On the eve of 2022 Noosa Today looks back on the year that was 2021.
JANUARY
JOINT RESPONSE
Noosa Police enlisted the help of Red
Frogs for the first time as part of a multiagency
response, including ambulance, Noosa
Council and The Hastings Street Association, to
New Year’s Eve celebrations in Hastings Street.
Police senior sergeant Ben Carroll said after
working so well together at the Schoolies
celebration Red Frogs were happy to come to support an expected crowd of 5000 to 6000 local revellers.
Thousands of
teenagers took to Main Beach to congregate in
a large, rowdy rabble.
TAFE EOI
Noosa MP Sandy Bolton was excited to hear
the Department of Employment, Small Business
and Training had opened an expression
of interest (EOI) process for the re-use of the
former Tewantin TAFE site and looked
forward to seeing a shortlist of submissions.
COVID TEST SITE
The Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS)
sprang into action to open a Covid-
19 testing facility at the Noosa Leisure Centre
to expand testing in Noosa at the request
of the State Government after Queensland
Health requested anyone who has been in
Victoria since 21 December be tested immediately.
HALT CLEARING, CHURCH URGED
Spurred on by her 10-year-old son Spencer,
Maxine Hitchen is calling on the Uniting
Church to adhere to its own core values to preserve
the planet and find a different solution to
building its proposed aged care development
that does not involve clearing significant Wallum
habitat, home to the Glossy Black Cockatoos, at Sunrise Beach.
CATTLE PRICES HIGHEST EVER
Cattle sales rocketed with record prices
reached at the first sale of the year held at the
Eumundi Saleyard.
After tough years marked by drought
and bushfires stocks across the region have
been greatly diminished, making sales of the
scarce available cattle beyond anything ever
before seen.
HOMELESSNESS AT CRISIS POINT
Just days before the first day of school term begins
for her three children aged 5, 6 and 8 it’s
looking like the best accommodation Sharla
Bourke and her partner Luke Trembath can
secure for their family is a tent site at the Big 4
caravan park.
Like a growing number of families in Noosa
the couple, who both hold secure jobs in the
area, have been unable to find affordable and
available rental accommodation.
RUNNING THE RIVER
When Jake Hennessey took on the role of Noosa
River Marine Officer for Maritime Safety
Queensland he declared war
on “river rats” terrorising other river users in
their tinnies.
Now he faces a much bigger challenge as he
co-chairs the Noosa River Stakeholder Advisory
Committee, which is tasked with keeping everyone
happy during the long-awaited implementation
of the Noosa River Plan. MSQ and Noosa
Shire Council will jointly drive the 14-member committee.
HYDROFOIL DANGER
In response to growing concerns
about the number of foil surfers now using the
most popular breaks within the Noosa World
Surfing Reserve, and after consultation
with the Noosa Boardriders Club, the
Noosa Malibu Club, Noosa Heads Surf Lifesaving
Club, Noosa Council and Maritime Safety
Queensland, it was decided that a round-table
meeting offered the best chance of finding a
self-regulated solution.
FEBRUARY
NEW WAVE EVENT
Can events survive Covid-19? While Noosa Council
deliberated over the lifting of the 500-people cap on events
on public land the Festival of Surfing,
scheduled for May, was going from strength to
strength.
Despite no internationals being able to attend,
the surf festival’s amateur divisions were
almost full, just two weeks after they
opened for entries, and new sponsors seemed
to be lining up at the door.
The surf festival was the only
major event on the normal Noosa calendar to
have applied for a permit. The others
were waiting until the last minute to ascertain
if their event would be viable under whatever
restrictions may apply at the time.
MARCH
IT’S PARTY TIME
Events are back on in Noosa.
Noosa Council defied their own staff recommendations when they voted
to permit all categories of events, even those
attracting more than 10,000 participants, to go
ahead.
Council agreed they would accept all event
applications and assess them against the
Queensland Health Covid Event Framework
and locally relevant factors.
The move overturned Council’s decision only Category
3 events permitting
the attendance of fewer than 500 people
had been approved.
SURFING SENSATION LANA
Noosa surfing sensation Lana Rogers created
a history making result in the final three
rounds of the Nutri Grain Iron Women’s Series
when she completed four wins from the
series of six, as well as two seconds.
HARVEST THREAT
Winter crop farmers face an uncertain winter
harvest with their backpacker workforce
shrunken due to the pandemic, worker costs
increased in their search for staff and no guarantee
supermarkets will pass on extra costs to
consumers and compensate growers.
APRIL
EGG-STRA PAINFUL
With Noosa booked solid for Easter, accommodation
house owners were on tenterhooks hoping
the three-day Brisbane Covid19 lockdown
announced by Premier Annastacia Palaszcauk could be lifted for the holidays.
MATT DAMON IN NOOSA
Academy Award winning actor Matt Damon
was spotted at Teewah Beach by the well-loved
Ice Man over the Easter long-weekend.
Known for starring in films such as Good
Will Hunting and Ocean’s Eleven, the film star
was taking a break to surf at the beach with the
Hemsworth brothers and Queensland surfing
legend Luke Munro.
NOOSA LEADS KOALA VACCINE
Noosa koalas will be involved in a landmark
koala Chlamydia vaccination trial led by USC professor Peter
Timms and supported by the Noosa Biosphere
Reserve Foundation.
Professor Timms said after a decade of research the trial
would be the largest of its kind, with up to 500
koalas being involved over a year-long period and would take place at Australia
Zoo Wildlife Hospital, with koalas coming into
the trial from across South-East Queensland,
including Noosa.
OUR OARSMEN BID
Noosa coastal rowers want to stage their sport
as an Olympic Games event on Laguna Bay in
2032.
They launched their bid at the
Noosa Yacht and Rowing Club.
Organiser Peter Watson admits the bid is
“ambitious” as coastal rowing still has to be
recognised by the IOC (International Olympic
Committee) for inclusion in the Olympics and
Queensland still has to get the nod as world
host for the 2032 Games.
He has no doubt, however, that it will happen.
WEDDINGS ARE BOOMING
Brides and grooms are kicking up their heels
and dancing as the Noosa wedding industry
booms.
Covid19 restrictions shut down the industry
entirely a year ago then the gradual opening
up brought changes to the way people wed.
Jacqui Gray has never been busier in her 20
years as a celebrant in Noosa, saying 80 per cent of their weddings
were now “elopement style” with 10 guests or
less.
