New Normanton supermarket to address remote food prices and support neighbouring Gulf communities

The joint $11 million project between Gulf Regional Economic Aboriginal Trust and Bynoe Community Advancement Cooperative Society will result in Normanton Traders on Woodward Street relocating to Landsborough Street, and expanding to more than three times the size of the original shop.

GREAT chairman and director of Bynoe CACS Fred Pascoe said the upgrade had been in the works for 12 years.

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"When we purchased Normanton Traders, the dream was to relocate the business, so this year we bit the bullet and did it," Mr Pascoe said.

"We were in 300 square metre supermarket and we have built a 1000 square meter supermarket. We started building in April 2022 and plan to swing doors open in the first week of November.

"We will continue the same services at the current shop including groceries, gold lotto, fuel and gas, but we have designed the shop so we can close the supermarket at 6pm and can provide a point of sale including a salad bar, coffee shop, hot food and fuel until after hours."

Despite being located in a remote community in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Mr Pascoe said the decision to invest in Normanton was an easy one.

"Normanton is my home. It's where I was born and bred. So just because we live in rural and remote Australia, our standard of living shouldn't be any less," Mr Pascoe said.

"So as far as retail goes, we would like to put a supermarket in Normanton that is the equivalent to anywhere else in Australia and this building will be of a standard that has never been seen in the Gulf before."

Carpentaria Shire Council mayor Jack Bawden said it was great to see any investment into the Gulf community, let alone one of this size.

"Like all developments, it is an expensive but a good thing. The more services you get in small places like Normanton, the more likely you are to attract residents," Cr Bawden said.

"Any development is a good thing, from a council point of view. Our rate base doesn't even cover our wages, so any investment that may increase to population with new jobs and business opportunities has to be a bonus."

Before Normanton Traders opened, Mr Pascoe was already considering expanding into other Gulf communities to help curb the cost of goods and services to remote areas.

"We want to replicate this business into other communities like Doomadgee, Burketown and Mornington Island," he said.

"We already have operations in Doomadgee, we have a close relationship with Nowland Engineering in Burketown and we are currently in negotiations in regards to the management of Gununamanda Store on Mornington Island.

"If we have a regional network of food stores, we can have more pull and buying power, looking into the cost of groceries.

"The cost of living is extraordinary in Australia. You can amplify that 10 times in rural and remote communities. We want to be a regional player with not just food but fuel and other supplies.

"If we own the supermarkets, it is up to us to provide cost-affordable but high-quality food into our communities, and if we own the facilities that do it, we are truly masters of our destiny."

Mr Pascoe said since the build of Normanton Traders had commenced, the community response had been positive. However, it wasn't always that way.

"Honestly, there were a lot of people who believed we couldn't do it," he said.

"They thought 'look at these black-fellas they're going to run a stuff', so I think there were a lot of doubters in our own community. However, now that the building is there and we are almost finished with the internal fit-out, people are starting to sit up and take a look at us.

"While we provide a brand new facility, it is also up to us to match the quality and standards of our service. I am confident we can do that.

"We have a good manager and core staff from our existing supermarket who will relocate to the new store and we will be looking for new staff to recruit locally.

"While we have initially aligned ourselves with Foodworks to utilise designs and point of sale systems, we remain truly independent and look forward to servicing the Gulf communities."