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

Monday April 29, 2002 63rd Edition

The people of Cairns showed their support by honouring all returned service people in Thursday's ANZAC day services. Record crowds turned out for all ceremonies across the region.

Cairns remembers the ANZAC's
ANZAC day remembrance ceremonies attracted larger crowds than ever before this year with thousands of people turning out across North Queensland. The predawn service, traditionally one of the most significant of all ANZAC day ceremonies, was attended by approximately 2000 people.

Federal Member appointed to national tourism board
Warren Entsch, the Federal Member for Leichardt, which incorporates the Cairns area, has been appointed to a national board to help the Minister of Tourism to develop a ten year strategy. Part of this strategy is the upgrading of Cairns to become the second busiest international airport in Australia. At present the airports is the fifth busiest, but a plan to elevate the status of the Cairns airport will be launched at a tourism conference in Adelaide later this week. Mr Entsch will have direct input on all tourism initiatives and Federal Government policies as a result of this appointment, which has been welcomed by the local tourism industry.

An unfortunate collision sees big crocodile come off second best
This story could only happen in North Queensland. Late last Tuesday night a freight train was heading from Townsville to Cairns, when the driver noticed a large crocodile ahead on the tracks. Despite blowing the horn and flashing of the lights the reptile did not move and the train could not stop in time to avoid a collision. At the time the driver of the train decided that it was best not to get out and start looking for a wounded and very possibly angry crocodile in the long grass by the side of the tracks. Instead a report was put in and the Queensland Parks and Wildlife senior conservation office, Mr Mark Read was called in the following day. The crocodile was found and it was dead, probably killed on impact with the train.

Domestic tourism continues to rebound
Domestic tourist numbers into Cairns have grown for the first time (when compared to similar periods last year) in 12 months. Whilst the rise is only small, 2.6 per cent, it does follow almost six months of declining domestic tourist numbers following September 11th. Marketing Manager for the Cairns Port Authority (the organization responsible for managing the airport), Pennie Bourke, stated that the trend coincided with anecdotal information from the industry showing that business was generally increasing. Airlines have been reporting higher load factors and a continually increasing level of interest in holiday packages in North Queensland. There have also been a number of large advertising campaigns to promote holidaying within Australia and it is believed that these campaigns are beginning to have an impact.

Residents give approval for multi-million dollar sporting venue
Redlynch residents have voiced their approval for a multi-million dollar sporting venue including sporting fields, a swimming pool, tennis courts and a running track. Whilst the project is only in the very earliest of stages, community response to the concept is an integral component in pushing the feasibility of the project to the next stage. Redlynch is a growing suburb of Cairns and long-term provision of facilities is an important issue for residents and community leaders.

National secretaries day celebrated in style
Last Wednesday was the national secretary and office support staff day. This is the day that all bosses get to say a special thank you to their immediate support staff. Typically bosses take their secretaries out to lunch, buy flowers or other gifts in acknowledgement of a job well done.

Cairns Penny Bank reaches 103rd birthday
The Cairns Penny Bank is an icon in the region and it is the oldest community bank in Australia. Collectively, it is owned by the 5000 residents and business owners who use the banks services on a daily basis. Community banks have virtually disappeared in recent years with larger corporations providing the vast majority of mainstream banking service.