Bundaberg, Queensland

From Freepedia

Bundaberg is a city in, and Local Government Area of, Queensland, Australia. It lies approximately 370 kilometres north of the state capital, Brisbane, and is situated on the Burnett River. The population of the city is around 50,000 people.

Bundaberg is dependent to a large extent on the sugar industry. Extensive sugar cane fields extend throughout the district, and all aspects of the sugar industy take place in close proximity to the city. One of the better known exports from the city is Bundaberg Rum, also made from sugar. Fruit and vegetable growing on a commercial scale are also prominent throughout the Bundaberg region, with tomatoes, zucchinis, capsicums, legumes and watermelons grown in abundant quantities on irrigated farms.

Tourism is a growing industry throughout Queensland, and Bundaberg, known as the 'Gateway to the Great Barrier Reef' is no exception. It is in close proximity to Lady Musgrave and Lady Elliot Islands. The world famous Mon Repos beach loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) rookery is close by. The nearby town of Bargara is also growing as a retirement and residential destination.

Its sister cities are Nanning in China and Settsu City in Japan

Bundaberg is serviced by several Queensland Rail passenger trains each day and is approximately four hours north of Brisbane by rail. Many long-distance buses also pass through the city. Bundaberg is located on the Isis Highway (State Route 3) approximately 30 km east of the Bruce Highway.

Among the well known inhabitants of Bundaberg have been:

• Bert Hinkler, pioneer aviator, who was born in the city in 1892. He was the first person to fly solo from England to Australia (1928), and also was the first person to fly solo across the South Atlantic (1931).
• Mal Meninga, Rugby League footballer
• Gladys Moncrieff, singer.
• Don Tallon, Cricket player.
• Chris Sarra, 2004 Queenslander of the year. Grew up In East Bundaberg. Interview with George Negus
• Vance Palmer writer.
• Anthony Athanasiov, boxer, better known as the Bundy Brawler
• Prime Ministers Andrew Fisher and Frank Forde both represented Federal electorates that included Bundaberg, yet neither was from there.

The name of the local Aborignal group is called Gurang-Gurang (goo-rang goo-rang).

Bundaberg public health problems

Bundaberg has attracted much national media attention in 2005 due to the alleged incompetence of a surgical director, Jayant Patel, who has been implicated in the deaths of up to 87 patients.

Bundaberg also was the location of another health-related disaster in 1928, when 12 children died shortly after receiving injections of diphtheria vaccine. At the time, the vaccine was created by the toxin-antitoxin, or TAT process, where diphtheria toxin was combined with antibodies from horses, which served to eliminate the toxicity of the toxin while leaving it intact enough to stimulate a long-lasting immune response in the recipient. The vaccine, produced by the State Serum Institute in Perth, world renowned for the quality of its work and products, was dispensed to the city's children without incident; however, two weeks later, when they received a booster shot, all the children became very ill, and 12 died. Initial fears that the TAT process had failed to neutralize the diphtheria toxin in this instance were allayed when an investigation by an Australian Royal Commission, headed by future Nobel Prize winning immunologist Macfarlane Burnett, found that the vaccine had become contaminated by Staphylococcus aureus during the first round of injections. During the two week gap, these bacteria had multiplied in the vaccine, producing a different toxin (see toxic shock syndrome). As a result of this finding, the Royal Commission issued a strong recommendation, adopted by all major manufacturers, that all vaccines packaged in containers containing multiple doses incorporate an antibacterial preservative. After testing of various compounds for toxicity and compatibility with the vaccine, the optimal preservative was determined to be thimerosal, which, ironically, has now become controversial due to questions of its own toxicity.