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

Monday April, 28 2003 112th Edition

Cairns marked for new AFL club
Cairns is being considered by leading Australian Football League officials as a prime location to base a second Queensland team for the national competition. “I think the secondary team in Queensland is a must – I would like to see a team in Northern Queensland in the next two years,” Melbourne Football Club chief executive officer Ray Ellis said. “Our game has a huge presence in Cairns, a minor presence in Townsville.”

Hawaiian hotel group expands in Far North
Outrigger Hotels and Resorts have expanded their operation in the Far North with the opening of a new resort in Port Douglas recently. It is the fifth Outrigger property for the region, making the hotel group the second largest hotelier in the area after Accor. Outrigger has three properties in Port Douglas, one at Palm Cove and one in Cairns. The new $17 million resort, Outrigger In The Village, is located on the corner of Warner and Grant streets, next to the Outrigger Heritage resort.

Cairns hosts TV love match
Cairns is set to host a bizarre Chinese game show featuring contestants doing everything from kissing snakes to bungee jumping and feeding crocodiles. The show will air to an Asian audience of up to 860 million people. The reality show is called China Wedding Race with a “love you to death” theme, according to Tourism Tropical North Queensland chief executive Bill Calderwood. “The show introduces the Chinese market to some of our most exciting tourism products and adventure attractions as site locations for the challenges,” Mr Calderwood said.

Far North aids jellyfish research
Communities from Papua New Guinea to Sarina have joined together to raise funds to aid Cairns researchers discover more about deadly marine stingers. Funds raised by Lions clubs throughout the region went towards a $29 000 research boat launched by James Cook University recently. JCU jellyfish researcher Dr Jamie Seymour said there were huge advantages in having a boat available 24 hours. “It means we can respond quickly if someone is stung and we need to catch and idenify the animal responsible.” He said the new boat would certainly help in the study of irukandji jellyfish as they live offshore.

One-arm climber begins campaign
Cairns one-arm mountaineer Paul Hockey who plans to become the first one-armed person to climb Everest has begun his official campaign. Mr Hockey recently launched a website along with logo, competiton, sponsorship drive and the first of many speaking engagements to help him reach the top of Everest next year. The trip is expected to cost $US50,000. “It’s only a year away, so it’s pretty scary,” Mr Hockey said. Mr Hockey, who lost his arm to bone cancer as an infant, is using the expedition to raise awareness and money for cancer.

Tablelands boasts world class track
A tableland walking track has the potential to become a world class tourist attraction, Member for Barron River Lesley Clark said recently. Dr Clark, a keen bushwalker, said the Irwin Track between Millaa Millaa’s main street and the famous Millaa Millaa Falls was among the best rainforest walks on the Tablelands. “The ability to access the falls through the rainforest of the Millaa Milla Scenic Reserve is a wonderful experience,” she said. However, Dr Clark said the track would require “quite a few dollars to be brought up to a standard where it was an accessible bushwalk for most people.”

Women head property market
Women are outdoing men when it comes to buying property in Cairns. According to a recent survey, women are leading the way in buying property in the region. Mortgage Choice local franchisee Ian Macpherson said women were predominantly the first point of contact in a joint application. This is consistent with a national trend reported by 98 per cent of franchisees surveyed by the company. “Women are clearly more financially savvy and feel confident to make their own inquiries,” Mr Macpherson said.