Ashleigh Bagshaw
Ashleigh Bagshaw is a multi-platform journalist with the ABC Tropical North team. Born and raised in South Australia, she made the move to Queensland in 2021. She started her career as the rural reporter in Mackay and has also worked as the rural reporter for ABC Capricornia in Rockhampton.
She is passionate about discovering and telling the stories about life in north Queensland.
Latest by Ashleigh Bagshaw
How 90-year-old Bill does a job most young people can't
Bill Faint is still clocking in as a musterer having passed on the traits that built his success as a lifelong cattleman.
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Emma's job involves looking for long-lost bodies and helping their loved ones find peace
The use of ground penetrating radar to help solve crimes is well known, but recently it's played a major role in helping Australian South Sea Islander communities find the missing bodies of long-lost ancestors.
Woman shot dead in front of children in Mackay, man who came to her aid remains in hospital
Police arrest a 31-year-old man they believe is linked to a woman's death that caused an emergency declaration that shut down parts of South Mackay.
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Calls for ground-penetrating radar exploration of hospital site amid fears up to 1,000 bodies could be buried there
A prominent historian is reviving questions about the final resting place of up to 1,000 South Sea Islander workers, fearing some remains could be located where a ward is set to be built at Mackay Base Hospital.
Remote mining town brings in international workers to solve childcare workforce shortages
A small town in the heart of Queensland's coal country is taking an innovative approach to address one of the biggest problems facing Australian families: childcare shortages.
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Thinking of an escape to the country? Here's what you should know first
There's been an ongoing trend of people trading their city life for a charming country cottage, but farmers want you to make sure you know what you're signing up for.
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Trailblazing 'pick your own' strawberry farmers call time after decades of sweet success
Now a well-worn stop for tourists at the top end of the Sunshine State, Ballantyne's Strawberry Farm is known for its early adoption of agritourism.
Why this man thinks fishing can help tackle youth crime
After suffering a serious injury, fishing pulled Whitsundays man Brent Stephenson out of a bad place. Now he hopes it will do the same for at-risk kids.
Queensland festival organisers launch court action after John Fogerty show falls through
John Fogerty was set to return to Australia in March this year to play just one show, but that has been cancelled. Now the matter is heading for court.
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Police union alleges gun pulled on officers moments before fatal shooting
Police shot a 39-year-old man dead in the rural township of Ilbilbie, south of Mackay, after he allegedly pulled out a firearm while trying to flee from officers.
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Parents of two-year-old girl charged with murder
Police will allege that toddler Diana Jane Hanbury was denied medical intervention from her parents which caused her death in north Queensland in 2022.
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Fears for health of Great Barrier Reef as skipper fined $15K over 21st birthday boat crash
An environmental advocate says the changing climate means its more important than ever to protect the reef from human damage. It comes after a private charter skipper is convicted of numerous maritime offences.
This grazier was caught out by a cyclone that cost him $100K. Here's what to do before Cyclone Kirrily arrives
From sandbags to generators, this is what you need to know ahead of a tropical cyclone forecast to make landfall in north Queensland between Cardwell and Bowen.
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You can't call it tequila, but Australian agave could soon be in your margarita
The success of the country's first commercial-scale agave farm could mean big things for an emerging Australian alcohol industry.
Worker, 27, dies after being pinned between vehicles at Queensland mine
Luke O'Brien from Mackay suffered multiple critical injuries. Investigations are underway and operations at the Bowen Basin site have been suspended.
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Not-so-retired couple write book for kids in desperate need of education
This couple started writing picture books for children who have never seen one before. Now, they are building them a kindergarten too.
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Man says 4-metre croc jumped into his tinnie 'jaws wide open' after watching him on New Year's Eve
The Queensland government is investigating after a Mackay fisher said a crocodile that had been "watching" him launched into his boat on Sunday night.
Police allege man threatened officers and paramedics with a knife before being shot
Police say a man who threatened them with a knife outside a hotel in Bowen this morning has been shot dead.
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Damaging winds for parts of north Queensland expected today as Cyclone Jasper approaches
By ABC News reporters
Tropical Cyclone Jasper has been re-upgraded to a category two system, with the "worst impacts" to be felt from tomorrow.
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With more parents working all summer to meet rising costs, vacation care is harder to find
As demand for vacation care outweighs the number of places available, families are being turned away from summer holiday programs.
Leptospirosis vaccine for dogs voluntarily recalled following 'adverse reactions', including one death
The Treidlia Auslepto vaccine, used to protect dogs against a strain of the bacterial disease leptospirosis, has been withdrawn from sale by the manufacturer after “adverse reactions”, including the death of one animal.
At age three, Joshua was misdiagnosed as deaf. Now a choir is helping him to find his voice
A choir for people living with disability or mental illness has changed the life of Elvis mega fan Joshua Clarke.
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Douglas and his family built a 'special' life in Pioneer Valley. He says it's gut-wrenching it could all be destroyed
Eighty picturesque properties in north Queensland could be resumed for the world's largest pumped hydro scheme. More than a year after they learnt of the project, residents' futures remain in limbo.
Married couple presumed dead in 'unsurvivable' light plane crash in North Queensland
A man and a woman in their 70s were on board the aircraft when it went down in mountainous terrain in the Pioneer Valley west of Mackay.
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Man fined $14,000 for dam encroaching on national park home of endangered wallaby
Warren Spicer, 81, dug out a massive dam that encroached on Dryander National Park, home of the Proserpine rock-wallaby that only lives within restricted rainforest areas of the Whitsundays region.
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