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

Monday March, 10 2003 106th Edition

$20m revamp for The Pier
A $20 million revamp project for The Pier Marketplace and Radisson Plaza Hotel will re create the Cairns waterfront, the new owners say. Mark Harrold, spokesman for Pier Cairns Partnership, planned to make it “the jewel in the crown of Cairns”. “It’s possible there will be a change of name too,” Mr Harrold said. Mr Harrold expects major changes to the outside of the building making it more visible from the new Esplanade development. This includes huge photographic banners of local scenes and events, which wold change to suit the season.

Australian Airlines boosts casino profits
The Reef Hotel Casino saw an increase in profits by 37.5 per cent for the last six months of 2002, due to a surge in big spending Asian tourists. The Reef Casino Trust, recently announced a net profit of $8.4 million for end of December 2002, 2 per cent up on the previous year. But the majority of this profit was made after Australian Airlines began flying from Cairns last October to Asian destinations. Reef Hotel Casino chief executive officer Thomas Jancik attributed the profit to an increase in higher stake players and the casino remaining competitive by introducing new gaming machines.

Cardiac surgery unit for Cairns
The Cairns Private Hospital will open the city’s first cardiac surgery unit in six months which means patients will no longer need to fly to Brisbane for lifesaving surgery. The unit is predicted to perform 130 heart bypass operations a year, as well as over 150 stenting operations, involving the placement of reinforcing rings in weak heart areas. The unit will cost $1 million and is part of a planned 40 per cent increase in expenditure by the hospital within the next year, general manager John Smith said.

Wildlife park in heart of the city
A proposed wildlife and rainforest park in the Cairns CBD along with the new lagoon development on the Esplanade is set to establish Cairns as a world class destination, Tourism Tropical North Queensland says. Port Douglas Reef Resort has announced it will build a $2.5 million wildlife attraction in the glass dome of the Reef Hotel Casino. “It will be a unique inner city attraction when you consider we will have a rainforest and wildlife park in the middle of the city where we also will have a small lagoon,” TTNQ chief executive officer Bill Calderwood said.

Maternity unit celebrates birthday
Midwives at Cairns Base Hospital’s Maternity Unit celebrated the teams fifth birthday this year after being officially introduced in February 1998 to provide continuity of care throughout a woman’s pregnancy. The team consists of four groups, each with five to seven midwives in each, helping mothers with everything from antenatal care through to labour and postnatal care. Nursing Director of Women’s Health Josie Duffy said the team concept was very popular. “We have found that women’s levels of satisfaction with their care is higher by offering continuity of care,” Mrs Duffy said.

Gumboot finally erected
Tully’s latest icon, the 8m tall gold-brown fibreglass gumboot has finally been erected, marking the area as Australia’s wettest town. The gumboot was lifted by crane and placed on its concrete pad in Banyan Park last week. The gumboot also fashions a 2m white lipped green tree frog, dangling over the side, welcoming visitors to the nation’s precipitation capital. The $30 000 project, aimed at placing Tully on the tourist map, is a joint effort by Tully’s Rotary and Lions clubs.

Noodle bar opens at Casino
The official opening of Cafe China’s Noodle Bar at the Reef Casino’s Custom House in Abbott Street was held recently. Cairns Mayor Kevin Byrne said the opening reflected the optimisim behind the growing Chinese tourism market in Cairns and praised owner Harry Sou for his contribution to business and culture to the city. “Over the years Chinese people have contributed mightily to the history and cultural experience of this region,” he said.

Tableland tourist guide launched
The Tableland’s tourism industry celebrated the launch of the latest visitors’ guide, Discover magazine, designed to top last year’s award winning effort in Tolga recently. With 52 pages and several additional features, 150 000 copies of Discover the Tropical Tablelands was printed. The magazine provides information on watching wildlife, waterfalls and walking in the region. There are also comprehensive maps and pages on each local town or village and valuable information on the Tableland attractions.