General News
14 October, 2026
Club’s mental health drive
ROTARY Club of Douglas FNQ has enjoyed a busy weekend of events as part of October’s Mental Health Month across Australia.
For their efforts, members have raised vital funds, while providing great entertainment and some exercise along the way.
In July, the local Rotary group celebrated the induction of its new president Craig Schofield and board team members. As part of that evening, Mr Schofield explained some of the projects the committee and members were launching this year.
“We will be showing a new direction which includes some fresh projects,” he said at the time.
“The aim now is to attract more members and engage better with the community.”
Well, some of those promises have now been actioned. Last weekend, there were two days of activity which kicked off with a Farmer’s Breakfast in Finlayvale on Saturday morning October 3.
The breakfast, dedicated purely to local farmers, was also attended by Brendan Cullen, a farmer, marathon swimmer and author of ‘The Desert Swimmer’. Mr Cullen, who has conquered the English Channel and Hudson River, shared his powerful journey, from losing his farm and facing mental health challenges. The breakfast was attended by 23 people.
The weekend continued on Sunday morning with the ‘Lift The Lid’ walk, which covered about 6km, starting off at Rex Smeal Park, heading over Flagstaff Hill, then along Four Mile Beach for a couple of kilometres and finally back via the main Port Douglas Road to Rex Smeal Park.
The perfect weather encouraged a good mix of people to take on the challenge and pay an entry fee from which all proceeds will go towards mental health-related issues and awareness.
During the excursion, Douglas Shire local author Chantel Munro spoke about her book ‘Surviving The Change’ and generally talked about women dealing with menopause and depression. Jacinta Cullen, wife of guest speaker Brendan Cullen, talked about her involvement with Lifeline and some of the statistics around suicide.
To round off a busy weekend, Mr Cullen further spoke at a lunch at Zinc Restaurant, at which 52 people attended.
Mr Schofield said “it was an amazing insight into Brendan’s life and discovering how he is spreading the word about mental health in particular with men and rural communities.”
“Brendon also shared how you can build a mental toolbox to deal with depression and how to identify if someone is suffering depression,” Mr Schofield said.
Half the proceeds from the luncheon will now be donated to Mossman Hospital’s Mental Health wing.
The weekend proved just how important groups like Rotary are in small communities such as the club we have in the Douglas Shire and what a difference ‘people power’ makes when like-minded people come together.
I’m off to find out what the Rotary Club of Douglas FNQ have up their sleeve next, so for now it’s Gazza signing out.
Send your stories to gazza@cairnslocalnews.com.au
