Power 30: Fraser Coast’s most influential people 2023
Who are the Fraser Coast’s ultimate powerbrokers, the heavy hitters shaping our region and, to an extent, our lives? Today we begin the rollout of the most influential people of 2023.
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They’re the movers, shakers and makers of the Fraser Coast, and are playing a huge part in how it is overcoming the lingering challenges of the pandemic and shaping up for the future.
Today we reveal the first rollout of 2023’s 30 most influential men and women: the final 10 of the list, who came in #30 to #21.
Over the next few days, we will roll out the other 20 most influential people, eventually revealing who are the top 10 most influential people of 2023.
This list is a subjective talking point, not a scientific guide. It is a way of celebrating and thanking those who are achieving big things, exerting their influence, and moving our region into a prosperous future.
We welcome feedback from the public.
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#30 Maurice Blair
From Penrith to Melbourne to Hull in the United Kingdom, rugby league has taken Maurice Blair far away from his humble beginnings in Maryborough.
After a stint in Hull where he played 116 games and in 2016 he was named player of the year, he then returned to his home state for a short stint with QRL side the Northern Pride.
In 2023, he returned to where it all began in Maryborough to become head coach for the Wallaroos, guiding the side to fifth place for the season.
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He sees his role at the Roos as a “way to give back to the community” and wants to pass on his knowledge to all the “young fellas he coaches”.
After winning the premiership with the Roos in 2003 he hopes to repeat the feat as coach.
#29 James Hyne
Executive director and stakeholder investment manager, James Hyne, runs one of the biggest timber factories on the Fraser Coast.
Hyne Timbers has operated since 1882 and is one of Queensland's most esteemed companies, evidently shown in 2015 when it was inducted into the state’s Business Leaders Hall of Fame.
Mr Hyne began his career with Hyne Timber when he was only 17 years old as a laborer in 1979, and worked all sorts of roles before reaching his current position in 2o16.
The company has an average turnover of $380 million and recently went into partnership with Scottish-based James Jones and Sons.
With a new factory opened in late 2020, Mr Hyne has helped to provide almost 40 jobs around the Fraser Coast and supplies products to several regions within Australia.
Hyne and the company are active participants with their local community, sponsoring numerous charitable causes including Marine Rescue Hervey Bay and RDA Maryborough.
#28 Janet Persal
Fifteen years ago Fraser Coast business legend Warren Persal raised an eyebrow when his daughter Janet showed a keen interest in his hotels.
The Persal and Co company had expanded from its thriving power transmission base to include hotel and equipment hire investments at home, but Mr Persal had always insisted that his three children went out into the world “to work it out for yourself” before joining the family businesses.
Ms Persal became a schoolteacher but took a keen interest in the two hotels remodelled by Persal and Co: the Beach House in Hervey Bay and the Carriers Arms in Maryborough.
In true Persal style, she learnt the business from the bottom up and now oversees the businesses on the home front while brother Brian manages the power line construction arm.
Her journey to become a widely respected, popular and successful business leader on the Fraser Coast has not been easy. She was shattered by the sudden death of her beloved father and mentor in 2017 and worked tirelessly to meet the challenges of the Covid pandemic.
#27 Cassidy Mackie
Even before her big break on The Voice in 2022 where she finished as a semi-finalist, Cassidy Mackie had cemented her place as one of the Fraser Coast’s most beloved singers.
Personal career highlights so far have seen her perform at both the 2020 and 2022 AFL Grand Finals.
Despite all this she still performs regularly on the Fraser Coast such as last month where she charmed festival goers at the Flavours at Seafront Oval.
Thanks to her performance on The Voice her Instagram following now counts over 7000.
Ms Mackie’s latest release on Spotify titled Baby Steps has attracted much attention, with one of the tracks, Trying, streamed more than 130,000 times.
#26 Tanya Stevenson
Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Centre CEO Tanya Stevenson is renowned for her compassion for the community and ability to deliver on projects.
Ms Stevenson has qualifications in Psychology and a Masters degree in Education.
She was named Young Business Person of the year in 2012 on the Fraser Coast and Young Alumni of the year for USQ in 2013.
Ms Stevenson has led the strategic expansion of the HBNC to include the implementation of the Fraser Coast Community Social Plan and the development of the Neighbourhood Hive and Urangan Wellness Centre as well as their first social enterprise, The Wandering Teapot.
She is a long-term Fraser Coast resident and has worked in the community sector for more than 20 years.
#25 Josh and Brandon Jarius
The brotherly duo of Josh and Brandon Jarius won the nation’s hearts on House Rules in 2018, finishing fourth.
Brandon, 21, and Josh, 23, bought their Neptune St home in 2014 for $175,000 and were the youngest team in the competition.
The carpenters described the competition as an “intense” and ”unreal” experience. and said one of the hardest parts was keeping it all a secret from family and friends for a year before the show aired.
The success has continued off the show for the brothers who now compete in speedway competitions across the state.
Their Instagram page has a following of 18,000 and features pictures of what they’ve been up to since wrapping up House Rules and images from their time on the show.
They are also the charitable type, and growing out mustaches for Movember in 202o.
#24 Sandra Holebrook
With more than 20 years of commercial business experience, Hervey Bay Chamber of Commerce president Sandra Holebrook has acquired a wide-reaching portfolio of skills and experience forged from holding financial, operational, and general management and director roles in a diverse range of sectors including retail, distribution, wholesaling, and manufacturing.
The Chamber of Commerce consists of 120 members across the Fraser Coast and Wide Bay.
Ms Holebrook has won much praise for her five years of work with Trauma and Youth Assist, where she is the CEO.
Trauma Assist is a psychological trauma counselling service which works in partnership with the NDIS.
It specialises in providing care for victims of sexual violence, domestic violence and suicide preventions. Ms Holebrook’s branch offers support across the Wide Bay.
Youth Assist offers much the same but to youth and teen clientele.
Ms Holebrook has also excelled in academia, gaining a Masters of Education and a Masters in Leadership from the Queensland University of Technology in 2016.
#23 Simon Done
Since becoming principal at Maryborough State High School in 2015, Simon Done has ensured the school has grown with each year in size and reputation.
After gaining a Bachelor of Education from Queensland University of Technology, Mr Done’s teaching career took him across the state.
He started off in Yarraman in 1995, than went to Toloola for nine years where he was deputy principal, then to Morayfield for eight years before settling down in Maryborough in 2015.
The school was commended in 2020, with three excellence awards at the Australian Education Awards for Best Government School, Best Regional School and Best Co-Curricular Program.
It was also awarded an Excellence Award for Best Secondary Government School in Australia in 2021.
Maryborough State High School has won the Fraser Coast Educator of the Year every year since 2018 and has now been “retired” into the Hall of Fame.
With 1260 students it has the biggest enrolment in Maryborough, and Mr Done is “immensely proud” of all of his students, and is looking forward to what’s next.
#22 Luke Strochnetter
Starting his own business as the young age of 17, Luke Strochnetter is a rising star within the Fraser Coast commerce sector.
Now 22 years old, he is on the committee of many community events such as Carols by Candlelight while also running a marketing agency and pop-up picnic business.
In addition, he is the vice-chair of the Fraser Coast Young Advisory Council.
The Urangan local also plans to run for the Division 10 seat at the March 2024 Fraser Coast Regional Council elections.
#21 Dan and Steph Mulheron
Hervey Bay identities Dan and Steph Mulheron were champions of the hit reality television show My Kitchen Rules back in 2013.
In the 10 years since then, the Mulherons have opened successful Fraser Coast businesses and recently sold their Eat at Dan & Steph’s restaurant.
With the sale of the restaurant Steph has moved away from the hospitality industry and started working as a real estate agent at Carter Cooper Realty in Hervey Bay.
Along the way, she shared her inspirational story, giving other women facing fertility struggles a voice and after a gruelling battle with IVF, the couple welcomed their daughter Emmy.
They also starred in their own television show, Travel and Eat with Dan and Steph, with the aim of taking viewers on an international food journey, while visiting regional areas across Queensland.
They have more than 109,000 followers on Facebook.
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