HAPPY NEW YEAR from the Magnetic Island Curlews whose forebears serenaded Captain Cook when he dropped anchor and named the place. The Curlews have inspired artists , wowed overseas backpackers, featured on T-shirts and tea towels and largely been overlooked by the tourism pushers of Townsville who go in for Koalas, imitation Melbourne lanes and possible copies of Kiwi , Darwin and Cairns attractions .
New Year's Eve celebrations on the island are a major annual event , attracting many backpackers, visitors from the mainland and overseas. It includes a large fireworks display which scares the daylights out of birds and animals on the mainly national park island.
As the ferries pulled into the terminal on Friday disgorging a colourful , happy throng they were still greeted by tattered , torn and collapsed remnants of the huge Welcome to Magnetic Island banners , covered previously in this blog , which originally hid from public gaze the unsightly hole which has existed for more than a decade . The powers that be in Townsville , who refer to the island as the city's Jewel in the Crown , still had not been able to sort out the long running banner snafu .
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Short back and sides mystery island.
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And near the Townsville ferry terminal , still being displayed , was the large billboard boasting that the world's best rugby players are coming to the city . Only trouble is that they came and went about two months ago.
