General News
20 April, 2026
Dangers lead to sale of boat
THE future of a popular educational boat program on the North Johnstone River is unknown, after the boat and its trailer had to be sold because the jetty used to access the vessel was deemed unsafe.
School children, land care groups and other clients of the Daradgee Environmental Education Centre (DEEC) can no longer look forward to river trips on the Daraji Sunbird, which became known as the centre’s ‘floating classroom’.
The 23-seater aluminium hull vessel was for many years used as a key tool for teaching students about aquatic life cycles and healthy river systems.
Boat trips varied from an hour to whole day excursions, with most groups opting for two to three hours of experiences, including observing aquatic and riparian habitats, plants and animals and recreational fishing and beach activities at Coconuts, an Innisfail suburb.
The Department of Education was asked why the boat had to be sold, with the response that besides an unsafe jetty, there were also other factors.
“The jetty previously used by the Daradgee Environmental Education Centre (DEEC) for public access is owned and managed by Cassowary Coast Regional Council,” a department spokesman said.
“The council made the decision to close the jetty due to the structure being in disrepair and not meeting legislative safety requirements for public access,” he said.
“The boat (Daraji Sunbird) used by DEEC to deliver the boat program was decommissioned and sold.
“This was due to the vessel’s age, high maintenance costs and the lack of access to a safe boat ramp and jetty.”
DEEC advertised on several Facebook pages when the decision was made to sell, saying it had bought the vessel in 2020 and had “used it as a floating classroom seating 23 people including the skipper for many successful years.”
“Due to the loss of our mooring we have not been utilising this asset as much as we would have liked so have chosen to sell,” the posts said at the time.
The Observer also asked the department if there were any plans for a jetty upgrade or replacement but did not receive a specific answer.
“DEEC continues to deliver highly quality educational experiences designed specifically to meet the needs of individual schools,” the department spokesman said.
Without the boat program, the DEEC has in the meantime centre shifted focus to its other land-based facilities, including its climbing shed, low ropes course and farm.
The newspaper is yet to receive a response to questions sent to council about the state of the Daradgee jetty and how the structure was allowed to become unsafe, as well as if there are any plans to upgrade or replace the jetty.
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