ABC North West Queensland

01/09/2025

🏀 17-year-old Oscar Crayford is moving to the United States to finish his last two years of high school, where he'll chase his dream of playing college basketball. 👏

He's been sponsored to be the starting point guard for the Carlisle Chiefs at Carlisle School in Virginia.

Oscar started playing in his hometown of Mount Isa before moving to Brisbane in 2023 for a high school scholarship and has since represented Australia. 🏆

"To be honest it still hasn't hit me. I'll be away from home for a while," Oscar said.

"I still have so many close friends back home that message me. So many people in Mount Isa give me a reason to keep going."

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01/09/2025

🎨 KRONOSAURUS MAKEOVER 🖌

When you drive through Richmond there is one thing likely to catch your eye...

A giant blue Kronosaurus - nearly 15 metres long - with its jaws open wide. 👀

The beloved sculpture outside the Kronosaurus Korner museum has recently undergone a makeover, restored by Natural History Artist and Palaeontologist Paul Stumkat. 🦕

"The sculpture is quite large so practically speaking it's a pretty difficult paint job to do. I use spray paint because it's the most efficient way to get the tones and colours that I like and I use stencils to get contrasting patterns and outlines," Mr Stumkat said.

"In outback Queensland the weather is quite extreme so those sort of conditions are incredibly hard on fiberglass, so I've used a high quality paint to make sure we get at least another 10-15 years out of the paint job."

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31/08/2025

👏DIRT N DUST FESTIVAL A SUCCESS🎉

The dust has settled on the 29th Julia Creek Dirt n Dust Festival.👏

👉From Friday 29 to Sunday 31 August, the tiny outback town of Julia Creek became the beating heart of Queensland’s North West, welcoming visitors and competitors from across the state and further afield for three days of rodeo, races, running and entertainment.

💬Festival President Sheree Pratt said the event had been a huge success after the challenge of postponement earlier this year.
“After having to delay in April due to flooding, it was just brilliant to finally bring Dirt n Dust to life this August. Seeing the town buzzing again with visitors, music and the sound of the rodeo arena was really special,” Ms Pratt said.

😃From mud-splattered runs to trackside fashion and live music under the stars, the festival once again showcased its unique mix of outback fun:
• Adventure Run
• Artesian Express Race Day
• Australia’s Best Butt Competition
• Live Music

💬“We’re very excited to confirm the dates for 2026 will be the 17 – 19 April for a massive celebration for 30 years of the Julia Creek DirtnDust Festival.”Ms Pratt said. 🗓️

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31/08/2025

🏆2025 Australia's Best Butt Competition Winners

ℹ️Julia Creek Dirt n Dust Festival held the Australia's Best Butt Competition finals last night and the event was very popular with the large crowd.

🥇2025 Best Butt winners are.... Ben Rocchester and Tess White both from Mount Isa!👏

👏Congratulations to both Ben and Tess and hopefully they will be back in Julia Creek next year to defend their title.

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30/08/2025

"Now we have a good little girl gang … we're starting to grow as a collective all over Australia and the world."

🤠Women rodeo riders bucking trend in male-dominated rodeo arenas.👇

Sidelined in the sport's history by the words "women don't do that", female bronc riders are proving they not only do it but do it thrillingly well — and the sport is taking notice.

29/08/2025

"We basically just get them to talk about what they love about living in the bush,"🎶

Fronted by the kin of Aussie music royalty, Elvis Kernaghan and The Min Min Lights turn outback classrooms into rock concerts.👇

Fronted by the kin of Aussie music royalty, Elvis Kernaghan and The Min Min Lights turn outback classrooms into rock concerts.

29/08/2025

CULTURAL ARTEFACTS RETURNED TO MORNINGTON ISLAND👏

👉Yesterday, Mirndiyan Gununa Aboriginal Corporation and Mornington Shire Council welcomed Baw Baw Shire Council Mayor Mr Danny Goss to Mornington Island to facilitate the repatriation of several items of cultural significance. 🤝

Mayor Richard Sewter hosted the visitors where an official handover of spears, shields and other items occurred, returning them home to Gununa, Mornington Island.

Mayor Sewter said that he extends his thanks and appreciation towards the special guests from Victoria. 💬

“Mayor Goss is travelling several thousand kilometres to bring these important items to their rightful home," he said.

“These artefacts form part of the Mornington Island community story and they’ll be stored in our cultural keeping place, for future generations”.

💻 Read more here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-27/indigenous-artefacts-to-be-returned-to-mornington-island/105365166

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29/08/2025

✈ MOUNT ISA RFDS DROVER MOVED FOR RESTORATION ✈

It’s kept watch over George McCoy Park for more than 45-years but today, the ‘Drover’, an iconic piece of Australia’s aviation history, took it’s first tentative steps towards a new life at the Royal Flying Doctor Service Mount Isa Base. 👏

The de Havilland ‘Drover’ aircraft was originally restored in the 1980’s when two separate aircraft were joined together, but the elements haven’t been kind to the old plane. 🏗

🚧 With construction nearly complete of the new RFDS base at Mount Isa Airport, it was decided to restore and relocate the ‘Drover’ to the entrance of the new base.

RFDS Head of Tourism John Larkin said the de Havilland aircraft is an important piece of Australian aviation history with only a handful of known Drovers still in existence. 💬

“Obviously the first step is to make sure we get the aircraft down from its current location with as little damage as possible before we gently move it to its workshop location," he said.

“Once we have it there, we’ll be able to carry out a full assessment of the repairs needed to bring it back to its former glory.

“I have one of the best aircraft engineers in Australia, Jimmy Shannon, working with me on the project."

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29/08/2025

The population of Julia Creek is set to quadruple this weekend as tourists descend on the tiny town for the first iconic event of the season 🤠

🎉 President Sheree Pratt said she's hoping for large crowd after having to postpone due to bad weather earlier in the year.

"We've got amazing people that put a lot of hard work into this event. We wanted to try and keep it running again this year, so we would just love for everyone to actually show up and have a great time," she said.

📅 WHAT'S HAPPENING?

FRIDAY
👉 5pm: Gates open at Dirt N Dust central
👉 5pm: Live music begins with Tyson Lucas
👉 6:30pm: Rodeo action kicks off
👉 8:30pm: More live music with Tommy Contor & the Western Wranglers

SATURDAY
👉 7:00am: Adventure Run
👉 11:30am: Head to the Julia Creek Turf Club for the Artesian Express Race Day
👉 5pm: Live music begins with Tyson Lucas
👉 6:30pm: Rodeo action kicks off
👉 8:30pm: Live continues with Homegrown Trio
👀 Keep your eyes peeled throughout the weekend for Australia's Best Butt, with finals on Saturday night!

SUNDAY
👉 8am: Dirt N Dust Central opens for recovery breakfast
👉 11am: Gates close

Are you heading along? 🏃

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28/08/2025

Sunset State School Principal Bryon Burke is retiring after a long time working in the community. 👏

🏫 He and his wife will stay in Mount Isa and can hear the school bells from their home, but Mr Burke is looking forward to getting stuck in to the gardening.

He said a key priority during his tenure was to break down the barriers that make school difficult for some. 💬

"Just having school more accessible for people, to offer more services for our families - we were probably the first school to offer a nutrition centre full time," he said.

"Mount Isa does have a challenge with transport to and from school, Sunset kids don't, we run door to door bus services for families who need it.

"It's a great place Mount Isa, it's lovely to have been accepted in to the community for so long and be able to provide the service we've provided. It's a real honour."

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28/08/2025

Queensland MP Robbie Katter has defended his father, federal independent MP Bob Katter, after a heated exchange with a journalist at a press conference.👇

Federal MP Bob Katter was angered by a question relating to his Lebanese heritage on Thursday morning and accused the journalist of being a "racist".

27/08/2025

Mount Isa’s Dr Brianna Smith has been selected from a strong pool of applicants to attend the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine Emerging Leaders Conference on Wadjemup (Rottnest Island) this October. 👏

👩‍⚕️ Dr Smith is a Senior Medical Officer at Mount Isa Hospital, a Medical Officer with the Royal Flying Doctor Service, and this year took on the role of Director of Rural Generalist Training for the North West Hospital and Health Service. ✈️

💬 Dr Smith said she is looking forward to building her leadership skills, sharing ideas with peers from across Australia, and bringing back new approaches to help keep doctors in the bush.

“My motivation has always been to improve health equity here in the north west,” Dr Smith said.

“That means training the next generation, supporting junior doctors, and making sure our health system is safe, sustainable and responsive to the needs of our community.”

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