purchased through a federal government grant. The fantastic chicken coup was a part of the school’s chicken for children project which was designed to teach students practical life lessons through nurturing a family of chickens from the incubation period through to adulthood. It was a pleasure to see how much joy this programme had given the young students and their teachers. • I announced an $8.78 million Australian-first food and beverage manufacturing hub recently which will be based at the Sunshine Coast Airport. This Federal Government Investment will launch our local food and beverage producers into a league of their own. The facility is being designed to drive innovation, reduce barriers to scale, increase productivity for food and beverage manufacturers and open up new national and international export markets. • The 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to think big and be bold. My priority projects includes full duplication – that’s two tracks – between Beerwah and Nambour and the heavy rail connection between Beerwah and the Maroochydore CBD. I have also unveiled my personal vision for a world-class entertainment centre to be built in the heart of the Maroochydore CBD to host the Olympic Basketball preliminaries. If we were to secure such a venue, it’s legacy would be the most iconic landmark on the Sunshine Coast with a capacity to host major sporting events, exhibitions and conferences as well as world-class performing arts and theatre. I have been advocating for many years and this is the best chance to deliver them.
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TheMary Valley Voice
MVV Editor jillguldbransen@gmail.com
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MONDAY 3 JANUARY for #1 MVV 12 JANUARY 2022
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“Union meeting... too wet to moo!” ~ image by Helena Woodhead
View of Kenilworth's new residential land development, 21 November 2021.
TWO TOURISM AWARDS 2021
For a city built on gold, the Mary Valley Rattler brought back Gympie’s glory days, winning gold and silver awards in the 2021 Queensland Tourism Awards. Pictured L, pride of place for a tourism operation built on the passion of its volunteers was the Gold Award for Outstanding Contribution by a Volunteer or a Volunteer Group. That translated into the guest experience, with MV Rattler also winning the Silver Award for Queensland’s Best Tourism Attraction. Mary Valley Rattler General Manager, Micheal Green, said that after 18 months of incredibly challenging conditions for the Rattler and the wider Gympie tourism community, the two awards were a fantastic endorsement of the team’s total commitment to delivering an exceptional experience. “It was with great pride and excitement that I was privileged to witness the recognition of the Mary Valley Rattler Volunteers at the Queensland Tourism Awards,” said Mr Green. “It was even more rewarding that their contribution was acknowledged in front of a packed room of State parliamentarians, leading tourism officials, and tourism businesses from across the State. The Rattler has received many awards in its short life span but this particular award really captures the essence of what we do. Our volunteers are the steam that drives the pistons of this attraction.”
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