YEAR IN REVIEW: End of sugar, splash park and Toyah verdict
Part 3: September-December
SEPTEMBER
The Craiglie carwash was allegedly damaging cars following an upgrade and the Gran Fondo cycling race was held for the last time following a drop-off in entries.
The Crocs AFL side finished top, then went out in straight sets, but the Douglas Dragons soccer team won the flag after finishing the regular season in second.
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The $4.75m Port Douglas Splash Park opened up, while a tourism-industry report announced international tourists had started returning to the region in increasing numbers.
OCTOBER
The DSC Carols by Candlelight event was canned, while a new LGBTQ+ festival called Heatwave was announced for February.
The cane-trucking deal fell through, bringing to an end more than 130 years of the Mossman cane industry.
One of the Sheraton pools was shut down after a small croc was found in there and a boy was attacked by a crocodile in Cape Tribulation.
The Reef Tavern restaurant reopened after a long refurbishment.
NOVEMBER
The DSC launched a report to help look at the feasibility of a tourism tax, while Port Douglas was lauded as a top tourism road-trip stop-off.
The retrial of Innisfail nurse Mr Singh for the murder of former Paws and Claws volunteer Ms Cordingley began in Cairns Supreme Court.
The council announced another inquiry into sand erosion, prompting an impassioned speech in the chambers on behalf of Newell Beach residents wanting immediate action.
An audit of the council found there had been at least one “significant deficiency” in the way Cyclone Jasper recovery contracts had been handled.
Former coach Brad Cooper replaced Nick Salter at the helm of the Crocs.
DECEMBER
Mr Singh was given a life sentence for the murder of Ms Cordingley at Wangetti Beach in 2018.
The council revealed it was looking into building a Port Douglas convention centre, while a Port Douglas tobacconist was shut down for at least 90 days in a statewide crackdown on the sale of illegal tobacco.
New presidents were announced for both the rugby and AFL clubs.
The first heavy rains of the new wet season hit Mossman, flooding Anich’s Bridge and closing the golf course.
The Four Mile Beach Peninsula Boutique Hotel management rights sold for $5.8m.
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