Free film workshops
SF3 teams up with Screen Illawarra
Join the world leaders in smartphone filmmaking, SF3, plus award winning Screen Illawarra filmmakers in this FREE smartphone filmmaking masterclass series and screening for all ages. Over 3 free sessions you’ll learn cinematography from acclaimed DP, Jess Milne; screenwriting and refining your film
idea from Director/Writer, Holly Trenaman; film festival strategy with Producer and Screen Illawarra Chair, Nick Bolton; and advanced smartphone filmmaking with Founder & Director of SF3, Angela Blake. All ages and abilities are welcome. Happening Saturday afternoons March 22nd, April 5th and June 14th.
Lifeline’s Big Book Fair
Head to Illawarra Sports Stadium to find a bargain
Opening last night, Lifeline’s Big Book Fair is back, with over 90,000 pre-loved books on sale over the next three days. It’s on at the Illawarra Sports Stadium, Berkeley, with plenty of bargains and collectables to choose from. Each Big Book Fair is a chance to spread the love of reading far and wide, save books from landfill and
raise vital funds for Lifeline. What’s more, your second-hand book purchases help to deliver essential crisis support and suicide prevention services within the Illawarra, Shoalhaven and South Coast. The opening times are: Friday, 21 March 9am – 5pm; Saturday, 22 March 9am – 5pm; Sunday, 23 March 9am – 4pm.
This Harmony Week, dine around the world in Wollongong
By Susan Luscombe
It’s not like we really need an excuse to visit one of Wollongong’s multicultural cafes and restaurants. But Harmony Week does feel like a good time to celebrate the city’s long history of cultural diversity through food.
Non-British migration to the Illawarra began in the early to mid 1800s with the arrival of settlers from Poland, Germany, France, Italy, Greece and, a bit later, China. Life was harsh with new arrivals struggling to make a living combined with learning to speak English.
Settlers found work wherever they could, many in the food industry such as butchers and abattoirs, market gardens, fruit and grocery stores, fishing and fish shops, cafes and restaurants.
The influx of post World War II
migration to the Illawarra reflected government policies of the time, allowing entry to qualified people under refugee and displaced persons programs. The Port Kembla Steelworks provided work for hundreds of new arrivals. Social clubs such as the Fraternity Club, the Hellenic Club, German Club and the Polish Association arose from friendships developed in the community and migrant hostels. People came together and found comfort in an unfamiliar environment over food.
Today the Illawarra has more than 100 non-English speaking communities, with the most populous being North Macedonian, Indian, Chinese and Italian. Our growing communities include those from India, Philippines, Thailand,
“Social
Pakistan, Nepal, Myanmar, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Bangladesh and Brazil.
This diversity has contributed a rich variety to local cuisine and the Illawarra is home to specialist supermarkets to buy ingredients for home cooking.
Where to shop for authentic ingredients
Wan Long, Wollongong. In the heart of Wollongong and a mecca for students, this store is a cornucopia of products from China, Japan, Korea, Thailand and other Asian cuisines. What they haven’t got you don’t need.
Rosa Dora Annabella, Warrawong. This European supermarket has a huge range of deli items, cheeses, pickles, ferments as well as fresh veggies.
Spice Corner, Fairy Meadow. With the biggest range of spices in Wollongong this store has Indian grocery items, fresh naan and rotis, sweet treats, cooked meals and snack items
Supermarkets in Cringila. The commercial strip has several supermarkets catering to the Middle Eastern and wider community. Spend a leisurely couple of hours browsing them all and snacking on burek and date biscuits from the takeway stores.
Fedora Pasta, Fairy Meadow. This family-owned business has been operating since 1974. They make fresh egg noodle pasta daily, as well as gnocchi, lasagna, tortellini and ravioli. There is a large range of frozen and dried pasta as well as sauces.
Try these specialty restaurants
Il Nido – With black and white family photos adorning the walls and motorbike in pride of place near the front counter, this is authentic home style Italian food from the Guiliani family who have been serving the Illawarra for over 45 years
Dosa Houze – Dosa is a South Indian crispy crepe filled with spiced potatoes with spicy dipping sauce and chutneys. If dosa isn’t your thing, they have a range of other Indian dishes. If you can fit it in, try something from the Dessert Corner like the rasmalai dumplings.
Ha Long Bay – With its large space, and always reliable, fresh, healthy Vietnamese food, this has been a favourite for over 19 years, especially for workers escaping the office for lunch. Service is always friendly and helpful.
An Chut Chut – With its outdoor seating suited to our balmy climate, this small friendly eatery has traditional Vietnamese food – dumplings, rice paper rolls, banh mi, pho, pancake – in the Nha Trang style.
Litani’s – A taste of the Mediterranean in the heart of Wollongong, this family-owned business is open from breakfast until late five days a week. To add to the Mediterranean ambience, they occasionally host live Greek music.
Chef’s Choice – This specialist Chinese and Vietnamese restaurant on the Keira St restaurant strip has been serving Wollongong for more than 20 years. Try the Yunnan noodle soup or the spicy chicken nuggets.
clubs such as the Fraternity Club, the Hellenic Club, German Club and the Polish Association arose from friendships developed in the community and migrant hostels” – Susan
Luscombe
An Chut Chut (opposite page) and Spice Corner (above). Photos: Susan Luscombe
No one should be waiting at 96!
By Nicky Sloan, CEO of Community Industry Group
Lastweek, Community Industry Group hosted the second meeting of the Regional Health & Aged Care Taskforce, with leaders from a huge range of stakeholders who have the ability to impact the region’s current ‘Delayed Discharge’ or ‘Bed Block’ crisis.
The Illawarra Shoalhaven has the worst levels of bed block in the country. Every night between 120 and 150 older people or people with disability who don’t need hospital care are spending the night in hospital because they don’t have access to safe and appropriate residential care.
Illawarra and the South Coast; Hon. Paul Scully MP, Minister for Planning and Public Spaces; Alison Byrnes MP Member for Cunningham; Margot Mains, CEO of ISLHD; CEOs and executives from leading aged care providers.
‘The little peak that could’
The taskforce brought together key stakeholders to be briefed on the activities and outcomes of projects to address bed block, including Hon. Ryan Park MP, Minister for Health, Minister for Regional Health, and Minister for the
One of the key projects has been to research the issue. This is not to admire the problem. The reality is that there has not previously been accurate data on the patient journey and the state of the aged care sector. Thanks to researchers Paul Sadler and Professor Kathy Eagar, we now know how many active aged care places are available in the Illawarra Shoalhaven – and that we are 1025 aged care beds short. And 1115 home care packages short. We also know what developments are in the planning, and
what further growth is needed to meet future demand.
We also now know that 92% of older people who will need aged care are admitted through the Emergency Department. We know that falls and urinary tract infections are the primary cause of presentation to hospital.
While the average patient stay is four days, we know that older people stay on average 66 days, during which time they are moved an average of four times. Many stay much, much longer. We know that bed days for these older people totalled 73,434 over a 16-month period, and that the estimated cost to the NSW Health system is approximately $86 million per annum.
Well-known local dementia advocate and member of the Minister’s Council of Elders, Val Fell, represented the consumer voice and spoke about her own experience in the hospital system and the aged care system. As a result of a serious infection, Val ended up in hospital for 35 days. The first two weeks were spent in a locked geriatric dementia ward – despite the fact that Val is not living with dementia. While Val praised the quality of care she received from hospital staff, the experience of being in a locked ward with a changing group of people living with dementia was harrowing.
As her condition improved, Val decided she did not want to be assessed for residential care. She was confident that she was capable of going home, and that was her preference. But that meant she couldn’t be assessed for in-home care until she had left hospital so the
assessment could be done in her home. Val was eventually assessed as needing a Level 3 Home Care Package and she applied immediately. That began the waiting game.
In his magnum opus work, Oh, The Places You’ll Go!, the great philosopher Dr Seuss calls waiting ‘a most useless place’. While most of us spend some time ‘waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or waiting around for a Yes or No or waiting for their hair to grow’, no one should be waiting for vital supports for activities of daily living at the age of 96!
The Illawarra Shoalhaven region desperately needs an increase in aged care services to meet the needs of its current ageing population, and to meet future demand. Aged care providers are keen to expand and grow, with exciting new models of care being proposed by both residential and in-home providers. We are calling on government to provide incentives for providers in an area like this where the market has failed to meet the needs of the people. Government policy has changed aged care to a free market, but their stewardship responsibilities surely mean that some structural adjustment is required to ensure market viability. We are calling for capital grants to encourage development of residential aged care homes, and a targeted growth in in-home services.
Because we all do enough waiting through our lives. We deserve not to wait in our later years.
“While Val praised the quality of care she received from hospital staff, the experience of being in a locked ward with a changing group of people living with dementia was harrowing.”
– Nicky Sloan
Swimmers call to extend winter hours at Continental Pool
By Jeremy Lasek
“With climate change the water temperature is steadily increasing during the winter months and the pool is sheltered in the afternoon. On a sunny winter’s day it can be like paradise.”
– Amabile Cunzolo
Regularswimmers at North Wollongong’s popular Continental Pool are calling on Wollongong City Council to extend its opening hours during the cooler months.
Amabile Cunzolo, a teacher at Bellambi’s Holy Spirit College, told the latest meeting of the Neighbourhood Forum 5 community group that the Continental Pool was the only Council-patrolled saltwater pool open to the public in winter.
At present the Continental Pool’s opening hours extend from 6am to 7pm. Next weekend the pool will close an hour earlier at 6pm but from Anzac Day through to late September it will close at 2pm.
“Two o’clock is much too early for so many of us who can’t get to the pool in the morning due to work and other commitments,” Amabile said.
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“I like to swim 50 laps every day because there are so many health benefits. Salt water is so good for the body, it relieves body aches and pain, and swimming is good for the mind.”
Amabile has written to Council seeking a meeting with the Lord Mayor to put the case for extending the pool hours.
“With climate change the water temperature is steadily increasing during
the winter months and the pool is sheltered in the afternoon. On a sunny winter’s day it can be like paradise.”
Another regular at the pool, Tony Konjarski, from Lake Heights, says swimming helps him manage his rheumatoid arthritis. By closing the Continental Pool at 2pm “it drives more swimmers into the ocean and into the harbour”, he said.
“That creates safety issues.
“There are more people living in our LGA and over the years more people are swimming. Parents want to take their children for a swim after school and in winter time teachers can only swim on weekends.”
Manuel Navarrete, from Fairy Meadow, started swimming regularly three years ago for the health benefits. The 80-year-old says the exercise has helped with his blood pressure and his preference has always been a late afternoon swim.
The group received the support of NF5 with its request that the Council consider an extension of the pool’s opening hours to 6pm to support Wollongong’s growing population and increased demand for swimming as an important health, recreation and social pursuit.
Emily brings power of NARA to the Music Lounge
By Tyneesha Williams
ARIA-winning Warnindhilyagwa singer-songwriter Emily Wurramara will bring her NARA Encore Tour to Wollongong audiences this Friday, March 21, at The Music Lounge as part of Great Southern Nights.
Known for her authenticity, storytelling and powerful connection to her roots, Emily is excited to perform on Dharawal Country.
TICKETS
Via the Merrigong website
“Wollongong is a beautiful, lovely spot – and a really special vibe and special audience. I can’t wait to come back and do this show, I’m very excited.”
Emily is a multi-award-winning artist, author, producer and activist from Groote Eylandt. She made history in December 2024 as the first Indigenous woman to win Best Adult Contemporary
Album at the ARIA Awards for her acclaimed second album, NARA. The album debuted at no.17 on the ARIA Australian Artist Albums Chart and was nominated for Best Independent Release alongside its historic win.
“It’s a journey, and being able to bring my family and my community along for the ride – it couldn’t be better than that,” Emily says.
Her album NARA, meaning “nothing” in Anindilyakwa language, was written and recorded over five years – a period marked by profound loss and renewal.
“A few years ago, I had a house fire where everything of mine burned.
“During the aftermath of that, I visited my mum who had gotten a tattoo gun. She loves tattooing herself. I said, ‘Mum,
tattoo something on me!’ She asked what I wanted tattooed, and I said, ‘Oh, nothing – put NARA on there.’ At first, it was just a joke – like we’ve got nothing. But I came out of nothing and gave everything.”
This idea underpins NARA, an album Emily describes as timeless and empowering. “When you have nothing, you have everything at the same time.”
The NARA tour last year had sold-out shows across Australia. Emily says she aimed to “hone in on her expansive music dictionary”, blending genres like indie rock, R&B, folk and electronic music while staying true to her storytelling roots.
“Music is like fast fashion; everything moves so fast. My aim was to create something timeless – something that will still resonate 40 or even 100 years from now,” Emily says.
“The power and vulnerability of this album was something that I wanted to transcend out of those boxes and own the space and take power, or take back the power and stand in that power and provide empowerment to others.”
The album’s single Lordy Lordy, featuring Tasman Keith, earned Triple J’s J Award for Music Video of the Year. Emily credits the people in her life and the music around her as inspiration for NARA.
“I love music from all around the world. This whole experience felt rebellious – stepping out of boxes can
feel a bit scary because people expect you to sound a certain way or sing about certain things,” she says.
Beyond music, Emily is committed to advocacy work in areas such as youth mental health and environmental preservation. She collaborates with Elders in programs addressing youth suicide and aims to build safer spaces for future generations.
“I’m passionate about putting our youth at the forefront of what we do.
“With all my different advocacies –mental health, environmental work, being a mum – it’s an experience I get to share with this amazing community of people who are doing the work in real time at the front of those communities.”
Emily shares some of her self-care habits for touring and advocacy work.
“I like to go to the beach, put rituals in place. On tour, I take my own candles, my own incense, sometimes I’ll take my own bedsheet that smells like home. I really like to look after the senses, and I like a bit of magic, so I’ve got my own little potions and things that I take to protect me too.”
As she prepares for her Wollongong performance, Emily is looking forward to connecting with fans of her music.
“It’s going to be really lovely, I’m very, very excited to meet everyone.”
Tickets for Emily Wurramara’s NARA Encore Tour are available via Merrigong’s website. Doors open at 7.30pm for an 8pm start on Friday, March 21.
“Wollongong is a beautiful, lovely spot – and a really special vibe and special audience. I can’t wait to come back and do this show, I’m very excited.”
– Emily Wurramara
Native Tussock Grass: a biodiversity bonanza
By Emma Rooksby of Growing Illawarra Natives
Illawarra is a real biodiversity hotspot, with many thousands of native species calling this place home. What a privilege to live among them! We live in a local government area with more than 2000 native plant species, hundreds of native mammals, and undocumented numbers of butterflies, bees, crickets, frogs, lizards and other critters. Many of these species are threatened and depend on the good will of humans to protect their habitat. So it’s on each and every one of us to do what we can to protect and restore habitat for these awesome creatures.
This week I’m featuring a local grass that makes outstanding habitat for small animals, and that can be grown even in a small garden, or on a verge, or in a pot on a balcony. It’s the Tussock (Poa labillardierei). This clumping grass has delicate, narrow, fine grey-green leaves, that spread out from a central point. It’s long-lived, hardy and very appealing in a garden setting, as the below image from Mat Misdale shows.
It also has the most beautiful flower-heads, often numerous and rising well above the foliage. This photo taken by local photographer Tracey Lea for the
Growing Illawarra Natives project shows how decorative the flower-heads can be. As the seeds ripen and develop, the whole seed-head turns silvery-golden, adding to its appeal.
And it’s not just people who find this grass attractive. It’s also appealing to butterflies, with several species laying their eggs on the leaves so that the young larvae can munch hungrily away. A few nibbles on the leaves are worth it to see beauties such as the Common Brown butterfly and a range of pretty little Skipper and Grass-dart butterflies. Growing several plants together is the best way to create habitat, and might even provide enough seed to attract groups of small seed-eating birds such as local finches. The dense, fine foliage also creates hidey-holes for little lizards and mammals. So all up, this grass is a biodiversity bonanza.
Pictured below: A beautiful picture of the Common Brown butterfly, taken by John Tann and shared on Flickr with a Creative Commons licence
Pictured above: Tussock (Poa labillardierei) showing the graceful drooping flower-heads.”
Photo © Tracey Lea
Flipping fantastic rescue charity
By Genevieve Swart
“If the fishing line is around their flippers, it might inhibit them being able to fish and eat.”
– Lyndell Roberts
Whena human raises a hand in the waves, it’s a signal for help. When a seal raises a flipper, it’s usually cooling down, but many people assume it’s in distress and ring ORRCA, as the Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia is most commonly known.
“We get lots of calls about unusual seal behaviour and often they’re just regulating their body temperature,” says ORRCA’s Wollongong Pod Leader, Lyndell Roberts.
“This happens a couple of times a day.
“We love those calls because nothing is better than giving someone the relief of explaining that that’s normal behaviour.”
ORRCA works to conserve and protect whales, dolphins, seals and dugongs. In the Illawarra, volunteers mostly deal with seals. “Lots of seals,” Lyndell says. “We get long-nosed fur seals, they’re also known as New Zealand fur seals. We occasionally get visiting Australian fur seals, like the one at Towradgi a few weeks ago.”
Fishing gear is the main reason that seals get into trouble here.
“We have two particular spots: Port Kembla breakwall and Windang. And those seals interact with fishermen quite a bit, we think. We regularly get reports of seals being hooked by fishing gear in those two spots.”
ORRCA recently dealt with a report about a seal in trouble at the breakwall. The seal had a fishhook in its face and was trying to remove it by rubbing its nose on the rocks.
“It actually successfully removed the hook, but it hurt itself,” Lyndell says, explaining that the seal was out of human reach, on rocks on the ocean side of the break wall. “We monitor and observe, make sure it’s healing, that’s our role.”
While a lot of hooks and lures are still stainless-steel (or plated), there are now ethical options made of materials designed to corrode over time, reducing waste and long-term harm to wildlife. However, this only works if fishers are using biodegradable gear. “The hooks look terrible, and they’re not great. They must be very uncomfortable, but if it’s the right sort of hook they’ll rust out.”
Fishing line is another story.
“It’s one of our biggest problems,” Lyndell says. “If the fishing line is around their flippers, it might inhibit them being able to fish and eat.”
In cases like this, volunteers will monitor the seal and, if it deteriorates, call NSW National Parks experts.
In 2024 ORRCA had 25 seal haul outs and six seal entanglements in our area.
The charity relies on the generosity of volunteers and donations.
Visit www.orrca.org.au
Photos: Zee Merven
Council welcomes 2025’s Young Mayors Program
By Genevieve Swart
Theonly Young Mayors program in NSW, Wollongong Youth Forum began its second term with an affirmation ceremony attended by the city’s leaders and future leaders last week.
In a proud moment for his supporters, Ethan Zappelli – a Year 12 student who has risen from adversity to become an advocate for homeless young people –stepped up to speak on behalf of his peers at Council’s Chambers.
“Last October, we had many passionate young people campaigning for a spot on the forum, and more than 1600 young people between the ages of 12 and 17 voted, passing their ballots from all across the Illawarra,” Ethan said.
“It was a great moment for the young community.”
Twelve students will take part of 2025’s Young Mayors program, run by the Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) in partnership with Wollongong City Council. They are: Jayden Atherton, Fatima Al Taleb, Charlie Dwyer, Zelda Goodsell, Ali Hadi, Stevie Hopkinson, Alyssa Jeffries, Sean McPherson, Avalon Mooney, Larissa Murray-Allen, Mariam Sawan and Ethan Zappelli.
“Over the next nine months we’re determined to tackle some of the most critical issues that impact young people in our community,” Ethan said. Their key issues are: community access, education, environment, health and youth safety. “We are incredibly excited about the impact that we can make in these areas,” Ethan said.
Welcome to future leaders
For ages 12 to 17, the Wollongong Youth Forum gives young people not only a voice, but a platform and a $10,000 budget supplied by the Foundation for Young Australians to put their ideas into practice.
Our local forum is in its second year, one of five Young Mayors programs in Australia and part of a global movement to empower young decision makers.
Last year, Ethan told the Flame that his experience of temporary housing was why he stood for election.
“For the better part of a year my family of 10 and I have been unfortunate enough to be placed in temporary housing,” Ethan said at the time. “I am blessed enough to have an incredibly supportive family, but during this time I have met many people, young and old, who are in similar situations who have had little support. But local support workers and even my school’s wellbeing staff have shown me how significant even a quality-of-life change can be for people in these situations.”
After the formalities on Thursday, Ethan said he was feeling “pretty good”.
“It’s been a while waiting for this and it’s a bit of a nail-biter, because it’s such a powerful event – you’ve got everyone coming to see you, it’s an important site, council chambers, which I guess a lot of people don’t even know what it looks like,” Ethan said. “I think I was nervous … up until I got up and I actually shook hands with the Deputy Mayor.”
Ethan invited the teachers who encouraged him to run for the forum to attend the ceremony.
“I go to Five Islands Secondary College in Port Kembla, a very alternative school,” he said. “We don’t have uniforms and we go four days a week, for slightly longer [days]. It’s a school with a very interesting culture… In the last two years or so, going to Five Islands, I’ve made monumental progress. It really can’t be stated how massive the difference that Five Islands has sort of made for me in the last two years.”
Ethan was glad to have Narelle Clay AM, CEO of Southern Youth and Family Services, attend as his guest. “Because her work is above all else the reason why I’m here today. Because of my personal circumstances, I’m an independent young youth, so I live in Southern Youth Family Services accommodation.
“They’ve been wonderful.”
As an advocate for young people at a disadvantage, Ethan is passionate about promoting social equality and recently did an interview about youth homelessness with WIN News.
He’d like to use his time on the forum to help restore faith in government.
“It’s very common for a young person to look at this type of stuff and brush it off as something that is irrelevant to them because they don’t feel their vote is powerful or they don’t understand how these systems work.”
The forum’s first task will be to help organise events for Youth Week in April.
“Over the next nine months we’re determined to tackle some of the most critical issues that impact young people in our community”
– Ethan Zappelli
L to R: Narelle Clay, Ethan Zappelli and Joanne Clarke. Photos: Tyneesha Williams
Doyenne of Dunecare
By Tareyn Varley
“It’s such a friendly thing to do, and so gratifying when you see what you’ve accomplished.”
– Jan Arone
Most mornings, Jan Arone walks from Fairy Meadow Beach to the lighthouse, stopping for a coffee before heading back – an 8km round trip that keeps the energetic 85-year-old moving. But Thursdays are different. That’s when she leads the Bushcare group at Puckeys Estate Nature Reserve, a rare coastal habitat of rainforest, dunes and marshland.
Once overrun with weeds, Puckeys is now on the verge of bringing Bitou bush under control, thanks in large part to Jan and her team of volunteers. These efforts were recognised last December when she received the Dunecare Golden Trowel at Wollongong’s Environment Volunteer Awards for her dedication to protecting the dunes and coordinating efforts to remove invasive species.
Born in England but raised in Africa, Jan spent her early years moving between remote communities as her father researched leprosy. “We always lived in the bush because leprosy wasn’t something that allowed for close contact with others,” she says.
At seven, she was sent to boarding school in the Congo, later finishing her studies in Kenya and moving to Canada at 20. Her career took her from the Northwest Territories, where she taught
Inuit children, to the Cayman Islands. From there, she moved to Australia to take on a role at Waniora Public School, before returning to the African bush –this time to Zambia, where she taught children for the Frankfurt Zoological Society.
“It was a huge privilege,” she says. “That vast, unspoilt area was so isolated and pristine.”
Wherever she was in the world, her connection to the land remained constant. Bushcare has strengthened that bond – not just with the land, but with the people who care for it.
“It’s such a friendly thing to do, and so gratifying when you see what you’ve accomplished,” she says.
“People come along after a tough week or when something’s gone wrong, and after a little time in the forest, they brighten up. They feel good because they’re helping Mother Earth.
“It’s so healthy being out in the bush. We’re down by the sea, we get the fresh air, we watch the waves and the dolphins – it’s just a lovely, gentle thing to do. Sometimes people tell me they wish we did it more than once a week.”
Her Bushcare journey began about 12 years ago when she stopped to chat with a man pulling weeds at Puckeys.
“A very old, cranky man,” she recalls with a laugh. Impressed, she decided to join him.
At the time, the Bitou bush had taken over the reserve, but as Jan and fellow volunteers cleared patches, locals started noticing.
“People would stop and thank us,” she says.
“Anyone who spoke to us, I made a point of thanking them too. I’d tell them why we were there and explain that we were the keepers of the forest.”
Before long, more people started showing up, drawn to Jan’s enthusiasm, the work and the sense of community.
“I’ve never had to go looking for people – they’ve always come to me. And I’ve been so lucky. The people who’ve joined have been incredible, from university students to retirees. Some of the young ones have taught us so much about the unique plants growing in Puckeys.”
The group focuses on tackling Bitou bush and asparagus fern – aggressive weeds that take over the place. Rather than relying on poison, they dig out weeds by the roots.
“It’s hard work, but we’d rather spend three hours clearing a patch properly than have weeds sprout back even stronger.”
After years of persistence, they’re seeing results.
“We’ve been eradicating Bitou bush for so long, and in some areas, we’re down to pulling out the last seedlings –just six or eight inches high,” Jan says. “But there are still large patches of big Bitou that we hope to tackle soon. Once those are cleared, any new growth should be manageable.”
The work can be tough, but everyone moves at their own pace.
“We carry tools in, put the sign out and do some pretty hefty work. Then at the end of the day, we march all the way back. It keeps us active,” she says.
“But physically, we acknowledge people’s ability. I let people choose what they want to do for the day and some just do gentle things. Sometimes they work on their own, sometimes they’re quiet, sometimes we’re full of chitchat. It’s just a healing process.”
That sense of purpose keeps bringing Jan back, and each day in the bush reminds her how lucky she is.
“My life has taken me to so many places, and I’ve had the chance to do so many things. But at heart, I’m a bushy. I feel deeply grateful to have spent my life in the bush.”
Most of all, she’s grateful for Puckeys itself – a place she calls “precious”.
“It’s one of the most important places in Wollongong – a piece of land that hasn’t been spoilt. And as long as I can, I’ll be here helping to protect it.”
TRY IT
Puckeys was one of the first Bushcare sites, established in the mid-90s.
“Over time, the site has transformed from a highly disturbed area into a stable natural ecosystem, and we’re still improving it,” says Greg Fikkers, WCC’s Natural Areas Coordinator. To volunteer, visit Council’s Bushcare webpage or call 4227 7111.
In Dapto and Warrawong NEW
Community Batteries
Endeavour Energy yesterday cut the ribbon on community batteries in Warrawong and Dapto as part of a program to help 6000 households across 33 suburbs ease household energy bills and reduce emissions. Funded in partnership with the Federal Government, the program includes 76 batteries, with 22 in the Illawarra. Endeavour calculates that participating households may to save up to $400 annually on electricity bills. Alison Byrnes MP, Federal Member for Cunningham, said: “The five Warrawong community batteries will help 300 local residents benefit from stored solar energy, including renters, apartment dwellers and those unable to afford the upfront cost of a battery and solar system.”
Glowworm Tunnel: should we be gatekeeping the gate?
By Amanda De George
Merilyn at Helensburgh Landcare on 0414 819 742
Itend to err on the side of the dramatic when it comes to wildlife experiences, but some really do deserve the squeals that they induce – cicadas moulting out of their hard exoskeleton, fireflies floating by, their clear bright light signalling for a mate. These moments are some of my favourite goosebumpinducing animal encounters and I’ve recently added to that list tentatively walking through the breathtakingly beautiful glowworm colony at Helensburgh.
After a period of near destruction by reckless visitors, the gate, which was erected by Crown Lands, was locked for an extended period, keeping the human
masses well away from the masses of glow worms. It worked and the colony is back better than ever, and the gate and entire fence have been removed. That’s a success, right?
Well, the fence’s removal was more about Hollywood coming to town and less about tourists being better behaved. So, perhaps the question needs to be asked, should we be gatekeeping the gate*?
Glowworm colonies are sensitive to anything that can affect their habitat: light, noise, insect spray and smoke. The colony at Helensburgh was severely damaged not just by uneducated visitors loving the glowworms to death, but by
Photos: Matthew De George
people setting off flares and fireworks inside the tunnel.
Merilyn House of Helensburgh Landcare, the Crown Land managers for the site, says there was a lot of work involved in the management of the gate. “Initially, Landcare used to unlock the gate for the daytime and then shut it for the nighttime but that depended on somebody being available to go and open it and shut it.”
And with the gate came the endless efforts by those wanting in, regardless. Angle grinders, car jacks and even trying to scale the fence were all methods employed by those desperate to get inside.
With people come noise and unfortunately lots of rubbish, a problem that the Landcare volunteers are left to deal with on a weekly basis. When the fence was in place, this would invariably lead to the rubbish getting caught against the bars, causing another ongoing problem with site drainage.
And so when the producers for the Planet of the Apes movie, filmed around Helensburgh but not inside the glowworm tunnel itself, asked for the fence to be removed, it made sense.
“So… we said, ‘yes, that’s fine’ because we had been talking for some time about how many times people were getting in, and it was stopping people who were genuinely interested in going in from actually going there, and it was only people who we were trying to keep out in the first place who were getting in,” Merilyn explains.
It’s easy to see why the location was
chosen for filming. Heading into the glowworm tunnel really does feel like entering another world. The partial platform from the old train station is raised, surrounded by moss and fern-covered rock walls, the ground is always wet and muddy and sometimes underwater. As you stand at the entrance, frogs call from within the darkness, their ‘tok, tok, tok’ song echoes around you.
As you shuffle inside, and you’ll need to be extremely careful, the ground is uneven and it really is pitch black, but slowly your eyes adjust. As you wait, the smell of damp earth thick in the air, the ceiling and the walls begin to twinkle. Thousands of clear blue lights spread out in front of you. It doesn’t take long before you realise how special this place is and how much it needs protecting.
But can that protection only come in the form of a tall, metal gate keeping everyone out? I’m a firm believer in everyone having access to our most beautiful places as I think we only care about and, as a result, protect the things that we love. And the easiest way to fall in love is to have these experiences ourselves.
For their part, Helensburgh Landcare has erected some educational signage explaining the dos and don’ts, and there’s now a bin on site so you can clean up after yourself.
As for the rest of us, perhaps as we spread the word about this incredible location, we can also spread how to care for it, to keep the gate from the glowworms.
“With people come noise and unfortunately lots of rubbish, a problem that the Landcare volunteers are left to deal with on a weekly basis”
– Amanda De George
