BROTHERS LEAGUES CLUB have commenced management of Palm Cove's surf lifesaving premises. The surf club will retain control of the site and reap profits from a revitalised venture. Brothers' Operations Manager Steve Crawford said that a bottle shop would be opened by early April. "We have installed airconditioning in the bar area. At this stage the only meal catered for will be dinner, but lunch is planned for the future," he said.
More poker machines will be installed; a letter drop advising annual membership to remain at $5.50 will be made.
General Manager Mono Gomez said he saw a great future for the branch using Brothers' expertise and support. "Let's face it, it's a great little club in a fantastic location with a lot to offer families in the area and it's only going to get better," he said.

(See Editorial)

State title, now national

PALM COVE won Australian Clean Beach Challenge 2003, an initiative of Keep Australia Beautiful program, on February 28. Cove had previously won state title.

The gala event in Brisbane was not without a small hiccup. The winner's name, a well-kept secret, was on a huge board covered by a curtain.
As guests were enjoying their meal before the big announcement, the curtain fell down and the secret was out for all to see: Palm Cove - Australia's Cleanest Beach. The people from Iluka Bluff Beach in northern NSW, Cove's formidable opponents, were not exactly impressed.
Cr Sno Bonneau, who attended the event, said there were reports CNN in the US ran the story of Cove's win on its hourly bulletin during the first weekend of March. "That exposure alone would be worth millions of dollars to get something like that on the news in the United States," he said. He had also heard a report that it was in Tokyo Times newspaper.

A billboard proclaiming Palm Cove as Australia's Cleanest Beach 2003 is now being displayed in various high profile positions around the country, to be returned to home base at the end of 12 months.
Tourism Palm Cove president Alex Whyte said the promotional value of the award to Cove was "`immeasurable."

Cove people

SELF-MADE DESIGNER

THE MOST photographed building on the esplanade is undoubtedly Sarayi Resort. Owner Taner Dengiz says tourists stop and click their cameras every day.
"Only last week we had a car stop to take a snap, another did the same, and a third ran into the back of the second," he said. "And it's happened before."
Taner was the building's designer of its front section. Although his background is business (he has a degree in economics from Turkey and a post-graduate degree in commerce from the University of NSW), he apparantly has a flair for architecture as well.

"Sarayi is original Ottoman late 18th Century neo-classical style," he said. "It was originally a backpacker resort which then became Coconut Lodge Motel."
Taner said he was once secretary to the Turkish Foreign Minister representing that country at UN meetings in Vienna, North Africa and elsewhere. He was assistant to the Minister for State Economic Enterprizes when a military coup d'etat replaced the government and threw them all, including Taner, into detention centre. They were released after two weeks and advised to "make themselves scarce." Taner took the hint and migrated with family to Australia.
After trawler fishing for tuna in Fiji, he settled in Sydney in the pharmaceutical and construction industries. He then came to Palm Cove, bought Coconut Lodge Motel and renamed it Sarayi (pro. s'rye: it means palace).

Taner's wife Hatice is a medical doctor in Cairns. They live with their three children at Paradise Palms.

Editorial

THEY SAY there is no bad publicity. In Feb edition we told of the ban on topless waitresses at the local lifesaving club. Cairns Post also ran the story.
No doubt after reading the news, Brothers' CEO Mono Gomez decided his club could well become new managers for the cash-strapped lifesavers. With 17,000 members, the leagues club is a highly successful, well-heeled enterprize. They will surely succeed in the back bar and grill at Palm Cove. No doubt also the management will look at the front section of the club which has been hardly used. The success of Apres Bar & Grill with its popular forward dining section has demonstrated how tourists like to sit out front and enjoy a meal or cool drink while taking in the magnificent view of the Coral Sea, the islands and passing ships. Palm Cove is fast coming of age with the likes of new resorts Beach Hut, Triton Palace, Sea Temple, and Sanctuary. All the more reason for the new managers to think about the front section of the club.
What off-season?
RESTAURANTEER Matt Turner in the shopping centre was amazed.
"Other restaurants closed down for January and most of February but we were never busier," he said. Matt, who runs alfresco restaurant Cafe de Lema with chef brother Jake, said tourist numbers over the so-called quiet period were well up on last year's.

Overheard at Apres Bar & Grill
IT WAS one of our worst, muggiest, stickiest February days at 33 degrees with humidity in the high nineties. Man with English accent : "How about this beautiful warmth. It's what we came for."
Tilt train worth a try
THE tilt train, which tilts to one side or the other allowing it to go faster around the bends, commences Cairns to Brisbane on Jun15. Your editor and wife Anthea, who rode it from Rockhampton-Brisbane recently, can recommend the experience. Anthea said : "It's five-star. Try a short trip for something different."

Published by Jerry Dukes, 52Terebra St Palm
Cove 4879. Ph 40591610; Fax 40590058
Email : jdukes@ozemail.com.au