Citing the end of their lease, Community Kids Annerley gave parents a two-week notice of its closure, sending mums and dads scrambling to look for alternatives from facilities that have been booked out months or years in advance.
The childcare centre announced on its official site that it will be “closing its door permanently on 15 July 2022.” The facility has also sent parents the notice of its impending closure, citing the end of its lease.
Community Kids Annerley has around 80 to 100 children, between the ages of six months to 5 years old, under their care. The facility, which has been open for 25 years and managed by Gold Coast-based G8 Education Centres, has recommended The Learning Sanctuary Yeronga, The Learning Sanctuary Tarragindi, and The Learning Sanctuary Camp Hill as alternatives.
Parents, however, want more answers as they have paid fees in advance. They also want to know why they were advised just two weeks if the centre had known its lease was ending months earlier.
Many of the parents are healthcare workers who now need to take a time off to look for new childcare centres. They regret losing Community Kids Annerley because its workers have been attentive to their children.
“We have contacted other local daycares who are full. We are stressed and heartbroken. We are working families and if we cannot find our children an alternative. We have no idea what we are going to do,” the parents wrote in the petition on Change.Org.
“The daycare has been part of the community for more than 25 years and is a safe and fun place for our children. The daycare holds a special place in our hearts and in the community. We have been told that despite numerous efforts from the daycare the landlord would not renew the lease. We are also devastated for the educators who we consider to be part of our community. We are angry at G8 for poorly managing this situation.”
A spokesperson for G8 Education Centres, said that they had been negotiating the lease and were hoping to continue operating. However, after failing to forge a new agreement with the landlords, the centre immediately notified the families.
G8 Education Centres is one of Australia’s biggest childcare providers. In April, the company said that its earnings were affected by COVID and the February 2022 flooding.
Date: Saturday 25 June 2022; Time: 9 am to 4 pm Monday 27 June 2022; Time: 10 am to 5 pm Tuesday 28 June 2022; Time: 10 am to 5 pm Cost: Free; Ideal for: Children aged 2-10 years and their carers
Each day of the school holidays, kids can simply drop into the Annerley Library for a fun session of free art and craft activities.
Cartooning workshop: Cute manga monsters with Phil Judd
Date: Saturday 25 June 2022; Time: 11 am to 12 pm
Cost: Free; Ideal for: Children aged 7-12 years
Photo Credit: Brisbane City Council / brisbane.qld.gov.au
Wouldn’t it be more fun to be able to create your own anime character?
This workshop is specially designed for children who love manga and anime characters. Participating children will get to learn how to create their own cute manga monsters as well as create a character profile, add cartoon elements and ink the final drawing.
To reserve your spot, phone Annerley Library on 07 3403 1735.
June 2022 marks the opening of the new Brisbane South State Secondary College in Dutton Park,over 60 years since a new state school opened in Brisbane’s south.
The first day of school saw 466 students in Years 7 and 8 excitedly enter the $153.78-million, state-of-the-art building on 179 Annerley Rd. The new building is a standout, cited for its design at the recent Brisbane 2022 Australian Institute of Architects’ Regional Architecture Awards, alongside its designers BVN.
The new school maximises its space as a vertical school, with five storeys of learning hubs and extensive greenery to boost the wellbeing of the students and the aesthetics of the campus.
From an initial batch of 466 students, Brisbane South State Secondary College is expected to add a year level every year until it completes a Year 12 batch in 2026.
“Queensland is growing rapidly. And in the lead-up to the 2032 Olympics, we’ll see extraordinary population growth here in Brisbane,” Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, who was at the opening with Education Minister Grace Grace, said.
“We’re investing more in health and education than any government in Queensland’s history to cater for growth and ensure our young people can capitalise on the opportunities the next decade will bring.
“We’ll continue to invest in infrastructure like schools and hospitals to create jobs and ensure Queenslanders have access to great public services.”
“The new school features multiple buildings centred around an outdoor learning oasis, including a creative hub, administration hub, two innovative learning hubs, a health and wellbeing hub and a multipurpose hall,” Ms Grace said.
“It is fantastic to see the school running so well after a successful foundation year in 2021.
“A new oval and outdoor sports facility on Marshall Road in Rocklea will be ready for use for the start of school in 2023. It will include an amenities block, car park, and a playing field to suit sports such as AFL and cricket.”
Brisbane South State Secondary College Foundation Principal Kirsten Ferdinands will lead the school as it grows in the next few years. She said they are also looking forward to working in collaboration with the University of Queensland.
“Its remarkable facilities will give students access to unique on-campus experiences, educational pathways across research and entrepreneurship, and expertise and support through UQ’s Science of Learning.”
Mary Lydia Lynch, an avid Brisbane Broncos fan who was born and raised in Annerley, recently celebrated her 100th birthday. She now joins Ann Damen and Alison Woodroffe as members of the Carinity Clifford House 100 Club.
The latest Carinity Clifford House centenarian was born Mary Lydia Lynch on 3 April 1922 at Wilkies Nursing Home, Annerley to parents Patrick and Mary Lynch. Growing up in Annerley, Mary enjoyed social activities and watching at the Boomerang Theatre near St Joseph’s Convent School (now Mary Immaculate Primary School) where she attended school.
Mary worked at Censorship and Telegraph with the Postmaster-General in Brisbane during World War II, staying at the company for 14 years. She was also a devout Catholic and was a member of the Legion of Mary and a Cub Leader at Dutton Park Scout Group.
She also loved dancing, attended events at the iconic Cloudland and was a regular at Sandy Robinson’s dance studio where she and her future husband Joseph Ryan met.
Mary and Joseph married in 1954 at Mary Immaculate Catholic Church and were blessed with three sons: Brian, Michael and Peter. Mary has three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Mary was active in volunteer work, supporting a number of charities by making clothes for underprivileged children overseas and creating dolls’ clothes for school fetes and charities to sell.
She was a resident at Dutton Park from 1954 to 2016 before moving to the Carinity Clifford House aged care community where she celebrated her 100th birthday with her family and friends last April. She joined other centenarians, Ann Damen and Alison Woodroffe, in the Carinity Clifford House 100 Club.
Located at 44 Jimbour Street, Wooloowin was Carinity’s first aged care community that was established in 1949. The aged care community offers residents a tranquil lifestyle with lots of activities including live music performances, gardening clubs and regular coffee mornings to catch up with friends and loved ones.
Carinity Clifford House features 81 beds; registered nurse on-site available 24/7; memory assisted living (dementia care); visiting GP; access to a physiotherapist, podiatrist and dentist;
community hall and activities space and library, among other features.
Drogo’s owner is a volunteer at Delta Society, a non-profit organisation that provides the therapy dog program in hospitals, aged care facilities, youth services, mental health services, correctional facilities, and other health and community services right across Australia.
Photo credit: Xavier Children’s Support Network/Facebook
The pet therapy program at Xavier is an initiative of June McLeish of Burleigh Heads Parish. She was inspired to launch the initiative because of her dog Pinky, her constant companion and one of her greatest joys.
Ms McLeish with Drogo (Photo credit: Xavier Children’s Support Network/Facebook)
For the first time in April 2022, Ms McLeish saw Drogo interacting with children and it made her feel glad that she started a pet therapy initiative at the centre.
Enoch and Lachlan, two of the children who receive care from Xavier, gave Ms McLeish a gift, thanking her for setting up the program.
Ms McLeish is looking forward to seeing more therapy dogs in action, especially now that people start to realise what peace and tranquillity they can offer to people in unhappy circumstances.
In early March 2022, Hakfoort Group sold Redbrick Hotel to the Mathieson family who has been in the hotel industry since 1974. After 23 years of ownership, Hakfoort Group offered a leasehold of the property through an offer to purchase process in April 2021.
Redbrick Hotel currently has a 20-year lease term, which is inclusive of option periods, with a CR2 Character zoning for infill housing. Sold by Tony Bargwanna and Leon Alaban of Savills Australia, the off-market deal is reported to be worth about $7 million.
The heritage-listed hotel at 83 Annerley Road was first built in 1890 for Thomas Burke who remained its owner and proprietor until 1899. The building was designed by prominent architects John Hall & Son.
The 680-sqm hotel, named “Burke’s Hotel” in the 1980s in honour of Thomas Burke, would later be known as “the Redbrick”. The hotel had been under several owners until the Hakfoort Hotel Group acquired it in 1999.
The hotel underwent substantial refurbishments in 2017 before it reopened in 2018 with a new restaurant and bar, gaming lounges featuring 30 electronic gambling machines (EGM), function rooms, and a 120-seating dining space alongside its classic Federation-era style architecture.
Redbrick Hotel is just 2 kilometres from Brisbane CBD and is in close proximity to major employment, education and sporting facilities including the Gabba sports stadium, Mater Hospital and the Boggo Road Precinct.
The hotel benefits from its busy corner location whilst its bistro and lounge dining offer a fully equipped commercial kitchen that is accessible via the main bar.
Confusion over amended dispatch procedures associated with the rollout of new-generation trains were to be blamed for the near-collision incident in 2019 that occurred between Park Road and South Bank stations and involved two suburban passenger trains, an investigation report says.
On 25 March 2019, Northgate bound passenger train DW17, which is operated by Queensland Rail (QR), departed Park Road station with 41 passengers on board and ignored a stop signal. The New Generation Rollingstock (NGR) train travelled past its limit authority by 305 miles when it was supposed to stay at the platform and allow 1E65, which was already running late and proceeding on an adjacent line, to pass through first.
The two passenger trains were headed on a collision course as they both travelled in the same direction. However, thanks to the tutor driver on 1E65 who had the train stopped and the network control officer who transmitted an emergency stop command in response to a Signal Passed at Danger (SPAD) alarm, the imminent disaster was averted. DW17 stopped just 55 miles past the conflict point whilst 1E65 stopped at about 70 miles before approaching the conflict point.
Why did the near-collision happen?
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) report noted that the incident was the first of six “start against signal” SPADs involving NGR trains on QR Citytrain network platforms with the last SPAD occurring in April 2021. The findings point to “risk and change management limitations’ as the contributing factor to the rise in SPAD incidents.
The report said that limitations in QR’s change and risk management processes in “relation to dispatch procedures involving platform staff and NGR train guards” resulted in an increase in the risk of such SPADs taking place.
New Generation Rollingstock (NGR) | Photo Credit: Department of Transport and Main Road / tmr.qld.gov.au
ATSB Director Transport Safety Dr Michael Walker said that prior to the introduction of NGR trains, platform staff at three CBD and two suburban stations were required to provide an ‘allright’ signal to a train guard before the train could depart from the station.
“Although platform staff at these locations were trained not to look at the departure signal prior to giving the ‘allright’ signal, as this was not their role, in practice platform staff were checking for the departure signal to be at proceed before giving this signal to train guards, creating the expectancy that the ‘allright’ signal was a reliable indication the departure signal was at proceed.”
In 2019, QR dispatch procedures were amended to require platform staff at all suburban stations to provide the “allright” signal for all NGR trains departing from the station, something that they used to only do for trains that carried disabled passengers.
“Because the platform staff at these suburban stations followed procedure, and did not follow the informal practice of checking the status of the departure signal, train guards were now much more likely to receive an ‘allright’ signal while the departure signal was at stop,” Dr Walker explained.
“Multiple QR risk management and change management processes did not effectively consider the risk of this taking place.”
“In this near collision occurrence, when the driver received the rightaway signal from the guard, they had a very high level of expectancy that this meant the departure signal was at proceed, and subsequently the train promptly departed the station platform and passed the signal while it displayed a stop indication,” Dr Walker said.
“Similarly, the guard incorrectly provided the rightaway signal to the driver based on a very high level of expectancy that the ‘allright’ signal, provided by platform staff, also meant the signal was at proceed.”
What added to the increased risk of “start against signal” SPADs was the relocation of Signal Aspect Indicators (SAI) at platforms around the network to account for the change in the positioning of train guards. Train guards turn to SAIs when providing “rightaway” signal when the departure signal is not visible from their location.
“QR’s process for installing the SAIs did not provide sufficient detail to ensure consistent and conspicuous placement of them at station platforms,” Dr Walker said.
“This increased the risk that an SAI would not be correctly perceived by a train guard.”
The ATSB report, however, noted that the “start against signal” SPAD incidents have decreased over time as guards have become more familiar with the SAI locations as well with the new procedure at suburban station platforms.
