I was having a chat with a really good mate the other night and he has always been very passionate about Ingham. He told me that three years ago the median age in Herbert Shire was Fifty, three years later it was fifty-seven. The median age in Ingham went up by seven, SEVEN! in three years! There are many of us who want to see a bright future for the Herbert Shire but at this rate it is becoming quite concerning. It is hard to put a ‘good’ spin on this – but I will try my hardest!
So – a bit about the Hinchinbrook Shire:-
- We are located 29 km from the mouth of the Herbert River and 14 m above sea level.
- The town is the administrative capital of the Hinchinbrook Shire.
- Surrounding areas support beef cattle but sugar cane predominates all other industries.
- We have the largest sugar mill in the Southern Hemisphere – Victoria Mill.
- The town was founded in 1864 and was gazetted as the local government area Hinchinbrook Shire in 1879.
- The town is named after William Bairstow Ingham, a pioneer sugar planter on the Herbert River in 1874.
- The Ingham Post Office opened on 1st January 1871 as the Lower Herbert Post Office and was renamed Ingham in 1882.
- A gaol opened in July 1886; previously there had only been a police lock-up.
- The town has a strong Italian and Spanish history – as back in the 1920s and 1930s there was a large inflow of immigrants from these countries.
- The Black Hand Gang, La Mano Nera formed in the 1930’s terrorised the town with bribery and corruption, forming a dark chapter in the town’s history.
- Ingham State High School opened on 2 February 1952. Ingham State School opened on 4 May 1855 and celebrated its Golden Jubilee in December 1935.
- The current Hinchinbrook Shire Library opened in 2011 at Tyto in Ingham.
I googled ‘Job vacancies Ingham 4850’ as that’s the area that I live in, and there were two, two positions vacant where a school leaver could possibly snag a position with little experience. We need to create more job vacancies for the young people of Ingham to stay here, either provide them with the training they need or possibly go away and study – but then want to come back and make Ingham their permanent home, with a job that pays well.
I then googled ‘Real Estate Ingham 4850’ as that’s the area that I live in, and ‘realestate.com.au’ came up showing 473 results. I’m sorry, but that’s not good enough. For there to be job openings through our town we need to boost our tourism industry. There are a few businesses on board trying to help increase the traffic flow through the Hinchinbrook Shire of people who come to buy – places like JK’s Deli and Bossi Boots, there are others, but these are the businesses I see actively promoting the Hinchinbrook Shire. It’s definitely a smart way to boost your business, because promoting the Hinchinbrook Shire rather than your own business, more people will come to the Hinchinbrook Shire and spend money.
Some ways we can boost our town is to have as many businesses as possible jump on the social media train. Facebook and Instagram are the main ones to focus on as they are the more popular social media platforms amongst businesses. Educate yourself – there is so much you can learn on the net for free, all you have to do is want to find what you are looking for. Best thing about it – IT’S FREE ADVERTISING PEOPLE!
People want to go to nice places – well there are many b.e.a.utiful places surrounding our amazing town. Take Wallaman Falls, Broadwater, Lucinda, Forrest Beach for example; just to name a few.
I know many people before me have tried to pump life into the Hinchinbrook Shire, but that doesn’t discourage me – not even the slightest! It’s my turn to have a go, take a slightly different approach and prove to the world that the Hinchinbrook Shire is one of it’s not so hidden treasures. I believe with my impulse and determination I can achieve something pretty spectacular – I don’t know what yet… but wait and see!
Aquo Xx