PORT Stephens residents are invited to provide feedback on Council’s facilities and services through the 2025 Community Satisfaction Survey. Mayor Leah Anderson said the annual Community Satisfaction Survey provides an important opportunity for Council to learn what the community thinks is working well and those areas that need improvement. “The feedback from the community helps […]
International Women’s Day scholarship winners including Melanie Peers (middle), who is offering a free nutritional webinar for families.
NUTRIONIST Melanie Peers will host a free educational webinar in May, tackling the topic of fussy eating in children. Ms Peers was the recipient of a $1000 International Women’s Day scholarship from Port Stephens Council in 2025. She entered the scholarship program in the hope of securing funds to help parents feel less alone and […]
BANK of Sydney has opened applications for its $20,000 Grant for Good community grant program. Organisations and initiatives that promote social inclusion activities, health and wellbeing, sports and other fields that benefit local communities are encouraged to apply. Since 2021, Bank of Sydney’s annual Grant for Good has distributed $90,000 to local organisations supporting Australian […]
One of the latest F-35A Lightning II aircraft (A35-040) at RAAF Base Williamtown. Photo: Defence Media.
AIR Force representatives spoke at the first ordinary meeting of the Hawks Nest and District Probus Club on Friday 4 April, educating the more than 100 members present about the key regional defence base. “Not everyone in the RAAF flies, only a small percentage actually do, and we have many roles including dog handling, technicians, […]
A sea of cabanas on one of Port Stephens’ popular beaches.
PORT Stephens Council has shared the results of a recent cabana compliance initiative. The campaign targeted unattended items such as cabanas being used to reserve spots at Fly Point, Little Beach and Shoal Bay Beach. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business. Message us. Phone – (02) 4981 8882. […]
Pilar Patterson with her large coral-inspired ceramic piece
PILAR Patterson is a Clarence Town artist whose skill in making and decorating ceramic works is deservedly gaining attention. Recently, at the Dungog Arts Society “Faces and Places” exhibition, her work “the Brig O’Johnston Bridge” won first prize in Ceramics. It is a wheel-thrown platter, with a softly-coloured and thoughtfully-observed view of the bridge and […]
The murder of six people in a stabbing rampage is among incidents driving up the homicide toll. Photo: Bianca De Marchi/AAP PHOTOS.
MURDERS have spiked in Australia’s most populous state, driven by multiple-victim homicides including a shopping centre massacre in which six people were killed. A total of 85 people were murdered in NSW in 2024, up from 56 in the previous year and the highest toll since 2014, the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research reports. […]
Talking gardening and permaculture at the Roundabout Pub.
WHEN the word “permaculture” is uttered, some readers might have a vision of someone clad in well-worn gardening gear, with an old tattered hat, clutching a freshly dug bunch of carrots or spuds. Few would imagine a smartly dressed group, beers in hand, chatting animatedly at the local pub about gardening in general, and […]
