Jill O’Sullivan has always had a passion for art. Jill has spent much of her life learning about art and creating lithographs and technical drawings through printmaking.

by Sam O’Brien and Amy Crawford

A James Cook University alumna, Jill has spent much of her life learning about art and creating lithographs and technical drawings through printmaking.

The well-respected printmaker will be showcasing two of her lithographs alongside 11 other remarkable artists in the ““Celebrating Townsville” exhibition currently on at Umbrella Studio contemporary art.

JCNN’s Sam O’Brien and Amy Crawford sat down with Jill to learn about her influences, her motivations and why the dedicated artist space within Umbrella Studio is “the best thing that has ever happened” to her.

Scroll down to read the interview’s full script.

To gain more insight into Jill’s Art Musings, visit her blog.

Transcript

On reflection, how do you believe teachers influenced your art practices?

A great deal of course, I started with the PDA all the way through to the PHD. But it was just the way that they [lecturers] worked, their instructions, and their support. Basically that was the main thing that worked very well with me and of course their knowledge, their technical knowledge, and being able to reference. Anne [Lord] and Ron [McBurnie] particularly were very, very good at art and knew what was happening in the current art world- and not just printmaking but historically, particularly with Anne’s drawing as well as printmaking.

You mentioned [JCU Visual Arts Lecturer] Anne Lord there, she nominated you for the Celebrate Townsville 150. What would you say her influences were on your art practices?

Basically, again her knowledge, her understanding of the lithography – my two pieces in the upcoming show are both lithographs – and I worked pretty seriously with Anne over probably in many ways, over about six or seven years. She was my supervisor in my Honours/ Masters and I ended up taking her back on for my PHD. So she’s had a lot of influence on my conception development, technical skills and total support.

When you reflect on your own art-making career, we’ve already spoken about some of your lecturers at JCU, who else or what other things would you identify as your main influences on your art?

Probably drawing- I had Bob Preston for third year drawing and that was extremely good again, technical. James Brown for certain things, I didn’t have a lot of James but I had him for different subjects and I loved his technical mind- he really is one of the best painting technicians I’ve ever come across and he knows how to apply paint. Anneke Silver developed my interest in art history and that was actually pretty interesting, even before I came to JCU I met Anneke and she run workshops supplying arts out west, and she again was extremely supportive. I think all of these people fed into where I went and what I was doing. I can’t say that I followed any of their styles because that wasn’t the way it worked in printmaking– we didn’t follow the lecturer’s style at all, you developed your own.

Does drawing play a significant role in your art practices and if so how?

Oh, it does! Well, being a printmaker you draw, it’s one of the most important- not the most important, but the most important part of printmaking. You need to understand line, tone and how it will work in black and white and you’ve got to think backwards too, being a printmaker. I was a drawer before I came to uni, and one of the reasons I came to JCU was because of their drawing and printmaking components and those capable lecturers teaching those too.

Artists most often have to be self-reliant and lead a somewhat solitary lifestyle to create their art?

In the case of the printmaker, not necessarily, as you can see downstairs (the studio). Printmakers are a pretty sociable group, and because you’re using presses and sharing, you tend to share your knowledge as well. Painters are probably more solitary people than printmakers are.

Do you think that the added social element and support network helps you maintain your motivation?

Oh yeah, you bounce off the others and the others bounce off you. Downstairs we’re working on a project at the moment and we’re all going through ideas and keeping busy!

How does having a dedicated space downstairs for the making of art enable your practices and help you to create your pieces?

Well it does, because of the equipment downstairs. With the closure of the arts and printmaking at JCU, it was going to be extremely hard to actually access machinery and I’ve actually sat up and worked out I would probably mainly deal with lead prints and drawing. This all came to be through Vicki Salisbury and the fact we could get the presses over to actually enable me to continue lithography and etching, without having to outlay a lot of expense. And the space, it’s quite important to me.

Your works have been in many exhibitions and galleries; do you have any particular works that hold a special meaning to you?

Maybe one or two, but I tend to keep looking forward to the next piece of work. There’s a few that I’ll think ‘oh that was not a bad piece’. One or two of them are in the show I really like. So that’s a bit of experimenting with different techniques for both of them and they both worked. But any particular work I look at some now and think ‘oh that’s not much good’ and with others, ‘that wasn’t too bad’. But no, I tend to look forward more than backwards on my work. That’s a challenge.

Do you have any moment or exhibition that stands out as a highlight in your career as an artist?

Well probably my Honours one was probably the first major solo exhibition I had and that was quite successful, and then by the time I did Masters I got rather used to the idea of having solo exhibitions. So I’d say my first Honours one, first solo one, is the one that stands out most.

Art has a really special place in Townsville that is often under-rated with exhibitions across the town that are recognized nationally. How important do you feel art is in the Townsville landscape?

Well it is extremely important, and it probably has stronger presence than is actually realised- Perc Tucker [Regional Gallery], Umbrella [Studios], Pinnacles [Gallery], The Drill Hall [Studio], even my little gallery- Gallery 48, we all seem to have a good turnover of people that are interested. We get quite a few downstairs having a look at print works. But it’s actually quite- in fact it’s extremely important. There are moves on to build a nice dedicated precinct. TAFE is doing its very best to keep the art practice up and teaching. It’s growing from strength to strength, it comes and goes. 20 years ago I believe it was right across performance art, right across the board, and it’s building up again today.

Originally you are from Mount Isa, what triggered your move to Townsville and how do you feel the move has influenced your art practices?

I had basically been going to summer schools of applying arts to sort of develop the artist. In ‘88 I was sick and it wasn’t that serious in the end, and so I went off to the local TAFE to do something different, and that lead to joining applying arts. Anneke Silver and Anne Lord came out from JCU with lots of pamphlets and then there was another change in circumstances and I thought ‘I’ll see if I can get in’. So I rang up Anneke and I said ‘what’s the chances of me doing uni?’ And she said, ‘you’re in’. So that was it, I sold up and told my kids I was going back to school. The eldest just said ‘oh okay, that’s alright’ and my grandkids just looked at me and said ‘you’re going to school?’. So I ran away to uni and I came for the three years and at the end of three years I said, ‘I might as well do Honours’ – at the end of honours, ‘Oh I might get a scholarship and do Masters’, then ‘Oh I might as well finish the thing off now!’. So that was the trigger, the fact I was really interested in art. I’ve been doing summer schools, mid-term schools, I went to USQ [University of Southern Queensland] and I just thought that well, I wanted to take it further. It wasn’t so much the degrees, I just wanted to know.

What are your major sources of inspiration when creating a new art work?

That depends what I’m doing. For my PHD the main thing was ancient maps, and that was a major continuation for what I was doing then. But most of the artwork I did up until I finished my PHD have all been historically based. I drew the sources from- the concepts came out of studies in modern Renaissance, ancient mapping and Ptolemy, and one was the historical background of rural figure and the land. So these are all historically based, I think where I started from, but they’re my own interpretations of them. Not so much styles but the concepts.

What is your workflow and how do those ideas from history and the Renaissance become a piece of art?

With my PHD I did huge maps, subjective mapping of place which wasn’t grids and lines, but rather the feeling and the elements of place. That’s where I went to- and there’s this thing petrography which is a subjective backing of place, so that’s how it fit into that. I took that idea and did these big maps of place. But now I’m looking at- what’s driving it a little bit at the moment- is the fact we’ve got certain projects on and so we are working to a subject. Like the one that I’m working on downstairs is one that’s going in The Vault [a showroom in Umbrella Studios]. In the downstairs group we’re looking at a shifting of the building environment. So that’s quite a challenge. Where I work, I did people for a long time, just people in place. So it changes all the time now- where I go from here I’m looking at domestic settings next I think.

You mentioned there that there are a couple of pieces you’re currently working on, are you able to tell us any more about those pieces and where they’ll be displayed?

One of the pieces was done in my Honours year and I set up a number of posers with a friend of mine, based roughly on the portraits of Vermeer. But there were other ones that I set up and I would stage the people in a similar setting- it wasn’t copying it exactly, that was just the influence there. The other one I was interested in the domestic icon, or things that people collected. And where I was living at the time, I was renting with Ron McBurnie and his window sill over his kitchen was full of glass bottles and so I actually documented that as a lithograph because it was quite fascinating. That was a fairly recent piece- well not that recent now, it was about 2006, but that was where I was looking at investigating. And I’m quite interested at going back into that.

Do you have any plans for the future? Are there any exhibitions or competitions you will be entering in the short-term future?

I haven’t bothered with competitions for quite a while, just one is the time factor. But yes at the moment I’ve just finished working with compact prints which is here, I’m working on the piece for Shift in The Vault and I’ve got the postcards coming up. So that’s three major things all in within the next two months. What happens next year, I’m not quite sure yet! I’ve got another one too [current project] which opens… at our little gallery with Anne Lord and a friend of ours from out west, related to the dry tropics.

Outside of your own work, are there any pieces of artwork in Townsville that stand out to you as particularly influential or significant?

Well probably not influential, but I really like Ron McBurnie’s- the way he draws, prints and of course he has some really nice works. James Brown, Anneke- well basically I keep going back to these people who I’ve worked with or not so much that they’ve influenced my artwork but artwork that I’ve responded to quite happily. Then there’s on a day-to-day basis what’s produced here [in the Umbrella Studios workshop] with the other artists, it’s no piece or one piece that I’ll sort of say ‘wow!’ but there’s a few pieces I do say ‘wow!’. There’s quite a few people who are working here whose works I really like.

This year marks Townsville’s 150th year anniversary. How important do you feel it is that the history of Townsville’s art is recognized as part of commemorations?

Well it’s probably most important- artists have been working here since Townsville was founded. If you look at some of the prints and drawings in the Special Collections at JCU, you can see that there’s actually a time it played quite an important part in recording Townsville and arts of Townsville. The artwork that’s still produced now is still, a lot of it is recording the town as it is or was. So I think it’s quite important. And it has, I mean it’s not just art it’s hands on artwork, photography, even plays and music festivals- that’s all part of the art scene here and I think that’s still important. The Chamber Music Festival gets recognised Australia wide and internationally. These are things that make up a community and fits into culture.

You work across a number of mediums outside of printmaking, what is your favourite medium to work in?

Drawing. I used to paint- I used to be an oil painter- but I haven’t got the room to keep storing the canvases. So there’s drawing, mixed medium, and believe it or not digital work. The 3D printer’s providing a bit of a challenge there and the other one would be mixed medium- sculpture, 3D, yeah. I’ve taught pretty well through most of those mediums one way or the other.

You have run workshops in the past, educating Townsville’s next generation of artists. How does it feel to see your art practices influencing and developing the next generation of the region’s artists?

Well it’s good. I think my main thing is the fact that I’ve- where I’ve tried to impart downstairs and into workshops is the technical side of things, so if it’s done properly. That’s what I’m hoping I’ve helped with, I don’t see if my artwork is a major influence on them, but I think my technical knowledge was.

It was mentioned that there are challenges involved in the making of your art; do you find that that challenge adds motivation or do you look for pieces you could do easily?

No. I’m experimenting with different types of aqua tinting downstairs which is quite a challenge because we can’t use certain types of aqua tinting because of the health and safely things. That’s been good fun and so we’ve all been playing with that. I just like the technical challenge and to see ‘how will we get out of this?!’

Change in the energy sector has sparked debate in Townsville in recent years, after the Newman Government overturned a longstanding ban on uranium mining which has since seen the Townsville region identified as a potential site for a nuclear power plant.

With a royal commission currently underway in South Australia, exploring the possibility for the state to shift some power generation to nuclear power, JCNN’s Andrew Sands looks at the issues that come with going nuclear.

The James Cook University Society of Manga Anime and Gaming held its biannual Cosplay Event on May 8.

By Sophie Dillon

The SoMAG Cosplay Competition, a highlight of the night, allowed members the opportunity to trial their homemade costumes in front of an audience before heading to Tropicon next month.

It goes without saying that the competition had some serious contenders.

Rachael Russo’s intricate interpretation of Kougyoku Ren’s Djinn Equip from the anime and manga series Magi took first prize.

FIRST PLACE: Winner Rachael Russo. CREDIT: MT Photography

Courtney Tighe came in a close second for her cosplay of the creepy robotic Freddy Fazbear, the main antagonist from Five Nights at Freddy’s.

For those who are thinking about joining in the madness in Semester 2 but lack the access and the skillset needed to use a sowing machine don’t despair just yet.

You can still perform a successful cosplay by really becoming your character, something that Ben Schuster proved, as Satoru Iwata the Executive CEO of Nintendo, as the night progressed.

For further information visit their Facebook page.

An estimated 200 Townsville residents joined thousands of protestors across Australia and internationally, making their voices heard in the ongoing fight against the forced closure of remote Aboriginal communities in Western Australia.  

By Sophie Dillon

The Call to Action Protest is a response to the announcement of WA Premier Colin Barnett that more than a hundred Aboriginal communities in the state faced imminent closure.

Townsville protest took place on May 1 at 08:15am outside Stockland Shopping Centre with protestors blocking the Nathan St and Ross River Road intersection for 15 minutes.

James Cook University lecturer Maxwell Lenoy, one of the organisers of the Townsville Call to Action Protest says he is against the Government’s decision.

“Governments should not have the freedom to force communities to close without consent and without a valid reason,” Lenoy says.

The Federal Government is backing Premier Barnett’s announcement and sees the closure as a cost-saving measure for the state’s struggling economy.

Lenoy says the Western Australia government has been doing the closure in secret.

“They [government] are forcing communities to be evacuated by hiring security firms to come in and move people out without any consent and without any forward plan in place to help those members when they then are moved to another regional city.

“The national and international call to action will make it clear to the Government that the community, Indigenous and all Australians, are aware that this is happening and that they will not stand for it,” Lenoy says.

The proposed closure plans attracted widespread condemnation particularly as they followed Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s comments that taxpayer’s shouldn’t be expected to fund the “lifestyle choices” of Aboriginal people who live on their homelands.

JCU Indigenous Support Officer Florence Onus says she fears that if the proposed policy succeeds in Western Australia and South Australia, then the same can happen elsewhere, including Queensland.

“We’re marching because the Western Australia government announced that they’re going to close 150 Aboriginal remote communities, “ Florence says.

A similar policy is being considered in South Australia, she says.

“The Federal Government supports this so we’re very concerned here in Townsville that that’s going to set a precedent for every state and territory.”

The main organizer of the Call to Action protest Meyalah Blackman agrees with Onus and is concerned that the forced removal will reach Queensland remote communities.

“It’s a ripple effect; the buck doesn’t just stop at the removal of Western Australian communities. It’ll affect everybody in the long run,” Blackman says.

One of the many Non-Indigenous Australians who joined in the Townville Call to Action, Josh Denman, felt that it was important to show support for the cause.

“It’s all well and good for me to sit at home and say that the forced closure of these communities is a bad thing, but it’s another thing to come out and make a stand and actually do something about it,” he says.

An Indigenous Australian from Palm Island, Whanjullah joined the protest to stand together with the local, national and international community.

“The reason why we’ve all come out here is to stand in solidarity with the people right across the world about the forced closures of our communities, ” Whanjullah says.

The protests have been covered by social media, running in conjunction with a digital campaign that emboldens people to join in the fight by declaring their support under the hashtag #SOSBlakAustralia.

Many well known names have thrown their support behind the Call to Action campaign including Hugh Jackman, The Veronicas, and Hilltop Hoods. Academics such as Victoria Grieves, Craig Moritz and Sandy Toussaint have also added their voice to the conversation.

#sosblakaustralia #NOconsent #lifestylechoice #ingetjetadoras

A photo posted by Hugh Jackman (@thehughjackman) on Mar 19, 2015 at 6:35am PDT

For further information about the Townsville Call to Action, visit their page.

JCU is home to the only official Dungeons & Dragons club in Townsville, a role-playing game where the only limit is on imagination.

By Sophie Dillon and Nick Palmisano

JCU’s Dungeons and Dragons club is 2 years old, barely a hatchling, but it has a strong group of champions who fight for freedom and the liberty of all creatures, humanoid or otherwise, adventuring three times a week into far off lands.

If you have no idea what Dungeons & Dragons is, check out this introduction to the fourth edition. While the fifth edition is current, this video does a great job of explaining the premise, which is the same.

Check out this video to find out what makes Dungeons & Dragons the greatest tabletop role-playing game of all time. You be the judge. While you’re at it, make yourself a character!

James Cook University is set to host Townsville’s first ever Codeathon, a 24 hour IT marathon designed to raise the profile and culture of Information Technology.

By Nick Palmisano

You walk into a room. There’s more computers than Johnny Depp had in Transcendence, and he was a computer. You start to back away slowly, thinking you’ve accidentally walked into Skynet’s annual employee convention. Abruptly, somebody hands you a Red Bull and tells you, ‘Take a load off man. Welcome to the JCU Codeathon’.

Codeathon? I have no idea what that is but this Red Bull is good so I’m gonna’ stay because there’s computers and maybe even gaming, if I’m lucky. I think I just heard the term Hackathon thrown around but surely these people aren’t hacking? Are they?

NEW TO JCU: JCU’s Codeathon probably won’t have as many developers as TechCrunch Hackathon New York, which fielded over 1100 developers. CREDIT: Appery.io.

No, they’re not. Well, not quite. Think of a Codeathon as a more ethical, educational, and constructive event than a Hackathon, designed to bring software and IT lovers together from all walks of life for a marathon of fun, coding, and sugar.

JCU Developers Club member  and one of the event organizers, Angus Thomsen explains the reasoning behind the name ‘Codeathon’.

“The people who are funding the event are reframing from that term due to negative connotations with the word hack, and so we don’t give people who are less tech savvy the wrong idea about the nature of the event,” Angus said.

So chill out. JCU’s Codeathon is all about peace, love, and togetherness.

“A 24-hour programming marathon bringing industry and education together in a collaborative and social space to enhance our region through the use of Information Technology.”

Nothing about crashing corporate servers, hacking mainframes, or destabilizing online currencies.

Codeathon is all about teamwork.

SAN FRANCISCO: This Hackathon grand prize is $1 million dollars. CREDIT: Bootstrapper Studios

Most of the participants will have never met prior to forming their team.

There will be a problem that needs solving, or an idea to be executed. Through collaboration, the team will produce a unique coding solution to the challenge.

These types of events are growing ever popular, but JCU’s Codeathon will be the first of its kind and looks to become an annual event.

Angus Thomsen says the Developers Club felt compelled to organise the Codeathon.

“The lack of events of this nature in Townsville really pushed us to organize this event, in comparison to the capital cities where they have regular Codeathons, along with technical user groups or tech conferences.

“There may be a lack of stronger IT culture in Townsville, so hopefully this event will aid in establishing that,” Angus said.

JCU’s Codeathon starts on the 27^th of June and kicks off at 1pm at Education Central. Prepare yourself for 24 hours of death-defying, hair-raising, edge-of-your-seat coding.

Angus hopes the first annual JCU Codeathon inspires others to organize their own events.

“Hopefully if this goes well it will have a copycat effect, and others in the community will come out of the wood works, and feel compelled to do something similar.”

You can find more information on the dedicated JCU Codeathon website.

Local politicians, lawyers, and students took to the streets of Townsville for the Queensland Legal Walk to raise awareness and funds for community legal centers, just hours before the release of the 2015 Federal budget.

JCNN’s Rachel Lang has more.

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) will protect your data, maintain your privacy, and keep you secure online. But just what is a VPN, and how do they work?

By Nick Palmisano

In an age of online surveillance, where legislation continues to mount against digital freedoms, net users are turning to VPNs to bypass restrictions, circumvent geo-blocking, and keep their data private.

To understand a VPN however, you’ve got to understand the Internet.

Understanding The Internet:

Imagine the Internet is an ocean.

This ocean is vast, and in it are endless individual islands.

These islands are known as LANs (Local Area Networks), and you live on one of them.

Some of these islands are close, while others are very far away. In order to reach these islands, you must take a ferry.

Using this ferry is like connecting to a web server or other device through the Internet.

You have no control over the wires or routers that make up this server, just as you cannot control the other people who are on the ferry with you.

This leaves you open to security and privacy risks when trying to connect two or more private networks (the LANs) using a public resource.

Wi-Fi is one of the most common LAN technologies available today, used widely in public areas where consumers now expect a connection, known as ‘hotspots’.

These ‘hotspots’, like those in coffee shops, are unsecured public networks, and while most have firewalls designed to protect your system from the Internet, they do not protect your system from other network users.

This is where VPNs come in

The Virtual Private Network:

Coming back to our island analogy, let’s frame VPNs as single person submarines, and everybody on your island owns one.

These submarines have amazing properties:

• They’re fast.
• You can take them with you anywhere you go.
• They can hide you from other boats, and even other submarines.
• They’re reliable.
• Once you’ve purchased your first submarine, it costs little to buy another.

Now that you have your submarine, you can travel between islands whenever you want with privacy and security.

HOW IT WORKS: a diagram illustrating how a VPN service works. CREDIT: Smartunblock.com

This is essentially how a VPN works, connecting you in a private, secure manner with another member of your network, using the Internet as the conduit.

The other key aspect is the way in which VPNs can send data from one network to another.

VPN Tutorial Guide

Packets, Packets, Packets:

Right now you are using your computer to access a web server, which contains the file for this article you are reading.

Your computer sends a request for a file (this article) and the server responds by sending it to you.

The file is sent as multiple ‘packets’, parts of the file between 1000-1500 bytes, that when joined together make up the whole, just like a jigsaw.

Packets contain headers and footers that tell computers what’s in a packet and how the information fits with other packets to form a complete file.

When the packets get to you, your device arranges them into a perfect symmetry, enabling you to read, watch, or understand what is on your screen.

Packets extend to other file types beyond web pages, such as emails, which are also broken down into packets.

VPNs work differently.

Packets are not broken down, rather, the entire packet is hidden inside another one, the way you might bubble wrap presents before sending them onwards.

This is known as tunnelling, a way to send the complete packet discreetly and securely without risking its security, while exposing only the surface packet.

Beyond their security and privacy value, individuals also employ VPNs to bypass geographical restrictions on content, especially in Australia, where streaming services like HBO are unavailable, and Netflix offers little compared to its US service.

VPNs And Geo-blocking

Your desktop and laptop computer, server, scanner, printer, modem, router, smartphone and tablet all have an IP address.

This is known as an Internet Protocol address, which identifies your system and its geographic location to the network you are using.

Geo-blocking is the practice of preventing a network user from accessing content, usually websites or downloading media, based on location.

Countries such as China use geo-blocking to insulate their own network from foreign material, while film and television companies like HBO, and Netflix, use geo-blocking to restrict their content to specific regions.

They do this by targeting specific IP addresses that geographically originate from outside their region.

GEOBLOCKING: The homepage of one of many VPN Websites: SOURCE: TorGuard

In this way, film, television, and entertainment companies can regionalize their content, setting prices dependent entirely on where you live.

Australian consumers often suffer from geo-blocking, with companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon charging higher prices via the $AUD than are advertised in the USA for the same product.

Piracy, Equal Access, The Film That Fuelled The Fire

Illegal downloading of the film Dallas Buyers Club has prompted Government to respond to calls by film companies to crack down on film piracy. CREDIT: CCTV America

VPNs have servers around the world, either digital or physical and in a multitude of countries.

When you access your VPN, you have the option to select which server you’d like your IP to operate from.

Most VPNs have servers in the USA, so even if you’re sitting on the steps of Darling Harbour, your IP address will register on the network as originating from the USA.

This allows you to bypass geo-restrictions and access content that would otherwise be inaccessible to Australian consumers.

So Are VPNs Legal?

In March, Federal Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull introduced the Copyright Amendment (Online Infringement) Bill 2015 to parliament.

NEW BILL: Communication’s Minister Malcom Turnbull says VPNs are safe, but it’s unclear how his amendments to the Copyright Act will affect their legal standing. CREDIT: Alex Ellinghausen

The bill, if passed, will require Internet service providers to block access to overseas websites found to facilitate copyright infringement.

Malcolm Turnbull’s own website has a stream of facts regarding the legal ramifications of the bill, and for the moment it seems, VPNs are safe.

“The Copyright Act does not make it illegal to use a VPN to access overseas content.” – Federal Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

HBO in the last few days has cut off Australian consumers from accessing their services via geo-blocking methods, an article in the Sydney Morning Herald explains.

The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) is equally concerned that the vagueness of definitions and terms within the Copyright Amendment Bill could leave VPN’s vulnerable.

With over 200,000 estimated Netflix users in Australia, and many of them VPN users, any law that restricts or blocks VPNs from doing their job may adversely impact streaming services rather than help them.

Regardless of whether you access geo-blocked content, there’s no denying that a VPN is an essential service, designed to protect your data, keep you secure, and maintain your privacy.

The only question now is how long they’ll be able to do that.

AIRLIE BEACH: Flotilla for the Reef. Photo Credit: Credit: Schine Buddhaboon

Hundreds of activists lined both sea and sand in Townsville and Airlie Beach on Sunday, calling on the government to ban dredge dumping in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

by Rachel Lang

Protestors assembled on land, as a flotilla of kayaks, scuba divers and boats gathered on the ocean with one simple message: to protect the reef from the damaging effects of dumping dredge spoil into the marine park.

Flotilla for the Reef spokesperson, Jacinta Tonkin, said with the reef one of the world’s great natural wonders, it is imperative that the people of North Queensland take action.

“Today’s turnout shows that our community really cares about the Great Barrier Reef and is worried about dredge spoil dumping in the World Heritage Area.”

Last month, the Queensland government proposed that dumping of three million tonnes of dredge spoil could be on land instead of in the ocean.

Former Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority Director, Dr. Adam Smith, welcomed the government’s change of heart.

“The good news is the Government is indicating they may not dump dredge spoil in the Marine Park at Abbot Point – but the bad news is other important areas such as the adjacent World Heritage area and Caley Valley wetlands have not yet been subject to planning, protection and world’s best practice management”.

‘Even though the state government has signaled plans to dispose of dredge spoil on land at Abbot Point, we have not seen any commitment to ban dumping at all the other proposed mega industrial port expansions in the World Heritage Area, let alone any concrete plans showing their intentions at Abbot Point’, said Ms. Tonkin.

‘Plans that will require 100 million tonnes of dredging, significant amounts of dumping in Reef waters, and an increase to 7000 ships crossing the Great Barrier Reef each year are still in place’ added Ms. Tonkin.

Federal Environment Minister, Greg Hunt, is yet to approve the proposal to dump dredge soil on land instead of sea.

The North Queensland Instameet had over a thousand participants.

By Kyla Whitmore

A state-wide event organized by Queensland Tourism and Events known as the ‘Instameet’ has witnessed over 6000 photographs uploaded in an effort to highlight the state’s natural beauty.

Images are moderated and uploaded to the social media platform Instagram, to create a massive wave of digital content known colloquially as a “digital clap”.

Event organisers want the event to highlight residents’ favourite pockets of the state, and showcase Queensland as a global destination.

Travel blogger, Paul Fleming, better known as ‘LoveThyWalrus’ says ;
“We’re coming together to share the amazing beauty of Queensland, all on the same day. People like their information now. If you think of a place where you want to go, you want to get an idea in your mind of what it looks like. Today, you get that from Social Media”

Fleming considers Instagram as part of a “new wave of social travel”, and complements traditional travel writing to impart an experience or mood as opposed to quick visual-based inspiration.

“Instagram is accessible. Anyone can use it, and anyone can take the pictures I take as well. That’s why I like to shoot that way – People can see themselves in that location and see themselves capturing it in a similar way.”

Fleming travelled from his home in Hobart, Tasmania to help draw attention to the event from his more than 40,000 followers. Fleming compares Queensland to paradise, as a far cry from the biting cold of Tasmanian winter.

“It’s is visual. You get people’s attention through the image, and that’s what’s going to sell itself”.

Lachlan Rogers, spokesperson for Queensland tourism and Events, says he was “blown away by the response” Queenslanders had towards the Instameet.

“We were hoping for about 3000 pictures shared, and we had well and truly surpassed that by 9am Saturday,” he said.

Images from Townsville’s 4^th October Instameet can be found on Instagram, as well as other contributions from across the state by searching for the hash-tag #ThisIsQueensland.