Oakey Champion - 14th December 2022

10 jobs for Christmas

Ten supervisor roles have been offered at the New Acland Mine before Christmas, and there are still jobs up for grabs!

Manager Dave O'Dwyer was on hand at the Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise to give the latest update on New Acland Stage 3.

"We received our last approval about a month ago, and we've received a response to that, both from prospective employees and prospective suppliers," he said.

"We'll have 100 people ready to work on-site in the new year."

Mr O'Dwyer said that already, preliminary work has begun.

"We've started the surveying jobs and the things we'll need to do in advance," he said.

"We're really excited to see the workforce coming back."

The company has seen an overwhleming response to positions with 1500 people having filled out a work application form with New Acland.

An ad campaign run by the company is expected to see more applications come through for trade and operator positions.

"We've got 20 people working currently, we've just put in another another 10 in supervisor and superintendant level roles," Mr O'Dwyer said.

Some people are previous employees, but the company

says it will have some new ones as well.

"Those people have the skillset, so they'll be a bit ahead but we're looking out for everyone.

"We've got to do a fair and equitable job.

"Past employees have the best resume they can have."

"I'm really happy to have 10 in by Christmas and 100 at the site by the end of February," Mr O'Dwyer said.

He added that there were still openings for operators and maintainers.

New Acland Mine CHPP & Maintenance Manager Andy Scouller said he could scarcely believe things had progressed so rapidly.

"What a difference 12

months makes," Mr Scouller said.

"This time last year, we were finalising redundancies for workers that were staying on for care and maintenance and now, just last weekend, I've been interviewing workers all weekend," he said.

"They're all in the range of 100k a year, all well paid, so we've had quite a bit of interest."

Mr Scouller said the mine would be fully operational by 2024.

"Realisitcally, it's probably going to take a couple of years to get the mine operating again," he said.

"'We're really looking forward to having that money flowing through the

community"

He admitted that it was encouraging to see old faces back at the mine.

"We follow the processes, so the best person gets the job, but some of those have been people who have worked here before, so it's been great to see them," he said.

TSBE CEO Ali Davenport said she was extremely encouraged that the advocacy of business in the region had paid off.

"It's great news for the town," she said.

"Long term, these are really good jobs and with the revenue going into Oakey and the surrounding region, the benefits

New Hope has announced that 10 more locals will fill positions at the New Acland mine north of Oakey.

ABOVE: TSBE CEO Ali Davenport, New Acland Mine CHPP & Maintenance Manager Andy Scouller, New Acland Mine General Manager Dave O’Dwyer

Oakey State School graduates say goodbye to primary school surrounds

A selection of photos from Oakey State School’s Graduation Night.

Two Oakey State School teachers were asked what advice they’d give their students.

Here are the responses they offered:

“If there is one thing I would like my students to take away from the year it would be to aim high.

“Make it a habit to aim high in all the things you do.”

- Mr Dyson

“Stars: unique, brilliant pieces of light in a dark world.

“Sometimes shining brightly, sometimes not so much.

“Some bold and brilliantly in your face, others tucked quietly away, shining none-the-less.

“All working together to light a dark sky, much like a classroom - a place filled with unique individuals, together giving light and life to an empty space.

“Students of Year 6, as you continue into the next phase of your life journey, do as Stephen Hawking said and look up at the stars, not down at your feet.”

-

Continued on page 7

Lions Christmas raffle winners revealed

Four Lions raffle prize winners announced at the Sunday Railway Station Markets.

Winners of the Oakey Lions Club Christmas Raffles this year were:

1. S&R Summerfield - $200 basket

2. Maria Jessup - Iced Christmas Cake

3. Kelvin Reese - Lions Christmas Cake with a $50 Visa card.

4. Gloria Gierke - Lions Christmas Cake with a $50 IGA voucher

Congratulations to all our winners and thank you to the local community for your wonderful support. Merry Christmas everyone!

- Lois Thorne, Lions Club President

$200 hamper.

ABOVE: Winners S&R Summerfield collect their prize,

ABOVE: Kelvin Reese claims a cake and a $50 Visa Card.

LEFT: Gloria Gierke wins a cake and a $50 Visa card.

Ms Shepherd

ABOVE: The OSS Class of 2022 are showered in confetti after receiving their certificates of graduation.

ABOVE: For some, it was the last chance to hang out with people that they’d shared classes with for six years.

ABOVE: Surveying taking place at Acland for New Acland Stage 3.

Summer's here! Storms and hot, humid weather break Oakey's cold spell

Oakey experienced its hottest

cut to around half the town.

Power was down across much of the town, huge puddles appeared across roads, and dozens of snails were seen migrating across the footpath on Toowoomba Road in Oakey on Thursday morning.

In Oakey, 1556 residents lost power for around five hours when a lightning strike hit a power pole on the road to Kingsthorpe at 3.51 am, affecting homes on the southern side of town.

Kerrytown businesses were most impacted, with tradies unable to enter Great Country Pies and Foodworks, while local residents were unable to shop at Kerrytown Meats until later in the morning.

At the Oakey Motel, owners Benny and Marg had to spend time resetting the clocks and were unable to clean their motel rooms.

Ergon Energy's Brett Judge said power was restored to most homes by 9.30am on Thursday and to all homes in Oakey by 3.45pm.

Storms from the Oakey system swept across the Downs and into South-East Queensland, creating over 250,000 lightning strikes, which caused over 20,000 homes to lose power across Southern Queensland, with the majority of those

located on the Sunshine Coast and the north of Greater Brisbane.

In the capital itself, trains were delayed by an hour due to lightning strikes, and a sinkhole caused traffic delays on Coronation Drive in the inner-city suburb of Milton.

The Bureau of Meteorology said that the storms were the result of a hot north-westerly winds bringing down electrical activity from a Gulf of

Jobs for locals at New Acland

Continued from page 1

"This is the start of a hundred new jobs that will be in place from the start of next year," Ms Davenport said.

"It means the revenue that flows throughout the community, the opportunities are great."

Ms Davenport said the project would bring life back to Oakey and the Jondaryan and Rosadlie areas, after a tough couple of years.

"What the community experienced when the mine was up and in production and what it is now is a huge difference," she said.

TSBE has been a big supporter of the mine for years and has had a close relationship with New Hope during the period of inactivity at Acland.

In 2019, the group co-led a petition with the Oakey and Toowoomba

Chambers of Commerce, which attracted over 1500 signatures in support of the mine.

The impact of New Hope's return to the town is evident, with the company having hadan active presence in the Oakey community, while Dave O'Dwyer is regularly seen at community events.

At this stage however it is not expected that the company will develop any infrastructure in Oakey.

Ms Davenport says she's confident that the mine's impact will leave a longterm legacy in the district."

"I think New Acland have done a great job.

"They are committed to locals, they have always employment.

"I think what will happen is now the approvals are in place, I think the sky's the limit for the region."

Carpenteria region which is experiencing an extreme heatwave.

Multiple regions in the far north were affected by the heat which is unusual, but not unprecedented for a La Niña season.

To the immediate north, the storms came back for Round 2 in the South Burnett on Thursday, where golf-ball sized hail was reported at Murgon.

The wild pattern of weather followed up what

was the year's hottest day in Oakey on Wednesday, with temperatures hitting the mid to high 30s across the district.

However, there is good news for Oakey and district residents tired of the extreme weather with no major storms forecast for the next few days.

Have any photos from last week's storm?

Send them to editorial@ oakeychampion.com.au

Shootout on Western Downs claims several lives, including police

Six people are dead, including two police officers, following a shootout at Wieambilla.

The incident took place on Tuesday night at a property on Wains Road, in between Tara and Chinchilla.

Four police officers attended the scene following a tip-off from New South Wales Police ,about a missing persons case.

While approaching the property, two police were ambushed and shot dead at the scene.

A neighbour of the property, which was reportedly empty until last week, went to investigate a car on fire at the property and was also shot dead at the scene.

Following this, numerous Special Operations Police were sent to the scene.

They engaged in a shootout with the alleged offenders, two male and one female at the property which ended with all three offenders dead.

One police officer was grazed by a bullet during the encounter.

Western Downs Region Mayor Paul McVeigh said there had been an overwhelming response from the community to the tragedy.

“It’s devasting for an incident like this to occur in a small community,” Mayor McVeigh said.

“Incidents like this should never happen in our region.”

Tara police attended scene at Wieambilla following a tip-off about a missing person case in New South Wales.

The end of Oakey’s ANZ Bank

Throughout the presence of the ANZ branch in Oakey from 1951 to 2018, the bank had five different logos.

The latest was designed by M&C Saatchi and was introduced in 2009 to coincide with ANZ’s ambition to be a major regional bank in AsiaPacific.

The logo introduced a stylised three-petalled lotus which represented the trinity of Australia, New Zealand and Asia, the three core markets of the ANZ.

A blow was dealt to Oakey residents in February 2018 when they were informed by letter that the local ANZ

branch would be closing on April 26, 2018.

When more and more people were choosing digital banking, a spokesperson from ANZ said this change was evident in Oakey therefore they were reconfiguring their branch network to focus on where demand was greatest.

No consideration for the older customers who still preferred face-to-face services.

The ANZ ATM remained in place till February 2022 when it, too, was removed to cause more inconvenience.

Following the ANZ departure, the bank building was acquired

by Pat Weir, Member for Condamine in January 2019 after his electorate office in Dalby was vacated when the Electoral Commission

of Queensland boundary redistribution removed Dalby from the Condamine electorate.

- Valerie Weise-Young

ABOVE: The final iteration of the ANZ Bank branch office. The building is now used by Pat Weir MP. ACROSS RIGHT : A selection of ANZ Bank Logos.

So long, farewell,

wiedersehen, goodbye

The passing of time in primary school, is a happy time for most, full of fun, friendships and learning about how the world works with a similar group of people.

Many names, faces and core memories from this period surely will stick with our students for life, along with the sights and sounds of the teacher and the classroom.

From athletics carnivals to swimming, lunchtime games and tuckshop, and developing skills, primary

school will have been a formative time for our students in Oakey and surrounds.

For teachers, it’s a sad time as some of the faces they will have seen for the past seven years depart for the uncharted and scary waters of high school.

For parents, it can be a marking of time, a reminder of how their child has grown into an-almost teenager.

To all graduating students, best of luck next year!

Oakey State School Year 6 graduates took pride of place at their Graduation Night last Wednesday at the school. Congratulations to all students across our district heading into secondary school next year!

Christmas Wishes

Oakey Community Pharmacy

Wishing you and your family peace, health, happiness and prosperity in the coming year. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from the team at Oakey Community Pharmacy.

Oakey Interfaith and Culture Reference Group

Wishing the community of Oakey Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, Maligayang Pasko, Meri Kirihimete, Selamat Hari Krismas, Manuia le Kerisimasi & have a wonderful 2023.

Oakey Family Dental

Oakey Family Dental would like to wish our lovely community a very Merry Christmas. Thank you for all of your support and we look forward to seeing your pearly whites in 2023!

Oakey Show Society Merry Christmas & Happy New Year. Look out for the 2023 Rodeo & Show.

Flick Food & Coffee Bar

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Look forward to seeing you in 2023. The White Family.

Coops

David (Coops) Cooper and his staff wish all our wonderful clients and community a most joyous Christmas and safe New Year.

Queensland Country Women’s Association Merry Christmas and a Joy Filled 2023 from the Oakey QCWA Celebrating 100 years and beyond.

Vinnies Retail Store Oakey Best wishes for a joyous Christmas filled with love, happiness and prosperity!

The Oakey Pharmacy

Happy Holidays from Nathan, Matt, Carla & Staff. Thank you for your support again this year!

Kookas Staff, Family & Friends would like to wish all our children their family and friends a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

See

McLean Care at CWA House, Oakey

Merry Christmas to our Residents, their Families and Friends from the Management and Staff, McLean Care CWA House Oakey.

Bernborough Hardware & Produce

Rob and Staff would like to wish every one of our valued customers a Happy and safe Christmas and a Prosperous New Year. Thanks to you all for your support this year.

Black Toyota Tim, Moses, Terry and all the team at Black Toyota Oakey wish everyone Seasons Greetings and Happy and Safe Motoring.

Oakey Newsagency Sandra, Ken and Staff wish Customers and Friends a fabulous Christmas and a safe and wonderful New Year!

Hamlyns Modern Meats

HO HO HO Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. May the holiday season MEAT your expectations. All the best. Tony, Sandra & Staff.

Great Country Pies

Dale, Vicki and Staff would like to wish all our customers a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and a big thank you for all your support during 2022.

you all in 2023

Wolski Glass & Security Peter and Janine wish their Customers and Friends a Wonderful Joyous Christmas and a Fantastic New Year.

Darling Downs Affordable Housing Association Wishes all of Oakey every happiness this holiday season and throughout 2023. Together, we will create secure and affordable housing for those who most need it.

Bernborough Tavern Michael, Wendy & Staff wish everyone a wonderful Christmas. Make the Tavern your place to be this Christmas!

CAROL TAYLOR

Geoff, Julie and the Team would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Nominate a Queensland Young Achiever

The Young Achiever Awards are open to those 29 years of age and under who have made a difference to their community or someone who has been successful through their own initiative and talents.

By nominating a young

person for an award you can make a difference to their life by raising their profile in the community for the work they have done or helping them to achieve success in their chosen endeavours. There are eleven

different categories for nominations including Volunteers, Hospitality and Service, Leadership and Women Empowering Women.

Winners of each category will receive $2000 and a trophy with an overall winner then chosen.

Nominations are now open and close 31st January 2023 with an award evening to be held on 19th May.

The awards are run on a state and territory basis with each state and

territory selecting young achiever awards from their own district.

It’s now up to community members to positively impact the life of a young person worthy of recognition by nominating them and allowing them to receive the recognition they deserve.

Nomination forms with full conditions and categories are available on the organisation’s website, which is: awardsaustralia.

com

Watch out for these scams over Christmas

As the holiday season approaches it is essential to stay alert for scams. Scamwatch is run by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and its purpose is to help you recognise and avoid scams.

It is important to report scams to Scamwatch. New scams are created daily, if scams are not reported, the law cannot act.

The ACCC is unable to help you recover money lost to a scam or assist in tracking down a scammer. However, law enforcement can assist if fraud or crimes have been committed.

Some interesting statistics from "Targeting scams: report of the ACCC on scams activity in 2021" tell us that:

50% of people were contacted by scammers via a phone call, with 23% of people being contacted via text message in 2021

$177 million: Investment scams

$56 million: Dating & romance scams

$17 million: False billing $16 million: Remote access scams

$8 million: Online shopping scams

$7 million: Classified scams

$4 million: Phishing scams

138,591 reports were filed by men, totalling $190 million.

142,092 reports were filed by women, totalling $131 million.

- Elissa Parker, Oakey

No upgrade for dangerous junction

Despite crashes, there are no plans to fix the site of many road vehicle crashes, the junction of the

Highway (Toowoomba - Athol Road) and Old Wyreema Road.

Member for Condamine Pat Weir recently received a response in Parliament from the Minister for Transport and Main Roads (TMR) Mark Bailey.

Mr Weir had asked if there will be any future funding allocated to improve the safety of this intersection, given its location on an incline and a bend, making a right hand turn dangerous with the large volume of traffic on the highway.

Mr Bailey said the Gore Highway (Toowoomba–Athol Road) and Old Wyreema Road intersection was assessed for safety upgrades as part of a planning project launched in 2021.

“TMR’s planning did not recommend treatments to this intersection,” Mr Bailey said.

“TMR will continue to monitor the operation and safety of the Gore Highway and Old Wyreema Road intersection, however, has no plans to upgrade the intersection at this time.”

The most recent serious crash at the site occurred in July this year, which saw four people transported to Toowoomba Hospital following a two-vehicle crash, including two in a serious condition.

Another two-vehicle crash occurred at the same intersection in November last year.

Netflix filming comes to Downs

Jandowae is the beneficiary of Trent Dalton's 1980s-era TV series Boy Swallows Universe

When you think of Brisbane in the 1980s, you probably wouldn't think of the rural Western Downs.

Yet, that's exactly where Netflix has chosen to shoot several scenes of its upcoming series Boy Swallows Universe, based on the book by renowed author Trent Dalton.

Set in 1980s suburban Brisbane, filming has been taking place this week locations across the Western Downs, including Jandowae.

The Exchange Hotel was one of those locations, with pub owner Red Clark saying the entire main street was shut down on Monday last week.

"The whole crew was here, and everyone had a real good time.

"They filmed in our bottle shop, they filmed in the pharmacy which they did up as a chocolate shop," she said.

"We had people come

up the week before to set up, people stayed the day before.

The idea behind the filming was to go to a place which still had a 1980s feel to it. Our main street is still quite old," she said.

Clint from Nelson Family Meats said the filming day had brought

the town alive, with people from around townbeing brought in to work as extras

"They had all sorts of retro cars, they brought out a canary yellow Falcon Station wagon, a VB Commodore and a Toyota Corolla," he said.

"There's a real buzz around town."

Gore

ABOVE: The Old Wyreema Road/Toowoomba-Athol Road intersection Image, Google Maps

ABOVE: The Exchange Hotel in Oakey underwent an 80s makeover for the filming of Boy Swallows Universe.

I feel so privileged to be able to wish you a joy filled Christmas and hope filled 2023.

The birth of Our Lord is an extraordinary gift to use – a gift of Hope, Love and Peace. Most Australians are fortunate enough to live in peace. But that good fortune calls on us to remember and pray for those who don’t share in that fortune. Many people in the world today have been uprooted and scattered for various reasons. This is the time when we must remember them and pray for peace especially at this time of the year, when we are so blessed to live where we live.

And though life in Australia is peaceful for the most part, there are still many in our midst who experience injustice and inequality. Often not of their own making. People left behind by our economy, who suffer disease, poverty and incarceration. So as we celebrate the birth of our Saviour, let us remember that he came on a mission of love for all of us but especially for the lost and broken.

May this Christmas bring you all comfort, joy and peace, and inspire us all to be the love of Jesus in every person.

Showgirl Entrant for Goombungee Haden Show

ABOVE: Goombungee Haden Showgirl entrant Chloe Ferguson

My name is Chloe Ferguson and I’m an entrant for the 2023 Goombungee Haden Showgirl.

I’m 20 years old and have just completed my first year of Occupational Therapy at the University of the Sunshine Coast.

I live on a rural property outside of Goombungee where my family runs beef cattle. I enjoy playing Social Sports. I am also an active community member, attending as many events as possible.

I look forward to the upcoming show season.

Goombungee Golf

RESULTS

Thursday 8th December, Winners: Men, Dave Scutt 34 points; Ladies’, Ann Cass 33 points. Approaches: Men - 1/10, Maurie Cronk; 3/12, Murray McLeod; 9/18, Harry Cover; Ladies, 2/11, Rose Edmunds; 3/12 and 7/16, Ann Cass.

Sunday 11th December, Four Ball Stableford Aggregate (Secret Draw) for Club Trophies. Winners, V. Hartland and N. Capuzzo 76 points, second R. Drowley and G. Shea, third Travis Peters and C. Jenkins. Rundown: A. Cass and D. Peters, G. Mathies and S. Elfverson, C. Tannock and D. Lowe.

Men’s pin shots: 3/12, D. Humphrey; 4/13,

D. Scutt; 8/17, D. Pedersen. Approaches: 5/14, D. Pedersen and D. Peters; 6/15, G. Mathies; 7/16, M. Burgess. Ladies’ pin shots: 4/13, Not Won; 8/17, V. Hartland. Approaches: 2/11, C. Tannock; 7/16, C. Cover.

Members’ Draw No. 97, Adrian Delaney, who was not present so this week the prize is $50.

THIS WEEK

Thursday 15th December, Single Stableford Medley for a Club Trophy.

Friday 16th December, Chook Run from 3pm, all golfers welcome.

Sunday 18th December, Bushranger Stableford for Garry Shea Trophies.

- Trent Peters

Oakey Social Golf

This season has brought us another tie.

Since the social club started in 1987 we have had only four lots of ties for the championship and now we have the fifth one, with Paul Jones, Andy Palmer and Peter Morgan all finishing the year with 36 points, with the top twelve all having a chance to win or equal the points for the championship this year.

This will be Paul’s second club championship, winning it in 2019 and 2022 and the first for Andy and Peter.

Congratulations go out to Sandra Lucht - in her first year of playing golf she has picked up the most improved player for 2022 with 30 points.

We have had some ups and downs this year, firstly losing our great mate and past President Wayne “Ted“ Lucht and then missing a lot of games due to mother nature closing our course, but the members got out there when they could and supported the club by averaging around 30 players each week, being home games or away games.

We played at 9 different

courses throughout the year on our away trips, including Palmer Coolum and Peregian Springs golf clubs at the Sunshine Coast.

There have been some interesting moments in the year, Stan Gillis losing his club up a tree at Gatton and trying to get it down with another, only to get the first one down and the second one getting stuck in the tree, in Stan’s defence it was a wet day.

Then we have Gregory Little wearing a hard hat so he wouldn’t get hurt by the swooping magpies at Oakey.

The committee would like to thank all our sponsors Oakey RSL, Grand Hotel, Kerrytown Meats and Kids Patrol Oakey for helping us out on our trips away.

A special thank you to Oakey Champion paper for putting in our golf reports each week.

Until next year, wishing you and your families a Merry Christmas and safe New Year and will see you all back on the golf course on 8th January 2023.

-Flynny /Macca

Ed - Thanks Flynny and Macca, our pleasure!

Oakey Parkrun

from Mitchelton and Goondiwindi parkrun join us we hope you enjoyed your visit. One new PB was recorded .

Oakey Golf

Winner of the Thursday Sporters on 8th December was Leonard Bartley with 28 points.

Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th December Members played an 18 hole Stroke, the winner being George Wright with a 76 nett on a countback from Andrew King with a 76 nett

also.

Pin on No. 3 was won by George Wright, No, 8 was won by Terris Muir and the pin on No, 12 was won by Andrew King.

Saturday the 17th and Sunday 18th December the members will play an 18 hole Stableford.

- Marlene Deans

Congratulations to Wendy Edmondstone28:00

We pass on a massive congratulations to Bonnie Wheatley who completed her 100th parkrun. This weekend’s event was made possible thanks to seven hi-viz heroes - Joy Dearling, John O’Keefe,

Ben Morgan, Harry Wilson, Simmone Batterham, Lachlan Batterham and Curt Batterham. Thanks to these volunteers - without you parkrun wouldn’t exist Enjoy your weekend…. Let’s do it all again next Saturday.

- Oakey Parkrun

Spray hazard warning system live for Queensland summer spraying

A major milestone has been reached in the effort to help minimise spray drift, with a hazardous weather warning system now live for Queensland grain and cotton growers.

The Weather and Networked Data systemor WAND – is the result of six years of collaborative research by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) and Cotton Research and Development Corporation (CRDC) into meteorological conditions and the spray application of protection products.

The technology will provide real time weather data about the presence and absence of hazardous temperature inversions.

Earlier this year GRDC and CRDC partnered with Goanna Ag to deliver this

new technology to growers and spray applicators.

Goanna Ag has now completed construction of the first 33 WAND towers across the grain and cotton regions of Queensland.

“A significant amount of the Queensland cotton cropping belt is today within 40km of a WAND tower, providing critical information for spray hazard identification to the grain and cotton regions of central and southern Queensland,” Goanna Ag CEO Alicia Garden said.

“WAND will deliver growers and their spray contractors up-to-date weather data updated every ten minutes, identifying hazardous temperature inversion periods, giving them confidence to proceed with spray operations.”

The GDRC announcement was the culmination of six years of collaborative research and development and the corporation urged cotton and grain growers to begin using WAND, which is available free of charge.

Cottoning on to machine vision tools

Finding and retaining staff is more difficult than ever in the agriculture sector right now, as is the case across much of the Australian workforce.

That’s why the University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ) has been taking on the challenge, on behalf of the cotton industry, to investigate how automated machine vision tools might be able to automate or augment some activities, such as crop scouting, to improve data collection and labour efficiency, boosting productivity and profitability.

UniSQ says the work will continue to identify target areas where machine

vision tools can assist industry personnel.

Dr Alison McCarthy, a Senior Research Fellow (Irrigation and Cropping Systems) from the University’s Centre for Agricultural Engineering continues to lead this research into automation replacement.

“Elements of farming like scouting the field for pests and diseases or collecting plant measurements underpin everyday decisions for cotton farmers, from insect control decisions and crop rotations to irrigation management,” Dr McCarthy said.

“These are activities that are vital to successful everyday operations, but they are also heavily reliant on having enough people on the ground to carry them out.”

Dr McCarthy said the work being done by the research team would benefit growers in several different ways, by providing them with the data they needed to do make their jobs easier.

“This research project will develop a novel suite of automated machine vision tools, from infield stationary cameras to smartphones, to make infield monitoring more efficient and to support agronomic activities,” she said.

“Crop agronomy is complex.

“These tools will provide agronomists and growers with consistent and accurate information.”

The research includes

Dr Derek Long from University of Southern Queensland, as well as agronomists, entomologists and plant pathologists at Queensland’s Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, with support from the Cotton Research and Development Corporation and Cotton Seed Distributors.

Dr McCarthy said exploring the feasibility of multiple machine vision systems is critical to getting a handle on how they can be utilised for a range of activities in the agricultural sector.

“We would hope to see outcomes such as improved repeatability of insect assessment using machine vision, and more efficient collection of agronomic farm data to measure plant features that underpin decision making,” she said.

“We know too that detecting disease distribution is critical for planning crop management, so these tools should also offer data for better scheduling of crop rotation to curb disease.”

Dr McCarthy said that the information provided could also be used to help support irrigation work.

“Data can also be used to support improved irrigation scheduling using thermal cameras for irrigation detection,” she said.

“Agronomists will be able to cover more hectares with a wider spread of sensors providing them timely site-specific information.”

ABOVE: GRDC Chair John Woods, Goanna Ag CEO Alicia Garden and CRDC Executive Director Ian Taylor. Photo, CRDC

ABOVE: Dr Alison McCarthy, a Senior Research Fellow (Irrigation and Cropping Systems) from the University’s Centre for Agricultural Engineering on-site.

GARRISON CATCHUP

RAEME’s 80th Birthday Dinner

During the Second World War, the maintenance and recovery of unit equipment was the responsibility of the unit themselves.

In this construct, the Army had difficulty providing its men with sufficient training in the maintenance and repair of its increasingly sophisticated vehicles and weapons.

It was also impossible to enforce best practices, which resulted in efficiency falling off at a time when a higher standard was required.

As a consequence, the Army officially established the Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (AEME) on the 1st of December 1942 by combining the repair facilities of the Australian Army Ordnance Corps and the Australian Service Corps.

The AEME went on to provide a vital service, keeping the Army moving and fighting in all theatres; keeping the punch in the Army’s fist.

In recognition of the services performed by AEME units in World War Two, the Corps was granted the title of ‘Royal’ on 10 November 1948 by King George VI and became the Royal Corps of Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, the only ‘Royal Corps’ in the Australian Army.

Today the Australian Army’s Corps of Royal Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (RAEME) [ray me] provides repair and recovery support for all equipment operated by the Army, including aircraft.

At Swartz Barracks’ own RAEME Aircraft Maintenance School we

seek to inculcate the skills and attitudes of our forebears into today’s aeronautical engineers and aeroskills technicians to ensure the punch in Army’s aviation fist remains strong.

However, it’s not all hard work and parades, and on Friday 2 December the unit hosted a formal dinner to acknowledge the 80th anniversary of the formation of the Corps.

RAEME is renowned throughout Army for its strong, and enduring, esprit de corps, and the 1st of December becomes a significant event on the calendar for any member of the Corps; almost as important as Christmas to those in the Unit.

Thus attending a RAEME Dinner becomes a must-do for many members of the Corps.

Consequently, not only were there current members of the Corps at the Dinner, but also many former members made the trek out to Oakey to renew their bonds with friends past, and become acquainted with new members of the family.

And like any family gathering, those no longer with us are remembered, and those high achievers are feted by the masses.

Special mention goes to Corporal Liam Maiden, Rotary-wing Aircraft Maintenance School (RAMS), who was awarded the AAVNTC Instructor of the Year Award; and to Colonel Miles Irving, former Commanding Officer of RAMS who was promoted to Colonel at the dinner by Major General Retd Irving (his father).

The dinner is also a time to welcome our new friends into our fold as

Not only is RAMS happy to engage with the OSHS as a member of the Oakey community, but we are happy to show students the many opportunities available in STEM vocations that can begin in their own backyard.

Unfortunately, Mr Danny Keenan, former Principal of OSHS, was

unable to join us at the dinner due to commitments with students on a trip to Cairns.

We’d like to publicly acknowledge Mr Keenan’s commitment to the students of OSHS and look forward to continuing the relationship with OSHS in the future.

- Arte et Marte

Commandant’s Christmas Message

Hello colleagues, friends, partners and supporters, This year, 2022, has served up a range of challenges for Swartz Barracks over and above the routine training business that the Army Aviation Training Centre’s name suggests.

From a very quick response in support of the local community to flooding in the Lockyer Valley and Northern NSW back in late February to another response in May and the provision of personnel and base in support of the November NSW and VIC flood emergencies, this year has been anything but mundane.

Of note, our international partners on Swartz Barracks, the Republic of Singapore Air Force detachment of heavy lift Chinook helicopters, also came to the aid of the local community during these trying times, as they did during recent bushfires, to help out friends in need.

Their rapid and forthright support to Australians in need is deeply respected and appreciated making true the old saying, ‘a friend in need is a friend indeed’.

As always, throughout the emergency support provided, we maintained our focus on core business and produced an amazing

training effect for Army in the past year.

This included 861 personnel trained on over 204 course sessions. To generate these outcomes, we flew over 801 sorties within the 420,000ha of the Oakey Flying Training Area and over 2021-2022 had invested over $54 million into infrastructure of which over 76% of contracts were from local suppliers in the Darling Downs.

As always, we could not succeed without the support from the Darling Downs Community.

We do not take this support for granted, and work hard every day to not only earn it, but to make it clear that the Defence capability we build and support is one you can be proud of.

Over the Christmas period, though we would very much like to have a rest ourselves, we remain ready to respond should we be required.

On behalf of the soldiers, sailors, and airmen of the Australian Defence Force, our supporting contractors and Defence public servants, and our close and trusted friends in the Republic of Singapore Air Force, have a safe, restful and very Merry Christmas.

- Col. David Lynch

well as an opportunity to acknowledge the close relationship forged

between RAMS and the Oakey State High School (OSHS).

ABOVE: Brigadier James Allen Head of Corps had the honour of joining the youngest member of the unit (keeping with tradition) in cutting the cake.

ABOVE: Commanding Officer of the Rotary-wing Aircraft Maintenance School (RAMS) Lieutenant Colonel Trent Groves gave entertaining speeches at the dinner.

The story of Brymaroo paceman Peters

When Robbie Peters’ name was mentioned in cricketing circles in the 1970s and 1980s many batsmen would take a deep breath and recall their experiences when playing with or against him.

As a bowler he was fast and formidable.

As a captain he led from the front and took the responsibility very seriously.

Central Downs Cricket Association was fortunate to have this Goombungee raised lad in its representative sides in those days.

Robbie’s passion for cricket was ignited by the great West Indies player, Wes Hall.

Robbie was a 12 year old schoolboy at the time of his historic encounter with Wes Hall at Goombungee State School in 1962 when Wes was playing in the Queensland Sheffield side.

On the day of the visit, Robbie was inspired to master this complex team game which combined mind and physical skill and ultimately developed his own way to play, and to effectively practice on his own.

Due to the absence of a local secondary school, Robbie joined the workforce taking a job at the local butter factory.

“As a 14 year old I was playing in Toowoomba on Saturday mornings,” Robbie recalls.

"I could catch a lift with the newspaper truck to Toowoomba for 50 cents, and after the game I would walk from Queen’s Park to Clifford Park Racecourse to get a lift home with a couple of local punters after their day at the races.

"It made for a long day," he said.

"At home on the family dairy farm I marked out a pitch and worked on perfecting my strength, action, speed and accuracy by constantly bowling to a single stump.”

Robbie was noticed by cricketing scouts in Toowoomba and soon found

a regular spot in the Past Grammars team.

His talent earned him selection in representative sides and played for Queensland Colts for four consecutive years.

The high point for this Goombungee teenager was to make 14th man in the Queensland Sheffield Shield squad as a 17 year old to play against Victoria, but the sudden death of his father caused him to withdraw and return home to the farm.

Tony Dell and Geoff Dymock grabbed their chances, and the rest is history.

Robbie worked hard during tough seasons on the farm.

However his passion for playing cricket, on Saturdays in Toowoomba, and on Sundays in Oakey District and later with teams in the Central Downs Cricket Association, kept him going and all associations benefitted from his commitment.

Brymaroo and CDCA Mitchell Shield sides were

often built around Robbie Peters with great success winning premierships and shield titles.

As time went on Robbie’s batting improved and he became a very valuable all rounder.

When he moved with his family to a farm at Southbrook in 1981, he continued playing with Brymaroo for a while longer, and also played with Southbrook Club for a couple of seasons.

Robbie’s Toowoomba cricket career concluded

at the end of the 1986/87 season, when he retired from all forms cricket.

Jack McLaughlin, a Queensland selector of the past, described Robbie Peters as “The best country player never to have played Shield cricket for Queensland”.

For more details of a cricket reunion on January 28th, 2023, past players of both ODCA and CDCA can contact Lindsay Evans on 4692 2226 (at night), or Denis O’Shea on 0458 094 767 (at night).

Several arrested for stealing vehicles

Police have repeated their message to keep homes secure over Christmas and New Year period.

Several people have been arrested in Oakey as the town’s car theft epidemic shows little sign of slowing down.

Offenders from Oakey and nearby Toowoomba were taken into custody following a large week of police activity in and around the town.

Sergeant John Cook from Oakey Police said that it was of the utmost importance that residents acted to secure their vehicles and homes.

“People need to secure their cars, secure their houses and put their keys

out of sight because the offences are still occurring,” he said.

Sergeant Cook added that police had also arrested a number of people this week over traffic offences including speeding.

“Our Christmas and New Year traffic campaigns are underway,” he said.

“We will have extra traffic monitoring undertaken by police during this period.”

Incidents involving stolen cars have occurred throughout the year in Oakey and surrounds.

Toowoomba Regional Council Finance

Business Strategy Committee Chair Deputy Mayor

Lindsay Evans tells the story of Robbie Peters, a Goombungee fast bowler who made the Queensland squad at 17.

ABOVE: Robbie Peters, in Queensland Colts cap. The young fast bowler was to become a stalwart of Central Downs cricket in the decades to come.