Sarah Brown, freedom rallies, Danny Hawkins| Gympie stories that shocked us
From chilling court cases to the deaths that broke our hearts and the decisions that divided the community, these are the Gympie stories that shocked us the most this year.
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15. Mary Street trees removed by Gympie council
It was a story that divided Mary Street, and one which Gympie council CEO and Mayor Glen Hartwig ultimately won – the removal of two old leopard trees in the heart of Gympie.
Then Chamber of Commerce president Tony Goodman fought hard to save them but in the end, the chainsaws and mulching machines were brought in and the magnificent shade trees were destroyed.
They trees were part of the boulevard of leopard trees in Mary St which were planted decades ago but which had become a problem in terms of roots invading the pavement and causing a trip hazard.
14. Gympie Freedom Rallies
Gympie – like many cities across Australia and the world – hosted a number of so-called Freedom Rallies as a portion of the population continued to object to the government-imposed restrictions iand mandates n their efforts to mitigate the Covid pandemic.
Gympie hosted another Freedom Festival on Saturday, December 11, in Memorial Park.
The rallies were a protest against the restrictions, a call for people to be able to “work, travel and live” and a rejection of government mandates implemented on December 17.
December 11 rally organiser Allona Lahn said the idea was to give people hope and to make a stand against the “madness”.
“I think everyone should be concerned about the discrimination, the bullying, the no-jab-no-job, no-jab-no-travel, the restrictions and where the government are taking us in the future,” she said.
13. Gympie Pyramid (Djaki Kundu) v the Gympie Bypass protests
Protesters served the Qld Transport Department a “tribal eviction” notice and accused its officials of acting like a “pack of thugs” as the fight over the fate of the “Gympie Pyramid” site continued.
Diane Djaki Widjung served the notice at TMR’s Gympie branch as more than 60 supporters gathered outside calling for protection of the Rocky Ridge site, which they call “Djaki Kundu”.
The land has been at the centre of a years-long dispute which came to a head on October 15, when dozens of police evicted protesters from the site.
Six people were charged for offences including trespassing.
TMR and police moved in following a refusal by Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley to declare the land of “significant cultural heritage” under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act.
12. Loss of koala habitat after protection laws lifted in Gympie
A story that shocked and saddened many people was the loss of koala and wildlife habitat in the Gympie region after the council repealed the TLPIs that ensured its protection.
Environmental groups have now been calling on the State Government to install interim protections until the Gympie Regional Council returns stronger protections against land clearing.
The Wide Bay Burnett Environment Council and Koala Action Group Gympie Region reiterated the call in the wake of comments by Mayor Glen Hartwig defending his council’s actions.
Mr Hartwig denied accusations the council had allowed wholesale clearing of known koala habitats by removing the laws.
WBBEC regional co-ordinator Mike Moller said:
“The fact of the matter is that neither the Gympie Regional Council nor the Queensland Government are doing anything to urgently protect koala habitat in Gympie.”
Read about what happened here.
11. Beloved teacher’s shock cancer diagnosis
Beloved Gympie region teacher, volleyball coach and fisherman Dave Arthur was diagnosed with advanced renal cell cancer.
The 43-year-old has long been a popular member of the wider Gympie region community though his work with family business Rainbow Escape Charters, as well as teaching at Tin Can Bay State School and James Nash State High School.
He mentioned the weight loss to his doctor when getting checked out for a shoulder injury, and went through a number of tests as a result.
10. Man sentenced over sex crime against 12yo girl
A 20-year-old convicted sex offender, who was brutally assaulted by his 12-year-old victim’s father after hearing what he had done, was sentenced in 2021 for the crime that left the girl traumatised.
Riley Colin Carkeet pleaded guilty to having unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl under 16 when he last appeared in Gympie District Court on July 12, 2021.
He originally pleaded not guilty to the charge on May 5, 2021, but changed his plea just as he was about to prerecord evidence in his July 2021 appearance.
Carkeet was supported by his family in the public gallery during his sentence in Gympie District Court on Wednesday.
9. Gympie businessman charged over tragic on-site death
An engineering solutions company was fined $20,000 by the Gympie Magistrates Court in 2021, following an investigation into the tragic death of worker Noel Ormes at the site in 2019.
Mr Ormes was 60 years old when he was accidentally killed at Owen’s Rewind on Tozer St, in what Gympie magistrate Kurt Fowler described as a “tragic set of circumstances” on the morning of July 3, 2019.
Mr Ormes died from serious leg, pelvis and chest injuries, and bled out as emergency services tried to revive him after he was crushed by a generator that fell from a forklift.
An investigation by the Department of Workplace Health and Safety reached the conclusion that Conhur Pty Ltd was at fault for failing to comply with the Workplace Health and Safety Act 2011.
8. The tragic death of Sarah Brown
Sarah Brown, the beautiful 23-year-old whose lifeless body was discovered in bushland near Victory Trails in June, has been remembered by those who loved her most in a heart wrenching tribute.
Sarah’s devastated mother, Janet Gardner, said she was coming to visit her daughter in Gympie 10 days ago, but when she arrived, Sarah was nowhere to be found.
“She was not seen or heard of since, until they found her,” Ms Gardner said.
Sarah went missing on June 7, 2021, and her body was found by a friend on June 14.
“A friend found her, she had her make-up on and her dress on, she was dressed to go out, I would say, but never made it,” Ms Gardner said.
7. Elderly man killed in horror Bruce Highway crash
An 86-year-old Scarness man was killed in a horror head-on crash between a car and a truck on the Bruce Highway south of Gympie on June 28, 2021.
The 86-year-old was reportedly travelling north on the highway when his car collided with the southbound truck about 1km south of the Gold Nugget service station just before 6am this morning.
He was the only occupant of the car and pronounced dead at the scene.
The 36-year-old truck driver was not seriously injured in the crash.
Police have called for anyone with dashcam footage of the crash to please come forward; the Forensic Crash Unit is investigating.
Read about what happened here.
6. The stabbing of Gympie Boxer, Danny Hawkins.
Champion Gympie-based boxer Danny Hawkins has recovered but the court case of his accused attackers drags on after he was stabbed in his front garden on September 18, 2021.
Mr Hawkins, 45, was building a cubby house for his daughter at his Parsons Rd home when he was allegedly ambushed by a group of men.
He was flown to Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital where he received treatment and the incident is now before the courts.
Speaking exclusively with the Gympie Times, Danny’s wife, Alicia, shared how the family was feeling after the event that shocked the community.
“We are so grateful to everyone for all they have done to support our family during this difficult time,” she said.
Five men have been charged over the incident.
5. Murder charge after body found down embankment
Two Fraser Coast brothers have been charged with the murder of a man whose body was found near Gympie, have had their matters mentioned in Maryborough Magistrates Court.
Daniel and James Baumgart were charged with murder following the death of Brisbane’s Michael Bartley.
Police allege four men, including the two brothers, were involved in a fight at a home in John St, Maryborough, about 5pm on Sunday, November 1, 2020.
It’s further alleged that afterwards, two of the men fled the scene in a white ute after sustaining injuries. It was one of these two men who was found dead on a Gympie property.
4. Death of Gympie beloved AFL player
Gympie region teenager Rykah Burr died from serious injuries in a horrific car crash at Wolvi on April 11, 2021.
The 18-year-old was in an induced coma in a Brisbane hospital following the crash on Vines Road.
Rykah and another man were critically injured when the car they were in collided with a tree.
Rykah’s mother Nikki revealed the news of his death in a Facebook post on April 14. The region was devastated.
“It is with an extremely heavy heart and complete devastation beyond words that we want to let everyone know who loves and has supported Rykah that my perfect son, the most amazing brother, nephew, cousin and friend anyone could ever have wished for has lost his fight for life and has sadly passed away,” she said.
3. Man in court for Wolvi crash that caused death of son
The burden of sentencing a grieving father who had already paid the ultimate price was palpable in the Gympie Magistrates Courtroom on August 31, which heard any punishment would ‘pale in comparison’ to the guilt he already felt.
Alan Stevens was all too familiar with the unimaginable pain of losing a child in a crash when he caused a collision which claimed the life of his second son in March this year.
The 69-year-old Goomboorian father was driving a 4WD with 29-year-old Josiah beside him when he collided with a school bus full of children near Gympie on March 9.
All 26 children on the bus would all survive but Josiah, described as a “sweet, friendly guy with the infectious smile” couldn’t be saved despite a marathon effort from paramedics at the scene.
Stevens’ actions that day saw him charged with driving without due care and attention causing death and on Tuesday, the police prosecutor acknowledged “I’m not sure that there is any penalty that could be imposed by the court today that would be more significant than what the defendant is already suffering”.
2. Death of Gympie mother and daughter
Jessica Greig was described by her family as a “caring”, “dedicated” and “loving mother” after her life was tragically taken in a horror crash near Toowoomba in June.
The 29-year-old was a mother of three children, one of which was also killed in the accident on June 8, 2021, and practised as a nurse at the Gympie Hospital.
Jessica’s mother Ellen Turnbull said her daughter first started as a nurse at Buderim Private Hospital before moving to Noosa and then Gympie.
“I was a dedicated mum and she was a dedicated mum and we were really good friends and she has been a tower of strength for me and my husband,” Mrs Turnbull said.
“She has been a real rock for us over the last couple of years and pulled us together as a family and we have made some really good memories.
1. Goomeri boy Xavier Webb dies from horror fire accident
The community is mourning the tragic death of nine-year-old Goomeri footy star Xavier Webb, who suffered significant burns from a petrol fire accident in July, 2021.
Xavier was playing at a private property in Goomeri on July 8, when he received burns to 60 per cent of his body and had to be flown to Queensland Children’s Hospital and placed in an induced coma.
Paramedics initially treated Xavier on scene, before taking him to the showgrounds to rendezvous with the RACQ LifeFlight Rescue crew.
The Goomeri State School student suffered “significant” burns to his body, face and airways.
Xavier’s mother Sandra Webb said he had since undergone surgery every two days in an effort to save him, with the doctors reassessing his situation along the way.
Tragically though, Xavier died as a result of his injuries.
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