News Updates
Arts in the Region alive and blooming
March 12th, 2010
Rockhampton Art Gallery is proud to announce a double exhibition launch of Art in Bloom and In the Wake of Flinders and Westall on Friday 19 March at 6pm.
Officially launched by the Hon Kirsten Livermore MP, Member for Capricornia, the exhibitions feature works from the Region’s local artists.
Art in Bloom represents contemporary approaches to floral art by local female artists Lyn Diefenbach, Holly Grech, Betty Jamieson, Michele Kershaw and Brigitta Yabsley, who use painting, photography, printmaking and embroidered textile to explore their themes.
The Gallery’s other feature exhibition, In the Wake of Flinders and Westall presents works by a small band of artists – Bill Gannon, Dieter Irving, Andrew Peacock, Luke Gannon and Sarah Irving, who retraced a path of Matthew Flinders’ famous voyage of discovery on the HMS Investigator to Terra Australis from Gladstone to the Percy Isles through Shoalwater Bay. This exhibition creates a modern visual counterpart to William Westall’s original work and features a cross medium of designs.
The display will include pencil field sketches, pen and ink drawings, paintings, photographs and film, in addition to an earlier painting by Doug Hartfield, a descendant of the Darumbal people, the Fitzroy region’s traditional Aboriginal owners.
For further information on the launch, exhibitions or presentations and workshops please contact
Rockhampton Art Gallery on (07) 4936 8248 or visit the Arts CQ website.
Zoo upgrades allow for more monkeying around
March 12th, 2010
In a great outcome for the Region, the highly anticipated chimp enclosure, home to Cassie and Ockie, was officially opened today, Friday 12 March.
The much loved animals, which moved into their new residence in December, have made their new home their own, and settled well into their fresh environment.
In exciting times for the Zoo, the chimp’s enclosure has increased from 200 square meters to 1000 square meters to resemble their native habitat and meet new enclosure standards. The enclosure cost approximately $1.3M, with the State Government investing $1 million into
the much needed project.
Minister Schwarten visite the Zoo to officially open the chimpanzee enclosure on behalf of Desley Boyle, Minister for Local Government and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships.
Rockhampton Regional Council conducted extensive community consultation to determine the future direction of the Rockhampton Zoo, finding that the chimpanzee enclosure was strongly desired by the community.
Council officers worked closely with Bio Security Queensland, engineers, chimpanzee experts and construction experts to develop the state of art facility.
$3 million in grants up for grabs for tourism projects
March 12th, 2010
$3 million in contestable grant funding is up for grabs for a range of tourism projects across the state.
The Queensland Tourism Network Grant Scheme has allocated $3 million over the next three years, with grants available to a range of not-for-profit tourism groups including regional and local tourism organisations, local government tourism departments and divisions, and tourism associations that are members of the Queensland Tourism Industry Council.
There are no minimum or maximum grant amounts that tourism organisations can apply for and submissions will be assessed on the value of the project to their overall region or to the state. There are two main categories for eligible projects – those associated with implementing mergers between tourism organisations; and for tourism organisations who collaborate on new marketing, industry and/or product development projects.
Applications close 9 April for category one applications and 7 May for category two applications. For guidelines and application forms, click here.
(source: Tourism Queensland)
Hey Hey! Capricorn members take part in “Best Job” co-op campaign
March 12th, 2010
Capricorn Tourism is excited to announce the first round of co-0p advertising for 2010, to be placed in South East QLD newspapers starting Saturday 13th March. The full page ad features editorial and operator placements and is tied in to Tourism Queensland’s Best Job in the World marketing campaign.
This type of campaign provides members with great coverage at a cost effective price, with advertising subsidised by Tourism Queensland and Capricorn Tourism. Member packages will also be placed in an exclusive section on the Queensland Holidays website.
The ad will appear in the Southern Queensland APN Group this Saturday 13th March. It appears in: Sunshine Coast Daily, Ipswich Queensland Times, Toowoomba Chronicle & Warwick Daily News.
Click here to view the full page advert.
Thank you to all members involved, more co-op advertising opportunities will be available throughout the year, if you are interested in finding out more please email Krista White or call on 07 4927 2055.
Capricorn Operators Represent at National Tourism Awards
March 11th, 2010
Capricorn Tourism is very proud of the achievements of Rubyvale Gem Gallery and Capricorn Caves, who represented the Capricorn Region at the Qantas Australian Tourism Awards 2010 held on 26 February 2010.
These operators are some of only a few operators to represent the region at a national level, so we would like to acknowledge this outstanding achievement and the hard work that would have gone into submitting an entry of such high calibre.
Congratulations!
Industry invited to set environmental benchmark – 22 March
March 11th, 2010
In response to the Queensland tourism industry becoming more sustainably savvy, Tourism Queensland is conducting its inaugural Social and Environmental Indicators Study.
Monitoring these indicators can lead to opportunities for increased profits and growth in a climate where consumer’s environmental-conscience plays an ever growing role in decision making.
Industry operators will be contacted by TQ via Colmar Brunton to complete a five minute to 10 minute survey and all responses remain anonymous. Questions only require ‘off the cuff’ answers so you are not required to trawl through your records to find figures.
Results will be made available on www.tq.com.au early next financial year. The results will help you gauge how you are placed against other operators in the state on the sustainability scale. There are no right or wrong answers, the aim of the research is to set a benchmark. The survey will start on Monday 22 March.
Contact Simone Bennett on +61 7 3535 5016 for further information.
Fasten Your Seatbelts For Largest Motor Trade Fair In CQ
March 11th, 2010
With only 4 months until the inaugural Camco MotorMania CQ event, sites are selling fast for the region’s largest motor trade fair, which will be held from 24-25 July a the Rockhampton Showgrounds as part of the weekend’s program of events, displays and demos. With upward of 8,000 visitors expected at what will be the region’s largest ever motoring event, potential exhibitors are encouraged to book soon before they miss out.
Modelled on the hugely-successful Beef Australia events, the Camco MotorMania CQ Trade Fair will blend business with pleasure, with attractions and sites intermingled to ensure maximum exposure for exhibitors and maximum fun for visitors.
Indoor and outdoor sites of all sizes are being offered at very affordable rates, suitable for everyone from small specialist businesses to national corporations.
“Central Queenslanders have got motor oil in their veins – there isn’t anyone I talk to who doesn’t know someone who is a car, truck or motorcycle nut” said Event Manager, Ellie Traynor.
“The Trade Fair is an unbeatable opportunity for the region’s businesses to get their product in front of so many interested customers,” said Ms Traynor.
“We’re going to see a real variety of people at the event – amateur and professional motorsport competitors, regional and national motoring club members, motoring enthusiasts, specialist vehicle owners and industry representatives as well as the general public.”
“Spaces are already being snapped up and we’re delighted to have major national companies like Shannons Insurance exhibiting alongside local businesses, which just goes to show how much potential this event has.”
MotorMania CQ Trade Fair Prospectuses and Application Forms can be downloaded from the Camco MotorMania CQ website, www.motormaniacq.com.au or request one by calling Ellie Traynor, Event Manager on 07 4922 2855. Click to read the full media release.
Mt Hay Gemstone Park/Aradon Sparkles at International Gem Show
March 11th, 2010
Aradon Pty Ltd, trading as Mount Hay Gemstone Tourist Park and Aradon WA, participated in the world’s largest gem and mineral show at Tucson, Arizona, USA. This show, held from 30 January to 14 February 2010, incorporated around 50 individual shows spread across the city in hotels and open space venues.
Although economic conditions are depressed, the show was a success for Aradon, largely because of the unusual and different types of stones they presented. Interest in Australian semi-precious stones is high, due to the large variety of colours and patterns.
Most of the sales were of polished pieces and slices, particularly the spherulitic rhyolite from Mount Hay, or Rainforest Jasper as it is known in the United States. This is truly a unique stone and the only known deposit of it is at Mount Hay, 41 kilometres west of Rockhampton.
Aradon shipped approximately 12 tonnes of material from Perth, including several tonnes of rough stone, and stone from the east coast. The highlight of the show was the sale of the “world’s largest tiger-eye slab”, a 2.5 billion year old polished slice from Western Australia, measuring 2.4 metres by 0.8 metres.
Mount Hay Gemstone Tourist Park is owned and operated by the Kayes family. It operates every day of the year except Christmas Day and Boxing Day from 8.30am to 4.30pm. They offer fossicking, guided tours, a shop, camping and powered sites.
For more information, ring 0749347183, email aradon@iinet.net.au or go to the website at www.aradon.com.au.
Inquiry into Access of Small Business to Finance – QTIC Feedback
March 11th, 2010
With the upcoming Senate inquiry into Small businesses’ access to finance, QTIC is seeking feedback from small to medium business owners.
The launch of the inquiry follows recent findings indicating that access to finance was the number one concern for small and medium-sized businesses as the economy emerges from the global financial downturn.
The Senate inquiry will, in particular, investigate:
- The costs, terms and conditions of finance and changes to lending policies and practices affecting small businesses;
- The importance of reasonable access to funding to support small business expansion and the sector’s contribution to employment growth and economic recovery;
- The state of competition in small business lending and the impact of the Government’s banking guarantees;
- Opportunities and obstacles to other forms of financing, for example, equity to support small business ’start ups’, liquidity, growth and expansion;
- Policies, practices and strategies to enhance access to small business finance that exist in other countries; and
- Any other related matters.
In preparing a submission to the Senate on this issue, QTIC seeks feedback from its small business members on the discussion points listed above as well as information on the specific challenges you may have faced when attempting to obtain credit.
Please provide your feedback to David Liddell, QTIC’s Policy Officer, at david.liddell@qtic.com.au by COB on Wednesday, 24 March.
QTIC will be using this opportunity to urge government to consider the role of small business in driving economic recovery and jobs growth and will be advocating for the small business sector to be provided with timely access to finance on reasonable terms.
Tendering for Government Business Workshop – 20 April
March 11th, 2010
The Rockhampton Centre of the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation will be holding Tendering for Government Business Workshop on 20 April 2010 from 8:45am-1:00pm.
Tendering for Government Business is a workshop delivered by the Queensland Government for existing and potential suppliers to Government departments and agencies.
Attendees will learn the principles of Queensland Government procurement policies and processes, how to complete complex offer/tender documents used by departments and agencies and learn how to interpret and respond to the standard terms and conditions contained in complex Government offer and tender documents.
