The cruise ship Azamara Journey, said to be "180 meters long " , carrying 641 passengers and a crew of 407 shown approaching Townsville on its maiden visit , given the usual cargo cult coverage upon arrival , the Townsville Bulletin reporting that , based on studies , each cruise ship passenger spends up to $350. During the stay , 152 explored the CBD, with its many empty offices , three op shops . Somehow , the large car carrier Florida Highway failed to rate a mention , but then such vessels come and go without being noticed . On the same day, people waiting for buses at the Castle Town shopping centre received the following warning, the measurement in meters , about smoking :
While on the subject of shopping centres , there are many changes going on in these places which go unnoticed by the local media . In the case of Castle Town , this blogger made a bee line for the Angus and Robertson book shop , only to find that it was no longer there , although some of its racks were visible , pushed up against the wall . A notice said the space was going to be taken over by Key Motors which handles Mazda and Subaru cars . No info about any new location of A and R , if any ... another bookshop unfortunately driven to the wall ? However, on checking the Angus and Robertson website , there was a strange message saying it was permanently closed . It went on to impart the following puzzling information...Angus and Robertson is recorded closed at this location . If it's incorrectly closed , please report it .
Recent business news in the southern press about takeovers of clothing chains, including some with outlets in Townsville and beyond , received no local media coverage . This is a situation observed several times , in Darwin as well , as if the local media are oblivious of events happening elsewhere in the world which have a local angle , possible drastic impact, closure for example .
More than half a century ago , there was a popular Sydney reporter , Cliff Ryan , known as the Housewives Friend , who wrote about vegetables , meat and other consumables after going to the markets , squeezing tomatoes despite being implored not to do so , speaking to butchers and others in the tucker trade . If there was a similar reporter in Townsville he would learn that due to the heatwave , cauliflowers suffering from obvious sunburn are being offered for sale , and Big Al is full of interesting information about local produce and market conditions .
