Hervey Bay Gossip

Well it seems that the race towards the local government elections is beginning to lurch along despite a false start.

Here in Hervey Bay we seem to be gathering an interesting crop of candidates ranging from councillors from the current Fraser Coast Regional Council to people with business experience who want to see something better for the region than what we currently have and others who are just plain enthusiastic.

In the past it’s been hard for ordinary residents to actually get to know the candidates … and for those candidates to get their message out to the voters. But these days … thanks to all the various types of social media … it’s a little easier than it once was.

These days we have candidates advertising on Facebook and even running their own blogs where ordinary people like you and I can actually question them … and hopefully get a response.

One such candidate is Stuart Taylor … the guy who runs Charlie Bucket’s down on the Esplanade at Scarness. He has an interesting blog that gives you some insight into the man behind the election advertising and if you want to know what his vision is for the Fraser Coast … and Hervey Bay … then head over to this entry.

Perhaps you can even surprise him with a few questions to see if there’s some substance to his ideas. Visions are wonderful things but what’s behind all those wonderful ideas?

Another new candidate who is using the web to get his message out is George Seymour. Follow that link and you will find that he has policies on everything from abandoned shopping trolleys (cattle grids at car park entrances … really?) to bigger recycling bins and cat desexing.

And of course there’s Jim MacKellar who has his own website and at the same time is busy sending out press releases to every local news website he can find … and that’s not such a bad thing.

It’s been something of a tough year for business in Hervey Bay and over the last couple of months we’ve seen quite close down … but at the same time there have been some who are willing to take a chance and build a business in this great town.

So let’s have a look at some that have left Hervey Bay and some that have arrived or are in the process of arriving.

If you’re a foodie then you may already know that Dom’s Cantina on the Esplanade has closed as has his other restaurant … the Wheelhouse … down at the marina. It was definitely sad to see Dom go and we wish him well with his new venture in Melbourne.

While Dom’s departure was fairly public with garage sales at both venues the closing of another restaurant here in Hervey Bay happened much more quietly. We lost one of the best chef’s in town when the owner of Smoked Pepper decided to close and move to Qatar.

While we have lost a few cafes/restaurants we have also gained one or two. Hog’s Breath has opened behind Pizza Hut/KFC and down at the Wetside end of the Esplanade at Scarness … next to the Indian restaurant we now have Cobbers Cove Café.

We also have a new café down at Wetside … Whale Tale opened a month or two ago and we would certainly recommend it for breakfast. Sadly early mornings are about the only time you can get parking anywhere near the café.

Other businesses to have moved on include Metaland … on Boat Harbour Drive … and Scrappers Haven in Liuzzi Street.

Danny the hairdresser on the Esplanade at Scarness has also moved on. He decided that it was time to retire and he’s now living the life of a Gray Nomad while a new owner continues to operate from Danny’s old shop.

And coming to Hervey Bay soon is a new Woolworths/Caltex service station down on Boat Harbour Drive between Pialba and Eli Waters.

The servo is currently in the early stages of construction but it shouldn’t be long before we have another servo in town that offers fuel discounts to people that shop at Woolworths.