Photographer and Altmax Editor Max Riethmuller has been capturing various events through out Northern NSW and South East Queensland for the last couple of decades. Much of his work can be viewed through his flickr news collection. Access via link below:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/pitdroidtech/collections/72157622617299182/
Stony Chute Rd is slated for an opening late November, with one lane access only at some sections. The landslip area that resulted in the Stony Chute Rd closure is mostly completed but in the meantime work has started on the slip between Stanger and Zouch roads.
Gallery of progress to date:
Video of Current State of Works:
Landslip and road damage remediation works as part of reconstruction funds released in response to the 2022 floods, will be ongoing in the area for the new three years, though Stony Chute Rd repairs are due to be completed by November 2026, when the road will return to two way access.
CMC Have taken up residence at their shiny new depot on Blue Knob Rd just north of Nimbin and will be tackling a range of road projects in the area in coordination with Council and State Government.
CMC Depot under construction:
On Wednesday 5 November, two fire appliances passed through Nimbin heading south. Shortly after the Hazards near me app showed a fire on Mountain Top Rd.
I drove out to Stony Chute Road where the fire was clearly visible burning up on the hill. Fortunately the RFS had established a degree of control. Shortly after my arrival on scene an aerial firefighter from Rotorwing Helicopters, via Lismore, arrived, set up their bucket, and started lifting water from a local dam and water bombing the fire.
I watched the pilot drop 10 or more buckets, by that time both RFS and the water bomber working together had the fire well under control. I left at that stage but heard later the water bomber continued with some more passes and then the RFS remained to perform blacking out operations.
Photo Album of the action on Flickr:
The recent drug raid in Northern NSW town of Nimbin, the culmination of a 6 month investigation dubbed Operation Cuppa, was revealed to media on the day as netting $1 million dollars worh of cannabis, $50,000 cash, as well as finding mdma, ice, guns, a tazer and a slingshot.
This all on the surface seems to point to the Gold Coast criminal organisation that Police want the public to think is behind the ‘Laneway Boys’ who sell cannabis to locals, tourists and medicinal marijuana seekers.
But speaking to locals reveals a very different story. While three of the men charged were from Queensland, the majority of the ‘laneway boys’ as they are known in Nimbin, are locals, even respected in some quarters as being responsible for keeping ice dealers out of the township.
The reported mdma and ice found in the raids has not been assigned a cash value, (unlike the cannabis which has been given a street value of one million dollars), which indicates that these drugs were personal use only. Because the police cast a large net in the raids, these drugs could have belonged to anyone and it is disingenuous to portray this as evidence of hard drug dealing or hard drug syndications. Likewise with the weapons claimed to have been found: numerous locals who know the men under charges, have confirmed that only one gun was found and it wasn’t associated with the laneway area but was found in one of the residences raided. No firearms charges have been laid so it can only be assumed the firearm was legitmately licenced.
While there is still a lot of controversy in the township over the drug dealing that occurs in the laneway, and whether it extends to hard drugs or not, there is no shortage of respected community members who have stood up for the laneway boys in the aftermath of this raid.
It’s wise to be cautious with taking police reports to media at face value and instead look between the lines. It is standard police practice the world over to cast a large net and shake it to see what comes out. Not much consideration is given to any innocent people who get caught up, or whether genuinely guilty people’s crimes are exaggerated.
UPDATE: The amount of cannabis seized was in he order of 5kg, and the reported Street value of $1 million is wildly exaggerated. A realistic figure would be between $20,000 and $50,000.
Early today (13/11/2013) the heritage listed Belvedere Home in South Brisbane caught fire. The fire service were unable to save the building, and the remains were declared too unsafe to allow entry by investigators. An excavator was ordered in by the fire service to allow fire crew to dowse unsafe areas of the building. The cause of the fire remains unknown, and police have declared the fire ‘suspicious’.
In 2010, the owners of the Belvedere had applied for permission to demolish the heritage building, but the application was knocked back by Council. Rumours have long circulated that the owners, The Greek Orthodox Community, who also own the Greek Club next door, wished to build a carpark on the land for the Greek Club, however these rumours have always been denied by the owners. Not long after the demolition application was knocked back the house was boarded up and all services disconnected.
A long legal battle to appeal the decision ended recently with the Council retaining the right to block demolition. The owners entered mediation with Council in May with a view to restoring the building. The plans have at different times been to turn the Belvedere into a restaurant, extension of the nursing home, or conference centre. No definite plans were in place at the time of the fire.
Belvedere was built in 1888.
Photos of the insides of the abandoned Belvedere home: http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=%22abandoned%20belvedere%20house%22
Photo of the Belvedere in it’s heyday: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/photogallery/queensland/historical-brisbane-home-the-belvedere-20101213-18uhk.html?selectedImage=2
Photos of the demolition today, here, and below:
