Gill Booysen



‘Some days are diamonds’ – helping the handicapped

Sandwiched between a stairwell and office space in a narrow Brisbane side street are the modest, compact headquarters of community radio station for the print handicapped (4RPH). Catering to the vision impaired, the station was started by philanthropic Greek businessman, the late Spero Dragona. The first broadcast of an hour-long newspaper reading aired in 1982. […]


Wharf development plan gets the nod

Amendments to the disputed Howard Smith Wharves development draft plan were adopted in council last week following a war of words between opposing councillors. The motions were passed on party lines 14 votes to 9 for the Council to rezone the Howard Smith Wharves as a sub-precinct from parkland, opening it up for development. “Thirteen […]


Forgotten city lane gets new lease of life

With a rich and chequered history closely linked to Brisbane’s penal colony origins, Burnett Lane is the first narrow CBD road to undergo transformation as part of Brisbane City Council’s “Vibrant Laneway” program. In former days the lane played host to convict barracks, Stewart’s Ales, a post office, Queensland’s first Methodist Church and numerous businesses. […]


How books saved an author’s life

“Sex won’t save you, but a good story – yes!” said a smiling Brenda Walker, award-winning author and academic. She appeared with fellow literary scholars Stuart Glover and David Carter in a panel discussion on “The Art of Reading” at Avid Reader in West End on Tuesday night. In a discussion chaired by newly published […]


Roadside memorials tell of pointless loss

Like silent sentinels, accident-related roadside memorials have altered the physical landscape of road verges and stand as poignant markers of lives lost suddenly in traumatic events. One such memorial lies alongside the Bruce Highway on a notorious stretch of single lane road near Coles Creek, south of Gympie – a tribute to the memory of […]


Review: The Clean House

Cremorne Theatre, Queensland Performing Arts Centre Reluctant cleaners watching this clever play will be relieved to note obsessive cleaning and too much attention to fastidious detail may blunt your passion for life! As a high achieving, clinical, busy doctor, white-clad Lane has little time for life’s pleasures. She hires a young Brazilian to clean her […]


Shoplifter tutors magistrate on fish care

A Brisbane woman gave magistrate John Quinlan a lesson in keeping fish when she appeared in the Brisbane Magistrates’ Court last week charged with stealing pet supplies. Prosecutor Sergeant Fiona Pedersen said Sarah Ann Isaac entered a pet supply store on 11 November, 2008 and left without paying for items she placed in her handbag. […]


Monday is ‘sorry day’ for domestic violence

Domestic violence workers call Monday “sorry day’’ because that’s when all of the parties experience regret. Counselling and accommodation referral service Dvconnect community liaison worker “Valerie” (surname withheld) said, “We are busiest on a Monday. We call it ‘national sorry day’ because everyone is sorry; the women are sorry they are at the refuge, the […]


14,000ha station to become bird sanctuary

A renowned birding destination has been saved for future generations, becoming the latest addition to the National Reserve System which protects unique Australian environments. The 14,000 hectare station “Bowra” near Cunnamulla, which had been in the McLaren Family for five generations, was offered to the not-for-profit Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) by former owners Julie and […]


Gay pride exhibit exposes prejudice

Once a marker used by Nazis to identify homosexuals for persecution, the hot pink triangle has been reclaimed – with pride! It’s a symbolic reminder of the ongoing journey for recognition as experienced by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community. This is celebrated in the exhibition “Prejudice and Pride” at the Museum of […]


Graffiti artists spray court complex – and it’s all legal

A wide-smiling judge in flowing wig with uplifted gavel, and a square-eyed skull leering through the greenery are just two of the larger than life images tagging the building site of Brisbane’s new justice district.Project management and construction company Bovis Lend Lease, contracted skilled aerosol artists to add colour to the safety warnings on the extensive hoarding around the new legal precinct.


Brisbane dancer wins women’s half-marathon

More than 3000 runners and walkers, from the elite to the general public, turned out for the Noosa Running Festival at Noosa Sound on Sunday morning. Alexandra Headland’s professional triathlete Tim George, 22, led at the turnaround and was a popular local winner in a time of one hour ten minutes and 50 seconds. “I […]


Love potion works its magic

Wide blue skies, a windmill atop ochre coloured hills, and the token sheep of an outback station set the opening scene of the QPAC production The Elixir of Love firmly in Australian territory. The light-hearted opera, written in two acts by prolific Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti, premiered as L’elisir d’amore in Milan in 1832. This […]


Campaign aims to end indigenous disadvantage

Kokoberra woman and former Young Australian of the year Tania Major called for a better deal for indigenous people at the Brisbane launch of Generation One in Queen Street this week. Ms Major appealed passionately to the patriotic fervour of all Australians to acknowledge the plight of Indigenous people. “For so long in Australia, the […]


Colonial cottages to get a facelift

Two neglected Heritage-listed buildings on the old Sinnamon Farm site are set for rejuvenation with Rotary Jindalee stepping in to do much-needed maintenance. The hand-sawn timber homestead “Beechwood”, built in 1869 (left), and the old schoolhouse are both in a state of disrepair. The homestead, which borders busy Seventeen Mile Rocks Road, is one of […]


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