Carols in MacCabe Park
Thursday 12 December
7 - 8.30pm Wollongong CBD
Enjoy carols, roving entertainment, festive face painting, a visit from Santa and more! Proudly presented by Wollongong
City Council
30th Anniversary Event
Hosted by Screen Illawarra
Screen Illawarra is hosting a film screening of The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert for its 30th anniversary, followed by a Q&A with special guest Producer Al Clark. In his career, Al Clark has produced PRISCILLA: QUEEN OF THE DESERT, among many other classics, and is now the author of two memoirs about his career. These will be available for sale on the night, and
can be purchased with your tickets to the event.
Entry to the film screening is by donation, or you can pay $30 for the two memoir books with your film screening ticket. Al Clark’s memoirs will also be available to buy on the night. It’s at Warrawong’s Gala Cinema next Tuesday 19 November, 6:30-9pm, entry by donation. Click here to book
Fashion Frenzy in Dapto
Dress for Success is holding a one-day preloved fashion sale
Dress for Success NSW & ACT’s Illawarra boutique is thrilled to announce the Fashion Frenzy Sale, a one-day-only shopping event on this Sunday, November 17, 2024, at the Ribbonwood Centre in Dapto. Part of the national Empower Her campaign, the Fashion Frenzy Sale is a chance for shoppers to grab stylish preloved fashion finds while supporting the empowerment of women re-entering the workforce amidst rising cost-of-living pressures. Fashion Frenzy Illawarra is popping up in Dapto, Sunday, November 17, 2024! This is the last fashion sale in the region for the year!
Experience guilt-free, sustainable shopping at its finest financial independence. Click here for more info
Jodi Edwards launches 6 new Dharawal books
Words and photos by Tyneesha Williams
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the name of someone who has passed away.
OnSaturday, November 2, community gathered on Dharawal country at The Point Preschool in Oyster Bay to see the launch of six Ezy Books.
Written by Dr Jodi Edwards and illustrated by Amy-Lea Hill-Trindall, the children’s books feature Ezy the dog learning and exploring in Dharawal and English language.
TICKETS
Dr Jodi Edwards will be at True Story festival
“From my heart, I’d like to thank everyone who has contributed to get Dharawal language back out there,” Jodi said.
On the day Jodi shared the story behind the creation of the series. Uncle Les Bursill was remembered as an important mentor with the vision to revitalise Dharawal language and culture by establishing Dharawal Publishing.
“Two days before his passing, Les rang me and he said ‘I need you to take the baton’. I didn’t know how to do that, but what I knew was that we could not have another generation of children without language,” Jodi said.
“Then Covid hit – my son thought it would be a great idea to buy a dog, and so Ezy came into our life. I walked Ezy every day, and I used to teach him Dharawal language because I had no one else to teach.
“One day he saw a kangaroo. He ran off because he didn’t know what it was. And this other lady had been chasing him and she was trying to call him and tell him to sit. I told him ‘Ngala’ (sit) – I said he speaks Dharawal.”
The six books in the series map out
the adventures of Ezy, the beloved Staffordshire Terrier, walking around his local town. The titles are: Ezy and Burri Burri, Budjaan and Ezy, Ezy gets Food, Ezy by the River, Ezy Learns Colours, and Ezy Learns Directions.
With support from Cages Foundation, Jodi is also creating a series of videos, in which she reads the books with an Ezy puppet. These will be released in 2025.
On the day of the book launch, Uncle Dean Kelly led a smoking ceremony and Aunty Barb Simms gave a Welcome to Country.
“There’s no preschool quite like this anywhere. I tell everyone that – want a great preschool? Come over here! It’s got everything – tranquility, trees growing in it, and the staff here are wonderful,” Aunty Barb said.
“What better a place to be today than here. Our young ones will take us into the new realm. It’s our young ones we need to look at and be guided by.”
Speakers expressed their appreciation for Jodi and Amy-Lea’s work in preserving Dharawal culture and passing it down to younger generations.
“Amy’s done some amazing stuff. She’s doing what the old fellas said to do – give it away to keep it,” Uncle Dean said.
In speeches, Amy-Lea and Dr Jodi celebrated their partnership.
“This series stands as an example of what you can achieve when we work together with our mob,” Amy-Lea said. “Together, we have achieved our dream. Thank you, Jodi, for working with me. You are an inspiration, and thank
you everyone for being a part of this journey.”
Speakers were given gifts of appreciation made by the children at the Point Preschool, including a papermache replica of Ezy the dog.
“These children know more than all we do about Dharawal culture and learning the language, and being respectful of being on land,” said Mary Jacobs from Dharawal Publishing.
“Uncle Dean first taught us that we never just take, we always ask. If the children are ever going out on Country, they will always seek permission before they pick up anything. They ask the land, they discuss how it is going to be used and returned to Country again.
“That respect for Country and respect for land is coming through in this next generation, which is so beautiful to see. I’m just so thrilled at how my grandchildren pick nothing without giving a tree a cuddle and asking permission.”
Stallholders on the day presented home-made First Nations goods and artworks. Narelle Happ’s A Garden for Life provided bush plants for purchase. Visitors entered a raffle to win an artwork by Amy-Lea, pairs of clap sticks or a First Nations decorated football.
Guests bought signed copies of the books from Collins Booksellers Thirroul, who received praise for their extensive First Nations collection.
Click here to read more on our website.
“Then Covid hit – my son thought it would be a great idea to buy a dog, and so Ezy came into our life. I walked Ezy every day, and I used to teach him Dharawal language because I had no one else to teach.”
– Dr Jodi Edwards
TRUE STORY.
The State of Us
True Story Festival will showcase of some of the best creative non-fiction writing in Australia today at Coledale Community Hall
Artistic Director
Biographer Jo Oliver
True Story is three this year and we are growing up fast! Our theme, The State of Us, recognises what a complex and at times bruising year we’ve had. It made us want to curate a series of conversations that would prompt us to examine what we have in common rather than what divides us. Come and have your sense of who we are renewed and stimulated, challenged and energised, by this talented and generous bunch of writers. All festival events will be held at Coledale Community Hall. To book tickets, scan the QR code above or visit southcoastwriters.org
Friday 15 November
WRITING WORKSHOPS
Take a masterclass in research, writing and style
RESEARCHING AND WRITING
BIOGRAPHY (WORKSHOP)
Fri 15 Nov 10am-2:30pm
Do you love reading about other people’s lives? Thinking about or started writing a biography? This workshop by biographer Jo Oliver gives you the opportunity to develop ideas, learn research skills and find sources. You will receive tips on planning and organising your work, applying for fellowships and grants and finding publishers. There will be practice writing an engaging narrative and a chance to share work with other writers.
ATTENTION
AND DEVOTION (WORKSHOP)
Fri 15 Nov 10am-1pm
Super-observer and memoirist Ailsa Piper (Sinning Across Spain, The Attachment, For Life) invites participants to expand their writerly observational skills, and to explore the selections and the magnification of details that can become markers for character, place and even plot. How can the micro transform, or even become, the macro? How can a miniature hold a world? How can a detail become an entry point, a beginning, or a satisfying resolution?
Whether you work in prose, poetry, fiction, non-fiction, drama or lyrics, the right detail in the right place can do more work, and carry more weight than pages of exposition or dialogue. Participants are invited to attend with pen, paper, one small but very familiar object, and wide-open eyes.
FILM NIGHT
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
(FILM SCREENING + Q&A)
Fri 15 Nov 6:30-8:30pm
In a documentary rich with archival material and interviews with her friends, Life Burns High captures the charisma and appeal of journalist Charmian Clift, who lived a bohemian life in Greece before returning to Australia with her husband George Johnston. What was it about this outspoken unconventional free spirit that made readers adore the weekly column she wrote for the Sydney Morning Herald? Following the screening, director Rachel Lane and co-producer Sue Milliken join definitive Clift biographer Nadia Wheatley to discuss her enduring relevance.
Caroline Baum
Workshop host Ailsa Piper
Saturday 16 November
WELCOME TO COUNTRY
Sat 16 Nov 2-2:10pm with Dr Jodi Edwards
EXCLUSIVE OPENING ADDRESS
Sat 16 Nov 2:10-3:10pm
With Mean Streak, his new investigation of how Robodebt was allowed to create a suicidal wave of despair, Rick Morton proves once again that he has an unflinching instinct for social analysis, combining journalistic rigour with an outspoken sense of justice. Rick will reflect on the painful truths he has learned while investigating brutal policies that ruin lives. But don’t expect a litany of gloom: he has a wicked and irreverent sense of humour, so anything is possible.
AUTHOR TALKS
ALL THE PRETTY SEAHORSES
Sat 16 Nov 3:35-4:35pm
Memoirist Ailsa Piper (Sinning Across Spain, The Attachment) describes her latest offering, For Life, as a tale of living, dying and flying, but it is also about swimming, noticing, favourite words, friendship, and finding a home. In conversation with celebrant and award-winning author of Eulogy Dr Jackie Bailey, she discusses ritual, belonging and the joys of dictionary definitions.
SINGING OUR STORIES
Sat 16 Nov 5-6pm
Why do some songs catch the imagination of a nation and become anthems? Midnight Oil’s Jim Moginie, author of music memoir The Silver River, explores the elusive qualities that make some lyrics resonate to express bigger truths about who we are with rock journalist Glen Humphries, author of Aussie Rock Anthems, and Tanya Ali.
OFF A DUCK’S BACK
Sat 16 Nov 7-8pm
What does it take to disrupt Australia’s history and stand by your views when they are attacked? The answer is: a lot.
After the controversy surrounding his bestselling book Dark Emu, First Nations writer Bruce Pascoe was bruised but unbowed. Black Duck, a Year at Yumburra is his personal account of his healing on his farm. He tells Margaret Throsby what it took to rebuild a life, a marriage, and how custodianship of land renewed his sense of purpose.
Sunday 17 November
HERE’S HOPING
Sun 17 Nov 10-11am
Family violence prevention campaigner and 2015 Australian of the Year Rosie Batty won the sympathy and respect of a nation in the face of the most terrible violence. But what next? How do you move forward and restore your faith in human nature? What does Hope (the title of her new book) mean in the aftermath of tragedy? Rosie Batty shares her remarkable capacity for optimism with Jeremy Lasek.
THE OTHER BOOK THIEF
Sun 17 Nov11:30am-12:30pm
The desecration of one of the world’s rarest books leads Sydney journalist Michael Visontay across the globe in search of the missing pages of a sacred volume. But how do his adventures as a literary detective tie in with the story of his own family? He tells Sue Turnbull how Noble Fragments sent him on an obsessive quest searching for clues.
WHALE WRITER
Sun 17 Nov 1:30-2pm
A proud Yuin woman with Dharawal kinship, author Jodi Edwards has been teaching us the Dharawal language at the festival. Now she is also researching the relationship of coastal First Nations people to the whales that migrate past our beaches. Don’t miss the story of her groundbreaking work.
ALONE TOGETHER
Sun 17 Nov 2:30-3:30pm
When Gina Chick won the first Australian season of Alone, she captured the hearts of millions. Now, in We Are the Stars, she has written an exuberant, roaring affirmation of life. Join Gina in conversation with Caroline Baum.
TICKETS
Tickets for individual events at Coledale hall on sale from November 1. Book at southcoastwriters.org/true-story-program
True Story festival is presented by Caroline Baum, the South Coast Writers Centre and the Illawarra Flame
Dragons plans on exhibition
By Jeremy Lasek
St George Illawarra Dragons has submitted changes to plans for a $50 million community and high-performance centre
Despite flooding concerns raised by neighbours, the St George Illawarra Dragons has submitted changes to plans for a $50 million community and high-performance centre on the site of University of Wollongong’s Innovation Campus at Fairy Meadow. The plans are on exhibition for comment until 27 November 2024.
These plans are the amongst the first to be considered since the election of a new Council, and a Lord Mayor who has identified city-wide flooding as one of her top priorities as she begins her four-year term.
The Dragons describe the project as “an industry leading, high-performance training and administration facility that will help create a significant legacy for the community.” They say it will also allow “five-plus existing facilities to come together under one roof.”
The centre will include two new training fields, a state-of-the-art sporting and education facility and car parking.
Community concerns
When the original plans were lodged in December 2022, there were community objections on three main grounds: heritage, the flood risk and noise.
The site in question was once a migrant hospital, providing a home for thousands arriving in Australia to start a
new life in the 1950s-1970s. The Dragons’ original plans included the removal of the remaining Nissen huts on site. The three huts are listed on the NSW State Heritage Register.
“As part of the amended DA, a decision has been made to keep the huts in their current location,” the Dragons said in a statement. “No works are proposed to the huts or any area within their heritage curtilage.”
This news has been welcomed by the Illawarra’s migrant and heritage communities.
Located on a floodplain
The Dragons have acknowledged their new high-performance centre is located within the Fairy and Cabbage Tree Creeks Floodplain. The catchment has experienced several significant floods over the past 30 years and locals fear new development and the construction of sporting fields will only increase the flood risk to nearby properties.
“The site is categorised as predominantly ‘medium’ flood risk, meaning that there is a significant risk of flood damage and/or danger to life, but these can be minimised by the application of appropriate development controls,” consultant Ethos Urban wrote in a report to Wollongong City Council in October 2024. Click to read full story
True Story: Literary detective to share quest for lost pages
By Melissa Burns
“Following my mother’s death I was looking through old papers when I came across a mysterious legal document …” – Michael Visontay
Michael
Visontay has worked for more than 30 years as a journalist, author and lecturer. He was a former assistant editor of the Sydney Morning Herald and deputy editor of the Sun-Herald, and is currently commissioning editor of The Jewish Independent.
At True Story Festival this Sunday, Michael will join UOW’s Sue Turnbull to discuss his latest book, Noble Fragment, and how the desecration of one of the world’s rarest books sent him on an obsessive quest searching for clues. Michael will be speaking from 11.30am-12.30pm at Coledale Hall.
What inspired you to write ‘Noble Fragments’?
Following my mother’s death I was looking through old papers when I came across a mysterious legal document that linked my family to a man who was one of New York’s most important rare book dealers before World War II. We were under lockdown during the pandemic and I had lots of time on my hands. I became obsessed with learning who this man was and what he had done to influence my family’s history.
Which book made you want to be a writer?
One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The author created a new world full of wonder and mystery, yet rooted in reality. His imagination was exhilarating. Every page I read felt like I was eating sunshine. It was thrilling to read and gave me a sense of how much pleasure existed in the world of writing.
The book you could never read again?
Remembrance of Things Past, by Marcel Proust. I read the whole thing, 3000-plus pages, during a long overseas trip in my 20s. I was shaking with excitement when I approached the end. I just don’t have the time to spend on one book anymore.
Your favourite book of 2024? I only got around to reading Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver this year. Demon is a fictional reimagining of Dickens’ David Copperfield that follows the life of a young boy growing up as a poverty-stricken orphan in the south of the United States. Told in the boy’s voice, it is a devastating portrait of drug-addled social decay, from which Demon ultimately finds a measure of self-respect and redemption. Kingsolver’s ability to inhabit a young boy’s life makes this an instant classic.
TICKETS
Book via South Coast Writers Centre
Thirroul has a thriving food scene? True story
By Amanda De George
Ifyou’re in town for the True Story
Festival or just here in the lovely Illawarra for the day, rest assured Thirroul has all your food and beverage needs covered. But first you need to get the lay of the land.
‘Little Thirroul’ is south of the railway bridge and features loads of quaint coffee shops, sushi and burger joints and the Ryan’s hotel for pub grub and bands.
Over the bridge is where you have the big smoke amenities: a couple of (smallish) supermarkets and a very famous petrol station featured in the television series One Night as well as gift shops and nurseries and more food options. So now you know your way around, here’s a few of our fave local spots to wine and dine.
Pickled Poet, Little Thirroul
This charming wine bar and deli never misses, whether you’re tucked away inside or enjoying the live music in the courtyard on the weekends. Co-owner and head chef Jordan Brogan has created a small but deliciously balanced menu featuring everything from antipasto platters to creamy pastas and pantry staples. Speaking of ‘pantry staples’, ask to try the Renegade Spirits Moonshine selection from the Southern Highlands. You can thank me later.
Stephanie is happy to guide you through the delicious cocktail and wine list. Vegetarian options are available and dogs are always welcome.
368-370 Lawrence Hargrave Drive, Thirroul
Photo: Pickled Poet
Ciro’s Pizza, Thirroul
Owned by friends Joel, Michael, Liam and Marko, Ciro’s Pizza has only been around since 2023 but is already a cult fave. Set on the corner of Thirroul’s busy main street, there’s a bit of an inner city vibe but the looming escarpment is a reminder that you are firmly in the Illawarra.
The sourdough pizza bases are chewy and charred from the wood-fired oven, with the Shrooms pizza a not to be missed star – think creamy fior di latte mozzarella with the tang of freshly squeezed lemon. Lots of vego and gluten-free options, with the risotto another stand out.
Takeaway available.
1 Raymond Rd, Thirroul
Madam Choi
Don’t be alarmed by the long-stemmed (faux) red roses on the table. You haven’t stumbled upon a speed dating event, rather it’s a very Madam Choi flourish indicating reserved tables.
The menu is best described as Asian fusion but for me, it’s the classic Chinese dishes full of comfort and nostalgia with the honey chicken and fried ice-cream in particular taking me back to childhood. It’s part of the reason that they were
awarded the Australian Good Food Guide Readers’ Choice award in 2023. With lots of vegan options, including the salt and pepper tofu, which even the non vegans in our group fought over, and a dedicated gluten-free menu, this restaurant has something for everyone.
5/291-301 Lawrence Hargrave Drive Thirroul
South Sailor
With a modern, coastal vibe and the fabulously appropriate fish-scale tiles, South Sailor is Thirroul’s local fish bar.
If you’re after a bit of indulgence, you can’t go past South Coast appellation oysters shucked to order and a bump (or two) of caviar. For those with a less sophisticated palette (yes, I’m referring to myself), the Baja fish tacos with crumbed Barra and fennel slaw, along with the good old-fashioned fish and chips are always a delicious option. Don’t love fish? No problem with beef burgers, vegan curries and mushroom tacos all proving super popular. Don’t ask me how I know, but the cocktails are to die for.
216-218 Lawrence Hargrave Drive, Thirroul
Click to read more online
“Don’t ask me how I know, but the cocktails are to die for.”
– Amanda De George
Photo: South Sailor
Electrify the new rock stars
Sunday’s Community Pilot Launch played to a packed theatre, writes Genevieve Swart
Sunday afternoon’s home electrification session at Anita’s Theatre was a hit, attracting a crowd rock stars would envy.
About 600 people attended yesterday’s launch of the Electrify 2515 Community Pilot, a two-year research project to electrify 500 homes that recently received $5.4 million in federal funding through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).
Presenting to a packed house at Thirroul’s live music venue, Rewiring Australia co-founder Dr Saul Griffith donned an Electrify 2515 t-shirt from the preloved range sustainably sourced at local op shops to deliver his keynote address, describing the pilot as a “lighthouse project” and a “world first”.
“You might think we’re just Thirroul, 2515,” he said. “The most ambitious version of a project like this was in Georgia last year with 50 homes … this is the first time that we’re really doing it on the grid, trying to demonstrate technically that we’re going to improve the grid and lower the cost of electricity by doing it.
“The other half of the project that I think might be even more exciting and more consequential is about the economic effects on the community. So, there’s 4700-ish households in 2515.
electrified community in a decade or so, we will be saving about $16 to $20 million a year as a community.”
Saul said the transformation could also create about 100 new jobs.
“I think this is the beautiful story that, if we can prove that it’s true, is going to make this an addictive movement that takes over the world. And it’s really a story of economic renewal based on communities.”
Reasons to celebrate
There was a celebratory vibe in the theatre, with an enthusiastic crowd of all ages, from children to retirees, breaking into spontaneous rounds of applause for speakers.
These included Federal Member for Cunningham Alison Byrnes; Electrify 2515 Pilot Operations Manager John Buchelin; Francis Vierboom, Rewiring Australia’s Market Transformation Manager; and pilot partner representatives, Douglas Chapman, of finance company Brighte, and Ben Dufty, network operations manager for Endeavour Energy.
“The answer is no,” he said. Northern Illawarra chosen for nationwide pilot
Collectively we spend $38 million a year on fossil fuels… once we get to the fully
Ben fielded several practical questions from the audience, from why you can’t use solar batteries in a blackout (to keep workers repairing the network safe) to “Are we going to blow up the grid?”
“There’s been plenty of modelling done in the background to actually understand what the theoretical impacts of these changes on our grid will have.”
As part of the two-year Community Pilot, 500 households will receive subsidies to upgrade to electric hot-water systems, air conditioners and cooktops, and to install household batteries. Everyone who takes part will receive a free smart energy device to gather data.
Ultimately, it’s hoped this research will help power the electrification of 11 million homes around Australia.
Grassroots to great Sunday’s launch was a celebratory moment in the spotlight for the Electrify 2515 team, which started as a small, hard-working group of volunteers and has swelled to a community-wide movement.
Back in March 2021, some founding members were involved in a familyfriendly Camp Out for Climate at Thirroul’s WF Jackson Park, an Extinction Rebellion Northern Illawarra ‘protestival’ that created a gallery of symbolic mud brick “tombstones”.
Months later, the volunteers approached Saul, who was new to Austinmer after two decades in the US, where he and the Rewiring America team were instrumental in co-designing climate policy centred on household electrification for the US Inflation Reduction Act.
“They came to me and I still remember, they’re like, ‘We’ve been in an environmental movement forever, we don’t know what to do; it’s a little bit hard to take the children to a protest and throw paint and stuff’. And so I said, in reaction to that, ‘Well, why don’t we try and be the solution?’...”
Saul – now an integral part of the community, teaching kids at the local public school how to build electric go karts in his spare time – said he is intrigued by changing attitudes. “We’ve had 50 years of environmentalism that looks like: shut things down… And what we are doing here is really a new type of environmental activism. This is about building things, doing things, making real change in your community.
“That’s really positive.”
Who can take part
Applications for the Community Pilot are now open to renters and home owners in the 2515 postcode, which stretches from Clifton to Thirroul. Participants will be selected to represent a range of demographics, with higher subsidies for those on lower incomes.
On reading questions from the audience, event MC Kristen McDonald, one of the founding volunteers and now Rewiring Australia’s Mobilisation & Engagement Manager, thanked the locals asking, “If I’m not selected to be a part of the pilot, can I still get a smart device? Can I still participate in the research?”
“I just think this really sums up the beautiful sentiment in our community,” Kristen said. “Others have asked how does it work if you want to donate your subsidy.”
Pilot manager John Buchelin said people who qualify are welcome to waive their subsidy. “If you bring that money back into the pilot, that opens up another spot for a low income home to come in,” he said. “It lets us broaden the community and spend our money probably more where it’s needed.”
Inspired by the 2515 pilot, volunteers are already at work on wider movements, such as Electrify Illawarra, led by Denise Aubourg.
Wrapping up the event, Dr Saul took a question about what success would look like in this pilot: “Success for me is that we are a seed in an international movement to electrify that helps the whole world.”
“I think this is the beautiful story that, if we can prove that it’s true, is going to make this an addictive movement that takes over the world”
– Dr Saul Griffith
2025’s hottest theatre tickets
By Genevieve Swart
“There’s a huge excitement for those blockbuster shows. It’s the biggest season we’ve ever had.”
– Simon Hinton, Merrigong CEO
Wanta gift to bring joy to your world? Merrigong Theatre Company recently announced its biggest ever season for 2025 and artistic director Simon Hinton has a hot tip for Christmas shoppers: Love Stories
“A season ticket makes a really great Christmas present,” Simon said, “but in terms of individual shows I think Love Stories, which is coming up in late Feb, is probably the most obvious Christmas present show, because it’s such a joyous production.”
Love Stories is an adaptation of Trent Dalton’s bestselling book, a series of vignettes collected after the author took to a street corner in Brisbane to ask passers-by: “Can you please tell me a love story?”
The show premiered in Queensland in September and had an “extraordinary season”, Simon said.
TICKETS
Buy season tickets via Merrigong’s website
“More than 20,000 people saw it in Brisbane. It’s a really beautiful stage adaptation, a stunning piece of theatre. In fact, when I went up to Brisbane, I don’t think I’ve ever seen an audience more joyous at the end of a show. People were just coming out of the theatre so uplifted.
“It’s a love letter to love, really – and all the different types of love and how important love is in our life.”
Love Stories is the first of three “hot
ticket” shows coming to Wollongong for two-week runs next year. The others are an adaptation of Pip Williams’ bestselling novel,The Dictionary of Lost Words, in May, and political drama Julia, with Justine Clarke starring as Australia’s first woman prime minister in September.
“We’ve got close to 1500 people on wait lists for those shows,” Simon said. “Because we sell to our season ticket holders first, so at the moment you can only buy those shows as part of season tickets.”
Individual tickets to these plays are set to go on sale next Tuesday, November 19 at 10am.
“There’s a huge excitement for those blockbuster shows,” Simon said.
“It’s the biggest season we’ve ever had, in terms of the scale of the shows and the number of shows. So that’s really exciting.”
The mainstage program – which kicks off in February with Bangarra Dance Theatre’s The Light Inside – will include 11 shows with wide appeal, from Bell Shakespeare’s Henry 5 to Belvoir St Theatre’s Scenes from the Climate Era. Younger audiences will be delighted by colourful puppets in The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show, Ratburger (from the David Walliams novel) and the return of The Listies, aka “the rock stars of the kids comedy circuit”.
The MerrigongX Artists’ Program will present innovative new works, including Kirli Saunders’ poetic journey Yhanda Djanbay (Go Slowly), Lucy Heffernan’s gig-theatre Dog People, Vaugley Adjacent’s interactive adventure Squatch Watch: LIVE and the thought-provoking Public Access, presented by The Corinthian Food Store.
Earlier this year, singer-songwriter Kay Proudlove’s Dear Diary stepped up from MerrigongX to the mainstage; in 2025, it will be Josh Hinton’s turn, as the young performer returns to IPAC with A Place in the Sultan’s Kitchen (or How To Make the Perfect One-Pot Chicken Curry) after a successful debut in August.
For teenagers, Simon recommends A Place in the Sultan’s Kitchen, Love Stories and October 2025’s high-energy acrobatic spectacle, Duck Pond by Circa. “It’s a circus riff on Swan Lake, but kind of mashed up with the Ugly Duckling and things.”
In November 2025, Simon is looking forward to a new show by the local Strangeways Ensemble.
“The Strangeways Ensemble is our ensemble of professional actors who are perceived to have intellectual disability. They make just such great, fun, original theatre. And we make a mainstage work with them every two to three years. So that’s coming up, that’s called The Seven, which is a great riff on horror
movie-mysteries, conspiracy theories and things.
“We’ve also got an international work coming from New Zealand called Mr Red Light that I’m very excited about. It’s a really madcap absurdist piece of theatre, kind of crazy, but wonderful.
“So it’s a diverse season.”
Programming is “an inexact science”, Simon admits, but already it seems Merrigong Theatre Co. has a hit season on its hands.
“We’re also trying to bring diverse experiences to audiences and develop new audiences. So there’s always that kind of balance between not just giving the audience what they want, but also things that they may not yet know they want, or they haven’t been exposed to.”
The big season to come is partly due to people returning to live entertainment post pandemic, but also because of the quality of theatre emerging in Australia, Simon said.
“We are also really blessed in this country to have some incredible theatremakers who are making work that is vibrant and entertaining and is really attractive in a difficult economic time.
“The whole team at Merrigong is really excited about the year ahead and already, since we launched, just the response to the season is giving us great confidence that theatre-going is alive and well in Wollongong.”
LAST CHANCE
Consultation is closing soon for comments on our city’s Community Strategic Plan for the next 10 years. Wollongong City Council would love for you to be part of the conversation.
Visit the Our Wollongong web page your thoughts by 10am on Monday 18 November 2024.
This November, Horizon Bank proudly marked their 60th Anniversary, commemorating six decades of dedicated service as a customer-owned financial institution in the Illawarra and South Coast. It all began in 1964 when a government appointed organiser of Credit Unions visited Wollongong and spoke to employees of the Illawarra County Council about the possibility of forming a Credit Union. Since then Horizon Bank has grown exponentially while remaining the only true South Coast & Illawarra based financial institution. Notably, Horizon Bank bucked the recent trend of bank branch closures with the opening of their 10th branch in the town of Berry in July 2023.
O’ Cabbage Tree
By Emma Rooksby of Growing Illawarra Natives
Developing and mature Cabbage Palm leaves, showing the round shape and the many segments of the leaf.
Photo by Emma Rooksby
TheCabbage Tree Palm (Livistona australis) is an iconic palm species that is well known in the Illawarra, as it is very prominent along the highway in the Kiama and Gerringong areas.
It is the more common of the two local palm species, occurring right across the region, in all kinds of rainforest, eucalypt forests on the escarpment, and also regularly popping up in gardens and parks. There are big old Cabbage Tree Palms right along the escarpment, such as the magnificent group below near Clover Hill road on Macquarie Pass.
The species grows in eastern Victoria and as far north as the misty upland rainforests of Paluma in Queensland, according to Alex Floyd’s Rainforest Trees of Mainland South-eastern Australia.
Pictured below: These Cabbage Tree Palms at the base of Macquarie Pass are 250 years old or older. (Image by Keith Horton.)
The other local palm, Bangalow Palm (Archontophoenix cunninghamiana), is much less common, particularly in the south of the region, though seedlings and young trees are appearing in some areas.
The two palms are fairly easy to tell
apart by their leaves. Cabbage Tree Palms have circular leaves, formed of about 70 segments that are separated from each other towards their outer extremities; the leaf stalk (petiole) is up to 2.5m long and bears sharp curved spines that can give a nasty cut. The Bangalow Palm has pinnately divided leaves, with the opposite pairs of leaflets giving the leaf, and the whole plant, a feathery look; the leaf stalk is only 20-25cm long, so much shorter than in the Cabbage Palm. Sometimes, when an animal nibbles on the tips of an unopened frond, instead of opening into a large round leaf, it becomes a small round saucer or plate-sized leaf, only 10 or 20cm in diameter. (Image by Emma Rooksby.) Cabbage Tree Palms are very significant to local First Nations peoples. They are also immensely important to many fruit-eating birds, particularly but not only local pigeons and doves. For this reason they are a really valuable element of local forests. They are not, however, an ancient or Gondwana species; recent genetic research favours the conclusion that they have moved into Australia from the north relatively recently (see this Science Direct article).
Misunderstood spiders who make ideal housemates
By Andy Lawrence
The kids were fascinated by
and kept asking if they could touch it. The perils of being an entomologist’s child I guess.
Spring is peaking, summer is coming, and this week in Wollongong, the humidity is stifling. Though the wet, warm air may make us humans a little crabby, other creatures revel in it, breed and thrive in it. An arthropod’s biggest fear is as follows:
1. Getting eaten by something bigger or more sinister than it and,
2. Desiccating in dry heat.
This humid weather has the flies and cockroaches proliferating, scuttering and/or buzzing through our homes. Luckily, there are other arthropods who enjoy this balmy weather and also happen to enjoy eating these pesky pest insects. In fact, cockroaches are a
This lovely fellow got rustled from its hiding place under our deck by my toddlers.
it
particular favourite of the huntsman spider.
Huntsmans are rather misunderstood. They possess all the necessary criteria for elevating the heart rate of any arachnophobe. Large, with long hairy legs, eight visible eyes, rapid, scurrying movements and a penchant for hiding in unfortunate and unexpected places.
No one, not even an avid arthropodlover such as myself, can avoid the heart palpitations that come after opening the car sun visor to find a set of eight eyes and legs staring back at your face, a mere foot away.
Despite their troublesome appearance, their hair-raising way of moving and their tendency to enter our homes, huntsmans are harmless to humans. They only bite if provoked, though like most spiders, they are more likely to try to escape.
Their venom rarely causes any reaction in humans and they are quite shy of humans.
Aptly named, they do not catch their prey in webs, instead ‘hunting’ them by lying in ambush or chasing after them with their considerable speed.
Huntsman spiders comprise the family Sparassidae with over 1000 globally distributed species. Australia hosts 94 known species of huntsmans with many yet to be described and their presence is widely distributed throughout the country.
Huntsmans have long been confused with tarantulas, but differ in the leg department.
Huntsmans are laterally compressed, with twisted leg joints that allow the legs to bend on the lateral plane. This arrangement facilitates easy movement in small crevices, between logs, behind bark and behind the car sun visor, some of their favourite places to hang out. It also allows the spiders to move very quickly in any direction, and subsequently scaring the bejesus out of unsuspecting humans.
More than the fact that huntsmans help to rid my house of cockroaches, my appreciation for these spiders stems mainly from their breeding and social
behaviours that hold some fascinating resonance to human behaviour.
They are romantic creatures; female huntsmans typically do not harm the males during mating and the pair undergo courtship prior to mating that includes mutual caresses and tapping. This is followed by a very lengthy consummation that lasts from one to eight hours! Come to think of it, huntsman behaviour is not particularly comparable to human behaviour…
After mating, the female lays around her eggs in a papery white sac, which she guards, without eating, for around three weeks. She will stay with her hatchlings, raising them for several weeks after they emerge.
They are long-lived spiders, living up to two years, with the exception of the Australian golden huntsman (Beregama aurea), the second largest huntsman in the world, which lives for about 3.5 years.
Unlike most spiders, huntsmans are quite social and some species in particular, like Delena cancerides, can live in peaceful communes of up to 300 individuals, with females raising their young together and even sharing food.
Sign me up, I want to join a wholesome spider commune!
Though, maybe not with this particular species as they do not tolerate outsiders and often cannibalise members of other communities.
I can’t lie, even writing this article has caused the hairs on the back of my neck to rise involuntarily. And I never fail to get a shock when I come into contact with one of these massive, stealthy spiders.
But, once my heart rate comes down a little, and I remind my conscious brain that they are harmless and beneficial for our cockroach problem, I remember that I do appreciate them. I may even be a little fond of them and their romantic, community-focussed proclivities.
Who doesn’t love a good jump-scare anyway?
“Luckily, there are other arthropods who enjoy this balmy weather and also happen to enjoy eating these pesky pest insects. In fact, cockroaches are a particular favourite of the huntsman spider.” – Andy Lawrence
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