Facilitators Chris Rapaport and Ben Grover opening the community catch-up event at Little Beach. Conch player Donna May calling in a sense of unity and connection. Anna Bay attendee Dylan Brown in the ice bath. THE air was crisp but the rising sun took the edge off the fresh Port Stephens dawn as Talk2MeBro held […]

Whiteley opens new Human Therapeutics Plant in Tomago
Whiteley Executive Chairman Dr Greg Whiteley with Member for Port Stephens Kate Washington at last Thursday’s opening. The new Human Therapeutics Plant will create 30 new jobs. FAMILY-OWNED Australian manufacturer Whiteley has officially opened its new Human Therapeutics Plant in Tomago. The $25 million purpose-built plant will manufacture alcohol-based hand rubs and over-the-counter medicines for […]
Cheaper complementary health treatments are on the way
WHEN Peter Hill walked into his first pilates class, he had to warm-up for the warm-up. With a feeble lower back and taut hamstrings, the then 63-year-old was hoping the therapy could aid his pain. Six years later, he can dart and dash with little-to-no trouble. “Occasionally I might have a bit of a twinge […]

Mosquito numbers set to soar after long rains
Aedes aegypti mosquito ready for a meal, followed by laying eggs in your birdbath. Photo: Dr Cameron Webb. This backyard birdbath, filled by the recent rains, contains dozens of mosquito larvae that can mature within a week. The black spots are mosquito eggs or pupae, ready to hatch. MOSQUITO numbers are set to soar due […]

Residents urged to be aware of mould impacts after floods
HIDDEN dangers exist in practically every house and property, many only exposed after an incident like the heavy rainfall that the region received over the last weeks. Mould, which naturally exists almost everywhere, loves moisture and poorly-lit areas that lack decent ventilation, such as walls or wallpaper, ceilings, bathroom tiles, carpets, insulation material and wood. […]
Olympian Matthew Gray inspires Tea Gardens students
Students were keen to get into the discussion about sports dreams and goal-setting. Some students got to try on Olympic uniforms (L-R): Maddie, Kayleigh, Karim, Otto, Sonny, Christine, Zachary, Hudson and Tegan. Olympic archer Matthew Gray gave Tea Gardens student Owen Dennis a go at pulling the bow. STUDENTS at Tea Gardens Public School (TGPS) […]
Port Stephens care home celebrates International Nurses Day
RN Claire, training a new staff member. The nurses station in Harbourside Port Stephens’ hospital. Care staff competed in a ‘bandage race’. Care staff competed in a ‘bandage race’. INTERNATIONAL Nurses Day is celebrated on 12 May – the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth. This year, the occasion was marked stylishly at Shoal Bay’s Harbourside […]
Local Sarah Chippindale inspires MS fundraising walk
BOAT Harbour’s Sarah Chippindale, a beloved member of the Port Stephens community, podcast co-host of the popular The Chronically Unbalanced, and marriage celebrant, is the inspiration behind an ambitious fundraising effort for MS Australia. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) as a teenager, Sarah has lived bravely with the condition for 16 years. However, a recent […]
Funds for tranquil space at John Hunter Hospital
NEWCASTLE Permanent Charitable Foundation (NPCF) has granted Sleapy’s Foundation $92,000 towards the development of a clinically-equipped outdoor courtyard at the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) of the John Hunter Hospital. The outdoor courtyard is designed to mimic a tranquil and natural, non-hospital environment, and estimated to offer respite to around 750 young patients and their […]

Pests, weeds to cost $30 billion a year without action
MORE than 350 invasive plant and animal species are causing about $2 billion worth of damage every year in one of Australia’s most populated states. But that annual figure could balloon to a whopping $30 billion by 2030 without investment in a long-term biosecurity management system, a government body has warned. A report released on […]