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

Monday February 2, 2004 125th Edition

Cairns police officer awarded medal
Far Northern police Chief Superintendent Mike Hannigan has been recognised with a Police Service Medal. Superintendent Hannigan has worked all over Queensland from the far west to the coast. Having moved to Cairns, he has fallen in love with the region. “It’s been the most rewarding years of my police service – working with very supportive community, as well as working with some very courageous and hard-working, dedicated police officers,” Mr Hannigan said.

Esplanade lagoon popular in the community
A report card on the quality and popularity of the Esplanade lagoon has found that almost 90 percent of Cairns residents have visited the pool once or more since the redevelopment. A further 97 percent of people who use the lagoon rated it as good or excellent. The survey also found 50% of locals who use the pool are from the central parts of the city and the main reasons for their visits were relaxation, barbecues and swimming. “Overall though, this report has confirmed what everyone involved in the project knew – that this redevelopment was much needed and this is has contributed to the overall appeal of Cairns,” Cairns Mayor Kevin Byrne said.

New theatre courses available at JCU
Recognized playwright and director Dr Michael Beresford has relocated from JCU’s Townsville College of Music, Visual Arts and Theatre to teach at the Cairns campus, giving local actors, directors and writers the opportunity to study theatre. “The subjects are designed to benefit a wide range of students, which will be guided through a series of exercises, improvisation and interactions to stretch their skills for all types of performance situations,” Dr Beresford said.

Cairns Tjapukai dancers hit Singapore
Six performers from Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park arrived in Singapore to represent Australian tourism at Changi Airport’s celebration of 100years of powered flight. Tjapukai spokesman Michael Nelson said the performances were designed to showcase the culture of more than 150 cities linked to Changi Airport. “So far, 10,000 people have seen these shows during the 100-day Flight of Friendship Centennial celebrations,” Mr Nelson said. Australian Airlines launches two weekly services from Cairns to Singapore via Darwin on May 6.

Childhood disease eradicated in Far North Queensland
A deadly children’s disease has been stamped out across Far North Queensland, thanks to a vaccine, which has saved at least five lives in 10 years. “About 70 cases have been prevented in the 10 years in young children in Far North Queensland,” Dr Jeffrey Hanna, Tropical Public Unit physician said. “It’s a credit to everyone from the scientists who developed the vaccine and the policy-makers who made it available to the people responsible for rolling out the vaccine – those in general practice surgeries, community health centres and Aboriginal health workers in rural and remote settings,” Dr Hanna said.