Most fires can be controlled. Fires can be dangerous.
Stay up to date and be ready to act if there is a fire.
There’s a heightened risk. Be alert for fires in your area.
Decide what you will do if a fire starts.
If a fire starts, your life and property may be at risk. The safest option is to avoid bush fire risk areas.
EXTREME CATASTROPHIC
Take action now to protect your life and property.
Fires will spread quickly and be extremely dangerous.
These are dangerous fire conditions. Check your bush fire plan and that your property is fire ready.
If a fire starts, take immediate action. If you and your property are not prepared to the highest level, go to a safer location well before the fire impacts.
Reconsider travel through bush fire risk areas.
For your survival, leave bush fire risk areas.
If a fire starts and takes hold, lives are likely to be lost.
These are the most dangerous conditions for a fire. Your life may depend on the decisions you make, even before there is a fire.
Stay safe by going to a safer location early in the morning or the night before.
Homes cannot withstand fires in these conditions. You may not be able to leave and help may not be available.
Lights, outdoor movies, action
By Amanda De George
“Our round-up will have you jingling your bells and reaching for the eggnog.”
– Amanda De George
Late to the Christmas fun this year?
There’s still time to find your Christmas Spirit. Our round-up will have you jingling your bells and reaching for the eggnog.
Sunset Cinema
While Netflix and chill is nice and all, there really is something special about sprawling out with a picnic under the stars as the bats fly overhead and your fave Christmas movie fills the big (temporary, blow-up) screen.
This year’s Chrissy line up features Elf, Home Alone, Love Actually and Red One. With a program like that, I’ll forgive them for not playing the world’s greatest Christmas movie, Die Hard (give it a rewatch and tell me I’m wrong).
SantaFest – over 18s fun
Back in my day, this was called the Santa Pub Crawl and I wore fairy wings. At the end of the night, I looked less Christmas Angel and more squished bug.
Now in its 31st year, your ticket gets you entry into 11 venues, free shuttle buses to ferry you around and an incredible live music line-up.
Dressing up is, of course, encouraged
and local charities Disabled Surfers Association and SAHSSI are supported. Kicking off at 12pm Saturday, December 14.
Christmas Lights
Are you a Chrissy light family? Putting up lights would mean I’m close to my gutters, which would mean I would need to clean said gutters, so instead I’ve opted for lights on my tree only this year. But there are plenty of gorgeous light displays throughout the region. Join the Facebook group ‘Christmas Light Displays Illawarra’ for updates and let us know your must-see displays.
Coledale Twilight Christmas Market
There’s just something about a twilight Chrissy market. The delicious aromas as you try and choose which food stall you’ll stop by for dinner, kids running around excitedly because Christmas is just so close, running into friends while the heat of the day slowly dissipates. And so many amazing local goodies to buy. Starting at 2pm, Sunday, December 22, you can shop right through until 8pm.
Author reveals Flame Tree secrets after bumper spring
Words and photos by Tyneesha Williams
Theiconic Illawarra Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius) flowered abundantly this year, lighting up everywhere from the escarpment to Lawrence Hargrave Drive.
“Flame trees are really spectacular in the urban areas when they’re flowering,” says local expert Leon Fuller, author of the bestselling book Wollongong’s Native Trees
“They are endemic to Australia and indigenous to the Illawarra, but they occur from around the Shoalhaven River all the way up to Cape York.”
Irregular flowering
Flame trees usually flower in late spring and early summer, alongside other vibrant trees such as the purple Jacaranda
and yellow Silky Oaks. They are often mistaken for coral trees, which display red flowers in our winter and are not native to Australia.
“What’s interesting about Flame Trees is that the flowering stems are red as well as the flower,” Leon says.
“That’s what gives us a whole heap of that bright colour we see. When they’re finished flowering, the stems drop off and [the trees] go back to green.”
While we’ve enjoyed a spectacular flowering season this spring in the Illawarra, Leon says that Flame Trees tend to flower differently every year.
“If planted as a seedling, it will take at least seven years for the tree to flower for the first time, sometimes even 15 years, and after that they’re quite erratic,” Leon
“What’s interesting about Flame Trees is that the flowering stems are red as well as the flower.”
– Leon Fuller
says. “They won’t flower every year. And when they do, it is irregular. Even this year, there are some that are still flowering with flowers on one side and leaves on the other. Some years they’ll flower with just a bunch of flowers and lose all their leaves.
“It’s variable. The reasons for that irregularity are not well known.”
Leon says Dr Kevin Mills’ monthly plant journal recently speculated that Flame Trees might flower better after a dry winter.
Adapting to conditions
The Illawarra Flame Tree is known for its striking red flowers, but Leon says the leaves are particularly interesting. Flame Trees have a characteristic called heterophylly.
“There’s a whole story in the names of plants,” Leon says.
This term refers to the tree’s ability to produce different types of leaves throughout its life cycle.
“When it is young and the tree is trying to establish itself in the plant community, the leaves need more surface area to catch light and make sugars to grow,” Leon says.
“When it gets old and grows to the top of the canopy, there is more light up there and a smaller leaf will catch the same amount of light.”
Natural habitat and growth
Despite thriving in urban settings, the Flame Tree is naturally a rainforest species.
“Ecologically, they are rainforest trees, so they grow best in a rainforest,” Leon says.
In a rainforest, the trees can grow up to about 30 metres.
“But most of the plants in a rainforest community grow very well under normal garden conditions. People water their gardens and care for the soil – [Flame Trees] love it,” Leon says.
In urban areas, a Flame Tree might grow to be between eight to 15 metres tall.
“The only thing people might not always do is leave enough room for a Flame Tree,” Leon says.
Ecological significance
Various wildlife species eat the fruit of the Flame Tree, which emerges after the flowering season. The large, boat-shaped pods are difficult to break open but accessible to larger birds such as cockatoos, currawongs, the southern bower bird and the king parrot.
“People can eat the fruit too,” Leon says.
“They can even make a coffee substitute with it. But the danger with it is that amongst the fruit, there are little fibres that you need to clean out.”
These fibres will irritate the skin, nose and throat if inhaled.
Playground on Otford wish list
By Genevieve Swart
“Playgrounds are key connection points in neighbourhoods and allow children to play and families to form friendships – Michelle Barry
Santa may find some special requests in his mailbox at Helensburgh Library, one of seven libraries around the city where children can post letters with Christmas wishes.
“Maybe I’ll write one and get my kids to ‘sign’ it,” said Otford mum Jessica Smith, who recently started a petition titled “Let’s get the kids of Otford a playground!” at Change.org.
Jess is aiming to deliver her plea to Wollongong City Council in time for its final meeting of the year on Monday, December 16 and at publication time the petition had 86 signatures – no small feat for a suburb with 145 homes.
A mum of two young boys who keep her “busy and entertained”, Jess first noticed the lack of a local playground when her eldest was a toddler.
“There was/is nowhere for me to go with him without needing to buckle him into the car, pack the pram, find a parking spot, get everything out again, etc for him to play on a slide and with other kids in an outside and safe space,” she said. “I’m finding it hard again now my youngest is at this age!”
More families have moved to Otford over the past four years, and with that comes more children, Jess said.
She’s right: the 2021 Census recorded 89 children aged 0 to 14, up from 77 in 2016.
Jess is a project manager at a global health institute; her husband also works in public health. The couple moved from Sydney to Otford in 2017. “It was more affordable and seemed like a beautiful part of the world. We honestly feel so lucky to have found this little leafy town.”
Her baby boys are now growing up fast. “They are four – four and three-quarters if you ask him! – and 18 months. They are active kiddos and just want to be running, jumping (tumbling) and generally just always moving!”
Rather than to drive to Stanwell Park or Helensburgh to play with other children, Jess would love a community space where parents can connect in Otford. Currently, there is just one swing near the hall.
Michelle Barry works in Child Health Promotion at local charity Healthy Cities Illawarra, which created the free Play Illawarra website in collaboration with the Illawarra’s four councils to support play as a right for every child.
“Playgrounds are key connection points in neighbourhoods and allow children to play and families to form friendships,” Michelle says. “It can be a safe meeting point and having them within walking distance of houses allows the freedom of play without having to drive and promotes active, healthy, connected communities.”
We Mavericks to launch new album at Folk Festival
By Nick Hartgerink, honorary publicity officer for the Illawarra Folk Festival
Acclaimed folk duo We Mavericks don’t call Corrimal home these days, but in a nod to their time in the region they will be launching their new album at the Illawarra Folk Festival at Bulli Showground on January 17-19.
Victoria Vigenser (guitar and vocals) and Lindsay Martin (violin, mandolin and vocals) have enchanted audiences all over Australia and internationally since their first shows together in 2018.
TICKETS
Book via the Folk Festival website
They were one of the most popular acts at the 2024 Illawarra Folk Festival and are returning for the 2025 festival to showcase their latest songs with an album launch show.
The festival program involving 85 acts has now been finalised and We Mavericks will be playing on Sunday
Lindsay Martin and Victoria Vigenser are We Mavericks. Photos supplied
afternoon. They will be performing songs from new album Heart of Silver as a quartet with friends and musical collaborators, cello maestros Rachel Johnston and Trent Arkleysmith from Two If By Sea, who played on most of the songs on the album.
And while as performers of original music it is a safe bet that Victoria and Lindsay won’t include the John Denver classic Leaving On A Jet Plane on the set list at Bulli, they’ll actually be doing just that – heading straight from the festival to Sydney Airport to catch a plane to Germany for the start of a hectic 19-show tour through Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic. Their first show is on January 23 in Munich, and on tour they’ll be playing a variety of venues
including small theatres, arts centres and house concerts.
Victoria and Lindsay recently returned from a successful six-and-a-half week tour of England and Scotland, and are excited to be taking their music back to Europe so soon after that trip.
“We were very fortunate to be approached by an agent who was in Australia scouting for acts. He asked us if we were interested in touring internationally, and it was as simple as that …
“We played at lots of beautiful folk clubs and festivals across England and Scotland. It gave us a chance to road-test our new songs to new audiences, and we were very pleasantly surprised by how they were received. There is a lot of support for original material amongst UK folkies, and the audiences couldn’t have been lovelier,” Victoria said.
“It gave us a lot of confidence for the album.”
Victoria and Lindsay recently moved back to Lindsay’s home town of Tumut, but still feel that the Illawarra Folk Festival at Bulli is like a “home” gig after living just down the road in Corrimal for several years.
“It felt like a home crowd when we performed at Bulli last January, and we are really looking forward to getting back there and performing songs from the new album,” Victoria said.
“And we’re excited to be bringing Rachel and Trent with us for this show.
When we were recording the songs for Heart of Silver, we thought they might work well with some double cello added, so we sent some tracks to Rachel and Trent to see what they could do with them – and they came back beautiful. Adding the cello really solidified the foundations we had laid down for each song.
“Rachel and Trent are both extraordinary cellists, and they have really beefed out our sound.”
Drummer and bass player Julia Day also contributed to the album, although she won’t be performing with We Mavericks at the Illawarra Folk Festival.
Victoria hails from New Zealand, where she met Lindsay when they were both performing at a folk festival. At the time Victoria’s mother was living in Australia. “Lindsay suggested that next time I come over to see my mum I could use his studio to put some songs down.”
And the rest, as they say, is history. “We started working together, and at the end of 2018 we started playing live shows together and having fun,” Victoria said. “We started falling in love, and next thing we were doing life together …”
Fortunately for their growing fan base, they are continuing to make beautiful music together too.
Tickets and full festival program at the Folk Festival website with Early Bird discounts available until December 22.
“We are really looking forward to getting back there and performing songs from the new album.”
– Victoria Vigenser
We Mavericks and friends – main picture: Lindsay Martin and Victoria Vigenser; top right: Rachel Johnston; Bottom right: Trent Arkleysmith
Where have all the Christmas beetles gone?
By Amanda De George
“Invertebrates
Australia and the University of Sydney’s Associate Professor Tanya Latty are looking to citizen scientists
for help.”
– Amanda De George HELP Share your Christmas beetle photos
It’s Christmas time and you know what that means? Christmas beetles! Or does it?
I grew up to the sound of golden-hued insects thwacking against the screen door, one after the other. They’d fall to the ground, spin around on their backs for a bit, while I watched on, too afraid of their spiky clawed feet to help, before they righted themselves, unfolded their wings and flew off only to repeat the cycle again.
Anecdotally, they just don’t seem to be around that much anymore.
But it turns out there are signs that we’re actually in for a bumper season for these iconic insects. To confirm this and to pinpoint reasons for any ongoing population decline, scientists need data and the Christmas Beetle Count is back for another year.
Invertebrates Australia and the University of Sydney’s Associate Professor Tanya Latty are looking to citizen scientists for help and here is where you come in.
If you see what you think is a Christmas beetle (don’t worry if you’re not 100% sure, there are over 35 native species and many look similar to other beetle species), grab your phone and snap some photos. To help with identification, the team are asking for four photos: one of the top of the beetle, its underside, front on and one from the back. Again, this is a no stress project so even if you can only snap one photo, still upload it. All data helps.
Now, if you’re like me, even thinking about these beautiful bauble-like beetles will have memories bubbling up to the surface. Associate Professor Latty is asking not just for current sightings but also for memories and stories for the Christmas Beetle Memories project. To add this season’s Christmas beetle sighting to the project, head to iNaturalist’s Christmas Beetle Count page.
To learn more about the project and to watch videos to help with identification head to the Invertebrates Australia site.
Green Gravity on the rise
By Genevieve Swart
Mayor Tania Brown and Green Gravity founder Mark Swinnerton
ElonMusk’s Tesla home batteries beware – there’s a new, cheaper and more sustainable way of storing rooftop solar on the rise, and it’s made in Wollongong.
“At Green Gravity, we are an energy storage developer and we’ve developed a technology called Gravitational Energy Storage,” says CEO Mark Swinnerton.
“This is about lifting very heavy objects up a legacy mine shaft, when we have excess renewable energy, and then lowering those weights back down again through the mine shaft when we want to release the energy back to the grid, which means we can take solar energy and we can reproduce it at night.”
mine shafts, the technology also has the potential to be “very competitive” price wise, Mark says.
“We believe already we’ll be competitive on a capital basis with lithium ion …
“On a levelised basis – so an all-in economic cost – we think we’re extremely low-cost because we’re reusing infrastructure and we have very, very long-life assets.”
Council shows support
Wollongong Lord Mayor Tania Brown is excited about Green Gravity’s prospects. Yesterday she chose the company as the first focus for Council’s new #MadeInWollongong monthly series, Our website for more stories of change
An ingenious way to repurpose old
Lord
which will feature business leaders who are putting the city on the global map.
The launch took place in the Gravity Lab, an old shed in the Port Kembla steelworks complex where a small-scale model tower is set up to demonstrate Green Gravity’s technology.
“It’s a great showcase for that innovation that we want to be known for,” the Lord Mayor says.
Council can play a key role in supporting innovation, she says.
“Through Invest Wollongong, which is a partnership with the university and the state government, we can partner together to look for grant opportunities, but it is about advocacy on their behalf, as well as promoting the good work and any assistance we can provide them in drawing attention to the type of workers that they need, or customers. We are there to help with that.”
Mark says council’s support is a “very big help”. “We need a home base, and we need champions politically and community wise to be able to form that base to be able to make sure that we can be seen as credible and that we have the right credentials when we’re dealing with counterparts.”
Huge international potential
Mark “very proudly” worked at BHP for 25 years before founding Green Gravity in 2021 as a response to climate change. Already his idea has attracted $15 million in investment – from the likes of BlueScope and HMC Capital – and there’s more to come. Customers are
lining up not only in Australia, where we have 100,000 legacy mines, Mark says, but also in India, Eastern Europe and North America.
“In calendar 2025, we’re going to complete production testing in mine shafts and be ready for first sales at the end of the year.”
Repurposing old mine shafts is sustainable thinking on a grand scale.
“We have no waste because we don’t use any fuel, and gravity’s free and waste free,” Mark says.
It’s also timely technology, with Australia last month hitting a new record four million homes with solar.
Mark says there’ll be jobs ahead for everyone from engineers to project managers at Green Gravity.
“We have 15 full-time and we have about 10 volunteers. We’d like to double the team this next year.”
Media coverage of CSIRO’s GenCost report released this week has focussed on the costs of nuclear and the polarised debate between two political parties on the war path to a federal election.
For Mark, the most important message in the national science organisation’s report was the “undeniable” economics of renewable energy.
“The one and only winner when it comes to the cost of energy production is solar. Solar technology continues to scale and is outpacing cost out versus any other technology … and solar needs storage. And so I see our future as very bright.”
“In calendar 2025, we’re going to complete production testing in mine shafts and be ready for first sales at the end of the year.”
– CEO Mark Swinnerton
TAFE courses help prepare us for the party frenzy
By Jeremy Lasek
EveryDecember the Illawarra’s restaurants, pubs, bars, and function spaces are booked solid as we eat and drink our way towards Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
It’s that time of year again. School formals, work Christmas parties, long lunches and nights out with friends to mark the end of another crazy busy year.
Yet again, many venues are reporting a severe shortage of workers in hospitality.
The people who take our orders, prepare our meals and serve us to make our special end of year occasion just that little bit more special. While some businesses offer on-the-job training, others look for people with experience or a relevant qualification.
TAFE training up our hospitality workers
Over the decades, hundreds of our finest cooks, chefs and wait staff have cut their teeth through studying at Wollongong TAFE.
The job of hospitality teacher Chris van der Wall is to help train a group of keen, willing students to a level where they can confidently step into any of our region’s restaurants and venues.
“There is never a dull day teaching and I enjoy seeing students gaining confidence through improving their skills and knowledge,” Chris said.
For the past 45 years, the TAFE hospitality students have been put to the test in a ‘real life’ setting when they get to cook and serve a full dinner service at
the Twenty Twenty Restaurant. It’s an important part of preparing them for what’s to come in the real world.
During our visit to the restaurant the front of house students were in the first six months of their Certificate III studies. Our meals were prepared and cooked by Certificate III students in commercial cookery.
All of the staff were dressed immaculately and went out of their way to make us feel welcome.
“It’s set up to give people who are going to work in the hospitality industry a first-hand experience,” said fellow diner Steve Clark from Thirroul. “It even appears like a restaurant, even though it’s in the middle of the campus.”
The impressive menu for the night ($40) was served on an alternate drop basis.
Entree: A choice of risotto Milanese with caramelised eschalot, pangrattato and Manchego cheese, or Gruyere souffle tart with petit salad and white balsamic dressing.
Main course: Choice of beef short rib with heirloom carrots and pickled baby onion, or barramundi with sweetcorn puree, broccolini and mushroom mousse.
Dessert: Creme caramel with fresh berries, meringue shards and lemon balm, or pear and frangipane tart with passionfruit curd double cream.
The meal was complemented with a selection of sparkling, red and white wines, beer and soft drink.
Former cooking teacher Cherie Sweeney, from Corrimal, invited friends to dine with her and check in on our next wave of hospitality workers.
“The food was well presented, and the flavours were excellent. Everything tasted great. The menu had great variety and because we shared we tried a bit of everything and loved it all,” Cherie said.
The staff keep a close eye on how the room is ‘working’ and were always close at hand with the occasional tip or word of encouragement.
“My measure of success is when the students take control of the restaurant, and they tell me what needs to be done,” Chris van der Wall said.
My fellow diners were full of compliments for a night out that exceeded all expectations.
“What a great night,” said Stephen Goodley. “You can obviously see the training working and the end product – the food – is wonderful.”
There were even repeat customers.
“This is the second time we’ve dined here, and the service was well organised and our meal was most enjoyable,” said Richard Martin from North Wollongong.
Heading up the kitchen, experienced local chef Peter Washbourne said the biggest kick he gets from teaching is “watching the students learn and helping them become industry ready.”
While Restaurant Twenty Twenty has closed its doors for the summer months, bookings will open early in the new year for 2025 dinner bookings.
“My measure of success is when the students take control of the restaurant, and they tell me what needs to be done”
– Chris van der Wall
City’s elder statesmen call for cultural and heritage centre
By Jeremy Lasek
“It’s a hell of a story; Wollongong’s migration story. This country has been built on migration, and we are such a big part of it. This is where that story should be told” – Harold Hanson
There’s overwhelming support for the proposal to create a world-class regional museum in the Illawarra from two of Wollongong’s most influential people of the past 50 years.
As reported exclusively in The Illawarra Flame, last month a proposal was unveiled to create a Museum of People and Industry (MPI) with the preferred site on surplus reclaimed industrial land next to the Port Kembla Steelworks.
Leading that project is the chair of the Migration Heritage Project, Franca Facci, who says there’s nothing like it in Australia and it would provide the biggest boost for tourism in the region ever.
Supporting her call for a visionary project of grand scale and vision are two of the region’s elder statesmen, Professor Ken McKinnon, AO, and Harold Hanson, AM. While now in their 90s, they lack none of the passion and enthusiasm for the city that they possessed when helping shape Wollongong and the Illawarra region over many decades.
Ken McKinnon was the University of Wollongong’s second vice chancellor and during his term (1981-1995) he was largely credited with leading the university’s rapid development, from a college serving the steel industry to a modern university with world-class research facilities. Earlier this year, he
L to R: Professor Ken McKinnon, AO, and Harold Hanson, AM
and his wife Sue, a UOW alumni, gifted the university $5 million to support research fellowships in perpetuity. It remains one of the largest gifts in UOW’s history and it followed a $1.3 million ‘no strings attached’ gift in 2016 to foster innovation and excellence.
As a young man, Harold Hanson established one of the region’s most reputable law firms and was an alderman on Wollongong City Council from 1969-79. Once elected, he set about championing the creation of a city and regional art gallery, which he said had been a major oversight. One of Harold’s proudest achievements was the opening of the gallery in the former Wollongong town hall. Harold’s vision and energy saw him elected as chair of Tourism Wollongong, a board member of Tourism NSW, a director of IMB and the foundation chair of Wollongong City Art Gallery.
Harold says he can see many parallels between the desperate need for a regional art gallery many decades ago and what he sees as the missing link in the Illawarra’s cultural landscape right now. Their plan would bring together a number of cultural facilities in the same precinct.
Harold and Ken say there’s no competition between their proposal for an all-inclusive Wollongong Community, Cultural and Heritage Centre and Franca Facci’s Museum of People and Industry. Their preference is for a Wollongong city location but they believe the two projects could work together ‘hand in glove’ if given a chance.
The vision for the Community, Cultural and Heritage Centre is to: “Provide a creative hub for the region, providing access to a range of innovative world-class cultural and community experiences, and showcasing the richness of the city’s past, present, and future.”
Ken McKinnon is surprised the Illawarra is without a significant museum and cultural precinct.
“Over the years I’ve travelled around the world quite a bit and this is the only city of this size that doesn’t have a significant museum in its cultural
precinct,” he said. “Every place I’ve seen with a population of around 300,000, or much less, has a significant public building which tells the story of that place. If we can get this museum project up and running it would change the city forever. We’re the third city of NSW but you wouldn’t think so,” Ken said. “And we have a great story to tell.”
“It’s a hell of a story; Wollongong’s migration story. This country has been built on migration, and we are such a big part of it. This is where that story should be told,” Harold added.
Like the Museum of People and Industry concept, their vision was pitched to the previous Wollongong City Council with no success.
“One of our problems is that Wollongong has never been able to attract large amounts of government money for projects like this, unlike places like Newcastle and Geelong,” Ken said.
“Other than sporting events, it feels Wollongong has little to promote to attract visitors. Most people who come to watch or play sport are in and out on the same day,” he said. “We’ve got to concentrate on larger projects that will give visitors something to see and encourage them to stay.
“We met with Council, but unfortunately the previous Council appeared to lack vision and ambition. No reason was given for why they wouldn’t offer their support. The project really can’t go forward without some level of support from our Council... and the need to demonstrate courage.”
With the change of the guard at city hall – a new Lord Mayor and eight new councillors – there may be a glimmer of hope, with guarded support in principle from Cr Tania Brown.
“I support the concept of a regional museum, but it would require significant philanthropic or government support to proceed, and there needs to be a consensus from the community on what the museum would represent,” the Lord Mayor said.
Harold Hanson and Ken McKinnon hope to move their idea to the next stage in 2025.
Wake up to the Coffee Bush!
By Emma Rooksby of Growing Illawarra Natives
“This magnificent Coffee Bush (pictured above) is growing at the Wollongong Botanic Garden, within the GreenPlan Nursery area. It fruits brilliantly each year.”
– Emma
Rooksby
Infruit right now is one of the most common and widespread local shrubs of the Illawarra region: the Coffee Bush (Breynia oblongifolia). And it’s looking spectacular!
Before you get too excited though, I have to start with a disclaimer: this bush does not produce coffee beans, or fruit that look like coffee beans, and there is actually ongoing debate about whether the fruit are even edible! And I haven’t yet found a convincing account of how it got its common name. So please don’t try roasting the fruit!
That said, Coffee Bush is a gorgeous shrub or small tree, with interesting reddish-green new growth, numerous round fruit that turn from green to yellow, then red, then black, and have a propensity to attract a wide range of insect friends.
Coffee Bush is a widespread plant across the Illawarra region, occurring everywhere from coastal sand scrub and hind dunes, across the coastal plain, up the escarpment and even up on the Hawkesbury sandstone plateau. In ideal, sheltered conditions on rich soil, it can
reach 4m and live as a spreading large shrub or small tree for 10-15 years. In harsher, drier or sandier conditions it is much shorter, maybe 1.5-2m high and narrow in habit. You’ll see it in almost any natural area you visit across Illawarra.
This plant is also an excellent habitat species. A range of birds including Crimson Rosellas and Eastern Rosellas eat the fruit, and caterpillars of the Large Grass-yellow butterfly (Eurema hecabe) feed on the leaves. Many bugs, beetles and other insects can be seen among the foliage.
At the moment I’m seeing a lot of Australian Jewel Bugs (Lampromicra aerea) on Coffee Bush leaves, though I have yet to get a half-decent photo. See what insects you can spot on your local Coffee Bush plants. You might even be lucky enough to see a Christmas Beetle (Anoplognathus species).
Pictured below: The foliage and ripe fruit of the Coffee Bush. Image by Keith Horton.
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