Conservation education programs have resumed at the Walkabout Creek Discovery Centre, where a new and improved education room has opened inside the Enoggera Reservoir site near The Gap.
With a theme revolving around the D’Aguilar National Park habitat, the new site features lifelike, trees, rocks, and grasses, plus stunning, floor-to-ceiling images around the walls.
The refurbishment of the Walkabout Creek Discovery Centre is part of a $300,000 state government investment which upgraded the wildlife and visitor centre into a unique space where children could closely interact with some animals and gain firsthand knowledge about their habitat, life cycles and conservation needs.
Photo Credit: QueenslandGoverment
The improvements also include new enclosures for wombats and echidnas.
“The new echidna enclosure is the perfect home for Rocko, enabling Walkabout Creek to exhibit this iconic species, which hasn’t been done before at this location,” said Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon.
“Billy the wombat is enjoying his new surroundings which have been expanded and provide more practical elements such as structures, water, tunnels, and air-conditioning.”
“Billy, Rocko and Dash the emu will all be on hand to welcome visitors and help pass on some helpful tips so we can protect our iconic native species.”
The Walkabout Creek Discovery Centre is located on the edge of D’Aguilar National Park, a 36,400-hectare park with eucalyptus forest that stretches from The Gap to Lake Wivenhoe.
Commercially available, “one-size-fits-all” medications do not necessarily mean they can work for everyone. Certain conditions may require customised medications including allergies, swallowing problems, or a specific dosage requirement.
Compounding answers these specific needs, giving the medical practitioner and patient complete control over the dosage, form, excipients, fillers and other ingredients that go into the medication.
Specifically, compounded medication may be prescribed when:
Required medications are not commercially available
Specific dosage form, such as transdermal gels, troches, “chewies” and lollipops, or specialised dosage strength is not commercially available
The patient is allergic to certain ingredients such as dyes, sugar, lactose, or alcohol.
A combination of select medications into a single dosage form can make it easier and more convenient to administer treatment
Compounding pharmacies such as Keperra Compounding Pharmacy and their team of pharmacists who boast of decades of experience, provide the best alternative to traditional, mass-produced commercial medications.
The Keperra Compounding Pharmacy team | Photo credit: CompoundingPharmacy.com.au / Facebook
Keperra Compounding Pharmacy follows a voluntary industry standard, administered by the Professional Compounding Chemists of Australia PCCA. What this means is that compounding pharmacists and technicians undergo continuous training, the facility uses state-of-the-art equipment and high-quality chemicals are only purchased from Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approved suppliers.
More importantly, the pharmacy ensures that testing protocols are followed and complies with standard operating procedures. Incidentally, Keperra Compounding Pharmacy takes pride in being standards approved medicine compounder for over eight years.
Want to see their team with decades of experience at work? Visit their site at 10 Dallas Parade, Keperra or drop them a line on 3354 3992. Or check out their website to see how they can help you (or your pet) with your personalised care needs.
The Gap property market has seen strong growth and brisk demand in 2021, as both house and unit markets posted double-digit median growth rates within the 12-month period ending September 2021.
Highlights
The median house price for The Gap picked up by 17.77 per cent from October 2020 to September 2021, whilst the median unit price also grew by 15.57 for the same period.
The median house price in The Gap now sits at $870,000 and the median unit price is nearly in the same price range at $705,000.
The Gap is defying all odds with the housing and unit sectors both performing well as pre-COVID activities have returned in recent months.
The Gap Property Market
From October 2020 to September 2021, The Gap’s housing market tracked a 17.77 per cent median house price growth compared to last year, from $738,750 to $870,000. Figures from Property Market Updates indicated that 308 houses were sold for this period, moving at a brisk pace of just 20 days on market.
More than half of the properties sold were three and four-bedroom homes, perfect for established families. Supplies for two-bedroom properties in The Gap are currently low, whilst competition is tight among buyers looking to acquire spacious character-filled wooden homes in this leafy and hilly suburb.
In the past, city dwellers visit The Gap for weekend picnics at its abundant bush retreats. Today, city professionals have this suburb under their radar as a residential option with the tighly-held property market raking in an average of 1,239 property visits from interested investors, per realestate.com.au.
The apartment market in The Gap has also gained significantly, with the median rising from October 2020 to September 2021 by 15.57 per cent. The median unit price has landed at $705,000, up from $610,000 in the previous year.
Unlike the housing market, however, movement in the unit market was slower, with listings averaging 55 days on market. There were 77 units sold for this particular time period, with more sales for three-bedroom apartments.
The housing sector has generally outperformed the apartment sector, especially at the height of the pandemic crisis. However, a shift in the market has slowly emerged as pre-COVID activities have returned.
About The Gap
This family-friendly suburb located nine kilometres northwest of the CBD boasts of many sites for nature sports as it sits on the foothills of mountains like Mount Coot-tha, Mount Glorious, and Mount Nebo. The Gap is one of the greenest places in Brisbane, where outdoor fun is the main recreational activity.
The community predominantly consists of professionals who are mostly long-term homeowners with older children. Families are spoilt for choice at the number of parks, walking or biking tracks, and wildlife adventures to be enjoyed around its natural riches.
Photo Credit: Google Maps
The Gap provides plenty of school options for young kids, including the award-winning The Gap State High School.
Though The Gap doesn’t offer a fast-paced urban lifestyle compared to other middle-ring suburbs, the residents still enjoy adequate access to shopping and dining hubs. For the more selective locals, more choices for dining and shopping are within 10-20 minutes away by car at Chermide, Indooroopilly, Ashgrove, Bardon, or Paddington.
“Lived there for 10 years, its very scenic but I just wish there was more to do locally.”
Flatcherox
“The Gap is only 9/10 km from Brisbane city centre and has clean air, beautiful walking / cycling tracks; great schools and a real sense of community. Its safe and very friendly – the kind of neighbourhood where children play in the street and many of the people who live there grow their own herb gardens, sharing their produce with their neighbours. Its quite an affluent suburb with many residents being business owners. There is a village centre where you can buy all your groceries and daily needs.”
Ts40
“Having lived in many different places around Brisbane and overseas, I’ve come to the conclusion that I will ALWAYS call The Gap my home and will live here as long as possible (and considering there’s a retirement place, that’s gonna be a while!).The Gap is a beautiful leafy suburb filled to the brim with friendly people (not creepily so, mind!). The main reason I love living in The Gap is the peace and quiet and ease of access to the hustle and bustle when you decide you’re in need of a night out.”
Brisbane has rolled out a road resurfacing program using bitumen made with recycled old rubber tyres in a trial that includes Muir Street in Cannon Hill; Marble Street in Keperra; and Ferrett Street in Eagle Farm.
Council has commenced the three trials which involve the repurposing of old tyres to create a new bitumen. The benefits of using the modified bitumen are twofold: it is cost-effective and sustainable.
Council said that the experimental bitumen will help reduce the number of old tyres that end up in landfills by more than 10,000 tyres each year. Moreover, the modified bitumen helps make residential roads last longer compared to using ordinary bitumen.
Currently, Council is using a mixture of crushed recycled glass and recycled asphalt for its road resurfacing projects. That special glass mix alone has already helped the Council recover some 20,000 tonnes of glass from landfills and saved more than $3.6 million each year.
Photo credit: Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner / Facebook
However, adding ‘crumbed’ tyres in the resurfacing treatment mix can further help the city save more by extending the lifespan of residential pavements, which typically last for up to 30 years, to an additional ten years or more.
This experimental bitumen blend allows the crumbed rubber to act as an agent that retards the aging and oxidation, and improves the quality of the resurfaced pavement.
Similar trials were also launched on several major roads across Brisbane which has been made possible by a special grant from the Tyre Stewardship Australia.
In April 2020, Tyre Stewardship Australia reported that 69 per cent of the 466,000 tonnes of end-of-life tyres generated in Australia in 2018-19 have been recovered for further use.
That means that approximately 323,000 tonnes of tyres have been recovered for productive outcomes while the rest are either stockpiled or disposed of to landfill. Also, in 2018-19, there has been a marked decline in the number of used tyres that were stockpiled owing to stricter EPA regulations across Australia.
An astonishing likeness of Barry Gibb’s face made out of toast and Vegemite. A rendering of The Veronicas using nachos and sauce. Deliveroo has commissioned international artist Nathan Wyburn to recreate famous Brisbane personalities as food art.
Before commissioning Wyburn, Deliveroo conducted a small survey of around 1,000 people. The Bee Gees came out on the top spot of Brisbanites who should be featured on the food art.
Barry Gibb of The Bee Gees, who lived at Scarborough in Redcliffe at a young age, was among the most notable celebrities featured in Wyburn’s deliciously talented work.
Barry Gibb (Photo credit: Nathan Wyburn Art/Facebook)
Other Brisbane celebrities also figure prominently in the food art.
The Veronicas are also featured, in an artwork using nachos and sauce. Twins Lisa and Jessica Origliasso were born and raised in Albany Creek. They attended Ferny Grove State High School and Wavell State High School.
Powderfinger’s Bernard Fanning, also included in the promotional art, was born and raised in Toowong. He attended St Joseph’s College, Gregory Terrace before studying journalism for a short period of time at the University of Queensland.
AUSTRALIA LISTEN UP! 🇦🇺 To honour some of the all-time faves of the Sunshine State, I’ve teamed up with Deliveroo AU to create foodie portraits of the Top 10 Greatest Brisbanites.
Other notable Brisbanites portrayed on the promotional art include Wally Lewis, Courtney Act, Miranda Otto, Darren Hayes, Darren Lockyer and Sheppard. Wyburn used different types of food to portray the celebrities: from toast and Vegemite for Barry Gibb’s face to nachos and sauce for The Veronicas.
Deliveroo has also expanded its services to cover Ferny Grove, Browns Plains, Redbank, Redcliffe, Strathpine, North Lakes, and Caboolture.
Beginning May 2022, The Gap State High School will be one of 50 Queensland schools that will have a GP on-site, as part of a pilot program launched in aid of students may who need consultations for their health and wellbeing.
A budget of $100 million has been allocated for this program that will see GP clinics up and running within the 50 school campuses. These clinics are meant to provide timely healthcare that bears no cost to the student’s families.
The Education Department was supposed to have only 20 state secondary schools in the pilot but after asking schools to register their interest to participate, Minister Grace Grace said they were inundated with requests and so they decided to expand coverage to 50 schools.
“[This] will have a positive impact on students’ health, mental health, and their readiness and ability to engage at school, and we want to ensure as many students as possible can benefit,” Ms Grace said.
However, Australian Medical Association Queensland president Chris Perry said whilst they welcome more access to primary healthcare, he hopes that this initiative will not impact and further overwhelm the “under-resourced” and exacerbate GP shortage problems across Queensland.
Photo Credit: Julio Ceasar Mejia/Pixabay
The move encompasses an election promise from Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, who said that there must be a wellness program for every student of the state.
“Every Queenslander deserves to be able to book a doctor’s appointment when they need one. But for many young people, getting in to see a GP is often difficult and expensive,” Palaszczuk said.
“We know that one of the greatest barriers for many young people is the difficulty in finding a GP that bulk bills.
“This will make a difference for thousands of students throughout the state.
“The last 18 months have affected us all. Our students, in particular, have had to overcome great challenges throughout the pandemic. This has undoubtedly had an impact on their health and wellbeing.
“This is an important investment. Delivering quality healthcare and education for all Queenslanders is what good Labor governments do best,” she said.
Meet Holly (11 y/o) and Charli (13y/o). These young ladies are sisters from The Gap who are starting to make waves as budding eco-activists and have made enough impact to be recognised as finalists for Young Change Maker of the Year by Containers for Change.
In the last three years, Holly and Charli have been raising funds for the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital by collecting bottles and cans to turn over to Containers for Change. The money they’ve raised has saved injured wildlife, giving them a second chance to live.
Since their initiative, the girls have collected over 40,000 and raised $15,000 — a very significant and valuable feat by any standard!
Photo Credit: Supplied
“We have loved wildlife since we were little and after a visit to Australia Zoo a few years ago and seeing the amazing work they do to help save wildlife we just needed to help,” the girls said. “We joined the Visionary Wildlife Warriors program 3 years ago and apart of that we started fundraising and doing things in our community to help the environment.”
“When the Containers for Change recycling program started it was perfect. We were able to collect containers, stop them from entering landfill and recycle them whilst also raising money for Australia Zoo at the same time.”
Photo Credit: Supplied
Carol Fairchild, who is also a community collector, is proud of the sisters.
“The girls are inspiring with the work they do for wildlife and it’s great to be able to support them in their fundraising,” she said.
Mum Jodie Garrity cannot believe how far her daughters have come, after starting out with just a plan to raise $1,000 when they were eight and 10 years old.
“Their dedication at such a young age blows us away.”
Wanting to whip up something new in the kitchen? Neighbourhood Watch The Gap will be hosting “Cook With our Community.” It’s FREE, safe, and accessible to everyone!
Set for 23 October 2021 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., this cooking event will be hosted in-person and online for a limited number of participants who will learn how to make iced sugar cookies they can prepare for selling or giving away as gifts in time for the holidays for friends or family.
Photo Credit: Supplied
Residents who sign up will receive:
the recipe (standard, gluten gree, vegan/non-dairy option)
12 food grade cookie packaging
sticker sheet for the labels
NHW The Gap Mailbox Sticker, key ring, and lanyard
Neighbourhood Watch The Gap organised “Cook With our Community” to connect with each other in this time of restrictions and lockdowns. Children may sign up for the event, provided they are guided and accompanied by an adult.
“By connecting with our Neighbours we create a safer place to live and work within our suburb,” the organisers said.
“We are utilising our Get Online Week grant provided by The Good Things Foundation, as well as funding from our great supporters to run this event.
“We wanted to create a simple, Covid resistant and accessible event, to spread kindness and to create connection within our 4061 community. Our supporters are Brisbane Inner West Realty, State Member for Cooper Jonty Bush as well as our local Boomerang Bags, The Gap and Surrounds.”
Buyers looking for more spacious houses in family-friendly surrounds in the wake of a Covid-induced rise in home-based activities are looking at suburbs like The Gap, where properties are on bigger blocks, surrounded by nature, yet still accessible to lifestyle amenities, transport, and good schools.
The Gap is doing consistently well in the property market, posting an 11.23 percent rise in median house price from July 2020 to June 2021. At $812,500, The Gap is still more affordable than suburbs like nearby Ashgrove where the median house price for the same period is currently $1.2 million, per data from Property Market Updates.
Despite the lockdowns in the region, sales activity was busy with 293 houses sold during the 12-month period. Inventory turnover was brisk, with houses spending an average of 29 days on market, suggesting strong and consistent buyer demand.
A 6.48-hectare estate on Dillon Road delivered the best deal for this period, selling at $2,700,000 million. The six-bedroom house, surrounded by orchards of mangoes, avocado, and macadamia trees, was on a hilltop that offered a stunning view of The Gap. The property is next to an active creek that flows like a waterfall during rainy weather.
Unit Price Growth
Whilst the housing sector has typically done better in Brisbane, the unit sector in The Gap also saw a presentable 5.39 percent rise during the same period, with the median price settling just shy of $700,000 at $699,500.
A total of 60 apartments were sold as of the end of June 2020, mostly to downsizers, young buyers, and owner-occupiers.
The Gap might not be the cafe mecca or retail hub that some nearby suburbs are but buyers seem to be drawn to its family-oriented location, and its proximity to national parks and nature reserves, whilst still remaining accessible to the city.
Situated in the middle of Mount Glorious, Mount Nebo, Mount Coot-tha, and Taylor’s Range, The Gap offers a fantastic outdoor lifestyle with lots of stunning green spaces for the family to explore.
Photo Credit: Google Maps
Generations tend to remain and expand their families in The Gap, given its abundance of options for school, such as The Gap State School or the St Peter Chanel Catholic School. Residents prefer its simple and laidback vibe. The Gap Village also offers a decent suburban shopping experience.
Majority of residents in The Gap are owner-occupiers whilst the demographic is nearly equal between families with kids and fully-employed single people.
“I’ve lived in The Gap since 1983 in two locations, it is a lovely green and leafy suburb situated against state forest land. This is the ideal place for people with a bit more disposable income who like the traditional quiet suburbia setting. If you like that sort of thing you’ll never leave.”
Ollygt, Homely
“So I moved to The Gap at the start of the year after looking at everywhere north to north west of the city. The gap offers extra space whilst also having a rural and village feel to it. It’s surrounded by walking trails and wildlife. I’m planning to have a family and could not think of anywhere better to raise my kids.”
HenryL14, Homely
“This is the second time I have lived here, in a rental. We are at the Mt Nebo end of The Gap with the leafy reserve across the road. Bush tracks galore, bike path, Mt Coot-tha, Yoorala St Community Garden, the dog off-leash park, heaps of dog walkers who pick up after their dogs and committed conservationists who volunteer their time to keep the bush surrounds shipshape.”
Do you have any grass clippings, branches, prunings from shrubs and trees, and weeds for disposal after cleaning your yard? Make the most of the FREE green waste drop-off days at the Ferny Grove Resource Recovery Centre on Upper Kedron Road.
Open from 6:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. on Saturday, 25 Sept, the initiative ensures that garden wastes from households can be properly disposed of. On regular dates, residents will have to use their waste vouchers to pay the disposal fee or register for Council’s green waste recycling service.
To dispose of your garden waste, go to the free recycling area first then drive to a second weighbridge that leads to the other disposal areas.
Please ensure that you’re dressed for safety with fully enclosed shoes, long pants, as well protective glasses and gloves when you go to the recovery centre. The facility is a non-smoking site and if you have children under 12 years old or pets coming along, they should remain in the vehicle at all times.
Garden waste may be recycled as a nutrient-rich soil conditioner for land reclamation sites and agriculture areas. If you are not composting at home, it would be best to take these at the Ferny Grove Resource Recovery Centre. Please take note not to include garden wastes that have contaminants, such as grass cuttings with herbicides.
Photo Credit: Robert Garvey/Google Maps
The Ferny Grove Resource Recovery Centre, which opens daily, is a part of the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme for households to dispose of their old TVs or computers. However, the site also accepts garden and landscape waste, paper and cardboard materials, other electrical appliances and white goods, paint and paint solvents, and motor and grease oil.
