White Pages Covers Program

Courageous Australian Paul Hockey to feature on Cairns' Yellow Pages® and White Pages®

May 5, 2010

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Each year, locals are featured on the covers of the Yellow Pages® and White Pages® directories in recognition of the contributions they make to their communities. Under the theme Courageous Australians, this year directories producer, Sensis, is recognising courageous people who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to overcome adversity and help others in their time of need. 

After receiving nominations from community members for the annual honour, Fresh Water resident, Paul Hockey has been selected to appear on the cover of this year’s Cairns directory which is distributed to the Cairns districts and surrounding areas. 

Paul Hockey knows all too well about the pain that cancer can cause having experienced it himself and a number of family members suffer through it,  but he courageously proves his determination to exceed expectations every day.

Having been born with cancer, Paul had his right arm amputated at just three weeks old. Taunted as a child for his artificial arm, Paul proved that he was capable of accomplishments that people thought he could never do by becoming a martial arts expert and mountain climber. 

After his mother lost her battle to cancer, Paul paid tribute to her by climbing Mount Everest. His determination and strength paired with his commitment to helping other childhood cancer sufferers spurred him on to achieve what he had always dreamed of doing. In June 2005, he became the first person with a disability to climb Mount Everest from the Northern Tibetan side. 

Paul continues to raise awareness about childhood cancer having assisted in raising more than $300,000 for children’s cancer research. He regularly visits schools as a motivational speaker, sharing his message that anything is possible. 

“Having suffered from childhood cancer, I’m very passionate about the cause. I’ve also been a big advocate that anything is possible once you put your mind to the cause. I’m excited to be recognised for what I have achieved and am humbled to be featured on this year’s directory,” said Paul.

For his contribution, Paul was a finalist for the Australian of the Year in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Paul is currently writing a book about his life called Broken Shadow, Hidden Dragon, with a percentage of the proceeds going towards cancer research.

Distribution of Cairns Yellow Pages® and White Pages® is planned to start on 10 May 2010 and will take approximately six weeks for the directories to be delivered to all households. 

Sensis encourages residents and businesses to recycle their old directories. In most areas, Yellow Pages® and White Pages® can be recycled as part of normal kerbside recycling services. Visit www.recyclingnearyou.com.au to find out about recycling services in your area.

Did you know? The past three local people who appeared on the Cairns Yellow Pages® and White Pages® cover were: 

2009/10: Cairns resident Ludij Peden featured on the 2009/10 Yellow Pages^® and White Pages^® cover under the theme ‘Creative Australians: Inspiring our Communities’. Ludij has volunteered her time to a number of community projects, including the Cairns Arts Society, Uniting Church and Rotary Club of Cairns North. 

2008/09: Cairns resident and restaurateur Craig Squire is the ‘Celebrating Australian Flavour’ theme cover hero, recognised for establishing Australian Tropical Foods which unites tourism with niche food products. 

2007/08: Jie Spence from Innisfail was selected to appear on the 2007/08 Yellow Pages^® and White Pages^® cover for her work with the Innisfail SES, particularly during the Cyclone Larry disaster.