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

Monday May, 19 2003 115th Edition

Juniper launched
Juniper development group recently launched its $125 million Sea Temple Resort and Spa at Port Douglas. The 128 unit beachfront resort is expected to open in 2005 and is being constructed on the last remaining beachfront development site. The resort has direct access to Four Mile Beach. Apartments are priced from $550 000 to $1.8 million but Juniper marketing manager David Kortlang believes investors will not be taken aback by the price. The company’s Sea Temple Resort in Palm Cove sold 90% of its apartments before construction. “The response to our Palm Cove project has highlighted that there is a real demand for luxury beachfront apartments in North Queensland, Mr Kortlang said.

Rotary holds charity auction
Over 150 of the Far North’s VIPs attended the Rotary Club of Cairns Annual Gala Charity Auction at the Reef Hotel Casino on the weekend. A variety of donated items were auctioned including trips to the reef, a signed John Eales jersey and a bottle of Grange Hermitage worth $500. Even co-ordinator Layne Gardiner said “it’s our biggest fundraising event and it’s a great opportunity for us to generate some funds for the local community.” Ms Gardiner said Rotary hoped to raise $10 000 for the Leukemia Foundation and the Rotary Education Trust.

Mission to stop space looters
Local archeologist John Campbell is doing what he can to protect the galaxy from looting space invaders. The associate professor at James Cook University says vital space heritage site on the Moon and Mars are under threat from mulitnational souvenir hunters. “Multinational aerospace corporations are already planning robotic missions to the Moon to sample the Apollo sites,” Professor Campbell said. “Space colonisatioin is also a possibility, with the attendant risks of colonists souveniring items of global significance.”

Far North cuisine on tourism agenda
Cairns restauranteur Craig Squire from the award winning Red Ochre Grill has joined a national industry leaders group to put food tourism in the Far North on the Federal Government’s agenda. Mr Squire, managing director of Red Ochre, aims to make the Far North a food tourism destination that could become the country’s best. “I’ve had a bee in my bonnet for years about thelack of understanding of the potential of food tourism in Australia,” Mr Squire said. Mr Squire said his role in the group would help make Australian food and wine a prime tourism tool.

McHappy Day a success
Six McDonald outlets in Cairns took part in the annual McHappy Day fundraising event on the weekend, helping to raise about $14 000. For every Big Mac sold, $1 went towards helping seriously ill children around Austalia. The money will be collated for the national target of $1.7 million to be used to support hundreds of children’s charities. Many Cairns celebrities helped out on the day,including TV and radio presenters and Cairns Taipans basketballers.

NQEA owner inducted into Engineering Hall of Fame
The owner of Cairns shipbuilder NQEA Australia, Don Fry, became one of four inaugural inductees to the Engineering Hall of Fame at a special ceremony in Brisbane recently. The award is an initiative of the new Engineers Australia Queensland Division. Mr Fry’s achievements spanmore than 40 years in the industry, having overseen the construction of 220 ships and generating 40 million hours of direct employment in North Queensland since 1965, training 1000 apprectices and another 100 draftsmen and engineers. He has also made significan contributions to research and development. “It’s a big honour, I had no idea it was being done,” Mr Fry said.