From early March 2023 until April 2023, access to these tracks will not be available so frequent visitors to Bloodwood and Tallowwood tracks must find alternative routes.
According to Council, the restoration works are necessary as the tracks have had damage sustained due to the severe weather event in February 2022. Repair work, patching, and reinstatement of the drainage features are expected for this project.
Photo Credit: CrSteveGriffiths/Facebook
Bloodwood track, spanning 500 metres, is a fire road climb that leads to Isabella St in Tarragindi, which is the entrance of the Tallowood track, spanning 800 metres. This then leads up to the Toohey Ridge track. It is often used by hikers who love the challenge of the climb but still prefer these tracks because it’s easy to follow.
Along the way, locals may spot koalas, possums and gliders, as well as owls, kookaburras and fairy wrens as the Toohey Forest is home to over 100 species. Bikers, however, are not allowed on these tracks to ensure the safety of the hikers.
Ballistic Beer Co. through its founder David Kitchen recently announced that the company has entered into voluntary administration. Jason Stone and Paul Allen from PKF Melbourne have been appointed as administrators, according to a notice filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) dated 24 January 2023.
The company was launched in 2017 and opened its flagship brewery and venue in Salisbury that same year. Ballistic Beer has since expanded to West End, Springfield, Bundaberg and Airlie Beach.
Photo credit: Ballistic Beer Co / ballisticbeer.com
Ballistic Beer established its name as one of Queensland high profile independent and multi-awarded brewing companies. Just months after it opened, it already won four gold medals. In all, the company won nearly 100 gold, silver and bronze medals at various national and international competitions.
Ballistic products are now sold in more than 2,800 bottle shops and venues across the country.
Mr Kitchen said that the decision is to let the company continue trading whilst they work with an experienced industry group to work out an investment and restructuring plan. Ballistic Beer will still be available to purchase online, in venues, and from local retailers.
Fans of the brewing company expressed support and hope that Ballistic Beer would come out of voluntary administration better and stronger.
“Please do not sell out to an overseas owned company.. that would be devastating!” writes one social media user.
“So sad to hear you’re in administration. Here’s hoping you come out the other side and stronger like @easytimes.brewingco with the help of pkf” another user wrote.
Just in time for the start of another school year, a Speed Awareness Monitor (SAM) was installed near St Elizabeth’s School in Tarragindi. It’s one of 22 ‘Slow for SAM’ sites added across Brisbane to ensure the safety of children.
Brisbane City Council announced that the initial installation for the 2023 school year is up at these locations but more sites will be determined as the program rolls out:
Acacia Ridge State School
Holland Park State School
Anglican Church Grammar School, East Brisbane
Villanova College, Coorparoo
Petrie Terrace State School, Paddington
Upper Brookfield State School
Mount Gravatt State High School
Seville Road State School, Holland Park
Sunnybank State School
St Dympna’s Parish School, Aspley
St Williams Primary School, Everton Park
Yeronga State School
St Elizabeth’s School, Tarragindi
Eagle Junction State School
Windsor State School
Speed Awareness Monitors, also known as SAM, was launched in 2013 to advise motorists to slow down, especially in school zones where pedestrian activity is high.
Since the launch, more than 200 SLOW for SAM monitors are actively in place in Brisbane. Motorists have also made it a habit to reduce an average of eight kilometres across all locations.
Photo Credit: BCC
The monitors do not issue notices but work to detect a speeding car and then display ether three messages:
a smiley face for vehicles going within the speed limit
the car’s speed with a “slow down” message for vehicles going beyond 9 kilometres per hour of the speed limit
a big “slow down” message for vehicles driving above 10 kilometres of the speed limit
The Transport Planning and Operations of Brisbane City Council determines where SLOW for SAM signs should be installed. However, locals may contact their ward office or phone Council via 07 3403 8888 if they think a location qualifies for a SLOW for SAM sign.
A major investigation is underway following a series of fast food outlet robberies in the south of Brisbane, including a shop along Kessels Road in Salisbury and elsewhere in Algester, and Rocklea.
The first incident happened on 15 January 2023, at around 9:30 p.m., wherein three people armed with a firearm and knives, entered a fast food outlet in Springfield and stole cash. They left the vicinity using a 2003 white Ford Falcon utility which was also stolen from Carole Park.
The same group robbed three more businesses across Salisbury, Algester, and Rocklea the next day, 16 January between 9:15 and 9:40 p.m.
Photo credit: Queensland Police
South Brisbane West Acting Detective Inspector Mick Manago said the three people involved are believed to be one male and two females and are suspected to be young adults. Police said they were accompanied by another offender who was waiting outside inside the Ford Falcon utility.
Authorities continue to remind fast food outlets to be extra vigilant and if they notice anything, anyone suspicious, or any suspicious vehicles, to lock their doors and immediately contact police.
Ford Falcon stolen by the armed robbers (Photo credit: Queensland Police)
Although the employees in Springfield were threatened with a firearm and knives, police confirmed no one was physically injured during the robberies across South Brisbane.
However, Inspector Manago said the staff who are working in these businesses, especially the young employees are still traumatised and shaken by what has occurred.
Meanwhile, the vehicle used which was a Queensland registration 120-FG7 was found abandoned near the intersection of Johnson Road and Stapylton Road, Heathwood.
Members of the public who have seen the vehicle in recent days are encouraged to contact Police by providing information as efforts to find the perpetrators of these fast food outlet robberies continue. To report any suspicious activity or provide information, please use the online suspicious activity form 24hrs per day at www.police.qld.gov.au/reporting or call 131 444.
A single-storey house was gutted by fire in late December 2022. Neighbours said they could hear children screaming for help as the blaze consume the property on Heathwhite Street in Tarragindi.
A fire broke out at a property on Heathwhite Street in Tarragindi last Friday 30 December 2022 at about 5 am. At least five fire crews from Queensland Fire and Emergency Services arrived at the scene to put out the blaze.
A QFES spokeswoman said that there were four people at the single-storey house with one woman taken to Princess Alexandra Hospital due to smoke inhalation. Another adult and two children were reported to have managed to escape the house fire unscathed.
Photo Credit: Queensland Government / qfes.qld.gov.au
One neighbour recalled hearing children screaming for help when the fire broke out whilst another said that they called triple zero after they were woken up by the screams.
Did you know? Overloaded electrical circuits, faulty electrical equipment and misuse of electrical equipment are common causes of fire, according to Queensland Fire and Emergency Services.
To survive a fire in one’s home, QFES suggests the following fire escape plan:
Check your smoke alarms work
Go through the house and ensure all your smoke alarms are less than 10 years old and working. If they’re not, upgrade them to photoelectric interconnected alarms.
Set a reminder on your phone to clean and test smoke alarms regularly. Make sure smoke alarms work for everyone in your family – smoke alarms that use lights and a vibrating pillow will alert those who are deaf or hearing impaired.
Walk around your house and find two ways to escape every room. Also, ensure that windows can be opened and security grills unlocked.
You should leave your keys in a safe place, which could be near the door or window, and ensure that everyone in the house knows their location.
Decide how you will escape from different house levels and confirm an agreed place to meet once everyone is out.
Practice your fire escape
Practise at different times of the day and night whilst doing it blindfolded, standing and on all fours.
Use a timer to create a sense of urgency and let children hear how loud your smoke alarm is, so they don’t panic during a real escape – either when testing your smoke alarms or by playing a sound effect from your phone.
Lastly, check that the spare keys are in place and within reach for everyone
Did you know that Brisbane Roar’s Cyrus Dehmie, who once played for the Tarragindi Tigers, turned down an offer to play for Liberia at an international event because he was aiming to one day represent Australia?
Dehmie, who played junior football for Tarragindi Tigers and Rochedale Rovers, turned down an offer to play for Liberia in October 2021. Then only 19 years old, he reportedly declined the offer because he was looking to play for the Australian national team in the future.
The talented striker first attracted major attention when he signed a contract with the Brisbane Roar in May 2021, becoming one of the 34 African-Australian players to play in the A-league that season. In October of that same year, he scored a second-half hat trick during a round-of-16 match against the Lions FC at the FFA Cup, a game that they won 4-0.
Cyrus was born on the Ivory Coast. He and his family settled in Brisbane after they arrived in Australia back in 2010 as a refugee.
As with most refugees, the family faced several challenges. Luckily for Cyrus, his junior clubs Rochedale Rovers and Tarragindi Tigers offered him opportunities to play which greatly helped the family financially.
He also won a high school scholarship to Anglican Church Grammar School where he met Brisbane Roar coach Warren Moon. And in 2019, under Coach Moon’s guidance, Cyrus scored the winning goal for the First XI team’s very first GPS Premiership trophy since the competition began in 1991.
In recent years, there have been quite a number of players of African descent who have shown up for the Socceroos including Awer Mabil, Thomas Deng, Garang Kuol, Jason Geria and Ruon Tongyik, who also turned down a South Sudan offer to play for the Australian squad instead.
Tarragindi kids now have more options to put their scooter skills to the test! A new track has been installed at Shaftesbury Street Park as part of BCC’s Scooter Track Initiative.
Brisbane City Council announced on 17 November 2022 the completion of the scooter track installation at Shaftesbury Street Park, along with other similar installations at Kathleen Street Park in Richlands, Paul Conti Park in Hemmant and Wittonga Park in The Gap.
The project is part of the Council’s initiative to deliver scooter tracks at these four locations based on the award-winning scooter track in Kedron’s Bradbury Park. With the new installations, Council aims to create more recreational opportunities for the community.
“The recently installed scooter track will let your kids put their skills to the test.” | Photo credit: Facebook / Brisbane City Council
“As Richlands, Hemmant, The Gap and surrounding areas continue to grow, it is important to ensure that our parks continue to meet the recreational needs of residents and visitors, and Council is looking to enhance and diversify the recreational opportunities in these popular green spaces to ensure they cater to a broad spectrum of the community,” Council said.
Are you wondering what to do with old inflatables and pool toys? You can bring them to the Tarragindi Community Garden who collects them and turns them over to Bundaberg-based PLOYS. Get to know what happens to inflatable pools once they reach the facility.
PLOYS source the inflatable pools from various organisations throughout Queensland, including the Tarragindi community Garden, by scheduling pickup from these clubs.
Photo credit: Ploys – Creative Concepts in Disguise/Facebook
They begin by cleaning the pools, before cutting the patterns and sewing them into functional items, such as bags, purses and art smocks. To ensure that the items will be durable, they use the right sewing machine foot and stitch length and reinforce seams.
Husband and wife Carin and Gerhard Sandker started the idea from having discarded pool toys and pool inflatables, that were either punctured or “just not played with anymore” on the side of their pool at home.
Carin and Gerhard Sandker (Photo credit: Ploys – Creative Concepts in Disguise/Facebook)
Carin, an occupational therapist, is the one designing the items, whilst her husband Gerhard as Systems Architect runs the IT, marketing and dispatching side of the business.
“We just couldn’t throw away all this plastic, knowing that PVC is one of the worst products to decompose; taking up to a 1000 years to disintegrate,” the Sandkers said in their website.
To reduce plastic waste and make the planet a healthier world to live in for all, Carin and Gerhard established PLOYS in 2019.
Inflatables collected from Tarragindi (Photo credit: Ploys – Creative Concepts in Disguise/Facebook)
Through the Tarragindi Community Garden, PLOYS has collected as much as 200 kg of pool inflatable plastic this year. It contributes to a big milestone, as they have saved one tonne of plastics from going to landfills.
PLOYS encourages the public to donate their punctured pool inflatables, air mattresses, broken umbrellas and shower curtains in one of their collection points or post it to them. You can also drop them at the Tarragindi recycling hub at the Tarragindi Community Garden at Wellers Hill Bowls Club.
Pathways surrounding a popular primary school in Tarragindi emerged as Brisbane’s top pathway hotspot, receiving the most concerns raised by respondents in the inaugural RACQ’s Safer Pathways Survey.
RACQ Transport Planning and Infrastructure Advisor Tim Mitchell said that the pathway network surrounding Wellers Hill State School in Tarragindi received the most number of complaints from hundreds of Queenslanders in the Club’s inaugural survey.
“One of the biggest concerns identified by Tarragindi residents was a lack of footpaths to accommodate school traffic on Chamberlain Street and pedestrian crossings,” Mr Mitchell said.
“This is a popular local primary school with more than 900 students; however, our survey has revealed there is a deficiency in safe and accessible pathways which makes it difficult for parents and children to get around.”
Meanwhile, on-road bike lanes on Sylvan Road in Toowong are also a hotspot for pathway issues, added Mr Mitchell, with residents describing the location as “narrow and intimidating”.
He said that in the third-ranking Brisbane CBD, safety issues were the most common concern why locals compete for footpath space, as well as a desire for more pathway connections. Whilst in Wooloowin, the major problem was the ending of the separated cycle path along the Northern Bikeway, where it transitions to an on-road bicycle lane at Price Street.
Active infrastructure appeared to be more in demand, the survey results revealed, particularly among Queenslanders walking or using e-scooter, e-bikes, and cycling. RACQ said that this highlights the importance of having pathway networks that are safe, connected, and accessible for the whole community.
The inaugural Safer Pathways Survey which ended on 17 August 2022, allowed residents to nominate multiple locations. The results were forwarded to councils and the State Government to help the state improve its active transport networks providing vital information about how the pathway network is used and where the current gaps and faults are.
The top five southeast Queensland suburbs for Safer Pathways Survey responses are Tarragindi (80), Toowong (29), Brisbane CBD (23), Wooloowin (19), and Nerang (16).
From a vision of creating a shared backyard where the community can grow their own food and share it with others, Renae McBrien is now leading one of the most successful community gardens in Brisbane, the Tarragindi Community Garden.
Whilst leading Tarragindi Community Garden, Renae McBrien has been serving as the Community, Horticulture and Environment Consultant for the Children’s Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service since 2020.
As an environment consultant, her work involves promoting a healthier future for the children of Queensland through creating sensory and therapy landscapes of patients and staff and by reducing the environmental impact of the health care service through innovative recycling.
Before working at Queensland Children’s Hospital, she also served as the community garden and recycling consultant for Metro South Health.
Photo Credit: Tarragindi Community Garden/Facebook
Through Tarragindi Community Garden, Ms McBrien gets to lead free community workshops on composting, native bees, and worm farming.
Since opening the garden in 2020, the group has diverted 9 tonnes of organic waste from the landfill and converted it into free landscape supplies for the garden.
Every month, the group visits local Tarragindi child care centres and local primary schools to conduct recycling education sessions, and also give away free compost bags for the community.
Photo Credit: Tarragindi Community Garden/Facebook
One of their notable initiatives is the Tarragindi Toppers recycling hub, where recyclable materials such as bread tags, plastic lids, and beer and wine metal tops are being processed and then reused for circular economy projects.
For instance, the 61.4 kg of bread tags were handsorted into colours and donated to Transmutation in South Australia, where they are made into different plastic products, such as bowls, platters, and plant pots.
All their efforts have paid off, when the community garden received the 2021 WasteSMART Community Award, whilst Renae McBrien was named that year’s University of Queensland Brisbane’s WasteSMART Champion.
At the last Sustainability and Science Showcase held in June 2022 at the Queensland Museum, Ms McBrien got to share her insights on how small steps in our homes can build a sustainable future.
Just recently, the group has successfully applied for the Lord Mayor’s Community Sustainability and Environmental Grants, and was awarded $2,244 which will be used to provide free herbs, harvest and plants to the community all year round as well as purse some big plans to make the garden bigger and better.
