ENTRIES are open for the Port Stephens in Print 2026 competition, which will give local photographers the opportunity to showcase their take on the unique beauty of the region. Organised by Lion Studios, Port Stephens in Print (which has now reached its third edition) is open to anyone, regardless of age, skill level and equipment. […]

THE NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has issued a Special Order for all vessels to stay at least 500 metres, and swimmers 100m, away from all Southern Right Whales in NSW waters. The Order will be in place until 30 November 2026 when the breeding and calving season ends in NSW. Southern Right […]

AUTHORITIES  have called for calm after Australia’s sixth bird flu case was confirmed at Hawks Nest, with thousands of department staff deployed to the coastline. Authorities insist there’s no bird flu crisis and no need to panic, despite a growing number of birds testing positive to the deadly virus along the Australian coastline. Poultry farms […]

I AM sure you have heard it before. About two years after purchasing a new boat, just about everyone starts to think that they should have bought a bigger one, with a bigger motor, to presumably catch bigger fish further out to sea. Let me tell you my tale, which is something akin to a […]

RABBITS, guinea pigs, rats and mice who were formerly used in research are now up for adoption and looking for their forever homes as pets and competitions. The Liberty Adoption Centre, at Wyong, on the Central Coast, is now home to Australia’s first adoption centre for small animals transitioning out of research facilities into the […]

STARING up at the night sky, a blanket of twinkling stars, has fascinated humans for as long as we’ve had eyes to see. Stars have been our guides, our muses, and the spark for both scientific exploration and,  let’s just say, some more “colourful” interpretations. Enter astronomy and astrology: two fields that, at first glance, […]

WITH the availability of AI and other means of distorting photographs I was a little skeptical when these amazing images landed on my desk. Following a few questions and a visit to Fingal Beach I realised that the snaps were authentic. This is the biggest tailor, a Jumbo, I have ever seen! Netted off the […]

WATCHING the demolition of the old Barry family home on Marine Parade Fingal Bay recently made me think of how much local history was being knocked down. My wife Ella and I arrived in Fingal in 1974 and immediately realised that Fingal was to be our home. One of the first of the very few […]

THE NSW Government has completed its first comprehensive statewide koala survey. It says it provides the most accurate picture to date of where koalas live and how populations are distributed across the state. Using new tools such as heat-detecting drones and acoustic recorders, scientists surveyed more than 1,000 locations across national parks, state forests and […]

COFFS HARBOUR MP Gurmesh Singh has been elected as the new leader of the NSW Nationals, following the shock resignation of Dugald Saunders last week. It is the latest promotion for Mr Singh, a former macadamia and blueberry farmer from Woolgoolga, who was named Deputy Leader of the NSW National Party in June 2024. Mr […]