SUICIDE AWARENESS RIDE - A PERSONAL JOURNEY

from “strength to strength”. It has been able to train bereavement and suicide counsellors to assist people who are struggling with personal loss. A couple of their members have even become trainers.

“This organisation while creating suicide prevention awareness also provides opportunities for those who have personal experiences with suicide to turn their pain into purpose,” Mark said.

For Mark, riding a motorbike helps his mental health and it was from this love of riding and his mental health improvement that the idea for a ride was borne.

“There was also a lack of support around suicide awareness and this had to change,” he said.

Founding and organising the Ride4Lives - Suicide Awareness Ride has been a personal journey for Gladstone-based Mark Brookes and wife, Karen.

Mark has first­hand experience with dealing with suicide and it has been this understanding of what people experiencing suicidal tendancies go through that places Mark in the“driving seat” to create awareness.

Ride4Lives is a not­for­profit organisation established in 2017 to assist in creating awareness around suicide intervention, training and suicide awareness and bereavement support in the Gladstone and greater Central Queensland area. Starting the ride was not an easy task.

“Even though there are several organisations that focus on mental health and suicide, there is still a stigma attached to suicide that made it hard to start the ride.

“There are still negative views in the community - it’s not a topic that people open up about, so this made it hard to start the organisation, but it’s grown quite a bit,” he said.

The first ride, in 2017, had 100 riders and by 2023 there were over 300 riders.

Mark said he would like to see it as a national ride, with organisations around Australia coordinating rides on the same day.

“We are the only organisation in Australia that does this ride and it would be great to see other organisations hosting a ride simultaneously,” he said.

Mark said he was expecting over 300 participants in this year’s ride. This year the riders will stop at the Mount Morgan Railway Museum and Explore Centre for their morning tea which will be provided by the Mount Morgan Branch of the Queensland Country Women’s Association. The ride takes place on Saturday, 13 May, 2023.

“We have riders from New South Wales and Hervey Bay who travel each year to participate in the ride,” he said.

Since founding Ride4Lives the organisation has gone

“The stigma and age-old airing dirty laundry ideas in the community makes every achievement special. Although runs on the board are slow to achieve, everyone we help reaffirms what we are doing and what we give up our time to do,” he said.

Mark said taking the time to lend an ear, could also be lending a hand.

“It’s good to be nosy if it saves a life. People who go through suicide talk inside themselves, they need to talk outwards to create a different story.”

Over 400 kilometres, the ride visits small communities such Ubobo, Bajool, Raglan, Jambin as well as Mount Morgan.

One hundred and eight years ago, soldiers from the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula.

The landing was part of the ill-fated Dardanelles Campaign – the Allies’ attempt to break the stalemate on the Western Front by opening a second front that also sought to force Ottoman Turkey out of the war. Bitter fighting took place over the following months, resulting in dreadful casualties on both sides. With no chance of success, a withdrawal commenced; and in December that year, the remaining Australians were evacuated.

Of the 50,000 Australians who served on Gallipoli, more than 8,700 died and almost 18,000 were wounded. Gallipoli was one tragedy within the greater catastrophe of the First World War. A war which engulfed a generation and defined the times which followed.

We pay tribute to all Australians who have served and died in wars and operational service. Those who fought to end evil and topple tyranny, those who worked to protect and promote peace, those who returned from service physically wounded and mentally scarred and those who gave their lives, sacrificing their days so that we could live ours.

On this sacred occasion, we also thank the men and women of the Australian Defence Force. Those people who today carry on the duty of defending our nation and its interests. Men and women serving at home, in our region, and far beyond it. They contribute to our national responses to the pandemic and natural disasters.

They support our Pacific friends and neighbours. And they help maintain maritime security in the very important Indo­Pacific region.

They assist in international peacekeeping, humanitarian, and security operations around the globe. Australians are grateful for, and proud of the efforts of our servicemen and women who keep Australia safe and secure. And importantly today, we acknowledge their families.

The wives, husbands, children, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers and grandparents who make a sacrifice in their own right while their loved ones are away on training or on mission.

Australians across the nation will commemorate Anzac Day in many ways. Some will attend dawn services, local memorials and parades.

Many will watch the televised national service here at the Australian War Memorial and importantly observe one minute’s silence.

Others will proudly wear medals – awarded in service or handed down by loved ones. But the manner of commemoration is not as important as the mere act of commemorating. For in remembering the original Anzacs – and those that followed them – we not only recall their deeds, but also recognise the best qualities that defined them.

Qualities which represent the highest standard for the Australian character and the society that we desire to live in. A society defined by sacrifice, not entitlement. By mateship, not malevolence. By egalitarianism, not tribalism.

By responsibility, not resentment. And by optimism, not cynicism.

On Anzac Day, we express gratitude through tribute, we nurture community through commemoration, and we find meaning in remembrance. Lest we forget.

The Golden Mount Festival has entertained young and old once again but did you know that this celebration was previously called the Back to Mount Morgan festival?

On 7 June 1950 The Morning Bulletin ran a devoted supplement on the Back to Mount Morgan festivities. This was a week for current and former Mount Morgan residents to celebrate their pride in the town and its past while also looking forward to the future.

The journalists wrote about dances, parades, concerts and picnics while residents wrote about their school days and other fond memories. There are photos of bark and thatch houses used by early settlers, a short article on how the town got its name (and was nearly re-named) and other interesting facts about the town. Our history shows us where we have been and