Someone had the bright idea of carving a four metre tall cassowary from one of the fallen kauri pines at the Tully Showground. A couple of the mature trees were felled by Cyclone Yasi:
Kauri Pine at Tully Showground
Work on the carving started on the first day of this years Tully Show.
Cassowary at Tully Showground
I was contacted recently by Cinema and Theatres Historic Society Victoria who wanted to know if there was still a cinema in Silkwood and, if so, was it possible to send a photograph. By sheer coincidence I had taken a few pix of the old Rex cinema in Cairns so I thought I’d try and document any remaining cinemas on the Cassowary Coast. They are all built in the local version of Art Deco.
There are a few that I haven’t managed to photograph yet but when my camera is working again I shall add to this post.
Rex Cinema, Cairns
Rex Cinema, Cairns
Rex Cinema, Cairns
Shortly after taking the snaps of the Rex it made the news:
Legal stoush erupts over theatre demolition
Council considers theatre demolition bid
Theatre demise disappoints heritage advocates
The Rex is no more so it was fortunate that I grabbed these photos while it was still standing.
Taken this morning on the first anniversary of Cyclone Yasi:
Rainbow over Tully
Tully Council Offices after Cyclone Yasi
Today marks one year from the day Tropical Cyclone Yasi arrived so I thought I’d compile a list of Yasi related posts and tweets.
1. This is the first post about Yasi. It was written when we were still concerned about Cyclone Anthony.
2. Next was the first threat map for Yasi from the Fiji Met Service and an infra-red image from NOAA.
3. On the 31st of January the Australian Bureau of Meteorology issued their first threat/track map for Yasi. I added the latest maps as they became available.
4. The ABC published an article about cyclone preparation info as by now it was clear that Yasi was going to be a big one. This post also includes links to QLD Premier Anna Bligh and Deputy Police Commissioner Ian Stewart on YouTube.
5. Then came a list of useful links for cyclone information.
6. Scary headline much?
7. Somehow this blog shot up the Google index.
8. We got up at 5am and checked the BoM track map. We got a bit of a surprise.
9. ABC Breakfast’s Virginia Trioli asked if any viewers were in the path so I replied via Twitter. Silkwood got what was possibly its first ever mention on television:
Talking to Virginia Trioli on Twitter
10. Sitting and waiting in the council offices in Tully for Yasi to arrive.
11. I would have added the tweets from Tully but they no longer seem to be available.
12. In the eye of Cyclone Yasi.
13. I finally got to post some photos a few days later. As soon as it was light enough in the morning after Yasi had passed three of us hopped into a council ute and did the first damage assessment photo survey of Tully. I took nearly 250 images of damaged buildings and infrastructure in approximately 60% of Tully. These were in the hands of the authorities by about 9am.
14. One day later. Gathering thoughts.
15. This is what we came home to in Silkwood. And this.
16. Made contact with Queensland Premier Anna Bligh via Twitter:
Talking to Anna Bligh on Twitter
17. 500 volunteers come to Silkwood to help with the clean-up.
18. Anna Bligh responds to volunteer effort via Twitter:
QLD Premier tweets about the Silkwood volunteers
19. Lisa is so chuffed with the help from the volunteers that she makes a “thank you” sign. For the next two weeks everyone passing seems to stop and take a photo.
20. An evacuation shelter at Tully that wasn’t up to the job.
21. The local council seems to be invisible and we need some industrial strength boys’ toys in Silkwood. Brisbane responds promptly:
Could we have some heavy machinery?
22. Queensland government starts to liase with David Hall, a Silkwood resident and organiser of the clean-up:
Wheels of government move quickly
23. Tully’s famous Golden Gumboot, still standing after two massive cyclones.
24. It’s the 18th of February and things are starting to happen.
25. We used to live at Tully Heads before we moved to Silkwood in 2010. Here are some photos of what it used to look like.
26. Premier Anna Bligh keeps her promise and visits Silkwood for a coldie.
27. Things look a bit different now.
28. First signs of trees in recovery.
29. Prince William makes a flying visit to Cardwell and Tully.
30. We established QLD.so, a URL shortening service to raise awareness of the Premier’s Fund.
31. A massive turn out for the annual Tully Show.
32. Tully, six months after Yasi. Lots still needs to be done.
33. More progress on the house rebuild.
34. Er, that’s it. The house still leaks. The ceiling still bulges downwards. The expense goes on. SunCorp is still being very unhelpful. We have worked out the $15k from the Premier’s Fund will not cover the extra work that SunCorp aren’t paying for.
Last of all I’d like to thank all those people and organisations that have helped us in the last year. You know who you are. You made a big difference.
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh came to Tully today to open the new Tully Multi-Purpose Centre. Ms Bligh is pictured below chatting to Nola and Ian Adcock. Ian was the deputy CEO at Cardwell Shire Council and instrumental in establishing the Centre.
Ian and Nola Adcock chatting with Anna Bligh