A weekly re-cap of the events that have made news in Cairns over the past week.

Monday May 28, 2001 16th Edition

One of the biggest events of the year is the Port Douglas Carnivale. This year record crowds attended the parade and associated events surrounding the Carnivale which is now being recognised as an international event. Other news this week includes a marlin with incredible stamina, another crime crackdown and the ongoing cold snap sets new meteorological records. As always life in the North is never dull.

Port Douglas Carnivale a huge success
Record crowds attended last weekends Carnivale in Port Douglas. Official estimates supplied by the event organiser Dawn Richards, put the total crowd attendances at over 40,000. Ms Richards stated that "it has been absolutely amazing, huge and it had exceeded all expectations". Revellers at the Carnivale were described as being well behaved and given the size of the crowds, incidents were minimal. There were a number of arrests for drunk and disorderly conduct and police were disappointed with 30 arrests for drink driving.

Marlin distance record broken
A black marlin that was caught and tagged in the waters off Cairns in 1996 has been recaptured 7847 nautical miles across the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Costa Rica. At the time the fish was caught it weighed in at approximately 15 kilograms and by the time it was recaptured it would have weighed in at 175 kilograms and been almost 3.5 metres long.

Press Council upholds ruling over front page photogpraph
The Australian Press Council has upheld complaints made against the Cairns Post following the publication of a front page photograph of two murdered men on a remote Atherton Tablelands property. The Australian Press Council declared that the photograph was likely to disturb readers and judging by the number of people who contacted the Council and the paper to complain, many people were disturbed.

Cairns cold spell sets new record
Cairns is in the grip of a cold spell with evening temperatures dropping below the lowest ever recorded. Records started being kept in 1941 and the cold snap currently being experienced has seen over a week of minimum temperatures falling below 12 degrees (7 degrees below the average).

Fewer jellyfish stings this season
Jellyfish stings were down by 50% this season compared to last year. The reason for this was probably because there were fewer jellyfish around according to James Cook University Marine Biologist Jamie Seymour. Mr Seymour stated that there were far fewer jellyfish in Northern waters in recent years however those that were found were much larger than normal. The reasons for these trends is uncertain.

Biggest morning tea goes off with a bang
The annual Queensland Cancer Fund's Biggest Morning Tea has been bigger than ever with large numbers of morning teas being held around the region. Spokesman for the Queensland Caner Fund, Mark Bousen, stated that the morning teas were expected to generate over $65,000 in Cairns alone.

Drift north helps Cairns to grow
Queensland Premier Peter Beattie has made the statement that the constant growth being experienced by Cairns shows the potential of the region. Going against the trends for many rural areas, Far North Queensland is experiencing a constant boom with many people choosing to move to the region in the anticipation of a better lifestyle and more work opportunities. Tourism is still the main industry in the area and this is expected to continue.

Meteor seen flying over Cairns
A high speed "green luminous blob" was spotted in the skies above Cairns last Thursday evening. A number of residents spotted the object which was travelling at high speeds along the coast. The Brisbane Planetarium stated that it was almost certainly a meteorite.

More US Navy ships visit Cairns
This week the combat shore ship USS Niagara Falls, docked in Cairns for several days to restock the vessel and the provide some rest and recreation for the crew. The guided missile destroyer, USS Strethem is expected to dock this Saturday. Operation Tandem Thrust, the joint US/Australian military war game, is going well and all activity and exercises are expected to be finished in the next week.

Cairns landmark drive in cinema sold
The well known "Cairns Drive In" cinema complex on the southern side of City has been sold to a property developer after 32 years serving the people of the Cairns. The 6.2 ha site is expected to be redeveloped into an accommodation complex, due mainly to its prime highway position. The site was sold to a South Australian investor for a sum believed to be in the vicinity of $1.5 million.

Government building works set to begin
Work has finally begun the new State Government building in Sheridan St. The building which will house all State Government departments under the one roof, is expected to open in June 2002. The building will be a state of the art, four star energy rated complex incorporating over 4500 sqm of office space. Approximately 240 jobs are expected to be created as part of the construction.

Chief of Police vows to cut crime
The Far North's new Chief of Police has vowed to cut crime in region. Mr Allan Roberts has stated that police will be actively sent into the community to target misdemeanours and petty crimes that affect quality of life for people living in Cairns. Whilst Mr Roberts has stated that he his not in favour of filling prisons he is does want to send a clear message that criminal behaviour will not be tolerated.