Here are the top ten stories as measured by individuals who accessed our website in 2021. Not surprisingly COVID stories dominated. July was the biggest month for news in the North West with five of the top ten coming from that month.
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In July we reported Mount Isa police named the killer in the cold case of the murder of Patricia Rose Carlton in 1983. In October that year a routine police patrol found Ms Carlton unconscious and seriously injured in the carpark at the Isa Hotel. She died at Mount Isa Hospital without regaining consciousness. She had been brutally beaten with a large metal pipe and had a stone inserted in her vagina. A man named Kelvin Condren was wrongfully convicted of her murder but following revelations in a 2019 book by forensic anthropologist Xanthe Mallet, police have now named Andrew Christopher Albury as the killer. Acting Superintendent Jason Smith used a Naidoc Week flag raising ceremony to say Mount Isa CIB and the Homicide Squad in Brisbane conducted a review of the cold case last year and as a result of that investigation, they've taken out an arrest warrant for Albury who is currently serving a life sentence in Darwin for another murder.
Everyone loves a good lotto win and in July we reported a Mount Isa man was celebrating a big Super 66 division one win in the weekend lottery results. The unnamed man won more than $180,000 saying he did not have any definite plans just yet to spend the money. "Fantastic! I checked the ticket on Saturday night, and I couldn't believe it," he said. "I had a little bit of a celebration. It's great news for me. I don't play very often, so it was a lovely surprise."
In July we reported the mask mandate was extended for another week in the south-east as Queensland's border will close to people from New South Wales. Acting Premier Steven Miles made the announcement Thursday despite no new cases of COVID-19 recorded in Queensland. Mr Miles said masks will still need to be worn for seven more days in 11 council areas around south-east Queensland, but other restrictions will be eased including allowing up to 100 people in homes and removing the limit for people gathering outside.
The Mount Isa Hospital vaccination clinic moved to the Mount Isa Civic Centre in July, as Queensland vaccination efforts ramped up, making it the largest vaccination site in North West Queensland.
News came through in March that North West Hospital and Health Service announced that the Mount Isa Hospital would become a COVID vaccine hub from March 16. The first round of vaccines was offered to front-line staff in Mount Isa such as emergency department staff, Queensland Ambulance Service staff, aged care residents and staff. The vaccination drive would continue all year
There was tragic news to start the year in January following the sudden death of a 32-year-old man in Mount Isa. Preliminary information indicates the man had been attempting to jump from the balcony into a pool in Sunset when he slipped and fell. Ambulance officers assessed for critical injuries but sadly, the man could not be revived and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The threat of lockdowns was ever present in 2021. So that meant people had more time on their hands to try out new things. Samantha Campbell wrote this story in March 2020 at the very start of the pandemic, but it was still very popular throughout 2021.
It was in November 2020 that police confirmed the tragic news that human remains found at a remote NT cattle station were those those of missing Queensland man Peter English. The man had been missing since 2019 and last seen in Mount Isa heading to the territory. The story still resonated with readers throughout 2021.
A week out from the start of the Bash in July we reported that organisers said the event was still going ahead despite a rash of community Covid outbreaks. There was a Melbourne outbreak causing concern though with restrictions lifted in that state, it looks as if they will now be able to make the journey. The problem was then a major outbreak in Sydney, though issues in the NT and Brisbane were also a concern. In a message released Thursday, the Big Red Bash team said they were still going "full steam ahead and focused on the final preparations" for the Bash which is on July 6-8 with Paul Kelly due to top a big bill of artists. The event went off without a hitch.
There is no doubt that the ongoing COVID pandemic is the biggest news story of 2021. Though we have been fortunate that throughout the epidemic there have been no cases so far in the North West, it has got close. The biggest story we had this year was on September 9 when we reported that a COVID case was reported in Townsville. North Westerners rely on Townsville for many aspects of their lives so it was no surprise people wanted to know the details. Townsville was put in lockdown for a few days but thankfully there was no major outbreak
Derek Barry
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
