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Australia

Two killed in car crash on Bruce Highway in Wunjunga

Two killed in car crash on Bruce Highway in Wunjunga

Two people died in a horror three-vehicle crash in regional Queensland on Friday.

Queensland Police say a man and woman were traveling north on the Bruce Highway in Wunjunga, about 22km south of Home Hill, when a truck traveling in the opposite direction collided with their vehicle about 11.30am.

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The incident subsequently caused a third vehicle to crash.

The driver of the initial vehicle, a 67-year-old Hervey Bay man, died from his injuries at the scene.

His 62-year-old passenger was airlifted to Townsville University Hospital in a critical condition, but later died from his injuries.

The 67-year-old driver of the car died from his injuries at this scene and his 62-year-old female passenger later died in hospital. Credit: 7NEWS
Police at the scene of the Wunjunga fatal crash. Credit: 7NEWS

The truck driver, a 61-year-old Deeragun woman, and the 36-year-old male driver of the third vehicle managed to escape the ordeal uninjured.

“It’s a very horrific scene,” Queensland Police senior sergeant Craig Shepherd told 7NEWS.

Forensic police are investigating the circumstances of the crash.

Anyone with information or dashcam vision of the area at the time of the crash is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report online at www.crimestoppersqld.com.au.

Van owner confronts would-be thief.

Van owner confronts would-be thief.

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Categories
Australia

Toddler dies hours after being ‘run over by grandmother’ in 4WD

Toddler dies hours after being 'run over by grandmother' in 4WD

A Queensland boy has died after he was hit by a four-wheel-drive, which was reportedly being driven by his grandmother.

Police say the one-year-old was on a footpath outside a home in Heatley in central Townsville about 5.30pm Tuesday when the tragedy took place.

“He was immediately taken to Townsville University Hospital where, sadly, the boy later died,” a spokesperson said.

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It is understood the boy was hit by the vehicle when he ran out of the home as the grandmother was leaving. She had been unaware the child was near her vehicle, The Townsville Bulletin reports.

The grandmother reportedly rushed the boy inside, before placing him in her car and taking him to hospital.

The one-year-old was on a footpath outside the central Townsville home when the tragedy took place. Credit: 7NEWS

A close neighbor recalled the shocking moment her husband saw the little boy injured on the ground.

She said he heard a commotion and saw a passing car stop in the middle of the road as the driver tried desperately to get the attention of the grandmother in a Toyota Prado, who had just hit the child.

“He saw him lying there … We would never have expected this to happen,” she told The Bulletin.

Forensic Crash Unit police are investigating the incident.

Shocking moment Pitbull attacks prized horse.

Shocking moment Pitbull attacks prized horse.

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Categories
Australia

Pea soup fog again covers Brisbane and spreads along coast into north Queensland

Pea soup fog again covers Brisbane and spreads along coast into north Queensland

Greater Brisbane has been blanketed in thick fog for the second time this week, prompting the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) to issue an alert for dangerous road conditions.

But today the pea soup is more widespread, with patches of fog impacting cities along the Queensland coast all the way north to Townsville.

BOM forecaster Matthew Bass said the fog was a “similar event” to what Brisbane experienced on Tuesday, but heavier today in outer suburbs.

“Maybe a little bit more extensive through southern parts of Brisbane, down towards the Logan area,” he said.

Map of Queensland showing locations where fog is present
Patches of fog can be seen all the way to Townsville.(Supplied: BOM)

“Out west [of Brisbane] it is maybe a little bit more extensive but relatively similar to what we saw a couple of days ago.”

Mr Bass said visibility was down to 100 meters in parts of south-east Queensland, and down to 2,000 meters at the Brisbane Airport at 6am.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said Brisbane ferry and CityCats were running a “little slower” due to the fog.

The Captain Cook Bridge on the Pacific Motorway lost in fog
The Captain Cook Bridge on the Pacific Motorway lost in the haze.(ABC New: Curtis Rodda)

“Everyone does need to pay attention on the road, take it that little bit slower and a little bit more careful in the reduced visibility,” he said.

“Definitely quite low visibility in the city as well.”

Brisbane CBD lost in fog from the William Jolly Bridge
The hazy view from Brisbane’s William Jolly Bridge at 5am. (ABC News: Matt Eaton)

Mr Bass said the fog was likely to hang around for a few hours until after sunrise.

With visibility so low, police also asked commuters to drive with caution.

Mr Bass warned the fog could also cause disruptions to flights in and out of Brisbane airport.

Victoria Bridge hidden in fog from South Bank
Victoria Bridge hidden in fog from South Bank on Thursday morning.(ABC News: Matt Eaton)

“There’s a reasonable chance that the fog will make it to the airport and cause flight disruptions,” he said.

BOM forecaster Steven Hadley told ABC Radio Brisbane the fog was likely to clear before 9am in most places.

“The main Brisbane airport is just starting to clear up there, but Archerfield Airport is pretty fogged in,” he said.

The city view lost in fog from Highgate Hill in Brisbane
The city view lost in fog from Highgate Hill in Brisbane. (ABC News: Curtis Rodda)

“It is quite a thick fog across some of the western, southern suburbs and inland as well, so expect it to probably lurk a bit longer through that part of the world.”

Mr Hadley said once the fog cleared it would be a nice day in the Brisbane area.

The pedestrian and cycle bridge at Indooroopilly in fog shroud
The pedestrian and cycle bridge at Indooroopilly was shrouded in fog on Thursday morning. (Supplied: Peter Doherty)
The fog-shrouded view across the Brisbane River from South Bank
The view across the Brisbane River from the South Bank on Thursday morning.(ABC NewsBrian Hurst)

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Categories
Business

Queensland family criticized after requesting two rubbish bins

Queensland family criticized after requesting two rubbish bins

A large family that produces too much rubbish for one general waste bin every week has been shut down by locals after claiming they “deserved” an additional bin.

The household in Townsville, Queensland, was quick to receive push-back after a member took to a local community group arguing “the council should give every home two red bins”.

“Because let’s face it, how many people every week struggle to fit their rubbish in the bin?” the man wrote in his post about him.

“Especially a bigger family! And why not? We are all taxpayers so I think we deserve it.”

Townsville City Council issues households a 240 liter waste and 240 liter recycling bin, with households given the option to pay for additional bins.

While it was unclear just how many family members occupied the home that claimed to need another bin, there were few people that supported their cause.

Of more than 300 people to respond, most encouraged the family to consider how they could reduce the volume of waste they produced before applying for another bin.

“I think if you’re filling more than one bin in a span of a week you definitely should be trying a lot harder to be more eco friendly and reduce you’re consumption of plastics,” one person wrote in a comment.

“You need to try and recycle more and buy less plastic and other wasteful items. More than happy to drop some print outs of what goes in each bin and tips on recycling and reducing your waste in your mailbox if you’d like,” someone else said.

Others offered up information on measures the family could adopt to reduce the amount of waste they needed to put in their general waste bin.

“As a household with three adults, we have found that knowing how to recycle, compost and collect soft plastics has eliminated almost all our household waste,” one wrote.

They added their red bin only went out for collection once a month with “a handful of items in it”.

“While I appreciate that different age groups may have different waste needs, there are strategies to cut down/out waste for these too,” they said.

Someone else pointed to how expensive and harmful landfill was, arguing “we all need to create less landfill and recover our waste better”.

“You can compost or worm farm your kitchen scraps and garden waste at home, and with a lot of packaging waste going into the yellow recycling bin there should be very little rubbish going into the red bin,” they wrote.

Massive cost of landfill

About 1500 Townsville households are currently partaking in a trial of the Food Organics Garden Organics (FOGO) bin program, which prevents organic matter from going into landfill.

The trial will continue until October 2022, after which it may be rolled out on a permanent basis, as is the case for 43 NSW councils and four suburbs in the ACT.

According to a Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts report, the cost of disposing of waste to putrescible landfill is estimated at between $42 and $102 per tonne of waste in urban areas and between $41 and $101 per tonne in rural areas.

A Canberra mum shared with news.com.au last year how she avoided putting her general waste bin out for collection for 40 weeks.

She revealed the subtle changes her family made that saved up to 5600 liters of waste from leaving their house and getting dumped in landfill.

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Categories
Business

Townsville’s ‘Sugar Shaker’ hotel is getting a makeover, prompting admirers to sift through its history

A black and white photo of Townsville's cityscape in the mid 70s. A round building, with what looks to be a spout, towers over.

It has been described as one Australia’s most recognizable buildings after the Sydney Opera House, but this icon is set for a face lift.

Townsville’s Sugar Shaker hotel has defined the city skyline for more than 46 years with its original brown sandstone color.

But now the building’s exterior is being completely repainted, prompting admirers to sift through its history.

An old, but color photograph of a busy city street. A post office sits before a much taller circular high rise building.
The “Sugar Shaker” is located in Townsville’s city heart on Flinders Street.(Supplied: Townsville City Council )

The hotel will maintain its silhouette, which resembles a sugar shaker with a distinctive spout-like shape at its peak.

Dr Mark Jones, a prominent Architect and Associate Professor at the University of Queensland, said the Sugar Shaker had become one of the most recognizable buildings in Australia.

“Most imagery of Townsville incorporates this building, not dissimilarly to the Sydney Opera House,” he said.

“I don’t think, apart from those two examples, there’s another building in Australia that so exemplifies the city in which it’s located.”

A black and white photograph taken from a helicopter captures the construction of a circular high rise building in the 1970s.
Townsville’s “Sugar Shaker” was built in the 1970s and remains the tallest building in the CBD.(Supplied: Townsville City Council)

Dr Jones said at the time the building opened in 1976 as Hotel Townsville there were two similar properties in the country; the Tower Mill Hotel in Brisbane, and Australia Square in Sydney.

“I suspect that the architects for the Sugar Shaker drew some inspiration from those two buildings,” he said.

“But they went a step further with this interesting enclosure on the roof air conditioning cooling towers that gives it a sugar shaker shape.”

A black and white photo of Townsville's Flinders Street Mall.
The hotel is often used in imagery used to market Townsville.(Supplied: Townsville City Council)

46 years after the building was erected in Townsville, debate on whether the resemblance was intentional continues.

“I’m not sure if they were directly thinking of a sugar shaker or if that came from people afterwards,” Dr Jones said.

“Either way, it’s a wonderful symbol for cane-growing region.

“I can’t think of another example, except for the sort of kitschy big banana and big pineapple-type installations.”

A wide shot of Townsville's modern CBD.
Forty-six years after the building was erected, the “Sugar Shaker” is being refurbished.(ABC North Qld: Chloe Chomicki)

Director of marketing for lobby group Townsville Enterprise Lisa Woolfe said there were several local theories about the design.

“Apparently, it was modeled off a sugar shaker that was sold in a nearby cafe,” she said.

“But I have also heard over the years people refer to it as a lipstick.”

A color photograph of a regional city with one circular building preceding over all of the other properties.
There is debate about whether the buildings likeness to a sugar shaker was intentional.(Supplied: Townsville City Council)

Townsville’s deputy mayor Mark Molachino said he suspected the architects were intentional with their design.

“I don’t know the history of design, I will be honest,” he said.

“But whoever did design it has made it look as close to a sugar shaker as possible, so they have done a good job with the likeness.”

The hotel has been known as Centra Townsville, Townsville International Hotel and Holiday Inn over the years, but is currently owned by Hotel Grand Chancellor.

Manager Paul Gray said it was a “daunting” task to choose a new color for the “iconic” building.

“Locals are very passionate about the Sugar Shaker, but it did need a refresh,” Mr Gray said.

A photo of several balconies on a sandstone building. Half of them have been painted gray and white.
The ‘Sugar Shaker’ is expected to have been completely repainted by the end of August.(ABC North Qld: Chloe Chomicki)

The refurbishment, including a complete repaint of the building, is due to be completed by the end of August.

“The building itself is being painted in grey,” Mr Gray said.

“It’s going to have white running up the risers, just to break it up a little bit as well.

“I think it’ll tie in quite nicely with the buildings around the city and look a lot more modern.”

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