Hervey Bay Gossip

There’s been a lot of talk in Queensland lately about the aviation industry and how Queensland is to become the home of the aviation industry in Australia.

At the same time here in Hervey Bay there’s been a lot of talk about our new airport and how much of an impact the airport is having on the town. And through it all Hervey Bay and Queensland have had a leader in world aviation quietly working away out at the airport.

Apart from an occasional flight over Hervey Bay by one their products you don’t see much of Seabird Aviation – even the part of their plant that you can see out at the airport is rather low key – but Seabird Aviation is exporting to the world.

You can read more about Seabird Aviation here on the Hervey Bay Gossip here, here, here and here and you can also vist Seabird Aviation’s new website and get a good look at their great product simply by following the link.

The famed and sought after Japanese Akoya pearl may soon be a major industry in Queensland, Minister for Primary Industries and Fisheries Tim Mulherin said today as he officially launched the start of Queensland’s pearl harvesting season.

“Assisted by DPI&F expertise, Coral Sea Pearls Pty Ltd has established a pilot scale 20-hectare Akoya pearl farming site in HerveyBay which aims to fill the lucrative Akoya pearl market,” Mr Mulherin said.

“The Akoya pearl is highly regarded in the jewellery markets of Japan, China and Korea but disease and pollution in the Japanese pearl farming industry have dramatically reduced Akoya pearl production over the past 10 years.

“In the past few years the Japanese production of these highly desirable pearls has fallen to just 10 percent of its reported production a decade ago.”

Dave Williams, owner of Coral Sea Pearls, said that while it was disappointing for Japan it provided Queensland aquaculture with a wonderful opportunity to grow large Akoya pearls on a commercial scale.

“The Coral Sea Pearls aquaculture project has been developed in conjunction with DPI&F to promote scientifically some of the strictest environmentally sustainable aquaculture practices in the world to protect the pristine environment of the GreatSandyStraits,” Mr Williams said.

“The waters of HerveyBay and the GreatSandyStraits provide and ideal environment for the growth of large (>7mm) Akoya pearls.

“Pearl oysters grown in HerveyBay are of exceptional quality because of the excellent water quality and temperature and the unique combination of marine and estuarine waters that exist in the middle of the SandyStraits.”

Mr Mulherin said the innovative project aimed to be able to market 500,000 pearls, meat and shell products potentially creating $15 to $20million in export revenue for Queensland.

“This is an excellent example of the DPI&F assisting primary industries to increase productivity, develop markets and strengthen business adaptability,” Mr Mulherin said.

Member for Hervey Bay Andrew McNamara said the project also was developing jobs in the farming, harvesting, processing and manufacturing sector that will ensure maximum benefit to the HerveyBay community.

“As well as the processing and manufacturing industries which spring from this initiative, the pearl industry is already adding to the area’s eco-tourism market with at least one charter boat already conducting pearl farm eco-tours out of both Hervey Bay and Bundaberg,” Mr McNamara said.”

If you have been reading the Gossip for a while you will have seen mention of Hervey Bay’s very own Seabird Aviation. You can read those stories here and here.

Seabird Aviation is definitely the quiet achiever in the Queensland aviation industry and, while there has been a lot of noise about the industry in Brisbane and even in Cairns, not much has been said about what has been going on here in Hervey Bay.

And what has been going on is really worth talking about because here we have a local builder taking their product to the world. Seabird Aviation’s products are already in use in the middle east but now they are set to move into the American market.

“This is a real coup for a Queensland company and enhances our rapidly growing reputation as a major aviation and aerospace hub of the Asia Pacific region,” Deputy Premier, Treasurer and Minister for State Development, Trade and Innovation Anna Bligh said.

“The first Seeker will be shipped to Seabird Australia’s joint venture partner, Seabird Aviation America Inc, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, later this month. The company expects to sell large numbers of the planes to the United States in the next decade.

“The unique design of the Seeker makes it ideal for roles such as power line surveillance and border patrols. It has greater range, longer endurance and substantially lower operating costs than a helicopter,” Ms Bligh said.

Seabird Aviation Australia Managing Director, Peter Adams, said he was currently reviewing the HerveyBay operations to ensure production can be maintained as its international market grows.

“The Seeker will be demonstrated and trialled throughout America by organisations involved in observation and border security. I’m confident they will be impressed by its many advantages over the helicopter which is traditionally used in this role,” Mr Adams said.

“As we move forward with greater production to meet our sales demands, we will be subcontracting more of our manufacturing process to firms in the WideBay region. This will allow Seabird Aviation Australian to focus on assembly and design of future aircraft.”

In the last few weeks the State Government has been busy announcing workshops for small business in various parts of the state. At the same time the State Government has been announcing workshops for the aviation industry in places like Caboolture and Cairns.

Don’t we have small businesses here in Hervey Bay? Don’t we have an aviation industry here in Hervey Bay?

Come on Mr Macnamara – remind your illustrious leader that Hervey Bay has more than it’s fair share of small businesses and we have an aviation industry too. Maybe we could benefit from some of those workshops or have you forgotten that we exist?

If you were wondering what that rather noisy aircraft was that kept flying around Hervey Bay yesterday then here is the culprit.

It’s a product of Hervey Bay’s very own contribution to the Australian aviation industry. It’s rather sad that, while much is trumpeted about the promise of big money coming from to Brisbane from the latest Defence Force helicopter contract we have a major aviation industry income earner right here in Hervey Bay … and you rarely hear about them. (Unless of course they’re test flying one of their creations).

Seabird Aviation is the company here in Hervey Bay and you can read more about them here

(Next time guys do you think you can go into your low and slow mode over my house so I can get a better photo? )

There are many people in Hervey Bay who believe that more should have been done to establish an industrial base in this town.

Total reliance on tourism is fraught with danger and leaves us at mercy of too many outside influences while having an established industrial base would provide some stability for the Hervey Bay economy.

We certainly do have the seeds of an industrial base growing here but perhaps we should have been working harder to attract industry here because now it might be too late. The Courier Mail recently reported in an article that places like Townsville and other towns north of Brisbane are desperate for workers and just can’t find enough.

Some employers have been forced to look overseas for labour with little success. The article describes the lack of workers as “the greatest impediment to growth”.

And that is not good news for Hervey Bay.

Lots of small and medium sized businesses in Australia are beginning to see that there might be benefits in taking their business to the world via the Internet. Even if your market place is only just a small slice of south east Queensland there can be benefits in having an online presence.

There can also be a lot of pitfalls too and your scribes – who have been building websites since 1996 – have seen some rather disastrous results as business rushed in without taking the time to do some research.

If you’re one of those business people who are thinking of moving online then you might find this article - published on the Gossip’s sister website Home Office Guide - of some use as you start your research.

You might also like to get some free advice by calling us on 043 865 5110 and talking to us about your needs. There’s no obligation and it could help you save money rather than wasting it on something that isn’t really going to meet your needs at all.

In case you hadn’t noticed it Hervey Bay is still one of the top four fastest growing regional centres in Australia acording to this year’s State of the Regiuons Report commissioned by the Local Government Association.

The other centres on the list include Byron Bay in New South Wales, Broome in Western Australia and Cairns in north Queensland.

While being included on that list should not come as any real surprise for Hervey Bay residents what may come as a surprise is that the nature of the growth is beginning to change. In the past the towns on the list have been growing because of the sea-changers – older people moving away from the hustle and bustle of a big city to somewhere where the pace of life is slower and the climate is better.

However, the report finds that is now changing and the continued growth in the centres on the list is being fueld by tree-changers – people in search of a cheaper lifestyle and cheaper housing. These people are bringing their capital to the growth centres and setting up business to meet the demands of the sea-changers who are already in place.

Seabird Aviation is a privately owned company based at Hervey Bay Airport. From its premises at the airport it runs an international research and development base as well as its Australian production facility for the surveillance aircraft it builds.

The company also has a presence in Jordan and a joint-venture company in America.

It’s main product is the Seeker SB7L, a fixed wing light aircraft with a helicoper forward cabin that provides superior vision. Fitted with electro-optical equipment such as camers and infrared devices the Seeker has excellent surveillance capabilities.

Typically here in Hervey Bay we have a company that is recognised internationally but receives little recognition from the Federal Government.

Perhaps that may now change because on October 1 the copany received the 2005 Wide Bay Burnett Region Emerging Exporter of the Year award.

Just how important this company is to Australia in terms of foreign currency can be judged by the fact that the company expects to sell 2000 of these units over the next 8 years.

The company may sell the aircraft on the basis that it can fly “Low, Slow and Often” but there’s nothing low, slow or cheap about this product as a source of income for the City.

Edited to remove a link to a non-functioning website.

You wouldn’t know it by the name but Coral Sea Pearls is actually located out from Hervey Bay in The Great Sandy Straight. For the last four years they have been working hard towards their first harvest and now it’s in and looking good.

Dave Williams, the owner-operator, is very pleased with the qualityof the premium akoya pearls that have been produced. The lustre is said to be exceptional and the pearls have a skin that is described as being “up to good gem grade”.

If you’re interested in learning more about this little-known industry right on our doorstep you can see the story on ABCTV at midday on Sunday as part of the Landline programme.