Community
14 March, 2025
Making waves for years
A TRAILBLAZER who has been making waves for more than a decade in the traditionally male dominated maritime industry has been named Cairns Regional Council’s woman of the year.
Courtney Hansen, the owner and managing director of North Marine, received the accolade at the International Women’s Day Awards ceremony at the Tanks Arts Centre last Saturday.
She told the gathering that passion and dedication could lead women to succeed in any endeavour.
Ms Hansen said gender was not a barrier, but an opportunity to be fearless and courageous.
Breaking barriers as a mentor and advocate for gender equity in the maritime sector, she has been reshaping the maritime services industry by creating employment and leadership opportunities for women.
With over 15 years of experience, her career has spanned charter fishing, dive operations and commercial freight shipping.
A Master 4 skipper, she made history as the first permanent female captain for Northern Australia’s largest freight shipping company, Sea Swift, commanding a 50m, 1300-tonne landing barge across the Australia’s eastern seaboard, the Torres Strait, Gulf of Carpentaria and Darwin.
Ms Hansen is also a dedicated mentor who is passionate about supporting aspiring leaders and an advocate for Indigenous education programs.
Young woman of the year was Claudia Kurowski, a passionate advocate for social justice, gender equity and youth empowerment.
As the co-founder of The Gratitude Initiative, she has championed the needs of women, girls and children across Australia. A rising leader in governance, she served as the youngest member of the 29th Queensland Youth Parliament, where she was elected chief government whip.
Michelle “Shelly” Langford received the 2025 women’s recognition award for her contribution to maternal care in Cairns and Far North Queensland.
With over a decade of experience as a birthworker, perinatal bodywork therapist and community leader, she has dedicated herself to supporting women through pregnancy, birth and postpartum. She founded Gulagbi, a not-for-profit organisation focused on helping Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, and Papua New Guinean women give birth on country, preserving cultural birthing traditions.
Cairns Mayor Amy Eden said it was “ not always easy being a female leader, but as this year’s extraordinary award winners demonstrate, we do it because we care about our community and the kind of future we are creating for generations to come”.
