Men’s Shed to host funfair at Holloways Beach

Prepare to say “Hello Holloways” this Sunday as the beachside community shrugs off the battering it took during the December floods and stages a funfair to remember, complete with more stalls, food trucks, and more.

Prepare to say “Hello Holloways” this Sunday as the beachside community shrugs off the battering it took during the December floods and stages a funfair to remember, complete with more stalls, food trucks, and more.

Hosted by the Men’s Shed at Holloways Beach, the one-off event, on Sunday, July 14, at Syd and Jane Granville Park, will feature more than 60 stalls, food trucks, live music, entertainment for the kids, as well as pickleball demonstrations.

Holloways Beach Men’s Shed spokesman John Kelly said while the beachside community was a small one, they took a beating after the 1-in-100 year flooding event in 2023.

“We have lost so much, but we are still standing, while there is a long road to recovery there is so much to celebrate about Holloways Beach,” he said.

Mr Kelly said there was a perception the little community was a ghost town after being wiped out, however, he says this just “isn’t the case”.

“This is clearly not correct. We’re still here. There are still people who need help and we need to do everything we can to help us back on our feet,” he said.

John "Gus" Kelly, has been making a number of projects at the Men's Shed from repurposed materials. Picture: Supplied.

The Mimosa street resident was displaced from his home after Cyclone Jasper and bounced around from sleeping in a swag in a friend’s lounge room to living in a caravan on “someone’s front lawn”.

After losing everything he had in the floods, the now retired mental health worker, understands all to well the grief and emotional toil the community has been facing over the last seven months.

“The event will be a joyful experience, there are still a lot of people out going through a very difficult time and we’re trying to say ‘look to us old fellas, we’re trying to find a way to recover’,” he said.

Recently Mr Kelly has been working on restoring 13 chairs and an eight-seater table donated to the Men’s Shed by Holloways residents and said fixing water damaged furniture from the floods was part of his recovery journey.

“Cleaning these is not very simple because of the bacteria in the soil, you’ve got to pressure wash them first, then you have hand sanding to bring them back before you can put a coat on,” he said.

“This (Men’s Shed) became a hub for self-directed recovery, because our mission is to take care of men’s mental health and wellbeing and this just fitted the bill absolutely perfectly”.

A piece of furniture donated to be restored by the members at the Men's Shed. Picture: Supplied.

Men's Shed is holding a community event this weekend "Hello Holloways", to welcome the Far North Queenslanders back to the beloved beach side suburb. Picture: Supplied.

Holloways Beach Community Hall secretary Suzette Habel acknowledged the collaborative work being done by Cairns Regional Council and other members of the community to restore the beachside suburb and expressed this event was not a “replacement” for those much loved markets.

“We know that everyone loved our monthly markets, which were the only truly beachside markets in the Far North,” Ms Habel said.

“The markets were a staple for many small businesses.”

“This is just our way to try and help bring a bit of love back to our suburb”.

Profits raised on Sunday through the “welcome back” event will go back into local community-based programs, via the Men’s Shed.

Hello Holloways will be held in Syd and Jane Granville Park from 8am to 2pm on Sunday, July 14.

Originally published as Men’s Shed to host funfair at Holloways Beach