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2010-11-16T18:10:00.000-08:00

Currently xxxx is experiencing difficulties uploading photos, hence there have not been any posts for a while. For the three of you who read it, apologies... Will get it rectified asap.

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Brian Robinson / KickArts Artist in Residence

2010-09-21T18:05:00.000-07:00

Cairns based artist Brian Robinson has recently left his position as Curator at the Cairns Regional Gallery. Having always pursued his art practice "after hours", Brian has been awarded a twelve month artist-in-residence at KickArts Contemporary Arts in Cairns. Over the next year Brian will be working out of the Djumbunji Press studios, as well as teaching print making workshops in communities in Cape York and the Torres Strait.

Brian's influences come from his Torres Strait heritage, as well as contemporary day to day surroundings in Cairns. Brian has favoured lino cuts for many years, where patterns are dug into a piece of lino, then the lino is covered in ink and put through a press so the pattern is transferred on to a piece of paper.

Most of the images which can be seen in Brian's current exhibition (now on view at KickArts) reveal handiwork of extremely fine detail. There are also a few etchings in the show, a process that Brian has recently become keen on.

Photographs ©Sean Davey/The Cairns Post

"Lagau Dunalaig" (Island Lifestyle) by Brian Robinson with Joel Sam is showing at KickArts Contemporary Arts in Cairns until October 30.

For more information check out this link: http://kickarts.org.au/exhibitions/current/lagau-dunalaig-island-lifestyle/

The Pyramid Challenge

2010-08-14T23:40:00.000-07:00

Walsh's Pyramid is about twenty five kilometres south of Cairns on the Bruce Highway near the town of Gordonvale. At 922 metres tall, its striking triangular shape is a local landmark and it is well known and distinctly recognisable. Each year hundreds of competitors voluntarily run up the pyramid and back down again in the Great Pyramid Race.

The Cairns Post journalist Ben Blomfield and myself were assigned to a story to preview the 2010 Walsh's Pyramid Race in Gordonvale. To gain a first person account of what its like to climb Walsh's Pyramid, Ben and I did exactly that, although while the majority of entrants run the whole way up (not to mention the extra 10km's from and back to Gordonvale) we took a more modest approach and struggled to walk up the monster in an hour and a half. In the time it took us to just get up the mountain, the best competitors had run ten kilometres, made it up and down the mountain, and had been resting for ten to fifteen minutes!

The record for the race is held by Neil Labinsky, who has completed the entire race course in one hour and fifteen minutes. Neil won the 2010 race on Saturday, claiming his third Pyramid title, as well a cool thousand bucks.

Ben Blomfield (aka Bear Grills) after conquering Walsh's Pyramid.
Photograph ©Sean Davey/The Cairns Post

http://pyramidrace.com

Watch a video of our (mis)adventure to the top of Walsh's Pyramid here

The Toughest 13 Year Old I Have Ever Met

2010-06-25T03:08:00.000-07:00

His name is Jack Henley and he is thirteen years old. He rides bulls. Big bulls that have big horns. And when I first met Jack at his home in Mossman, north of Cairns, his handshake eluded to just how strong this wiry kid really is. Jack happily posed for pictures with his riding straps and rope, with some great assisting by his dad Shane (who held an esky lid which bounced the on-camera flash - a great aid when the remote transmitter dies!). Without any awkwardness, Jack moved into different poses and then to a different location to get a variety of shots. Polite, professional and seriously tough. And to all the young ladies out there, I'm afraid to say that this young gentleman already has a girlfriend.

Jack Henley at his home in Mosman, Qld

Photograph ©Sean Davey/The Cairns Post

Tour de Tableland / Stage 3

2010-06-13T22:53:00.000-07:00

Cyclists made their way to the quiet and picturesque town of Yungaburra yesterday to compete in Stage 3 of the Tour de Tableland. Riders completed a five kilometre time trial course which began on a nice incline, giving competitors a fast start to the course. The time trial was won by Cairns rider Dave Edwards.

Time trial winner Dave Edwards starts his lap.

Joshua Hislop takes the left hand turn into Yungaburra village at high speed.

Mark Gaviglio warms up before his trial run at a local bed and breakfast.

Joel Lewis passes the local butcher shop in Yungaburra near the end of the time trial.

Photographs ©Sean Davey/The Cairns Post

Freediver Bjorn Nielsen

2010-05-12T20:46:00.000-07:00

Divers will brave the freezing depths of Lake Eacham, diving as deep as 60m without scuba gear, in an Australian-first competition.

Cairns is playing host to the Double Dip Down Under freediving competition on July 24 to 25 with dives taking place on the Atherton Tableland and Woree swimming pool.

Freediver Bjorn Nielsen during a training session at Woree Swimming Pool

©Sean Davey/The Cairns Post

Buluwai Native Title Claim

2010-04-30T20:42:00.000-07:00

Willy Brim and his son Aden from the Buluwai people have launched a native title claim at Bare Hill on the tablelands to protect rock art which has been carbon dated at more than 5000 years old.

Aden and Willy are photographed at a rock art site which was used as a birthing suite.

Rock painting depicting ancient warrior Ganandoran.

Willy is photographed at the 'Cairns Base', a site which was used as a birthing suite by his ancestors.

A rock painting depicting Wangal Longal, the almighty birthing spirit.

Willy is photographed at the Ganandoran rock art site.

All photographs © Jake Nowakowski/The Cairns Post

Read more about the Buluwai native Title Claim at The Cairns Post here

Jaspreet Singh

2010-04-20T16:27:00.000-07:00

Jaspreet Singh is a Cairns wrestler who moved to the Far North a year ago from India. Jaspreet, 21, recently won the 96kg division title at the annual Australian Sikh Games in Brisbane. Jaspreet trains in a shed on a banana farm in Tully, belonging to his trainer Gurinder Mavi. Mavi looks after a small group of Sikh wrestlers in the Cairns region.

Jaspreet is currently training for the Australian Cup event at the Melbourne Aquatic Centre on May 22-23.

Man attacked on Sun Bus with seven month old daughter

2010-04-02T17:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday The Cairns Post met Glenn at his home in a suburb of Cairns. Glenn contacted The Cairns Post after he was assaulted on a SunBus while he was travelling with his partner and seven month old baby boy. Glenn was punched from behind and suffered a severe gash to his upper cheek that required eight stitches. Glenn's doctor told him that he will be permanently scarred for life. Glenn is a softly spoken man in his late thirties and as he smoked a cigarette out the front of his house he recalled the fear that he had for the safety of his partner and his baby.

©Sean Davey/The Cairns Post

After Glenn was punched from behind, he was then held back by two other men as a third kept assaulting him, all in full view of the other passengers on the bus. The cut on Glenn's cheek was bleeding profusely as he tried to defend himself.

The police were called by the bus driver and two men were taken into custody, however the police did not call an ambulance for Glenn. With his partner and baby, Glenn had to get back on the bus, using only tissues given to him by another passenger to cover his face, and was forced to sit amongst friends of his attackers for the duration of the normal bus service. The bus picked up other passengers, even though blood from Glenn's wound was smeared over the floor and seats of the bus.

©Sean Davey/The Cairns Post

Three days after the assault, Glenn has not yet been contacted by the police.

Lawn Bowls Anyone, What Rain?

2010-03-10T23:21:00.000-08:00

The Australian Lawn Bowls team did their best to ignore the seasonal weather in Cairns yesterday as they practised as part of a three day camp here in far North Queensland. The Australian team will be competing in next month's eight-nation test event in India and are practising here to acclimatise themselves with the tropical weather.

Australian lawn bowls team camp member Karen Murphy bowls on a flooded Marlin Coast carpet surface yesterday.

©Jake Nowakowski/The Cairns Post

Cairns Concert Orchestra

2010-03-10T01:44:00.000-08:00

Sue Stitt, President of the Cairns Concert Orchestra, practices at the Edge Hill Junior Eisteddfod Hall. The orchestra will be playing at The Colonial Club in Cairns at the end of March.

©Sean Davey/The Cairns Post

http://www.cairnsbands.com

Teagan Harris

2010-03-09T23:01:00.000-08:00

Sixteen year old Cairns high jumper Teagan Harris headed to Sydney today to compete in the Australian Junior Athletics Championships. Teagan has a personal best jump of 1.68 metres and hopes to raise the bar, so to speak, this week at the nationals.

Also travelling to Sydney are Tara Strano and Chloe Botella, who will also be competing against the nation’s best junior high jumpers.

Teagan Harris practices at Barlow Park this week before heading to Sydney to compete in the Junior Athletics Championships.

©Sean Davey/The Cairns Post

Yarrabah to Hobson Bay

2010-03-09T01:21:00.000-08:00

Yarrabah man Mortimer Myngha applies ochre to his body at a bathroom at Cairns Airport prior to departing for Melbourne. Yarrabah is the first Indigenous community to sign a cultural exchange deal with another community. Yarrabah will become the sister city with Hobson Bay Council, near Melbourne in Victoria. It is the first time a sister city deal has been signed between Indigenous community and city.

©Marc McCormack/The Cairns Post

Ex-cyclone Olga

2010-01-23T23:41:00.000-08:00

As the recently downgraded cyclone Olga made its way towards the coast of Far North Queensland, photographers were sent out with the task of finding signs of the impending weather. This photograph of a kite surfer was made at Port Douglas by Cairns Post reporter Alita Pashley.

Olga was given an intensity grading of 1, the weakest given by the Bureau of Meteorology's 1-5 rating for cyclones. As the ex-cyclone passed over Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation this afternoon, very little damage has been reported.

©Alita Pashley/The Cairns Post

Nathan Kelly's large format prints

2010-01-12T16:48:00.000-08:00

Nathan Kelly is a photographer who lives in Cairns and teaches visual arts at a secondary school here. In 2007 Nathan made a series of formal portraits at the Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival. Nathan had his medium format negatives printed as extra large scale prints which were then mounted on aluminium.

A set of these images (20"x24" prints) has been donated by Nathan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, which came about after six months of discussion with the museum's Curator of Oceanic Art Eric Kjellgren.

Nathan with his large format prints.

©Sean Davey/The Cairns Post

The Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival is held every two years at Laura, about four hours' drive north-west of Cairns. The three day festival is a major highlight in the Far North Queensland cultural calender which attracts locals and international tourists alike.

Ellis Beach

2009-12-27T22:44:00.000-08:00

Things generally quieten down over the Christmas period, people go on holidays while cities and towns slow down to a pace not unlike that of a tired snail. Cairns is no different. Today the photographic diary resembled a starving horse and so it was left to the photographers on duty to head out and see what we could find.

Carl Natton plays with his daughter Emily at Ellis Beach

©Sean Davey/The Cairns Post

The city was actually nearing 'dead', with only hand full of people here and there, aimlessly walking the streets or sitting at one of the few open cafes. I drove to Ellis Beach, about half an hour north of Cairns where I met Carlos, the lifeguard on duty. He said the beach had been pretty quiet today and that the early morning rush of people had vanished as the midday sun had started to pack some punch. Carlos and I spoke about the large box jelly fish that washed up yesterday at Trinity Beach and he told me that something like that had enough poison in it to kill eight fully grown adults.

Lifeguard Travis Simmonds holds up the large box jellyfish that washed up on Trinity Beach

©Sean Davey/The Cairns Post

Carlos got ready for his second sweep of the beach (a process of dragging a net in the enclosed swimming area to check for stingers) and I decided to get in the water and ask some people if I could photograph them relaxing in the water. I met Carl and his daughter Emily from Lake Placid who were playing in the shallows. "She thinks she is a better swimmer than she really is", Carl told me. With the aid of a floaty ring, Emily looked to be doing alright to me.

Lifeguard Carlos Costa drags the swimming enclosure for stingers
©Sean Davey/The Cairns Post

I turned my attention to Carlos who was going from end to end of the enclosure with his net. As he neared the northern end of the swimming area I turned to see a man lying face up, taking in the sun. The man's eyes were closed and I made a couple of pictures of him without him realising. I followed Carlos for a bit more and then turned to the floating man again and by this time he was standing up in the shallow water. I introduced myself and told him that I was just shooting pictures for the local newspaper. The man laughed and suggested I find someone better looking to photograph. I let him know that I already had a couple of pictures of him and that all I needed was his name, which he was happy to give me, introducing himself as Frank Roach from Canada.

Frank Roach (a tourist from Canada) relaxing at Ellis Beach

©Sean Davey/The Cairns Post

I swaggered back to the beach, forever mindful that I was carrying a five thousand dollar camera NOT in a water housing. I packed up my camera bag and, dripping wet, sans towel nor quick drying shorts, made my way back across the Captain Cook Highway to my car.

The Good Samaritan Ministry Centre

2009-12-23T17:24:00.000-08:00

Cairns' Good Samaritan Ministry Centre closed yesterday, with residents being forced to move out of their units due to the accommodation centre not meeting fire safety regulations. The twenty-five residents of the crisis accommodation centre in Gatton Street were moved to temporary housing in a motel on Sheridan Street in Cairns North.

Reverend Fihaki removes furniture from the Good Samaritan Ministry Centre

©Sean Davey/The Cairns Post

Last week I posted about Lindus Bearnard, a resident of the Ministry Centre, who was to leave her unit after being there for nine months. In an update to that post, it turns out that Lindus has again been moved to temporary accommodation, not a permanent residence as I was told.

Uniting Church worker Taufa Fotu wipes sweat from her brow whilst cleaning an apartment at the centre.

©Sean Davey/The Cairns Post

Reverend Hedley Fihaki was busy moving furniture with Uniting Church workers yesterday when we went to interview him at the centre. While he is disappointed at the decision to close the centre, Reverand Fihaki is pleased that most of the residents will be able to spend Christmas together in their new temporary housing on Sheridan Street.

Reverend Fihaki remains optimistic the centre will reopen.

©Sean Davey/The Cairns Post

1000 km's for Eighty Minutes of Football

2009-12-19T21:07:00.000-08:00

Every year students from Djarragun College travel 1000km in a convoy of four wheel drives on dirt road, to compete in an AFL competition in Bamaga, Cape York. The competition is part of an education program aimed to promote healthy, active living in Indigenous communities.

©Chris Hyde/The Cairns Post

The return journey from Cairns to Bamaga takes four days, where the Djarragun team played two, forty minute games; One thousand kilometres for eighty mins of football.

©Chris Hyde/The Cairns Post

This year Cairns Post photographer Chris Hyde went along to photograph the action.

"It is a bloody long way but its worth it. The actual journey is half the fun", says Chris.

Kangaroo at the Greyhounds

2009-12-19T20:36:00.000-08:00

"In all my time, I've never seen one come so close!". These were the words of a seventy year old greyhound race goer, told to photographer Chris Hyde, after he made this striking image of a kangaroo jumping on to the track during a race at the Woree greyhound track.

"I was waiting for the dogs to come around the last bend, when a kangaroo jumped across the track, only seconds before the dogs came into view. The dogs were about one hundred metres away when this fella jumped on to the track."

Lindus Bernard

2009-12-18T16:10:00.000-08:00

Lindus Bernard is seventy years old, she is from Kowinyama in Cape York. Lindus moved to Cairns to receive treatment for cancer and after some time she became homeless, living in camps around Cairns.

For the last nine months Lindus has been living at the Good Samaritan Ministry Centre, which is run by Reverend Hedley Fihaki. Twenty-six residents receive temporary accommodation at the centre, which aims to relocate people to permanent places of residence.

Lindus Bearnard in her unit at the Good Samaritan Ministry Centre.

The Good Samaritan Ministry Centre recently received notice that its complex would be shut down due to a lack of fire safety regulations, leaving people homeless and destitute just a week before Christmas.

Reverend Hedley Fihaki refused to close the centre, and on the final day that residents were permitted to remain there, he held a barbeque in protest of the order.

I was introduced to Lindus by Anne-Marie, a social worker who cares for Lindus and many other homeless Indigenous people living in the Cairns area. Lindus agreed to be photographed, as well as interviewed by The Cairns Post journalist Stephanie Harrington. While we were there, Lindus received news that permanent accommodation had been found for her, however she said she would be sad to leave the The Good Samaritan Ministry Centre, a place that she now called home.

Peter Dejong

2009-12-11T04:18:00.000-08:00

Peter Dejong at the Young Lifestyle Care home, a respite centre at Gordonvale, with his father Andy and mother Emma.

In December 2008, Cairns youth Peter Dejong attempted suicide. Peter spent six months in the Intensive Care Unit at Cairns Base Hospital, where he remained in a vegetative state. After six months at Cairns Base, Peter was transferred to the Young Lifestyle Care Home in Gordonvale, south of Cairns. Peter is slowly showing signs of progress after his attempted suicide, however his family accepts that there is a long period ahead of great pain and struggle for Peter, as well as for them.

Peter is now able to communicate some of his emotions and feelings through mouth and eye movements, something that he could not do even a few months ago.

When Peter's friends come to visit, he gets upset say his mother Emma, 'Tears stream down his face. He doesn't want them seeing him like this.'

Kids Helpline for people under 18 years: 1800 55 1800

Salvo Care Line: 1300 363 622
Lifeline: 131 114
Beyondblue – www.youthbeyondblue.com
Infoline 1300 224 636

Cook Island singers

2009-12-06T03:00:00.000-08:00

Christmas is just around the corner, and communities all across Cairns are coming together for their own local Carols by Candlelight evenings. My first Carols assignment was in the beach side suburb of Yorkeys Knob, a fifteen minute drive north of Cairns. I arrived before dark, so there wasn't much candle action happening. I walked around and just looked for pictures.

The emcee announced a Cook islands Church group were to perform some traditional songs as well as some carols. They were amazing! The lead singer, a woman with an absolutely amazing voice, took my breath away, her voice carrying throughout the entire park (and surrounding streets, I'm sure) with amazing strength and pitch. The group sung two or three wonderful Island songs in what was a hair-standing-on-end type of moment.

Their voices and vocal delivery made my night.

Narayan Mishra

2009-12-04T20:55:00.000-08:00

Narayan (l), his father Laxmi and sister Priya at their home in Westcourt.

Narayan Mishra and his family arrived in Cairns on December 4, 2008, after spending fifteen years in refugee camps in Nepal and Bhutan. An assertive and confident seventeen year old, Narayan openly talks about the hardships he and his family faced as they were rejected by the Nepalese and Bhutan Governments. "My family has lived in Bhutan for generations. We have spent more than one hundred and fifty years there, but the governments rejects us."

Narayan (l) and his father Laxmi at their home in Westcourt.

Narayan is participating at The Tanks Arts Centre on Sunday December 6 as part of Human Rights Day. Narayan will be speaking about his life story, as will other refugees, between 10am and 3pm.

TAFE Graduation Fashion Show

2009-11-29T02:20:00.000-08:00

The graduating Fashion Design (Diploma 3) class from Cairns TAFE put on their annual graduation show last Thursday evening at The Hilton Hotel in Cairns.

The production values of the event were first class. There was a great atmosphere in the Hilton's ballroom (which was packed out) as well as backstage, where designers put the final touches to their garments; pinning, stitching and generally running around like mad. Models (friends and classmates) were having make-up applied by other TAFE students and there was a great comraderie in the air, albeit quite a few nerves.

Evelyn Noble

2009-11-28T00:14:00.000-08:00

Evelyn Noble is a Traditional Owner in the Indigenous community of Yarrabah. Yarrabah is a one hour drive south of Cairns and has a population of about three thousand people. For those who have flown out of Cairns to other cities in Australia, the quick successive left and right turns immediately after take-off (when taking off towards the south) take you over this Indigenous community. To get to Yarrabah from Cairns, you drive south past Edmonton down the Bruce Highway until you come across the turn off to Yarrabah. This notoriously bad intersection has recently had major road works completed, including a new set of traffic lights installed. From there it is a beautiful drive through cane fields and then along the eastern bank of Trinity Inlet.

I have visited Evelyn a few times now with the newspaper. The Cairns Post was doing a story on the illegal Dugong and turtle hunting that was reportedly happening in Yarrabah and we interviewed Evelyn about her concerns with the poaching. The hunting of Dugong and turtle for ceremonial purposes and festivities is permitted by Indigenous people, although strict self-regulation is observed to police poaching activities. It was reported that people not from the area were coming to Yarrabah to hunt Dugong and turtle, then selling it on the black market.

Evelyn took me down to the beach to make some photographs of her and her grandchildren to accompany the article. This photograph was not used in the newspaper, but it is a favourite of mine.

A Lifeline, Not a Cost

2009-11-27T23:02:00.000-08:00

The Aborigines & Islanders Alcohol Relief Service (AIARS) has been providing accommodation and drug and alcohol counselling to indigenous and non-indigenous Australians for thirty-one years. The service has always been funded by the Australian Federal Government with approximately $1.6 million each year. In October this year, staff and patients received news that funding was to cease at the end of November, giving them only six weeks notice of the closure of the service. This abrupt decision has left AIARS no choice but to close its doors. The service will no longer operate after this date. AIARS owns two properties, Douglas House in Cairns, and Rose Colless Haven near Mareeba. The clients of AIARS now face an uncertain future, many of whom say that without AIARS they will have little hope of battling, let alone beating, their addictions.

More photographs available at www.pidgin.com.au

A Lifeline, Not a Cost was published in The Cairns Weekend Post on November 28 2009