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ABC News
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
David Dowsett
David Dowsett presents the Breakfast program on ABC Wide Bay. David describes himself as a "Nomadic Englishman". Now settled in Australia with his family, David has presented Breakfast, Drive and Sport shows in England, Denmark and Spain, interviewing an array of stars along the way; from Boy George to Sir David Attenborough! David has been a part of the ABC Wide Bay team since 2004, previously presenting the morning show, then switching to breakfast in 2016. "The Wide Bay Burnett is a beautiful part of the planet," David said. "My program looks to celebrate those wonders while at the same time highlighting the important issues to the area." When he's not on the air you may well find David on court swinging a tennis racquet. Before discovering microphones he played the satellite tennis circuit in Europe. When it became apparent that the guy on the other side of the net was hitting the ball inside the lines more than he was and that the umpire would not change his call (no matter how much he politely enquired!), David became LTA-qualified and coached tennis instead. As well as tennis, David enjoys horse riding and cycling.
ABC News
01-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Maryborough manufacturer Downer considers job cuts
A manufacturing company building trains for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games says it is discussing "potential redundancies" with employees due to its reduced workload. Downer Group in the heritage city of Maryborough, three hours north of Brisbane, released a statement on Thursday saying it was in talks with its employees following a dip in the organisation's workload. "Due to a reduction in the expected volume of work at our Maryborough facility, Downer commenced consultation with our workforce regarding potential redundancies," a Downer spokesperson said. "No final decision has been made, and we continue to explore opportunities to fill the gap in work, in order to ease any impact with our people." The company has more than 250 employees at the Maryborough site but it has not confirmed how many jobs are at risk. In 2023, Downer signed a $4.6 billion contract to deliver the then Palaszczuk government's Queensland Train Manufacturing Program, which included 65 passenger trains to be built in time for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics. ABC Wide Bay — local news in your inbox Get our local newsletter, delivered free each Thursday Your information is being handled in accordance with the Email address Subscribe
ABC News
25-04-2025
- General
- ABC News
K'gari hosts Anzac Day service beside wreck of WWI hospital ship Maheno
As the sun soaks the east coast of K'gari (Fraser Island), silence falls over the crowd of hundreds that gather around the rusted bones of the TSS Maheno. Only the sound of waves crashing against the 120 metre shipwreck can be heard as the masses reflect on a much less peaceful time 110 years earlier. A service is held beside the Maheno on Anzac Day. ( ABC Wide Bay: Lucy Loram ) Among those gathering on the World Heritage listed island off south-east Queensland for this year's Anzac Day ceremony is Sarah Johnson, a wing commander with the Royal Australian Air Force. But her own involvement in the defence force is not the only reason she is attending the ceremony. Sarah Johnson's great-grandfather served on the Maheno. ( ABC Wide Bay: Lucy Loram ) Her great-grandfather Francis Jackson was the first officer onboard the Maheno when it served as a hospital ship at Anzac Cove during the Gallipoli campaign. Francis Jackson was a merchant sailor. ( Supplied: Sarah Johnson ) "He was a merchant sailor … he worked basically as a civilian on the Maheno before it was commissioned as a hospital ship," Ms Johnson said. Ms Johnson said the Anzac Day service beside the Maheno — the fourth she had attended — was always a moving experience. "I think it's very emotional. So far to date I feel like my career is nothing compared them," she said. "But you just hope that you're making them proud and they're looking down and going, 'You're doing a good job.'" The Maheno cared for casualties from the Gallipoli campaign at ANZAC Cove. ( Supplied: Russell Postle ) Rescuing Anzacs The Maheno started life in 1905 as a passenger steamship. The New Zealand government commissioned it as a hospital ship following the outbreak of World War I. Ms Johnson said her great-grandfather, who was working as a merchant sailor on the Maheno at the time, had no choice but to stay on the ship when it was ordered to support the Anzacs on the other side of the world. Henry Bade served as an orderly on the Maheno. ( Supplied: Kevin Bade ) "I don't know how he felt about it at that time, he seemed pretty resilient," she said. "That was his employment at the time so he just went with it. I suppose he just tried to help people as best he could." The Maheno arrived at Anzac Cove on August 26, 1915, four months after the momentous landing commemorated throughout Australia and New Zealand today. One of the orderlies Henry Bade recorded in his diary "the cloudy moonlit night, with lightning flashes" that greeted the ship on its arrival, with the quiet of the evening occasionally broken by "an awful lot of firing". The Maheno and its crew would go on to retrieve more than 2,000 injured Anzacs, ferrying the survivors to hospitals in the Mediterranean, England and home to Australia and New Zealand. Henry Bade drew a picture in his diary of the ship's location in Anzac Cove. ( Supplied: Kevin Bade ) After the war, the Maheno returned to the trans-Tasman passenger run before being retired in 1935, overtaken by more efficient diesel-powered ships. While being towed to Japan where it was to be broken up for scrap, a cyclone blew the Maheno onto K'gari's eastern shore where it remains today. The mysterious, rusted shipwreck has been a drawcard for generations of tourists and is one of the most well-known landmarks on the island. Children played in the sand during the Anzac Day service at the Maheno. ( ABC Wide Bay: James Taylor ) 'Epitome of mateship' About 400 people gathered on the beach by the wreck of the Maheno for a moving Anzac Day service under clear skies. Kevin Bade, the grandson of orderly Henry Bade, gave an address in which he spoke of how he and his wife only recently learnt they both had a familial connection to the Gallipoli campaign. The grandfathers of both Kevin and Jennifer Bade served in the Gallipoli campaign. ( ABC Wide Bay: James Taylor ) The grandfather of Mr Bade's wife Jennifer served on the Maheno's sister ship, the SS Marama, and both men knew each other. "If either of them didn't make it, we wouldn't be here," Mr Bade said. Mr Bade said the service was a poignant reminder of the sacrifices made by his grandfather and the troops who fought in the campaign. "It did bring home the reality of the situation, not just the people serving on the ships who helped the wounded and dying, but the people who fought in the war for our freedom," he said. The Maheno shipwreck is a tourist attraction on K'gari. ( ABC Wide Bay: Nicole Hegarty ) Brisbane Rotary Club project coordinator Russell Postle said the Anzac Day ceremony at the Maheno was an acknowledgement of those who supported the servicemen and woman in battle, like the nurses and medics. "That's one of the things that we really love to demonstrate, that the hospital ship is the epitome of mateship," Mr Postle said. Russell Postle acknowledges those who supported servicemen and woman. ( ABC Wide Bay: Lucy Loram ) "Defence forces are built on mateship — you don't leave a mate behind, you go and look after them — and that's the role of a hospital ship." Mr Postle said many visitors to K'gari were unfamiliar with the Maheno's historic ties to the Anzacs. "Those who were standing on the Gallipoli beach would have been able to look out and see the white ship sitting amongst all the grey warships knowing that their mates are our there should they befall and injury, or should their mate have an injury," he said. "[The Maheno] is the true recognition of the broad effort that was done by those behind the scenes — the doctors, the nurses, and in the case of the Maheno, the merchant marine crew that sailed the ship as a passenger ship, and took that same ship into the war zone." Anzac Day service attendees were served dishes from the Maheno's 1918 Christmas menu. ( Supplied: Russell Postle ) Ms Johnson said the backdrop of the Maheno made the K'gari service unlike any other Anzac Day ceremony. "It's fantastic. I think the sense of reality just brings it home," she said "I think it is just the fact that it's right there, you're looking at it and you're hearing about what it did." With the next generation of Francis Jackson's family set to play a central role in the service in the future, Ms Johnson hopes the values her great-grandfather stood for will live on. "Just knowing the history of their family is important and having an appreciation of what people went through and what they gave so that we can live in the country that we live in today," she said. ABC Wide Bay — local news in your inbox Get our local newsletter, delivered free each Thursday Your information is being handled in accordance with the Email address Subscribe
ABC News
23-04-2025
- General
- ABC News
Grief camp connecting kids who know the pain of losing a parent or sibling
A beachside camp surrounded by friends would be a typical teenager's dream. But when Alexis Versaci's mother told her she'd be driving eight hours to attend a special camp for grieving children, the 14-year-old was filled with dread. "My dad passed away [when I was] 10," she said. "He passed away in a truck accident in Pilbara … that's why I'm here, I guess." Lisa Versaci (right) drove her three daughters, including Alexis (pictured), eight hours to attend the camp. ( ABC Wide Bay: Lucy Loram ) After her husband died, Lisa Versaci searched tirelessly for a program to connect her three daughters with other grieving kids in their hometown of Mackay in North Queensland. The search finally ended when she stumbled upon a social media post about a "grief camp" in the southern coastal city of Hervey Bay, about 700 kilometres away. "When I saw it, I was like, 'Yes, this is what my girls need', and I actually wish I had known of this years ago when it all started for us," Ms Versaci said. Ms Versaci would like to see more programs for children who have lost a parent in regional Queensland. ( ABC Wide Bay: Lucy Loram ) Losing a parent Alexis, who attended the camp with her two teenage sisters, said her grief had felt isolating, as few of her peers were able to relate to the pain of losing a parent. "It's something that just kind of hits you very hard, and as someone who was 10, I didn't really know what I was supposed to do, how I was supposed to feel," she said. Angelo Versaci (third from left) died in a trucking incident in Western Australia in 2021. ( Supplied: Lisa Versaci ) That was until she spent four days surrounded by 25 kids from around the state who were also grieving the loss of a parent or sibling. "I've made lots of friends here, and I feel like the people that I've made connections with here understand what I'm going through and they are just free to talk about it," Alexis said. Inside grief camp The organiser of Hervey Bay's inaugural Grief Camp — a collaboration between charities Rally for a Cause and Angel Families — said it was a passion project 12 months in the making. "We know that one in 20 Australian kids are going to experience the loss of a sibling or a parent, so for us, that's too big of a number to not do something," said Jess Lane from Angel Families. About 25 children attended the inaugural camp in Hervey Bay. ( Supplied: Jess Lane ) Ms Lane said during the four-day camp the youths bonded over a range of activities, including outdoor adventures and a candlelit vigil for their loved ones. She said they arrived at the camp with their individual experiences of loss but left with shared memories and support. "It's been a balance of grief tending exercises and adventure-based activities … that really cemented the opportunities for those guys to connect on a deeper level," Ms Lane said. Organisers say they plan to make the camp an annual event. ( Supplied: Jess Lane ) An opportunity to connect Carolyn Johns, a child bereavement counsellor with the National Centre for Childhood Grief (NCCG), said camp environments could be valuable for grieving children. "Camps and groups for bereaved children provide a wonderful opportunity for them to connect with others in a relaxed, safe way," Ms Johns said. " I have seen the inspiring transformation that occurs … a transformation in terms of the child's confidence, social integration, and ability to share stories about their parent or parents who have died. " Ms Johns said the NCCG also offered bespoke weekend camps for children with family members that had died. The four-day camp offered activities like paintball, kayaking and minigolf. ( Supplied: Jess Lane ) While the Versacis hold out hope that a similar service will be established in Mackay, they are planning to return to Hervey Bay next year. "The girls 100 per cent [will be coming back], to the point where I think they want to come back as volunteers at some point, which will be so beautiful … I'm so, so proud," Ms Versaci said. ABC Wide Bay — local news in your inbox Get our local newsletter, delivered free each Thursday Your information is being handled in accordance with the Email address Subscribe
