Shellharbour Winter 2024

Meet Our Contributors

Lesley Roulston is a passionate writer who enjoys hearing the inspiring stories of the people of the Illawarra. Originally from Newcastle, Shellharbour has become her permanent home. She can be found walking her King Charles Spaniel most evenings around the Shellharbour Marina. Her interests include reading and listening to podcasts on health and ageing well.

Julie McDonald is the publicity officer for The Illawarra Ramblers, an outdoor activities club. She and her partner were early tree changers, fleeing from Sydney for the verdant land and rolling hills of Jamberoo in 1994. She enjoys camping, bushwalking, kayaking and swimming. Prior to retirement Julie was a senior academic and researcher in primary health care at the University of New South Wales.

Ben Wollen is the director of Wollen Architecture, a studio focusing on sustainable design. “Only build what you need to” is one of his 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.

Andy Lawrence is a doula servicing the Illawarra and globally online. Having trained as a research scientist with a PhD in entomology, the birth of her two daughters catalysed a career shift toward supporting women and their families. She runs women’s circles locally and believes that supported mothers equals secure families and healthier communities.

Zach Houtenville is a student at UOW, studying journalism and communications & media. He is an American, born and raised, but also half Australian. Zach moved here to study and lives in Gwynneville, close to major sporting spots. Sport is one of his greatest interests, alongside science and socialising with friends.

Genevieve Swart is a journalist who has worked in London, Cape Town and Sydney. For the past decade, she has run a community news business, which rebranded in 2022 to become The Illawarra Flame, a name inspired by a tree. Genevieve is a co-director of True Story festival and a founding member of the Local & Independent News Association. On days off, she goes kayaking.

In June, the Illawarra Flame is taking part in a nationwide fundraiser for local news. The #OurNewsYourVoice campaign is run by the Local and Independent News Association (LINA), a professional body founded in 2021, and the Flame is one of 34 independent publications involved around the country.

LINA members come in different shapes and sizes, print and digital, pay-walled and free, but they’re all playing a vital role in connecting, informing and empowering their communities.

At the Flame, we’re continuing to reinvest in public interest journalism, hiring and mentoring the young local graduates who are our storytellers of the future.

To contribute, scan the QR code or visit https://theillawarraflame.presspatron.com

Thanks for reading, Genevieve & Marcus, owner-editors THE ILLAWARRA

EDITORS Genevieve Swart, Marcus Craft

CONTACT hello@theillawarraflame.com.au.

Features Coordinator Shellharbour: Lesley Roulston, 0411 025 008, shellharbour@ theillawarraflame.com.au

Write to PO Box 248, Helensburgh, 2508. TheIllawarraFlame

ADVERTISING www.theillawarraflame.com.au 0432 612 168 | T&Cs apply

NEXT EDITION Spring 2024

DEADLINE 15 August. Contributions welcome. COVER Kylee Dennis Photo: Anthony Warry

THE ILLAWARRA FLAME is published by The Word Bureau trust, ABN 31 692 723 477

DISCLAIMER: All content and images remain the property of The Illawarra Flame unless otherwise supplied. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without written permission. Views expressed do not reflect those of the publishers.

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.

MUSIC OF THE MOVIES

Shell Cove leads battery charge

By Lesley Roulston

The South Coast’s first community battery was installed at Shell Cove earlier this year as part of an energy-company partnership.

Endeavour Energy has partnered with Origin Energy to install 10 community batteries in selected NSW regions including Bangarribee (Western Sydney, installed last year), Shell Cove (installed in April this year), Campbelltown, Kiama, Liverpool, Shoalhaven, Wingecarribee and Wollondilly.

The Shell Cove battery, officially installed in April, is part of a trial, which runs for 12 months and is open to residents within the catchment area.

A community battery stores surplus solar energy from participating customers, ensuring it’s readily available when needed (e.g. at night when the sun isn’t shining).

“Customers effectively rent a portion of the battery’s capacity to access neighbourhoodgenerated solar power,” Endeavour Energy states.

“Participating customers receive a rebate on the energy they store and consume from the battery. Those with household solar are expected to see energy costs reductions of up to $270 per year, while customers without solar will see reduced energy costs of up to $180 per year.”

Endeavour Energy community partnerships and brand manager Rebecca Hill says: “Both solar and non-solar customers are able to access green energy and enjoy reduced energy costs through the community battery trial.”

Rebecca says the trial is open to everyone within the catchment area*, residents are not required to be an Origin Energy customer, or have solar panels, or own their place of residence to participate in the trial. (*Catchment maps are available on the Endeavour Energy website.)

Shell Cove’s Judy Barker lives with her two teenage daughters, doesn’t have access to solar

panels and solar panel providers have told her that her household doesn’t use enough electricity to warrant installing them.

Judy says the community battery initiative is perfect for her as she wants to make the effort to live greener, so she was keen to participate in the trial. Joining the trial requires some paperwork and the payment of a $15/month participation fee for 12 months – but participants’ savings on their electricity bills are expected to offset that payment.

Shell Cove resident Doug Grimison was also keen to join the community battery trial. He has solar power in his home and believes the community battery is a wonderful idea to harness the excess energy produced by the panels.

Doug says one of the benefits of the community battery is that he can draw power from the community battery at night when he charges his electric vehicle. Being able to share the excess energy from his solar panels with others is another plus, he says.

Community battery for Kiama too

As this issue was being finalised, NSW’s equalbiggest community battery was officially installed in Kiama.

It’s the biggest community battery for Endeavour Energy, and the biggest on the South Coast.

According to an Endeavour Energy statement, the battery’s output is equivalent to 1100 blows of the Kiama Blowhole, which produces 0.4KWh every time it blows. With 445 kWh of storage capacity, Kiama Downs’ residents will now be able to store and share solar, “while supporting all customers by keeping a downward pressure on electricity prices”.

Reasons to celebrate

By Belinda Dawson, Relieving Principal at Shellharbour Public School

We’ve had a fantastic two terms at Shellharbour Public School, filled with hard work, creativity, and community spirit. In the classrooms and library, students have been diligently applying themselves to their studies, while the art studio has been a hub of creativity, producing stunning artworks.

Our extracurricular activities have been equally impressive, with students participating in events like Cross Country and the Swimming Carnival,

where many achieved remarkable results at the district level.

The sense of community at our school was beautifully demonstrated at the Mother’s Day Breakfast, hosted by our dedicated P&C. This heartwarming event saw a large turnout of families, highlighting the strong bonds within our school community. Overall, these past two terms have been a testament to the hard work, talent, and enthusiasm of our students, staff, and families.

Break down exercise barriers

It’s important to stay active as you grow older, writes Elossa founder Lilliana Barone

We know an active lifestyle is important to enjoying a good quality of life, especially as we get older. Yet sometimes transitioning from the ‘knowing’ to the ‘doing’ can be hard. Here are five barriers to exercise that older adults often face and some ways to overcome them.

1. Health Issues

Conditions such as arthritis, osteoporosis and joint problems may limit mobility. Find an exercise program tailored to your needs and specific health concerns. Age or health status should not be a barrier to exercise. But it is crucial to collaborate with health professionals, such as an exercise physiologist, to ensure the exercise is appropriate, safe and effective.

2. Fear of Injury

Concern about potential or previous injuries can be a significant barrier. There can be a catch-22 scenario where the fear of injury prevents a return to regular exercise, which leads to a decrease in fitness and strength, which in turn leads to an increased risk of injury through falls, joint instability and decreased mobility. Seek expert guidance and participate in an exercise programme that enhances functional fitness, strength and balance.

3. Not fit enough

You have to start somewhere and that somewhere is where you are at now. An appropriate exercise programme will meet you at your baseline, no matter what that is. It’s your fitness journey, so don’t compare yourself to others.

4. Not enough Time

Workouts don’t have to be long, in fact, the physical activity guidelines recommend 30 minutes most days a week.

Integrating physical activity into daily routines, blocking time out in your diary for exercise, and exercising with friends are all strategies that can help overcome the time barrier of time. Try thinking of exercise as medicine.

5. Social Support

Social isolation is a common barrier. The importance of social interaction can’t be underestimated, not only to encourage longerterm commitment to exercise but also to foster a sense of connection and help make new friends. All so important for our general well-being.

Engaging in exercise is an investment in yourself. And implementing individualised strategies is key to incorporating regular exercise. Find somewhere you feel safe and supported – if you enjoy it, you are more likely to stick to a regular exercise habit for the longer term.

Elossa is a specialised Gym for over 60s that provides a safe and supervised space where members can combine strength, balance and cardio training to become healthier and stronger.

If you are ready to break down your barriers, book into an initial assessment with one of Elossa’s Exercise Physiologists by calling 0468 357 720 or visit www.elossafitness.com. Elossa’s newest studio is at 2/7 Minga Ave, Shellharbour City Centre.

Step into the Men’s Shed

By Lesley Roulston

The Southern Illawarra Men’s Shed is a space where adult men of all ages and walks of life can come to enjoy the company of others, learn a new skill or share their knowledge.

The idea for Men’s Sheds began in Australia in the 1990s and has spread around the world. The Australian Men’s Shed Association describes sheds as friendly places, “where men come together to undertake woodworking, metalworking and other projects of their choice and also, to contribute to projects requested by the local community”.

Ultimately the goal is to improve health and wellbeing. Men’s Sheds aim to be safe spaces where men can discuss sensitive subjects, talk about problems they might find difficult to deal with on their own, or simply enjoy the company of others.

Judging by the popularity of the phenomenon – there are now more than 1200 Men’s, Women’s and Community Sheds around Australia – the approach has well and truly hit the mark.

Many men find that once they retire or are no longer working they are looking for something to do, and the Men’s Shed provides them with something meaningful. However, Southern Illawarra Men’s Shed members Gary Feeney and Chris Cruden say that some of their members are purely social and come to the shed for a chat and a cuppa. The Men’s Shed is about mateship, they explain, there’s no pressure.

The Southern Illawarra Shed at Oak Flats does

have areas dedicated to woodworking and metalworking, and anyone interested can contribute to the many projects undertaken for local non-profit organisations, businesses and the general public.

Southern Illawarra members have been involved in great projects, including the construction of a Buddy Seat with wheels that was built for a local primary school.

Chris says the idea is if a child feels lonely or upset and in need of a friend, they can sit on the Buddy Seat. The school has trained children in years 5 and 6 to step up and help the students who sit on the Buddy Seat.

Shed members have also made sandboxes for The Links Shell Cove, as well as toys (a sizeable wooden bulldozer takes pride of place, waiting for its next home), clocks, gavels, trinket boxes, garden ornaments, bird boxes, trains and much more.

Gary says young men and men of all ages and abilities are welcome.

A supervisor is always on hand to oversee the production process and, with so many members with different skills, expert knowledge is on tap whenever it’s needed.

The Southern Illawarra Men’s Shed is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 8am-3pm, 121B Industrial Rd, Oak Flats. 0493 058 874, southern illawarramensshed@gmail.com

Volunteer with the SES

By Jeremy Lasek

“After those big bushfires in 2020, I decided I wanted to do something more to help the community and that’s when I decided to join the State Emergency Service (SES).”

Everyone has a reason for why they decide to volunteer. For Nikki Ristoski, who volunteers with the Shellharbour SES unit, it was a natural disaster on our doorstep that prompted her to sign up.

“That was four years ago now and I really enjoy it. We get to do the cool stuff and it’s really rewarding.”

Nikki, the stakeholder and media engagement officer for her SES unit, was part of the recruitment drive at the Wollongong Volunteer Expo, held at Wollongong Town Hall during May’s National Volunteer Week.

Dozens of community groups, charities and not-for-profits pitched the important work they do to the many hundreds who attended, all looking to use their spare time for the greater good.

Aidan McKay, from Unanderra, visited the

Shellharbour SES stall keen to hear more about the work they do.

“They’ve been on my radar for quite a while, especially after we experienced all that recent heavy rain and flooding,” Aidan said.

Nikki, carrying the cute SES mascot, Paddy the Platypus, was quick to respond: “Flooding isn’t all that we do.” And she promptly promoted the Shellharbour SES open day on June 15.

“This will be a great opportunity for people to call in and find out more about the huge variety of things we do and also to learn more about how they can best prepare themselves for the next emergency,” Nikki said.

“Education is so important. It’s about people helping themselves but also helping their neighbours. Sometimes that’s all that’s needed to prevent a disaster.”

Shellharbour SES open day, 10am-2pm, Saturday, June 15 at the base at Tongarra Road, Albion Park

Tiny Dreams

By Ben Wollen

I have a plan. A very small plan, or perhaps more of a tiny dream. To buy a block of land somewhere along the beautiful South Coast and plonk something like a tiny solar home on it such that my family and I can escape the noise of Lawrence Hargrave Drive for a week or two, gaze upon a properly dark night sky and peer into the Milky Way with all its glory. I believe I’m not the only one with this dream. Now, whether it includes a tiny home, a caravan, a yurt, or even a country villa, what is the net result of us city-type folk buying vacant lots in regional Australia? Yep – you guessed it, property price increases. And we all know about the effects of this. But, I digress – this is an article on tiny homes, not property prices. So, why not dream big and go for the large country villa? My response would be that there’s something unique about living in a tiny well-considered shelter. I would say that it allows you to become more intimate with nature, but without incurring the discomforts of camping.

I love caravans too, especially the old Airstreams, but they’re designed more to be carted around than for the comforts of home. Let’s face it, tiny homes only have wheels so they can bypass the legislation around building them with footings.

With the advent of modern efficient solar panels and composting toilets, it means these tiny homes are a very versatile domicile. So that brings me to why I like tiny homes so much. First, for the most part, you don’t need Council approval to park them on your piece of terra firma (STCA – that abbreviation you often see on real estate ads, it stands for Subject To Council Approval).

You do need to check with your local Council first. You see, tiny homes are technically caravans that look like houses. They are on wheels and they need to be registered if they ever encounter a road. (You can relocate them on the back of a lorry but that’s kind of silly when they have their own wheels.) For the most part, the wheels will likely get used once and then that’s it. They just sit there to prove that for all intents and purposes, the thing is not permanent.

To alleviate the housing crisis, Shellharbour Council is looking at ways to make it easier for people to plonk a tiny dream on their or someone else’s piece of terra firma. Whilst I laud them for doing so, I think this will only make a small dent in the housing crisis. I also feel that this is almost an act of exasperation for want of other longer-term and more appropriate solutions.

My friends on Instagram @ordinaryhouseau are doing great things with the tiny house form. Chatting with co-directors Sam and Lucia was illuminating, as there are some murky unknowns that one encounters with a tiny home plonk.

1. Do you need to keep them road-registered to justify them as a caravan?

2. How do you attach to a sewer? Does Sydney Water have an issue with another toilet, kitchen and shower popping up all over the place?

3. Should tiny homes have a standard for construction? Currently, they just need to fulfil the caravan standards.

4. What happens when you plonk your tiny home on someone else’s land and they keep jacking

Photo: Zach Bowden @Zachjames.studio

the rent up? Should there be a residential lease agreement that protects tiny renters?

5. If they don’t produce their own solar power, will they require their own circuit from the property’s mains board? Who pays for this?

6. Many Councils require the person occupying a tiny home to be a “member of the household”. How does one define a member of the household? Do they occasionally need to stay in the house?

7. In a bushfire-affected area – do tiny homes need to be made of non-combustible materials and/or adhere to the bushfire building code?

8. Insurance – can they even be insured?

Byron Bay Council has a fact sheet summarising some of these quandaries. Tiny Solar Homes has a good FAQ at www.tinysolarhomes.com.au – while you’re there, book a tour of their display model.

As you can see, it’s not the easiest of plonks! There’s no doubt that tiny homes have a role to play in alleviating the housing crisis, but unless some of these unknowns are converted to certainties, they’re going to be effective only in certain circumstances.

As for my tiny dream, it will have to be satisfied by the ones available to rent for now!

What’s On

More events at theillawarraflame.com.au

Woofstock

Sun, June 23 A morning for the pets and their people – play, pampering and celebrating the furry and fabulous! Shell Cove Marina Foreshore (Boardwalk and next to kids’ beach).

Work from Home Walking Group Wednesdays 12.30pm (45 mins). A regular social walking group. Meet at the Shell Cove Marina at the top of the stairs near the kids’ water-play area.

Pantomime Boots - The True Story of Puss in Boots

July 12-21 At Shellharbour’s Roo Theatre. www.roo-theatre.com.au

Open Mic Night with Feature Artist

Nicole Smede

Tues, June 11 Shellharbour City Library, 6pm. For beginners and seasoned performers.

The Goblin Queen’s Winter Ball

Sat August 3 6-11pm, Shellharbour Civic Centre. Tickets at www.eventbrite.com.au

Georgia Rose Boutique Markets

Last Sunday of the month From 10am at The Waterfront Shell Cove.

South Illawarra Older Women’s Network

3rd Friday of each month Meetings from 2-4pm, at Ss Peter and Paul Church Hall, 94-112 Manning St, Kiama. SIOWN welcomes members from the Shellharbour, Kiama and Berry districts who are passionate about supporting older women. Email southillawarra@ownnsw.org.au

Shellharbour Men’s Shed

Open Tue, Wed & Thurs Work on projects in a well-equipped workshop. 32A Addison Street, Shellharbour Village. Contact: 02 4297 8005; shell_mensshed@yahoo.com.au

South Coast Readers and Writers Festival

July 13-14 With a line-up of more than 40 stellar award-winning authors, talented new voices, acclaimed poets, broadcasters and thinkers. Book tickets at southcoastwriters.org/festival

Tarmac Days at HARS Aviation Museum

June 14-16 Board and sit inside planes, like the F-111C fighter bomber and Neptune submarine hunter. Visit hars.org.au

Shell Cove Community Garden

Every Wed 9-11am & Sat from 3-5pm Email Shellcove.community@frasersproperty.com.au

Illawarra Light Railway Museum: Tramways Sat June 22 Catch the Diesel Train then hop off and ride the Miniature Train for a day of fun for all. Sun July 14 Ride a Steam Train then the Miniature Train. Tour the Locomotive Shed and see the 1915 Otford Signal Box and the 1890 Yallah Station building. Coffee and souvenirs at the Tramway Dining Car. 10am to 2pm. www.ilrms.com.au

Kiama Readers’ Festival

Fri July 19 Books In The Garden, 10am-12.45pm at Burnetts on Barney Garden Centre. Three authors – Fiona Weir from Buena Vista Farm, Kirsten Bradley from Milkwood Permaculture, and gardening guru Craig Castree. $35pp for three author talks. Book online

Fri July 19 Festival launch at Kiama Library. With Fred Smith, the singing diplomat, author, and raconteur. 6pm-9pm with wine and finger food. $40pp Book online

Sat July 20 Books By The Sea. 10am-4.30pm at The Pavilion, Kiama. Talks from authors Chris Hammer, Hugh Mackay, Joanna Nell, Michael Brissenden, Karen Viggers, David Hardaker, Andra Putnis and Sue Williams. For the day’s last session, we have partnered with BAD Sydney Crime Writers Festival for a panel moderated by Sue Turnbull, Professor in Media, and crime fiction reviewer for the Sydney Morning Herald. Morning tickets $35, afternoon $40, day tickets $70.

Sat Gala Dinner 6pm at The Kiama Leagues Club. Join us for an evening of good food and special company at the Kiama Leagues Club and hear stories from novelist and social commentator Jane Caro. 6pm: $65 for two-course dinner. Book online: https://library.kiama.nsw.gov.au/krf

Society welcomes artists

By Lesley Roulston

The Shellharbour City Arts Society has been nurturing artists and enriching the arts in the Shellharbour region for 12 years.

The society was formed in 2012 out of the realisation that artists in the area lacked opportunities to develop their skills and display their art.

The secretary of the Shellharbour City Arts Society, Sandi Foley, says: “Working as an artist can sometimes be a lonely space; in the society we support each other. We all love art so come together to socialise and help each other.”

Members meet regularly and everyone is welcome to join. The Arts Society encourages new members, including budding artists who are looking for some support, as well as more established artists who are looking for ways to showcase their creativity.

Hello, earthlings.

Sandi says the beauty of a society is that “we all have various talents and work with different mediums whether that be paint, fabric, nature, ceramics, so can assist each other with almost anything”.

The society’s most recent display – The Exhibitionists at The Imaginarium in Shellharbour Village in early June – is a collated collection of works for sale by local artists. The society stages workshops and retreats that are promoted on their website and via social media.

The next Shellharbour City Arts Society meeting for members will be held at 6pm on Monday, August 5.

For more information on membership or shows, go to www.shellharbourcityarts.com.au or follow on Instagram and Facebook

Lost Astronaut

Find adventures in the Enchanted Forest

The Enchanted Forest light and laser show is returning to Shellharbour with an all-new, space-themed adventure, ‘Lost Astronaut’.

The Enchanted Forest – Lost Astronaut will be staged every night at Blackbutt Forest Reserve from Friday, 24 May to Sunday, 16 June.

Laservision, a producer of light, sound and water shows, is staging the event, in partnership with Shellharbour City Council.

For more details and to buy tickets, visit www.theenchantedforest.com.au

Photo: Laservision

Meet the Ramblers

By Julie McDonald, publicity officer for The Illawarra Ramblers

Local members of the Shellharbour community have been enjoying adventures with the Illawarra Ramblers. Thanks to Robert Lynn and Pat Robson from Oak Flats for taking the time to tell us more.

Tell us about your involvement with the Illawarra Ramblers.

Robert: We got involved with the Ramblers once we retired – we’d seen this group of people riding by Lake Illawarra and we eventually asked them who they were and so forth. As it sounded very much like our type of thing, we joined soon afterwards.

We go kayaking on Lake Illawarra and surrounding rivers most Thursdays and on Mondays we join the Illawarra bike rides.

We’ve also been on many of the multi-day trips away and as we have a camper trailer, we’re well set up. We’ve also been to Lord Howe Island, which was well organised and put together, with excellent accommodation and food and a great group of people from the Ramblers and National Parks Association. The snorkelling was amazing.

So you’re keen bike riders and paddlers?

Pat: Robert introduced me into bike riding and we’ve done two of the Big Rides run by Bicycle NSW and the Sydney to Wollongong MS rides.

Robert: Funnily enough we got into kayaking through Dragon Boat racing. We’ve represented

Australia and raced in Penang, Singapore and New Zealand. As well as our involvement with Port Hacking Dragon Boat Club, we were also involved with the Illawarra Dragons Abreast when they started.

Pat and I were coaches and I was also an accredited sweep (i.e. the person who steers the boat). We used to come down from Sydney to help train the Illawarra Dragons on alternate weekends. Since moving to Oak Flats, kayaking has taken over from Dragon Boats – it’s a lot easier than organising a team of 20, plus a sweep and drummer!

Some of the long bike rides we’ve done with the Ramblers have included a two-week trip from Narooma to Port Fairy in Victoria. Our most recent ride was on several Victorian Rail trails in Central Victoria and East Gippsland. On this trip, my e-bike failed and I had to do a lot of pedalling uphill and into headwinds! We succumbed to purchasing e-bikes a couple of years ago.

Atrocious weather on some of the kayak and bike trips has also made them memorable, with lots of reminiscences when we get together at happy hour.

We’ve also done Ramblers’ kayaking trips on the Murray and Murrumbidgee rivers, Mallacoota area (before the 2019/20 bushfires), Southern and Northern NSW. One of the most scenic kayaking trips was in Tasmania which included trips from Dover, Southport and Huon River in the bays and rivers in the south east, then across to the west coast to kayak on the magnificent and pristine Henty, Pieman and Arthur rivers. The scenery and wildlife were amazing, we even saw platypus and spent a day at the fascinating Zeehan mining museum.

Pat: We’ve had some pretty interesting times – Robert had a heart attack while paddling down the Murray River. On this trip we were camping out of the kayaks.

Oh my goodness, that sounds pretty serious! Pat: It was scary at the time but he was very lucky, because of his general fitness. There were a lot of logistics involved in getting from the river to hospital!

Robert: Pat had to organise collecting our double kayak, getting back to where we’d left the camper trailer and packing it up. During that trip one of the other women also had a major health issue. All in all an eventful trip, not many Ramblers have had these experiences, thank goodness. But it didn’t quench our enthusiasm.

We used to do walks with the Ramblers, but less

Robert Lynn and Pat Robson from Oak Flats are active Ramblers. Photos supplied

so now. We’ve done most of the bush walks we really wanted to do around the escarpment –Pigeon House, Drawing Room rocks, Macquarie Pass etc.

Can you tell me a little bit about yourselves?

Robert: I grew up in this area. My parents moved from Sydney to Port Kembla when I was about four years old, and I went to the Port Kembla primary school, and then the high school. After finishing school I studied metallurgy, went overseas like most young people did in those days. When I came back, I initially worked at Unanderra, then left the Illawarra and for many years worked in Sydney in a variety of jobs. I studied accountancy and ended up working for John Holland, a major construction company, in senior finance positions until I retired.

Pat: I met Robert in 1992 and we got married in ’93. I’m a girl from the bush and grew up around Wagga Wagga. I moved to Sydney to do my nursing training at Prince Henry Hospital and then midwifery in Canberra. I worked all over the place in Queensland, NSW, Victoria and overseas; got married, had kids and then divorced.

I wanted to get out of nursing before I got too much older and did a social work degree, ending up at Bowral working for the local area health service until I retired.

We both have grown-up kids and a few grandkids – some are down here in the Illawarra; others are further afield.

How did you end up back in the Illawarra?

Pat: We’d been thinking of moving down to the Illawarra for a while. When we found this house in Oak Flats, we didn’t think much of it from the front, but when we walked inside and saw the panoramic view of Lake Illawarra and the escarpment from our back door, we were hooked.

We don’t have to get the car out to do the things we like doing: a bike track runs right by the house and if the lake is looking good, we can launch our kayaks from the backyard and go for a paddle.

Robert: The Ramblers are such a great group of people… The beauty of becoming a member is you look at the program and decide what you’d like to do and feel able to do, as the activities are graded in terms of their difficulty.

There’s no commitment; you just go when you feel like it. We highly recommend that people who are looking for a variety of activities to suit their level of fitness and enthusiasm join the Illawarra Ramblers for friendship and a good time.

Contact Anne Murdoch on 0490 963 180 or email illawarraramblers@gmail.com to discuss trialling two activities. For more details, visit www.illawarraramblers.com.au

Pat and Robert enjoy doing the outdoor activities they love with the Ramblers

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History of the parachutist who landed up at ‘Clover Hill’

By Tamara Hynd, Curator of Shellharbour City Museum

Many who have bushwalked Macquarie Pass would remember Ben’s Tudor-style home at ‘Clover Hill’, known locally as Ben’s Folly. There are probably few who have heard his story.

Benjamin Horace Turner was a stunt parachutist with the World’s First Flying Fair and Sir Alan Cobham’s Air Circus in England in the 1930s. At the age of 22 Ben made his first parachute descent, a risky thing to do in 1932. Over the next six years he made 299 jumps.

In 1938, Ben was employed by Brigadier Denzil MacArthur Onslow to set up the manufacturing of parachutes in Australia to cope with wartime demand. Ben tested the prototype ‘Domain parachute’ at Camden. In 1939, he founded Turner Parachute Pty Ltd. The factory at Broadway was the sole supplier of Australian air and ground forces.

At the end of the war, with no need for parachutes, Ben had the idea of manufacturing women’s swimwear instead.

He and his then wife, Jean, designed and cut Scamp swimsuits, which were to become an Australian icon. They were reputedly made from the silk destined for his parachutes, though friends of Ben believed this rumour was created and spread by Ben himself.

June Dally Watkins, modelled Scamp swimsuits

in glossy magazines. She said of Ben, “He was the original swimsuit man… he treated the production of a swimsuit as if he were an engineer.” (The Daily Telegraph, Wednesday, 22 February 1989).

In the 1950s Ben, Jean and their English Sheepdog, Roger, retired to their 400-acre property at Macquarie Pass, ‘Clover Hill’.

They lived in the old Thomas family farmhouse, and planned to turn the property into a tourist resort. With no finances to complete their plans, the closest they got was to open the property up to picnickers and holidaymakers.

In 1970, Ben established and piloted Southern Cross Air, which operated across NSW. The 1970s were not all great years for Ben. His home at Macquarie Pass was lost to fire, the National Parks and Wildlife Service resumed his property, and he separated from his wife of 30 years, Jean.

Ben was allowed to stay at ‘Clover Hill’ for the remainder of his life. He began extending his famous Tudor-style manor house, built to replace the original homestead which had burnt down. The house was built around huge rock formations on the property, so that the rocks literally became walls within the rooms of his house.

The home and Ben were a familiar sight to bushwalkers visiting The Pass.

In May 2001, Ben Turner passed away at his ‘Clover Hill’ home at the age of 91. When once asked by a reporter why he believed his father Horace had lived to the ripe old age of 94, Ben replied: ‘Cigarettes and Honey.’ (The Daily Telegraph, Wednesday, 22 February 1989).

Learn more about the history of Shellharbour via Shellharbour City Museum’s online platform, Discover Shellharbour. Visit discovershellharbour.recollect.net.au

Saturday July 6th and 13th; Sunday July 7th and 14th 10am to 4pm

Come and see one of the largest display of Australian Native Plants anywhere in NSW. The expansive native display gardens showcase plants from all over Australia

Enjoy the rainforest and sensory trail and the newly renovated vine forest walk featuring the giant blackbutt Want advice? – bring your questions and we will do our best to help!

Shellharbour shipwright charts his own course

By Zachary Houtenville

A Shell Cove resident is determined to take boat-building to a new level in the Illawarra.

Tim Makepeace has 33 years of experience as a shipwright and established his Shellharbour-based boat-repair and -building business, Fifth Element Marine, in August 2022. The business specialises in custom carbon-fibre products, marine repairs, insurance repairs and more.

“There are other shipwrights in the area so I’ve got some competition, I’m just doing my own thing though really,” Tim said.

“I just wanted to bring the boat-building back to Wollongong and the area.”

Tim’s connection to boats started when he was a young boy; his family were avid sailors, especially his dad. Tim sailed in Maricat 5.0 state and national titles, and also represented Australia in the 2007 Seawind F18 World Championship, sailing a F18 catamaran.

Tim started his career as a shipwright apprentice in Meadowbrook in 1989 then moved to Wollongong three years later. He has since been involved in the development of numerous ships, including the Seawind 1160.

“I developed it from the floor up, so 18 months’ worth of building – all the plugs, moulds, everything,” Tim said.

With a wealth of experience at well-regarded

companies, such as Seawind Catamarans and Azura Marine, Tim decided to start his own business and pursue his dream project.

“I did have my business before, which just wasn’t the right time,” Tim said. “I’ve learned a lot more just by being in different businesses and I’ve had a bit of a dream to produce a 47ft catamaran.”

The job presents its share of challenges, but meticulous preparation is crucial to boat development, Tim said.

“It’s all about preparing the shop so it all works, and so I’ve got everything I need.

“That’s the main thing, you need the right tools to do the job.”

“I learned from my dad because he was a cabinet maker: if you don’t have a tool, you make a tool to do the job.”

What brings Tim the most joy as he walks into the shop every day is the opportunity to build and engage with projects that ignite his passion.

“I just get the satisfaction of fixing boats for people, getting them up to scratch and getting them out on the water, that’s the main thing.”

He acknowledges the help of many people throughout his career, but none more so than his partner, Elizabeth Makepeace.

“She has sort of pushed me in this way as well.”

For more information, visit the website at www.fifthelementmarine.com.au.

Tim Makepeace at the Fifth Element Marine workshop. Photos: Zachary Houtenville

Welcome to winter

By Andy Lawrence, a local doula and women’s circle facilitator

What seems like long ago, in the distant land of life before children, my husband and I took rest for granted.

We were entitled to paid sick leave and had little by way of responsibility beyond a cheap rental and some houseplants. When we fell prey to the annual cold virus we might have taken one day off.

We’d spend it lounging in bed, watching TV shows before bucking up, taking some Codral and going to work the next day, convinced of our indispensability. Or perhaps it was the shame-laced guilt wrought from a collective childhood of linking achievement with self-worth that prevented us from feeling entitled to rest.

Whatever it was, it was stupid. I want to reach back and give my 27-year-old self a retrospective little slap in the face for squandering all that time and capacity in a job I hated. A little self-righteous, current me would lecture her about the need to listen to her body, rest, and “quit your damn job!” I’d laugh when she’d protest, telling me that she had no time and was overwhelmed and, “what would I even do if I quit!?”

Overwhelmed? My dear, you have no idea. Another, more compassionate part of me soothes that past-self as well as my current raging indignation. I was overwhelmed and I had none of the tools I now have to deal with it, despite having less pressure.

These are the kind of exchanges I have in my mind now, as I make my kids’ lunches while feeling like I might faint from exhaustion, the latest virus rippling through my skin. I dream of a time when I had the luxury of being ill without tiny humans needing three meals a day, plus countless snacks, emotional stability and age-appropriate entertainment, a continuous cycle without reprieve. Add to that the crushing guilt over the amount of TV they’re consuming and the tense, desperate snapping that erupts from me when their endless bickering threatens to consume my very soul, and you’ve got yourself the perfect concoction for despair! Yay!

All I want to do is crawl into my bed and return to my current escapism: the kitschy but addictive land of fantasy smut novels. Maybe have a long, hot bath that doesn’t involve my beautiful toddlers crawling all over my body, body-slamming my stomach and disappearing beneath the water in what I can only describe as an effort to return from whence they came. But in lieu of literally any other person to step in, I keep giving cuddles, making food, disrupting conflict and calming my inner rage when my threenager changes her outfit for the

third time before feeling ready to leave the house.

This latest illness likely came from one of the brilliant but inevitably disease-filled indoor play centres in the Illawarra.

Last week, along with every other tense parent and under-stimulated child in Wollongong, my daughters and I packed into the Discovery Centre, keen to escape the rain and release some cabinfever-fuelled energy. It’s a gamble, always a gamble. And this week we lost on black.

It’s a brutal joke, really. Only after having my children have I been granted the tools to listen to my body and prioritise rest. With delightful paradox, they gifted me self-love and the ability to rest guilt-free alongside an utter incapacity to do so. Well, to be fair, the latter is a freebie from a hyper-individualistic, capitalist society that champions nuclear families and gendered roles in the home and the workforce, but who’s keeping track? Me. Obviously me.

After a stern discussion with my past self, I tend to myself in the small ways I can. I have the bath with the kids: two birds, one stone. I tag-team with my husband to piece together meals that are a compromise between ease and nutrition. I expand my perspective of who my village is to include meal delivery services, the daycare staff at my daughters’ school (when they’re finally well enough to go), the sun (finally and blissfully shining on my pallid face) and, of course, the saucy characters in my indecent novel.

They are the real MVPs for breathing levity into me through stolen moments of escapism as we weather the torture chamber that is being ill while caring for young children.

Visit andylawrence.com.au

How the Whale Songline research began

Part 2 by Genevieve Swart

A Doctor of Philosophy, Jodi Edwards began her research long before the Illawarra’s proposed wind farm zone and current concerns over whales.

It started when this proud Yuin woman with Dharawal kinship was writing a chapter on fishing practices during her PhD. Jodi’s fishing knowledge comes from her late father and her uncle, both of whom she nursed through cancer.

“All they wanted to do was go fishing! But I always say, ancestors look after you and push you in the direction that you’re supposed to go. So I’m forever grateful for that time.”

Her father – whose skill as a fisherman came from the depth of his relationship with the sea –taught Jodi to swim like a porpoise, dive like a dolphin, hold her breath and lie on the ocean floor in the sand like a stingray. Knowing that she would lose her dad and his knowledge inspired Jodi to start documenting the things he’d taught her.

“My dad passed in 2019. He made me promise him that I would finish my PhD,” she says.

Jodi did, and now she’s using her studies to reawaken the Whale Songline in a project called Unbroken Whispers – The ripples connecting sea kin. The project received $300,000 in federal government funding earlier this year and will take Jodi and her research partner, ecologist Dr Chelsea Marshall, all along the East Coast.

The reawakening

One challenge will be recovering stories suppressed by colonisation.

“We have been lucky enough to have staunch Elders across every community that didn’t lay down, they just kept things underground,” Jodi says. “Yes, we had a period of time, 240 years, where we weren’t legally able to practise our culture, so it happened subtly … we’re playing catch up now, to pass the knowledge to our young ones before the knowledge holders pass.”

The project aims to leave a legacy bank of stories to be passed on. “Not only to Aboriginal kids, but to non-Aboriginal kids because, at the end of the day, for me, they [kids] are the creators of the future.”

Chelsea is a fellow whale woman, a friend and colleague Jodi has known for years.

“The important part is to privilege Aboriginal voices, because at the moment they’re the silent voice in all of this.

“Most people are aware that there’s lots of things happening around Sea Country, but nobody’s really speaking to Aboriginal people. And Aboriginal people aren’t speaking to anyone either; they are worried about what’s going to happen to their information.”

Jodi says she and Chelsea have the advantage of being “insiders but outsiders”.

“We are insiders as far as we are two Aboriginal women who have whale kinship connection and outsiders because we don’t have bloodline connections in some places like Tasmania.

“In each community, we’ll connect with people and communities, and they will decide how and what can be shared. It’s important to myself and Chels to help others understand – you know, just because you hear a story or you’re told something, it doesn’t mean it’s yours to share.”

“Most people are aware that there’s lots of things happening around Sea Country, but nobody’s really speaking to Aboriginal people. And Aboriginal people aren’t speaking to anyone either; they are worried about what’s going to happen to their information.”

– Dr Jodi Edwards

Photo: Ashley Sykes @ ausmashmash

Science & stories challenge the agenda

The project is charged with revolutionary thinking, as Jodi has recovered her understanding of the cultural ties between matriarchal Yuin women and orcas, with whom they have kinship connections. These apex predators – rare among animals as they go through menopause – are matriarchs as well.

couples and humpback whales, who raise their calves in female pairs. “They become mates and mothers to the calf,” she says.

love to have our 2m humpback whale [from the Lake Illawarra Art Trail sculpture] on a float going down Oxford Street.”

mirroring the status of Yuin women as decision makers, as well as a poke in the eye for the current patriarchy.

passionate about the whales, if he knew they were LGBTIQ,” she says.

in a format that suits the politically correct agenda. We need to start to challenge some of the things people are saying, using the science, using the stories.

have – stories that go back from generation to

buster THE Scam

By Marcus Craft

A police officer turned private investigator, Kylee Dennis is extremely passionate about helping people. It’s what drives her.

And that’s crucial because as head of Two Face Investigations – an agency specialising in uncovering digital deception and protecting people from romance scams – Kylee has to help her clients escape the online clutches of the lowest of the low.

But it’s not new ground for Kylee because in the NSW Police Force she was investigating and helping to apprehend criminals for 14 years. During this time, she served in numerous roles, including intelligence officer, hostage negotiator, undercover operative, detective, adult sexual assault investigator and child protection specialist.

Her experience and skill-set mean she is more than well-equipped to take on global crime syndicates.

That’s good news for law-abiding civilians, bad news for crooks.

A personal connection

Kylee decided to switch her professional focus in 2023 and start Two Face Investigations after an online romance scammer targeted a friend’s mother and Kylee helped to extract the 78-year-old woman from the situation.

Online romance scammers use fake dating profiles – often with a stolen identity and photos of a model or an innocent person who has nothing to do with the scam – to start an online relationship with a man or woman. Their goal: to get that person to send money or gift cards.

These scammers operate across social media and dating apps, seeking to exploit innocent people who are looking for personal intimate connection and love.

In 2022, online romance scams cost Australians more than $40 million, according to the Australian government’s Scamwatch, run by the National Anti-Scam Centre.

When Kylee saw how devastated her friend’s mum was in the aftermath of the crime – and the sheer volume of online romance scams that were occurring every day – she knew she had to dedicate herself to researching, tracking and shutting down these criminals and criminal networks.

“It took me a couple of weeks to use a bit of

persuasive technique to get her to understand that who she was actually talking to [was a scammer]. And she then went through the shame, the embarrassment and everything.

“As a result of watching her go through this –and it was such a simple, easy exercise to go online [to identify and investigate scams] – I went, ‘Okay, what’s out there?’

“So I’ve gone: ‘How many people are losing, are sitting at home believing that they’re falling in love?’ That just broke me. So I said: ‘No, I’m gonna try to do something, I’m gonna focus solely on this because everyone deserves to feel loved or be loved or want love, but you don’t deserve to lose your home over it in the scamming world.

“That’s what we are looking at: their sole purpose is to obtain a benefit [steal your money] through deception. And the deception is breaking your heart.”

Kylee says large-scale online romance scamming operations are based in three distinct regions: Nigeria, Ghana, and South-East Asia.

“There are pockets of people who just do it [the scams] by themselves, because they’re watching other people do it, but if we’re going to put them all under an umbrella, yes, they are crime syndicates.”

And there are scammers based in the UK, the US and here in Australia, she says.

Frighteningly though, online romance scams are only a small part of something much bigger and even more insidious.

“This [online romance scamming] moves into another whole world of pig butchering* and human trafficking. And this goes very deep.”

(*Pig butchering is a term used to describe the act of forcing the victim of your online romance scam into an investment scam, taking even more of their money in the process. It’s executed by way of the criminal tempting the victim with the prospect of making money through investments, as well as the lure of being able to afford expensive gifts and exotic travel, fattening them up for the slaughter. Hence, pig butchering.)

“And then right at the end – when you have then given all the money you’ve got, you’ve given them a hundred thousand dollars, you’ve asked friends for money – they then shut down the [fake investment scheme] webpage. It’s now “under maintenance”,

“My motto is: it takes a network to destroy a network. So the idea is that we collectively come together to destroy a network. I hope that I have an impact. But it’s just one step at a time, basically.”

– Kylee Dennis

you try to ring, get in contact with your friend and you’re slaughtered, done. You’ve lost everything.

“It’s coercive behaviour manipulation at its worst.”

There’s no shame in being the target of a romance scam

One of the misconceptions about scamming Kylee is keen to dispel is that victims are somehow silly for falling prey to such criminal operations.

“Don’t be ashamed or embarrassed. It happens to everyone, you’re not stupid.

“You shouldn’t feel silly, because these scams are finely tuned, orchestrated, they have a playbook.

“They go and buy scripts [about what to write and say] and all that sort of stuff. And these are things that have been honed over time, through tens of thousands of people.

“It’s heartbreaking.

“Someone said to me the other day: ‘We’ve all done something stupid in love, every one of us.’

“So I would say to anybody who contacts me: ‘It’s actually okay to talk about it.’

“The first step is to say, okay, you’ve been isolated. Tell me your story. Allow me to hear your story. And it’s between you and I, just you and I. It’s not for the world to know. And that’s where we start.

“It’s all about just that first step of

communication. I will be empathetic, I will listen and I will show you the respect that you deserve and then we’ll walk through it.

“If you have even a little bit of doubt, come and talk to me. And then we will work through the processes of identifying who you’re talking to.

“It is all confidential, it’s between you and I.

“So you just go onto my webpage and book in a time and we’ll have a 15-minute phone call. That’s it. You don’t have to take it any further.

“And then I can say to you, from what you are saying to me, I feel that there are red flags there. If you want to go further, you can. It’s your decision.

“If I feel that there are red flags there, and you choose to go down that path, I then do the investigation and it’ll take about seven days, I’ll try to get as much data that I can for you.

“There may be times where there is no information, so then we have to look at the content of emails. There’s always red flags.”

The fight never stops

During her investigations, as Kylee collects more and more data on scammers and scamming operations, she shares it with the appropriate government agencies.

“I think every scam needs to be reported to, whether it be to Scamwatch or whatever, because I don’t think the data is a hundred percent correct,

Kylee’s tips

to avoid being the victim of online romance

scammers

If an online love interest expresses an urgent desire to move a conversation off a dating site that’s a warning sign.

“If they’re messaging you and asking you to go straight from the dating app onto a Gmail account or WhatsApp or another messaging service, that’s a red flag,” Kylee says.

If an online dating profile looks too good to be true, then it probably is.

“There’s a lot of model-like photos, that’s a red flag.”

Recently Kylee found that a photo on a dating app of a man claiming to be a Wollongong resident was actually just a cropped version of a photo of an overseas male model, whose identity had been stolen.

because there would be a lot of people that are not reporting it, for various reasons.

“I’m guiding my clients down that path [of reporting the scam]. And also the path of making sure they look after themselves, their mental health.

“It’s not about the offender – it’s about you. I care about you. I want to make sure you are okay.”

For Kylee, the fight never stops. As well as helping her clients, she currently runs two fake identities on online dating websites as part of her constant monitoring, recording and reporting of the tactics of online romance scammers. She also reports fake Facebook accounts to Meta and lets dating apps know about fake profiles on the sites.

Kylee is building an ever-growing database of the language and imagery that online romance scammers use.

But to win the fight against online romance scammers we all need to do our bit.

“My motto is: it takes a network to destroy a network. So the idea is that we collectively come together to destroy a network. I hope that I have an impact. But it’s just one step at a time, basically.

“I’d like to be a disruptor, I’d like to help people to not go down that path [of being scammed]. I would like people to find true romance.”

Contact Kylee on 0498 367 168 or visit twofaceinvestigations.au

Another thing to watch out for is that online romance scammers intentionally don’t include much information on their dating profile.

“The limited amount of information is a red flag. They might write: ‘Male, 65, 175cm tall, loves fishing’ – and that’s it. That’s a red flag.”

If the person you’re in touch with online consistently can’t or won’t meet you in person then you’re likely interacting with a scammer.

Kylee also says another red flag is if your potential love interest claims they are working overseas – on an oil rig, as a pilot, businessman, military, doctor or if they say they’re in the military.

ph 0439 623 286 or 02 4294 4915 PO Box 182, Helensburgh NSW 2508 www.integrityconveyancing.com.au kylietheconveyancer@integrityconveyancing.com.au Incorporating Bensons Conveyancing Service

Resilience key to double gold

By Lesley Roulston

Inked on her right arm, the words ‘Dream Believe Achieve’ perfectly encapsulate Shellharbour resident Lily Piccolo’s journey into the world of para-athletics.

A rare eye condition diagnosed in her 20s later rendered Lily legally blind and set her on a path into the elite sporting world where she has achieved milestones on the national and world stage that she’d never imagined possible.

The paracyclist has just been crowned Oceania WB Champion after she and pilot Kelly Wright took out double gold – in the time trial and road race held in Brisbane in mid-April. Quite a feat considering Lily and Kelly had never raced together before and Lily was riding her own new tandem bike – Ruby Tuesday – rather than a loan bike.

“It was a pinch myself moment,” Lily says. “12 months ago I could never have imagined the words Oceania WB Champion coming out of my mouth, but here I am!”

It all started when she was 24. Fresh out of university, ready to take on the world and begin a teaching career, what Lily thought was night blindness was diagnosed as a rare degenerative retinal disease called Retinitis pigmentosa – that first takes the peripheral vision.

“An ophthalmologist explained it as having a spelling error in a strand of my DNA,” Lily says.

A visit to a leading eye specialist revealed the disease was in its early stages so the advice was “to go away and live life. Start making memories.

Come back in five years and see how things have progressed.”

And that’s exactly what she did, living a full life as a teacher, wife, and mother for 10 years while the disease remained stable. But then, Lily’s vision deteriorated further, and she was declared legally blind. Currently, Lily has less than 10 percent of central vision remaining, compared to the 180 degrees she once had – she describes her vision now as tunnel vision. Lily is a fighter though and Retinitis pigmentosa hasn’t stopped her, but it has forced her to navigate life in a different way. Since her teaching days, Lily has gone on to work for Vision Australia, supporting adults and children living with vision loss. Lily was eventually paired with a guide dog called Tilly who has helped her maintain her independence.

Her athletic journey started during Covid. As many of us did, Lily walked a lot during Covid with Tilly and Asher her Husky, as she worked to improve her overall health. Around this time, she discovered Exsight Tandems, an organisation in Illawarra that pairs able-bodied cyclists with vision-impaired cyclists so they can ride a bike for exercise. The tandem rides were ideal for Lily, and she thrived in this environment.

She was asked to help Jay Gaffey, a triathlete who had been asked to guide a visually impaired triathlete and needed some practice. By the end of that first ride, Lily and Jay had chatted, laughed, and connected, so it wasn’t too difficult for Jay to

Shellharbour paracyclist Lily Piccolo at the Oceania Championships with Kelly Wright. Photos supplied

convince Lily to start triathlon training.

Lily entered the Wollongong triathlon and completed her first cycling race, a time trial, in Randwick, with Jay. Lily says a pivotal moment for her was when, after the race, a paralympic cyclist called out “See you at nationals, ladies!” to her and Jay. Lily says she was stunned, her journey had only just started, and she was being encouraged to train for nationals. She decided to stop work for 12 months to give this new challenge a go. She organised a dedicated cycling coach, a personal trainer, and a nutritionist.

“I surrounded myself with an incredible support network of people including those from the Kiama Triathlon Club.”

A loan bike was arranged, and she set about training.

She rides outdoors with Jay twice a week, has numerous gym sessions and swims in the river or pool on her recovery day.

“I had to learn how to train like an athlete, eat like an athlete and behave like an athlete. I changed my mind, body and spirit and most importantly I worked on my mindset so when I had tough days I would use ‘self-talk’ to get me through it.”

State Championships were the first hurdle, Lily trained hard and in July 2023 she was crowned state champion.

The jump to being selected to compete in Nationals and the Para-cycling Road World Cup

Hail the queens!

By Anna Martin

Lily at the National Championships with Jay

was mammoth, but one that Lily managed to do with ease. After competing in the National Championships in January this year and receiving a bronze medal in the 21km time trial race and 4th in the road race, Lily and Jay went on to tackle the best in the world at the Para-Cycling Road World Cup in Adelaide that same month. They came fourth in the time trial, narrowly missing a podium position. Lily says she cannot thank Jay enough as she would not have been able to achieve any of it without her.

Lily says her ultimate goal is to be crowned Australian Champion in the time trial at the National Road Championships in Perth in January 2025.

Rain, wind, and the threat of even more flooding did not stop the Illawarra’s first all-women surf comp, the Ocean Queen Classic, from going ahead on May 5 at Woonona Beach.

Forty women and girls took to the murky water to battle it out for the crown, some serious cash and fantastic prizes. In the Open Women’s division, Charli Hurst from Port Kembla surfed with flair all day to take out Oceanna Rogers (Shellharbour), Summa Longbottom (Cronulla) and Billie Melinz

(Scarborough) in a stacked final.

“Women’s surfing is progressing so much and this event really got to showcase that,” Charli said. “I had the best day…”

In the Junior Girls Division, Werri Beach’s Lucy Darragh surfed a level above to defeat Lani Cairncross (Jones Beach), Pearl Eaton (Malua) and Marlie Moston (Sandon Point) in the final.

Woonona Boardriders women’s coordinator and contest director Kirby Mowbray and her codirector Yvonne Turner were both stoked. “The real winner of the day was female surfing,” Yvonne said. “We were skunked by the weather, but the joy the competitors have for our sport still shone through. There were happy girls and smiling faces everywhere.”

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resulting from use of, or reliance on, the information is entirely excluded. Scan the QR to download a fresh Tide Chart each month

© 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

From Shellharbour to the Young Matildas

Lesley Roulston tracks the rise of the Dos Santos sisters

Shellharbour sisters Jynaya and Indiana Dos Santos are the latest local athletes to graduate from playing grass-roots sport in the region to representing Australia.

Jynaya, 18, and Indiana, 16, are two of Australia’s most promising soccer players having already represented their country as Junior Matildas and Young Matildas in prestigious international tournaments such as the Asian and World Cup. Both sisters were still enrolled in high school when signed to play for Sydney FC in the women’s professional A-League. And they’re already breaking records: last year Indiana was the youngest girl to play in an A-League grand final and scored her first A-League goal. That goal against Perth in March 2023 – when Indiana was 15 years and 170 days old – made her the fifth youngest scorer in the A-League’s history. Indiana is Sydney FC’s youngest starter and the club’s youngest goal-scorer.

On May 4 this year, Indiana was again part of the winning Sydney FC side which defeated

Melbourne City 1-0 to claim back-to-back championships in the A-League grand final.

The pathway to professional soccer contracts and international representation is not an easy one. Jynaya and Indiana started playing soccer for Shellharbour Football Club as youngsters, quickly stood out as players to watch and were soon scouted to trial for the Football NSW Institute (“the official elite development program for girls U13-U17”, according to Football NSW) in Glenwood, Sydney. First Jynaya was selected, then Indiana, and now their younger sister Kyani, 14, is also at the Institute.

This amazing opportunity for the three sisters has required not only a lot of time and dedication from the girls, but also their parents – Melissa and Mark – who have spent years travelling between Sydney and Shellharbour while juggling work and family commitments to make these opportunities possible. Dad Mark was the girls’ soccer coach at times throughout their junior years, while Mum Melissa was chauffeur, motivational coach and organiser for training and game days.

Earlier this year Jynaya and Indiana were selected in the Young Matildas squad for the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) U20 Women’s Asian Cup 2024, held in March, in Uzbekistan – Australia won a bronze medal and a place in the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup Colombia 2024, scheduled for August 31 to September 22. Most recently, Indiana was selected in the Junior Matildas squad for the AFC U-17 Women’s Asia Cup in Bali, Indonesia, on May 19.

Photos thanks to Melissa Dos Santos

Slumber Parties

Parties

Parties

Parties may only last a night, but memories last forever.

Parties can be so disposable, Slumber Wonderland is a reusable party solution.

We decorate your room or backyard with specialised teepee tents, lighting and accessories to create a unique slumber party experience.

We set up, and then pack up the rental items after your party is completed.

A fantastic way of offering your child a magical party with a difference.

Contact Slumber