Extraordinary Queenslanders and their stories in 2016

Updated

The past year has been full of Queenslanders more than willing to go above and beyond the call of duty. These are the men, women, children (and even a couple of animals) who made headlines for all the right reasons in 2016.

Nic Marchesi and Lucas Patchett

Two Brisbane friends who built a free laundry in their old van to help the homeless were jointly named Young Australian of the Year on Australia Day back in January.

Orange Sky began in late 2014 when Lucas Patchett and Nicholas Marchesi had "the really, really crazy idea of chucking two washing machines and two dryers in the back of an old van and simply going around and washing and drying clothes for free".

Since then, their fleet of vans has expanded to more than 36 locations across the country, washing more than 350 loads each week.

Dami Im

The Queensland-raised singer did Australia proud in Eurovision 2016, placing second with her performance of the song, Sound of Silence.

While it was not enough to clinch the trophy (Ukraine's Jamala was the winner), Aussies could not have been prouder of Im.

Bookmakers had Im at second best odds to win the competition, with this year's performance marking only the second time Australia has competed at the European song competition.

Don't worry, Australia will be back in Eurovision in 2017.

Alyssa Azar

The Toowoomba teen fulfilled a life-long dream this year when she became the youngest Australian to reach the peak of Mount Everest.

It was Alysa's third attempt to reach the summit after natural disasters thwarted her two previous attempts.

In 2014, while she was at base camp an avalanche struck the Khumbu Icefall, killing 16 Sherpas.

In April 2015, she was again at base camp when Nepal was struck by a devastating earthquake, killing 3,218 people.

She returned home to Toowoomba in early June to a hero's welcome.

Taylor Anderton and Michael Cox

Taylor Anderton, 20, and Michael Cox, 24, who were both born with Down syndrome, featured in a story back in late May on the 16th Gold Coast Debutante Ball for Disability.

Their love for each other captured hearts around the world — with a video on the ABC's Facebook page raking up more than 13 million views, 142,000 shares, 10,000 comments, and more than 217,000 likes.

"She's amazing in every single way," Mr Cox said.

The couple reunited a week later to talk about how overwhelmed they were with the reaction to their story, and even featured in an episode of Australian Story later in the year.

Emily Mochan and Buddy the blue heeler

When Emily Mochan's six-year-old dog Buddy was diagnosed with terminal cancer earlier this year, she vowed not to waste his dying days.

Given just four to five weeks to live, Ms Mochan started Buddy's bucket list and shared it on Facebook, with more than 14,000 people following along.

In his final weeks Buddy managed to tick all the items off his list, including having his own photo shoot, going four-wheel driving, being published in a calendar for charity and paw painting a canvas.

He passed away in late March, and Ms Mochan donated all his toys and remaining money raised for his bucket list adventures to the RSPCA.

Sammy the greyhound

Dapper dog and retired racing greyhound Sammy has been helping put smiles on faces of residents at the Mt Lofty Heights nursing home this year.

The three-year-old, who likes to walk around in one of his colourful ties or vests, has helped to make the Toowoomba home a calmer environment, according to staff.

They also said whenever Sammy was not interacting with residents, he was most often found lying around with his teddy bear.

David McKeown and Mathew Sampson

A van dedicated to taking Brisbane's homeless people to and from their appointments hit the road on a full-time basis this year.

The Missionbeat service had been in heavy demand ever since it started as a part-time pilot program towards the end of 2015.

The van is staffed by caseworkers David McKeown and Mathew Sampson.

They ferry some of the city's most disadvantaged to medical, housing, Centrelink, and legal appointments as well as refuges.

Sabastian Lucas and Tom the pony

A seven-year-old budding entrepreneur's dream of owning a pony came true this year after three years' hard work.

Sabastian Lucas, from Scarborough, north of Brisbane, set up a business selling lemonade out the front of his family's home to raise the funds needed to buy his new pet.

His dream came true in October when he met his 13-year-old schoolmaster, Tom.

Nipper Minchin

A World War II veteran who has spent years making toys for children to raise money for charity continued his good work in 2016.

Nipper Minchin, 95, said he "still feels useful" whenever he can transform piles of scrap wood into tractors, trains and other children's toys, which are then auctioned off.

So far he has raised more than $16,000 for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and a significant sum for the Herbert River RSL.

Harry and George Arkinstall

Brotherly duo Harry and George Arkinstall advocated for greater awareness of autism and depression this year by building and maintaining gardens throughout the river city.

George began the business Gardening A Difference to ensure his brother Harry, who was diagnosed with autism at a young age, would always have a job.

On top of that, 20 per cent of their profits go to beyondblue and Autism Queensland.

They hope their work will encourage others to make a difference in their community.

Topics: people, human-interest, qld, brisbane-4000

First posted