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Fine Food in Yarraman June 6, 2005 - Earlier this year Herbert's Food and Fuel in the main street at Yarraman morphed into Yarraman Fine Food and Fuel under the new ownership of Keith and Tina Walters. This mixed business, located on the D'Aguilar Highway, offers fuel, newspapers, fishing and camping gear, a range of hardware, video hire and tourist information. However Keith and Tina are also putting a greater emphasis on the food side ... offering takeaway food and meals in their 30-seat cafe. Yarraman Fine Food and Fuel can be contacted on (07) 4163-8447 or by email

Public Meeting To Preview Water Plan June 3, 2005 - A public meeting to discuss draft amendments to include the Barker-Barambah Creek Catchment in the Burnett Basin Resource Operations Plan will be held at Murgon Town Hall at 7:00pm next Thursday evening (June 9). The meeting has been called by the Department of Natural Resources and Mines to report on the outcome of public submissions received into the proposal which will affect water users throughout the South Burnett region. After the meeting, further submissions on the plan will be accepted until mid-July. For more information, phone 1800-135-531 or visit the Department's website

Raggy Dolls Becomes A South Burnett Poster Biz June 2, 2005 - Anne Facer's Raggy Dolls is the latest South Burnett business to take advantage of Southburnett.biz's free poster page service. Anne is a registered breeder of ragdoll cats in Kingaroy. The kittens can be seal, blue, lilac, cream or tortoiseshell (depending on the litter). Raggy Dolls ragdolls can be contacted on (07) 4162-5604 or by email

New Faces At Old Pub June 1, 2005 - Gavin "Spud" Jones and his wife Wendy have taken over as publicans at the historic Cooyar Hotel (left). The pub, which is located on the corner of the New England Highway, offers large double room accommodation as well as lunches and dinners (Tuesday to Sunday). A beer garden is available for functions and once a month hosts live music. There are also Trivia Nights and social bowls, darts and quoits groups.

Coach Service To Link Towns 31 May, 2005 - Toowoomba company Greatway Coaches is planning to start a daily coach service linking Gympie to Toowoomba with pick-ups and set-downs in all major South Burnett towns along the way. Graeme Bliesner, formerly from Nanango, and Beryl Noll, ex-Kumbia, know the South Burnett well and recognised the need for a daily service to link local towns. They will be running an air-conditioned 34-seat coach with toilet facilities on the service (morning trip to Toowoomba via Kilkivan, Goomeri, Murgon, Wondai, Kingaroy, Nanango and Yarraman with afternoon return to Gympie). The services will start soon; for more information phone Graeme on mobile 0404-038-624.

Yummy Chow in Yarraman May 30, 2005 - Their Morayfield-based Asian foodmart was getting so much business from the South Burnett that owners Les and Rowena Fairhall decided six weeks ago to open a local branch at Yarraman. Located at 13 Margaret Street, the Yummy Chow Asian Foodmart specialises in groceries and foodstuffs from the Philippines, Japan, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore and India. There's also cooking utensils and tableware. Yummy Chow also wholesales to clubs and restaurants and Les can arrange air and sea freight services to the Philippines.

The Peanut Van On The Move! SCOOP! May 27, 2005 - Kingaroy's multi-award-winning tourism attraction The Peanut Van is expanding to Childers. Owners Rob and Chris Patch announced today they will open a van on the Bruce Highway (Churchill Street) at Childers during the first week of August. It will be located adjacent to Pioneer Park, just on the outskirts of town. "We're very excited about this," Rob said. "As well as selling our range of great peanut products we also hope to do a good job of promoting the whole Burnett region to tourists." Kingaroy need not fear ... it'll also be business as usual here too for The Peanut Van!

QAS Opens Local Office May 27, 2005 - Queensland Apprenticeship Services has opened an office in Kingaroy, situated in the Old Railway Station Building in O'Neill Square. Peta Baines (right) will be covering all the South and Central Burnett areas from her Kingaroy base. QAS is a state-wide New Apprenticeships Centre contracted by the Federal Government to provide apprenticeships and traineeship services to both employers and new apprentices. Peta can be reached on (07) 4163-6986. She'll be sharing the O'Neill Square building with the Kingaroy Chamber of Commerce and Industry and AM Publishing.

Youngman Street Update May 26, 2005 - There's been some changes at Shop 3 in the Youngman Street Industrial Estate in Kingaroy. In is the Robyn Lennox Massage and Counselling Clinic. Robyn offers deep tissue and relaxation massages and chakra balancing. She can be contacted on (07) 4162-1877. On the move is the Kingaroy Weight Loss Centre owned by Marina Headlam. Marina is now offering a mobile, in-home weight loss counselling service and can be reached on (07) 4163-6390.

Tree Controllers Up Stumps May 25, 2005 - Queensland Tree Control has shifted into new premises in Kingaroy. Jim and Julie Carlile's tree removal and pruning business is now located at Shop 1, 18 Stolzenberg Street, Kingaroy - around the corner from their old premises in Cornish Street. Other details remain the same - you can phone them on (07) 4162-8111 or contact them by email

Durong Business Expands Down South May 23, 2005 - Durong-based business Big Scrub Graphics has announced that it has opened a base in NSW, significantly expanding the area which it covers. Owner Martin Stern - who also runs Durong Online - says Big Scrub Graphics can now service the rapidly-growing NSW Central Coast as well as southern Queensland. Big Scrub Graphics offers graphic design, printing, web design, advertising services and short-run digital printing.

Submissions Sought For Tarong Fund May 20, 2005 - The Tarong Mine Community Development Fund is a marvellous initiative by Rio Tinto Coal Australia which has helped economic development in the South Burnett region over the past six years. In fact the fund has assisted many worthwhile local projects get off the ground ... including this website. Now the fund is seeking applications for consideration in the next round of funding which closes on Friday 10th June. An information leaflet outlining fund guidelines is available from Margie Magnussen on (07) 4160-7231.

New B&B Opens At Murgon May 19, 2005 - A new B&B has opened at Murgon ... Barambah Lodge is located at 148 Lamb Street. Hosts are well-known local couple Terry and Wendy Blackburn and the fully self-contained cottage can sleep up to five in three bedrooms. For more information, contact the Blackburns by phone or 0417-712-921 or email

Small Business Park Takes Shape At Widgee May 18, 2005 - Former farmer Lesley O'Hern couldn't find any premises available in the Gympie area for new small businesses at an affordable cost ... so she decided to do something about it. Stage 1 of the Widgee Rentals Trade and Light Industry Centre (which is under construction now) will consist of a number of independent, lockable suites as well as a cold room. The 3m x 7m cold room will be divided into a number of bays which can be hired separately. For more information on the TLI Centre, phone Lesley on (07) 5484-0341 or email her.

Fun Golf Day Planned May 17, 2005 - The Kingaroy Chamber of Commerce and Industry has planned a fun golf day for local business people (it doesn't matter if you're not a member of the Chamber!) at the Kingaroy Golf Course on Saturday May 28. It will be a 3 ball ambrose and is open to all players – novice, juniors and seniors (or basically anyone who can swing a club ...) Activities will get underway with a BBQ at 11:00am followed by tee-off at noon. Cost is $20 (which includes the BBQ). Further information is available from the Golf Club on (07) 4162-1720.

Mad Mick Open Seven Days May 16, 2005 - Mad Mick's Discount Barn, run by Michael Anderson, opened recently in the old Discount Den premises in Margaret Street, Yarraman. The discount store sells the usual lines of toys, hardware, gifts and kitchenware and is open seven days a week. As the nearby IGA Supermarket is also open every day, it seems Yarraman could be THE place to shop on a Sunday! Mad Mick's Discount Barn can be contacted on (07) 4163-8656.

Free MYOB Courses To Be Held Throughout South Burnett Region May 13, 2005 - The Burnett Inland Economic Development Organisation (BIEDO) is offering a series of FREE two-day courses on the popular book-keeping software MYOB throughout the South Burnett region over the next few weeks. Training has been pencilled in for most local towns however places are limited so bookings are necessary. For information about dates and venues, contact Joanne on (07) 5484-1652 or download more information here (82kb PDF)

Competition To Create New Image May 12, 2005 - The Wide Bay Burnett Regional Organisation of Councils (WBBROC) and APN Newspapers, publishers of the South Burnett Times, have launched a competition to find a regional name and a regional logo for the Wide Bay-Burnett region. Other areas have catchy names such as the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Coral Coast etc ... why shouldn't we? Entries close on June 10 and there's $5000 in prize money to be won. WBBROC is the umbrella organisation which includes all South Burnett councils as well as councils from the rest of the Wide Bay region. For more information, visit the WBBROC website

New Faces at Moonya Street Store May 11, 2005 - Harry and Karen Shepstone this week took over the Moonya Street Store, one of Kingaroy's busiest little convenience stores. Harry and Karen had a cropping property between Proston and Murgon but were looking for a change of lifestyle. When the Moonya Street store was advertised they jumped at the opportunity. The store sells the full range of convenience items, including bread, milk and newspapers along with grocery lines, cold drinks, ice creams and a small range of fresh fruit.

Rally To Blast Off In Kingaroy May 10, 2005 - The 2005 Great Endeavour Rally is roaring into action in Kingaroy on Wednesday July 13 with more than 130-150 cars expected and more than 350 people. The entrants will be trekking from Kingaroy to Coffs Harbour but in the best Great Endeavour tradition are going via Tasmania! This is a great opportunity for the South Burnett to receive national media promotion and a real financial boost for the area. If your business could help competitors on July 12-13 with either free or discounted services (all money raised is going to support a great cause!) please contact the Kingaroy Chamber of Commerce and Industry on (07) 4162-8466. Entrants may require last-minute mechanical repairs or adjustments so support from local mechanics is especially sought!