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Local heroes awarded By Margie Maccoll It was just common sense to Noosa men Remy Roberts and Louie Greenland to go to the aid of a tour boat in trouble in July, 2024, but last week their efforts that may have saved the lives of two women, were recognised by the National Search and Rescue Council (NATSAR Council) at a ceremony at Queensland Parliament House. The 19 year olds were among a small group of people across Australia, most of the others trained rescue officers, to be presented with Australian Search and Rescue Awards for “outstanding contributions to search and rescue“ at the ceremony hosted by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) and Queensland Police Service (QPS). The teens told Noosa Today it had been windy day on 3 July, 2024, when about 9.3010am, they took a break from “mucking about as we do“ on their jet skis in the rough conditions around the river mouth and were sitting on the beach at Noosa Spit, then they spotted a tour boat heading across the bar. There were five customers and the skipper on board and it was heading out through the waves, they said. “We watched it go out and we were like, this isn’t going to end well,“ Remy said. Continued page 2
Louie Greenland and Remy Roberts join other recipients of Australian Search and Rescue Awards at Queensland Parliament House. (Supplied)
Roadkill rescue By Jim Fagan A call for greater awareness by Noosa motorists to help reduce koala road strikes has been made by Wildcare Australia’s Koala Rescue Team. “We estimate there is a 40 per cent increase in koala deaths and injuries across the shire in the last 10 months so far compared to the previous year.” said Rachel Lyons, who co-coordinates the rescue team. “We’re getting car hits at any time of day, usually in areas adjacent to bushland. We have had four fatal strikes in the shire in the last fortnight
and many near-misses. “It is peak breeding season right now and koalas are on the move looking for potential mates.” Recent tests warning motorists that koalas are crossing main arterials have shown positive results. The tests have included using alternate flashing messages on mobile electronic boards as part of the ‘Koala’s on the Move’ awareness program. Noosa Council has now received a State Government grant, via Healthy Land and Water, of $55,000 to buy two VMS (Variable Message Road Sign) trailer boards for placement at hot spots throughout the shire during key movement times.
With up to potentially 6000 koalas across the Noosa regions 29,835 hectares of eucalypt forest, the Noosa region is an important repository of koalas in Southeast Queensland. Longtime wildlife rescuer and researcher Rachel said, “A koala popping up anywhere in the shire would not surprise me. They are presenting at locations all over the region despite being very difficult to spot in the wild using standard visual techniques. “Recent advances in thermal drone technology has paved the way for us to get a better handle on the size of the population in Noosa. A thermal
drone survey undertaken by the University of the Sunshine Coast in April this year in the Tewantin area, identified 22 koalas in just 100 hectares.” This is a greatly different story from 10 years ago when the State Government did a visual survey of the shire using transects across 1535 hectares and was able to sight just seven koalas. Two years later Noosa Parks Association’s Michael Gloster, took what the then mayor, Tony Wellington, now describes as “the most significant environmental project in Noosa for 20 years” to the council”. Continued page 3
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