Construction is underway on an expansion of the all abilities playground at Leslie Patrick Park in Arana Hills, a facility also used by families from nearby Albany Creek.
The upgrade will introduce a new play area aimed at supporting children and adults with low or no vision and other sensory needs. Works began in February 2026 and are expected to continue for approximately eight weeks, weather permitting.
Extending A 2019 Playground Milestone
The inclusive playground at Leslie Patrick Park opened in late 2019 and was identified as the first of its kind in South East Queensland. The current works will connect an additional play section to the existing playground.
Planning for the expansion followed consultation with speech pathologists, occupational therapists, access consultants and park users with lived experience. A community engagement day was also held with children and parent volunteers from Vision Australia.
Photo Credit: City of Moreton Bay/Facebook
New Accessibility Features
The added play space will feature a braille trail, pavement art, a beehive cubby, a sensory hangout area, a vibration post, overhead optic sensory panels and a picnic shelter. A social media update about the project also referred to gardens with sensory plants as part of the design.
The upgrade has been reported as a $500,000 Local Community Infrastructure project.
Photo Credit: City of Moreton Bay/Facebook
Community Suggestions Raised Online
Comments shared online in response to the announcement included calls for increased shade over play areas and the addition of another toddler swing.
Construction continues at Leslie Patrick Park in Arana Hills, with the expanded facility expected to provide additional inclusive play options for local families.
The Carers Foundation Australia, in collaboration with Brendale businessman Mike Arieni and Solar Bollard Lighting, runs the Josh Arieni Legacy program to honour unpaid family and community carers by granting them an experience of their choice to rest, rejuvenate and feel genuinely appreciated for the work they do.
The program was established in 2023 in memory of Mike’s son Josh, who cared for his grandmother for several years before his death in a car accident in 2020. Josh Arieni was born in 1992 and was known for his kindness and compassion. Mike worked with The Carers Foundation to create a legacy that reflected those qualities, focusing on carers who give without recognition and rarely ask for help.
Photo Credit: The Carers Foundation
About The Carers Foundation Australia
The Carers Foundation Australia was established in 2015 under the leadership of founders Ronnie and Michael Benbow, delivering wellbeing programmes for unpaid family carers across Queensland and beyond. The organisation runs carer wellbeing retreats, wellness days and annual Christmas lunches across the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Moreton Bay, Brisbane and beyond, with each event attended by approximately 80 or more carers. All carers at Christmas lunches receive gift bags, recognising that many will not receive gifts on the day due to their caring responsibilities.
Photo Credit: Rhubarb Photography
The Carers Foundation sits within a broader context of significant unpaid care across Australia. Hundreds of thousands of Australians provide full-time unpaid care for family members, saving the health system billions of dollars annually while receiving little to no government support. Young unpaid carers number in the hundreds of thousands, with some as young as eight caring for a sick parent or sibling.
What the Josh Arieni Legacy Program Does
Each year, Mike Arieni dedicates funding through Solar Bollard Lighting, alongside contributions from supporters, to grant a small number of carers an experience of their choice. Community members, family or support workers can nominate a carer they know, or carers can nominate themselves, through The Carers Foundation website. Recipients receive a fully funded experience tailored to what they most need.
Past recipients have included George, who cared for his ageing mother while managing his own health challenges and fulfilled a lifelong ambition to complete a camel trek through outback South Australia. Samantha, who cared for her mother and uncle around the clock and had reached a breaking point, attended a five-day writers retreat that allowed her to reconnect with a creative life she had set aside.
Louise, a sole carer for more than two decades for her son who lives with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, spent two nights at Hastings Street, Noosa, and enjoyed a pamper day at a day spa. Bob and Val, who have cared for their daughter for more than 55 years following her birth with significant disabilities, received a five-night stay at Golden Beach. Anne, the mother of two boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy both requiring 24-hour care seven days a week, fulfilled her dream of visiting Sea World and swimming with dolphins.
John and Anna, the couple referenced in the source article, are among those receiving a gift this year through the program — a weekend away to recharge, which John described as something the couple was unaccustomed to but deeply needed after years of balancing full-time work with full-time caring responsibilities.
How to Nominate or Support the Program
Nominations for the Josh Arieni Legacy program are open to the public. Community members wanting to nominate a carer can do so through the nomination form at thecarersfoundation.org/josh-arieni-legacy. Those wishing to contribute financially to the program can donate at the same address. Solar Bollard Lighting, Mike Arieni’s Brendale business and the program’s founding supporter, is at solarbollardlighting.com. Further information about The Carers Foundation Australia’s full range of carer wellbeing programmes is at thecarersfoundation.org.
Dr Yi Pu, locally known as Dr Terry, has won Australian Young Dentist of the Year at the 2025 Australian Dentistry Awards, strengthening his reputation as one of the country’s rising leaders in oral health. The founder of Platypus Dental in Strathpine, he is a familiar face to thousands of patients across Brisbane’s north, with his practice also named a national finalist for New Practice of the Year at the same ceremony.
The awards were presented at a gala ceremony at Melbourne Town Hall on 9 December 2025, drawing nominees and finalists from across the country in the inaugural year of the Australian Dentistry Awards. For the Strathpine community, the national recognition confirms what many patients have known for some time: the practice at 5/32 Dixon Street is doing something measurably different from the dental industry around it, and the profession has now taken formal notice.
A Deliberate Departure from the Corporate Path
Dr Terry graduated from the University of Queensland in 2015 and launched Platypus Dental in Strathpine, building it from scratch at a time when the received wisdom in dental education was that independent practice ownership was a diminishing proposition. The rapid corporatisation of the Australian dental industry across the 2010s had concentrated market share in large group practices, and many graduates were advised to seek employment within those structures rather than invest in building something of their own.
Dr Terry chose a different path. He built Platypus Dental around a model centred on transparency, longer consultations, ethical procurement and team culture, believing that patients who encounter that approach become the most reliable source of growth any practice can have. The practice has grown from zero to more than 2,000 patients and runs consistently fully booked weeks in advance, a result that reflects sustained community trust rather than marketing spend.
That philosophy extends to how Dr Terry approaches the economics of running a practice. When health professional support staff wage increases came into effect in January 2026 under the Health and Allied Services award, Platypus Dental responded by absorbing the additional cost rather than passing it on to patients, committing to hold treatment fees steady until at least June 2027. Dr Terry reduced his own income to make the commitment workable, describing it as a straightforward expression of where Platypus Dental places its priorities.
What the Award Recognises
The Australian Young Dentist of the Year award, presented by Australasian Dentist magazine, recognises practitioners who combine clinical excellence with a broader positive impact on their profession and community. The New Practice of the Year finalist recognition sits alongside it as an acknowledgement that Platypus Dental has not simply delivered strong individual outcomes but built an organisation that operates with genuine coherence between its stated values and its daily practice.
Platypus Dental holds accreditation from the Quality Innovation Performance framework, carries membership of the Australian Society of Implant Dentistry and the International Congress of Oral Implantologists, and operates as a Guided Biofilm Therapy certified clinic. It uses Australian-made dental materials wherever possible and supports local suppliers. Dr Terry is currently completing a Master of Business Administration at the University of Melbourne alongside his clinical work, deepening his leadership capability as the practice grows.
Photo Credit: Google Maps
For Dr Terry, the recognition matters because of what it signals about the model itself: that a purpose-driven, independently owned practice built on transparency and ethical care can compete at a national level against well-resourced competitors, and that the communities that support that kind of practice are making the right call.
Serving Brisbane’s North
Platypus Dental serves patients from Strathpine, Albany Creek, Petrie, Brendale, Lawnton, Warner and across Brisbane’s northern corridor. The practice offers general dentistry, dental implants, All-on-X full mouth reconstruction, clear aligners, wisdom tooth extraction, Airflow dental spa treatments, teeth whitening and sedation. It accepts all health funds and holds preferred provider status with a number of major funds.
Bookings can be made at platypusdental.com.au or by calling (07) 3881 2887. The practice operates Monday to Friday with extended hours and is located at 5/32 Dixon Street, Strathpine.
The Brisbane Entertainment Centre at Boondall has marked 40 years of operation on 20 February 2026, having welcomed more than 19 million people through its doors across 2,875 events since opening night in 1986, and holding a Billboard Magazine ranking as the number one venue in Oceania and ninth in the world for its capacity category.
Four decades after ice skaters Torvill and Dean performed to a sold-out crowd of 10,000 on opening night, the entertainment centre that transformed what was a 64-hectare paddock in Boondall into Brisbane’s most significant indoor entertainment destination reaches its milestone in stronger shape than at any point in its history. The venue has delivered record-breaking years since emerging from the pandemic, and with Linkin Park, Mumford and Sons, Hilltop Hoods, Guy Sebastian and the Harlem Globetrotters all booked across the coming months, 2026 is already shaping as another standout year.
For the communities of Boondall, Nudgee, Zillmere, Carseldine and Albany Creek that have grown up around the venue across four decades, the entertainment centre has been a constant presence, a place where first concerts, family outings, school excursions and unforgettable nights out have accumulated across generations.
From Paddock to Global Top Ten
The 64-hectare Boondall site was first announced in 1983 as part of Brisbane’s Bicentenary Project and a broader push to strengthen the city’s bid for the 1992 Olympic Games. Brisbane architect Jacob de Vries designed the building in a star shape, although builders ultimately constructed only two of the four points. Watkins Pacific, now known as Watpac, completed the venue ahead of schedule at a cost of $71 million. The centre opened on 20 February 1986, with Torvill and Dean performing to a first-night crowd of 10,000, and ten additional shows attracting more than 100,000 people during the opening season alone.
The ticket prices that night were $22.90 for adults and $15.90 for children. Forty years later, the entertainment centre holds a Billboard Magazine ranking as the best venue in Oceania and ninth globally in the 10,001 to 15,000 seat capacity category, a standing that reflects both the quality of its production infrastructure and the strength of Brisbane’s live entertainment market.
Six employees from the original 1986 team still work at the venue today. Queensland Leisure took on management of the entertainment centre just one month before it opened and has remained involved for four decades. The company now operates the venue under the Legends Global banner, formerly known as ASM Global, following a major international merger. Two of the original board members from 1986 remain connected to the operation.
The Acts, the Records, the Moments
The entertainment centre’s 40-year program has spanned international headliners including Prince, Michael Jackson, David Bowie, Elton John, Metallica and Madonna alongside homegrown artists including Cold Chisel, Kylie Minogue, Keith Urban, Paul Kelly and Powderfinger, as well as family productions including Les Misérables, Disney on Ice and The Wiggles.
P!NK holds the record as the venue’s most frequent performer with 32 shows, including 11 in a single year in 2009. Metallica drew the largest single crowd in the venue’s history, with 14,454 fans in attendance in 2010. The entertainment centre has handled some of the heaviest touring productions in the industry, including How to Train Your Dragon which weighed 98 tonnes, and has accommodated as many as 35 trucks for a single show. From Leonard Cohen performing at 79 years old to JoJo Siwa taking the stage at 17, the venue has genuinely spanned generations of artists and audiences.
Photo Credit: Google Maps
Beyond concerts, the entertainment centre has been woven into Brisbane’s broader civic life in ways no one planned. It also operated as a mass vaccination hub during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 and later served as a sandbag depot ahead of Cyclone Alfred in 2025. Producers filmed all three series of the original Australian Gladiators there in 1995, and organisers staged the Lions International Convention at the site. Over the years, the centre has also hosted conferences, gala dinners, religious conventions and trade shows, drawing millions more visitors beyond its ticketed events.
Meanwhile, the Sports Centre at the entertainment centre, which opened in 1997, has hosted approximately seven million people of its own. Boondall Railway Station opened in 1986 specifically to support access to the venue, and the 4,000-space supervised car park remains one of the largest single-venue parking facilities in Brisbane’s north.
A Full Circle Moment and What Comes Next
In one of the more poetic turns of the anniversary year, Torvill and Dean, who opened the entertainment centre on its very first night in 1986, returned to perform multiple shows in 2025, bringing the venue’s first four decades to a close in the company of the artists who began them.
The 40-day anniversary celebration running from 20 February includes a competition offering four groups of ten people the chance to attend an event of their choice across the next year, with entry by sharing a favourite entertainment centre memory on the venue’s Facebook page. Tickets must be used by 1 April 2027, and VIP parking, drinks and snacks are included for each winning group.
Upcoming shows at the entertainment centre include Linkin Park on 3 and 5 March, Hilltop Hoods, MGK, Mumford and Sons, Jimmy Carr, Carl Barron and the Harlem Globetrotters. The full event schedule and competition details are available at brisent.com.au.
Platypus DNA detections have included Albany Creek, as an environmental DNA monitoring program shows the species is more widely distributed across local waterways than previously identified.
A three-year platypus monitoring program has confirmed the species is present across a wide range of waterways within the City of Moreton Bay. Using environmental DNA sampling, the program detected platypus DNA across all five major river catchments: Caboolture, North Pine, South Pine, Stanley and Maroochy.
The most recent round of monitoring recorded platypus DNA at 90 sites across 37 creeks and rivers, with results spanning from Albany Creek to Stony Creek. The findings indicate platypuses are present across a broader area than earlier data suggested.
Photo Credit: Australian Museum
How Environmental DNA Sampling Works
Environmental DNA monitoring involves collecting water samples and analysing them for traces of genetic material shed by animals. This approach allows researchers to detect platypus presence without disturbing the animals or their habitat.
Sampling is conducted during the breeding season in July and August, when detection rates are higher. A negative result does not confirm absence, as insufficient DNA in a sample can prevent detection. To address this limitation, the program also uses camera traps and community sightings, which have confirmed platypus activity at several locations where DNA results were negative.
Photo Credit: Australian Museum
Albany Creek Among Unexpected Locations
The results show platypus DNA was detected not only in bushland waterways but also in creeks running through urban and industrial areas. Albany Creek is among the waterways identified within this wider detection range, highlighting the species’ ability to persist in modified environments.
Program Growth Since 2023
The monitoring program began with a pilot in 2023, testing 84 sites and returning 36 positive detections. It expanded in 2024 to 155 sites, with 71 positive results. The latest round recorded the highest number of detections to date.
While it remains too early to determine long-term population trends, the data is being used to establish a baseline to assess future changes and support ongoing habitat management.
A year after receiving a Medal of the Order of Australia, an Albany Creek resident continues his long-standing commitment to historical research, writing and volunteer work within the local and maritime history sectors.
Keith Boulton received a Medal of the Order of Australia in the 2025 Australia Day Honours for contributions to history preservation and community service, particularly through his voluntary work at the Queensland Maritime Museum.
At the time of the announcement, Mr Boulton was unaware he had been nominated and described the recognition as unexpected. The honour followed more than a decade of volunteering and historical research.
Photo Credit: Queensland Maritime Museum/Facebook
Ongoing Role At The Queensland Maritime Museum
Mr Boulton has volunteered at the Queensland Maritime Museum since 2009 and became an Honorary Life Member in 2014. His contributions have included developing the museum’s Guides Notes system and editing its publications, Manifest and Murmurs, a role he has held since 2021.
A year after receiving the OAM, he continues to volunteer weekly at the museum and spends additional time working on historical publications from home. The museum remains operated entirely by volunteers.
Writing And Historical Research
Mr Boulton has authored several historical works covering genealogy, industry and community history. These include Boulton Genealogical Records 1700–2000, Castol in Queensland, and Morningside Rover Crew History 1920–2015.
He is also preparing a forthcoming publication titled Gone but not Forgotten!, a collection of short stories focused on ships, shipwrecks and Australia’s maritime past.
Photo Credit: Queensland Maritime Museum/Facebook
Community Connections In Albany Creek
Beyond maritime history, Mr Boulton has maintained long-term involvement in Albany Creek community life. He has volunteered with the Albany Creek Uniting Church for more than 25 years and continues to serve as the church historian.
His community involvement has also included participation with the Balmoral APEX Club, Friends of Balmoral Cemetery and the Bulimba District Historical Society.
Photo Credit: Queensland Maritime Museum/Facebook
From Trade Work To Historical Focus
Mr Boulton began his working life as a mechanic with Hornibrooks before working with vessels at Heron Island and on the Brisbane River. He later spent 26 years with Castrol and BP in a range of roles, including overseas work, before retiring as a Health and Safety Quality Assurance Lead Auditor.
Despite extensive travel and a varied career, his focus remains on documenting and preserving history within his local community.
One year after receiving national recognition, Mr Boulton’s routine remains largely unchanged. His ongoing volunteering, research and writing reflect a continuation of work established long before the award.
At just four years old, Corbin Boyce is emerging as a junior golf talent to watch, winning his age division at the Cameron Smith Junior Classic at Wantima Country Club after already making club history as the youngest-ever C Grade Junior Club Champion.
Corbin Boyce, a Wantima Country Club junior who still has a year of kindy ahead of him, recently stepped onto one of the biggest junior golf stages in Queensland when he competed in the Cameron Smith Junior Classic. He did so as the youngest player in the field, lining up against children mostly aged eight and above in a tournament that attracted more than 200 junior golfers.
Despite his age, Corbin showed no nerves — just enthusiasm, confidence and a clear love for the game.
Photo Credit: Supplied
A Special Moment at Wantima
The Cameron Smith Junior Classic holds special significance at Wantima Country Club, where Smith himself learned the game before rising to international success. For Corbin, the experience became even more memorable when he met Smith shortly before tee-off.
“Corbin got to meet Cameron right before his tee time,” his father, Chris Boyce, said in a Q & A with Brisbane Suburbs Online News. “Cam even watched him play for a little bit. Like all the kids, Corbin absolutely loves Cameron Smith, so that was a huge moment for him.”
While results mattered far less than participation, Corbin played strongly for his age, earning praise from club members and organisers alike. Chris said the family was proud to see him compete with confidence against much older players.
“He played extremely well, and we were super proud of him,” he said.
Photo Credit: Supplied
A Champion Before School Starts
Corbin’s appearance at the Classic followed another remarkable achievement just weeks earlier, one that surprised even long-time members at Wantima.
Before most kids can tie their shoelaces and as the youngest competitor in the Club’s history, Corbin has become the C Grade Junior Club Champion. The championship was played over two weekends, with a combined score deciding the winner.
“Corbin has now won a club championship before me,” Chris joked. “I’ve been playing for 10 years, and I’ve never won one. The guys at the golf club think that’s hilarious.”
The win added Corbin’s name to a list typically dominated by much older juniors and reinforced the sense that something special is unfolding, albeit without any pressure being placed on the young golfer.
Photo Credit: Supplied
A Love for Golf From the Very Beginning
Corbin’s introduction to golf came early — extraordinarily early.
“I put a golf club in his hands when he was nine months old,” Chris said. “He just started hitting balls, and then he was hooked.”
Golf soon became a regular part of family life. Chris plays pennant golf at Wantima, as does his twin brother, while Corbin’s older brother Colby and baby brother Coda often join practice sessions in the backyard.
“We play in our yard a lot, but also just out on the course with me,” Chris said. “I even bought a golf buggy so I could take the boys out more often for practice.”
Between work, family time and weekend rounds, Corbin usually gets out for practice once during the week and again after Saturday golf, playing a few holes whenever possible.
Photo Credit: Supplied
Smashing Drives and Chasing Ducks
For Corbin, golf remains fun above all else, and that’s exactly how his family wants it.
“He loves smashing his driver,” Chris said. “He can hit it about 80 metres. He also loves chasing ducks around the course.”
Asked about his strengths, Chris laughs. “Probably chasing ducks… then hitting his driver.”
Corbin’s favourite golfer is Cameron Smith, and like many young players, he enjoys copying what he sees from the professionals while still being very much a four-year-old at heart.
A Supportive Club Environment
A key figure in Corbin’s development has been Ken McKay, Wantima’s junior coordinator, who Chris credits with encouraging them to enter competitions and supporting Corbin’s journey.
“Ken encouraged me to put Corbin into these events,” Chris said. “We honestly wouldn’t be where we are without him.”
McKay spearheaded the Cameron Smith Junior Classic and reflects Wantima’s strong commitment to junior development, a commitment that continues to attract families from across the region.
Keeping Perspective
Despite the growing attention around Corbin’s achievements, Chris is careful to keep expectations grounded.
“I love watching him develop such a passion for the sport,” he said. “As long as he’s happy, I’m happy. It’s not too serious, and that’s the best thing so far.”
Corbin is still in kindy, still loves all sports, and still spends most of his time playing with his brothers. His goals for golf remain simple.
“He wants to be better than his dad,” Chris said with a smile. “And he’s not far off.”
Whether Corbin’s future leads him down the same path as Cam Smith,who maintains a strong connection to Wantima as his junior club and often supports junior events there, remains to be seen. For now, Corbin is already achieving something just as important: enjoying the game, supported by family, club and community, on the same fairways that has seen many far older than him, succeed.
Follow his progress and achievements in the world of golf via Instagram.
Albany Creek athlete Kim Prince is continuing her multi-sport strength career as she prepares to compete internationally in powerlifting following her world title in natural bodybuilding.
Kim Prince began her training as a child performer with the Flying Fruit Fly Circus, where she learned trapeze, Spanish web and acrobatics under Chinese coaches. This early discipline contributed to her later transition into natural bodybuilding, Strongwoman events, powerlifting and triathlon.
At age 42, she won the 2018 World Championship at the Olympia All Natural event in Las Vegas, only 18 months after entering bodybuilding. Her broader transformation included losing more than 20 kilograms in 12 weeks.
Photo Credit: Strength and Power/Facebook
Competition Record Across Multiple Strength Sports
Kim has accumulated national and international results across several sports while competing drug-free.
Her verified achievements include:
2018 Natural Bodybuilding World Champion (Las Vegas)
2020 Beasts of Burden Strongwoman (under-72kg) winner
2022 UK Strongwoman Open (Hartfield) winner
2023 Women’s Masters Division winner, Australia’s Strongest International (Bendigo)
2023 Women’s Masters Division winner, Emirates Strongest International (Dubai)
2024 Third place, Women’s Masters, World Championships Strongwoman (Ireland)
2024 National champion in U67.5kg Masters Women’s Tested Powerlifting and overall Masters heaviest female lifter
She holds the female masters Australian natural deadlift record at 201 kilograms and currently maintains a 200-kilogram deadlift at a body weight of 66 kilograms.
Expansion Into Endurance And Triathlon
Two years ago, Kim added triathlons to her training, including swimming, cycling and running. She has also undertaken group ocean swimming sessions to build confidence in open water conditions.
Albany Creek Athlete Preparing For Wales Event
Kim will compete in the ZEROW Pro 3 powerlifting event in Wales on 16 November, which coincides with her 49th birthday. The competition has no weight or age classes, and she aims to exceed her previous competition lifts, including her natural deadlift record.
Her preparation this year included managing chronic pain and injuries while maintaining daily training with five strength sessions and additional swimming, cycling or walking.
Photo Credit: Strength and Power/Facebook
Community Strength Initiatives And Local Impact
Kim contributes to local strength communities by running Strongwoman and Strongman events in Stafford and Kedron, offering free posing sessions at Unique Crew and supporting athletes without trainers.
She co-organised Her Roar to encourage women to participate in strength sports and delivers workshops for Indigenous youth and disadvantaged women through Iron Tracks and the Women’s Sports Academy.
She lectures in cardiac ultrasound at CQU Brisbane and continues to train at facilities in Zillmere, Lutwyche and surrounding areas.
The Wales competition marks another major step in Kim’s ongoing multi-sport strength career, highlighting her continued development across bodybuilding, Strongwoman, powerlifting and triathlon as she represents Albany Creek internationally.
The City of Moreton Bay is progressing with the Albany Creek Active Transport Project, delivering a shared pathway along the South Pine River to enhance connectivity for walkers and cyclists.
The Albany Creek Active Transport Project forms part of the City of Moreton Bay’s plan to improve safe and accessible active transport. The project will create a continuous shared pathway through parklands near the South Pine River, linking key destinations such as schools, shops, and local facilities on the eastern side of South Pine Road.
Community consultation and preliminary design were completed in 2021, followed by detailed design finalised in 2024.
The project covers around 1.5 kilometres of new and upgraded pathways from Faheys Road West to James Cash Court via Stanton Reserve, extending to Old Northern Road. The 2 to 2.5-metre-wide pathway is designed for shared use by pedestrians and cyclists, supported by landscaping and lighting upgrades within Stanton Reserve.
The works are being delivered in three stages, subject to weather and contractor availability:
Stage 3: October 2025
Stage 2: November 2025
Stage 1: February 2026
The total construction period is expected to take around 30 weeks. Stage 1 will build a new path along Kingfisher Street and Barwing Court; Stage 2 will upgrade existing paths, including a new ramp to South Pine Road; and Stage 3 will improve the southern section of James Cash Court, connecting to the Albany Creek Road roundabout.
Community Benefits
The South Pine River shared pathway will link homes, schools, and recreational areas, providing safer, more convenient routes for walking and cycling. Landscaping and lighting improvements will enhance visibility and usability while maintaining the natural environment of Stanton Reserve.
Upon completion across 2025–2026, the shared path will strengthen Albany Creek’s local connections and contribute to a broader active transport network across the City of Moreton Bay.
Just minutes from Albany Creek, the new Élan residential estate in Warner is taking shape with a strong focus on preserving local wildlife and bushland. Nearly 10 hectares of mature habitat have been set aside within the 41-hectare site, providing a permanent home for koalas, gliders, and native birds.
What makes the project especially meaningful for our community is the involvement of the Albany Creek Scouts, who recently joined tree-planting events to help strengthen wildlife corridors. Their efforts, alongside environmental groups and residents, are directly contributing to conservation outcomes in our backyard.
A key feature of Élan is the region’s first koala overpass, now under construction above Kremzow Road. Once complete, it will allow koalas and other species to cross safely over busy traffic. Two additional underpasses at the estate’s entrances will provide further safe passage, linking habitats across the growing Warner area.
Wildlife monitoring technology will be installed to track how animals use the crossings. Early surveys already confirm the presence of five koalas on site, as well as gliders, possums, and even White-bellied Sea Eagles.
Photo Credit: elan.avid.com.au
For Albany Creek locals, the area has become more than just a nearby housing project. It’s an example of how community and conservation can work hand-in-hand — and a reminder that everyday actions matter. Driving carefully near wildlife zones, keeping pets secure, and supporting local tree-planting days are all simple ways to protect the animals that share our region.
With its blend of new housing and preserved bushland, Élan is set to become a community where people and wildlife thrive together — and Albany Creek can be proud of its role in making that vision a reality.
