Hervey Bay Gossip

The Fraser Coast Ute Show is on again this year at the Torbanlea Race Track on March 25. With over 100 exhibitors expected this is a a motor show not to miss.

Gates open at 7am with judging commencing at 11am and driving events at 2pm. There will be children’s rides, full catering and a bar as well as trade displays.

Adult entry is just $5.00 with children under 12 free.

As from today Sinbad’s Restaurant at the Hervey Bay Boat Club will be temporarily closed while ronnovations continue. However a brand new ‘all-you-can-eat’ buffet will be open for lunch and dinner 7 days a week in the Auditorium upstairs.

Our previous report that Tropical Cyclone Wati was likely to blow itself out before it reached the coast seems to have been a little premature.

At 4am this morning Wati was listed as a Category 3 cyclone approximately 700 kms east of Innisfail. Since 4pm yesterday it had turned north-west. It is currently expected to remain slow moving in offshore waters for the rest of the week.

The Weather Bureau is still forecasting strong gale force winds between Bowen and Frasher Island and large seas will develop along open waters off the southern and central coasts.

Well not quite but the latest Holden concept car does contain quite a bit of technology that is in the production pipeline.

You can see more of Holden’s Efijy here at Aussie Motoring

Sadly this car will never go into production and that is a real shame. I could just see myself cruising down The Esplanade rattling the shop windows with some appropriate music from the fifties

The Historical Village and Museum at Scarness is looking for a vintage truck to add to it’s collection. The Museum is particularly interested in a flatbed truck from around 1929 but they are prepared to look at anything that is pre 1950.

If you have a vintage truck that might interest them call Brian on 4124 6526

If you have some old coins or bank notes you would like valued or you have some you would like to sell for a fair price then give Rick Stevens a call on 4125 3791 or drop in and see him at Fraser Coast Computers, Shop 8, 564 Esplanade Urangan.

If you were slow out of bed this morning you missed a beautiful sunrise. It didn’t last for long but for a minute or two it reminded us of why we can to Hervey Bay.

These last few days have helped show just how fragile the beauty of the Queensland coast can be and what happened in Innisfail chould just have easily happened here. In fact the location of Tropical Cyclone Wati, as shown on the weather reports last night, and the path it could have taken did not look very promising for us.

However, the Bureau of Meteorology is currently reporting that Wati has blown itself out so let’s keep our fingers crossed that it doesn’t re-form.

An appeal to help the people of Innisfail has been started and you can make donations at any branch of the Commonwealth Bank and we urge you to do so.

A new business has come to Hervey Bay with the opening of Crepes on the Bay down in Scarness. The Gourmet Intelligence Unit (another contradiction in terms just like Military Intelligence) of the Hervey Bay Gossip has yet to check it out but … it won’t be long before we do.

You will find Crepes on the Bay at 346 The Esplanade Scarness - just a few doors up from Beachside Pharmacy.

Researchers at Harvard Medical School may have discovered the key to what causes asthma. The body’s natural defenses agains bacteria, viruses and other harmful microbes becomes over-protective in asthama sufferers and so relatively minor irritants can cause an adverse reaction as the body seeks to protect itself.

But researchers now believe that it is not the T cells that respond to those minor irritants that are the real cause of asthma. Instead they now feel that it is a smaller group of cells - commonly known as natural killer T cells that are the real cause.

Unfortunately these cells do not respond well to the steroids found in mots widely used inhalers.

You can read the full story here

At 7.30pm tonight the Bureau of Meteorology advised that Tropical Cyclone Larry had been downgraded to a Category 2 syclone and was currently 60 kms east-northeast of Croydon.

The cyclone was generating winds of up to 130 km/h and the Tropical Cyclone Larry was expected to pass near Croydon at around 9pm tonight.

Tropical Cyclone Larry will move further inland overnight with winds gradually weakening.

At it’s height Tropical Cyclone Larry was the most destructive cyclone to hit a populated area of Queensland since 1918. Reports indicate that Tropical Cyclone Larry has devastated Innisfail. More that half the homes in Innisfail are reported to have been destroyed, many people are homeless and thousands have been left without power or water.

The sugar and banana crops in the areas affected by the storm have been wiped out and one report suggests that there is not a single banana tree left standing in the area affected by the storm. That will have a devastating affect on the economic viability of the region for years to come.

Access to Innisfail is difficult with roads both north and south of the town blocked. The local airport and showground were also covered in debris to it was difficult to get any form of aircraft into the town but the airport has been cleared and help is beginning to arrive. The Army has already arrived in town and has begun erecting tents for those who cannot return to their homes.

A medical team from Townsville is also about to be flown into Innisfail.

The water and sewerage systems are intact but power lines are down and it could be anywhere from three days to a week before power is restored. In the meantime portable generators are being delivered and put into service to restore power to essential public services.

It’s interesting to compare the speed with which a small country like Australia is responding to a Category 5 disaster with the lack of response in a much bigger country that also experienced a Category 5 storm.

Senior political figures are either in the area or on their way.

And that’s where the Hervey Bay Gossip will conclude it’s coverage of Tropical Cyclone Larry and its effects. If you’re wondering why the Gossip has covered this event so thoroughly when the affected area is away to the north of Hervey Bay it has a lot to do with the people who have been reading this ongoing report.

A few hours after the first report was published, at a time when the storm could have come south and Hervey Bay, this site began to receive a large number of hits from Google and the other major search engines as people around the world began looking for information on the looming disaster.

While the Gossip was not in a position to be able to report from the affected area we were able to assemble important data from a number of sources and present that to people who wanted to know what was happening.

It’s been an interesting experience and one that we might have to repeat later in the week as Tropical Cyclone Watti draws near to the Queensland coast.