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Machans Activity GroupSThe Full StoryThe Machans Activities GroupS (M.A.G.S.) was initiated during the 1996 Christmas holidays in response to the concerns of local residents at an increase in petty crime and vandalism in Machans Beach and a perceived lack of activities for young people. Machans Beach is a community of 1200 people located two kilometers off the Captain Cook highway just north of the Cairns airport. This geographical isolation presented distinct boundaries with the added bonus of an easily identifiable target group to work with on this project. As manager of the local post office and mail delivery run at the time Peter Johnson realised that he was in a unique position to hear about the growing concerns of residents as well as actually knowing virtually every young person in the community and the views they held also. As a result of a graffiti attack to 17 motor vehicles on Boxing Day 1996, of which Peters family car was sprayed also, his initial response was a blend of frustration and anger, just like the other 16 owners. This act however spurred a growing inclination in him to commence supervised activities by way of music workshops on Friday nights and Saturday mornings in an endeavor to provide an activity that appealed to a wide range of young people. These sessions proved popular from the start with young people participating in the song writing and performance skills workshops conducted by Peter and other volunteers. All workshops were free to participants. In January 1997 Peter approached two other Machans Beach residents who he was aware had skills and qualifications in Arts Administration and Communication and Events coordination to discuss fund raising activities and promoting the group both locally and to the broader Cairns area. A meeting was later held with additional community members possessing more comprehensive skills to inspire further thought on the idea of developing a community run and focused group. Out of this meeting it was agreed that the possibilities were endless given the community spirit of Machans. Two important principles could also be identified at this meeting: that all adults contribute their time to the group on a voluntary basis, and that all activities be free of charge to young people. From then on young people themselves were encouraged to take leadership in regular meetings and decision-making processes. The name MAGS was eventually devised by the young people who also expressed interests in expanding activities to include such things as sea skills, fishing, cooking and hygiene, constructing a BMX track, mechanics, dance and drama and pottery. A pool table was donated to the group and circulated between households on a rotational basis with each participating household supervising use of the table, establishing times for sessions, and setting ground rules. The support base for MAGS grew over the pursuing weeks. The first scheduled event was the Untalented Talent Quest held on May 4th 1997 at the local park. The event (like the name suggests) was aimed at participation and not the quality of acts as a draw card. Twenty acts performed by young people were fielded, and two local bands and a singing trio performed free of charge. $1000 of in kind sponsorship was raised to provide prizes for young people. Five hundred residents attended the event and over $1000 was raised; 100% of which was reinjected to youth activities. The Machans Beach School also raised money through the sale of food. Most importantly, the event was a truly community focused one that raised the self esteem of young people and made adults aware of the depth of talent in our youth and the valuable contribution they make in our community. An unexpected outcome of this event was an invitation by the owner of the local recording studio to record the music groups three original songs performed on the day. Participants in this project stated that the recording process was a particularly special thing to do and an art competition was held to come up with a sleeve design for the cassette and a t-shirt. On Friday June 20 1997 the Machans Magic cassette was launched at the community hall. The launch included a live performance of the songs on the tape and was attended by 150 local residents, Member for Barron River, Lynne Warwick, Cr. Brian Down from Cairns City Council and interested people from other communities. The feeling in the Machans Hall was overwhelmingly supportive and young people received affirmative feedback from all members of the community. Profits from the sale of the tapes and t-shirts and donations at the launch exceeded $1000. As a result of the launch and the subsequent media coverage, the music group was invited to perform at various functions and locations around Cairns including the Pier Market Place and a performance at Cairns City Council Chambers. By this time the MAGS concept was well established in the Machans community and gaining a reputation in other communities. The scheduled fortnightly meetings were being well attended by young and old alike and the suggestions for other activities were either up and running or well into implementation stage. In addition to talent quests, raffles, car washes, and other fundraising activities, MAGS became the recipient of generous sponsorship from a host of local and broader Cairns area business’s and individuals. Sponsorship and prizes were backed by tour operators, cinemas, food and restaurant outlets, sports and music stores, accommodation places and various others, with Cairns City Council establishing itself as a major funding source. Funds were carefully allocated for the acquisition of musical, sporting and other leisure items such as trailers, marquees, canoes, bbq etc. Just before its first annual general meeting and incorporation ceremony in Febuary 1998, the MAGS group was approached by The Dept. of Environment to be part of its Coastcare Project injecting $20,000 and additional in kind services to establish an erosion destabilisation and regeneration program. The Coastcare committee operated under the MAGS umbrella and was subsequently designed to encourage young people to participate. In May 1999 the MAGS group was also invited to take part in a cane toad eradication and collection project offered by Envirocore Bio Management Solutions from Melbourne. The 50 cent bounty for each toad collected in the “Toads for Science” project resulted in hundreds of dollars rewarded to the MAGS group and resulted in media coverage from local press, Aussie Post Magazine and an article in Australian Financial Review. This fun project highlighted the great community cohesion happening in the community and reassured the MAGS operators that we were having a positive effect. Word of mouth was definitely the best form of communication and promotion with the post office, school and two corner stores being places of information. MAGS also compiled an insert for the community newsletter Machanations each month. The use of posters, road signs and letterbox drops were also strategically timed and placed before big events. The print and electronic media gave generous coverage with MAGS events appearing often in The Cairns Post, Son of Barfly, Cairns Sun, and appearances on Channel Ten and ITV. Radio stations also covered the launch of Machans Magic and invited young guests to speak on talk back radio. The MAGS committee was able to gauge its success in the following ways:
The MAGS committee believes they have succeeded in attaining their original goal of setting up a community run and focused group to deal with petty crime and lack of positive activities for youth. Reasons include:
Some things we learned while running MAGS include:
The MAGS experience has proven: that when young people are included in all decision making processes— things work!
Contact MAGS - Peter - ppnt@bigpond.com
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