Archive for December, 2008

I’ll be in TASMANIA celebrating the New Year, but I know you Darwinites will revel in style as usual. Here are the venues you can celebrate at if you aren’y going to a private party. Cheers!

Darwin

Beachfront Hotel
OOO party.

Casuarina Club
Rock ‘n’ Roll Theme, ’50s and ’60s. Entertainment by Lance Birrell, from 8pm. $1000 cash prize for best dressed – $500 for male $500 for female.

Darwin Sailing Club
Extended 2am license, The Brooke Barnett Trio band are playing from 7pm, disco from 11am to 1am.

Darwin Trailer Boat Club
Golden theme. 50th golden anniversary of the club. Itchy Feet playing from 7pm. No cover charge.

Dinah Beach Cruising Yacht Association
Fancy dress party. Anything goes. Entertainment by Three Little Pigs from 8pm until midnight. Everyone is welcome.

Discovery Nightclub
Platinum party. Doors open at 8pm and the party doesn’t stop until 6am. Guest appearance by Marco Demark.

Dolly O’Reillys
BJ DJ rock n’ roll music from 8.30pm.

Duck’s Nuts
Late opening. Dilemma band playing from 9pm.
DJ Max at the Tzars Vodka Bar from 10pm. $5 cover charge.

Fox ‘N’ Fiddle
Come in for a chilled out beginning to 2009.

Hot Potato
Darwin’s newest nightclub underneath Crocosaurus Cove. Entry free before 9pm, $20 after.

Lizards Bar and Grill
Free entry. $5000 giveaway to be drawn at 10pm. You must be there. ’80s music theme. Band Sox for Dad playing from 8pm and DJ Dan will be mixing it up until 2am.

Monsoons
Free entry. Live music with Max, Dave, Toby and Grant from 5pm to 10pm, playing live covers. Ice Man And DJ Alex from 10pm playing commercial Top 40 and house all night. Open until 4am.

Parap Village Tavern
Beach party. Plenty of prizes. Karaoke. Starts at 9pm. No cover charge.

Pint Club
DJ Custom Sounds from 8pm until late.

Shenanigans
The outside tent and lights are back for another year. Underdog band playing from 10.30pm. DJ Joel will be playing between the band. Open until 4am. $5 cover charge from midnight.

Skycity Casino
New Years ball in the Grand Ballroom from 8pm. Tickets are $255 and include a four-course meal and drinks. There will be giveaways as well. The night will close with a spectacular fireworks display.

The Cavanagh
Black and White Ball. Tickets are $140. Starts at 8pm and finishes at 2am. Includes all drinks. Entertainment from DJ Nikki.

The Tap on Mitchell
Naked theme – interpret that how you will. The party is the launch of Pure Blonde’s Naked.

Throb
Don’t miss the Yes We Can dance party. Celebrate peace, love, equality, fun – yes we can. The floor show starts at 11.40pm sharp and ends at the stroke of midnight. The party will go to 6am, with a bevy of drag divas and three DJs. Tickets are $25 at the door.

Time Nightclub
Featuring Electric Machine. DJ Jaxxon Shore, DJ Amy shaw, and DJ Bravo will all be taking to the stage. The club has a deal of $85 for all beer, wine, bubbly, basic spirits and nibbles between 9.30pm and 1.30am.

Tracy Village Sports and Social Club
Fancy dress party. Eclipse trio playing from 8pm. Courtesy bus from midnight to the northern suburbs. Complimentary sparkling wine at midnight. Entry is $18 and includes supper and nibbles. Best dressed costume prize.

Wisdom Bar
Breast cancer fundraiser. Come in pink. $5 entry. Max from 7pm until 10pm, Holshot from 10.30 until 2.30am, DJ Reil. Open until 4am.

Palmerston

Cazaly’s
Beach party. From 9pm. DJ Dirty-D will be playing from opening. $5 cocktails. Prizes and games to keep everyone entertained.

Palmerston Sports Club – The Hub
Live entertainment by Cold Sweat from 9pm. Open to 2am.

The Arch Rival
3-D party.

Alice Springs

Memorial Club
The crazy hat party. Put on your wackiest hat for a chance to win a $600 first prize voucher, $300 for second and $200 for third. Karaoke at 9pm and prizes around 9.30pm. No cover charge.

The Juicy Rump
The New Years exclusive. Starts at 7.30pm to 1am. Tickets are $95, includes food, drinks, live entertainment and fireworks display.

Tennant Creek

Tennant Creek Hotel
The Tennant Creek institution will be firing up its jukebox for a night of fun and frivolity.

Tennant Creek Memorial Club
Live band Wounded Dog from 9pm.

Katherine

Katherine Club
A roaring 20s theme. Free entry. Local band Indicesion playing from 8.30pm.

Katherine Hotel
Katherinites will be able to rage with an extended licence until 2am, but get in before the 1am lock-out.

Rest of the Territory

Barrow Creek Hotel
Revellers will be hitting the jukebox and celebrating in style and the iconic outback pub.

Daly Waters Pub
Fancy dress party. Come decked as your favourite cartoon character or superhero. There are plenty of great prizes. Action will kick off when everyone gets there.

Howard Springs Tavern
’70s theme. Come dressed in the style. Dirty Dan from 8.30pm. A fun family night.

Litchfield Hotel
Fancy dress. DJ Sonix from 4pm. Heaps of games, prizes and giveaways.

Noonamah Tavern
The Lone Mudcrab is playing from 8pm. A guy driving his tractor from Elizabeth Valley to the bridge and back in a mankini, raising funds for leukaemia.

Source

Moonie’s mankini raises money

NADJA HAINKE

December 26th, 2008

ONE-OFF: Dean Innes and Jason Moon drove a tractor to the Noonamah Tavern wearing mankinis for charity. Pictures: NICK WELSH

JASON Moon proved he would do anything for a good reason – even wear a mankini.

The farm contractor swung his scantily-clad bum on a tractor on Wednesday to drive to the Noonamah Tavern and raise money for charity.

But Mr Moon, 35, said this was a one-off event.

“I’ve never done it before and it’s pretty certain I’m not doing it again,” he said.

The idea emerged after the Noonamah Tavern’s Jodie Ranie came second in the UGLY Bartender of the Year competition, raising $14,500 for the Leukaemia Foundation.

Mr Moon, who owns Moonie’s Slashing, wanted to add to the effort.

He made a deal to drive to the tavern in a tractor, wearing nothing but a mankini.

“I raised $2105 – it worked out really well,” he said.

Source

If you want to know where there are displays of Christmas lights, here are a few you can visit. Something to keep the kids enthralled as they await the big man in the red suit.

Alice Springs -- 60 Kurrajong Dr
Gunn -- 18 Ruby Grove  (Palmerston area)
Moulden -- 27 Melastoma Drive
Moulden -- Unit 1/4 Wirraway Circuit
Wanguri -- 48 Haritos Street
Woodroffe -21 James Circuit
Woodroffe -- 51 James Circuit

I am sure there are more out there, please comment if you have or know of someone with a   Christmas Lights Display in your area. Merry Christmas everyone!

The BEST Christmas Lights in Australia 2008

With cyclone Billy hovering close to the territory, it is timely to remember Christmas 1974 when Cyclone Tracy nearly destroyed the city and suburbs when Santa didn’t make it to Darwin. Remember this song by Bill and Boyd?

Santa Never Made It Into Darwin

 

 

On Christmas Eve of ‘74 the warning sounded out
On all the broadcast stations a great storm was near about
The boys and girls asleep in bed, tomorrow was the day
Their mums and dads all prayed the mighty storm would turn away

Santa never made it into Darwin
Disaster struck at dawn on Christmas Day
Santa never made it into Darwin
A big wind came and blew the town away

Christmas morning was a nightmare as Cyclone Tracy struck
It ripped apart the buildings like an atom bomb had struck
It twisted iron girders and it flattened all the trees
The might of such a cyclone must be seen to be believed

Santa never made it into Darwin
Disaster struck at dawn on Christmas Day
Santa never made it into Darwin
A big wind came and blew the town away

Many boats put out to sea, very few returned
Most were founded on the rocks or in deep seas overturned
Australia was shocked and saddened as the news came through
The devastated city that must be built anew
The suffering and heartbreak to happen in this way
A natural disaster to come on Christmas Day

Santa never made it into Darwin
Disaster struck at dawn on Christmas Day
Santa never made it into Darwin
A big wind came and blew the town away

Santa never made it into Darwin
Disaster struck at dawn on Christmas Day
Santa never made it into Darwin
A big wind came and blew the town away
A big wind came and blew the town away

Cyclone Billy has crossed land as a category two and is now downgraded. The project path is estimating that it will head back out to sea.  See map

The forecast path shown above is the Bureau’s best estimate of the cyclone’s future movement and intensity. There is always some uncertainty associated with tropical cyclone forecasting and the grey zone indicates the range of likely tracks.

Due to the uncertainty in the future movement, the indicated winds will almost certainly extend to regions outside the rings on this map. The extent of the warning & watch zones reflects this.
Remarks:

TROPICAL CYCLONE Billy has weakened into a Tropical Low. Winds near the centre have eased below gale force. The Tropical Low is expected to cross the north Kimberley region and move off the west Kimberley coast later on Sunday. A TROPICAL CYCLONE may redevelop overnight Sunday or on Monday causing GALES between KALUMBURU and COCKATOO ISLAND.

Widespread heavy rainfall is likely over northern parts of the Kimberley over the few days. Significant stream rises and local flooding are expected in these areas today, extending westwards across the north Kimberley.

FESA-State Emergency Service advises of the following community alerts:

ALL CLEAR WITH CAUTION: People in communities at WYNDHAM, OOMBULGURRI, KALUMBURU and Mitchell Plateau area and surrounding communities are advised to proceed with caution.

Only in Darwin

This saltie – easily big enough to kill a man – is on the loose near a popular Darwin playground.

The 2.5m croc was seen basking in a drain about 1km from Leanyer Recreation Park yesterday.

Darwin residents have been urged to stay away from the area.

Newsbreaker Lee Abraham, 21, of Millner, spotted the sizeable saltie on Tuesday about 5.30pm.

He said the reptile was within only 20m away from him and not far from the water park and the skate park.

“I took my dog down there for a walk,” he said. “On the way out we saw the croc.

“It wasn’t worried by us at all. It sort of just sat there.”

The born-and-bred Territorian and keen fisherman said he had seen many crocs before.

Just how big can crocs get? Check out pics of monster crocs

“But I thought it was big enough to report it,” he said.

Parks and Wildlife rangers were trying to capture the saltie yesterday.

Croc catcher Tommy Nichols said rangers put up spotlights on Tuesday night to monitor the intruder but failed to locate it and traps were set up in the area yesterday.

The croc either came out of Buffalo Creek or the top end of Mickett Creek through the mangroves system on a high tide, he said.

 More here

This is unexpected! But welcome. It is a nice gesture after all the anger, frustration, tension and inconvenience that thousands had to endure during those extended outages.

15 December 2008

Power and Water Corporation will provide a rebate to customers affected by the Casuarina Zone Substation outages in September and October.

Power and Water Acting Managing Director, Alistair Parker said ‘Most electricity providers around the country are bound by either the National Regulator’s Guaranteed Service Level scheme or similar, that includes some form of rebate for extended power outages.

‘The decision and consideration of implementing a broader rebate scheme will bring the Territory into line with schemes elsewhere and acknowledges the inconvenience experienced by customers.

‘We will make these rebates as quickly as possible.’

The rebates will be either:

$80 If the total duration of unplanned interruptions experienced by the customer associated with the Casuarina zone outages in September and October 2008 was at least 12 hours in duration or

$125 if the total duration of unplanned interruptions experienced by the customer associated with the Casuarina zone outages in September and October 2008 exceeded 20 hours.

This exceeds the recommendations made by the Utilities Commission and Power and Water estimate that approx 5,000 customers will be eligible for a $80 rebate and 400 for a $125 rebate.

Power and Water will notify all eligible customers that a rebate will be credited to their account. This credit will be made on their next account.

Source

Why doesn’t this happen when I am out walking! Oh it was 6:3o am, a couple of hours too early

EARLY morning joggers were shocked by an unexpected eyeful yesterday when three young men stripped off and frolicked naked.

The Darwin trio – two aged 18 and one 17 – allegedly bared all at the Nightcliff jetty before “shaking their genitals at each other” and jumping into the sea, police said yesterday.

But the nude act did not put a smile on NT surf life saving chief executive Tony Snelling, who said the trio were lucky to be alive.

“Jumping into the sea at this time of the year is absolutely stupid,” he said.

“Coastal waters at this time of year have swarms of box jellyfish – one of the most venomous creatures on the planet. These jellyfish can kill and have caused more than 60 deaths in Australia over the past 100 years.

“They are difficult to see in the water because the main body of the jellyfish is colourless, but they have 40 ore more tentacles, each of which may be up to 2m long,” Mr Snelling said.

A male passer-by reported the incident to police about 6.30am. The trio received an on-the-spot fine, worth $110, for the nude dash.

Continued here

Feel free to comment

HAWTHORN star Lance “Buddy” Franklin bid farewell to Darwin in style – with a night out at the Hookers and Deviates ball.

Franklin, dressed only in pants and a hat, was one of about 1000 partygoers who packed Discovery for the annual flesh fest.

Check out great pics from the Hookers ball

Clubbers said the Hawks forward had to be pulled aside by the bouncers at one stage for a bit of a talking to, but was generally well behaved.

And he was happy to pose for a photo with some of the crowd.

Louise Thomas, 28, of Rosebery, Palmerston, said she didn’t even know who Franklin was when she had her picture taken with him.

She said Franklin had been “a good boy” but had to do some sweet talking to stay in the nightclub.

“He almost got kicked out by the bouncers,” she said. “I don’t think they knew who he was – I reckon someone must have thought that he had drunk too much.”

The Hawthorn players headed home to Melbourne yesterday after their four-day “cultural” tour of the Top End.

While the Hawks were flying south, many Darwinites were left nursing sore heads from a big night out.

Partygoers could still be seen straggling down Mitchell St after 8am Monday morning.

Continued

JESSICA MAUBOY has scored a career-making role as a lead actor in the new Australian feature film Bran Nue Dae. She will star alongside Oscar-winner Geoffrey Rush and indigenous actors, including TV star Ernie Dingo, in the film.
A source close to Mauboy has confirmed she will be playing the key role of Rosie in the film. “It is a tremendous break in terms of Jess’s career. It is 100% confirmed,” she said. “Filming begins in Broome in late November, early December.”
Mauboy, who was the runner-up on Australian Idol in 2006, has undergone intensive acting training in Sydney under the guidance of renowned actor Deborah Mailman and producer Robyn Kershaw, who was behind Looking for Alibrandi.
The film version of Bran Nue Dae will be based on the critically-acclaimed play by Jimmy Chi, with director Rachel Perkins at the helm.
Jessica Mauboy, who grew up in Darwin, will spend at least a month in Broome during filming.

It’s 36 degrees and muggy, but the hot windy conditions on Broome’s Cable Beach do not deter director Rachel Perkins.

She’s passionate about bringing the first Aboriginal musical, Bran Nue Dae, to the screen and paces among the cast and crew, encouraging them to give their best in spite of the overwhelming heat.

Two years after she was runner-up in Australian Idol, the Wulagi starlet has a top-five song, a debut album due out this month and a role in one of the most-anticipated movies of 2009.

News Ltd spoke exclusively with Mauboy, 19, after her first week of filming in Broome for Bran Nue Dae, which also stars Geoffrey Rush and Missy Higgins.

“The first week has been so scary because, obviously, I have never done acting before,” Mauboy said.

“Having the whole crew, more than 100 of them, watching me, trying to be emotional or be happy – it is so weird.

“But everyone just said to forget about them being there and to have fun. I’m getting used to it, which is really good.”

Bran Nue Dae was hailed as the first Aboriginal musical when it premiered in Perth in 1990.

Directed by Rachel Perkins, it is set in the pearling port of Broome in 1965 and follows the adventures of Aboriginal boy, Willie, and his girl, Rosie (Mauboy).

Academy Award-winner Rush plays a priest, alongside Missy Higgins as a “hilarious hippie”.

The singer is not only relishing the chance to star in a major film, she is also experiencing a resurgence of interest in her music career. Although Mauboy has found some success performing with the all-female band Young Divas, she is expected to break out as a solo artist in her own right this year