Latest news with #MountIsa
ABC News
4 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Outback cattle station May Downs sells for $47.5m to Australian company
A historic outback cattle station has been bought at auction for $47.5 million by a Queensland family pastoral company. The 233,000 hectare May Downs Station was sold by Lord Cattle to McMillan Pastoral Company, based in Cloncurry. The property has been under the ownership of the Lord family for 39 years and has never been destocked, indicating a resilient pasture base and successful management. Located 28 kilometres west of Mount Isa, the lease backs onto the prominent Mount Isa Mines and offers 9,500 head of prime cattle. The McMillan family previously purchased two stations straddling the Queensland and Northern Territory border for $53 million in 2020, repealing them from Chinese ownership. Wollogorang and Wentworth Stations were previously owned by one of China's richest businessman, Xingfa Ma, who bought the properties in 2015. "We were interested in presenting our property to the market and accepting the result on the day," previous owner James Lord said. Stock Place Marketing Agent Luke Westaway said the station was a "quality asset" and performed positively in the current market.
ABC News
4 days ago
- General
- ABC News
Modelling fashion and football passion
OK, shine the spotlight, pump up the music, let's hit the catwalk and meet some designers! Earlier this month, Australian Fashion Week was held in Sydney. It's an annual celebration of culture, clothing and the designers who create Australia's diverse range of fashion. It's also where Australian fashion designers get models to wear their clothes and show them off in front of big crowds. One of this year's featured designers is Wiradjuri woman Denni Francisco. She loves creating fashion that reflects her culture. She incorporates colours from country, such as gumtrees, into her clothing and says she does this to bring culture and country together. She was thrilled to have ten First Nations women wear her clothing in front of an excited crowd. 19-year-old First Nations model Shamaiah Sullivan is already up to her third year of walking down the runway. She became a model six years ago after watching an Australian drama on TV and feeling like there were no Indigenous people on the show. Shamaiah says that this year's Fashion Week featured more Indigenous designers and models than ever before, and that meant that people all around the world could learn about First Nations people, and their fashion. In the outback Queensland town of Mount Isa, a group of women get together each week to do just that. They've all moved to the area from another country, and they don't speak much English. But what they all do together is sew! Amina moved with her husband from Pakistan. When she arrived in Mount Isa, she didn't know any English, and that meant she found it hard to get a job. One day, Amina met a Pakistani friend in the street who invited her along to the sewing classes, where women also get to practice their English. That's right! These things take time, and eventually Amina grew in confidence to speak English. She managed to land a job at the town supermarket, she's had a baby, and she's got a lovely community to support her through it all. Animals can do many different jobs, but an assistance animal is one that gives support to people with a disability, so that they can be more independent and confident. In Australia, assistance animals are considered working animals, along with seeing and hearing dogs. In Tasmania, one assistance animal named Violet has made the news, because Violet is an alpaca. Violet is very important to her owner, Abbygail-Nigella. Together they've gone on cruises, to the airport, but recently Abbygail-Nigella took her assistance alpaca into a Tasmanian supermarket to pick up some groceries. They were both asked to leave the store, because the staff said that Violet is livestock, and livestock isn't allowed inside. Abbygail-Nigella made a complaint, and now a court will decide if the supermarket discriminated against them. Discrimination happens when someone is treated unfairly because of things like their age, gender, race or disability. Now, the Magistrates court of Tasmania will investigate whether the supermarket has discriminated against Abbygail-Nigella. She says that Violet has been trained as an assistance animal and goes everywhere with her. She even wants to take Violet onto a plane to Melbourne one day. Will it be possible? We'll have to wait and see how this story ends for Abbygail-Nigella and her furry assistance friend. Although both soccer and AFL involve getting a ball around a field, and scoring goals, they are very different games to play! Someone who knows this very well is Sarah Rowe. She plays soccer in the A-League with the Central Coast Mariners. In fact, her team just won the 2025 Women's championship! While her teammates might be celebrating their win with a relaxing holiday, Sarah hasn't taken any time off. Three days after her team's win, she started training with the Collingwood Magpies ahead of the AFL Women's pre-season. Busy, busy! Well the good news for Sarah is that her games will never clash! Sarah moved from Ireland to Australia just to play Aussie rules but realised that A-League's season fit neatly into the AFLW off-season. But there was plenty to learn about soccer and Sarah became a defender, even though she played as a winger, which is an attack position, in AFL. The Mariners coach believed in Sarah, and she was placed straight into the starting team. Sarah says football careers are short, so she wanted to get as much out of hers as possible. You're an inspiration, Sarah! Keep kicking goals! A few weeks ago, at about six in the morning, a great flash of light lit up the skies over Western Australia… it was a meteorite! Lots of people saw it blazing across the sky and some keen beans decided to hit the road to try and find the spot where the space rock had landed. One of the meteorite hunters was a local police officer named Marcus. Seven days after the meteorite hit earth, he hit the road, driving for two hours and scrambling through dense bush. Then, in the middle of a salt lake, he found a tennis-ball-sized plain-looking space rock! Marcus was quite impressed with his find, but many people think there's more to be discovered. When the meteorite came through the atmosphere, there were lots of bright flashes, and that usually happens when the rocks fragment, or split apart. So, if you're out on a walk in the south of Western Australia, keep your eyes peeled!
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Wild scenes as a BABY becomes caught up in a vicious street brawl between two women in Aussie outback town
Shocking footage has emerged of two women brawling in the street as another tried to break them apart while holding a baby. The women traded blows and pulled each other's hair during the scuffle in broad daylight on the side of a road in Mount Isa in north-west Queensland. One of the women pulled the other onto a nearby footpath by her hair as another standing nearby holding a baby on her hip ordered her to let go. A fourth woman who was filming approached and yelled at the bystander to 'move the baby'. 'I'm trying to stop them,' she yelled back. The mention of the baby temporarily defused the situation before tensions escalated moments later. The brawling women continued punching until the woman filming finally stepped in to break it up. 'Knock it off,' she ordered them. Once the women separated, one could be heard yelling to the other: 'Why did you pull my hair?' It's understood no arrests or charges have been laid. The latest incident is in the wake of several other public brawls in Mount Isa, leading to rising concerns about violent crime in the area, the Courier Mail reported. In a separate fight which was also filmed, two women were seen punching each other as a crowd of onlookers watched on. The woman filming the punch-up was heard saying, 'Hurry up, come on, both wanna (sic) smash each other, hurry the f**k up'. Both incidents followed a massive brawl involving 30 adults near Mount Isa Hospital on May 9. Four women were charged with public nuisance. A week later, footage emerged of multiple people stomping on and punching a person in the early hours of the morning. Crime has almost doubled in Mount Isa in the last decade, according to Queensland Police data. Statistics showed 13,731 offences were committed in Mount Isa in 2024 compared to 8,160 in 2014. The town 's crime rate has increased much quicker than its population, estimated to be around 19,000. It's understood no charges were laid of the two latest fights.
News.com.au
6 days ago
- General
- News.com.au
Wild footage shows mother with baby breaking up brawl in Mount Isa
Shocking footage shows violent street brawl between two women while a mother with a baby steps in to break up the fight in the outback Queensland city of Mount Isa. The two women are seen pulling violently at each other's clothes and hair, and dragging each other to the ground and throwing punches. A mother wearing a green hoodie, is seen hoisting the baby on her hip with the support of one hand, and trying to break up the fight between the women with her other hand. An onlooker filming the incident can be heard yelling 'there's a baby,' and 'move the baby', as well as telling the brawling women to 'knock it off'. The mother responds to the person filming with, 'I'm trying to stop them'. After the fighting subsides, one of the women is heard yelling: 'Why did you pull my hair?'. This comes just as another violent incident was caught on camera in outback Queensland, with two other women punching each other while onlookers watched. Three weeks ago, another incident involving 30 adults took place near Mount Isa Hospital which resulted in four women being charged with public nuisance as a result. A week later, a video was uploaded to social media showing multiple people stomping and punching a person on Abel Street Parade around 2am in Mount Isa. Data from Queensland Police has shown that the number of crimes committed in Mount Isa has almost doubled in the past decade, According to their statistics, 13,731 offences have been committed in Mount Isa in 2024 as compared to 8160 in 2014 – showing how the region's crime is growing at a faster rate than its population.
ABC News
26-05-2025
- Climate
- ABC News
Rain and cool weather forecast for Queensland ahead of winter's arrival
A weather system headed for Queensland is set to bring autumn to an end a few days ahead of schedule, forcing Queenslanders to pull out their winter woollies. Temperatures are forecast to plummet across much of the state by mid-week, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. "There's a big low sweeping across Queensland from today [Tuesday], it will hit the deep interior first," meteorologist Livio Regano said. "Places like Mount Isa, through to Longreach and Charleville will see dropped temperatures by several degrees, from high 20s to near what you'd expect in mid-winter." But towns further north will not feel the same icy blast. "Think of the cold front as a long stalk — as it gets further north, it just basically blends into its surrounding atmosphere, and you don't notice it anymore," Mr Regano said. Places like Cairns and Cooktown are not expected to see much change in temperature, while most towns south of Mackay will feel the drop. "We could get down to a max of only 16 degrees Celsius around the Coalfields and Central Highlands, having been in the mid to high 20s," Mr Regano said. It may also be time for Queenslanders to dust off their raincoats, with overcast and gloomy conditions on the horizon. Mr Regano said an upper-level trough would start to migrate across western Queensland from Wednesday, reaching the east coast on Friday. "It's a sheet cloud, so we'll see Melbourne-style weather, where it tends to fall a bit more uniformly rather than in lumpy patches as showers do," he said. Isolated falls of up to 50 millimetres are forecast, but Mr Regano said the average would likely be around 10mm. "It's not necessarily heavy but if you can imagine those cold winds undercutting the thick rain cloud, that's going to make for quite the chilly day, especially on Friday," he said. Mr Regano said although the system was not unprecedented, it was not typical weather for this time of year. "What's a bit unusual is this is an inland rain system — it will be coming from the west, not the ocean. But Tuesday will be the last day to get out in the open water [on the coast] if you want light winds." Some outback Queensland communities were able to sense the rain before it fell, using local "tell-tale" signs. In the north-west, properties around Julia Creek and Richmond have been inundated with swarms of gidgee bugs — an outback barometer that falls are on the way. Although cooler temperatures are on the way, southern Queenslanders have until now enjoyed a warm end to May, with temperatures in parts of the region reaching the high 20s Monday. The temperature in Tooowoomba reached 26.6C on Monday, just trailing the garden city's record for the month, 27.2C, set in 1958. So far, every regional centre in Queensland has enjoyed warmer May average minimums compared to previous years — except for Cairns, which dipped by 0.2C to 21.6C. Bundaberg has so far averaged a maximum temperature of 26C — beating its average of 24.9C. Rockhampton has also been above its May average maximum of 26.1C at 27.4C, while the Gold Coast has recorded an average maximum of 24C.
