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Lucinda - 4850

Teens aboard tall ship rescue capsized kayaker from crocodile-prone Queensland waters

A group of young sailors spending their school holidays on an eight-day tall ship voyage have helped pluck two stranded kayakers from dangerous waters near Hinchinbrook Island.
Updated
A tall ship passing a mountainous island.

'Wasn't quite sitting right': Scientist shocked by sight of shark vomiting up echidna

Nicholas Lubitz witnessed the remarkable emetic incident during a three-year project that saw hundreds of marine creatures tagged off the Queensland coast.
A composite image showing a shark and an echidna, both swimming in the ocean.

Wildlife officers trap crocodile on the Herbert River

Wildlife officers were called in to capture the 3.9 metre crocodile on a property on the Herbert River in North Queensland.
ABC News Current
Duration: 1 minute 40 seconds

Zachary's hobby requires a harpoon gun and buckets of courage, and it's booming in popularity

It's a high-adrenaline hobby with its fair share of risks, but even those who've witnessed shark attacks are still spearfishing.
Updated
A man in the water holds a large fish

Local heroes celebrated with murals in QLD town

In Lucinda the humble power pole is a blank canvas for an artist who is immortalising local legends big and small.
ABC News Current
Duration: 1 minute 48 seconds

Over 20 years, not a single one of David's roadside artworks has been graffitied

In a beaten-up ute, David Rowe is a familiar sight in the Queensland town of Lucinda, where he splashes colour and humour onto roadside canvases one power pole at a time. 
two painted power poles beside a man sitting on a ute tray with a bushy beard and glasses

He doesn't have a phone or computer, but everyone in this seaside town knows how to find Pelican Bob

In another life, Pelican Bob was a cabaret singer and signwriter. But it was making the move to a small coastal town in north Queensland that helped the 78-year-old find his joy.
A man in a hat smiles with two small fish hanging from his teeth.

Quota cuts driving fishers out of industry

New catch limits for east coast Spanish mackerel have inflated costs for North Queensland fishers, forcing many out of the industry.
ABC News Current
Duration: 1 minute 58 seconds

Tragic news forced this fisher back to land. After decades of hard work, his wife is about to be left with nothing

When Liza Putzka's husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer they were forced to wind down their Spanish mackerel fishing business. She always thought she could sell their licence and boat and retire comfortably — but that is not the case.
Updated
A man on a boat at sunset

Mackerel fishery management delay angers fishers, industry, and conservation lobby

Further delaying changes to the way the East Coast Spanish Mackerel Fishery is managed is increasing uncertainty for the commercial sector and the species' survival, fishers and conservationists say.
Man inside a cool room with mackerel fish hung up inside.

Spanish mackerel fishers fear for future of 'mismanaged fishery'

Commercial fishers fear mismanagement of Spanish mackerel stocks by Fisheries Queensland is about to cost them their livelihoods, but the state government insists no decisions have been made.
Two whole spanish mackerel and mackerel fillets on a boat at sea

Police confirm cocaine washed up on Queensland island will be compared to samples from 2018 bust

Cocaine found washed up on Hinchinbrook Island earlier this year is being forensically compared to samples from packages seized off the New South Wales coast in 2018.
Updated
Ten blue plastic packages dusted with white powder are taped together, in a paper bag, on a bench.

Warnings cancelled for North Queensland as Tropical Cyclone Niran intensifies off the coast

Tropical Cyclone Niran intensifies to a category 3 off the north Queensland coast this morning, but is no longer a threat to coastal communities in North Queensland.
Updated
Track map of Tropical Cyclone Niran.

Cyclone Niran expected to intensify as it tracks away from coast

Cyclone Niran is expected to intensify into a category three storm within the next 24 hours, bringing gusts of up to 100kph to coastal and island communities.
Updated
Cyclone Niran tracking map.

Tropical Cyclone Niran upgraded to category two storm with powerful winds, heavy rainfall lashes north Queensland

Tropical Cyclone Niran intensifies to a category two storm off the Far North Queensland coast, and is bringing powerful winds, heavy rainfall and potential flooding to coastal communities.
Updated
A large tree uprooted falls onto fence.

Tropical cyclone predicted to form on Tuesday as technical issues take Townsville radar offline

A tropical cyclone is expected to form on Tuesday morning off north Queensland and could reach category 3 strength, but the weather radar in Townsville is currently out of action, and could remain offline for days.
Updated
A large fallen tree damages the roof of a home.

It's one of Queensland's great wilderness walks, but hikers are scrambling to get access

Demand to trek Australia's largest island national park is so high, there are investigations to increase its tourism capacity. But experts warn it could have consequences on the environment and on tourists' experiences.
Campers look up at a mountain on the Thorsborne Trail on Hinchinbrook Island.

'Mother Nature hasn't turned the tap off yet': Tropical Cyclone Kimi downgraded but could reform

Tropical Cyclone Kimi is downgraded to a tropical low overnight and is no longer expected to cross the north Queensland coast, but the system could still reform in the coming week, the Bureau of Meteorology warns.
Updated
Clouds swirl under the wing of a plane.

Townsville airport closes, but Tropical Cyclone Kimi weakens, unlikely to cross coast

The Bureau of Meteorology says it is now unlikely the weakening Tropical Cyclone Kimi will significantly impact the north Queensland coast.
Updated
A satellite image of Cyclone Kimi off the coast of Far North Queensland.

'I've got nowhere to go': Bid to relocate homeless camper as cyclone heads for coastline

Diana McKinstry pitched her tent near the ocean about five months ago in a bid to aid her recovery from depression. The community is now working hard to find her shelter as Tropical Cyclone Kimi approaches.
Updated
Diana at beach

Tropical Cyclone Kimi 'unpredictable', BOM warns as Fitzroy Island evacuated

Authorities warn Tropical Cyclone Kimi could be "unpredictable" with residents from Cooktown to Lucinda warned of destructive winds, heavy rainfall, high tides and flash flooding.
Updated
Stormy clouds and dark seas.

'He stopped breathing': Doctor who helped save shark attack victim recalls frantic rescue efforts

A doctor who helped treat shark attack victim, Richard Bettua, off the north Queensland coast yesterday recalls the frantic efforts to save him as he drifted in and out of consciousness.
Updated
A white man wearing a wetsuit holds up a large orange fish.

Man in critical condition after shark attack off Townsville

A 59-year-old man is undergoing surgery after being bitten by a shark at Britomart Reef, 120 kilometres north of Townsville, in North Queensland.
Updated
A white man wearing a wetsuit holds up a large orange fish.

Case dropped against man accused of attempting to kidnap 6yo at caravan park

The case against Queensland man Ronald John Toft, who was accused of trying to kidnap a six-year-old girl at an Adelaide caravan park earlier this year, is dropped.
A man in a suit with a woman walking

Ingham facing second flood peak, houses cut off

An emergency warning is issued for Ingham and Halifax in north Queensland as the rising Herbert River floods streets and cuts off access to the towns in the area's second major flood in three weeks.
Updated
A flooded road at Halifax, near Ingham in north Queensland where the rising Herbert River cut off communities on March 28, 2018