MARCH 2024

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.

Ben Wollen is the director of Wollen Architecture, an architecture studio with a focus on sustainable design. “Only build what you need to” is one of his driving mantras. He feels deeply his accountability, as an architect and environmental scientist, to work towards a sustainable future. When he’s not working, Ben’s enjoying the natural wonders of the Illawarra escarpment with his wife and kids.

Brian Kelly first stepped into the Illawarra Mercury office as the new kid from Thirroul nearly 40 years ago and is still managing (just) to hold on tight to a career he is grateful has dragged him to the UK (10 years), then Perth and Melbourne before a return to the district in 2008. He deems it a pleasure to get back into grassroots stories, dipping a literal toe in the waters of sea pools and a metaphoric one into local theatre or playing bass in a rock band when possible.

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 Amy Harkness graduated from the University of Sydney in 2003 with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science. She completed her medical degree in 2007. After working in Sydney and Wollongong hospitals, she settled in the Illawarra with her family. Amy’s interests include paediatrics, women’s health and antenatal shared care.

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.

Correction

Funding information in last month’s article about Helensburgh Landcare was incorrect. The Centenary of Federation grant was used to restore the original timber Helensburgh sign, discovered in the gully next to the current station. This sign had to be replaced by a metal one, which was facilitated by the Men’s Shed and installed in 2020. This was paid for by Helensburgh Landcare. Apologies for the error.

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COVER Wheelchair Rugby League Coach

Stephen Hewson OAM. Photo: Anthony Warry

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KANE DOWNIE

First flood training for local firies

By Caitlin Sloan

A year and a half after NSW RFS Illawarra/ Sutherland group captain Craig Robertson and Otford Rural Fire Brigade members courageously rescued a man amid rising floodwaters, local volunteer firefighters have had their first flood rescue training session.

“I learned some stuff from the SES last weekend that I wish I would’ve known when I did my [rescue] a couple of years ago,” Craig said. “It’s an eye-opener.”

Otford Rural Fire Brigade hosted the session for the Northern Illawarra district’s NSW Rural Fire Service members on Sunday, February 11.

NSW State Emergency Service instructors taught about two dozen firefighters from Otford, Helensburgh, Darkes Forest and Stanwell Park how to use the ancillary land-based flood rescue kits recently issued to local brigades to carry on their trucks. The kits include two life jackets, two helmets and throw lines.

The training session comes after the state government-commissioned independent flood inquiry into the 2022 flood disaster across the Hawkesbury-Nepean and Northern Rivers regions recommended the improvement of flood-rescue

Austi needs you!

By Caitlin Sloan

Austinmer Rural Fire Brigade’s senior deputy captain, Malcolm Bartrop, has attended countless call-outs during his 45 years of service.

Of the most memorable blazes, he tells me about the 1994 eastern seaboard fires that tore through the Royal National Park; about cutting Christmas Day lunch short in 2001 to fight the Black Christmas Bushfires; about battling bushfire on New Year’s Eve in Nowra and at Green Wattle Creek in Belmore during 2019-20’s Black Summer.

But when asked about a call-out he considers most fulfilling, it’s not a fire that comes to mind. “I

capability across the state’s emergency services agencies and volunteer organisations.

“A lot of this has come out of the 2022 flood inquiries that the New South Wales government implemented, so it’s virtually a flow on from that,” Craig said. “It comes back to the incidents that we’ve had throughout the state where RFS members have been involved in putting their lives at risk to rescue people in floodwaters, but not with the appropriate equipment.”

Flood-rescue training will continue, with the brigades planning to perform practice rescues at a local swimming pool or dam.

think the most satisfying one was Condobolin… helping the SES with the floods out there,” he said.

Malcolm was part of a team who helped an elderly couple with a massive clean-up after flooding hit their farm. “They were just ecstatic,” he remembers. “They got the beers out.”

Another call-out that has stayed with him is the Coledale landslide disaster. In the early hours of April 30, 1988, days of high rainfall caused the Coledale railway embankment to collapse, washing away a home and taking the life of a young mother and her son. Tragedies like this leave a mark on volunteers. “[Then] you had no one really to talk to,” Malcolm said. “Now, you can.”

Malcolm joined the Rural Fire Service in 1979, after moving from Melbourne to a family home backing onto escarpment bushland. He didn’t realise the range of emergencies he’d be responding to. “We go to motor vehicle accidents, we go to help police with search and rescues… doing flood assistance, storm damage. We’re not just putting the wet stuff on the hot stuff.”

As the population grows, a new facility for the brigade is planned on Thirroul’s Sea Foam Avenue to increase storage space and improve response times, but the volunteer shortage remains critical.

“We’d like to have more locals,” Malcolm said.

To volunteer, visit www.rfs.nsw.gov.au

SES session last month. Photo: Otford RFS

How the red carpet rolled

By Nick Bolton, Finding Addison executive producer and actor

It’s 4pm, two hours till showtime, on Saturday, February 10 when we receive a text from the organisers with our seat numbers. They are close to the front and on the aisle, which means… easy access… to the stage… Surely not, we couldn’t win could we? Why else would they seat us here?

It’s the Australian Academy Cinema Television Arts (AACTA) Awards, aka the Australian Oscars, and our film, Finding Addison, is nominated for Best Short Film.

Held at the House of the Arts, or HOTA, on the Gold Coast, the AACTA’s are split into two events – Industry Awards on the Thursday and the Actors Awards on the Saturday night – the Margot Robbie and Cate Blanchett night. After a few champagnes at our hotel while the girls have their make-up done, we walk up to security, show our passes and before we know it, we are on the red carpet.

At least we thought we were, until, as nominees, we are ushered onto another red carpet, faced by a wall of photographers.

About a thousand incredibly well-dressed people flock to the foyer as champagne and canapes are handed out. I feel hopelessly under-dressed. It’s overwhelming and disorientating. Lots of tiny quick conversations. Our group all lose each other regularly, only to bump into one another again.

It’s now 5.45pm and we are being ushered to our seats. The stage looks amazing. The who’s who of the screen industry is in this room.

We receive our programme and guess what, our award is up first. Best Short Film. Now our hearts are really pumping.

But first, a lovely Welcome to Country, and then AACTA CEO Damian Trewhella welcomes us

before MC Harry Connick Jr opens proceedings. Before we know it, the two Kates, McLennan and McCartney, the brilliant creators of Deadloch, are introducing our award nominees. Our trailer and poster are on the big screen. What the?

“And the winner is Finding Addison.”

Time ceases to exist. Sound is warped. Breathing and walking suddenly seems hard as we head up onto the stage and look out to the huge audience and TV cameras. Fran somehow manages to do a great acceptance speech and we leave with our very heavy gold statue.

Backstage I vaguely recall the three of us hugging each other, hugging Damian, shaking hands with lots of strangers, more photographers and being walked down long, dark corridors backstage, to a media room and more photos. But it’s utterly surreal and a blur.

Then we are ushered through a set of doors and we are back in the foyer, which is now completely empty. The three of us burst into laughter and float, not walk, float towards a sofa where we just sit in the eerily quiet, cavernous foyer for about 10 minutes in total disbelief, soaking it all in.

We head back into the awards ceremony and I pick up my phone from under my seat. It’s gone berserk with messages. The next two hours sat in the dark having won an AACTA are surreal. My body is there but my head and heart are elsewhere.

West Wollongong composer Damian Lane is sat behind us and he wins Best Original Score in a Documentary for The Dark Emu. And then we get to the big awards and our good friend, Austinmer’s Anousha Zarkesh, has two nominations in Best Casting in Film, and she wins for Shayda. Illawarra Film Society is screening Shayda soon. Go and see it.

For the first time, Screen Illawarra members have picked up three awards at the Australian Oscars. Just nuts.

After the ceremony, all the winners are invited onto stage for a group photo and then we are out into the foyer, thronged by friends wishing us well.

The after party is outside in a big marquee with free bar, DJs and the like, and the party is in full swing. It’s amazing how popular you become with a statue on your table!

We leave about midnight and head back to our hotel for a nightcap. The bar is closed! Well, if you can’t order room service when you’ve just won an AACTA, then when can you?! Ringing my Dad and brothers in England is particularly special. At about 2am, the adrenalin starts to wear off and having lived out our dreams, we sleep the sleep of sleeps. Until 5am when the phone starts ringing again…

Above, L to R: Nick Bolton, director of photography Jess Milne and Finding Addison writer, director, actor and producer Francisca Braithwaite.

Men’s Shed starts women’s classes

By Paul Blanksby of Helensburgh Men’s Shed

There are more than 1200 Men’s Sheds in Australia. Bringing men together, working shoulder to shoulder, helping each other through life. Serving their communities, just like your Helensburgh Shed serves the 2508 area and beyond. One new local initiative is our “Introduction to Woodworking for Women” classes.

On Wednesday, February 7 we hosted a full class of 10 excited ladies learning the basics of woodwork safety, measuring, cutting the raw material, and machining the timber to create their first project, a brushbox and maple cheese board. Stephen Dodd, Ron Balderston, Mike Croft, and

Bulli Pass closures

News from Transport for NSW Extensive works were set to start on February 27 to repair landslip damage on Bulli Pass caused by record rainfall in 2022. Bulli Pass will be closed to all traffic in both directions Sunday to Thursday nights, from 7.30pm to 4.30am. This work is expected to take up to five months to complete. Detours will be via Lawrence Hargrave Drive or M1 Princes Motorway and Memorial Drive.

The lefthand northbound lane about 1km downhill from the hairpin bend will be closed day and night until repairs at this site are completed.

Peter White were the happy instructors.

I popped into the second class and had a quick chat as they worked on their projects. Cathy came to reinvigorate the woodwork knowledge she’d learned from her dad, and to fulfill her dream of restoring a cherished old cabinet. Lou was keen to learn how to do things properly, enjoying the modern equipment the Shed had to offer. And now Kelly’s kids were both at school, she had time to be creative – that new bench will be excellent, Kelly!

So many great stories: Kim enjoying her Maycation; maybe she will go back to work after her leave or maybe she…; Kerrie, learning new skills so she can restore her 1900s daybed, and Lyn, who as a schoolkid wasn’t allowed to do woodwork, but is now making up for lost time.

So many stories. Would you like to be a part of this? Register your interest at https://forms.gle/ teb6pp8oXo77752Q8

Thanks to our sponsors: Helensburgh Anglican Church, Tops Conference Centre, Equilibrium Healthcare, Helensburgh Car Services, Ian Pepper REA, Razamataz Mobile Car Wash, Helensburgh Tyres, and Gary Laker.

The Shed will be holding our AGM at Tradies, on Wednesday, 13 March at 6:30pm. Members and guests are all welcome to attend.

Helensburgh Men’s Shed is 199A Parkes St, Mon-Wed 9am-3pm. Open to all men over 18. 0478 892 485, helensburghmensshed.org.au or visit us on Facebook

Jnr Brass Band off to nationals

By Alan Wilkie, president of the City of Wollongong Brass & Wind Bands

Following up on their success at the 2023 Australian National Band Championships in Newcastle, the City of Wollongong Junior Brass Band is set to compete in the 2024 event in Adelaide.

The band won the Junior C Grade title in 2023, making them the current National Champions. This year the band will be taking on other bands in the Junior B Grade event.

“It’s really exciting to have our junior band travelling to Adelaide to compete on the national stage again in 2024,” said the band’s musical director, Des Cannings. “The kids have worked really hard throughout 2023 and the band is sounding great as they prepare for the 2024 contest.”

Band members recently spent the weekend fine-tuning their performances at an overnight

camp where they rehearsed for more than 10 hours over the two days and were tutored by brass musicians from Sydney and the Illawarra.

Residents of the Illawarra will be able to preview the Junior Brass Band contest pieces when they perform at the “Generations in Harmony” concert on Saturday, 23 March, where they will be supported by the City of Wollongong Brass & Wind Bands.

“We always try to organise a pre-contest concert for bands that are going on-stage at a big event,” Des said. “There’s nothing like playing in front of a live audience in contest-like conditions, so the 2024 pre-Nationals concert will be a really important experience for the kids. It’d be great to have a big audience for them to play to!”

The concert will be at the Figtree Anglican Church Auditorium (4-10 Gibsons Rd, Figtree) at 2pm on Saturday, 23 March. For more details visit the band’s website at www.wollongongcityband. org.au/index.php/events/concert-generations-inharmony/

The National Band Championship events will be live streamed by brassbanned.com, so tune in on 30 March and cheer on the City of Wollongong Junior Brass Band.

Family duo to honour Italian roots

By Music and Tea concert organiser Felicity Woodhill

Music and Tea at Wollongong Art Gallery features Australia’s leading young musicians and provides a platform to showcase local talent. The series supports the next generation of musicians' progression path and artistic development.

“Reverberation” launched our 2024 Series; it was a masterful performance by Adrian Whitehall, double bass, and Rachel Lin, piano.

Coming up in March, award-winning violinist Beatrice Colombis joins her father, Mauro, in a program celebrating their Italian roots.

Born in Italy, Mauro obtained performance degrees from the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and the Benedetto Marcello Venice Conservatory. A versatile, classically trained pianist, his speciality is composing and performing piano music for silent films.

Beatrice performed in our first Emerging Artist Concert Series in 2022 and went on to win the National Kendal Violin Competition and the Sydney Conservatorium Concerto Competition for

Strings. She is in her second year as an Emerging Artist with the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

The world premiere of Risonanze della terra by Carlo Corazza will be a highlight.

John Corigliano won an Academy Award for the best original film score for The Red Violin. The caprice Beatrice will perform from the movie pays homage to the boundary-pushing encouraged by Italian violinist and composer Paganini.

To honour International Women’s Day on March 8th, Beatrice will pay tribute to Giulia Recli with Tre Tempi for violin and piano (1925).

Recli was the first Italian woman whose orchestral performances reached the world’s foremost musical institutions, such as the Teatro alla Scala and the Augusteo in Italy, the Metropolitan Opera in America, and the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Where’s all the housing Gong, part 2

By architect Ben Wollen

Outside of doing Wordle every day, one of my other daily routines is to watch Alan Kohler’s financial report on the ABC news. This is a strange routine that I’ve taken up because I’m not an investor, outside of my super I don’t own any shares and I also tend to glaze over when presented with graphs and numbers. There’s something about the way Alan presents his reports that is very approachable.

Perhaps it’s his wry humour or straightforward prose or maybe it’s just very dumbed down from the actual long-winded, number-driven reports he has to read before he summarises things down to the brass tacks for us ‘hoi polloi’. They’re also very short, and for my modern, distracted mind, a short concise report is all I can concentrate on. If all reports were an Alan Kohler report, I’d probably even watch the question time report coming out of Parliament House!

Anyway, so much do I enjoy these little soundbites coming out of the world of finance, that when I saw he had written Issue 92 of the Quarterly Essay titled The Great Divide - Australia’s Housing Mess and How to Fix It, I had to get a copy. Given I have way too many books already (most are still in boxes from my last house relocation), I thought that the best thing was to borrow a copy from the library. Good luck to that, I requested a copy and then promptly discovered I was 9th in line out of 13. Looks like there’s a bunch more Alan Kohler fans out there!

So off I trod to Collins and, lucky enough, they still had a copy. This was the second Quarterly Essay I’ve purchased. The first was by local renewables guru, Saul Griffith. I might just be showing my age but it’s very strange for me to read essays as well as be engaged with economics. Even the word brings back awful memories of lastminute late-night essay cramming from my Uni days. If only we had chatGPT back then!

Let me get to the point. If you want to get a hold on how our current housing crisis came about –READ THIS ESSAY! Kohler’s take on the Australian housing crisis makes it super succinct. Whilst it took me a couple of sittings to read, it’s brass tacks – nice and easy plain English with the odd graph thrown in. Before I had read the article, my thoughts on the housing crisis were primarily focussed on two things: arcane planning laws favouring the quarter acre, and everyday punters’ fervour for the Australian Dream. Both being in a perpetual loop, spiralling into the great countryside forcing our cities to stretch ever outward creating sprawling metropolises, requiring vast road

networks and lacking in services.

Whilst Alan divulges that these two factors are certainly at play, the crisis is a multi-headed beast, and the somewhat ‘darker’ factor he elucidates on is politics.

Politics to win elections, or as Menzies coined it, creating “little capitalists” who will rejoice in their Australian Dream, contribute to a strong economy AND vote Liberal. You see, in Menzies strategic political minds, renters were labour voting “feckless transients” – a posit that their own research was unable to prove. In Kohler’s eyes, it was the Menzies government that destroyed public housing by moving it from the Minister of Works and Housing and plonking it into Social Services, where it remains today. Kohler states: “It doesn’t belong there: housing is not welfare, it’s an economic right.”

Whether you want to agree with Kohler’s arguments or not, Australia was a signatory to a little document called the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDoHR). Article 25 of the UDoHR recognises the right to housing as part of the right to an adequate standard of living. I know it’s easy to forget things we sign. I’m pretty sure I’ve signed away the rights to my face, fingerprints, my online history and likely that of my kids just by accepting terms and conditions of various social media platforms. But, I would take the signing of the UDoHR as an imperative that the Federal government needs to take seriously.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 122,494 people were estimated to be experiencing homelessness at the time of the 2021 Census. This has a massive detrimental impact on society as a whole, let alone the economy. Perhaps it’s time to take housing out of the social services cabinet and put it back into the works portfolio where it belongs.

PS. I donated my copy of the essay to the Wollongong Library. Hopefully that reduces the waiting list!

Time to create ‘bear hugs’

Janice Creenaune meets Thirroul resident June Summers who spent more than 30 years working as a machinist at the King Gee factory. It was there she perfected the skills she’s using in retirement to create delightful teddy bears. Photos: Janice Creenaune

The timeless quality of teddy bears lives on in the hands of local maker June Summers.

June, 76, began her crafty ‘bear skills’ as a machinist at the local King Gee factory. After training as a nurse June realised, after having children, that neither shift work nor nursing was conducive to being a mother.

“As a machinist I was allowed to have ‘school day times’, and holidays were available similarly to the children, so it worked very well for me,” June says.

The resultant change to the local King Gee factory allowed her to thrive in both areas for more than 30 years.

“Many immigrant women whose husbands worked at the steelworks also worked here. It was a thriving and very happy work community for all of us.”

At King Gee, perfection as a machinist was expected and there was enormous pressure placed on machinists.

“The perfect garment was to be created and nothing less.”

In retirement, June has used these same perfectionist machining and hand-sewing skills to create her teddy bears.

“I am largely self-taught and this is an obvious advantage because the creativity comes totally from within my imagination. I just wanted to have a go initially, but even my first one (which I still keep) was a very good effort. Now after 15 years of making them, I do have my own style and methods.”

June makes her bears from angora and mohair fur, originally from Sydney, but then she had to source supplies from overseas.

“I only work with the best fabric because

otherwise the material can stretch and it needs backing to maintain stability. The highest quality is also the best to work with, easier to wash and clean of any staining,” June says. “I also only use ‘safety eyes’ and the highest quality of joints and decorations, ribbons and jewellery.”

June even includes a little signature embroidered rose and a tagged name and date of creation. It’s a complete package of unique beauty.

The process is a complex mixture of machine sewing and hand-sewing beginning with a ‘fat quarter’ (about 15-inches by 15-inches) and the pattern cut to ensure the material bias is correct, and often double sewed.

“The head is always first, and the shape extremely important. Then the details creating the personality of the bear, before starting the joints, body, legs and arms.

The nose is very time-consuming and very important to the character of the bear. Paw pads of leather or embroidered add ‘life’. I also create traditional bears with back humps and longer arms and legs.”

Most of June’s creations have been given away, some to friends, others to ‘lift an illness’, to celebrate a wedding or recognise a relationship.

“The gift is part of the process and becomes deeply personal for me and for the recipients,” she says. “I remember their response as part of the bear’s development.”

“For me, creating the bear brings comfort, peace and love and every bear is a challenge.”

Janice is a volunteer for PKD (Polycystic Kidney Disease) Foundation Australia. Email janicecreenaune@gmail.com

Welcome to Kindy

By Aiden Karan, classroom teacher at Helensburgh Public School

Helensburgh Public School Kindergarten teachers welcomed 85 excited Kindergarten students at the beginning of Term 1, including three sets of twins; making four kindergarten classes.

It was wonderful to see so many parents and special family members come along to have a picture under our balloon arch to help welcome, celebrate and mark the start of their school journey.

Kindergarten students have been enjoying their first few weeks at school. The canteen has been a highlight for many who have already had lunch orders. Playing soccer on top oval at lunch and recess has also been popular. KB has celebrated a

birthday with our popular ‘birthday bucket’ (ice blocks) ordered from the canteen for the whole class to share.

We have started to learn and settle into the daily routine of the classroom, exploring all the new and exciting tools used to help us learn. Students have enjoyed writing their names on whiteboards and creating artworks to decorate their classrooms.

Teachers are looking forward to seeing how these Kindergarten students progress throughout the year.

Step back in time with dance icon

By Jo Oliver,

with photos from the Collections of Wollongong City Libraries

With Seniors Week on from March 11-24, it’s time to celebrate our wonderful local seniors. Would you like to hear their stories in their own words?

Wollongong City Libraries have been interviewing seniors for the Illawarra Stories website where you can download or stream interviews.

Who remembers the Reeves Dancing Studio? Many locals learned to dance there and some met their partners on the dance floor. I recently interviewed Margaret Reeves about her life and memories of ballroom dancing and the studios she ran with her late husband.

Margaret began dancing at 17 years old. She married her dancing partner Ray and they set up a studio, first in Thirroul then Woonona. Their studio was an intrinsic part of the local community and the dances they organised played a central part in the local social calendar. Margaret made many of the beautiful dresses she and her pupils wore and they had lots of fun over the years. Once, a dancer even fell through the floor at Thirroul and landed in Smith’s pharmacy, fortunately unhurt.

Margaret, Ray and their family competed in world championships and taught generations of dancers. Their children and partners, also dance champions, continue to run a Wollongong studio.

Margaret’s book, Back to the Ballroom, was published in 2023 and is available in Wollongong City Libraries collection and Collins Booksellers Thirroul. Listen to Margaret’s interview at https:// illawarrastories.com.au/margaret-reeve-3/

If you know of local seniors with wonderful stories who would like to be interviewed for Illawarra Stories, contact the team at localhistory@wollongong.nsw.gov.au

Lauren & Russell Aitken with son Bastien. Eila (front) joins her sister Aiva (Yr 3).

Father and Son Real Estate Team

Property professional Ian Pepper is looking forward to working with his son Josh in the local real estate industry

Meet Josh, a dedicated real estate agent with a passion for serving his community in Stanwell Park. With over 22 years as a local resident, Josh possesses a deep understanding of the area’s unique charm and characteristics.

Currently in the final months of his Bachelor’s in Business Administration, he combines academic knowledge with practical experience to provide clients with insightful solutions.

Josh is known for his honesty, helpfulness, and empathetic approach, making him a trusted advisor in the real estate market. His excellent problem-solving skills, coupled with a hardworking and focused work ethic, ensure that he navigates challenges with finesse.

Motivated by a desire to deliver exceptional results, Josh joined the real estate field for its dynamic environment and the opportunity to

Tree of the Month

By Kieran Tapsell, of Banksia Bushcare

work with a professional team. His genuine interest in sales reflects his commitment to achieving the best outcomes for his clients.

For local, experienced and educated real estate advice, call Ian today!

Ian Pepper

In addition to his real estate expertise, Josh has successfully run a garden business in the local area for 4 years. He’s also been an active member of various local sporting clubs, further cementing his ties to the community. With Josh, you can expect a real estate experience that is not only successful but also built on integrity and understanding.

Ian Pepper

0403 570 041 ian.pepper@raywhite.com

raywhitehelensburgh.com.au

0403 570 041 | ian.pepper@raywhite.com

Josh Pepper

0437 790 052 | joshua.pepper@raywhite.com

ianpepperraywhite @peppersrealestate

Syzygium oleosum (Blue Lilly Pilly)

This Lilly Pilly is common in the northern part of the Illawarra escarpment. It is mainly found in the rainforests of the plateau and occasionally on the higher reaches.

It is mostly a spindly bush, but it can grow to 10 metres, and most often is found along water courses. The leaves are opposite and short stalked, tapering to a point, like the other Lilly pillies.

The fruit is urn-shaped and a blue/purplish colour. Its fruits are edible.

Six were germinated from local seed and planted in the Stanwell Avenue Reserve in 2020 but are not yet big enough to fruit.

Photo: John Moss

Friends share studio, new show

Vyvian Wilson

After having admired each other’s work on Instagram, Vyvian and Samantha finally met at a CSA Artists Forum. Since then, they have developed a close and supportive friendship with the making of art at its centre.

and

Samantha Arnull

will present new work at Clifton

Despite very different approaches to their work, both artists share a strong commitment to devoting time and energy for their creative practice, a challenge for Samantha as she balances her art practice with full-time teaching and motherhood.

Such is their friendship that Samantha is sharing her Woonona studio with Vyvian. The natural progression from this generous act was to work together on an exhibition at Clifton School of Arts.

A finalist in several national art prizes, Vyvian’s abstract paintings and drawings articulate her

See ‘Tidelines’

By Rebecca Brennan and Lucy Lee

Tidelines will be a visual celebration of the unique beauty, joy and atmospheric light found in the local natural environment. The exhibition features recent artworks by Lucy Lee, Emily King, Rebecca Brennan, Sarah Rowan, Kristen Tall and Emma Morris. We have become connected through the thriving Illawarra arts community, motherhood, and a shared entrepreneurial spirit.

The exhibition will showcase paintings, drawings, ceramics and photography and seeks to portray each artist’s individual perspective on the theme, which is the natural environment. While our styles and techniques are diverse, we are all engaged with and inspired by our natural surroundings – the bushland of the Illawarra escarpment and our pristine local beaches.

“I have found this opportunity to collaborate and exhibit with other independent and disciplined female artists very exciting,” Lucy Lee says.

Meet the artists at the opening at Clifton School of Arts on Friday, March 22 from 6-8pm with music by local singer/ songwriter Olivia Coggan.

Tidelines will run from March 22-24 at the CSA, 338 Lawrence Hargrave Drive, Clifton

emotional responses to the Australian landscape. “My works speak to the looming escarpment, the ever-changing creeks and ocean. They represent both a celebration and lamentation of the beauty and fragility of the natural world as it competes with extreme climate.”   Samantha will present eloquent works that articulate her devotion to process, materials and objects. Samantha’s practice revolves around her archive of collated and curated objects, she believes “making is a way of seeing”. Samantha’s work was recently selected as a finalist in the national group show Inside this Box at the Cornerstore Gallery in Orange.

Attend opening night of new work at Clifton School of Arts, 6pm on Friday, 8 March

L to R: Rebecca Brennan (with artwork below), Emily King, Kristen Tall, Lucy Lee and Emma Morris. Absent: Sarah Rowan.

My parents’ war lives on in me

By Thirroul author Chris Barker

My father, drunk again, is swaying down the hallway, kitchen knife in hand. Now 18, I have become taller and fitter than him. I dump him on his backside, disarm him and leave the house never to return.

This was the dramatic high point of my relationship with my father. He was not usually violent, but throughout my childhood, he was often drunk and exuded an air of menace. The atmosphere in our home was often tense, like the moment before a storm: what would my father do when he came home from work, via the pub?

I was angry with him, and had become a defiant, rebellious young man. This was the early 70s. I grew my hair long (my father hated it), I experimented with drugs, I embraced hippie values and far-left politics.

Through this, my mother rarely smiled. I thought she was depressed, though she denied it.

It has taken me years to process my childhood. However, with the aid of therapy and introspection, I am now content and free of depression. I realised that my father was not the monster I had believed him to be, and my mother loved me more than I had believed.

My father was a victim of World War II, suffering what we would now call PTSD. He had watched his friend killed in front of him on Day 2 of the D-Day landings. And having lost her father at the age of 10, my mother then experienced the death of her RAF pilot fiancé.

Their experiences impacted me in ways that illustrate the intergenerational passage of trauma which is both learned/cultural and epigenetic (the way the environment influences the functioning of genes).

My novel, Hungry Ghosts, is a letter of understanding and forgiveness to my (now deceased) parents. The concept of ‘Hungry Ghosts’, taken from Buddhist philosophy, refers to creatures for whom nothing is ever enough to be happy.

Set against the backdrop of World War II and the social upheaval of the late 1960s, Hungry Ghosts explores the intergenerational impact of war, particularly the intricate relationships between fathers and sons. It is an exploration of the indelible scars left by war on families.

War continues to rage across the globe, and with each one, the trauma goes on.

Hungry Ghosts by CJ Barker will be published by The Book Guild on March 28.

Library celebrates 50 years of SPAT

By Stanwell Park Arts Theatre president Sonia Westwood

SPAT’s year has started in earnest. We are off and running for 2024!

The Improv Your Mind workshops are underway (finishing 7 March) and what a great experience this has been.

Thank you and congrats to Nurina Simpson and friends for stretching all of us – there is nothing quite like improvisation and ad-libbing to get your mind working fast. And it is so interesting (and sometimes scary!) to see where people’s thoughts go! Some very funny scenarios.

Another source of excitement for us is the completion of backstage renovations at the Stanwell Park CWA hall. At long last we have changing cubicles, excellent lighting, increased storage and more space for the cast and crew. Great

improvements and thanks again to all involved.

And for the month of March, SPAT has a visual display at Thirroul library. How does one encapsulate 50 years of live theatre, musical shows, pantomimes, outdoor performances and workshops in a display case? Why not drop into Thirroul library and take a look, or alternatively you can find out much more from our website at www.spat.org.au

The SPAT Singers have resumed on Friday nights and play readings, an Australian play, a Theatresports night are just some of our plans for the year ahead.

All new members welcome and any enquiries can be sent to spartstheatre@gmail.com

Sign up for a writing workshop

By Elizabeth Heffernan of SCWC

The South Coast Writers Centre has raised more than $5000 for our community writing fundraiser – almost halfway to our goal of $12,000!

All money raised goes towards writing programs for emerging local writers and those experiencing financial hardship. As part of their Plus1 program, Creative Partnerships Australia will double every donation made until May 2024. Check our website for all the fundraising perks for supporters, including artworks, new and rare books, and foodie packs.

Looking to learn from the experts? Book for three exclusive workshops at the SCWC.

On 30 March, join multi-award-winning horror writer Alan Baxter in ‘Pace, Tension, Action!’ Learn all about building suspense in your story from one of the best in the business.

On 20 April, bestselling author Dinuka McKenzie presents ‘Crafting Your Crime Novel’. Then, on 18 May, join esteemed editor and publisher Bernadette Foley in her Editing and Publishing Masterclass. All three workshops will be held at Coledale Hall, 10:30am-3pm.

Finally, on Thursday 23 May, don’t miss out on the launch of Dreaming Inside: Voices from Junee Correctional Centre volume 12, at the Wollongong Art Gallery. This special event will be hosted by Graham Ackhurst, author of Borderland, and Ngana Barangarai (Black Wallaby) project leader and Wollongong Citizen of the Year for 2024, Aunty Barbara Nicholson. Entry by donation. Visit southcoastwriters.org

Hop to it

With the team at Collins Booksellers Thirroul

Evocative, skilful, darkly funny, Thanks for Having Me is the debut work of fiction from local writer, mentor and academic, Emma Darragh. Join us at Ryan’s Hotel, Thirroul, on Wed 6th March to hear Emma and Hayley Scrivenor discuss this truly original new novel. For bookings call 4267 1408 or email thirroul@ collinsbooks.com.au

On Thur 28th March, we have a pre-Easter treat for our preschoolers. Bring your little ones along for a special Easter Storytime with Ellie and her pet bunny. Between 10-11am pop into the Kid’s Section of the bookstore to listen to an Easter story and meet Jerry, one very cute bunny!

NIRAG/NF3 Report

By NIRAG secretary Ross Dearden

The Northern Illawarra Residents Action Group (NIRAG) supports the preservation of open space and the retention and enhancement of our natural environment, European and Indigenous Heritage.

Since 2020, Neighbourhood Forum 3 (Woonona, Bulli, Thirroul and Austinmer) has not had a convenor and residents have been welcome to attend NIRAG quarterly meetings to discuss local issues. We are fortunate that senior council officers and Ward 1 Councillors regularly attend.

At the February meeting, the Council was congratulated on the completion of the widened section of Trinity Row cycleway north of the Bulli SLSC. The additional width has improved safety.

The meeting also voted to support:

1. The Old Bulli Hospital community group campaigning to have additional parking provided on-site for visitors and staff as existing onsite parking is inadequate. Offsite solutions are unsafe for shift workers and conditions along Hospital Road are dangerous for aged and infirm pedestrians.

2. A request to Council and State Government to work together to bring into public ownership Amy Street Lot 303 (DA 2021/1324, approx. 7ha), which is largely zoned C3 Environmental Management and connects the catchments of Hewitts Ck, Woodlands Ck, Cookson’s Ck and Tramway Ck. This land has environmental and cultural value and provides a vital “green corridor” between coast and escarpment along rehabilitated creek corridors.

3. Retention of legal community access along the entire length of the Lower Coast Escarpment Track now that the Russell Vale colliery has closed and the site is to be remediated.

4. The nomination of Sandon Point as a National Surfing Reserve provided there was no conflict with the declared Aboriginal Place area.

State Planning Controls and Housing Policy

This policy is a major concern which, if adopted, will disempower local communities with nonrefusal standards that override Councils’ planning controls even in heritage conservation areas. These changes were on exhibition until February 23.

They have major impacts on eight railway and metro stations with forced rezoning within 1200m. At another 31 nominated railway station areas (including Dapto, North Wollongong and Corrimal), residential flats in all residential zones within 400m of the identified stations, as well as residential flats and shop-top housing in local and commercial centres (E1 and E2), are to be allowed.

The changes would allow:

1. Mid-rise buildings (3 to 6 storey) unit blocks within 800m walking distance of a railway station

or town centres in R3 medium density zones and employment zones.

2. Four to 5-storey buildings between 400m and 800m of a railway station or a town centre.

Blanket “one size fits all” standards have no regard for the existing and desirable character or the compatibility of high-rise and higher-density developments with single dwellings. Six-storey buildings within 800m are completely out of character in the northern Illawarra and (apart from visual impacts) we believe all DA impacts must be assessed such as loss of solar access, overshadowing of neighbours, flooding risk, bushfire evacuation plans, parking, traffic and infrastructure impacts.

NIRAG believes it is too hasty to start these policies in June 2024 as proposed.

1. We strongly oppose the non-refusal standards that override Councils’ LEP and DCP without consultation.

2. We recommend the start of the mid-rise proposal at least is delayed to allow time to properly consult with councils and residents, and consider its implications in all situations.

Hewitts Creek BushCare

On Monday, 19 February the NIRAG/Hewitts Ck Bushcare Group met at the Hewitts Ck cycleway bridge for the annual Clean Up Australia event on the site south of the creek. It was pleasing to see that even with recent high tides there was less rubbish than in previous years. The group meets at weekly 8.30am to control weeds and revegetate the site with endemic species. All welcome.

Bulli Pass consultation until 11 March

$20 million has been allocated for investigation, a route options report and a business case. It’s hoped multiple options will be explored for the extension of Memorial Drive. Give TfNSW your feedback via www.haveyoursay.nsw.gov.au/bulli-bypass.

Next quarterly meeting: 1 May, 7pm at Bulli Community Centre Hall. nirag@bigpond.com

Clean Up Australia volunteers at Hewitts Creek on February 19. Photo: Ross Dearden

Could you have glaucoma?

By Dr Amy Harkness, Bulli Medical Practice

More than 300,000 Australians have glaucoma yet 50% are unaware they have it. Glaucoma refers to a group of eye diseases that damage the optic nerve. The optic nerve carries visual signals to the brain and glaucoma can cause irreversible loss of sight. The process is usually gradual but significant loss of peripheral vision can occur before the person is aware. Peripheral vision is at the edges of what you see.

• Diabetes

• High blood pressure

• Cataracts and high eye pressures

• Ethnicity and cultural background (African and Asian).

Prevention, management and treatment

Symptoms

Most commonly, glaucoma is caused by a raised pressure inside the eye. Ninety percent of cases in Australia are Primary Open-Angle glaucoma, which has no obvious symptoms in its early stages. The other less common type, Acute Angle-Closure glaucoma occurs suddenly, with symptoms of eye pain, headache, nausea and vomiting. This type of glaucoma is an emergency requiring immediate treatment.

Risk factors for glaucoma

• Increasing age (50+)

• Family history of glaucoma

clinics including:

y Travel medicine

y Weight management

y Skin cancer checks

While there is no cure and vision loss cannot be returned, early detection and treatment can prevent damage to the optic nerve and further loss of sight. People over 50 should have an eye check with an optometrist or ophthalmologist every two years (and people of African/Asian descent every two years from the age of 40).

Most people can manage glaucoma with eye drops, surgery or laser eye treatment. In some cases, all three methods are required. Treatments aim to lower the pressure inside the eye, allowing normal function of the optic nerve cells. Whilst treatments help to manage the damage and prevent any further loss of sight, they cannot restore vision already lost, so early detection is the key.

If you have any risk factors, organise a check-up with your optometrist or discuss with your GP.

Farewell, Helensburgh VIEW Club

By Jenny Donohoe, a Helensburgh VIEW Club member for 18 years

Helensburgh VIEW Club closed on 20 February 2024 after 33 years of fundraising for the Smiths Family’s Children. Over 33 years, this small group raised $54,000 to support disadvantaged children and their families.

It was a very sad occasion for all of us, especially for one of our original members of 33 years ago, Chris Hendry. Chris brought a lot of pleasure to many people by organising trips to spectacular blockbusting shows in Sydney, and, of course, these trips were fundraising events as well.

There are too many past and present members to

mention who volunteered on the committee, taking up not one position but another and another, all for the same aim: supporting disadvantaged children.

For many years we had spectacular knitters who produced baby knitting for premmie-babies and over the years boxes of booties etc were delivered to the hospitals. VIEW Club members did fundraising in many ways, street stalls, baking, craft work, and bus trips.

All that has come to a close due to a lack of volunteers taking up committee positions to operate under the rules of VIEW Club.

I have to congratulate all present and past members for a job well done, but more importantly we had a common aim that kept us together. Not only as View Club ladies, but as friends, and that friendship we enjoyed was important to our lives.

Our future has been thought about and I think in March, same date, same day, but a little bit later we all meet again for lunch at the Helensburgh Pub and do more fundraising for the same aims.

I should mention that once we met at the Tradies, but due to them closing on Tuesdays, the pub came to the rescue and supported our group by letting us use their dining room for early meetings. Thank you, pub.

Find new friends at CWA

By Jan Johnston, publicity officer at Stanwell Park CWA

A recent holiday in Kiama reminded me of a trip there many years ago, when I still had little kids in tow. Walking by the park I noticed a group of older ladies at a table with their lunches. They were laughing and talking and quite at ease with one another – I remember thinking that I would want to be in such a group one day.

And here I am! I am now semi-retired and have joined the Stanwell Park CWA where I share a happy and relaxed friendship with other members. We are all ages and from different life experiences, but we come together to enjoy each other’s company. And we are part of a bigger organisation, working on current issues that we all care about.

This year has seen a working bee to keep our hall up to a high standard and available for private and community functions. A planning day was held to invite ideas from all members for social and fundraising activities. Contributions of our time are always fun in the company of an enthusiastic group and the bonus for our efforts is often an amount to add to our fundraising.

For the bigger picture, CWA advocacy is focusing on the road safety issue in 2024 and taking up a Health Roadshow initiative travelling around NSW. Competitions open in 2024 include Cookery, Art, Photography and Handicrafts. There is something for everyone.

We can be found at the CWA hall, 15 The Drive Stanwell Park on the first Tuesday of the month 10am. Just turn up or you can send us an email on stanwellparkcwa@gmail.com

A Flavourful Future

Jo Fahey reports from Darkes Glenbernie Orchard

Recently there has been much media discussion about the viable options farmers have for selling their produce. There seems to be a big disconnect between what the farmer is paid and the final price of fruit and veg at the supermarket. Our farm is no different from those you may have heard about in the media and has had to change focus. We are shifting from growing a limited selection of varieties to a more diverse range, including some specialist cider varieties. This opens the doors to exploring unique flavours that make exciting juice blends and ciders, as well as innovative jams and sauces. We are looking for new tastes. Imagine a nectarine wine or rose cider. As the year progresses we hope to release some of these new creations.

Right now it’s true! We do have Golden Delicious apples at the on-farm shop and online. This apple is highly sought after and difficult to find, so if you know someone who’s waiting for them – make sure you let them know!

A little about Golden Delicious:

• They begin their life as a green apple, however turn a gorgeous golden colour as they age.

• They can be incredibly sweet, although have a little acid like a Pink Lady (totally different to a Granny Smith!), and get even sweeter as they get older!

• They are one of the parent apples of Pink Lady! The other parent is called a ‘Lady Williams’.

• They can have a noticeable ‘russet’ on the skin which looks like gold-coloured rough patches. This does not affect the flavour and is characteristic of some varieties.

• As well as an excellent eating apple, these make incredible cooking apples, and are often regarded as one of the best! Perfect for that apple pie you’ve been meaning to make!

• They are very prone to bruising so please be gentle with them!

• They have a lovely texture, slightly different to other apples you might have previously eaten.

• Left to ripen, their skins will go wrinkly and they are STILL DELICIOUS!

PINK LADY & GRANNY SMITH APPLES COMING EARLY APRIL

So after reading about how amazing they are, why aren’t they readily available?

Many orchards (including ourselves) pulled out their crops years ago, after the variety became increasingly difficult to sell to retailers, coupled with the fact they can be difficult to grow and handle without the fruit developing russet, marks on their skin, and easily bruising!

We have recently (a couple of years ago now) grafted a few rows of trees back over to Golden Delicious, as we have the community’s support buying them directly from us! We do not have to rely on what’s ‘trendy’ or what retailers will buy anymore – we can grow the things our own customers and community want!

Thanks for supporting us, we are so happy to have these available for you and we hope you enjoy them!

Photo: Casey Fahey

What’s On

More events at theillawarraflame.com.au

Holy Cross Helensburgh Family Fun Day

Sat, 2 March Visit the school’s annual fair from 10am-2pm for Sweet Treats, tasty BBQ, market stalls, rides for the kids, side show alley, plants, books and the ever-popular Chocolate Wheel.

U3A Seniors Week Debate

Wed, 6 March Annual debate between U3A Northern Illawarra and Bulli High School in the Excelsior Hall, Thirroul Community Centre at 9.30am. The topic is “That the voting age should be lowered to 16” with the students choosing to speak to the negative. For more information, contact Barbara Cranfield on 0413 047 687.

Beer Cap Trivia Night

Fri, 15 March Boaties and IRB Crews present a Helensburgh-Stanwell Park SLSC fundraiser for the 2024 Lifesaving World Championships, 5-10pm, tickets via stanwellparksurfclub.com

Seniors Travel Group’s Ballina 7-Day Tour

26 April to 2 May Non-members welcome.

Highlights: Hunter Valley Gardens, Sunset Dinner Cruise at Forster, Summerland House Farm at Lynwood, Rainforest Boardwalk at Victoria Park Nature Reserve. Bangalow, pizza lunch at Common Peoples Brewery, tour Zeltfelds Coffee Farm & Roastery at Newrybar. Tour Tropical Fruit World Farm at Duranbah, Cape Byron Lighthouse. Tweed Heads River & Rainforest 3½ hour Lunch Cruise, Cassegrain Winery + more. Contact Helen Slade, Helensburgh Travel Group, 0427 043 774.

Magic of $3 movies

By Marcus Stevanoski of the IFS

The Illawarra Film Society (IFS) has begun its 12th year showcasing the best arthouse, classic and documentary films at Warrawong’s Gala Cinema.

Established in 2012, the non-profit is now Australia’s second-largest film society. The annual $99 fee gets you into more than 30 Sunday night screenings, equating to $3 per film.

Media lecturer and documentary maker Jeannine Baker joined the society in 2012 and last year stepped up to become the film curator. She says this year audiences can expect to see more comedies and upbeat films. “Our members love the opportunity to see a hand-picked, quality selection of films they wouldn’t see anywhere else. They also appreciate supporting the Illawarra’s only remaining independent cinema,” Jeannine says.

What’s on at Thirroul Library

2 March Music in the Library, Sat, 11am-12noon. Conservatorium of Music and other ensembles.

9 March 6:30-8:30pm. LYHRA celebrates vocal jazz with Trish Delaney-Brown, Sam Walton, Bri Cowlishaw. Free, book via Eventbrite.

12 March Seniors Festival: Teddy Bears Picnic Storytime, 10-10:45am. Bring a picnic and a Teddy. Sing-alongs, books, rhymes with grandparents.

14 March Seniors Festival: Cards & Games, 10am-12noon. Play our boardgames or bring old favourites!

16 March Jim Moginie and ABC’s Nick Rheinberger, Sat, 6-8:30pm. The Silver River is a moving memoir, by a founding member of Midnight Oil. Free, book via Eventbrite

19 March Harmony Week: Multicultural Sip and Paint, 1-3pm. Sip Moroccan tea, create North African inspired art. Free, book via Eventbrite

19 March 10-10:45am, French-themed storytime.

What’s on at Helensburgh Library

12 March Seniors Festival: Movie, 10:30am.

15 March Seniors Festival: Teddy Bears Picnic Storytime, Fri 10:30-11:15 Bring a picnic and a Teddy. For grandparents and grandkids.

22 March Harmony Week: Bilingual Storytime Fri, 10-10:45am. French-themed Storytime.

NSW Justice Association Wollongong

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.

The season kicked off on 11 February with New Zealand drama-comedy Uproar. The programme also features All of Us Strangers, the BIFA Best Film Award winner featuring Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott; Golden Globe recipient The Boy and the Heron, the latest animated fantasy from renowned Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki; and Young Plato, a documentary following a school headmaster’s attempt to revitalise a Belfast community. Visit www.ifs.org.au

Beauty out of Darkness

23 March 7.30-9.30pm at Wollongong Art Gallery. Steel City Strings examines what it is to be human, beginning with the evocation of country in Long Time Living Here by Deborah Cheetham-Fraillon. The works in this program – curated by 2024 artistic director Adrian Davis – are all by composers who have faced significant challenges. www.steelcitystrings.com.au

Dog and house sitter required

We are going overseas on 23 April until 12 May. We have 3 dogs (1 staffy, 2 cavoodles). Need someone responsible to live in and look after them. Dogs are friendly and well-behaved. Person would be sharing house in Helensburgh with son and granddaughter, separately.

Phone Stephen on 0414 516 537.

Order of AUSTRALIA

By Brian Kelly

feature Cover

If a bloke’s nickname is Shovel, you know there’s a fair chance he’ll get things done. How did Stephen Hewson earn that title? He presses his flatterthan-somewhat nose and says “Shovel-nose”. Makes sense but, then again, this bloke’s also been known to dig deeper than most.

Steve is passionate about promoting the emerging para-sport of wheelchair rugby league. An affable and chatty man, he looks fit for his age, no doubt feeling the benefit of regular 30-kilometre pushbike outings. His left leg is a patchwork quilt of old surgery scars (“two rebuilds, six clean-outs – now replaced’’) –a reminder of his own brilliant but short career as a bush footy star.

Stephen Hewson OAM. Photos: Anthony Warry

He is the kind of person who long ago realised that sport is not a world of points scored and rules obeyed as much as one where human connection matters – where relationships, not grand final wins, satisfy most. The Bulli resident of 10 years can name people who helped him five decades ago, mentored him, signed deals with handshakes, and is generous in his gratitude and praise. He strikes you as the kind of bloke who, if you heard he’d become a member of the Order of Australia, you’d think “good on him”.

Steve thought the email informing him of his award this year was a hoax, pointing it out to his wife. She, possessing secret knowledge of his nomination, had to reveal that it was not.

At 21, and with national selectors taking note, Steve shattered his knee in an era when that sort of injury ended careers early. Little did he know in 1976 that all the sliding-doors moments and embracing of uncertainty to come would lead to now, retirement and the honour. He freely credits wheelchair rugby league players with being adaptable to change; surely he has shown similar flexibility when circumstance demanded.

He has grown with the game in Australia since 2009, refereeing at a World Cup, coaching and learning from peers and rivals after rocky starts in early internationals.

“We learned very quickly what we were up against … Being an ex-footballer, I thought ‘this is easy – just put the skills of rugby league into a chair’. We were going over there to kick butt.”

An utter flogging from France ensued.

Later in the tournament came a much more respectable result against the French as the Australians quickly caught on to what they needed to know. “In the end, we were helping Scotland –because they were in the same boat as us. We were training next to each other, working things out. And that’s a community.”

The game is popular with ex-military people, and there is expansion in Townsville, Canberra and the Northern Territory – but nothing regular in the Illawarra yet. Nearest games are at Menai, where participants include a nine-year-old and a woman in her 60s. Come-and-try days are conducted, and a full-time wheelchair rugby league development officer has been recently appointed.

“We’ve got the facilities here – it’s just lack of exposure,” Steve says.

“St George Illawarra have been supporting a team in the competition for eight-10 years – but nobody knows about it!

“I really can’t understand why the NRL clubs don’t use this as a diffuser for when, say, a player transgresses – so-and-so could be assigned to help with wheelchair rugby league for six weeks.

“The league should be jumping on this and

just punching it out there – it’s such a positive community.”

Steve is only too aware of the code’s feel-good potential to wider audiences.

“At the last World Cup, Australia had a father and son playing together,” he said.

“The dad had been in a motorbike accident at 18, ended up in a wheelchair … the son plays football on a Saturday, jumps in the chair, plays with his dad for St George Illawarra on a Sunday –they both got selected for the World Cup over in England.”

“People see players in the chair and they sort of feel sorry for them but when they sit in the chair themselves and see how difficult it is, they’ve got to admire them.

“We’ve had NRL players come and play for 30 minutes – then complain about pain from little muscles in the backs of their necks they didn’t know they had.”

Steve has a bit more time to serve the code after retiring two Octobers ago from his post as athlete program manager at Western Sydney Academy of Sport (he still wears his work shirt), although Wednesdays are roped off for grandparent duties.

So well regarded are his skills that when he was made redundant 10 years ago, league legend Wayne Bennett was the first to call him with a job offer, but Bulli won out over Queensland.

“When we’ve taken wheelchair footy up there, I’ve always invited him, and he’s always come along – I’ve tried multiple times to get him in the chair to have a go!’’

Wheelchair rugby league recently forged another Illawarra connection by signing multi-code star Emma Tonegato as an ambassador.

The East Corrimal-raised player, now with Cronulla Sharks after two seasons with the Dragons, was excited to become involved after meeting players and their families and thinking “this is such a cool community”.

“I want to help raise the profile of the sport and get more people to play it,” said the 28-year-old, who heads the Sharks’ equal access program.

Congratulations all round

Other Australia Day award recipients in the district were Nicholas Weller (Figtree, police work), Nuala Williams (West Wollongong, youth choirs), David Stanton (Mt Pleasant, gardens founder), Warwick Shanks (Jamberoo, business/volunteering), Lorraine Mairinger (Kangaroo Valley, community service), Valda Brunker (Minnamurra, sporting groups), Sarah Neill (Wollongong, youth/ community), Beverley Kerr (Corrimal, social welfare), Buddhima Indraratna (Albion Park, civil engineering) and Wayne Morris (Avondale, community service).

Miner turned renewables advocate

Words: Genevieve Swart. Photo: Melanie Russell

Darryl Best was born in the Blue Mountains’ historic coal-mining town of Lithgow.

“I worked all my career in coal mines,” he says. “I started as an apprentice electrician at Kerosene Vale Coal Mine out near Lithgow in 1975.”

It was his first job out of high school and paid $60 a week. He enjoyed the camaraderie of working underground. “The banter amongst crews is great. It’s a lot of fun. It’s also dirty, dusty, hot, cold, depending on where you are. Wet. It’s a challenge because you’re working with people against a really hostile environment.”

Over the years Darryl studied engineering and rose through the ranks. In 2009, he moved to Wollongong and a job in management at Mt Kembla’s Dendrobium Mine. Six months later, he shifted to Wongawilli.“I was the production manager at Wongawilli until it shut in 2014 … it wasn’t a great way for the mine to finish.”

Running the mine had become harder, machinery broke down, contractors went unpaid. “The workforce was so dispirited,” Darryl said. At the end, he says, “We had people laying on their sides, along the longwall face that had fallen in, digging pieces of coal out. A horrendous job.”

Ultimately, recovering the longwall was supposedly what the longwall was worth and the owners decided to shut. “Then they said, since you know the men better than we do, you can tell them.

“So I stood in front of these people … told them that all the things that I’d said to them about job security were not right, because they’re all going to be out of work and they’re going to shut the mine. The looks on their faces and the things they said, I’ll never forget. It absolutely shattered me.”

He went on to Russell Vale Colliery as the longwall superintendent. “The mine shut towards the end of 2015. And that was the end of that, for me. I got really, really stressed and really upset … took me a long time to get over it.”

Darryl took on contract work but in 2020, he finally retired. “I’d lost my desire. The world, the climate was going to crap. My knees had gone to crap and I couldn’t walk anywhere.

“It was a really great industry to work in. I don’t regret that I worked in it. I totally regret the effect it’s had on the climate. So that’s why I’m working so hard to try and reverse that.”

Overseas travel was the catalyst that changed his outlook. Then 2022’s South Coast Writers Festival set Darryl on a new path. It wasn’t so much the talk he’d come to hear by Scott Ludlam as the person he met afterwards: Greens councillor Cath Blakey. Through Cath, Darryl met the leaders of Protect

Our Water Alliance and found himself on the ABC, sharing his story with Lindsay McDougall.

Actor and Hi Neighbour founder Yael Stone was listening and, in September 2022, they met for coffee at the Two Sisters cafe in Bulli. Darryl remembers “being really nervous meeting someone as high profile as her”. “I didn’t know her at all before and I had to look up who she was as I have never watched Orange Is The New Black.”

Yael’s plans to help workers upskill for renewable jobs inspired him to volunteer at the not-for-profit.

“I think the philosophy behind it is spot on.”

Darryl says for a mine electrician to retrain to fit solar panels takes about 20 hours, plus a practical component; Clean Energy Council accreditation costs about $2500. Hi Neighbour offers scholarships and advice, making the path clear. “That takes out a lot of their anti-climate vitriol because there is somewhere for them to go. At the moment, coal miners are just attacked everywhere for working in an industry that’s killing the world.”

Not all his former colleagues are supportive. “The word got round Russell Vale that I was a mad climate change person … which is a shame.”

Darryl says he is driven by a desire to help.

“My wife and I have three adult children; three, about to be four, grandchildren. We are really concerned about their future.”

Today, he volunteers two to 20 hours a week with Hi Neighbour and Social Enterprise Council of NSW & ACT. At age 67, he has a new circle of friends, environmental activists, many of them women. “I love that women are changing our world. I think it’s brilliant,” he says.

In February, at the Yes2Renewables Family Fun Day, Darryl spoke of mine closures and their devastating effects: “In the past there were other mines opening. That is not the case now … That is why it is so important that we transition to renewables as soon as possible.”

The next day, on Monday, 5 February 2024, news broke that Wollongong Resources would close Wongawilli and the Russell Vale colliery, the same mine Darryl left almost a decade ago.

The ABC reported that more than 200 workers had lost their jobs.

Climate Action

On a hot Sunday in February, free gelato, shaved ice powered by ebike and EV-powered smoothies went down a treat at the Yes2Renewables Family Fun Day. Held at Wollongong’s Osborne Park on February 4, from 11am-1pm, the event attracted about 500 people and encouraged positive conversations about climate action, renewables and the energy transition. Photography by Melanie Russell, scan the QR code to view the full gallery online

Pictured are Rewiring Australia’s Dr Saul Griffith (top left) and volunteers from Good for the Gong, Flame Tree Co-op, Electrify 2515, the Tomorrow Movement and Surfers for Climate.

Free fuel – thank you, Sun

Part 5 in Peter Aubourg’s Diary of an EV Driver

I finally bought a charger that will lap up my excess solar power. This power would otherwise be exported back to the grid for a paltry sum. My wife said that I am determined to get free fuel for the EV no matter how much it costs. That’s a bit harsh! I have calculations and spreadsheets. Trust me, I’m an engineer. It will be a thing of beauty and a joy forever. Well, at least for a long time.

The day came when the installation was complete and time to do some testing. It was a dark overcast day, so I could not do any “Solar Divert” testing. So instead, I tested the charger at its full rate of 7 kW, drawing power from the grid. This was much faster than my 1.6 kW trickle charger. I could fill the battery from 10% to 90% in less than 6 hours. With this test, I had to pay for the grid electricity, but it is still much cheaper than petrol. But what I am really after is free fuel.

The next day was overcast to start but by mid-morning it was clear. The charger tracked the excess solar generation like a treat. When the clouds cleared, the charger would gently increase the charging rate to match the increased solar generation, so that the excess power went straight into the car battery. It continued to do this balancing act, so that no power was exported or imported from the grid. When the clouds started to come over, the charger would decrease its charging rate to the car so that this “no import or no export” from the grid was maintained. It also continued the balancing act when our hot water heater came on in the middle of the day as it is timed to do, sucking up a big chunk of our solar

power. The charging into the car dropped down so that there was no imported power from the grid.

A big success!

I am noticing that solar radiation is much greater than you would expect on days that are overcast but still fairly light. I suppose that stands to reason, when you think of how unexpectedly sunburned you can get on such days. These days are great for the solar divert system. The reflected light from the clouds continues to generate power from the panels, for a while, even when the sun goes behind the escarpment.

So, I now have it. A solar-powered car with zero fuel cost! The charger was worth it … Definitely.

And my wife likes it as well.

The New Zealand-made EVNEX charger cost $1400; chargers of this type can cost up to $2000.

Photo: Peter Aubourg.

Your Letters

Get In Touch via www.theillawarraflame.com.au & please aim for about 100 words

Re: ‘Ill Wind’ in February 2024 Letters

Thank you, John, for completely proving the NIMBY-fuelled mindset of the boomer generation. Not only did your generation do nothing but burn fossil fuels and take zero action on climate for decades, you have the gall to be so selfish and short-sighted as to hinder repairing our environment now. The main reason you seem to give in your poorly written poem is the view, which is currently taken up with fuel-filled tankers, the very root of the problems you have caused. If this isn’t some sick irony that you fail to see, then I really can’t help you or your generation anymore.

I for one would be proud to look out the window and see a daily reminder of the progress our society has made in moving away from fossil fuels.

– Andrew Sheppard, Thirroul

Idea for underpass to make crossing safer

After the recent tragic accident that killed one man and put another two in hospital, walkers and runners are drawing attention to the dangerous track crossing of the Princes Highway on the upper Bulli Pass.

During the Bulli Bypass consultation process, we proposed an underpass to make the crossing safer. Recreationists, tourists and visitors would then cross the highway in safety, so too, drivers who would no longer need to make dangerous U-turns just below the hairpin bend.

We believe the underpass should be constructed as soon as possible as the dangers will grow worse every year. Walkers, cyclists, joggers and runners use the tracks every week, and so will long-distance walkers on the Illawarra Escarpment Track.

The Track is a new 200km route from Port Hacking/Bundeena to the Shoalhaven/Nowra traversing some of the Illawarra’s finest rainforest, a great Australian walk supported by every Council and every local State and National representative.

We are asking the local MLAs, the Hon. Ryan Park and Hon. Maryanne Stuart to make this underpass a reality as soon as possible.

– Illawarra Escarpment Track representative Garry McDougall, Bulli

Editor’s note: Have your say on a potential Bulli Bypass by March 11 at www.transport.nsw.gov.au/ projects/current-projects/bulli-bypass

Securing the energy future for our grandkids

Why destroy 1,461 square kilometres of our pristine ocean with an industrial zone for wind turbines owned by foreign interests? Why totally devastate our very productive red royal prawning and fishing zones? Not to mention what it would do to the whale migration path. There are far better ways to secure Australia’s energy future.

One solution is Small Modular Reactors (SMRs).

The UK’s Rolls Royce SMR (www.rolls-roycesmr.com) offers a factory-built low-cost clean energy solution. The UK are using these SMRs to replace old large-scale nuclear power stations … The first of these SMRs will be in operation in the UK in 2029. It would be possible (if governments could get their act together) to place a provisional order for 4 SMR units right now then take 5 years to gain acceptance and set up regulatory control.

We could have them operating in Australia in the early to mid 2030s. Remember we will possibly have 3 SMRs in the form of AUKUS submarines in Port Kembla harbour around this timing. Rolls Royce-SMR is contracted to supply the reactors to power the new AUKUS Australian submarines.

What a wonderful opportunity to standardise on one credible energy supplier for our submarines and our industrial and domestic base load energy grid. There would be so many benefits, including training of operators. Another big plus for SMRs is you put them exactly where you want the power, eliminating the need to run unsightly power transmission lines across the countryside.

Offshore wind turbines are not only inefficient, they are also very expensive. I would like to know who will pay for the removal of these turbines and clean up our ocean at the end of their short life.

On the other hand, SMRs are always on running 24 hours a day with a life span of 60 years. 4 SMR units would occupy just 30 to 40 acres and could be installed in Bluescope’s vacant 440 acres of land.

I do not work for Rolls Royce and I have no vested interests. All I want is for Australia to own our power generation industry and ensure a “secure energy future for our grandkids”.

– John Ingle, engineer, Coledale

Editor’s note: Numbers differ from timeframes for implementing nuclear by UOW Energy Futures Network and International Atomic Energy Agency. All letters abridged due to space constraints.

TVC Update

By Thirroul Village Committee secretary Annette Jones

February saw two key calls for submissions.

Firstly, proposed changes to the NSW Planning Policy. NSW government stated that the proposed changes are in response to the housing crisis.

The changes will increase housing density in all Local Government Areas and will introduce non-refusal standards, which will override Councils’ planning controls unless their Local Environment Plan (LEP) or Development Control Plan (DCP) are even more permissive. There are concerns that the proposed changes could result in serious damage to the environment, loss of heritage, and overload existing infrastructure and local services. In its submission, the TVC said a ‘one size fits all’ approach is problematic and more needs to be done to improve existing infrastructure

NF1 Report

By Neighbourhood Forum 1 convenor Warwick Erwin

Otford Community Hall Replacement

Council’s Community Facilities Manager presented plans for the replacement of the Otford Hall. These were not accepted by forum members due to the “demountable” style of building, reduced hall size, toilet location, lack of storage and more. One NF1 member said, “We pay the highest rates in Wollongong and they (council) want to give us the cheapest solution.” Residents, via Otford Community Inc, which has the licence to run the hall, presented council officers with their concerns. Plans are to be placed on Council’s website and at Helensburgh Library. Send comments to Council with the subject of “Otford Hall replacement”.

Helensburgh Off Road Cycle Club

Council is removing contaminated imported fill, saying it should be completed in March. Some residents suggested the club’s licence be revoked.

Helensburgh Town Centre work

New stormwater pipe has been put in place under

before any wholesale changes are implemented.

Secondly, Transport for NSW (TfNSW) called for submissions about a potential Bulli Bypass. The state budget included a $20 million allocation for the investigation work, which will include a report of the options and the route, as well as a strategic business case. TfNSW is seeking input to help understand what people are experiencing in and around Bulli and transport priorities in the area.

The proposed Bulli bypass would involve extending Memorial Drive north from the roundabout at the intersection with the Princes Highway, with multiple options to be explored for where the extension will end. The project will also consider other transport improvements that could be made to improve safety, reduce congestion, and improve travel times and amenity within the Bulli area.

You can provide input by completing the survey, putting comments on the interactive map tool or making a submission – www.haveyoursay.nsw.gov. au/bulli-bypass. Consultation closes on March 11.

The Seaside and Arts Festival will be held from Friday, 31 May to Sunday, 2 June 2024. The TVC will host a stand at the festival. To find out more, please go to www.thirroulfestival.com.au

Next TVC meeting: 4pm, Sunday, April 28 at TRIPS Hall, Railway Parade, Thirroul. Email thirroulvillagecommittee@gmail.com

Walker St that hopefully will help prevent flooding. Work continues, slowly – or do we call it at Council speed? – with completion being given as before the end of this financial year. The result should be a nice plaza area for outdoor use. Plans discussed to hold an Oct opening on Lions Country Fair day.

DA 2002/2102/F Hillcrest Village Stage 3

This modification to a 2002 DA has been submitted to Council. The developers have greatly changed the original plan. Residents raised concerns over heritage Hillcrest House and its curtilage.

DA 2024/79 35 Station St Otford

It is proposed to turn the Original School Masters Cottage site into a commercial kitchen, garden and wellness centre. Objections were raised over heritage concerns for the late Federation dwelling, built in 1909. Submissions to quote DA number.

Proposed Roundabout at Stanwell Park

At Lawrence Hargrave Drive and Railway Crescent. Give feedback via Transport.nsw.gov.au, southprojects@transport.nsw.gov.au or 131 500.

NF1 meeting: 7pm Wed, 13 March at Thistles’ Club House (behind Helensburgh pool)

Sea Eels plan May start

By Peter McDonald, president of the Sea Eels Winter Swimming Club

Winter Swimming with the Stanwell Park Sea Eels in this, our 36th year, is back commencing Sunday, 5 May to enjoy all the rewards that winter swimming has to offer.

Our club is a family club open to all swimmers who can swim 50 metres unaided. We swim at the iconic Coalcliff pool from 9am every Sunday up until September. Swims are 50m, 100m and a relay, all swims are handicapped and as competitive as you may wish your swim to be.

Following the swims we head back to Stanwell Park surf club for delicious soups and drinks if so desired and plenty of socialising. This is also where we raise funds for charity by means of fines, raffles and Joker Poker.

FREE “LEARN TO SWIM” CLASSES

Our main charity is CRAM Foundation who provide a caring service to disabled adults and children. Last season we donated $3000. Other donations are also made to worthy causes locally.

FREE “LEARN TO SWIM” CLASSES

Our club enjoys inter-club visits to Bulli Sea Lions and have the ladies from the Bondi Icebergs visit, we compete at the Invitational Carnival at Bondi, the South Coast and the Australian Championships, this year in Orange.

We welcome local residents, residents outside of the area and all surf club members. Joining the Sea Eels you become an “Associate Member” of the Helensburgh Stanwell Park surf club and covered by the surf lifesaving insurance. We are a family-friendly club who enjoy a cool swim and socialising. Hope to see you on the blocks.

Swimming lessons for all ageschildren, adults and families of refugees and asylum seekers in the Illawarra area.

FREE “LEARN TO SWIM” CLASSES

Learn to stay safe in the water at the:

BEACH

ROCK POOLS

Swimming lessons for all ageschildren, adults and families of refugees and asylum seekers in the Illawarra area.

HOME POOLS

Learn to stay safe in the water at the:

RIVERS, CREEKS & DAMS

BEACH

ROCK POOLS

HOME POOLS

RIVERS, CREEKS & DAMS

Text

Swimming lessons for all ageschildren, adults and families of refugees and asylum seekers in

Congratulations to Carson

By Karl Webber, Club Captain at Helensburgh-Stanwell Park Surf Life Saving Club

Well done to club member Carson, aged 13, who completed his Surf Rescue Certificate (SRC) on February 4, following in the steps of his older sister, who did hers in 2021. We believe Carson is only the second person (and the first male) from Lajamanu to obtain an SRC. The qualification isn’t too sought after back home, as it’s about 12 hours from the nearest beach – and that beach is full of crocodiles!

Lajamanu is about 900km north-west of Darwin. It is hot and dry, and accessible via a dirt road. Lajamanu is home to about 600 people, of whom 90 percent are Indigenous, mainly part of the Warlpiri nation.

Nippers at Helensburgh-Stanwell Park SLSC.

The SRC has been a great activity for growing Carson’s confidence, knowledge and skills at the beach.

The past two years have also helped Carson make new friends at the club, which tailored a program to suit his needs and the beach conditions (including the three sharks that decided to swim past on assessment day).

Carson joined the Shellharbour SLSC in 2019 at age eight and has completed his final two years of

Carson loves the water. He enjoyed learning the skills needed to patrol and help others. Like any 13-year-old boy, he found sitting down and completing the online components of the course was tough but having a sister who had also completed her SRC helped, and they have now both achieved this milestone in surf lifesaving.

Nippers wraps up

By Christine McDonald of Helensburgh Stanwell Park Surf Life Saving Club

The official season of Nippers at Helensburgh Stanwell Park Surf Life Saving Club wrapped up on Sunday, 18 February. We farewelled our U14s with the Nippers forming a Guard-of-Honour. We wish these nine young adults all the best as they move into the club’s Senior section and start patrolling Stanwell Park Beach. All of them recently completed their Surf Rescue Certificate, along with their Age Manager, Ross. Congratulations.

With about 170 Nippers joining this season, Sundays have been very busy. During the season we held fortnightly Pointscore and alternating Skills+Education weeks, our big fundraising Santa Photo Day, Christmas Hamper Raffle, the ‘Carl Williams Cup’ Intra-Club Carnival, U13+U14 Leadership Camp, and Wetsuit Sale.

The weekly Nippers Sausage Sizzle was a hit and a great fundraiser for the Surf Club. Thank you to everyone who helped out in the Canteen, on the BBQ and those who picked up sausages, chopped onions and grabbed the bread.

We had a great number of Nippers competing in carnivals throughout the season with outstanding results. Halle and Max were selected to represent Illawarra at the Inter-Branch carnival at Fingal Bay. Congratulations to Halle who came 1st U12 Sprint, 2nd U12 Flags and 4th Female All Age Relay. Awesome results for Max who came 4th U12 Flags and 5th U12 Mixed 2x 500m Relay.

At the Branch carnival held at Thirroul, the winner of the Illawarra Junior Lifesaver of the Year was announced and Will took home the win! His family and the club are beyond proud of Will for his achievements throughout his years as a Nipper.

We had 18 Nippers compete at the Branch carnival and we came home with 12 individual medals and 5 team placings. An incredible result.

The State Championships will be held at Freshwater/North Steyne from 7-10 March. We have 13 Nippers and supporters heading up to Manly. Thank you to Tradies Helensburgh for their generous support in kitting out the team.

The Presentation Day is on 24 March for U8-U14s. Thank you and see you next season.

Illawarra Junior Lifesaver of the Year: Will with his parents, Meredith and Chris. Photo supplied.

From micros fun to battle of the bros

The Scarborough Boardriders started the year in style, Ian Pepper reports

The club had a big start to the year, with the Usher Cup from January 18 to 21 on the Gold Coast. The event attracted 10 international and 21 Australian clubs and it was massive with TV coverage, large crowds – and $100,000 prize money up for grabs.

Our team performed well in the individual legs and overall finished 19th. Well done to local host club Snapper Rocks for winning the event.

On January 30, our Annual General Meeting was held at Beaches Hotel. A few young new faces stepped up: Fin McLaren as Vice-President and Macey Jolley as Girls Coordinator.

On February 4 we held Pointscore #1 for 2024. What a way to kick-off the year at Stanny! Plenty of fresh faces and welcome back to a few surfers who haven’t competed for a while. Under-35s opens was a battle of the bros with some frantic last-minute see-sawing of the lead, with Shano ultimately taking the win off a resurgent Dave Hyslop back after a long sabbatical, and fellow former A Grader (& El Capitano) Christian DC less than half a point behind in third. This will be a division to watch!

The Open A Grade saw club champ Mannix flying like a bird into the north-east breeze but having a few problems with his landing gear, enabling Harry Agnew to sail past with a clinical display of well-crafted moves. And congrats to Tom Simpson putting his signature backhand slash to great effect to take 3rd.

In the Open Women, two heats with 10 surfers, with a number of others absent, shows just how strong our women’s division has become. It was welcome back to Emily Laurence after a break, feeding off the energy to take 2nd ahead of a well

travelled Macey Jolley, but neither was a match for Jasmine Porter, committing to carves with a fluid style dancing across the tricky faces. A shout-out to the Junior Girls – many surfed in this division for the first time but took to the challenging conditions with great enthusiasm. Practice makes perfect!

On Sunday, February 18, conditions were perfect to run our micros division. Our Mixed 10 & Under and Micro Groms had a fun day at Scarborough Beach. Congrats to all the kids, especially Ella Campbell for taking the win ahead of Felix Tracy with Fletcher Bell in third in the 10’s.

We are pleased to announce two new sponsors: Scarborough Wombarra Bowling & Recreation Club as our major sponsor and Headlands Hotel.

Future dates for your diaries:

• 9-10th March – Australian Boardriders Battle National Finals at Burleigh Heads, QLD

• 16th March – Treachery Camp Pointscore

How Lions help

By Fran Peppernell of Helensburgh Lions Club

Our club had its first meeting for 2024 in February and we welcome new members Lauren, Maryanne, Barney and Jamie who are service-minded people wanting to help and give back to the community.

The club would like to acknowledge the contribution Keith Hawkins made in his role as treasurer and the Lions events he led. He will be greatly missed, although I am sure that he will continue to contribute when time allows.

We are planning several activities to support our community with a monthly BBQs outside Coles, Easter Events, ANZAC Day service at Stanwell Tops, our Annual Country Fair, and many more.

Saturday, March 2 is Lions Awareness Day. After

more than 75 years of helping others, we know our role as a service club is becoming increasingly important. With over 25,000 members, Lions Australia is the nation’s largest service organisation. And there’s more to us than fundraising BBQs.

Lions provide emergency relief during natural disasters, support farming communities during drought, support critical medical research into childhood cancers and diabetes, and work on local environmental programs.

On Lions Awareness Day please join us at one of the many events to be held across Australia, talk to a Lion, and ask them why they decided to give some of their time and effort to help others.

Photo: Christian De Clouett

Proud to represent Australia

By wheelchair curling team member James Powell

Last November, I travelled to South Korea after being selected in the Australian Wheelchair Curling team. Curling is just like lawn bowls but on ice. The only difference between wheelchair curling and able bodies curling is that wheelchair teams don’t use brooms to sweep the ice.

Along with three other team members, I travelled to South Korea for the inaugural Asian Wheelchair Curling Championships, held in Gangneung. The six teams that took part were from

South Korea; a Gangwon state team considered the future Korean national team; Japan; Philippines; Thailand and Australia.

Australia won the first game against Thailand 11-5. Australia also beat Philippines, but was beaten by Japan and the two Korean teams. A 2-3 win-loss record was enough for Australia finish 4th place and take part in the semi final. In the semis, Australia faced the 1st place team from Sth Korea, going down 20-4. Japan lost the other semi final, resulting in the two Korean teams playing for gold and silver while Australia played Japan for bronze.

Japan eventually overpowered the Australian team, winning 9-3. Everyone in the first ever Australian Wheelchair Curling team should be proud of their efforts considering we were only formed last May while other teams like Japan and Sth Korea have been competing together for years.

Next up is travel to NZ in August for the Australian National Championships and back to Korea in November for the Asian Championships, where we hope to achieve a podium finish.

Pilot turns back time

By Ian Badham of the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) Aviation Museum

It was as if the clock suddenly turned back 45 years when veteran pilot Jock Cassels climbed from his wheelchair into the cramped cockpit of a former RAAF transport Caribou aircraft.

Jock is 100 years old and now the world’s oldest Caribou pilot. His son Charles recently brought him to the Illawarra’s HARS Aviation Museum to inspect Caribou 234, which he last flew in Vietnam in 1976 before retiring from the RAAF a year later.

“This is so wonderful,” Jock told former Caribou pilot and now head of HARS flying operations Richard Elliott, “I never expected to get back into this aircraft.”

In a remarkable 38-year flying career, Jock served in the RAF and the RAAF, flying aircraft including Tiger Moth and Harvard trainers, Spitfire and Meteor fighters then Sunderland flying boats and Lancaster bombers for the RAF before flying 1499 war sorties in Vietnam for the RAAF.

Joining the RAF in 1941, he initially trained in Rhodesia then was sent to Europe as World War II raged. After his Spitfire was shot down over northern Italy, fellow comrades pooled their

merger rations and made a cake to celebrate his 21st birthday in a German POW camp. “Well, it was a cake of sorts but memorable,” Jock said.

He retired as a Squadron Leader and still keeps an eye on flying from his home near the RAAF Base at Richmond in Sydney’s north-west.

HARS is open daily at Shellharbour Airport.

Pictured: Thirroul local James Powell (bottom left) with his team mates in South Korea

Photos: Howard Mitchell, Ian Badham

LONG

Port Kembla Tidal Chart

10

11

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of

Lowest

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time (UTC +11:00) when in effect

© Copyright Commonwealth of Australia 2023, Bureau of Meteorology. Datum of Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide. Times are in local standard time (UTC +10:00) or daylight savings time (UTC +11:00) when in effect. The Bureau of Meteorology gives no warranty of any kind whether express, implied, statutory or otherwise in respect to the availability, accuracy, currency, completeness, quality or reliability of the information or that the information will be fit for any particular purpose or will not infringe any third party Intellectual Property rights. The Bureau’s liability for any loss, damage, cost or expense resulting from use of, or reliance on, the information is entirely excluded.

Golf news

Helensburgh Sunday Social Golf Club

Robert ‘Indy’ Jones reports

On a very warm January 21, members drove and “fore’d” their way along Hurstville GC’s fairways. New prize holes leading up to the start of the new handicap system saw Luke Hatcher take the first prize of 2024 with a Stableford score of 34, followed by Rob Carter 33 and Daniel “of the many” on the podium with 30. 5 players shared on-course goodies. It was too hot for me.

We returned two weeks later to contest the Joe Doherty Cup on February 4th. Ben Clarke scooped up 1st prize with 41 Stableford points, followed by Luke, in 2nd with 37 (despite the “-4”) and Bruce “of the many” on a count-back settled for 3rd place with 35. Mr Clarke gave the course a bit of a touch-up generally, collecting four on-course prizes leaving the rest of us to build a castle or two in the bunkers. Will “-4” give us a chance?

Next events: Campbelltown, March 3rd, 6.28am. Campbelltown, April 7th, 6:28am. Campbelltown, May 5th, 7:38am. Plus, Blotto is waiting, get a number and win.

Contact Tony on 0418 863 100 for membership details and to register your attendance at our next event and cart requirements, at the latest Tuesday the week ahead of the date. Join us to enjoy a game of golf, the great outdoors and good company.

Indy signing off: Many a golfer prefers a golf cart to a caddy because it cannot count, criticise, or laugh… Don’t forget to organise yours!

Tradies Social Golf

Barry Thompson reports

Twenty seven members played a 2Ball Best Ball format under pleasant conditions with the early Tee Off allowing us to be back at Tradies before the heat.

Two of our newcomers, Jye Smith and Hayden Overton, amassed a healthy 53 points to win the day and the Helensburgh Butchery prize. Well done, boys, you will be giving the older blokes something to chase.

Roger Hendry and Terry Maney beat Geoff Hammonds and Gavin Sinclair and three other 46-point teams to take second place on count-back. Enjoy your Gallardo’s Pizzeria winnings. I tried to get an extra prize for Roger for having to play with Terry. This proposal was rejected by a heartless committee, however, Roger’s pockets were a’jingle after he won the 7th Eagles Nest.

We welcomed Blake Collins and Aaron Griffiths who were playing for handicap. It is a good sign for

the club that I did not know the names of a lot of the players. It has been a few years since that occurred and reflects the influx of a younger brigade.

Iain Birss and John Towns won the Helensburgh Driving Range voucher, just in time to prepare for our 2024 Matchplay campaign. Mick will need the names for this event by next tournament.

Our next outing will be on 16th March. Tee Off 7am. Please arrive early to assist starters. Our next Sunday away game will be to Calderwood on 24th March. Tee Off will be at 8.45. Mick needs names by 16th March.

Meet eight-yearold brothers Rocky and Chocky. They are house-trained, sleep in bed with their human and love everyone. Are you looking for company, love & devotion? Look no further than these boys!

For more details, email

ccarpetrehoming@tpg.com.au Country Companion Animal Rescue