IN THE MEDIA

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING

A MESSAGE FROM THE TRANSPORT AND MAIN ROADS MINISTER THE HON MARK BAILEY
Minister’s Message for Cassowary Festival

Congratulations to the Mission Beach Community Cassowary Festival organisers for their efforts to promote this beautiful part of Queensland through low-impact tourism and their vision for an ecologically sustainable future.
I am sorry that I cannot be with you today.
As Transport and Main Roads Minister, I’ve had the privilege of working with the community and advocacy groups on solutions to protect cassowaries and reduce vehicle strikes.
Your dedication to protecting and raising awareness of the local southern cassowary population is to be commended.
It is vitally important that we work together to protect this iconic bird.
Some of the measures already taken to help those protective efforts include:

vegetation management along key roads in the Mission Beach area to increase the visibility of cassowary chicks during the breeding season
vehicle-activated signs at priority locations to raise awareness speeding
signs on the Kuranda Range that notify drivers of road hazards, including cassowary sightings
Bluetooth loggers to identify driver behaviour trends in the Cassowary Coast region.

I can also confirm that we are considering the detail of Cassowary safety measures in planning for overtaking lanes in the identified Smiths Gap Cassowary Corridor on the Bruce Highway.
The Palaszczuk Government recognises the challenges facing the cassowary population and residents’ concerns.
We all have a role to play and I urge motorists to do their part when driving through this area – slow down and be vigilant.
Thank you for all of the great work you do, and I hope you have a fantastic festival.

" It was such an amazing day! We had many visitors, our local talented muso's gave such great entertainment, people looked great in their costumes, kids had a blast, we got to raise awareness about our important natural environment, hooray team and Mission Beach!"
Penny Bell

"Oh such artistic fun loving people we have in our area"
Marie Greatrex

"The art work looks fabulous. It was a pleasure to be a part of it all. The girls and I really enjoyed it. Sadly we had to move and weren't able to be there. Just wanted to say thank you for the experience and the chance to get creative 🐢🐦🐸 looked like a great day"
Destiny Dundee

"Congratulations organising committee. Excellent day. See you next year"
Brett Krause, Brettacorp

"It was a fantastic day. Such a tribute to our great bird,👍 and the amazing environment we share. 💖 True community spirit with a lovely vibe as well. Thank you." 👌
Jangus Bingil

ABC Radio Far North June 23 2018 - Sharon Molloy interview

On April 2 an all ages workshop was held with Penny Bell & Sally Moroney as part of the Threads Fibre & Textile Festival Workshop Series from March-May at Mission Beach Community Arts Centre. Completed batik flags will be displayed at the Mission Beach Community Cassowary Festival in June. CCIN News

Cassowary Festival popular in German media

Steve Madgwick goes cross country, tip diving – and just a little crazy – in pursuit of Mission Beach’s most elusive residents, the chimerical cassowary. Did he find one?