FEBRUARY 2024

THE ILLAWARRA

February 2024

Keeping community news alive

Cheers to 10 Years!

Here’s to the magazine the community made

Free to 11,000 letterboxes / www.theillawarraflame.com.au

Meet Our Contributors Caitlin Sloan is an Illawarra Flame journalist. She was born and raised in Helensburgh and the fifth generation of her family to attend Helensburgh Public School. Caitlin has a passion for writing, travel and wine, and also works as a bartender at the historic Helensburgh Hotel.

Brigid Collaery is a resident of Helensburgh, where she has lived with her family since 2007, and loves living between the forest and sea.

Brigid is a strategic project manager at the Opera House, and a member of the Coalcliff Surf Life Saving Club and local Community Fire Unit. One of Brigid’s passions is ‘underwater forest bathing’, aka swimming in the ocean.

James O’Connor is a local environmental impact documentary filmmaker. His last documentary, Mining The Blue Mountains, has 25,000 views and lead to an EPA investigation at Sunny Corner. In January 2024 he released Coal Creek, the third short film in a trilogy focusing on the damage done by mines. It follows 2021’s The People Against Russell Vale Mine and 2022’s Blue Mountains exposé.

Janice Creenaune is a retired English teacher. A wife and mother of three, she sees the life of a retiree as an evolution, something to be cherished, enjoyed. Janice is a volunteer for PKD Australia and her interests include travel, Letters-to-the Editor SMH, letterpress printing and film study.

Dr John Deady is a General Practitioner working at Bulli Medical Practice. He has a special interest in sports medicine and is currently working professionally with both the St George Illawarra Dragons NRL Club and Wellington Phoenix A League Club.

Kathy Harris and hubby Chris, treasurer for the Flame Tree Co-op, live at Coledale. Their daughter Amanda was one of the inaugural group of Directors when the first Flame Tree Co-op shop opened in February 2014 and her daughter Avril is a keen volunteer. The family are passionate about reducing waste, buying sustainable, local and organic food as far as possible.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: The publishers acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and their cultural and spiritual connection to this land. Their stories are written in the land and hold great significance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, from the mountains to the sea.

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February

Correction In last month’s article on Helensburgh Volunteer Rural Fire Brigade’s Graham ‘Eggs’ Williams, it was incorrectly reported that Eggs had moved to Helensburgh after military service in Vietnam.

Eggs joined the Army Reserve in 1962 and volunteered for service in Vietnam but was ultimately not taken. He served 25 years as a reservist, resigning in 1987. We apologise for this mistake.

THE ILLAWAR RA

February 2024

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NEXT DEADLINE 19 Feb for the March edition

EDITORS Genevieve Swart, Marcus Craft CONTACT hello@theillawarraflame.com.au; 0432 612 168; PO Box 248, Helensburgh, 2508.

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COVER It takes a community to produce the news. Photo: Anthony Warry THE ILLAWARRA FLAME is published by a family business, The Word Bureau, ABN 31 692 723 477 DISCLAIMER: All content and images remain the property of The Illawarra Flame unless otherwise supplied. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without written permission. Views expressed do not reflect those of the publishers.

KANE DOWNIE

Help award-winning Landcare leader Clean Up Australia

By Caitlin Sloan

Merilyn House has been the driving force behind keeping Helensburgh’s bushland pristine for more than three decades.

Last September marked 30 years since Merilyn and her husband, Allan, held the first group workday for Helensburgh and District Landcare, clearing weeds at Helensburgh Creek by the Old Mine Surgery.

In 1995, two years after starting the volunteerrun Landcare group, they came upon their first major project, helping the local mine with the excavation of 70-plus years’ worth of soil and silt that had buried Helensburgh’s original railway platform and popular Glowworm Tunnel.

“My eldest son was really interested in railways… and we'd noticed some work going on down here, and so he came down and someone had started excavating and he said, ‘See those bricks that are just showing over there? That's the old railway platform’,” Merilyn said.

“It was the mine who was cleaning – starting to – and they had been thinking that they’d start using it as water storage again, which is what they used to use it for way, way back, originally before there was town water.

“So Allan rang up the mine and said, ‘The historical railway station platform is still under the dirt there’, and in the end, they agreed that they'd pay to have it all excavated as long as he came down and supervised.”

The site has since become one of the key areas where Helensburgh and District Landcare volunteers do regular weeding, and the group became Crown Land managers of the site in 2018.

But just as important to conserve as the site’s environment is its history. After the original 130-year-old wooden sign was repeatedly vandalised, the group obtained a Centenary of Federation grant to have a metal replica sign made

by Helensburgh Men’s Shed.

It’s for this work and her many decades of volunteering with Landcare that Merilyn was awarded the Silver (Rise & Shine) Award by Wollongong City Council on December 8 last year.

“It was a surprise,” Merilyn said. “Early on, Landcare itself got the Basil Ryan Award for all the work we’d put into… cleaning up Cawley Road. So I thought [this award] was for Helensburgh Landcare, but it was for me, for my commitment to Rise & Shine over the years, and also for protecting the Glowworm Tunnel and the heritage of the area.

It was nice to have a bit of recognition.

4

clubs & community

Merilyn at the Glowworm Tunnel site.

Photo: Caitlin Sloan

“I can’t go on drives anywhere without seeing the weeds and I can’t go on walks anywhere without pulling out weeds.”

Merilyn’s commitment to Landcare has never wavered as she continues to facilitate meetings on alternating Thursdays and Sundays each month and educates the community through her column, Be Weed Wise, in the Flame.

Unfortunately, over its 30-year run, the group’s membership has dropped significantly, from about a dozen volunteers to just three or four more recently.

As invasive species become more prevalent in local bushland, Merilyn fears that without more volunteers Landcare may lose the battle against weeds. “A lot of the original people that used to do Landcare have moved … and trying to get new people involved has been a bit hard.

“I think it's good for just, for a start, getting out in the fresh air and doing things, and also learning about the problems… [weeds which they] might even have growing in their garden.

“Everyone’s welcome… [but] we need a few young people to come and help; they’ve got a lot more energy than we do.”

Clean Up Australia Day is on Sunday, 3 March

Landcare will clean up Helensburgh’s footpaths, creeks and parks. Register at the Old Mine Surgery, 78 Parkes St, between 10am and 1pm. You’ll be given a bag to clean up an area of your choice – a local street, park, creek, etc. Once you’ve finished, return the bag of rubbish. Please wear long pants and shirt, sturdy closed-in shoes, and bring gloves and water. More info: 0414 819 742, or email merilyn@helensburghlandcare.org.au

Helensburgh Thinking of selling your

property in this hot market?

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Julie York 0405 128 070

julie.york@helensburgh.rh.com.au

ime to Tvolunteer

Janice Creenaune meets David Muscio, who worked in TAFE, university administration and later regional development in the Illawarra. David is now utilising his organisational skills in retirement for Northern Illawarra U3A in Thirroul, arranging presenters and convening the current affairs special interest group. Photo: Janice Creenaune.

David Muscio is a rare commodity in our community. He has a thirst for knowledge and intellectual pursuits, including discussion of political, social and economic issues, all while harbouring a passion for writing.

The Northern Illawarra University of the 3rd Age (NIU3A) conducts weekly Wednesday talks at the Thirroul Community Centre, and hosts special interest groups throughout the week.

Organisers are essential and David is a person who ‘steps up’ to take the reins. Shortly after joining NIU3A, David assumed the role of convenor of the ‘Current Affairs’ group, held on alternate Mondays at Thirroul Community Centre.

“We meet to consider current events, and I scan issues between meetings. We then discuss whatever rankles us or delights us and we respond to the issues in respectful dialogue. It may be on domestic topics or international, but they are often politically laden.

“The possibilities for spirited discussion are always present as the people attracted to it are interested, attentive and engaged, always offering respectful dialogue and informed opinion.”

Appropriately, for his position, David is concerned about the process of opinion formation.

“Some change can happen, sometimes imperceptibly maybe, but in a life history to look back upon, we see where minds have been and how attitudes have changed. The same-sex marriage plebiscite, for example, offered views but also moderation over time and even within the discussion process,” David says.

“The older community members can be perceived to be more conservative, but this is not always true. There can be an energising freedom to be a ‘ratbag’.”

Another of David’s roles within the NIU3A is as Wednesday Talks organiser.

“We have two talks each week at 9:30am and 6

11am so organising two speakers each week can be quite challenging.

“The topics are varied and always wellresearched and delivered, so it makes for an entertaining morning … For older people it is a way to keep freshly ‘on top’ of ideas and events both local and on a global scale.”

David attends meetings of the lllawarra Socratic Society too. In the past, he has also listened to and recorded elderly people’s stories.

“I began doing this activity through TAFE and have found it personally engaging and stimulating.

The elderly have an expression to which many of them refer, which is “in my day”. I found this particularly interesting and realised that generally it referred to the period between 15 years and 25 years of age.

“This period for most elderly people was pivotal for the number of decisive moments in their lives.

This is when they finished school and moved on to training and work, or the unknown, when they began their first jobs and chose a life partner and perhaps even had their first child during this time.

“A really bad time to be born in Australia was 1895 or thereabouts. To grow up in a long depression period, to be old enough to go to war and the very real possibility of being killed, to ‘soldier on’ during the mid-career time of life of The Great Depression period, and to be still young enough to participate in WW11 with another opportunity to be killed or wounded. It is fascinating.”

David hopes to write his own books.

“I do love working in an oral history setting and attempting to draw out stories. But I also like to write and this may provide content to explore.”

He is working on a biography of Mildred Fry, an influential leader of the National Council of Women and a League of Nations representative.

With John Curtin, Fry advocated child endowment for large families and provided advice to an inquiry into the Australian Motion Picture industry.

David must be congratulated for his tireless and wide-ranging efforts.

Janice is a volunteer for PKD (Polycystic Kidney Disease) Foundation Australia.

Email janicecreenaune@gmail.com

clubs & community

CT_I

Valentine’s Day Saturday 10 February, 5pm

Mingle with Singles Barefoot Bowls Event Calling all singles looking to share a laugh and have some fun in the lead up to Valentine’s Day. You may even find the perfect match! $35 per person – barefoot bowls with a twist, live entertainment, cocktail for the ladies and choice of beer for the men.

Wednesday 14 February Celebrate Valentine’s Day under the stars on our Outdoor Alfresco with that special someone.

Seafood Platter $65.

as g e V Las NRL DOUBLE HEADER Sunday 3 March

Witness history being made when the NRL take Rugby League to the world stage in Las Vegas Allegiant Stadium.

Action kicks off at 3.30pm on Sunday 3 March Bar Specials plus $35 Pepperoni Pizza & Wings Platter available from 12.30pm.

On the day tastings from Jervis Bay Brewery and live entertainment.

For more details on the above events or to book go to our website or call (02) 4267 1148 2b Station Street, Thirroul

CT_Illawarra Flame_Jan_2024_Page_A5.indd 1

25/01/2024 12:04:03 PM

Charging On Peter Aubourg shares the latest entry in his 'Diary of an EV Driver'

There's been great excitement in the local EV world lately. Public EV chargers have been installed in a few places around the district. I had to give one a go!

Ever since I bought the MG4, I have only ever charged it at home from a power point, using the “Trickle Charger”, so this time I had to borrow a charging lead from a friend with an EV. Then I had to download the app for the particular brand of charger, sign up and enter my credit card details, click on the QR code on the charger and plug in.

I was off and charging on what is considered to be a “slow charger”. However, the 7kw was over 4 x the speed of the trickle charger at home.

After a coffee and a stroll on the beach we returned an hour later with a 15% increase in our battery charge, (about 50km extra range) and my credit card $7.50 lighter.

Now that sort of charger would not be very good for a long trip, but very good for top-ups. On a trip, the fast chargers are a much better option. Here is a quick run down on the type of chargers around.

AC (Alternating Current) Chargers

These are the trickle and slow chargers. A battery needs DC power and the electronic gadget called a rectifier is used to convert AC to DC (Direct Current) for the battery. EVs have their own small rectifier built into the car and it is the size of this rectifier that limits the speed of the charging.

Plug in

News from Council A pilot partnership between Wollongong City Council, EVX Australia and Endeavour Energy has seen kerbside electric vehicle (EV) chargers installed at five spots in Wollongong, Austinmer and Thirroul.

The chargers are mounted on existing power poles making them cost-effective and efficient to install and have no footprint on public land or green space. The chargers are part of Council’s work to empower the community toward net zero emissions by 2050, as part of the newly adopted Climate Change Mitigation Plan 2023-30.

Data from the Australian Automobile Association shows uptake of electric vehicles on Wollongong’s roads has almost quadrupled since 2021. The 2500 postcode currently ranks in the top 10% of Australia when it comes to new EV registrations.

8

clubs & community

However, the advantage of the AC chargers is that they can run directly off the mains power at home and on the street for public chargers. This makes them a lot cheaper. For the public AC chargers, you will need to bring your own “type 2” cable.

DC (Direct Current) Chargers

These are fast chargers, the sort that you would use when on a longer trip. The rectifier to create the DC power is built into the charger in the street and is MUCH bigger than those built into the car.

There are not as many of these chargers littered around the place because they are expensive, serious industrial installations, with chunky connections to the grid. But there are plenty on the main highways. In the case of the MG4, a public DC fast charger will charge from 10% to 80% (250km extra range) in about 35 minutes, which makes longer trips much more doable. Stopping every 250km for a half-hour break is probably what you would do anyway.

Meanwhile, at home, I am using the 1.6kw trickle charger with a timer on the MG app which only charges from 9:30am to 5pm when the solar panels are producing on a sunny day. This gives me free fuel (mostly). I have got my eye on a new charger that tracks any excess solar power and diverts it to the car – to satisfy my obsession for home-grown, free fuel. More on that later.

Aunty Barb is Citizen of the Year

By Jeremy Lasek

In a history-making awards ceremony, First Nations leader, advocate and storyteller Aunty Barbara Nicholson has been named the 2024 Wollongong Citizen of the Year.

For the first time, the prestigious awards were moved away from their historic connection with Australia Day, and for the first time an Aboriginal leader has won the city’s top award.

Among her many achievements as a role model, Aunty Barb has made more than 300 visits to the Junee Correctional Centre where she’s introduced dozens of Indigenous inmates to the world of creative writing.

A record number of 85 nominations were received for the 2024 awards, across 12 categories, and women were dominant in the majority of awards Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery presented at City Beach Function Centre on 19 January.

Australia’s youngest First Nations filmmaker, nine-year-old Penelope Towney from Waniora Public School, was named the city’s Rising Star for under-18s. Woonona surf lifesaving volunteer Morgan Clarke is Wollongong’s Young Citizen of the Year and Muslim community leader Dr Munir Hussain is our Senior Citizen of the Year.

Other award winners are: • Environmental Achievement – Emma Rooksby, Chair of Landcare Illawarra.

• Innovation Achievement – Dr Aimee Silla, wildlife researcher and conservationist • Sports Achievement – Grace Tracey, Australian All Schools AFL and Netball representative • Art and Culture Achievement – Judy Bourke, artist, teacher and arts advocate • Diversity and Inclusion – Disabled Surfers Association (South Coast Branch) • Wollongong to the World – Ray Collins,

10 news

•

internationally renowned oceans photographer. Highly Commended – Mark Olive, iconic ambassador for Indigenous food and hospitality.

Community Group of the Year – i98 Illawarra Convoy, having raised more than $25 million for children’s health projects

There were four recipients of Lord Mayor’s Awards for those deserving special recognition for their outstanding contributions. The winners are: • Coledale RSL for the community rallying to revive the flagging club.

• Dr Sam Wise for winning two national Tae Kwon Do gold medals.

• Rebecca Schmidt-Lachlan for leading the campaign to have a lift installed at Unanderra Railway Station.

• Riley Lapham for her excellence as a member of The Australian Ballet

Mark Olive congratulates Dr Aunty Barbara Nicholson.

Below, the 2024 award winners. Photos: Jeremy Lasek

MORE MORE MUSIC OFTEN

Kae and orphan grey-headed flying fox ‘Buttons’, found in Coledale by a member of the public. Photo: Amanda De George

Meet a flying fox foster mum

By Amanda De George

Kae McKinnon’s day starts at about 6am and doesn’t end until sometime after 11pm. And that’s if everything goes to plan.

Kae cares for seven grey-headed flying fox pups, along with several adults all needing rehabilitation.

Her day is a carefully choreographed dance of feeding – up to six times a day for the little ones and chopping four kilos of fruit for the older bats – toileting and cleaning.

Rescues occasionally come in, as do vet visits, which put the dance somewhat out of kilter.

Yet it’s clear by the way Kae looks at her charges that this foster mum relishes every moment.

Kae moved to the Illawarra in 2017 from Hobart, where she had been working as a wildlife carer for years. On joining the NSW Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service (WIRES), she again worked with several native species. During ‘bat season’ – from about September to January, the peak period when pups and juveniles come into care – Kae focuses solely on bats. And for good reason. “[They] spend around 12 weeks with their foster mum. Creche begins from around 12 weeks where they learn valuable socialising skills with older flying foxes in care,” Kae says. “With flying foxes, 12 science & nature

they bond to the carer. Because the mothers are such good mothers, they spend a lot of time holding their babies.

“The carers are encouraged to give them the same amount of care, so we can carry them around and we can pet them and form a bond. That’s different to [caring for] other native wildlife as we don’t want them to imprint on humans.”

To handle nine-week-old orphan Buttons, Kae pulls on arm protectors, like long, fingerless gloves.

Buttons is named after Buttenshaw Drive, where she was found clinging to her mother who had been electrocuted on powerlines.

Thanks to fires knocking out their feeding trees and periods of extreme heat, bat carers throughout the Illawarra are full. It’s a problem along the east coast. “We’ve got 15 babies in care now and that’s quite a lot,” Kae says. “South Coast [Wildlife Rescue] have also got the same, Sydney Wildlife [Rescue]. All carers are full up.”

These unique animals come with unique challenges, including a requirement that carers be vaccinated against Australian Bat Lyssavirus and tested each year to ensure they remain protected.

Australian bats can carry the virus, which can be fatal in humans. It is an emergency if you are scratched and a death sentence for the bat as they need to be euthanised so their brain can be sampled to see if they're infected. If you do find a sick or injured bat, don’t approach it. Call WIRES who can send out a vaccinated, trained carer.

Importantly, you can’t catch the virus from their urine or faeces, so there’s no need for concern as these amazing pollinators spread the seeds of rainforest plants near and far, doing an amazing job of keeping the coast lush.

“Foster caring is a big commitment but to watch a helpless pup go on to become a confident flying fox ready to join her/his wild cousins is just so rewarding,” Kae says.

ACO 2O24

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February 13

Think Global, Embrace Local By architect Ben Wollen

There’s an architect named Rem Koolhaas who, as well as being an innovative architect, has written some seminal architectural books. When I was studying at University, it was Rem and his practice OMA [Office for Metropolitan Architecture] that most of us budding architects looked up to.

He’s 79 now and still working, but he doesn’t hold the same gravitas as he did back in his heyday. One of the topics I recall he discussed was the homogenisation of the modern city. He argued that Western cities were becoming more and more similar so that wherever you travelled in the world, it was increasingly becoming difficult to determine any features that distinguished one from another.

This is best experienced in a city’s airport, which all seem to suffer a level of sameness.

During last year’s architecture festival (IFAD), there was some healthy discussion on the effect of hiring architects unfamiliar with the Illawarra and the result this has on Wollongong’s urban fabric.

In particular, BHP’s decision to engage an internationally renowned architect to design a new masterplan for their surplus land in Port Kembla and the somewhat generic architecture it offered up. Mention was also made of the Corrimal Cokeworks and the WIN Grand developments.

The involvement of local professionals and Indigenous knowledge keepers would benefit such projects and potentially result in something more culturally and contextually site-specific.

There are a number of benefits to engaging locals in the process. Things such as understanding local regulations, cultural sensitivity and contextual design, community connections (eg. for consultants and trades), site visits are made easier and allow for more hands-on involvement, supporting the local economy, to name a few. The most important one in my mind is a familiarity with the local climate and environment. It’s very

14 clubs & community

difficult to gain a real understanding for these factors without living in the place. This only increases with time spent in a location and thus with 60,000 some years of occupation, Indigenous knowledge is invaluable.

The Illawarra’s climate and environment are unique. The escarpment has a localised effect on the weather by capturing moisture from the ocean but also from its overshadowing effect. It’s also still very geologically active with land slippage a regular occurrence. It’s had heavy underground mining in many places and now with many more hard surfaces about such as roads and roofs, localised flooding from more intense rainfall is also a major problem (not to mention leeches!). There’s also noise from the weekend road warriors along Lawrence Hargrave Drive, along with the traffic jams it creates. The 2am freight train special that can shake a house along the rail line. And, we have rich diversity of wildlife that all need to be considered in any development (did you know a wombat was recently spotted on Morrison Ave!) The poet David Whyte describes this in more eloquent terms as ‘genius loci’ – the spirit of a place – “it describes a form of meeting, of air and land and trees, perhaps a hillside, a cliff edge, a flowing stream, or a bridge across a river. It is the conversation of elements that makes a place incarnate, fully itself. It is the breeze on our skin, the particular freshness and odours of the water or of the mountain or the sky in a given, actual geographical realm. You could go to many other places in the world with a cliff edge, a stream, a bridge, but it would not have the particular spirit or characteristic, the ambiance nor the climate of this particular meeting place.”

So, as you can well imagine, any non-local designer is at a distinct disadvantage at not being able to grasp many of these important considerations for simply not being on the ground longer than a single site visit.

Once upon a time, before the invention of air-conditioning, cities and their buildings were unique. They had to respond to their local context.

In the materials that were readily available as well as the construction techniques available from local trades. Increasingly, this is disappearing as the world becomes more globalised.

We can still be global but embrace the local. My feeling is that these new developments don’t yet speak to our place. Our built environment deserves to sit well and be influenced by its genius loci. In doing so, we can protect our uniqueness and celebrate our beautiful Illawarra.

All of our clients are special and we share in the excitement of completing a project that we know will bring them joy for years to come. This house was finished just in time for the holidays - a perfect Christmas present!

We wanted to share the lovely note our clients sent us: Dear Mark, Clint and the whole Grand Pacific Homes Team, Thank you very much for everything you have done for Marie and I! Your support has been greatly appreciated. Thank you for being flexible and allowing us to do the little things onsite that other builders aren’t so forthcoming about. Thank you for being attentive to our needs and wants and building us our dream home.

Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones.

Brent + Marie

Winner 2023 HIA NSW Townhouse/ Villa Development Finalist 2024 HIA Australia Townhouse/Villa Development

grandpacifichomes.com.au 02 4227 6405

See Side

ptical

This is who we are, where we work and what we do

Anita’s Theatre Shop 10, King St Thirroul / telephone 4268 3933 Call for an appointment or book online at seesideopticalthirroul.com.au February 15

The Hewitts Ave that I knew Born and bred in Thirroul, Flame reader Russell King shares a history of Hewitts Avenue in the 1950s and the people who lived there.

My Father’s parents moved to Thirroul in 1917, followed by my Mother’s family in 1923.

My parents built their home in 1934 at 14 Hewitts Avenue, Thirroul. I was born 10 years later in 1944 and lived at that address for 25 years until 1969 when my wife Glenda and I were married. Now, 54 years later, I have walked around Hewitts Avenue again and noted the changes, trying to remember how it looked and who lived in those houses that have now been renovated.

Growing up in Hewitts Avenue in the 1950s, the road was unsealed, just dirt and rocks, no curb and gutters. The Main Roads Board had ideas of making it the main road, demolishing the house at No.8. Even after the road was sealed years later, the eastern side had no gutters as the road was to be widened. There was a culvert next to No.10 that took the runoff water back to the creek; it was lined with fruit trees, apples, figs and lemon trees.

Other things that come to mind: getting coupons to take to the shop to buy butter and other goods that were in short supply at the time. When the Iceman delivered your ice to your home and lifted it out with a big set of tongs. The Milkman delivered milk in a large container and poured it into your Billy Can. The Baker had a horse and cart and the old horse just used to follow him up the road while he did his deliveries. Bill Reeves used to go to the Sydney Markets to get fruit and vegetables and then drive his truck around the streets. He would stop, and the housewives would come out to buy his goods.

Other household items were bought from Lenehans Corner Store, later it was taken over by Don and Lenor Grey. Outside the store was the only public telephone box, local calls were only 1 penny. Mr Hunt lived next to Hewitts Creek, he 16 clubs & community

also had vegetable gardens and sold his produce.

Nobody locked doors in those days, everyone looked after each other, older kids kept an eye on the younger kids when we walked to school, we all played cricket and football and swimming depending on the season.

Old Mr McCauley owned the farm down on the corner, he used to plough the paddocks with his old draft horse and would often let us kids sit on the horse as he moved around. He grew vegetables, corn etc. had cows that you could go and milk or collect the eggs from the chook yard. Always plenty to do in those days without TV or Phones.

At the southern entry to the Avenue was George Bond’s fruit and vegetable storage shed and a vacant block of land opposite, then the houses started, finishing at the other end of the Avenue with the Corner Store and Sorrell’s garage.

I have tried to remember the families at each house in the 1950s, each one has a story and memories of a time gone by.

Families of Hewitts Ave, Thirroul in the 1950s Russell remembers all but a few of the names of those who lived on his street over 70 years ago – can you help fill in the gaps?

No.1 ? (The man in No.1 worked for W.G.Williams, Funeral Director). No.2 Denham. No.3 Judd.

No.4 Arnott. No.5 Brown. No.6 Edwards.

No.7 Dryden. No.8 Bell. No.9 Hargraves.

No.10 Sutton. No.11 Cambourne. No.12 Douglas.

No.13 Nicholls. No.14 King. No.15 Bailey.

No.16 Smith. No.17 Fromont. No.18 Sneddon.

No.19 Jones/Hepper. No.18 Hargraves. No.21 2 Flats.

No.20 Woods. No.23 ? No.22 Meheal. No.25 Lenehan. No. 24 Campbell. No.26 ? Holmes. No.28 ?

No.30 McCauley. No.32 McCauley. No.38 Smith.

February 17

Meet Adrian Whitehall

By Felicity Woodhill, founder of Inspire Music Australia

Wollongong’s inspiring young double bass player and composer Adrian Whitehall is making his mark on the Australian classical music scene.

Adrian launches the ‘Music and Tea at the Gallery’ Emerging Artist Concert Series in 2024.

A passion ignited by Richard Tognetti and the ACO

Adrian’s journey with music took off after an inspirational encounter with the Australian Chamber Orchestra at Anita’s Theatre in Thirroul.

Adrian – then aged 10 and already a fan of Australian violinist Richard Tognetti, having drawn his portrait for a school assignment – convinced his parents to take him to the concert.

“I experienced the magic of the ACO that night,” he says. “I knew that I wanted to be a musician and especially to be a part of a creative orchestra that really thinks outside the box, making amazing music.”

During the interval, Adrian asked an orchestra member if they would give Richard the portrait he had drawn. They did more than that; Adrian was taken backstage to present the work himself.

Last year, Adrian won a coveted Emerging Artist position with the ACO. During high school, he won the ACO composition award for school students – his work, Lands Upon Lands, was recorded by members of the ACO. Growth through rich musical traditions

From foundational education through the Wollongong Conservatorium of Music and Sydney Conservatorium’s Rising Stars program to his acceptance into the Sydney and Australian Youth Orchestras, Adrian has taken every opportunity to connect and grow with his contemporaries and learn from his mentors.

In 2019, Adrian completed his Bachelor of Music (Performance) and, in 2022, a Master of Music Studies (Performance) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, studying under Kees Boersma. In 2023, Adrian was accepted into the prestigious Australian National Academy of Music under Damien Eckersley.

Adrian has performed with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Australian World Orchestra Chamber Ensemble, and is due to commence a contract with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.

Hear Adrian live at Music and Tea at the Gallery at 11am on Thursday, February 8.

18 arts & culture

EMERGING CONCERT ARTIST SERIES Music & Tea 11 am at Wollongong Art Gallery ENTRY FREE donation appreciated. BOOK scan the QR code or go to humanitix.com/music-and-tea-at-the-gallery-2024 CONTACT inspiremusicaust@gmail.com | 0408 422 427

REVERBERATIONS Vilmos Montag & Nino Rota Adrian Whitehall double bass Rachael Lin piano

Thurs 8 FEBRUARY

ITALIAN JOURNEYS Paganini, Corigliano & Castelnuovo-Tedesco

Thurs 7 MARCH

Beatrice Colombis violin Mauro Colombis piano

FLIGHTS OF FANTASY Bach, Borne, Muczynski and Clarke

Thurs 4 APRIL

Annabel Wouters flute The pianist to be confirmed.

MUSIC OF THE BOHEMIAN & VIENNESE Debussy, Prokofiev, Ravel, Bach and Schubert

Thurs 2 MAY

Jimmy Park violin Alexander Yau piano

LYRICAL MAGIC - ARIAS & ART SONGS Mozart, Puccini, Massenet, Strauss & Debussy Molly Ryan soprano Joanna Li piano

Thurs 6 JUNE

Meet a Co-op director

Kathy Harris interviews Kristine Sheridan, a long-time volunteer at Thirroul’s Flame Tree Food Co-op. Kristine is now a volunteer Director

more ethically sourced and sustainable foods, and support local food systems. Plus, as a not-for-profit, every dollar goes back into the business.

What led you to become a Director?

I’ve had a long association with Flame Tree, having joined as a member in 2010, and volunteered in store on and off ever since. I joined the board at the end of 2022 because I like a good challenge, and I wanted to contribute my professional skills and experience to an organisation I truly believe in.

How’s it going? What would you like to say to the people of the Illawarra?

How did you first hear about the Flame Tree Co-op?

Back in 2010, a friend shared some tasty tamari almonds bought from Flame Tree, and I was hooked. I was already looking for ways to reduce food packaging and eat less processed food, so I ventured down the laneway off Lawrence Hargrave Drive to the first tiny shop, and fell in love with Flame Tree’s values and sense of community.

Why do you shop at the Co-op?

To reduce household packaging and food waste, buy

It’s not easy in the current economic environment, but it is very rewarding to know I am actively part of a community of like-minded people. It’s so easy to default to big supermarkets, chain stores and large online retailers when times get tough, but now, more than ever, is the time to shop local, support our small businesses, and sustain our vibrant community.

Find the Co-op online at flametree.coop and on Facebook @ Flame Tree Community Food Co-op.

6 Fresh Seafood Shops

By Kasey Simpson

Embark on a seafood journey in the Illawarra with market in NSW with a certificate of MSC chain our guide to some of the finest establishments of custody, and the store was named a offering fresh and sustainable catches.

Community Champion at Australia’s Sustainable • Harbourside Fish Market’s Mobile Fish Truck, Seafood Awards.

Helensburgh – This truck trades every Friday • Harbourside Fish Market and Café, North from 9am to 5pm at 175 Parkes Street, across Wollongong – Offers fresh, frozen and cooked from Helensburgh Hardware. It offers a diverse seafood. You can order from a variety of seafood selection of seafood directly from the options, eat in the restaurant or cook at home.

Wollongong Harbour shop.

• Seafood Brothers, Figtree – Located in Figtree • Bush’s Meat Market, Bulli – A long-standing Grove, Seafood Brothers offers a diverse butcher chain dating back to 1909 has opened a selection of seafood, open seven days a week, new “Meat Market” in Bulli on the Princes ranging from locally caught to Australian Highway, taking over the old meat and seafood and imported varieties. If it is in season, it will shop. It has a smaller range than the previous be here. owners but is a great option for those living in • Shellharbour Square Fish Market, Shellharbour the northern Illawarra.

– Always has a variety of quality, fresh and • Harley and Johns Seafood, Fairy Meadow – sustainable seafood on offer, with over 30 years This store has serviced Wollongong for more of experience. This team is part of Fishermen’s than two decades and has an extensive, locally Co-Operative, which means they can purchase sourced selection. The owners recently earned fish directly from local fishermen to sell in store, the distinction of being the first independent fish supporting local industry.

20 local business

Fabulous February!

Embracing Local Flavours at Darkes Glenbernie Orchard: A Perfect Blend of Orchard Adventures and Culinary Delights! By Jo Fahey

Photos: Oliver Risi, Vokyo and Sasha Faint

SAVE THE DATE: ‘AUSTRALIAN CIDER DAY CELEBRATIONS’ SUNDAY 10 MARCH 2024

Our orchard is a haven for those seeking a taste of local goodness. If you haven’t had a chance to visit so far this season, there’s still time.

Stone Fruit has now finished but apple season is just beginning.

Immerse yourself in a hands-on experience by booking a “Pick Your Own” adventure, where you can pluck your favourite apples straight from the trees. Groups are limited and will run in early February for apples such as Gala. It’s a fun and interactive way to connect with the land. Enjoy the freshest produce Illawarra has to offer and stock up the fridge for school and work lunches.

But the delights don’t end there! Weekends on the farm throughout February include White Pearl Pizza serving up hand-stretched, wood-fired masterpieces.

Picture this: a crisp crust, topped with locally sourced ingredients, perfectly paired with a glass of the orchard’s own refreshing apple cider under the outdoor marquee. It’s a great place to unwind with friends in the picturesque surroundings, revelling in the satisfaction of knowing you’ve supported local farmers and local family businesses.

Come for the adventure, stay for the feast, and leave with a basket of local treasures.

Picking experience bookings essential: www.darkes.com.au

GLENBERNIE ORCHARD’S APPLESHACK IS OPEN DAILY 10AM-4.30PM Visit www.darkes.com.au

February 21

What’s On

Submit events at theillawarraflame.com.au Illawarra Film Society Gala Opening Sun, 11 Feb IFS will hold its opening night at

Warrawong’s Gala Cinema, with drinks and nibblies in the foyer ahead of the first film of 2024.

With a curated program of arthouse releases, feature documentaries and classics, the society charges an annual $99 fee that gets you into more than 30 exclusive screenings. Go to ifs.org.au or email Lynn Read, membership@ifs.org.au

Coalcliff SLSC Centenary dinner Sat 17 Feb Inviting all past and current Coalcliff

Surf Lifesaving Club members to celebrate the club’s 100th anniversary! Join us at Panorama House. Tickets: www.coalcliffslsc.com.au

NSW Justice Association Wollongong

since 1979. He also teaches jazz studies at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and researches the unique sounds produced by the Stuart & Sons piano. As part of this, he collaborates musically with local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians to produce music. Doors open at 6pm for a 6.30pm start. FREE, but bookings are essential. Book your ticket via Eventbrite.

Children’s Activities at Thirroul Library

Join us for stories rhymes, songs & music.

During school term. No bookings needed.

Calling all Wrigglers and Jigglers! New program starting @ Thirroul Library. Wriggle & Jiggle is our new session for children from birth to 2 years. Join us to jump your jiggles out with lots of fun, movement, music, rhymes and stories.

Tuesdays Story Time 3-5 years 10-10:45am Wednesdays Wriggle & Jiggle 0-2 years 10am Wednesdays Drop-in Duplo 10am-12pm 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month

Free JP services at Community Desks at Thirroul, Corrimal, Wollongong, Dapto & Warrawong Libraries. All services given by JPs are free of charge. They cannot give legal advice. More info: branch president Morgan Prosser, 0432 378 318.

Lego Club 3:30-4:30pm Thursdays Baby Bookworms 0-1 year 10-10:30am Fridays Toddlertime 2-3 years 10-10:30am

Kevin Hunt Trio at Thirroul Library Sat 17 Feb Experience the exceptional sound of

Join us for stories rhymes, songs & music. During school term. No bookings needed.

Every second Monday Wriggle and Jiggle 0-2 years, 10:30-11am Wednesdays Baby Bookworms, 10.30-11am

the Kevin Hunt Trio as they perform live at Thirroul Library. Kevin Hunt (piano), Karl Dunnicliff (bass), and Dave Goodman (drums) will deliver an evening of jazz, rhythm and harmony. Kevin is a jazz pianist-composer who has performed regularly in the Sydney jazz scene

Children’s Activities at Helensburgh

1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month

Lego Club, 3:30-4:30pm Fridays Storytime 3-5 years, 10:30-11:15am

U3A Wednesday Talk Program

By Barbara Cranfield

Talks are at the Thirroul Community Centre Hall from 9.30-10.30 followed by morning tea.

Jan 31 Ty Christopher: Clean Energy Futures Feb 7 Linda Jackson: Aged Care Advocacy Feb 14 Marco Svirsky: The Palestinian Cause Feb 21 Brian Martin: “Faking it with

Artificial Intelligence “ Feb 28 Frank Nowlan: Centenarians – A Healthy Life March 6 Bulli High School Debate March 13 Ainslie Lamb: The Australian Constitution – Fit for Purpose?

March 20 Denis Egidis RN & Pete Wongsarard RN: Wellness for Independent Seniors March 27 Deirdre Stuart: Our Environment April 3 Ron Witton: Palestine & Mabo 22 clubs & community

U3A Film Appreciation Society is showcasing a selection of outstanding films in Term 1 at the Thirroul Community Centre Hall every Wednesday starting at 12 noon. All members welcome.

Jan 31 The Ladies Man (1961) USA Feb 7 Woman in the Moon (1929) Germany Feb 14 The Blue Angel (1930) Marlene Dietrich Feb 21 Pepe Le Moko (1937) France Feb 28 Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) Cary Grant March 6 Senso (1974) Italy March 13 La Strada (1954) Italy March 20 Funny Face (1956) Fred Astaire & Audrey Hepburn March 27 Charlie’s Country (2013) David Gulpilil April 3 Hidden Figures (2016) USA Visit www.northernillawarra.u3anet.org.au

The flash rip at Sydney’s Coogee Beach is the streak of turbulent water heading offshore in the middle of the beach. Photo: Rob Brander

Dr Rip’s Science of the Surf

By Prof Rob Brander. This month: Flash Rips and Mass Rescues

Earlier this summer a lot of media attention was given to a mass rescue of over 20 people in a flash rip at Sydney’s Maroubra Beach. While the actual number of people rescued was exaggerated, it does raise the question: what exactly is a flash rip?

There are different types of offshore flowing rip currents on our beaches and most attention is given to those that sit in deeper channels between sandbars that can stay in place for days, weeks and even months. These channelised rips appear as narrow, darker gaps of greener water between the whitewater of waves breaking on the adjacent shallow sandbars and are thought to be the main cause of surf drownings on our beaches. But are they?

Flash rips are significantly different and also very dangerous. They form suddenly when a large group of waves (a wave set) breaks, or some randomly big waves break, causing the local water level to rise and force a sudden flow of water offshore. They only last for a minute or so before disappearing and are totally unpredictable. They tend to occur on days when the waves are messy and they can pop up and disappear all along the beach, including between the flags.

They also look different and appear as offshore moving clouds of turbulent, bubbly whitewater and clouds of sand. They don’t flow particularly fast, but as they tend to form off of sandbars, they can 24 science & nature

quickly move people into deeper water.

Flash rips are usually the main cause of mass rescues on beaches because a group of people standing on a sandbar in relatively safe depths (and between the flags!) can suddenly lose their footing when the water level rises and be taken offshore out of their depth.

That’s not good for poor or inexperienced swimmers! Often you’ll hear reports of mass rescues being caused by a collapsing sandbar, which is totally incorrect. Sandbars don’t collapse, it’s a physical impossibility and a total myth.

Guaranteed it’s a flash rip.

In some ways flash rips are the most dangerous type of rip because you can’t see them until they happen, but the good news is that they generally don’t take you that far offshore before stopping. If you even find yourself caught in a flash rip, or any rip current, the best thing is to stay afloat and signal for help if you need it.

It’s hard to find good photographs of flash rips because they happen so fast, but there’s a few on the Rip of the Month page on my website: www.scienceofthesurf.com. It’s well worth a look.

Last month was also the 15-year anniversary of the Rip of the Month – that’s a whole lot of rip photos!

A new edition of Dr Rip’s Essential Beach Book is out now. Visit www.unsw.press/DrRip or Collins Booksellers Thirroul

Tinnitus Awareness Week

By Dr John Deady of Bulli Medical Practice

Tinnitus Awareness Week is 5-11 February 2024. Tinnitus is a condition when people experience a ringing sensation in their ears.

Alternatively, the sound may be humming, hissing, whistling, clicking, whooshing or pulsing.

This auditory experience, ranging from faint to loud, may occur in one or both ears or “in the head”.

It can be mild or severe and, for some people, the experience causes considerable distress. It might only be temporary, such as after a music concert or using power tools, or it may become chronic.

An estimated two-thirds of Australians have reported experiencing tinnitus. It can happen in adults and children with normal hearing, but is more common in older adults.

Causes

Multiple factors contribute to tinnitus, including hearing loss, ear wax, exposure to loud noises, infections, Ménière’s disease, tumours, inner ear complications, certain medications, and head injuries. There is also a link between tinnitus and anxiety and depression.

Monday to Friday: 8am - 6pm Saturday: 8am - 12 noon Full range of general practice services including women’s and men’s health, child and adolescent health, older adult health and nursing home visits, and specialised clinics including:

Diagnosis

Diagnosis involves a discussion of symptoms and a physical examination by your GP. You may be referred to an audiologist for hearing tests, or to an ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist for further evaluation and treatment.

Treatment and prevention

Treatment strategies vary based on the underlying cause and the degree of distress caused by tinnitus.

Your doctor can advise you about medications that might worsen tinnitus, such as certain antiinflammatories, antibiotics and antidepressants.

Reducing stress is important as stress and anxiety can make the experience of tinnitus worse.

If you frequent noisy environments or use loud equipment, it is vital you wear ear protection, like ear plugs, to stop the symptoms from worsening.

Hearing aids, when appropriately fitted, can offer relief by addressing associated hearing loss, reducing listening strain, and diverting attention from tinnitus by enhancing other sounds.

For more, visit the Tinnitus Australia website.

74 Park Road, Bulli 4284 4622 Book online* via our website: www.bullimedicalpractice.com.au scan QR code:

y Travel medicine y Weight management y Skin cancer checks

*Please call 4284 4622 for an appointment if you have any respiratory symptoms

QUALITY PERSONAL HEALTHCARE AND TRAVEL MEDICINE February 25

Update from the TVC

By Thirroul Village Committee secretary Annette Jones

Throughout the festive season there were a couple of issues that required attention.

Anglicare Seniors Living Development at Bulli – Concept Plan (Modification No. 6)

The Concept Plan (Modification no. 6) for the Sandon Point Seniors Living Development at Bulli was exhibited from 14 December 2023 – 19 January 2024. This was broadcast by Anglicare, the TVC and NIRAG (Northern Illawarra Residents Action Group) to enable community feedback to be provided to the NSW Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) via its Major Projects Portal. Amendments were made to the previously approved Concept Plan (Modification 5) as Anglicare stated they had recognised the change in demographics and the requirements and needs of those seeking retirement living and aged-care housing. To enable Anglicare to respond to these changes, it submitted a revised Concept Plan Modification 6 to the DPE. Modification 6 includes: • Amendment of the total number of Independent Living Units (ILUs) from 191 to 229 and a reduction in Residential Aged Care Facility beds (RACF) from 80 to 41; • A minor increase in the total gross floor area, landscaped area, and floor space ratios across the three precincts with an additional floor proposed to buildings in the southern Precinct 1 - from 3 to 4 storeys; and • Amended Conditions of Approval and Statement of Commitments to reflect the revised layout and planning controls incorporated in the Master Plan as well as propose contemporary arrangements associated with design excellence.

The TVC made a submission expressing conditional support. There are concerns about the timing of construction of the north–south link road as it would be best for the community if this was built early in the project, and concerns were expressed about the proposed increase in building height of the ILUs located to the south of the site.

The DPE will now assess the Concept Plan.

McCauley Lodge

Fresh Hope Care made a submission to the Land and Environment Court (LEC) for the two development applications (DAs) they submitted to redevelop the aged care facility known as McCauley Lodge at 8-10 Tasman Parade and the independent living centre known as Tasman Court at 19-23 Tasman Parade. The LEC is scheduled to hold an on-site Conciliation Conference about these DAs on Tuesday, 27th February. The TVC continues to support the local residents who oppose the proposed development.

Garden beds in Station Street near the railway line

The TVC has written to Council about the condition of the garden beds alongside the railway line in Station Street. Residents have tried to beautify the strip with plantings, but these are often run over by commuters parking too close to the gardens. It has been suggested that Council construct a timber barrier around the garden beds.

The next TVC meeting is at 4pm on Sunday, February 25 at TRIPS Hall, Railway Parade, Thirroul. Email thirroulvillagecommittee@ gmail.com

Lights up for 2024!

By Sonia Westwood of Stanwell Park Arts Theatre

This is the year that SPAT turns 50 and we have lots planned!

Following on from the success of our panto in December, we are kicking off 2024 with another series of the Improv Your Mind workshops.

Fresh from a triumphant second place at the Playmates Illawarra improv competition, SPAT’s Nurina Simpson will be running this series of five weekly classes starting on Wed 7th February.

There are no lines to learn, no performing on stage, and no competition, but there will be heaps of fun, opportunities to build your confidence, develop 26 news

your creativity and experiment in a supportive place through theatre games. The block of five classes is only $100. They’ll be held at the CWA Hall in Stanwell Park and run on Wednesdays from February 7 until March 6, from 6.30-8.30pm. Book at spat.org.au or call 0418 200 029.

Other plans for this year include plays, script readings, a Theatresports night, a special celebration event and of course the traditional Christmas panto, which is how SPAT began, way back in 1974. Keep an eye out and check our website for more.

An electric journey

By Janine Bailey & Denise Aubourg, of Electrify 2515

Bulli resident Janine Bailey knew she couldn’t afford her goal to electrify her home and transport overnight. She made a rough five-year plan and aimed to achieve it as her budget afforded.

Janine is the happy winner of an EV charger donated by AG Solar at our EV Open Day, so hopefully she is one step closer to reaching her goal!

“Switching over to an all-electric lifestyle takes time,” Janine says. “I took a staged approach based on my budget and what was easiest for me to achieve at the time. My goal was to be all-electric in five years, ditching fossil fuels and reducing my CO2 emissions.”

Here she shares her journey with you.

Janine’s timeline to all-electric

2019: I installed eight solar panels (2.68kW system) with the government rebate. My electricity bill went to zero and I started switching appliances on during the day using timers, e.g. dishwasher and washing machine. My hot water system was still Rinnai gas.

2020: I purchased a second-hand ebike on gumtree for $950 (RRP $1350). The 20” Leitner Libelle Step-Thru Folding Ebike is nothing flash or fast but can carry a couple of shopping bags and is good for short trips to the train station or local shops. I am still using this great ebike for most of my local travel.

2022: I moved to a new house that already had 20 solar panels approx. 6.5kW and solar hot water.

I was using all-electric cooking appliances and soon was saving lots of money on my electricity bills and having no gas bill.

2023: I researched and planned for the final electric purchase of an EV. The EV Open Day was very helpful in helping me learn about possibilities like novated leases and tax benefits and the range of EVs out or due to be released.

2024: The plan is to buy a second-hand EV as my current car is 20 years old. The money I have been saving since 2019 through reduction in electricity bills and small trips using my ebike and public transport has been helping me towards my goal of being all-electric in five years. I’m feeling optimistic about this!

Visit the Everything Electric Expo in Sydney on 9-11 Feb to chat with retailers and experts, look at products and get inspired. Electrify 2515 has secured 20% off tickets for our community (use the code ‘ELECTRIFY’ when buying tickets).

Visit electrify2515.org

Trent Amber from AG Solar congratulating Janine Bailey on winning the Fronius Wattpilot EV Charger. Photo: Peter Aubourg

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February 27

Up for an ‘Australian Oscar’

By Genevieve Swart

Francisca Braithwaite’s powerful short film about adoption has been nominated for Best Short Film at this month’s Australian Academy Cinema Television Arts (AACTA) Awards, aka ‘the Australian Oscars’.

“It’s just basically the first thing we entered,” says Francisca. “It’s incredibly unexpected, but very welcomed.”

Led by themes of identity, acceptance and forgiveness, Finding Addison follows two best friends who share a life-changing secret, until a knock on the door three decades later reveals the truth.

“It’s [inspired by] a personal story of a friend of mine who found out that she was adopted and then went in search of her birth mother,” says Francisca, who wrote, produced, acted in and directed the 29-minute film.

“I knew it was special from the beginning.

“I didn’t understand how special it was until I actually got to start filming it and that’s when the magic started to happen. One of the most memorable things about this shoot was the day that we shot the birthing scene, there was not a dry eye in the room. Even grown men were just bawling.”

Finding Addison was filmed at her parents’ home in Balgownie and a Berkeley Airbnb in April 2023. It also features local landmarks, including a store where the teenage stars steal a pregnancy testing kit.

“Balgownie Mini Mart, they were amazing, and the Balgownie junior soccer club as well – a huge shout-out to them for being so wonderful.”

28 arts & culture

It’s the second short film success for Francisca, “an actor by trade” who founded a women-led production company called Blue Sparrow Entertainment in 2020. Pre pandemic, she starred in TV shows, including Home and Away.

“That was a really wonderful experience,” she says. “Then Covid hit. I always had a knack for writing… and I decided to make a film.”

The result was Seven Stages, a deeply personal tale. “It’s a story about grief and the loss of my sister, but told through the lens of a couple, and it’s very much an experimental film. It’s a silent film, so there’s no dialogue within it.

“That little film ended up with 21 official selections around the world and won 14 awards, which was crazy, crazy for no budget.”

Francisca was born in Chile, her family left Pinochet’s regime and moved to Australia when she was six. Her sister passed away of leukaemia and, from early childhood, Francisca found storytelling a release. “I became very withdrawn within myself. So a coping mechanism for me with trauma was to go into all of these different worlds. I would play by myself and just create these huge worlds.”

Her family remains her biggest influence, with her mother and sister Alex helping with costumes, set design and catering for Finding Addison.

“My mum is an artist and she’s been a huge inspiration throughout my whole life.”

To get Addison off the ground, Francisca says she was lucky to meet the Bulli couple behind Ten Alphas Films, husband and wife team, producer Nick Bolton and cinematographer Jess Milne.

“Nick really understood what it was like to try and get films up and going. He’d just had a lot of success with their film Mate, which was long-listed for an Oscar. He was someone that I really felt I could learn a lot from. I was looking for a DOP for Addison and it just so happened that Jess, his beautiful wife, is a director of photography. We were just on the same page visually, creatively.”

A member of industry body Screen Illawarra, Francisca describes the local film scene as thriving yet underrated.

“I think it’s going to explode very quickly.”

For now, her goal is simply to keep telling women’s stories. “I love these really human, powerful female-centric stories that really make people think.”

Winners of the 2024 AACTA Awards – which count Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman as ambassadors – will be announced at a Gold Coast ceremony on Saturday, 10 February.

Citizen of the Year Dr Aunty Barbara Nicholson with Rising Star award winner Penelope Towney

Literary events With the team at Collins Booksellers Thirroul

Supporting local writers

By Dr Sarah Nicholson

collins BOOKSELLERS thirroul

books, games and gifts for all ages

On January 19, the South Coast Writers Centre celebrated wonderful news as storyteller Dr Aunty Barbara Nicholson was named the 2024 Wollongong Citizen of the Year.

Aunty Barb is a founding member of SCWC, a board member and a new Life Member. 2024 marks her 12th year of producing the Dreaming Inside anthologies of writing from First Nations inmates. The books are produced as part of a program to help inmates improve their literacy skills; in doing so, it also boosts self-esteem, self-understanding and cultural awareness.

Readers can support Aunty Barb’s work by buying the anthologies via SCWC’s website. The next volume of Dreaming Inside will be launched at Wollongong Art Gallery in May as part of the Sydney Writers Festival satellite program. The special guest speaker on the evening will be Aboriginal author Graham Akhurst.

The South Coast Writers Centre is currently fundraising to support its Community Writing Programs which have helped hundreds of local writers, including young and emerging writers, refugee and migrant writers, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers, and those experiencing financial hardship.

The fundraising campaign, as well as seeking local small business sponsors and donations, is offering ‘perks’ in return for support including new and rare books, online writing courses, theatre tickets from Merrigong Theatre, mentoring from Screen Illawarra and ‘foodie’ packs of wine and deli treats, teas and jams, beer and wine.

The campaign aims to raise $12,500 by the end of May which will be matched by Creative Australia’s Plus One.

To kick off our 2024 Event Program, we’re thrilled to be book-selling at the launch of Creative First Aid by locals Caitlin Marshall and Lizzie Rose, founders of Makeshift. Creativity meets mental health in this empowering and playful guide to self-care and well-being, with 50 inspiring prescriptions anyone can try. Join Caitlin and Lizzie for an interactive conversation on Tuesday 27th February, 6-7.30pm. Venue TBC. For more info, email hello@makeshift.org.au and/or thirroul@collinsbooks.com.au Wanting to join a book club? Pages & Pints Book Club meets at Coledale RSL on the third Thursday of each month at 6.30pm.

There’s no pressure to attend every month.

When you want to come along, simply sign up at the bookshop and receive 15% discount off the month’s book. This month is Werner Herzog’s The Twilight World. We welcome you to join this informal, diverse group of booklovers on 15th February.

Bookings essential.

Shop 5/264 Lawrence Hargrave Drive

www.collinsbooksthirroul.com.au @collinsbooksellersthirroul

Visit southcoastwriters.org/you-plus-one

February 29

Beetling About Beetles versus Bugs, with Dr Chris Reid

The other day I was asked to identify some ‘christmas beetles’ seen at Stanwell Park.

There was a photograph – they were brightly coloured and it was Christmas, so why not christmas beetles? Below is an example of the insect.

I could see instantly that the ‘beetle’ was a bug.

Hopefully some of you also know it’s not a beetle, but why? What makes a bug (or a beetle), and how do we classify insects generally?

There are three things in this photo that set off ‘beetle’ alarm bells. Firstly, there are no wings, not even the modified upper wings which sheath the lower wings and upper abdomen and which define adult beetles. So this cannot be an adult beetle.

Here there are short lobes, which might become wings but they are fused to a triangular area in the middle. There are no larval beetles like this, but it’s normal in juvenile bugs.

Second, the antennae are thin but only four segmented – in adult beetles the antennae normally have 11 segments – if fewer the segments are thickened or fused together, never thin like this. So, not an adult beetle but could be a bug.

Third, the killer, the mouth is a long spike. This is the modified mouth and is never found in beetles but is de rigueur for bugs (the photo doesn’t show the mouth clearly – it’s that thin spike under the head going down to the bud).

At right below, for comparison, is the complex mouth of a beetle – colour coded by the photographer so you can see all the bits. This is a

normal insect mouth – it’s more or less the same in most types of insects, but butterflies and moths, bees, fleas, flies and bugs have diverged from this model.

The important bits are green – these are the mandibles, which do the actual chewing, the other bits are for identifying and playing with the food.

So beetles chew and bugs suck. Furthermore, bugs have ‘incomplete’ life cycles – there is no pupa, the young grow their wings as extensions of the thorax, by moulting regularly, so the juvenile looks like a wingless adult. Beetles have ‘complete’ life cycles with a larval stage that looks different from the adult, separated by the pupa.

As microscopy developed, major functional modifications like these were used for classifying the insects. From about 1995 the developmental molecules DNA and RNA have been used, providing much more powerful analysis. The classification worked out pre-DNA studies has largely held good post-DNA studies but there have been interesting discoveries – termites are just modified cockroaches, animal lice are modified plant lice. We may want it to be, but classification is never fixed in stone.

Further reading

See this identification guide with all the important bits of insects illustrated (it’s for Papua New Guinea but works for almost all Australian insects too): https://www.discoverlife.org/png/ identification_keys.html The complex mouth of a beetle.

Photo: Louisa Howard (Dartmouth University) / WikiCommons

Tectocoris diophthalmus (cotton harlequin bug). Photo: James Niland, WikiCommons

30 science & nature

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Tree of the Month

SERVIC ING SYDNEY AND TH ILLAWA E RRA

By Kieran Tapsell, of Banksia Bushcare

Syzygium australe (Brush Cherry)

This Lilly Pilly is common throughout the Wollongong area, but does not quite reach Stanwell Park naturally.

It usually occurs in creeks on the lower half of the escarpment but can also be found on the western part of the coastal plain. It has attractive white flower and abundant bright red fruit. The fruit is tasty, unlike the more common Smithii species, but there is not a lot of flesh on the seed.

However, it is easy to make an excellent jam with quite a distinctive taste.

Because the tree produces native edible fruit (like the Plum Pine, Podocarpus elatus), we have planted many of them in the Stanwell Avenue Reserve to replace the Lantana, Senna and Ochna weeds.

Once they are mature, they are relatively deer proof because they keep their lateral branches close to the ground. They also make excellent hedges.

We have been germinating them and have enough plants to replace the invasive Cape Honeysuckle hedge alongside Doran House.

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02 4208 0403 February 31

The case for casuarinas

By Emma Rooksby, coordinator of the Growing Illawarra Natives website

Casuarinas, or She-oaks, are some of the most distinctive native trees, with their narrow dark green or grey-green branchlets, minute tooth-like leaves and fruits in the form of cones (also known as samaras).

You’ll see She-oaks in low-lying coastal areas, such as next to Lake Illawarra and on near-coastal flats, where the Swamp Oak (Casuarina glauca) often dominates – Oak Flats wasn't named for nothing. You’ll see them along the watercourses that run from west to east through the region, where there's often River Oaks (Casuarina cunninghamiana) helping to stabilise the edges of creeks and providing habitat for platypus that build burrows in the banks.

And you’ll see them among the mighty eucalypt forests of the region, where giant Blackbutts (Eucalyptus pilularis) are often complemented by the Forest Oak or Rose She-oak (Allocasuarina torulosa), which has something of a weeping habit.

She-oaks are unique, with plants in the genus Casuarina restricted to Australia, the Pacific and South-East Asia, and those in the genus Allocasuarina only occurring in Australia. The scientific name Casuarina comes from a Malay word for Cassowary. ‘Allocasuarina’ means’ the other Casuarina' and the two genera are closely related.

Although they look a bit like conifers, with their seed borne in cone-style structures known as samaras, they are true flowering plants. She-oaks

bear either male or female flowers, though these are not particularly conspicuous.

She-oaks come into their own in terms of habitat value. These are outstanding habitat species, providing shelter, shade and food for a range of birds, insects and other creatures. The endangered Glossy-black Cockatoo, for example, feeds almost exclusively on the fruit of the Forest Oak and the Black She-oak (Allocasuarina littoralis).

She-oaks are also outstanding hosts for a range of epiphytic plants (plants that grow on other plants) and a single old tree can be home to dozens or hundreds of individual Birds Nest Ferns (Asplenium australasicum), Elkhorn Ferns (Platycerium bifurcatum), Orange Blossom Orchids (Sarcochilus falcatus) and Tongue Orchids (Dendrobium linguiforme), just to name a few.

Some species of orchid – such as the Pencil Orchid, or Rat’s Tail Orchid (Dendrobium teretifolium) – have a strong preference for growing on certain She-oak species.

Despite their importance as habitat species, She-oaks are often considered a ‘problem plant’ in urban areas. Unfortunately, they are often subject to vandalism by people who don’t understand their ecological significance and see them only as an obstruction to their water view.

Perhaps if more people understood how many other species depend on She-oaks, we’d collectively let them be in the areas they choose to grow.

More info at blog.growingillawarranatives.org.

Editor’s note: Congratulations to Emma!

At the 2024 City of Wollongong Awards on January 19, Emma – who chairs Landcare Illawarra – received the Environmental Achievement award.

Above: A stunning River Oak near a creek in the Dapto area. Photo: Leon Fuller.

Right: This picture shows a Pencil Orchid in massive flower, growing as an epiphyte on a Swamp Oak. Swamp Oak is the preferred host for Pencil Orchid in New South Wales and areas of She-oak vegetation that are protected from poachers can have trees that are more or less covered in this and other orchid species.

Photo: Carl Glaister

32 science & nature

Tree vandals hit Bulli

By Genevieve Swart

On January 5, a reader shared photos of a series of sad stumps where once were trees at Bulli.

“Overnight, someone has chainsawed the casuarinas … in the protected area near the big steps entrance to Macauley’s on Aragan Ct/ Garaban Ct,” she wrote. “They have just been cut, the sap is still wet. So sad and depressing.”

A Wollongong City Council spokesperson said the vandalism was disappointing. “The native vegetation in this area is managed collaboratively

by Illawarra Local Aboriginal Land Council and Council,” the spokesperson said.

“Tree vandalism of any kind impacts not only our environment but our community who we know love and appreciate our natural spaces.”

Council was investigating and fines may be issued if the culprits are found. The spokesperson said plans were being made to remediate the site.

“This may include replanting new trees or increasing the number and size of signage that explains the impact of tree vandalism and the benefits of trees in our neighbourhood.

“This is an ongoing investigation and our officers have letterboxed nearby residents to appeal for any information. Someone always knows something and we encourage anyone who has information on this incident, or any other incident of tree vandalism, [to speak up].”

Call Council on 4227 7111; visit the ‘Trees, Grass and Plants’ page at wollongong.nsw.gov.au

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February 33

‘Coal Creek’ doco launches By filmmaker James O’Connor

From L to R: Ian Wright, James McCormack and Bob Crombie

Coal Creek is a new documentary about Australia’s oldest working coal mine polluting the pristine waters of the Royal National Park.

Coal Creek is a particularly important story, as not only is it an important waterway in the supposedly protected Royal National Park but it now is home to a colony of platypus.

Platypus used to be common in the park but have not been sighted for 30 years. Then the University of NSW captured and relocated a number of platypus into the Hacking River.

So far all platypus are doing well but Camp Gully Creek runs directly into Hacking and this is where pollution from Peabody’s Metropolitan Mine has flowed. There have been several significant pollution events where pollutants from the mine have washed into the creek, turning the water black and large chunks of black rock and coal have been seen in the water and on the banks.

Concerned citizen scientists have become increasingly alarmed by this situation.

Led by former park ranger Bob Crombie and Sutherland Shire Environment Centre (SSEC), they monitored and advocated for the creek. With additional input by water scientist Associate Professor Ian Wright, of Western Sydney University, and Wild magazine editor James McCormack, the issue was eventually covered by the media, in parliament and finally resulted in action by the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA).

Associate Professor Wright has described the 34 news

Camp Gully Creek problems and the park’s platypus as, “An absolutely huge biodiversity drama that the whole world is watching.”

My documentary was filmed in stages during 2023, starting in March when Cooper Riach – Greens candidate for Heathcote in the 2023 NSW state election – drew attention to the issue.

When another pollution event occurred in August, I decided the story was worthy of expanding into a short documentary. I enlisted a number of organisations including SSEC, Protect Our Water Alliance (POWA), Illawarra Greens and UNSW to participate.

The documentary aims to draw attention to these issues, for the mine to be sufficiently penalised and take sufficient action to prevent further spills, rather than calling for the mine to be shut.

Coal Creek is the third short film in a trilogy of documentaries I’ve made focusing on the damage done by mines. In 2021 I produced The People Against Russell Vale Mine. Then in 2022 Mining The Blue Mountains, which has 25,000 views and led to an EPA investigation at Sunny Corner.

The intention is to draw awareness to issues that are often hidden from the public and swept under the carpet by politicians.

Coal Creek was set to premiere at The Servo in Port Kembla on Sunday, January 28 before being released on YouTube in February. Look out for a link on the Flame’s website.

NIRAG/NF3 report

By NIRAG secretary Ross Dearden

The Northern Illawarra Residents Action Group (NIRAG) was formed in August 1984 as a reaction to proposals to construct 40m high Coal Bins at Sandon Point, Bulli. Since 2020, it has been acting as Neighbourhood Forum 3 (Woonona, Bulli, Thirroul and Austinmer). Residents of this area are welcome to attend NIRAG quarterly meetings. As a conduit for community engagement, we are fortunate that senior Council officers and Ward 1 Councillors regularly attend and participate.

Anglicare Seniors Living Development:

Recently NIRAG has contributed a submission regarding Modification 6 of the Anglicare Seniors Living Development in support of the amendments Your local, experienced and educated proposed, emphasising concerns for construction For local, experienced and educated real of the Tramway Creek/Geraghty StFor linking bridge real educated estate professional local, experiencedestate and advice, callreal Ian today! early because of the traffic impacts on existing Thirroul streets and Point St (and further south), estate advice, call Ian today!

Ian Pepper with traffic calming needed to prevent a “rat run”.

0403 570 041 There are also concerns that there must not be a Ian Pepper ian.pepper@raywhite.com precedent created for the increase to 4-storey 0403 570 041 raywhitehelensburgh.com.au height of some buildings, even though these would ian.pepper@raywhite.com be on the lowest (southern) part of the site not very raywhitehelensburgh.com.au visible from the McCauley Estate or other neighbours. However, on balance, the proposal is a significant improvement on the existing Mod 5 development already approved. In particular there 2024 Property Prices is now more open space for the Turpentine Forest, additional parking on site, and Anglicare would Should Rise retain ownership and control of the whole site Caught in a cost-of-living crisis, with while permitting pedestrian and cycle mortgage repayments having surged thoroughfares, encouraging active transport. and electricity bills following suit, many McCauley Lodge redevelopment homeowners can take solace in one This redevelopment (8-10 and 19-23 Tasman reassuring fact: property values across Parade) has a deemed refusal by Council and is a most of the country are forecast to rise concern to many residents. An on-site Land and through 2024. The nation’s banking and Environment conciliation conference is scheduled on Tuesday, 27 February. property experts are expecting the median house price to jump by up to 5 per cent BushCare at Hewitts Creek nationwide in the next 12 months.

For almost 40 years NIRAG has been working to A shortage of buyer choices and lingering improve the local environment and volunteers have annually won environmental awards for fears of a Reserve Bank-driven mortgage regeneration and clean up work of the Hewitts Ck / cliff will keep prices growing or steady and McCauleys Beach area. Each Monday morning the many homeowners across the nation will NIRAG Hewitts Ck Bushcare Group meets at the be relieved as they prepare for the added Hewitts Creek cycleway bridge to care for the site bonus of a rate cut or two on the horizon. south of the creek.

Next NIRAG quarterly meeting: 7pm on Wed, February 7 at the Bulli Community Centre Hall.

All welcome. Email nirag@bigpond.com

ianpepperraywhite @peppersrealestate February 35

Swimming in the 1800s – a question of modesty

By Local Studies librarian Jennifer McConchie

In the 1800s swimming in public in little or no clothing was taboo. Laws in 1870 forbade bathing in public between the hours of 8am and 7pm.

Solution – the creation of segregated bathing areas.

One such pool was the Nuns Baths or Chain baths. Situated below Flagstaff Hill, it was fitted initially with ropes and then with chains and rings to keep bathers safe in the deeper parts. It became a designated swimming area for women, with men’s bathing taking place at Clarkes Hole, site of the Wollongong Gentleman’s Baths.

The proprietor of the Brighton Hotel, on the corner of Harbour Street and Cliff Road, came up with an interesting solution in 1857. The bathing machine. Literally a shed on wheels, fitted with benches on which the bather sat, it was pulled into Belmore Basin by horses.

By 1912 mixed or continental bathing was made legal in New South Wales. This change led to the construction of the Continental Baths, Wollongong’s first mixed bathing pool, which was opened in 1926.

Top: P02972, captioned “The Ladies Chain Baths or Lovers Gulley. Greetings from the South Coast Summer Resort, Wollongong N.S.W.” Bottom: P20783, captioned “Brighton Beach, Wollongong, N.S.W.” Photos from the collections of Wollongong City Libraries.

If you have a question about this or any aspect of the Illawarra’s history the Local Studies Team can help. Email your questions to at localhistory@wollongong.nsw.gov.au

Learn to sing

By Liz Hah, of Wollongong Harmony Chorus

Singing is good for you. It releases endorphins, chemicals that help us feel relaxed and happy, and lowers the stress hormone, cortisol. This positive effect is magnified by the release of dopamine to further elevate our mood. Singing in a group gives us social connection and a sense of belonging as 36 clubs & community

well as giving us an outlet to express emotions and develop our creative side. Even with all these benefits, many are hesitant to join a local choir because of a lack of confidence. If you’d like to explore singing in a safe and supportive environment, consider coming along to Wollongong Harmony Chorus’s six-week Learn to Sing course from Thursday, February 15 until Thursday, March 24 from 7.30-9pm at Dapto’s Ribbonwood Centre.

You’ll learn two songs to sing at an informal Family and Friends concert on the last night and have brief lessons on singing essentials, such as breathing, alignment, and how to match vowels and consonants with the rest of the choir. The ability to read music is not required and recordings will be available to help you learn.

Wollongong Harmony Chorus is a women’s chorus so if you identify as a woman, you’ll feel comfortable with us.

For more, visit wollongongharmony.org.au or our Facebook page.

How GoodSAM saves lives

By Zachary Houtenville

Otford local Robert is a GoodSAM volunteer, ready to step in to give chest compressions and use a defibrillator in the critical minutes before an ambulance arrives. It’s a role that can save a life and is particularly valuable in the northern Illawarra, where summer traffic clogs up roads.

“Even the best-intentioned ambulance service are sometimes going to have trouble getting to the patient,” said Robert.

“It effectively means I can give someone who’s had a cardiac arrest the best chance of survival.

“Everyone would love to have a hospital on the corner of the street but unfortunately you can’t.”

For every minute a patient doesn’t get chest compressions, or Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), their chances of survival fall by 7-10%. Partnered with NSW Ambulance, the GoodSAM program aims to improve response times for cardiac arrests by training volunteers in emergency first aid and introducing automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in key areas, such as Otford Community Hall.

Otford’s AED is on the outside of the hall, with a straightforward three-step guide on the device’s container, so almost anyone can use it effectively.

“There are a lot of defibrillators around, but they’re all usually operating within hours, or they’re locked away in a building somewhere and you can’t get to them,” Robert said. “This is why a publicly accessible defibrillator is such an important thing, that it’s there on the outside and so anyone can come in and use it if it’s needed.”

Robert said while AEDs are available in our villages within working hours, we need more AEDs that are accessible 24/7. “They are needed from Helensburgh down to Bulli.”

Wollongong City Council said it maintains AEDs at Council-managed facilities. “This includes at our patrolled beaches, pools, many of our sporting facilities, community centres, halls, and libraries,” a spokesperson said.

Want to help? GoodSAM project officer Monika Sitwoski said: “Volunteers do not need any formal training to be a GoodSAM responder, they just need to be willing and able to provide hands-on chest compressions and be over 18 years of age.”

Robert said: “It is such a simple thing … you’re just pushing effectively on somebody’s chest. It’s valuable for your community and it also helps the ambulance service out.”

Robert with the AED at Otford Community Hall.

Photo: Zachary Houtenville

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Office: 32 Walker Street, Helensburgh Phone: 02 4294 9980 Email: lynda@babisterlegal.com.au www.babisterlegal.com.au

For more information, visit www.ambulance. nsw.gov.au/goodsam

February 37

ers to C10heYEARS

It takes a community to produce the news, Genevieve Swart reports

A decade ago, Marcus Craft and I launched 2508 District News for the Helensburgh postcode. We were new to the area, our daughter had just started preschool and I was looking for ways to avoid returning to newspapers, weekend shifts and long hours. Our first edition in February 2014 featured a talented young surfer from Coalcliff; a pet owner searching for his escaped diamond pythons and consultation on the Stage One Concept Plan for the Grand Pacific Walk. We printed 3500 copies.

“It’s very good,” someone said kindly at the time, “but aren’t you afraid you’re going to run out of stories?”

In fact, the biggest challenge remains fitting all the stories in. Each magazine is like a jigsaw of a million parts. Luckily I like both print and jigsaws.

After 10 years, it is stock-taking time. In 2024, we print 11,000 copies a month, have a website 38 arts & culture

visited by 84,000 people last year, a digital weekend magazine and active social media pages. During the pandemic we were honoured to win Meta funding from the Walkley Foundation to boost our online presence and were recently nominated for an award by our professional body, the Local & Independent News Association (LINA). And our charming toddler is now in year 10 and has recently quit/been fired from her Illawarra Flame paper round, depending on whether you believe a teenager or her mother.

Despite a decade of challenges – including Covid-related paper costs forcing a merger of 2508 and its sister mag 2515 Coast News in January 2022 – the mix of hyper-local stories is as eclectic as ever. In this issue, you’ll find memories of a Thirroul street, a surf club’s centenary celebrations and insights into nuclear power.

Cover

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STEVE MELCHIOR – A LOCAL TOURISM LEGEND

jennifer taylor THE ‘BURGH SINGER-SONGWRITER WITH MUSIC IN HER HEART

Helensburgh | Otford | Darkes Forest | Stanwell Tops | Stanwell Park | Coalcliff

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HUNT STANWELL PARK’S SURF PIONEER LEADS WOMEN ON WAVES

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THIRROUL’S GREEN DREAM

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KOMBI LOVE

15 Coast news

THE AUSTI COUPLE MAKING CLASSIC COOL AGAIN

Clifton | Scarborough | Wombarra | Coledale | Austinmer | Thirroul

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HAPPY 100TH

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MEET THE GOLDEN LION TAMARINS HELPING THE SPECIES SURVIVE

Helensburgh | Otford | Darkes Forest | Stanwell Tops | Stanwell Park | Coalcliff

HOW THE GARDEN GROWS

JULY 2021

Clifton | Scarborough | Wombarra | Coledale | Austinmer | Thirroul

CHEEKY MONKEY

MEET THE BEE KEEPER AT GLENBERNIE ORCHARD

Clifton | Scarborough | Wombarra | Coledale | Austinmer | Thirroul

HAPPY 80TH!

FEBRUARY 2021

TOP LOCAL WEDDING LOCATIONS

MEET THE DIRECTOR OF THE FIRST THIRROUL READERS AND WRITERS FESTIVAL

Clifton | Scarborough | Wombarra | Coledale | Austinmer | Thirroul

FAHEY FAMILY CELEBRATES FARMING MILESTONE Helensburgh | Otford | Darkes Forest | Stanwell Tops | Stanwell Park | Coalcliff

True romance

Denise Russell 2515-FEB-p000_COV.indd 1

TO THIRROUL RAILWAY INSTITUTE!

HOW LOCALS ARE HELPING THE FIRE ZONE SURVIVORS

Clifton | Scarborough | Wombarra | Coledale | Austinmer | Thirroul

THE ILLAWARRA

February 2022

Keeping community news alive

THE ILLAWARRA

February 2023

Keeping community news alive

Fit for the future Family business creates hub for Helensburgh

Footy fever!

Surf sisters

Waterfall / Helensburgh / Otford / Darkes Forest / Stanwell Tops / Stanwell Park / Coalcliff

Clifton / Scarborough / Wombarra / Coledale / Austinmer / Thirroul / Bulli

Helensburgh set for huge rugby league season

As long-time journalists, Marcus and I have worked in London, Cape Town and Sydney on national titles, but we are most proud to have established a model for local community news that is powered by the people.

We couldn’t do it without you.

Thanks to the hard work of everyone from school children to business owners to retirees, this magazine is a direct reflection of our coastal community. It has become a mirror of everyday society, a voice for volunteers, small business, sustainability and the arts. Many articles are written by local residents, not trained journalists but all are trusted experts in their field – be it the Girl Guides or the Science of the Surf.

This is the magazine the community made.

On the cover this month are some of the many, many people who’ve made it possible, from writers

Reframing the past The view through an artist’s contemporary lens

Austinmer teens aim for State Titles

F r e e t o 1 1 , 0 0 0 l e t t e r b oxe s / w w w. t h e i l l awa r raf l a me . co m. a u

F r e e t o 1 1 , 0 0 0 l e t t e r b oxe s / www.thei llawarraflame.com.au

and professional photographers to the letterboxing team who reliably hand deliver the finished product to your letterboxes each month (special mention to the Colemans, Lachlan, Alicia and Olivia, who literally go the extra mile).

We’re thrilled to have given many young people their first jobs (and, in the case of one good saver, enough cash to buy his first iPad).

Representing the letterboxing team on this cover are a boy I remember from Stanwell Park playgroup; the daughters of filmmaker Iris Huizinga (who made our heart-warming series of Community Champions short docos in 2022); Year 12 student Caitlin and her mum, plus two dedicated helpers from Hillcrest Village (thank you, Junko and Tony). Otford local Linda – who mixed letterboxing and dog walking for years – even brought along her gorgeous Border Collies.

February 39

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January 2023

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COLEDALE WAVES COMMUNITY CLUB LAUNCHES FUNDRAISING APPEAL

Zoe Bell

COAST NEWS

‘ROCKER’ BOB

www.southcoaster.com.au

15 Coast news

Meet the Helensburgh founder of a refugee aid group

Clifton | Scarborough | Wombarra | Coledale | Austinmer | Thirroul

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Edith McNally

Keeping community news alive

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The Disabled Surfers Association shares the stoke in Thirroul

Join the club

New home for Helensburgh Sunday Social Golfers F r e e t o 1 1 , 0 0 0 l e t t e r b oxe s / www.thei llawarraflame.com.au

Clifton | Scarborough | Wombarra | Coledale | Austinmer | Thirroul

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February 2024

SPONTANEOUS SCULPTURE & A REST STOP

Fun for all

Meet the retired teacher who founded an art trail

F r e e t o 1 1 , 0 0 0 l e t t e r b oxe s / www.thei llawarraflame.com.au

THE ILLAWARRA

June 2022

THE ILLAW

COAST NEWS

Keeping community news alive

APRIL 2021

LOCAL LEGEND RETIRES AS BUTCHERS’ GROUND ANNOUNCER

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April 2023

THE ILLAWARRA

Helensburgh | Otford | Darkes Forest | Stanwell Tops | Stanwell Park | Coalcliff

JUNE 2021

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THE ILLAWARRA

July 2023

Keeping community news alive

Duane Byrnes

Welcome to Winter It’s swim time for the Sea Eels

Read all about it

Thirroul’s Alone Australia star on family, community and Country

GILL LEHN

Helensburgh | Otford | Darkes Forest | Stanwell Tops | Stanwell Park | Coalcliff

Clifton / Scarborough / Wombarra / Coledale / Austinmer / Thirroul / Bulli

While hundreds of people have contributed to the magazine over the past 10 years – thank you, everyone! – some outstanding sorts have done it for nearly a decade: Rob Brander, world-renowned surf scientist, aka Dr Rip, sharing beach safety advice locally since issue no. 1; Jenny Donohoe and Jim Powell, leaders at Helensburgh Historical Society; retired teacher Janice Creenaune with her ‘Time to’ series of talented locals; Ian Pepper, voice of the Scarborough Boardriders; architect Ben Wollen, exploring the built environment; Dr Chris Reid, the Australian Museum expert finding time for Beetling About; and snorkelling/diving correspondent Duncan Leadbitter, who pops in to say Hello Fish when the water is clear. Thanks also to our business writers, such as Jo Fahey, who has documented Glenbernie Orchard’s decade of transformation, from fruit farm to award-winning cider maker and agri-tourism operator.

Thanks to our original gardening expert, Sara Newnham, who also attended the 10th anniversary photo-shoot; Banksia Bushcare’s Kieran Tapsell for sharing a tree a month; Merilyn House of Helensburgh Landcare for being Weed Wise; and congratulations to our website columnist Emma Rooksby, the Environmental Achievement winner at 2024’s City of Wollongong Awards.

We’re grateful to the many community publicists who share their groups’ news each month. Never mind big business or politics, if we’ve learned one thing in 10 years, it’s how much of Australian society is quietly powered by volunteers.

For their invaluable reports from the frontline of local democracy and civic affairs, we take off our hats to TVC secretary Annette Jones, NIRAG secretary Ross Dearden and NF1 convenor Warwick Erwin. Thanks to our excellent board of advisers: SCWC director Sarah Nicholson, lawyer Kathleen Carmody, photographer Mel Russell and journalists Caroline Baum and Brian Kelly.

We have a talented team of freelancers: social 40 arts & culture

Here’s to the magazine the community

Meet the women of Helensburgh Rural Fire Service

Waterfall / Helensburgh / Otford / Darkes Forest / Stanwell Tops / Stanwell Park / Coalcliff F r e e t o 1 1 , 0 0 0 l e t t e r b oxe s / www.thei llawarraflame.com.au

Who we’d like to thank

Cheers to 10 Yea

Fire mums up front

FIRST FEMALE PRESIDENT IN JUNIOR THISTLES’ HISTORY

Our local Tough Guy Book Club

F r e e t o 1 1 , 0 0 0 l e t t e r b oxe s / www.thei llawarraflame.com.au

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media star Kasey Simpson; feature writer Caitlin Sloan; lifestyle writer Amanda De George; foodie Susan Luscombe; arts writer Tilly Kidd. Thanks to graphic designer Rebecca Young (for always making us look good and insisting on including a pic of the editors in this article) and photographer Anthony Warry, who shot this cover, the first one in 2014 and many more in between.

Local news is traditionally a training ground and we’ve had the privilege of helping a few journalism students publish their first stories; well done Zachary Houtenville, welcome Tyneesha Williams.

Many of you will know Marcus, who did most of the reporting legwork in the early years, when the kids were young, had a bad habit of demanding ambulance rides at 3am and the parents’ room at Sutherland Hospital doubled as a mobile office.

Today Marcus juggles editing and distribution (which due to an unfailing sense of humour he calls “lifting boxes”) with his work as one of Australia’s top motoring journalists (“testing cars”).

He’s still the bedrock of our business.

How we’re celebrating

To mark 10 years in local news, we’re digitising a decade of print stories – look out for uploads of past February editions online this month. Every edition makes history (the State Library uploads it to Trove) and we hope our website becomes a library of local knowledge too.

We’re also researching the history of local news and would like to chat to anyone who has been involved in past incarnations of community papers.

Helensburgh and District Historical Society has shared newspapers dating from the late 1960s and – in an age where hundreds of publications have folded around the country – we are keen to hear from those who established such a strong culture of local news that it has survived into the digital age.

Behind every successful small business is an incredible story, so we invite all our advertisers to share their own business histories – whether you’re

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LIFE & LOCAL BUSINESS IN THE AGE OF COVID-19

Gear up for Spin Fest!

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OCEAN PLASTIC PATROL CLEANING UP THE PLANET STARTS HERE

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AT SYMBIO’S NEW WATER PARK

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Waterfall / Helensburgh / Otford / Darkes Forest / Stanwell Tops / Stanwell Park / Coalcliff

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a start-up with big dreams or a long-standing business with generations of family members serving the community, we’d love to hear from you.

area. Where a news publication’s challenge used to be speaking truth to power, now it’s speaking truth to the public. And trying to be heard above the din.

In our Letters page, we welcome all sorts of What lies ahead views, politely expressed. You may or may not Our biggest challenges in the next decade are agree with the sentiment in this month’s poem, Ill financing and fake news. And you can help with Wind, submitted by a Thirroul local. But everyone both – simply by supporting our advertisers and can celebrate the safe democracy that allows us to backing our reporting. share it (and the creative form of expression).

When I studied journalism at university in South In a time of big changes and hard choices, as Africa, during the turbulent transition from always, we’ll report the facts, as well as how people apartheid to democracy, lecturers told us, ‘There’s feel about them. As founding members of LINA, this thing called the Internet. It’s coming and it’s we’re committed to accuracy, independence and going to kill newspapers.’ diversity, to being fair and accountable. Watchdog My first job was at the Daily Dispatch, a may be a term from another era, but we still have a newspaper once edited by Donald Woods, the few good teeth. legendary journalist whose books inspired the film Cry Freedom. Yet even in the early 90s, journalism’s Support those who support us slide from respect to distrust had begun.

This small family business is entirely funded by And here we are today – in a world where a advertising. From real estate agents to lawyers, bumper sticker spotted locally proclaims, ‘The mechanics and plumbers, our clients contribute the Media is the Virus’. ad dollars that allow us to share your stories.

Print may not be dead, but the internet has Our advertisers are directly invested in building diminished newspapers. It has made all truths a strong community and fostering a sense of accessible, as well as all lies. Fake news continues to belonging. By supporting the businesses in these damage civil discourse about critical issues pages, you are supporting us. including the Illawarra’s proposed off-shore wind Thank you – and here’s to another 10 years!

From teens to retirees, letterboxing is a job for all ages – thanks to Junko and Tony (at left) and Lachlan (right).

Photos: Anthony Warry

February 41

Things I Just Do Not Get Thirroul’s Tony Ryan gives pineapple lovers and others a pizza his mind

I was walking around Sydney the other day around lunchtime, when at a set of traffic lights I heard a huffing and puffing behind me. I turned to see a bloke in full running kit, jogging on the spot and checking his smart watch. He smelt like an old sock.

Then when the lights changed, he took off.

What did he want to achieve? Trying to impress people at work? ‘Look at me, I’m fit!’ I reckon they’d think if you want go for a run, do it before or after work and don’t stink up the office. We all know a shower straight after a run never takes.

I don’t get that!

As an aside: I went for a run the other day and after a minute I realised I forgot something – so I ran home! I concluded the fact that I forgot that I don’t like running. Then I thought of other things I just don’t get.

The other day I had a bit of time on the train so, with my quill, ink and some parchment paper, I noted down a few observations.

I saw people carrying small backpacks by the handle. Why buy a backpack with straps but carry it by hand? I don’t get that!

People who buy an extra large Big Mac meal, but order a Diet Coke? I don’t get that!

I also saw buskers and beggars on the street.

Good luck to you, but who is carrying cash these days: let alone small change. I don’t get that!

My kids leave one sheet of toilet paper on the toilet roll, but don’t change the roll, just so they don’t have to throw out the rubbish and change the roll! Is there anything more frustrating than bursting into the toilet and having to find a new roll? I just don’t get that.

Pineapple on pizza? Who thought of that? Fruit with meat? Who has a roast lamb and kiwi fruit sandwich? I don’t get that!

People who list their profession as an Influencer?

Now that’s something I just don’t get!

People who give themselves marketing titles.

I saw this on a packet of my wife’s vitamins. They listed the founder as a Natural Health Crusader.

Crusader? Does he ride around town on a horse, 42 clubs & community

pull out his sword and cut down people in the street because they’re eating junk food? I don’t get that.

‘Normal’ milk has to be in your fridge and maybe lasts about a week. Long-life milk sits on a shelf and is supposedly drinkable for a year ... because it has a bit of extra packaging on it.

I just don’t get that.

I was at the gym the other day and this person got on the treadmill and walked at walking pace for about 20 minutes then left. Why would you go to a sweaty old gym when we have the most beautiful coastline and bush to explore? I did not get that.

Tailgaters who get so close that they must think I’ll turn into a ghost and they can drive right through me. I don’t get that!

People say to give “110%”. It is impossible to actually do that – 100% is the best you can do. That I do not get!

A good friend of mine who we travel with always tries to be in charge of the itinerary, which is great as it means I don’t have to make any decisions. She’ll say “Let’s meet in the lobby at 6am.” I get there at 5:59am and she says “Finally!” and asks if I’m ever early for anything. Well, if you wanted me there at 5:50am, just say so. Don’t bag me out for being on time! I don’t get that!

I don’t get why my wife puts the used cooking oil in the empty can of Coke on the bench. So when I go to clean up and grab the can I think, “Oh, there’s a bit left in here”. After the first mouthful I realise it’s cooking oil. I don’t know why she does that.

Actually, maybe I do – but I still I don’t get that!

And finally. The person who saw a chicken lay an egg and thought “Mmm, I wonder what that would taste like.” Well, I don’t get that either!

I don’t get why people like these silly little thoughts that float around the empty space between my ears, which I then scribble down for this great magazine, but apparently some people do! Thanks to Gen for having the courage to print such a sensational locally focused magazine each and every month.

To everyone, have a terrific 2024!

NF1 Report

By Neighbourhood Forum 1 convenor Warwick Erwin NF1 Meetings

Council has arranged to use the Thistles’ Club rooms for every second meeting for 2024. Meetings are the second Wednesday of the month (FebNov). Meeting dates are: • 14 February – Otford Hall • 13 March – Thistles’ Club House (behind Helensburgh swimming pool) • 10 April – Otford Hall • 8 May – Thistles’ Club House • 12 June – Otford Hall • 10 July – Thistles’ Club House • 14 August – Otford Hall • 11 September – Thistles’ Club House • 9 October – Otford Hall • 13 November – Thistles’ Club House Helensburgh Town Centre work

We are waiting on a completion schedule from Council. Council has taken feedback regarding stormwater flows in rainfall events including video of water flows where the blocked drains at both pedestrian crossings in Walker St can clearly be seen.

Whitty Rd and Walker St intersection

The damage at the intersection has been inspected

by Council and we wait on a solution and timeframe for the works.

Helensburgh Off Road Cycle Club

The EPA requires Council to have all the imported

fill removed and correctly processed at a licensed facility. Council are organising the required paperwork and will arrange the removal.

Otford Community Hall Replacement

Due to the white ant damage to the hall at Otford, Council is replacing the hall and in February will release the draft plans for community consultation.

Council officers will present the plans at NF1’s February meeting.

Budget items for 2024 – 2025

Now is the time to inform Ward 1 Councillors of your items for Council’s 2024 – 2025 budget.

Some of the items on NF1’s list are: • Construction of the roundabout at the intersection of Parkes and Lilyvale streets • Extra parking at the sport fields at Helensburgh Oval • Fencing around Charles Harper Park children’s playground • Construction of new public toilets near the current Helensburgh Library • The design and construction of the promised new Helensburgh Community Centre and Library A reminder: Council elections are in September.

NF1 next meets 7pm, Wednesday, 14 February at Otford Community Hall. Contact Warwick on 0419 413 935 or warwick@stts.com.au

Helensburgh Probus turns 20

By Pete Dawson, publicity officer

A lot has happened since our last report! Our Golf & Bowls enthusiasts have continued to meet and enjoy “friendly” competitions. We’ve enjoyed a walk and picnic at Sandon Point, a visit to the

Museum of Sydney and a short break thanks to a sightseeing, coach tour to Canberra.

Last month some members went on a preChristmas Cruise to Tasmania and Kangaroo Island. They returned in time to join the rest of us for our Christmas Party at the Helensburgh Hotel, where over 80 of us enjoyed an excellent meal and great company. A big thank you to the manager, chef and the staff at the Hotel.

Our club celebrates its 20th Birthday in February. In those 20 years lasting friendships have been formed and incalculable support for those in times of loss or need. All of us are looking forward to the next 20 years!

For more information please contact Lilian, our Membership Officer, on 0408 668 987

February 43

Katrina Venables (left) and Simone Potter.

Photos: Ironbark Photography

Wildly successful Built on a philosophy of free play, Mt Keira’s Bush Magic Adventures has proved so popular its founders now want to expand north, writes Genevieve Swart

Driving through the great stone gates of the Guide Camp at Mt Keira is like swapping the school run for Jurassic Park. Only cicadas scream in the rainforest, but the gravel track does lead to another era, when children played all day in nature, roaming the bush and paddling in creeks.

It’s supervised, of course – this is 2024 – but the focus at Bush Magic Adventures is firmly on unstructured nature play. It’s not a school – technically, it’s outdoor recreation – but kids may learn lots. They can do archery, leatherwork, knife whittling and light fires with flint. Or not. They’re equally free to collect sticks, build a cubby or potter about in pools hoping to see a yabby.

“Our philosophy is all about the importance of free play,” says Simone Potter, a former school counsellor who founded Bush Magic Adventures with outdoor educator Katrina Venables.

“It’s bringing back that old neighbourhood,” Katrina says, “where you would go off during the day and play with your friends in the creek and build cubbies and just play, and then come back late in the evening. That’s like what we’re offering.

But we’ve got facilitators here to keep you safe and make sure it’s all okay.”

Katrina has a degree in outdoor education and parks recreation management. She worked in government, developing and delivering school camps for 18 years. But as her own children grew up, she saw they preferred their fun unstructured.

“I just kept getting pulled into nature play …

I knew that’s where the power and the magic was for children.”

Simone spent 14 years as a school counsellor.

“My background is in psychology, human 44 local business

movement and teaching,” she says. “I loved it, but I find that I’m doing more therapy here, in an unofficial way, than I could ever do in a room with four walls. It’s amazing.”

Mt Keira local Simone and Keiraville’s Katrina are old friends – they met when their children were at preschool. So when inspiration struck all it took was a phone call on the eve of Halloween 2021, a few weeks of immensely hard work, and Bush Magic Adventures began just as NSW was emerging from years of long lockdowns.

“Everyone had discovered the benefits of being in nature and how important it is for their mental health. It felt like the right time,” Simone says.

After about 300 people came to an open day in January 2022 and Bush Magic Adventures began the next month with 16 children.

“We were two days a week and we started pretty much fully booked. A lot of the homeschool community were there,” Katrina says.

It’s grown enormously and today Bush Magic Adventures offers many things: a playgroup, after-school bush play, holiday camps and a term-time bush ‘school’ for ages 5 to 13.

“We see roughly 5000 children a year,” Katrina says. “Our holiday program is really, really popular.

“People don’t want their kids on devices in the holidays. They want their kids outside in nature. So we get 50 kids a day when we do holiday program and I’ve got eight or nine staff up here.”

The staff to children ratio is 8 to 1. In total there are 22 part-time staff, all people with a similar mindset from various backgrounds, such as teaching, juvenile justice and nursing.

The Guide camp has been integral to their

success. “It’s so beautiful,” Simone says. “There’s lots of trees to climb, open space to play games. In the afternoon we often go down to the creek.”

Katrina says: “It’s sheltered too by Mother Geera [Mt Keira] and the escarpment that goes along to Mount Kembla. When we get that westerly wind, it’s just so calm up here.”

Yet it’s not a cottonwool-safe environment, the bush being home to everything from snakes to giant stinging trees. But in danger lies a learning opportunity. Choosing whether to walk over fallen tree trunks across the creek is one example. Simone says she’d hate to see the first decision a child makes alone being to get into a car with their mates at age 16.

“Part of our philosophy is about teaching kids how to manage their own risk. That, to me, is really important.”

Katrina is both an outdoor educator and a sportswoman herself. “I’m really into archery.

“I hunt deer and feral animals – mostly with a rifle, have done with a bow. I love speaking to the children about that – you know, imagine if there’s not a Woolies… would you know how to source your own food?”

You can’t hunt deer at Mt Keira (it’s national park) but there are plenty around.

“It allows us a really good opportunity to find their tracks, look at their scats, see where they come,” Katrina says.

“We’ve had overnight camps as well, which again

is my thing. But Simone’s been doing more therapy stuff and she’s fabulous at that.

“We didn’t realise that there would be so many children who would thrive in this environment who have NDIS packages, who have diagnoses such as autism, PDA [pathological demand avoidance] profile, cerebral palsy.

“So that’s about 20% of our clients now.”

Simone says: “We’ve got lots of kids on the autism spectrum who really benefit. At school they may not have ever experienced success in terms of social interactions, relationships or academics. But when they come here, they’re often the leaders of our program.”

Simone – who also runs another business called Therapy By Nature – is finding local schools increasingly supportive.

“I call what I do nature-based play therapy,” she says. “It’s pointless having them in a room by themselves with four walls and trying to teach social skills… when we’re in a group in nature, you can do a lot of teaching, even therapy on the run.”

In 2024 Bush Magic Adventures is expanding.

“We are going to be doing a Tuesday bush school and bush play down at Dapto and an afterschool program. We’re also looking for a site up north for bush play and a playgroup,” Simone says.

They’re also planning a leadership course and incursions and excursions with local schools.

“Katrina and I are very motivated. Because we love it so much, we spend a lot of time working on it.”

February 45

New Scouts welcome at Helensburgh group

By Naomi Burley, Assistant Cub Scout Leader

Helensburgh Scout Group is excited to invite new members to join our adventures in 2024. So far we have had a great start to the year with our first international contingent for more than 10 years going to the New Zealand Jamboree.

We had both Venturers and Scouts attending and from all accounts they had a fantastic time as well as representing Helensburgh and making us proud with their willingness to take on tough challenges, excellent manners and resilience.

They have come back with many scouting collector items and we’re now thinking about the Australian Jamboree at the beginning of 2025 and the Governor General’s camp in April this year. We want to take this opportunity to give a HUGE thank you to everyone who supported our Scouts in their fundraising during 2023 – they got there!

Our Leaders have already begun planning and booking in other camps and events in our calendar, but the primary planning is always done by our youth members at the start of the year, when they get to tell us the new things they want to try, the favourite things they want to do again (yes, we’ll be climbing this term, Cubs) and we have a long list that we didn’t get to in 2023 that we already have put into the calendar.

You can join in at any time during the year. Our sections are starting back on Wednesday, 7th of February for Joeys (5-7 year olds) and Cubs (8-11)

Venturers and Scouts represented Helensburgh at the NZ Jamboree

and Thursday 8th of Feb for our Scouts (12-14) and Venturers (15-17).

Our days have changed over this year. We offer a free four-week trial for all age groups. If you are interested, just check in with our leaders to see where they are running that particular week as we are often out and about. You can enquire here: bruce.crawley@nsw.scouts.com.au We are also on the look-out for an amazing Joey Leader to join our leader team. You don’t have to have a Scouting background or even have a child currently in Scouts. You might be an individual who is passionate about offering education about nature, the environment and being a great citizen to young children, as well as having fun. If this sounds like you, send Bruce an email and we can discuss how you can get started.

Readers, join the Friends

By Jane Pretty, president of the Friends of Wollongong City Libraries The Friends of Wollongong City Libraries welcome you to another year of literary events.

We are a volunteer organisation that runs activities while raising money for our local libraries. You can become a member for just $15 or $12 concession. This membership enables you to attend our events at a discounted rate throughout the year, where we host a variety of interesting author talks and great food.

We hope you can join us in February for our first event for 2024. Lyn Hughes (pictured) is a

46 clubs & community

local author who lives in Austinmer and she will introduce us to her historical novel, Mr Carver’s Whale.

Set in the late 19th century, Mr Carver’s Whale takes us on a journey from the tiny island of Pico in the Azores, to Newfoundland and, finally, to Eden on the New South Wales South Coast. While the book is about the history of whaling, it has a contemporary feel and explores family and relationships. It is a book that required many years of research, but is obviously a labour of love.

The event will be held on Thursday, 22nd February at 12pm in the function room on Level 9 of the Wollongong City Council building. Tickets cost $30 for members and $35 for non-members, and can be purchased from select libraries or online at Eventbrite.

What will it take to remediate

By Genevieve Swart

Last year Stanwell Park’s Ted Pickering AM campaigned to fix a local eyesore – the redundant petrol station at 54 Lawrence Hargrave Drive. A retired Liberal Party politician, Ted was concerned about the Stanwell Park site and a rise in the number of redundant petrol stations and contaminated sites. “The situation is expected to worsen with the rise of electric vehicles,” he wrote.

“I firmly believe that retrospective legislation is urgently needed to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable for remediating these sites.”

To find out more, the Flame spoke to an expert on contaminated site remediation, Professor Faisal Hai from the School of Civil, Mining, Environmental and Architectural Engineering at the University of Wollongong.

He said, “When a site ceases to be the petrol station, it’s the responsibility of the person who had management and control of the facility to make sure it is properly decommissioned. If it is not decommissioned in a timely way and contamination is detected later, when the original operator of the facility can no longer be identified, it then becomes the landowner’s responsibility to clean up.

“Proper decommissioning may include removal of the underground tanks or at least emptying the tanks. Removal of the tank is the EPA-preferred option as it allows for a more thorough investigation of any contamination remaining at the sites. The operator needs to check the tanks didn’t leak while they were embedded in the soil.”

Professor Hai said the operator and land owner would need to report any leakage found during efforts to remove underground petroleum tanks to their local council and the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA). “The EPA would investigate and ask [the owner] to clean up the site.

Very briefly, cleaning up may mean you excavate the affected soil. Then that soil is transferred to an industrial landfill site to dispose properly and then refill that site with a known source.

“If it is a larger scale remediation study – then it could also mean using some other technologies.”

Professor Hai said the cost could be anything from $100,000 to $1 million, maybe more.

“If the contamination was found to have reached the groundwater, then it requires further elaborate processes. So it is expensive.”

The Stanwell Park servo went out of service more than 20 years ago.

“I’m not sure why it fell through the cracks,” Professor Hai said, “but it still remains the

Advertisement from a March 1983 edition of the ‘Park Parade’ newspaper, thanks to the Helensburgh Historical Society’s archives,

responsibility of the landowner to properly decommission that site. There appears to be some regulatory gaps to compel an operator or landowner to decommission a legacy service station unless pollution has been detected.”

While the site is an eyesore – so much so that the community crowd-funded a muralled wall to hide it from view during 2022’s UCI Road World Championships – it is not thought to be hazardous.

As the regulatory authority, Wollongong City Council said it was working with the current owners, had inspected the site and “found no evidence of any immediate safety risk, surface contamination or pollution”.

Of Ted’s campaign to make the fossil fuel industry pay, Professor Hai said he was not aware of a similar campaign succeeding anywhere else.

However, he said it was not uncommon for companies to come together to form a fund to help remediate sites contaminated by their products.

“As a part of corporate social responsibility, many companies do take this sort of step … So I think that’s something that may be proposed and may be more acceptable to the companies.”

ExxonMobil Australia, Viva Energy and Shell said they have no records of owning the Stanwell Park site, which last sold for $550,000 in 2015.

Regarding the possibility of an increase in redundant service stations in NSW due to EVs, UOW’s Energy Futures Network Director, Ty Christopher, said the Stanwell Park site was likely an exceptional case, rather than a sign of a coming crisis. “Have some faith in the legislation. There are obligations on all of these companies that own and buy petrol stations to remediate them at the end of life. And if not, they’ll be fined and sued.”

A more likely scenario, he said, was that owners would remediate old petrol stations, fit them out with solar panels and EV charging infrastructure, and change their business model to sell more high-priced groceries.

February 47

The numbers on nuclear UOW’s Energy Futures Network Director responds to readers’ questions. By Genevieve Swart

Nuclear energy as an alternative to offshore wind has become a hot topic in the Illawarra as the region awaits the federal government’s decision on its proposed renewable energy zone (REZ).

November’s Ask an Energy Expert: Why not nuclear, solar or onshore wind? article featuring Ty Christopher, Director of the Energy Futures Network at the University of Wollongong, triggered discussion in print and online.

After 22 governments endorsed a nuclear declaration at the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), Helensburgh reader Rod Gruggen wrote to the Flame in December with a common question: “So many countries are already going nuclear. Why not Australia?”

“There are nations that aren’t as blessed with renewable resources as Australia,” said Ty. “There are countries across the globe that do not have access to the solar resource we do, that do not have access to the wind resource we do, that are much smaller in geographic footprint, etcetera.”

For Australia there are three reasons nuclear doesn’t currently add up – timing, size and economics – and the evidence is all numbers based.

Speaking at an interview at UOW’s Innovation Campus in January to follow up on readers’ questions about ‘going nuclear’, Ty made it clear: “At a personal level and as a career power engineer and scientist, I am in favour of nuclear energy.”

He sees nuclear as one of several tools in the box to take Australia to net zero, but one that may only be used 20 years from now.

“All of the pathway information that we are on for decarbonisation of our electricity supply and our electricity industry – whether it’s targets at a federal level or whether it’s the various scenarios that are in the Integrated System Plan that’s published by AEMO [Australian Energy Market Operator] – all of them, at best, get us to around 80% decarbonised.

“There’s still 20% burning of fossil fuel – fundamentally, gas. What are we going to do about that?

“That is where I see the greatest opportunity for nuclear to actually play a significant role in our energy future.

“The fact that it comes at the last 20%, not the next 20% of decarbonisation, means it bakes in the time that is going to be necessary for it to even happen at all.”

Today timing doesn’t add up

“When viewed as an alternative to renewables, the 48 news

timing of nuclear just doesn’t work,” Ty said.

“It creates a decade-long – minimum – gap between one technology rolling off and a new one physically being able to exist.”

Unlike the US, which already has legislation, safety requirements and trained people in place, Australia would be starting a nuclear industry from scratch. “It’s not even legal to have a nuclear reactor other than for research purposes. And there’s only one facility, up there at Lucas Heights.”

The maths to nuclear goes like this: Assume (“optimistically”) Australia takes 5 years to gain a social licence to develop nuclear power.

Add 15 years to develop a national nuclear industry and get set to build a nuclear reactor.

(Source: Milestones in the Development of a National Infrastructure for Nuclear Power by the International Atomic Energy Agency, “the world authority on all matters nuclear”) “That’s 20 years,” Ty said.

But coal-fired power stations are old, expensive and at the end of their engineering life, information already factored into AEMO’s Integrated System Plan. “The remnant life of large coal-fired power stations in Australia is around 10 years,” Ty said.

“That means we’ve got 10 years between coal shutting down and the first nuclear power plant ever being able to be commissioned.”

“Regarding Mr Duggan’s letter … I agree wholeheartedly … the sooner we start the social licence discussion, the sooner it reaches whatever conclusion it’s going to reach.

“But let’s not have the discussion in the delusion that this is a binary decision between renewables and nuclear. Because just on timing, it can never work.”

Problem with SMRs lies in the S

While debate rages about whether Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) exist, the real issue lies in the number of SMRs required to replace one coal-fired power station, Ty said.

“The biggest problem with SMRs is inherent in their name. It’s the S – they’re small. Small modular reactors have an output in electricity terms around one-third the size of a big nuclear reactor.

“A big nuclear reactor on average is around a gigawatt in output – electricity demand output capacity. A small modular reactor is around 0.3 gigawatts, or 300 megawatts.”

Ty compares this to Australia’s largest coal-fired power station, Eraring, with an output at capacity of 2.88 gigawatts. “That means you’ll need either

Source: p14 2023-24 GenCost draft report – visit our website to view full-size graphics

three big nuclear reactors or either nine or 10 small modular reactors to replace Eraring. Ten SMRs! “And if you are looking at like for like, for small modular reactors, that would mean literally 50 of them across the nation.”

They wouldn’t be in a suburb far away.

“We’d need one everywhere. That’s what SMRs mean if you’re seeing them as an alternative to renewables.

“So all of these people who go, oh, we’ll just decommission the coal and we’ll put a nuclear reactor in the same site, and all the transmission lines are already there and it’s all tickety boo … are not looking at the hard numbers.”

Ty – also a spokesperson for the Blue Energy Futures Lab, representing about 30 UOW academics who aim to share their science with the public – said: “The absolute solid case for offshore wind is because it’s multi-gigawatt in scale, high capacity factor, near where you need to use the electricity.

“One offshore wind farm, even with a 50% capacity factor at the Illawarra, is an almost exact match for the capacity of Eraring. One out, one in.

“We don’t need small power sources in the grid at the moment. We need large ones, we need gigawatt scale.”

Dollars and sense

Coming in at about five times the cost of offshore wind, nuclear SMRs were the most expensive technology explored in the 2023-24 GenCost draft report, released just before Christmas.

The annual collaboration between national science agency CSIRO and AEMO is an economic report that gives cost estimates of building new electricity generation and storage projects, and hydrogen technologies, up to the year 2050, and the final report is due mid-2024.

“It’s been going on since 2018 and it’s done by CSIRO and Aurecon, who are an internationally experienced and very well recognised consulting firm who are energy experts in this area,” Ty said.

“At a personal level, I rate them very highly.”

The report uses the dollars per kilowatt benchmark, which Ty said is the best like-for-like

comparison between nuclear and renewables.

“Nuclear is sitting in the $20 to $30,000 per kilowatt range, which means if you compare it to onshore wind, it’s eight to 10 times the cost.

“Wind is punching around the $3000 per kilowatt cost, solar’s down below $2000, about $1800, and rooftop about on par.

“Offshore wind is around $6000 per kilowatt. So it’s about double onshore wind, which is reflective of the technology costs, the bigger scale, the sheer logistics of where it’s located.

“But [offshore wind] is still one-fifth of the cost of nuclear as it stands at the moment.

“The problem that you face with nuclear and benchmarking in all of this is a very small data set.

The report acknowledges that. The problem with very small data sets is it means, in general, people can find a data point that gives them an argument of convenience.”

And finally, the politics

“One of the big problems we face is the desire for a polarised discussion,” Ty said. “Pro-nuclear, anti-nuclear. The reality is this is a much more nuanced discussion.

“For many on the right-wing side of politics and the energy debate, nuclear is currently being used as a stalking horse. The agenda here is not to get a nuclear industry up and running. It is merely to obfuscate, slow down and stymie the advancement of the renewable industry for energy here in Australia and to further the financial agendas of the fossil fuel industry.

“That’s the political agenda that I’m seeing playing out in all of this. And the one question no one can provide a sensible answer to is: if nuclear is so well supported, heartfelt, and such a great idea from the Coalition, why wasn’t it even mentioned over 10 years when they were in government?

“I think that nuclear energy is best described as a missed opportunity for Australia. Had we started it at least 20 years ago, we would be in a very different position as a nation in terms of our energy supply and our carbon footprint here today. But that ship has sailed, that’s where we are now.”

February 49

Your Letters

Get In Touch via www.theillawarraflame.com.au & please aim for about 100 words Don’t let Council change history

Over the Christmas break I have recently been updating my photos on Helensburgh for our local Historical Society, especially the upgrading of our Main Street, by our Council. I say upgrading with a question mark, as many locals would agree, there is now less parking than before the upgrade, but that is another issue.

My main issue deals with the photo I took of the Helensburgh Thistles Soccer Club that now has a Rex Jackson Oval sign on it. This Oval was NEVER called Rex Jackson Oval. That belongs to the Rugby League Oval, which Rex helped to acquire when he was a member of State Parliament back in the early 1970s.

As good a man he was for the development of our town and the Garrawarra Centre, Rex never touched a soccer ball in his life. He was a true Rugby League man through and through. The only round balls Rex was interested in were Cricket and Snooker.

The Soccer Oval was and always will be to true Thistle players and supporters “THISTLE PARK”.

It has been Thistle Park since the Club developed the ground back in the early 1900s, long before Rex was born or moved to Helensburgh. There used to be a metal sign on the Walker St entrance to the oval made by the coalmine workshop and painted

by Billy Pearson back in the 1950s. It was a yellow sign with a purple and green Thistle with black writing, when the ground ran east to west with a dirt cycle track around it. The sign was still there in 1983, but disappeared some time afterwards.

Let’s not let a Council dictate and change the history of our town for their convenience, please.

These historical facts should not be tampered with as they are part of our local history.

– Jim Powell, local historian & Thistle Club Life Member

Thanks to the Flame team

I love getting my copy each month delivered to my letterbox. My letterbox needs to get an upgrade in its signage. I proudly distribute the Flame to my other artist friends from outside the area.

I feel so lucky to live on the Illawarra Cultural Coast (Bulli Pass to Helensburgh).

– Judy Bourke, from Australia’s Cultural Coast in Dharawal Country Thanks from Otford Brigade

Otford Rural Fire Brigade would like to acknowledge the continued support provided to our brigade by the Helensburgh Hotel and its patrons during the Christmas Raffles of December 2023. The Hotel always donates a generous prize pool of Christmas hams, meat trays, hotel vouchers and children’s toys to make the raffles special and we thank the Hotel’s patrons for their ongoing support in purchasing tickets.

Congratulations to all the winners in 2023 and our brigade hopes to see you all again in 2024.

– Paul Rustomji, Vice President, Otford Rural Fire Brigade Re: Why not nuclear

Your correspondent Rod Gruggen asks why not nuclear in December 2023, claiming that world technology is available now. This assertion is only correct regarding traditional large nuclear power stations, from which electricity is far dearer than from wind and solar, even when combined with storage. The often mentioned small modular reactors don’t exist commercially and are not a like-for-like replacement for coal.

I am not opposed to the Government lifting the ban on nuclear generation and putting all the necessary safety regulations in place. I am, however, confident that no nuclear power station would ever be built in Australia.

– David Havyatt, Corrimal Ill Wind

No place for romance, space for soul, No distant view to make us whole.

No darkling sea to contemplate – 50 news

Just blinking lights for ships to navigate.

Now, having trashed so much with coal and oil, You look for other commons to despoil.

And, so, you press this desperate solution: Replace the filth of fossil fuels with visual pollution.

To win the public’s lost affections, You’ll seize upon these huge erections, And promise jobs, find climate lies To justify your enterprise (Though everybody understands The wealth will stay in private hands And, lest there be some overreach, You’ll farm no wind off Bondi Beach), Delude yourself each hulking tower Will serve to keep you, too, in power.

Preserve the Earth? But at what cost If nature’s greatest pleasures may be lost?

Can this be really someone’s proudest boast: We’ll save the planet if we f*** the coast!

– shared by John Anderson, Thirroul Re: The Why of Offshore Wind

Thanks for publishing the excellent article in the Flame Jan24 – Page 34, “The why of offshore wind”.

Probably the most precise explanation of offshore wind farms I have read so far.

It really is a no brainer. I just hope it with be scoped, well designed, funded and implemented for the best possible outcome.

– Tony Horneman, Bulli

Last year’s CAOW rally.

Photo: Kramer Photography / Above Down Under

Public events planned

By Genevieve Swart

Both sides of the offshore wind farm debate have been promoting events for the public this year.

This follows 2023’s big offshore wind protest, when more than 1000 people attended the Coalition Against Offshore Wind (CAOW) rally at Flagstaff Hill on October 29.

After a lull over the holiday season, various groups were gearing up for events in 2024.

No Offshore Wind Farms Illawarra – the public Facebook group with 8.3K members – listed two events: a Canberra protest linked to a ‘National Rally Against Reckless Renewables’ on February 6 and a Community Coastal Walk at Warilla on January 27. “Wear your ‘No Offshore’ shirt or any blue shirt to show unity and spark conversations,” event organisers posted. “It’s a great opportunity to raise awareness and stand together.” The ‘Walk and Talk’ series has also taken place in Shellharbour.

On the other side of the issue, the Yes 2

Renewables Alliance planned to hold a Family Fun Day at Wollongong’s Osborne Park from 11am1pm on Sunday, February 4. Organisers were promising to share information, art installations and free ice-cream for children (“Keep our kids cool while we fight to cool our planet!”)

At press time, the Illawarra was awaiting a decision on its offshore renewable energy zone by the Minister for Climate Change and Energy.

The proposed area covers 1461km2 and extends offshore of Wombarra in the north to Kiama in the south. A 94-day consultation period closed last year on 15 November.

The government says the zone has a potential power generation of 4.2GW and may create 2500 jobs during construction and 1250 ongoing jobs.

For updates: www.dcceew.gov.au/energy/ renewable/offshore-wind/areas/illawarra

February 51

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Inside Maxwell The Studio Stanwell Park graphic designer April Boughton is the director of Maxwell The Studio, a name inspired by her childhood home in the 2508 district.

“My business is named after the street I grew up on in Stanwell Park,” April said.

“For most of my childhood and into my early 20s it was the place of all my creativity and big ideas, from primary school ‘show and tell’, high school major works and later my university major work.

“It was my way of paying homage to the space that led me here.”

April – who studied a Bachelor of Creative Arts at the University of Wollongong – has been running her own design studio for almost two years. “At Maxwell The Studio we specialise in Brand, Print and Digital Design across a range of industries and sectors.

“From a young age, I was captivated by the world of business and the possibilities of the creative industry. At 16, I embarked on a small-scale photography venture, which not only honed my skills but also ignited my interest in business and working with people.

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Teagan tips Japan as hot ticket

By Genevieve Swart

Local residents are dreaming of the Land of the Rising Sun in 2024.

“The hottest destination for 2024 so far has been Japan,” said Teagan Underwood, a 28-year-old Helensburgh local who runs her own small business travel agency, Teagan-Travel Managers.

Driving the demand, she said, are its “cherry blossom beauty, timeless traditions, mouthwatering cuisine, thrilling snow sports, futuristic cities and unparalleled hospitality”.

“You can explore the perfect blend of ancient charm and modern marvels. It’s the perfect trip for the whole family!”

Feeling inspired? Thanks to Teagan for taking the time to tell us more about her work.

Please tell us a bit about yourself.

I have been a travel agent for over eight years, and

I have been lucky enough to have visited 40+ countries. My favourite country to visit at the moment would have to be Japan!

Before I was a travel agent, I was an early childhood educator. I also have two chihuahuas, Oreo and LeBron – they are very spoiled.

How did your business begin?

I started travelling the week after I finished high school and, safe to say, I got bitten by the travel bug.

I found I was booking all my friends and family's trips already and constantly researching holidays to find the best deals. So I decided to become a travel agent! During Covid, the company I worked for went bankrupt. I tried a few new roles after this but missed being a travel agent every single day.

I decided to come back to being a travel agent but this time for myself with my very own business.

Best part of your job?

Finding my clients better deals compared to online and seeing their happy faces when they are travelling.

Rockpool Ramble With Amanda De George

It’s been a slow start to the year, animal wise. The weather has kept us sticking close to home and when we have ventured out, looking for koalas and other fluffy creatures, they haven’t cooperated.

A visit to my favourite rock pools also didn’t turn up much. A sea hare or two, loads of sea snails, of course, but the odd weather seemed to have been making its impact there as well with the usual suspects hiding away or perhaps having moved further out.

I had gone into 2024 with my theme for the year as ‘thrive’ and it’s started off with a more ‘passive’ vibe. And that’s okay. Sometimes the most passive of creatures actually provide us with fascinating encounters, including two such animals that I found locked in a silent, but deadly embrace.

After coming up otherwise empty handed, I decided to spend time with the abundant Actinia tenebrosa, the Red Waratah Anemones.

As striking as their namesake, they spend low tide turned in on themselves, appearing as red blobs to ensure they don’t dry out before the tide returns. But when I was there, their tentacles covered with microscopic stinging cells called nematocysts were unfurled, reaching out to catch plankton and small fish, which they then pull into

their mouth to feed. Incidentally their babies, looking like miniature versions of the adults, pop out of the same mouth!

But something caught my eye, a splash of bright blue amongst the reds of the anemone garden; a blue bottle. Its own nematocyst-covered tentacle was being held tightly by the tentacles of one anemone while the tip of the long blue ribbon was in the mouth of another. And there they stayed, locked together.

I don’t know how this one ended. Did the anemone spit out the bluebottle, freeing it to the rising tide? Or did another animal eat it as it was.

February 59

Coalcliff celebrates centenary!

The surf club is honouring 100 years of surf lifesaving and community stories, writes Brigid Collaery

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Over the past year, we’ve been gathering photos and stories from community members about Coalcliff Surf Life Saving Club. What has emerged are some fascinating stories about this vibrant community surf club.

Before 1970, the surf club was mostly made up of working families from south Sydney suburbs who first had tents, and then shacks, as weekenders at Coalcliff. In the club’s early days, very few families had cars so most would travel down to Coalcliff on the steam train on a Friday afternoon after school. Jimmy Dalmer, the club’s longestserving current (and still very active) member, described his mum preparing the bags and food for the weekend on a Friday while the kids were at school, and the family meeting up with his father at Mortdale or Hurstville station before climbing aboard the steam train to Coalcliff for the weekend.

Many of the families hailed from Botany, Tempe and Mascot, Kogarah, Bexley and Rockdale.

At its peak, there were 110 shacks at the Coalcliff ‘camp’, so the population at Coalcliff really swelled on the weekends from the 25 or so coal-miners’ households. Jimmy and his wife Jenny, whose family was also part of the surf club from when she was a child, describe Friday nights with everyone getting together in the club house. There was a record player, a piano and table tennis. During the day, everyone would be swimming and surfing and the active patrol members (men and boys only back then) would be doing their surf life saving training and drills. On Saturday nights the clubhouse would fill for dancing and fun, and the adults would play Housie (Bingo).

Once you were at Coalcliff, everyone would just join in whatever was happening at the beach, and the clubhouse was really the hub of the community.

The only fresh water available was from the surf club tanks and you had to be a club member to 60 sport & leisure

1. Coalcliff surf boat crew, early 1960s, photo: Billy Rushton. 2. Coalcliff beach life, 1960s, photo courtesy Bob Colhoun. 3. The early days of the club, families in their Sunday best, circa 1930s, courtesy of Dave & Mary. 4. Doreen Perfect at the back of Coalcliff’s first surf boat, 1930/40s, courtesy of Frank Perfect. 5. Families in front of the clubhouse, 1960s, photo: Ian ‘Stinger’ Rae. 6. The shop, 1940s, courtesy of Frank Perfect.

access the water, so every family was a member!

On a Saturday morning, the ‘Iceman’ would beep his horn at Robie’s shop on Paterson Road and the kids would race across the beach with a sugar bag to collect a block of ice for the ice chest to keep food cool for the weekend.

Shack life was busy with carrying water back from the tanks, washing in tubs, filling the kerosene fridges and stoves, and cooking on a primus stove.

The shacks were rustic with painted hessian walls lined with unbleached calico.

There were community pan toilets in two locations at Coalcliff and the ‘shit-carters’ would come by in a truck to take the cans away.

On Sundays, everyone would be on the 5pm steam train back to their suburb. Jimmy recalls the train driver would sound the horn when nearing a tunnel so passengers could close the windows to avoid coal soot blowing back into the carriages.

In 1967, this idyllic weekend lifestyle came to an end for most of the camp families when, despite 15 years of opposition from the Coalcliff shack community, Council ordered the demolition of the shacks. It was the end of an era.

After that, active club members built a bunkhouse behind the surf club so they could continue to come down for weekend patrols.

Only a few of the families bought places at Coalcliff. Jenny’s parents, who were close to

2

retirement at this time, bought a house in Coalcliff so her family were lucky enough to move down there permanently. To this day, those who spent their weekends at Coalcliff in their younger years keep in touch and visit Coalcliff. Some former members have had their ashes scattered at this ‘place in the sun’ that is full of happy memories.

Today Coalcliff is a small, active surf club despite the camp being long gone. This centenary year, we have plenty on to keep us and the community busy.

One of the great things about surf clubs is their intergenerational nature, which is very special in what can be quite a ‘connected’ but disconnected society. At Coalcliff, we have five-year-olds up to 85-year-olds actively involved on the beach and in the club in some way.

In February, we’re kicking off with the Dave Winner Beach to Bombie Swim on Sunday 4th of February, which is open to the public and is also the first swim back after the break for our Ocean Swim Club. We welcome all members of the public to join the Beach to Bombie Swim, at which there will also be a special Lifeguards category.

Our special centenary dinner will take place on Saturday, 17 February at Panorama House, and anyone connected to Coalcliff is welcome to book a ticket. The next day, Sunday, 18 February, our Ocean Swim Club will be doing a Rainbow Swim – and there’s still more!

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Come and join us and check out our events at www.coalcliffslsc.com.au

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WHAT’S ON AT COALCLIFF SLSC February to April || Nippers & Ocean Swim Club continues fortnightly Sunday 4 February || Dave Winner Beach to Bombie Swim Saturday 17 February || Centenary Dinner

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Sunday 18 February || Ocean Swim Club Rainbow Swim Friday 15 March || Benji & the Saltwater Sound System – The Bombie @ Coledale RSL More info on Facebook and at coalcliffslsc.com.au February 61

Time

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1.55 0.36 1.64 0 1.37 0.50 1.310.54 1.450.48 0127 0209 0.590246 0112 0133 0.630236 1.640115 0001 0115 0.59 0537 0039 1.47 1.16 0640 0055 0624 0029 1.69 0219 0324 0.52 1.99 0.49 1 0.46 1.79 0.651.75 0.581.68 1219 0557 0.61 0.64 1344 0633 1322 0642 0.32 0800 0836 1.650919 0731 0827 1.570900 0.440759 0647 0704 1.68 0857 0945 1.24TH 1.14 1.73 1304 1.36 1236 1.30 1.14 1.57 1920 1.25 1448 0.38 1411 0.431535 1.111453 1347 0.36 1548 0.32 0.27 0.07 1617 0.34 0 FR 1429 FR SU SA 1419 TU 1253 TH TH MO 1222 TH FR SU MO 1930 WE SU 1755 WE SA 1605 SU 0.54 1.41 0.67 1 19352043 0.24 1.22 0.491.20 1836 0.541.35 1938 1930 1.18 2339 1914 0.54 0.43 2043 2027 1.232201 2014 1945 1.322137 2139 2216

22 16 10

7 1

7 125 22 16 10

7 125 22 16 10

7

1.40 0.47 1.54 0.31 1.58 0 1.330.52 1.450.47 0209 0308 0.550339 0153 0231 0.570330 0625 0122 1.57 1.18 0046 0148 0.580205 0100 0200 0.52 0046 0109 0.52 0400 0300 17 11 17 11 17 11 2 0644 226 226 23 23 8 23 0800 0.69 0734 0.63 0736 0.518 0958 0.578 0945 0.548 0838 1.681008 0809 1.600948 1316 0.50 0.68 0730 1.690846 0740 1.81 0719 1.81 2.00 1018 1.64 1 1.89 0934 1.75 PORT KEMBLA – NEW SOUTH WALES

Port Kembla Tidal Chart 2024

1350 1.25 1322 1.20 1.56TH 1.10FR 1.05 1520 0.351649 1441 0.401616 1.15 1.48 0.38 1435 0.23 1409 0.21 0.06 1645 0.36 0 0.18 1622 0.31 WE 1346 SA 1543 SU 1539 TU 1301 FR FR SAMO FR SA MO MO 1856 TU 1431 SU MO TH 1540 1952 0.46 2019 2022 0.611.39 0.33 1.26 0.63 1.47 0.75 1 2115 2123 1.282248 2045 2047 1.382222 2029 2008 1.26 2008 1912 1.36 2215 2247 LAT 34° 29ʼ S1.142132 LONG 150° 55ʼ0.55 E 1.23

1.53 0.29 0339 1.52 0 0210 1.44 0250 1.350.51 1.440.48 0230Local 0.520423 0027Times 0.53 1.20 0135 0245 0.56of 0154 0.44 0143 0156 0.41 0247 0414 0.510432 0257 0.43 0339 0436 and Heights High and Low Waters Time February 2024 18 18 3 18 3 3 24 9 24 24 12 27 12 27 12 1124 0.569 1104 0.569 0738 0846 0.579 0910 0.71 0840 0.65 0844 1.601038 0712 1.68 0.72 0816 1.730934 0830 1.92 0811 1.91 0913 1.691056 1050 1.58 1.96 1010 1.74 1.94 1 MARCH APRIL FEBRUARY UARY

1.04SA 1.05TU 1.38FR 1448 1.15 1422 1.10 1508 0.39 0.38 1.39 0.34 1521 0.13 1453 0.13 1549 0.341731 1711 0.38 0.12 1654 0.32 0.10 0 SU 1712 MO 1710 WE 1346 TH 1446 SA SA SU TU SU TU 1406 WE 1512 SA FR 1627 MO TU 1657 TIME M TIME M 1.51 TIME M 2230 0.68 0.78 0.49 0.42 0.60 0.67 2115 1.442307 1.18 TIME 1.182222 2115 1.34 2053 1.47 2145 1.322336 2248 1.24 2319 1.42 Time1.29 m 2055 Time m 2000 Time 1952 m 2033 Time1 Time2101 mM2112 Time m Time m 2205

1.50 0344 1.48 0521 1.54 0.540348 0.50 1.24 0324 0.480527 0.31 0307 0.490518 0.36 02090.41 1.55 0347 01330.31 1.64 0255 1.37 0301 02000 0120 1.550453 01150219 0029 0415 0.52 0515 0.50 191.31 428 191.45 19 4 0843 428 25 10 0115 101.990246 25 101.810236 25 101 161023 11.40 161145 11.44 16 0055 161128 13 13 13 1210 0.54 1006 0.59 1031 0.69 1001 0.64 1237 0.52 0945 1.68 1.75 0759 1.7910.75 0900 1.94 0916 1.58 0919 1.99 0836 0.52 0827 0.49 0633 0.46 0926 07040857 0.65 0826 0.58 0642 0.58 1123 1.50 1044 1.70

1.10 1.23 1605 1544 1.05 1.06 1617 0.34 0.32 0.27 1535 0.09 1534 0.39 1605 0.07 1429 1.24 1419 1.14 1.73 1541 1304 1.361556 1416 1.101817 1236 1.301830 1815 0.19 1736 0 1737 0.42 1714 0.10 1724 0.34 MO TU TH 1438 FR SU SU MOWE TH 1548 WE 1453 SA SU SU MO WE FR1.08 MO TU 1253 TH1.29 TU TUSA WE SAFR 0.76 0.50 0.63 0.71 2216 1.35 0.68 1.57 2144 1.502354 1.202312 1.22 0.52 2201 1.41 20271.32 0.54 2153 1945 2137 0.67 2109 1935 2043 0.24 2117 20361 19302139 0.492203 1930 0.742321 1836 0.542337 2353 1.44 2322 1.25

0623 1.57 1.51 0445 1.53 0400 0.470025 0.31 0.25 0344 0.460615 0.47 1.30 0.520441 1.40 0355 03110 03080.40 1.54 0448 02311.54 1.58 0407 0222 1.530558 02000300 0109 0556 0.54 0454 0.53 201.45 20 201.33 529 5 0957 529 11 0205 26 111.960339 26 110.370330 26 111 17 0148 171219 171112 170624 21.48 21.46 14 14 14 1331 0.46 1300 0.50 1130 0.57 1150 0.61 1123 0.57 1008 2.00 0948 1.91 0950 1.54 0846 1.8920.75 1.75 1018 1.64 0958 0.57 0945 0.54 0942 0.57 08000934 0.69 0734 0.63 0736 0.51 1022 1158 1.41 1117 1.64

1.11 1.18 1.13 1729 1715 1649 0.06 1616 0.11 1600 0.41 0.18 0.31 1645 0.36 1543 1.10 1539 1.05 1540 1.091904 1350 1.251713 1322 1.201925 1.56 1641 1235 1.63 1805 0.48 1801 0.11 1754 0.37 1816 0 TU WE FR 1539 SA MOMO TU TH MO TH SU MO TU TH 1540 FR 1622 WE 1346 SA SU TU1.07 FR1.21 SA1.07 WE SU THWE 0.63 1.47 2222 1.65 0.70 1.26 0.54 1.23 0.55 2247 2123 2248 0.63 2259 20470.30 0.75 2231 20472214 0.77 1.55 2152 20082215 0.552258 1912 0.61 1.391857 2022 2132 0.33 2203 2358 1.27

0037 0.64 0.70 0545 1.59 0.29 0436 0.480115 0.23 1.57 0.460042 0.43 1.38 0.510002 04151 1.44 0446 02500339 04141.35 1.53 0550 0156 03391.55 1.52 0520 03370421 1.540023 0533 0.56 211.44 21 6 1112 211.35 630 6 1229 120.420432 27 120.450423 27 120 12 0257 27 180717 18 0245 180536 31.56 180726 15 15 15 0715 1.61 0649 1.54 1245 0.51 1254 0.49 1056 1.94 1050 1.58 1038 1.8130.45 1.48 0934 1.9630.70 1.74 1109 0846 0.57 09101010 0.71 1124 0.56 0840 0.65 1104 0.56 10561025 0.50 1151 1.57

0.42 0.46 1.10 1841 1731 0.10 1711 0.38 1657 0.18 0.45 0.12 0.32 1726 1.38 1448 1.151828 1712 1.04 1422 1.101413 1710 1.05 1702 1.141338 1201 1.87 1328 1.43 1315 1 1825 0.40 WE TH SA 1647 SU TU TU WE 1827 MO TU TU WE 1627 FR FR 1627 SA 1654 TH 1446 SA1.16 SU SU1.11 WE1.15 MO THMO FRTH 1.17 1.25 0.57 2336 1.421940 2307 1.70 0.63 1.581858 1.29 0.55 1.241848 22550 2112 2222 0.42 2250 20552248 0.602353 22300.16 0.68 1.51 20002319 0.672007 22050.42 0.78 2345 22152244 0.741941

0640 0127 0.31 0515 0.50 0.59 0.26 1.69 0.47 0.63 0.41 1.47 0.52 1.64 0521 0527 1.54 0001 0453 0518 1.50 0624 04530500 1.610112 0508 1.48 0537 03470415 0255 0035 1.29 221.40 221.44 22 7 1219 731 7 1322 13 1145 28 13 1128 28 13 13 0348 28 190.44 191.65 191.57 19 0344 40.59 0647 1.68 1.81 1123 1.50 1.6540.32 1.41 1023 1.9940.61 1.70 1146 1237 0.52 1210 0.54 11571100 0.410731 1006 0.59 10311044 0.691344 1001 0.640800 0616 0.60

1347 0.36 0.19 1737 0.42 0.29 0.49 0.10 0.34 1802 1830 1.06 1817 1.10 1805 1.241411 1.23 1605 1.081930 1544 1.051448 1226 1.47 MO WEWE TH FR SU 1755 TH 1920 TU 1815 WE WE 1736 TH 1653 SA SA 1714 SU 1724 MO1.11 TU0.38 TH1.25 FR0.43 FR 1556 SU1.14 MO 1.18 2353 1.44 1.23 1.60 1.32 1.32 0.54 2346 2321 2354 0.76 1.72 23302316 0.652014 2203 2312 0.50 2339 21532322 0.63 1.25 2337 0.68 1938 2109 0.712043 1856 0.45

0209 0046 1.54 0.52 0.54 0.55 0.40 1.57 0.53 0.58 0.32 0.52 0.49 0.57 0552 0623 0025 1.57 0100 0558 0615 1.51 0046 05590542 1.700153 1.53 0625 04480454 04070556 231.48 23 231.46 8Commonwealth 8 1316 8 0719 14 0624 29 14 1219 29 14 14 0441 29 201.60 20 0445 20 51.81 ©20 Copyright of Australia 2023, Bureau Meteorology 0838 1.68 0809 1.69 0740 0.3751.81 1.41 1112 1.9650.50 1.64 1.47 1139 1.32 1130 0.57 11501117 0.610730 11231158 0.57 1220 1331 0.46 1300 0.50 1248of 0.31

202

PORT KEMBLA – NEW SOUTH WALES

1235 1.63 1805 0.48 0.11 0.37 0.42 0.55 1.13 1729 1.071431 1715 1.071520 1836 1925 1.11 1904 1.18 1856 1.371441 FR SA MO 1856 TU TH 1435 FR 1409 WE THLowest SU SU 1801 MO 1754 TH 1816 FR 1722 SA0.40 TU0.38 WE0.35 FR0.21 SA 1713 MO1.15 TU0.23 Datum of Predictions is Astronomical Tide 2008 1.36 2351 2045 0.30 1.26 1.27 1.14 1857 2029 1.60 1.38 2258 0.55 22592358 0.632019 2231 0.702115 1.28

LAT 34° Times 29ʼ S are LONG 55ʼ Etime (UTC +10:00) or daylight savings time in local150° standard 0.52 0.53 0.44 1.35Times 0115 1.55 Low 1.70 0.41 0.53Local 0.56 0.56 0037 0.64 0154 0023 0042 0.70 0143 00330628 0.530230 0030T 0545 0002 1.59 0027 05500533 1.560135 0520Waters 1.570247 0.51 and Heights of High and New 1.69 Moon First Quarter Moon Phase Symbols 1.73 0830 0844 0.42 1.68 0726 0.45 1.92 0.41 1.91 1222 1.24 1.60 1.57 0715 1.61 0649 0717 1.54 0811 0655 1.78 0631 1245 0536 0.51 0712 12541151 0.490816 1229 0.450913 MARCH APRIL FEBRUARY JANUARY 1.87 1.43 1.29 0.62 0.40 1413 0.42 1338 0.46 1334 0.231508 1250 1.10 1841 1.111512 1827 SA 1.151549 SU TU 1406 WE FR 1521 SA 1453 MO MO 1201 TH 1328 FR 1315 SA 1755 TU 1825 WE0.34 TH0.34 SA0.13 SU0.39 SU 1828 TU0.38 WE0.13

21 15 9

630 24 21 15 9

6

24 21 15 9

630 24 21 15

0.16 0.42 0.55 2007 1940 1.17 2115 1941 1858 1.25 2053 1942 Time 1.512115m 1.44 1908 0.57 1952 2345 Time 0.632145m 1.32 Time m 1.18 Time2101m 1.18 Time m 1.47 Time m 1.34 m 2353 1848 1.58 1.29 0111 1.64 0115 0127 0209 0.59 0246 0112 0133 0.63 0236 01300031 0.410307 00010035 0.590219 0624 0029 1.690324 1.37 0.50 1.64 0.31 1.55 0.36 0120 1.550.49 1.16 0640 0055 0115 1.310.54 1.450.48 0.56 0.60 0709 0.44 0759 0800 0836 1.65 0919 0731 0827 1.57 0900 06470721 1.820916 06470616 1.680857 1322 0642 0.320945 0826 0.581.58 0.52 1.99 0.46 1.79 0.49 1.94 0.64 1344 0633 0704 0.651.75 0.581.68 1.16 1.47 1318 1.11 1448 0.38 1411 0.43 1317 0.191534 1347 0.361548 1920 1.251617 1416 1.10 1.24 1.73 1.14 1.57 1304 1.36 1.30 TH WE 1453 SU SA 1605 SU 1535 MO SU WE MO0.39 MO 1930 TH0.32 FR0.34 SU0.09 WE0.27 TH0.07 TU 1253 TH1226 FR 1429 FR 1236 SA 1419 MO1313 TU 0.69 0.45 1938 2043 2027 1.23 2201 2014 1945 1.32 2137 19261835 1.642144 19381856 1.182139 1930 0.741.50 0.54 1.41 18362216 1935 2043 0.24 1.22 0.67 1.57 0.43 1930 0.491.20 0.541.35

22 16 10

731125 22 16 10

7 125 22 16 10

731125 22 16

0149 0.58 0205 0100 0200 0.520300 0209 0308 0.55 0339 0153 0231 0.57 0330 0126 0222 0.310344 0046 0109 0.520400 1.40 0.47 1.18 0046 0148 1.330.52 1.54 0.31 1.450.47 1.58 0.25 1.530.46 11 26 11 11 23 23 23 23 82.00 17 17 226 17Australia 2Bureau 17 0945 226 © Copyright of 2023, of Meteorology 1.64 1.89 0745 1.69 0846 0740 1.810934 0838 1.68 1008 0809 1.60 0948 0738 1.800950 0719 1.811018 0736 0.518Commonwealth 0.68 0730 0800 0.691.75 0958 0.57 0734 0.63 0.5481.91 0942 0.571.54

1616 0.11 1540 1346 0.38 1435 0.23 1520 0.35 1441 0.40 1359 0.201600 1409 0.211645 1346 1.56 1.48 1.25 1543 1.10 1322 1.20 1.05 1.09 SU 1649 MO TIMES TU TH of FR TU0.41 TU 1431 TH0.18 FR0.31 SA0.36 MOAND FR0.06 WE WE FR 1350 SA SA MO SU 1539 TU 1540 Datum Predictions is1622 Lowest Astronomical Tide 2222 2008 1.14 2132 2029 2008 1.262215 2115 2123 1.28 2248 2045 2047 1.38HEIGHTS 2010 1.752214 2008 1912 1.362247 OF 2047 0.33 1.26 0.46 2019 2022 0.551.23 0.63 1.47 0.611.39 0.75 1.65 0.771.55 Times are in local standard time (UTC +10:00) or daylight savings time (UTC +11:00) when in HIGH AND LOW 0230 0339 0.52 0423 0.56 0257 0154 0250 0.440339 0143 0156 0.410436 0247 0414 0.51 0432 0220 0337 0.250421 0228 1.53 0.29 1.52 0.23 1.540.46 1.20 0135 0245 1.44 0.43 1.350.51 1.440.48 WATERS New Moon First Quarter Moon Phase Symbols Full Moon 1038 0844 1104 1.60 LAT 1.73 0934 0830 0910 1.921010 0811 0840 1.911050 0913 1124 1.69 1056 0829 1056 1.731025 0823 0.56 1.94 0.56 0.501.48 0.72 0816 0846 0.57 1.96 0.711.74 0.651.58 3401.81 29’ 1657 0.18 1508 0.39 0.34 1521 0.131654 1453 0.131711 1549 0.34 1439 0.251627 1415 0 WE WE 1.04 1.05 1.14 1.39 1.38 1.15 1.10 TU FR 1627 SA MO 1731 TULONG SU0.38 WE 1512 FR0.12 SA0.10 SA0.32 TU WE0.45 SU 1712 MO 1710 TH TH 1446 SA 1448 SU 1422 150 55’ 1702 2115 2205 1.44 2307 1.18 2222 2115 2055 1.342248 2053 2000 1.472319 2145 2230 1.32 2336 2054 2215 1.832244 2039 0.68 1.51 0.78 1.70 0.741.58 0.49 2101 2112 0.42 1.29 0.601.24 0.671.42

24 18 12

9 327 24 18 12

9 327 24 18 12

9 327 24 18

0.54 0348 0324 0521 0.48 0527 0315 0453 0.230500 0307 0246 0347 0.360415 0236 0255 0.310515 0307 0453 0.49 0518 1.54 0.31 1.50 0.26 1.610.47 1.24 0219 0344 1.48 0.41 1.400.52 1.440.50 13 13 13 25 25 101.65 25 101.99 10 25 19 19Moon 19 1210 428 19 1006 428 428 1.50 1128 1.75 1023 0945 1.68 1145 0920 1.611100 0901 0919 1.991044 0900 1.941123 0916 1.58 1237 0.52 0.54 1157 0.411.41 0.75 0857 0.59 1031 0.691.70 1001 0.64Moon MOON PHASE SYMBOLS New First1.81 Quarter Full Last Quarter

0.42 0.34 1815 0.19 0.32 1617 0.34 1519 0.331653 1444 1605 0.071724 1535 0.091737 1534 0.39 1830 1.10 1.24 1.29 1.23 1.08 1544 SA©1714 SU TU WE 1736 TH TH 1548 SU WE0.29 TH0.49 SA0.10 MO FR MO TUis 1817 TH FR 1556 SU 1605 MO WE Copyright Commonwealth of Australia 2023, Bureau1.06 of SU Meteorology.

Datum of1.05 Predictions Lowest Astronomical Tide.1805 2353 1.44 1.32 2322 1.72 1.20 2312 2216 1.35or daylight 2139 1.872316 2112 2201 1.41 2137 time 1.57 2144 1.50 2354 2337 0.68 savings 0.76 0.651.60 0.52 2139 2203 0.50 2153 0.63 2109 0.71 Times are in local standard time1.25 (UTC +10:00) (UTC +11:00) when in2321 effect.

The Bureau of 2330 Meteorology gives no warranty of any kind whether express, implied, statutory or otherwise in respect to the availability,

0.54 0.40 0454 0025 0615 0.32 accuracy, currency, completeness, quality or reliability the information or1.48 that the information be fit for any 0559 0339 0.31 0400 0.47 0330 0.250556 0344 0.46will 0410 0.260542 0347 0.52 0441 1.53 0448 1.460.53 0623 1.57of1.54 0558 1.51 1.700.49 1.30 0300 0445 0407 particular purpose or will not infringe any1331 third party Intellectual rights.

Bureau’s liability for any1.47 loss, 1248 1.41 1.96 1117 1.64 0624 0.37 1219 1008 2.00 1018 1.64 0948Property 1.911158 0950 1.54 1013 1.471139 0943 1.75 1112 0.57 1150 0.61 0.46 1300 0.50 0.311.32 0.75 0934 1130 1123 0.57The damage, cost or expense resulting from use of, or reliance on, the information is entirely excluded.

1649 0.061754 1645 0.36 1616 0.111805 1600 0.41 1559 0.441722 1515 0.31 1.13 1729 1.07 1.11 1.18 1.37 1.21 1.07 TH SU 1801 WE 1235 TH 1816 FR SU0.11 MO0.37 MO1.63 TU0.48 TH0.42 FR0.55 FR 1622 SA SA 1713 MO MO TU 1925 WE 1904 FR 1856 TU 1715 1.472358 2247 1.39 1857 0.30 2222 2231 1.65 0.70 2214 1.55 2225 1.862351 1.60 2146 1.23 0.55 2248 2259 0.631.27 0.54 2215 2258

26 20 14 11 529 26 20 14 11 529 26 20 14 11 529 26 20

0436 0037 0.48 0115 0507 0033 0.310628 0431 0.51 0432 0.290533 0423 0520 0.23 1.57 0421 0023 0.46 0042 0.64 1.55 0.70 1.70 0.530.53 1.38 0339 0545 1.59 0550 1.560.56 620002 sport & leisure 15 15 15 27 120.41 27 27 121.35 120.45 21 21 0715 21 0649 630 21 1245 630 6 1229 0.42 1050 1.58 0726 1107 1.331222 1028 1.74 0536 1056 1.941151 1038 1.81 27 1.48 0717 1.61 1.54 0655 1.781.24 0.70 1010 0.51 1254 0.491.57 0.45 1025

1711 0.38 1639 0.561755 1550 0.32 1731 0.101825 1657 0.18 1.15 0.45 0.42 0.46 0.23 1.16 1.10 1.11 MO 1201 TH 1328 FR 1315 SA TU TU0.40 FR1.29 SA0.62 SA 1654 MO1.87 TU1.43 WE 1627 SU WE 1413 TH 1338 SA 1334 SU 1828 TU 1841 WE 1827 2319 2007 1.42 1940 2311 1942 1.80 1.51 2226 1.24 1848 2336 1.51 2307 2345 1.70 0.63 2244 1941 1.58 1858 1.17 0.42 1.25 0.55 0.55 2248 2353 0.57 0.16 0.52 1.64 1.47 0415 0640

0515 0127 0.50 0.59 0527 0001 0.310035 0.591.29

0518 0624 0.26 1.69 0500 0112 0.47 0.63

0607 0130 0.390031 0519 0.411.58

Golf

news

Incident: Finally, I hit a quality shot only to notice another ball lying nearby. Fearing a penalty shot, I watched John Towns pick it up for HSSGC welcomes members, family and friends to 2024. The season will already have begun when inspection.

“Is it a Wilson! 3?” I quavered. published here.

“Afraid so,” John replied.

Results will be forthcoming in the March issue Then in response to my agonised scream, he for the first two rounds of 2024 under our revised gave a sadistic laugh and said “Naugh, Baz, it is a prize and handicapping format.

The end-of-year celebrations held at Red Nectar Callaway.” You have been on the committee with Terry too long, John. You are picking up his traits. on December 17th were another showcase of Our next outing is on Sat 17th February at performance and frivolity experienced during 2023 Boomerang. We Tee Off at 7am, please arrive early. and the delicious offerings by our hosts were Hope to see you there. witnessed and enjoyed by all.

Also, Blotto has been resurrected for 2024, so get a number and win.

Scheduled events in 2024 have been confirmed YANA NEEDS A HOME! at Hurstville and Campbelltown. Next events: • Feb 4th: Hurstville - 7:30am This is Yana, • March 3rd: Campbelltown - 6:28am a 12-month-old • April 7th: Campbelltown - 6:28am. border collie/kelpy Call Tony on 0418 863 100 to register your cross. She is low attendance and cart requirements the week ahead energy for her breed, of the date, and for membership details, to enjoy loves hanging out a game of golf, the great outdoors and good with people & will company. make someone a Indy signing off: Will you or I play a lot better in loyal & devoted 2024, than we did in 2023? friend. Yana can’t help but be special!

Tradies Social Golf Helensburgh Sunday Social Golf Club Robert ‘Indy’ Jones reports

Barry Thompson reports

Our 2024 campaign started with a Stableford event played under perfect golf weather.

The Boomerang course was slow due to recent rain but still presented an interesting challenge.

Dave Astill won The Helensburgh Butchery Voucher prize with 40 points. John Towns beat Terry Maney, both on 35, on countback.

So, John is off to Gallardo’s Pizzeria to collect his prize.

Good to see you two latter blokes are going to have a lash this year instead of resting on your past glories.

The muttered chorus of “Too Late” when Rod won the Helensburgh Driving Range voucher was, I thought, a little unwarranted.

Craig Murphy finished mid-list but was compensated by winning the 10th Eagles Nest golf ball prize.

Garry had a mixed round, won the A grade long drive and then the Bradmans.

It is satisfying to note the growing number of younger newcomers joining our ranks and we appreciate their standard of golf.

For more details, email ccarpetrehoming@tpg.com.au Country Companion Animal Rescue

Helensburgh Car Services

4294 2930 Tune & Service • E Safety Checks All Makes & Models LPG Rego Checks • Blue Slips Licence no. MVRL 17877

Child Restraints Fitted John Hine (Proprietor) 187 Parkes St Helensburgh 2508 February 63

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- Chris & Natalie "Mattias provided great advise on setting the property up for sale. Mattias and his team continually provided feedback during the sale process and are honest."

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