Coast Community News 394

Concerns over boardwalk closure

News that the Terrigal boardwalk will be closed from Monday to Friday each week until the end of July for remedial works due to rock stability concerns has raised alarm bells among community activists.

The announcement prompted a flood of comments on social media, with residents concerned about the ongoing integrity of the rock face.

The boardwalk was opened in April 2021, after several revisions to plans and months of community consultation, with residents divided over the project.

Council surveys at the time showed that of 688 written submissions received, 52 per cent expressed general support for the proposal while 48 per cent expressed a lack of support.

Among concerns raised was the ongoing integrity and amenity of the

rock face.

The current closure, which will see the boardwalk and the small carpark adjacent to Terrigal Esplanade closed from Monday-Friday but reopened on weekends, follows a rockfall in March, which saw Central Coast Council undertake emergency safety works, including fencing off a small section of the boardwalk.

Council engaged a geotechnical engineer to undertake investigations and report on what works were required, with a specialist contractor engaged to carry them out.

“The current works involve selective trimming of the rockface with handheld pneumatic jackhammers, with the intention of removing loose rock material and (achieving) a stable

angle to prevent further instability,” a Council spokesperson said.

“Following completion of these works, a review will be undertaken by a geotechnical engineer to ascertain if any additional measures are required.

“Council will keep the community informed as the works progress.”

Community activist Joy Cooper is concerned that “additional measures” could include the application of shotcrete (sprayed concrete) and bolts to the rock face.

“This rock face is one of the remaining natural beauties in the Terrigal area,” Cooper said.

“You can sit on the boardwalk and appreciate the colours on the cliff face, from dark ochres through to light sandy colours and everything in between.

Continued page 8

Terrigal boardwalk

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Little Matilda thriving at reptile park

After a rocky start to life, the Australian Reptile Park’s newest little addition, Matilda the yellow-footed rock wallaby joey, has grown in leaps and bounds over the past month.

Matilda is currently being hand-raised under the devoted care of Keeper Seleena de Gelder, ensuring her healthy growth and that she surpasses every milestone she would have achieved if raised naturally in her mother’s pouch.

not use, any material sent to us for publication and to validate, amend, update, expand or reduce the information provided at our sole discretion and in accordance with our editorial guidelines. Material that is offensive, defamatory, or overtly political will not be published.

Editor: Ross Barry, David Abrahams (Digital Editor)

Journalists: Terry Collins, Sue Murray

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Early last month, keepers came to Matilda’s aid after a health check of the yellowfooted rock wallaby mob revealed that Kelly, one of the females, was pawing at her pouch.

Knowing that she was carrying a beautiful young female joey, the team was quick to undergo a check and discovered that her pouch had prolapsed, meaning that she could no longer carry her little joey.

Mammals Keeper de Gelder has taken on the tiring, yet extremely rewarding, task of being a surrogate “mum” to the little joey.

Undertaking the role of carer for a newborn marsupial involves a lot of work, including feeds every two to four hours.

“Despite the lack of sleep caring for a newborn, it’s great to see that she’s progressing along steadily, and that I’m slowly getting my sleep back which is a bonus,” she said.

To check the joey’s progress over the past few weeks, the team weighed Matilda, who has increased from just 500g to 845g – an encouraging indicator of her development.

But Matilda has picked up a habit of licking and suckling her pouch, which can lead to complications over time.

The Mammals team came up with a perfect solution: using a kids sock to create a makeshift jumper which fits her little body.

This will help break that habit, but also keep her warm.

For the first two weeks, the little wallaby was also nameless.

In honour of de Gelder’s favourite soccer team, the

newest resident has been named after the Matildas, who will be playing in the FIFA Women’s World Cup to be held in Australia and New Zealand in July.

“Like most rock wallabies, she has really powerful kicking legs so it was only fitting to name her after such a great team,” de Gelder said.

Over the next four to five months, Matilda will remain in de Gelder’s care until she’s big and strong enough to be reunited with her mum and the rest of the mob.

Visitors will eventually be able to see Matilda every day in the Yellow-Footed Rock Wallaby display at the Park.

The rescued joey is a part of

the Park’s vital conservation breeding project to help save the threatened species.

Yellow-footed rock-wallabies were once found throughout NSW, Queensland and South Australia.

However, they have now disappeared from NSW and Queensland with their numbers in the wild estimated at being as little as 5,000.

Their decline is attributed to intense hunting in the 1800s and early 1900s for their pelts and in recent times, the introduction of feral pests such at the fox and cat.

Special welcome to our newest citizens

Member for Gosford Liesl Tesch broke out her Mariners scarf as she welcomed many new residents became Australian citizens at a Central Coast Council Citizenship Ceremony at The Art House, Wyong. Tesch said the event was uplifting and fantastic to attend.

“This is always such a joyous occasion for families, friends and our newest citizens who have chosen Australia as the place they wish to call home,” she said.

“Congratulations to all new Australian citizens on making their commitment to Australia and its values.

“I wish all the happiness in the world to our new citizens and their families as they embark on their new journey as Australian citizens.

“It is a remarkable achievement that they should be immensely proud of.

“Both Council Administrator, Rik Hart, and I wore our

Mariners scarves to the ceremony in support of our local team’s recent success.”

Citizenship ceremonies are held throughout the year on the Central Coast and see local

residents take the pledge of commitment.

It is the final step before becoming an Australian citizen.

“A special welcome to those who have become new citizens

in the beautiful electorate of Gosford,” Tesch said.

“It is a privilege to represent you.”

Source: Member for Gosford Liesl Tesch

Member for Gosford Liesl Tesch with new citizens Chinmayi Nair from Ireland and Ambika Poovelil from India

Source: Australian Reptile Park

Matilda with keeper Seleena de Gelder

Photo: Australian Reptile Park

Ettalong/Wagstaffe ferry service diverted to Patonga

Pressure is mounting on the State Government to address the dredging of the Ettalong channel, with Fantasea Palm Beach Ferries announcing this week that its Ettalong and Wagstaffe service will be diverted to Patonga indefinitely.

Residents have been vocal on social media, with a lack of public transport options between the Peninsula and Patonga forcing many to “hitch a ride” to connect to the Patonga-Palm Beach service.

Fantasea reiterated on its Facebook page following a review on June 13 that the indefinite diversion timetable would remain in force due to shifting sand bars and shallow operating depths in the channel and said it would conduct weekly assessments to determine when the Ettalong and Wagstaffe could resume.

Member for Terrigal Adam Crouch has called out the State Government for its lack of action and response regarding the dredging of the channel.

“It has now been over a week since this issue arose and my

office immediately made the Minister for Transport aware of the situation, and yet a week later, the community has not heard one word from the Minister or the State Labor Government about how they are going to address the issue of dredging,” he said on June 14.

“While the Minister jetted off to Western Australia to view Australian -made ferries, the people of the Bouddi Peninsula have been without their vital ferry service for over a week.

“I have spoken with the ferry operators and they share in the frustration (of) ferry commuters … and agree it is imperative that the Minister arrange bus transport for commuters around Killcare, Wagstaffe, Hardys Bay and Ettalong to provide a link to the services departing from Patonga.”

Crouch said lack of action by the State Government on the issue of dredging was “not good enough” and emphasised that funding is available and ready to go.

“Under the former Coalition Government, the Ettalong channel was recognised as a

vital transport link between the Central Coast and the Northern Beaches with thousands of people using the ferry each year,” he said.

“This is why the management of the Ettalong channel was taken over by the State Government and back in 2021 $6.2M in funding was provided for dredging needs.”

Member for Gosford Liesl Tesch said she would continue to engage with the office of Transport Minister Jo Haylen to create an ongoing and proactive solution regarding the dredging

of the channel.

Tesch said the diversion of ferry services would hurt the local community, with many relying on ferries to access work and school, as well as essential services.

“The closure of these ferry services is extremely disruptive to workers and school students due to the limited public transport to and from Patonga,” she said.

“As a result, people cannot get to work or school unless they have a car.”

Tesch committed to working with Member for Terrigal Adam

Crouch to reach a solution for the community.

“People need to be able to plan their lives and social responsibilities,” she said.

“This not something to be politicised, this is something to be prioritised regardless of who is in government.”

Tesch said Transport for NSW (TfNSW) has indicated dredging is planned for October this year.

The aim is to remove 10,000m3 of sand from two areas – south of the Half Tide Rocks and south of the Sand Spit – subject to obtaining the necessary Crown Lands licence and environmental approvals.

The Maritime Infrastructure Delivery Office (MIDO) is actively progressing planning works for the October dredging, she said, with an expert consultant engaged to assist in preparing the required environmental approval for the first stage.

MIDO will also begin to engage with potential dredging contactors to ensure work can begin as soon as possible after approval is granted.

TfNSW is investigating ways to provide for maintenance

Upgrade for Somersby Falls picnic area

The Somersby Falls picnic area in Brisbane Water National Park is set for a major upgrade.

The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is poised to begin a transformative project aiming to cater to the growing number of families visiting the area and protect the important cultural heritage associated with the Falls.

NPWS Hunter Central Coast Director Kylie Yeend said the picnic area had long been a treasured picnic spot for

families, offering a stunning natural setting, cascading waterfalls, and diverse wildlife.

“Somersby Falls, on Darkinjung Country, is one of the most spectacular and popular rest stops on the NSW Central Coast,” she said.

“The site is attracting more visitors than ever before, and the current facilities need upgrading to sustainably manage increasing visitation and cater for future population growth.

“We’re committed to investing in visitor infrastructure in our state’s national parks, ensuring that these cherished

Affected by the storms and floods in 2022?

The project will see an upgraded visitor carpark with 58 carparks, including four new accessible parking spots and a new bus drop-off and turning bay.

“A new accessible pathway from the carpark to the picnic area will be constructed and repairs will also be made to the elevated steps and boardwalk to the lower falls that were impacted by recent storm and flood events,” Yeend said.

dredging of the entire channel over a period of 10 years, to reduce periods of disruption caused by the build-up of sand.

In 2018 and 2019 the lack of dredging led to the cancellation of the local ferry service for extended periods of time, and whilst the NSW Liberal Government announced in 2021 it would take responsibility in maintaining the Ettalong channel, effective dredging has yet to be implemented, Tesch said.

She said since becoming the Member for Gosford, she has campaigned for a long-term plan to properly dredge the channel.

“We need urgent, effective and proactive dredging, not just a piecemeal solution that avoids the real issue,” she said.

Federal Member for Robertson Gordon Reid welcomed the news the channel will be dredged later this year, saying the lack of progress with the project highlighted the “neglect and complacency” of the former State Government.

Terry Collins

Coast national parks contribute more than $1B to the regional economy and help generate more than 2,520 jobs for the region each year.

Construction works are set to commence on Tuesday, June 13, with the picnic area to be closed while they take place, with completion expected by December, weather permitting. Visitors can check the NPWS Alerts webpage for the latest updates on closures.

areas continue to provide exceptional recreational opportunities for all.”

The latest NPWS research shows that visitors to Central

Apply for financial support before applications close.

We are here to help – online, face-to-face and over the phone. There are a number of grants and payments available for those affected by the floods of 2022. They can be used to:

• Repair, replace or relocate household items like fridges, microwaves, televisions.

• Restore damaged property.

• Inspect and reconnect damaged utilities, like electricity, gas and water.

Help with the cost of short-term rental accommodation.

Service NSW can help with your application. Call 13 77 88.

code to apply now

Source: NPWS

Member for Gosford Liesl Tesch has vowed to agitate for a permanent solution

Somersby Falls attracts thousands of visitors each year

Photo: John Yurasek-DPE

Award wins for two Council projects

Two Central Coast Council projects have been recognised at the NSW Local Government Professionals Australia Awards held in Sydney last week.

The Awards recognise the excellent contributions and outstanding achievements and innovations being implemented to advance and improve the local government sector in NSW.

Council’s Fire-Ed Up: Bushfire Resilience Program won the Community Development category (population over 150,000), while the Marketing and Tourism team’s Rewilding Destination Marketing: Central Coast Council’s Eco Destination Journey project won the Special Project Initiative category (population over 150,000).

Fire-Ed Up was developed by Council in collaboration with Central Coast Academy of STEM Excellence (CCASE) and Rumbalara Environmental Education Centre (EEC) – to build resilience in young people by increasing their bushfire knowledge.

The hands-on program for

Stage 3 (Years 5 and 6) prepares students, their families and the community for the risk of bushfires, integrating with the existing school curriculum.

It has been delivered to 1300 students across 12 schools so far, with 71.4 per cent of participants reported they felt less worried about bushfires after taking part.

Rewilding Destination Marketing recognises the

journey taken by Council’s Marketing and Tourism team to become the second destination in NSW to achieve international recognition as a sustainable destination through Ecotourism Australia’s ECO Destination Certification program 12 months ago – one of only seven ECO destinations in Australia.

The in-house team plays a key role in driving the region’s visitor economy, tourism

industry capability and positive reputation.

Central Coast Council Director Community and Recreation Services, Melanie Smith, said it was an honour to be recognised among so many councils across the state.

“We were up against more than 20 councils across several categories, so it is a great achievement to walk away with multiple awards,” she said.

“These awards recognise our outstanding performance while delivering positive, valuable outcomes for the Central Coast community.”

Council Administrator Rik Hart said both bushfire education and tourism were crucial for the Central Coast community.

“The Central Coast’s tourism economy brings in millions of dollars every year, boosting local businesses as well as providing employment,” he said.

“The work our Marketing and Tourism team does, working in collaboration with key stakeholders, absolutely deserves the acknowledgement it has received with the award.

“Also, with over 128,500 hectares of bushland, how we educate the community on bushfire preparedness is key for our region.

“The ongoing work we do alongside emergency agencies to raise awareness and share resources that will help prepare us all for severe weather events is particularly important, so it’s also fantastic to see the Community Education team walk away with a win for its

bushfire education efforts.”

Several Central Coast Council projects were also finalists at the Excellence Awards, including: Library@yourtime –Finalist – Community Development (population over 150,000); Implementation of industry leading,fit-for-purpose cemetery system, PlotBox –Finalist – Special Project Initiative (population over 150,000); Virtual Reality (VR)

Live My Experience Immersive Educational Project – Finalist – Special Project Initiative (population over 150,000; Virtual Call Centre Implementation – Finalist –Innovative Leadership (population over 150,000); and Cheers! Recognition and Appreciation – Finalist –People, Workplace, Wellbeing. Explore more ECO Destination information at LoveCentralCoast.com

Find out more about the FireEd Up program on the Rumbalara Environmental Education website.

Source: Central Coast Council

Traditional Custodians to talk on reconciliation

As the referendum on a Voice to Parliament for Indigenous Australia approaches, Community Voice Australia Central Coast will host a special gathering on June 17 when Traditional Custodians of the Central Coast and Elders will explore their vital role in caring for Country and Mob.

A spokesperson said the event would be an engaging and timely discussion on the representation needed for custodianship to be honoured.

There will be five guest speakers.

Paul Craig is a proud GuriNgai guri (man) who grew up on the

Central Coast and has always been active in his community.

He is a leader among the GuriNgai mob on the Central Coast and is passionate about truth telling, community, and ensuring GuriNgai are recognised as the Traditional Owners of the Central Coast along with Awabakal and Darkinoong.

Aunty Colleen Fuller is an Indigenous woman of the Darkinoong and Yuin Tribes who comes from a line of Stolen Generations.

She has strived to bring about change for all, including ‘locking on’ in the Pilliga, camping on the roadside on the Central Coast for more than

two months to successfully save Bambarra, part of Kariong Sacred Lands, standing up against large mining companies

in Calga and fighting to protect natural habitat and wildlife from unsustainable and destructive development in

Central Coast, make a life-changing move.

Kariong and Wadalba.

Renee Sales is a respected leader among her Darkinoong mob and is passionate about bringing community together and stopping the ongoing division on the Central Coast. She advocates for preserving the remaining bushland and the traditional history of the Central Coast. She advocates for Truth, a Voice and Reconciliation so we can heal the past grievances between our histories.

Jennifer Stefanac was born in Wellington, Wiradjuri Country.

She was adopted into a nonAboriginal family and then reunited with her birth family in the 90s.

Stefanac is from the Smith and Daley mobs and has obtained letters and permission to speak about what the Elders want.

Her message is for unity to ensure our children’s future. Grandmother Mulara (who will join the event online) is an Aboriginal Senior Lore Woman who also holds a Juris Doctor in Colonial Law.

The event will be held from 11am-12.30pm on Saturday, June 17, at Kincumber Neighbourhood Centre, 1/2022 Kincumber St, Kincumber.

Source: Community Voice Australia Central Coast

The Fire-Ed Up program won the Community Development category

Aunty Colleen Fuller will be one of the speakers

2, 2023.

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Shoppers at Erina Fair were surprised to see a group of women dressed in Mother Earth themed costumes shimmy out of the crowd to join a choreographed dance on June 10 to raise awareness about a controversial proposed development at Kariong.

Twenty-five members of the Kariong Sacred Lands Action Group performed a flash mob style dance to Joni Mitchell’s Big Yellow Taxi with lyrics adapted for the occasion.

Save Kariong Sacred Lands Action group consists of local Traditional Custodians and concerned Central Coast residents determined to see state and federal governments and the Greater Cities Commission prevent the

Flash mob to oppose Kariong development

proposed development by the Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council (DLALC).

“We wanted to try a different way of bringing these matters to the public,” said spokesperson Lisa Bellamy.

“We thought a bit of fun and street theatre would help raise awareness about the dreadful environmental destruction happening right on our doorsteps.

“The land up at Kariong is one of these areas.

“Zoned C2 (Environmental Conservation) it is home to endangered flora and fauna species as well as a hanging swamp.

“The hanging swamp is a vital water source for the land below the ‘project area’.

“This water feeds through the

Brisbane Water National Park ensuring a healthy ecosystem.”

Bellamy said the group was concerned that rezoning the

Roadworks at Kariong

Motorists are advised of changed overnight traffic conditions on Friday, June 16, at Kariong to carry out road resurfacing work at the intersection of Central Coast Hwy and Wisemans Ferry Rd.

To minimise traffic impacts, work will be carried out from

8pm on Friday, June 16, to 5am on Saturday, June 17, and is expected to be completed in one shift, weather permitting. Traffic control, temporary lane closures and a reduced speed limit will be in place for the safety of workers and motorists.

Motorists are advised to drive

bushland for housing would “create a dangerous precedent for many more hectares of vital native habitat and culturally

sensitive areas all over NSW”.

Fellow group member Emily McCallum said Australia held the title for the highest extinction rates of native species in the world, with habitat loss and land clearing being key factors.

“This is truly an indictment on our society and we must work together to turn this situation around,” she said.

“Our group is deeply concerned about this private developer being supported by the government in rezoning this culturally and ecologically sensitive land to being destroyed.

“Apart from the fact the proposed development is at the crest of a fire prone area, and the community concerns about already stressed local

infrastructure, this part of Kariong is listed as an Area of Regional Koala Significance.

“With our iconic koalas recently being officially listed as an endangered species, I’m truly hoping the Aussie spirit will shine through and our community will rise up before the habitat of this little Aussie battler is lost forever.”

Traditional Custodians in the group say Minister for the Central Coast David Harris has declined to meet with them over their concerns regarding the development’s proximity to sacred sites.

For more information go to www.savekariong sacredlands.com/

to the conditions and follow the directions of signs and traffic control.

For the latest traffic updates download the Live Traffic NSW app, visit livetraffic.com or call 132 701.

Developing Emotional Literacy in Children

carers, educators and clinicians.

Wednesday 16th August 2023

Commencing at 5.00pm (duration approx. 1 hour)

Hillside Chapel, Palmdale Lawn Cemetery & Memorial Park, 57 Palmdale Rd, Palmdale

Source: Lisa Bellamy For Kariong Sacred Lands Action Group

The group is opposed to development on sensitive land at Kariong

Source: Transport for NSW

A map of the affected area

Eight Central Coast residents have received an Order of Australia (OAM) medal and one has received an Emergency Services Medal in the King’s Birthday Honours List, announced on June 12.

Vanessa Anderson, OAM

Nine Coasties recognised in

hopefully do some wonderful things in coming years.”

There is no cure for Batten Disease but now there is a treatment that slows the degression which affects development skills such as standing, walking, talking and worsening over time to include learning difficulties, poor concentration and progressive loss of language skills and speech.

“This honour is very timely as it was only last Friday (June 9) that we held International Batten Disease Awareness Day,” Anderson said.

“I’d like to thank the unknown person who nominated me and there’s been a lot of people on this journey with me and helped me get to this point.”

Centre at Gosford Hospital.

“In our latest venture, we are assisting the Medical Institute in Gosford in researching cancer cells.

“By looking at cells in cancer patients, they hope to tailor treatments specifically for each person.

“This will be particularly helpful for myeloma patients.

“It is hoped patients will eventually be able to medicate themselves at home, saving them the trauma of regular hospital visits.”

Crestani said the foundation was constantly on the lookout for funding opportunities to help finance its ongoing work.

the Avoca Beach Community Association.

He performed a range of volunteer roles with Avoca Beach Surf Club in the 1980s and is the former president of the Avoca Beach Theatre Preservation Group.

“I edit a quarterly magazine, the Avoca Beach News – and recently organised, with a team of volunteers, the ANZAC Dawn Ceremony, which our Community Association combines with the Surf Club to put on for the local community,” he said.

“The Avoca Beach Community Association meets bi-monthly to discuss local issues and take action where necessary.

2012 and established J-CAM, Jewish Community Arts and Media Australia, in 2011.

Keren-Black was co-author of A Judaism for the TwentyFirst Century and Hebrew from Zero and received the President’s Award at the Union of Progressive Judaism Conference in 2022 and the Premier’s Award for Community Harmony, Jewish Christian and Muslim Association of Australia, in 2007.

He said he was “very honoured” to receive an OAM and his goal was to work more widely in the community.

about 14 years ago.”

Lawley has been the CEO of Brisbane Water Legacy since 2010 and has also been involved with the organisation on a national level, serving as National Aged Care Coordinator, Advocacy Committee ( 2012-2021), Acting Chief Executive, Legacy Australia (2018) and Delegate, National Aged Care Alliance, and the Department of Veterans’ Affair’s National Aged and Community Care Forum (20132021).

“You get a great satisfaction in working for Legacy,” he said.

Vanessa Anderson of Shelly Beach has been recognised for service to the community through charitable organisations, in particular awareness of Batten Disease. Sadly she lost her nine-yearold son Jordan to the rare neurological genetic disorder which usually affects no more than 40 people in Australia at any given time.

In 1998 when Jordan was very young Anderson set up the Jordan’s Batten Disease Research Trust with the mission of funding research, to connect families and to promote awareness.

In 2001 she was asked to take on the Batten Disease Support and Research Association Australia and was Manager until 2016 as well as holding various Board roles through the years and is still Public Officer.

“There was just no contact out there between families and the Association presented a broader opportunity for families from all over Australia to connect and support each other going through something very difficult together,” Anderson said.

“We are the Australian chapter of a worldwide group and its registered here in Shelly Beach so we’ve always been a Central Coast-based charity.

“The organisation provides family support services such as conferences, a lot of education, and we’re now fortunate to have a researcher on our team who helps organise grants to fund research.

“We have a good team and

Yvonne Crestani, OAM

She was named Citizen of the Year by Central Coast Council in 2019 and Woman of the Year for the Electorate of Terrigal in 2016.

Steven Fortey, OAM

“We organised fundraisers for local athletes and with George Brand Real Estate offered respite accommodation for bushfire victims, as well donating to flood victims.”

Jonathan Keren-Black, OAM

“Narara Ecovillage is trying to demonstrate how we can live making less impact on the environment, working in harmony with Traditional Custodians and addressing the issues of housing affordability and accessibility,” he said.

“I am looking forward to becoming part of that community and being more involved in arts and music and forest clearing.

“I will be carrying on my online Introduction to Judaism course and hopefully organising some weekend experiences.

“The appreciation we see from war widows and veterans’ families is so rewarding.”

Lawley has also been a Board Member of Gosford Erina Business Chamber since 2020 and President since 2022.

“I am a lifelong Central Coast resident,” he said.

“I grew up in Gosford and am very passionate about giving something back and helping the business community across the entire Central Coast.”

Anthony Morton, OAM

Yvonne Crestani of East Gosford has been recognised for service to community health due to her work as Founder and Director of The Crestani Foundation since 2012.

Crestani’s husband was chief radiotherapist at St Vincents Hospital when he died of cancer in 2006.

“In 2007 I decided I would like to do something as my husband’s legacy and my family supported me with some money to start off the fundraising,” she said.

This led to the establishment of The Crestani Foundation, which has provided 52 scholarships to health professionals and students for research and studies into better outcomes for cancer patients.

“We decided the best way to improve treatment was by education; the better the education of the people treating cancer, the better the outcomes,” Crestani said.

“As well as providing scholarships to health professionals, we have also provided support for the Cancer

Steven Fortey of Avoca Beach has been honoured for service to the community of Avoca Beach.

He said he was “at first surprised maybe a little embarrassed” by the award, but ultimately “very chuffed”.

“I am glad people think of me highly enough to recommend me and feel blessed to be part of such a great community,” he said.

A teacher for more than 45 years prior to his retirement in 2020, Fortey spent the past 25 years of his career at Kincumber High School.

“It’s a great school with a wonderful staff – and of course Avoca Beach is in the draw area for the school,” he said.

An Avoca Beach local for almost 40 years, Fortey said he had been here “almost long enough to be called a local”.

His work in the community is extensive.

He was a coach with Avoca Beach Rugby Club for 10 years and is the current president of

Rabbi Jonathan Keren-Black of Narara has received an OAM for service to the Jewish and wider community.

Currently driving around Australia after living in Melbourne for 20 years, KerenBlack plans to relocate to the Narara Ecovillage next year and is looking forward to becoming an active member of the Central Coast community.

Rabbi at the Leo Baeck Centre for Progressive Judaism since 2003, he was a founding member of the Jewish Christian Muslim Association (2003) and the Jewish Ecological Coalition (2004) and is a former committee member of Progressive Judaism Victoria.

He was also a founding member of Australian Religious Response to Climate Change (formerly Green Faith Australia), helped plant seeds for Elsternwick Jewish Arts Hub (2000s), was involved in establishing the Jewish radio station J-Air in Melbourne in

“There is a progressive Jewish community based in Gosford and I am looking forward to becoming involved.”

Peter Lawley, OAM

Peter Lawley of Gosford has received an OAM for service to veterans and their families.

Lawley said receiving the medal was “a huge honour and very humbling”.

The son of a WWII veteran who was wounded in battle, he has always had “great empathy” for the families of veterans.

“I used to run public hospitals before moving into operating an aged care and retirement village at Lake Macquarie which eventually became part of RSL Care,” he said.

“I made the move to Legacy

Legacy has always been a huge part of Anthony Morton’s life and his King’s Birthday Honour for service to war widows and families has come at an auspicious time – this being Legacy’s Centenary Year and the celebration of his 78th birthday on June 12.

“I was a junior Legacy ward when my father died at age 47 leaving mum with four children, and Melbourne Legacy came to our rescue with tremendous support,” he said.

“I would never have been able to finish high school if not for Legacy.”

Morton became an Army engineer, with overseas postings and service in Vietnam and New Guinea, achieving the rank of Colonel before retiring in 1990.

King’s Birthday Honours List

He says that literally the day he resigned he started his involvement with Legacy in Canberra.

“Before then I didn’t think it was fair to get involved as I was moving around a lot with the Army,” he said.

Morton and an ex-Army fellow also set up their own financial planning business specialising in retirements for senior officers and senior public servants.

More than 20 years ago Morton and his wife, Pam, headed for the Central Coast and now live at Long Jetty –and he joined the team at Brisbane Water Legacy.

He has been on the Board of Directors for all but one year since 2003, has been President twice, Vice-President, chaired a number of committees over the years and is now the Finance Director and chairman of the Finance, Risk Management and Investment Committee.

“I look on this as an accolade for all the volunteers that have been working hard over the years for Legacy, particularly in our club here, and also for the

salaried staff that we have here at Brisbane Water Legacy –they are absolutely second-tonone and I’ve never worked outside the Army with such a dedicated and great group of people who are led by a really topnotch CEO, Peter Lawley,” Morton said.

David Smallman, OAM

“You used to have to play where you lived so I played with Gosford, East Gosford, Lisarow Ourimbah and Narara Wyoming over that time.

“I played in six or seven first grade premierships.

“Because I played until I was in my early 50s, I slipped down the grades as I got older and ended up playing in fourth grade.

“By then I was pretty much a slow bowler.”

A Life Member of Narara Wyoming Cricket Club, Smallman was Club President from 1984-1988 and was named Sportsman of the Year in 1975-1976.

attain zone status in its own right about 20 years ago, after formerly being part of the Hunter zone.

Smallman has also been involved in a multitude of community organisations and still goes to watch Narara Wyoming play cricket every week of the season.

“Cricket is as strong now as it’s even been and the Central Coast is still doing very well in the reps,” he said.

Robyn Hawes, OAM

Robyn Hawes of Gosford received an OAM for service to the community of Rookwood but was unable to be contacted.

Unit Commander Ian Morrow was one of four Marine Rescue NSW volunteers to be recognised with an Emergency Services Medal for his service to the Central Coast and Newcastle communities.

Morrow joined the then Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol in 2007 (it became Marine Rescue NSW in 2009), serving as a volunteer for both the Central Coast and Newcastle Units in various capacities.

During the 2022 Flood emergency, he co-ordinated and led the Central Coast Unit team to assist with flood relief for properties on the MacDonald River near Wisemans Ferry.

experience.

In 2015, Morrow became Deputy Unit Commander of the Newcastle Unit for four years while also undertaking the role of Operations Officer, Trainer and Assessor and Training Systems Officer for both the Newcastle and Central Coast Units.

He was elected Unit Commander of the Central Coast Unit in 2022 and also continues with training and other related duties at the Newcastle Unit.

David Smallman of Wyoming has received an OAM for service to the community of the Central Coast, and to cricket.

Smallman has had a lifelong love of cricket, starting out as an opening bowler for Gosford in 1954, when he was just 14.

“I played cricket for 36 years straight and barely missed a game – and that’s a lot of cricket,” he said.

He has also served as President and Board Chairman of Central Coast Cricket (20022003 and 1991-1992) and President of Gosford-Wyong District Cricket Association (1991-1998) as well as being a delegate to the NSW Country Cricket Association and NSW Cricket Association (19951998).

He counts as once of his greatest achievements spearheading the move which saw the Central Coast Cricket

Wyong Family History Group to host state conference

Wyong Family History Group will host the NSW/ ACT Association of Family History Societies Annual Conference at Toukley 50+ Leisure Centre on September 8-10.

The association has been in operation since 1984 and for many of the years since, member societies have taken a turn at hosting an annual conference.

Wyong Family History Group was established in 1983 and last hosted the conference in 2009, when it was held at Wyong Racecourse.

This will be the first “in person” conference for three years, with COVID restrictions having had a major impact on such events.

The theme of the Conference is The Running Waters of History, chosen to reflect the importance of rivers, lakes and ocean to the residents of the Central Coast, both past and present.

The first day of the conference is open to all, free of charge, with a variety of local and nationally known speakers lined up for the three-day event.

Topics will cover many

aspects of family history.

Members of the public are welcome to attend on Friday, September 8.

There will be a trading table area, where services and businesses with a connection to family history will be available to answer questions and for customers to purchase their wares.

Light refreshments will also be available for sale, and there will be raffles over the three days, with some significant prizes.

To take full advantage of the wonderful speakers, people need to register to attend the Saturday and Sunday sessions via the conference website, with an early bird discount available for those who register before June 30.

All speakers will be recorded,

with access available via Zoom for a fee.

Ticketed social events include a Meet and Greet at Toukley RSL on Friday night, September 8, and a Conference Dinner, with live entertainment on Saturday, September 9, also being held at Toukley RSL.

One of the speakers will be Jason Reeve from Ancestry. com, which is sponsoring the conference and donating raffle prizes.

He is often on the Australian version of Who Do You Think You Are?

Keynote speaker for the conference will be Minister for the Central Coast and Member for Wyong David Harris.

More information about the speakers, opening times and a full list of traders, along with ticket prices and bookings can be found at unpublishedwater. weebly.com or www. wyongfamilyhistory.com.au

Wyong Family History Group’s cottage opens on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10am-3pm.

For more information call 4351 2211.

Source: Wyong Family History Group

Ian Morrow, Emergency Services Medal

Morrow is a qualified trainer and assessor with a TAFE Cert IV in Training and Assessment and while primarily involved with the Central Coast and Newcastle Units, he has become the subject matter expert in ongoing training for the region’s coxswains and watch officers. He also is a qualified NSW Boat Licence trainer.

In the past few years he has added administration of Marine Rescue Units to his abilities and

Marine Rescue Central Coast

Marine Rescue NSW Commissioner Alex Barrell said being awarded the Emergency Services Medal was a fitting tribute to Morrow.

“Ian’s dedication to the Central Coast Unit and community makes him a worthy recipient of the Emergency Services Medal and Marine Rescue NSW is extremely thankful for his commitment to the service and the local boating community,” Barrell said.

3 8 th Annual Conference of the NSW & ACT ASSOCIATION OF FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETIES HISTORY GROUP INC.

-NN

8 th - 10th September 2023 At

Hosted by WYONG FAMILY HISTORY GROUP INC.

Speakers include:

Jill Ball

Michael Bell

Mark Bundy

Kerry Farmer

Jason Reeve

Register and pay online

Gay Hendrikson

Martyn Killion

Jeff Madsen

Michelle Patient

and others to be confirmed.

Geoff Potter

Richard Reid [Transcription trio forum: Joy Murrin, Marilyn Rowan, Laurence Turtle]

Registrations for physical attendance will close at 200.

Cost: $175.00

Early Bird rate $155.00 if paid by 30th June

Friday night Meet and Greet $25.00

Saturday night Conference Dinner $65.00

Virtual attendance $50.00

Group Virtual Attendance $150.00

Email: wfhgconference@westnet.com.au

Website: The Running Waters of History - Home (weebly.com)

Terry Collins and Sue Murray

Jason Reeve will be one of the speakers

Paraplegic mum and disabled daughter need help

A fundraiser has been launched to help a paraplegic single mother and her disabled daughter at Bateau Bay who have lost their only form of transport.

More than 30 years ago, Joanne McSweeny stopped to assist a driver on the side of the road.

In the process she became involved in an accident herself when another car hit them from behind.

In a split-second her life changed forever.

Suffering severe injuries, she was left as a paraplegic.

After a very long recovery in

hospital and rehabilitation

Joanne got on with her life and achieved many things including obtaining a university degree.

Several years later tragedy struck again when the father of her young children succumbed to mental illness and took his own life.

As well as that McSweeney’s youngest child, Mercy Dennis, was born with a debilitating condition.

Mercy was born with Koolen De Vries syndrome, cerebral palsy and a moderate intellectual disability.

Because of her physical limitations and impaired cognitive function, Mercy

requires assistance with all daily activities such as personal care, dressing and hygiene, food preparation, 24-hour supervision and support to access transport, shopping, social and community engagement.

A very happy and social person, Mercy loves nothing more than interacting with people and keeping active on her scooter, walking, swimming, bush walking and helping her mum with the shopping.

She eagerly engages in community participation programs five days per week with Youth Connections and her much-loved carers.

Funding boost for Mingaletta

The Federal Government is delivering on its election commitment to provide $106,700 to upgrade facilities at the Mingaletta

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation at Umina Beach.

Mingaletta is an Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation which provides a range of services, programs and activities for First Nations people on the Peninsula and beyond.

The funding is part of the Strengthening First Nations Health package announced in 2022-23 Budget.

It will be used for the

construction of a children’s play area, new outdoor awnings and signage for the facility.

The activities at Mingaletta align with the Government’s objectives under Closing the Gap Outcome One: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people live long and healthy lives and Priority Reform Two: Building the Community Controlled Sector.

The 2022-23 Budget funding represents a fundamental change in the delivery of First Nations health.

It will grow the Aboriginal Community Controlled sector in regional, rural and remote areas of Australia.

Mingaletta Elder Aunty Di said the funding represents a “great outcome”.

“There are people in the community who do not know what we do, and this funding will allow the organisation to

purchase electronic signage to list the services we provide,” she said.

“It will also mean better outcomes for all people in the community, because we are inclusive of everyone.”

Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney said investing in the sector was critical to accelerating efforts to close the gap in health and wellbeing outcomes for First Nations peoples.

“This funding gives Mingaletta the means to undertake practical upgrades to their facilities to better service Aboriginal communities on the Central Coast,” she said.

Major boost for community groups

Twenty-nine community groups in the Dobell electorate will share in $66,225 in funding through the Australian Government’s Volunteer Grants.

Administered through the Department of Social Services, Volunteer Grants are part of the Government’s commitment to supporting volunteers and encouraging more people to lend a hand in their communities.

Member for Dobell Emma McBride said volunteers were the bedrock of local community groups right across the Coast.

“From sports clubs to

from page 1

“If concrete is applied, the texture won’t fit and the colours won’t be the same.”

She said it was her understanding that original plans for the boardwalk had been changed to move the structure further from the cliff face so that falling rocks would

neighbourhood centres, P&Cs to Lions Clubs, Coasties give generously each and every day,” she said.

“These grants will help volunteers thrive and mean more locals can give back to our community.”

Sharyn Becker, founder of the Because We Care Boutique, said she was thrilled the organisation would share in the funding.

“Our wonderful caring boutique volunteers give their time selflessly to uplift women in the midst of challenges,” she said.

“These grant funds will not only bolster their efforts, but also elevate the recognition of their invaluable work.

“The purchase of resources that will increase efficiency in

But the mother and daughter’s only means of transport has become inoperable, leaving them dependent upon the goodwill of family, friends and others to lead fulfilling lives and access essential services.

The GoFundMe campaign aims to raise enough money to allow them to buy a car, enabling them to maintain independence, access vital health appointments and experience the freedom to travel for entertainment and enjoyment.

Donations can be made at www.gofundme.com/f/jo-andmercy-have-lost-their-wheels.

Terry Collins

“The Strengthening First Nations Health package was a significant part of the 2022-23 October Budget and I’m pleased to see locally-driven initiatives coming to fruition.”

Member for Robertson Gordon Reid said Mingaletta was an important community hub on the Central Coast.

“This funding will support the organisation to continue its great work in the community,” he said.

“It also demonstrates our strong commitment to support Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations.”

Source: Member for Robertson Gordon Reid

the work they carry out benefits everyone involved – our organisation, amazing volunteers and clients.”

Along with the Because We Care Boutique, other groups to benefit are: Killarney Vale Bombers AFL; Marine Rescue Norah Head; Marine Rescue NSW Tuggerah Lakes Unit; Doggie Dates NSW – Central Coast Group; The Entrance Lions Club; The Entrance Public School P&C Association; Wyong Warriors Sports Club; Toukley 50 Plus Leisure & Learning Centre; The Entrance Cricket Club; Alison Homestead; Central Coast Hockey Association; FIAM Inc. Care

Concerns over boardwalk closure

not impact it. The Council spokesperson said rockfalls occur naturally due to weather, wave action and erosion and that the current works involve “clearing” and removal of some loose rocks.

“No decision has been made in relation to any further works,” the spokesperson said.

“Rock bolts and shotcrete are not currently planned.”

During the boardwalk closure, signage will re-direct pedestrians over the top of the pathway, along Terrigal Esplanade.

Member for Terrigal Adam Crouch has welcomed the announcement.

“It is pleasing to hear that Council will be undertaking cliff stabilisation works to the headland near the Terrigal boardwalk, which was damaged due to naturally occurring rock falls in March,” he said.

“I have recently visited the boardwalk myself and have seen that Council has taken the

necessary safety precautions and has also completed repairs to the fencing that was damaged by the rock falls.”

Crouch acknowledged that cliff stabilisation works would be necessary to prevent any further damages to the boardwalk in future.

“While I acknowledge the

Arm Trust; Wyong Catholic Parish; Wyong District Netball Association; Take 3 For The Sea; C3 Tuggerah Community Cares Charity; Soldiers Beach Surf Club; Norah Head Lighthouse Reserve Land Manager Board; Toukley & District Art Society; Central Coast Kids in Need; Bateau Bay Neighbourhood Centre; We Care Connect; Wyong Men’s Shed; CWA of NSW Tuggerah Lakes Branch; ABA Central Coast – Wyong Group; Ourimbah Scouts; Toowoon Bay SLSC; and Meals on Wheels Central Coast.

inconvenience to users caused by the closure of the boardwalk, I want to stress that Council has committed to opening the boardwalk on weekends allowing for the public to enjoy this fantastic piece of community infrastructure,” he said.

Terry Collins

Joanne McSweeny and her daughter Mercy Dennis

Pamela Terrill, Aunty Di and Member for Robertson Gordon Reid MP at Mingaletta

Source: Member for Dobell Emma McBride

Member for Dobell Emma McBride with volunteers from the Because We Care Boutique

Coast Connect

Central Coast Council news and community information

Beach flags down, beach safety continues

Infrastructure works across the Coast

Rik Hart

Taste of Wyong pop-up a success

Thanks to everyone who attended the fantastic Taste of Wyong event on Saturday 10 June, and to those who stopped by for a chat with me.

It was fantastic to hear the diverse perspectives of those who came by the Central Coast Council tent, where our conversations ranged from parking, sewer services and development assessment, to tourism, community gardens, the Gosford Waterfront project, our mighty Mariners win, and more!

The Taste of Wyong event was one of the 32 Harvest Festival hubs which brought the Coast to life over the June long weekend and shone a light on the region’s spectacular local produce.

I really valued the chance to hear directly from you about what matters to you and I look forward to my next pop-up at a Council event later this year.

For those who couldn’t make it but would like to get in touch, you are welcome to contact me at theadministrator@ centralcoast.nsw.gov.au or by writing to PO Box 20, Wyong NSW 2259.

The Coast has three new Emergency Response Beacon’s at Budgewoi Beach, The Entrance Channel and Pearl Beach. With a push of a button, you’ll be connected to Surf Life Saving NSW State Operations Centre where a State Duty Officer will support you in an event of an emergency. Too cold for the beach? Check out our safe swimming options at The Grant McBride Baths, Toukley Aquatic Centre, Gosford Pool and Peninsula Leisure Centre. To find out more, search ‘beaches’ at centralcoast.nsw.gov.au

We’ve been busy improving and maintaining local community facilities and infrastructure. Some highlights include sand transfer works at The Entrance to protect the amenity and foreshore infrastructure at Karagi Reserve carpark, Umina Oval access road and carpark upgrade, road works to fill potholes and longer-term road treatment such as heavy patching and road renewals, and Gosford CBD major water and sewer upgrades. To see full list of works, search ‘infrastructure works’ at centralcoast.nsw.gov.au

Access and enjoy a local Library@YourTime

We are extending the operating hours at our Bateau Bay and Kariong Libraries as part of the Library@YourTime program. This program aims to provide you with greater flexibility and convenience when accessing library facilities, even during unstaffed hours. There are temporary closures or disruptions at Bateau Bay library 21-30 June.

To apply for an access card, search ‘libraries’ at centralcoast.nsw.gov.au

Celebrating one year of being ECO Destination Certified

The Coast is the second destination in NSW to achieve international recognition as a sustainable destination through Ecotourism Australia’s ECO Destination Certification program. We’re also home to seven ECO Certified tourism businesses, with another 10 local operators on their way.

To explore local destinations, visit lovecentralcoast.com

Next Council meeting will be held at Wyong on Tues 27 June.

Search ‘council meetings’ at centralcoast.nsw.gov.au

Have

Help

Feeling safer in Gosford survey closing soon

If you’re a woman or gender-diverse person aged 15+, you have until June 30 to complete a survey which will influence the design of pilot projects to help improve your perception of safety when moving through the Gosford CBD.

To have your say search, ‘Her Way’ at yourvoiceourcoast.com

Marine Rescue needs volunteers

Nearly 200 boat-related incidents have been attended to by Central Coast Marine Rescue in the past six months.

Unit Commander Ian Morrow said the incidents had included sinking vessels, engine difficulties and flat batteries, boats that have run aground and “bad fuel”, caused from fuel sitting dormant in the petrol tank for too long.

“We don’t get a lot of recognition but we’re here to help 24/7,” Morrow said. He was recently named Volunteer Manager 2023 at the Central Coast National Volunteer Week Awards.

The youngest member of Marine Rescue Central Coast, Will Shaddock, says that Marine Rescue’s motto is “saving lives on the water”, and, apart from great camaraderie, “it’s wonderful to know we’re helping local boaties.”

The 18 year old was recently highly commended as the Young Volunteer of the Year at the same award ceremony.

Meanwhile, more than 150 years of combined volunteer service was recognised by Marine Rescue Central Coast at a recent awards evening.

Both Marine Rescue Commissioner Alex Barrell and Deputy Commissioner Darren

Schott made the drive up the M1 to congratulate members who were recognised, especially long-time volunteer with numerous organisations, Sherwin Hensby.

Hensby, 81, was officially presented with his Life Achievement Award, recognising 35 years of volunteer service.

Hensby’s years of volunteering

began with the Rural Fire Service, where he spent many years serving food to firefighters on scene through the RFS canteen, along with other duties.

Following a recent bout of cancer, he now helps out where he can.

Other recipients were recognised for service ranging from five years to 35 years.

Rescue NSW award members receive a badge at five years, a medal at 10 years and a clasp every 10 years after that and a National Medal after 15 years’ service, followed each 10 years with a clasp.

Marine Rescue Central Coast is currently looking for additional volunteers.

If you’ve ever thought about joining the team at Brisbane

Food network looking for new members

If you’re interested in buying organic food at affordable prices, becoming a member of the Peninsula Environment Group (PEG) Food Network could be for you.

The non-profit organisation, based in Woy Woy and now in its 15th year, buys organic or chemical-free produce at wholesale prices.

“The result is we get organic food at similar prices to nonorganic food in the supermarket,” co-ordinator Cherel Waters said.

“That’s better for the environment and for your health.”

Unlike many organic buying groups, the PEG Food Network isn’t a box system.

Instead, members order

exactly what they want.

The group orders every fortnight, on a Monday.

It is now offering two types of membership.

You can help for two hours with the “food divvy”, at Woy Woy Environment Centre on Blackwall Rd, or you can be a “non-divvying member” for an extra $15 per fortnight and have your food sorted ready for

you to collect.

“Helping with the food divvy keeps our costs down, and is a chance to meet other group members,” Waters said.

“But for people who work or can’t make it on Monday mornings, being a ‘nondivvying’ member is a great option.”

As well as the fortnightly fresh food order, the group

does quarterly bulk orders of dry food from organic wholesalers, such as rice, flour, beans, nuts, dried fruits, natural cleaning products and more, as well as miscellaneous orders such as organic wine, recycled toilet paper and organic garlic.

“Having the numbers to do large orders allows us to get wholesale prices on all sorts of items,” Waters said.

The Peninsula Environment

Holiday traffic disrupted by car alight

Traffic congestion on the M1 from long weekend holidaymakers was made even worse on Monday afternoon after a vehicle caught alight.

A single lane of the M1 and entry to the truck weigh station were temporarily closed while firefighters from Calga/Mt White Rural Fire Brigade, Narara Rural Fire Brigade and

Water based Marine Rescue either as a radio operator, boat crew or associate, this is your opportunity to get involved.

Two information evenings will be held at the Point Clare base on Wednesday and Thursday nights, June 14 and 15, starting at 7pm and expected to last for two hours.

The Point Clare base is located at Goodaywang Reserve, at the northern end of Kurrawa Ave, on the eastern side of the railway line. There is no need to register, just turn up and find out what the volunteer organisation provides in the way of training. Applicants must be aged 16 or older.

More details can be found on the Marine Rescue Central Coast Facebook page. For more information, contact Ian Morrow on 0435 477 852.

Source: Marine Rescue Central Coast

Group also runs other projects including the Woytopia Festival, the Woy Woy Peninsula Community Garden, a nature play group and Grow Urban Shade Trees (GUST).

If you’re interested in joining the food network, email Zainem at zainem1@gmail.com or visit www.peg.org.au

Source: Peninsula Environment Group

Kariong Fire and Rescue NSW attended to the fire.

The vehicle was moved to the side of the road to fully re-open all northbound lanes, before it was removed.

Source: Calga/Mt White RFS

Most house fires start in kitchen Charged twice for drink driving

Budgewoi Fire and Rescue has issued a timely reminder that more than 50 per cent of house fires start in the kitchen.

On Sunday, June 11, firefighters were called out to a local house fire.

Luckily the occupants were home to extinguish the stovetop fire and minimise the damage.

After establishing there was

no fire extension, the fire crews ventilated and checked the kitchen with a thermal imaging camera and used a gas

detector so the occupants could regain entry.

Source: Fire and Rescue NSW Budgewoi

A woman has been charged twice for drink driving following two incidents on the same day on the Central Coast.

Traffic and Highway Patrol officers stopped a Suzuki Alto on the Central Coast Hwy at Bateau Bay at about 9pm on Saturday, June 10.

The driver, a 48-year-old woman, was subjected to a roadside breath test, returning a positive result. She was taken to The

Entrance Police Station and underwent a breath analysis, returning an alleged reading of 0.191.

She was charged with highrange PCA and her licence was suspended.

At about 10.40pm, the same woman was again stopped after allegedly being seen driving on the Central Coast Hwy.

She was taken to Gosford

Police Station after a positive roadside breath test.

She underwent a breath analysis, returning an alleged reading of 0.152.

She was again charged with high-range PCA and driving while suspended.

Her vehicle was also impounded for three months. She is due to appear before Wyong Local Court on Monday, July 3.

Source: NSW Police

Unit Commander Ian Morrow

Marine Rescue Commissioner Alex Barrell, Sherwin Hensby and Deputy Commissioner Darren Schott

The damaged kitchen

I write to correct a number of errors of fact contained Linda Telisman’s published letter (CCN392).

The 11 Aboriginal MPs in Federal Parliament representing different political parties have been elected by all voters in their area to stand up for their rights and interests at a national level.

These MPs and Senators do not just represent Aboriginal people – they act on behalf of all their constituents.

Aboriginal representative and advisory bodies have been in constant change for decades.

They form, re-form or are abolished at the whim of the party in government, causing

immense confusion and frustration amongst Indigenous peoples.

The NIAA, established in May 2019, is the latest of these bodies.

We need a longer-term presence that can’t disappear at the stroke of a pen.

Indigenous people recognise this.

The Voice is a culmination of many years of dedicated work by Indigenous people consulting and talking, then eventually deciding how best to resolve the fundamental issue of constitutional recognition and Indigneous disadvantage and disempowerment.

The ‘secret government

documents’ Telisman references are not that.

They were individual views expressed during the 2016 National Indigenous Dialogue; some of many thousands of comments and views expressed by the 1,200 people in forums across the country leading up to the National Constitutional Convention at Uluru.

In fact, 97 per cent of the Convention delegates endorsed the Uluru Statement from the Heart, calling for a First Nations Voice to be enshrined in the Constitution.

Telisman’s falsely-named ‘secret government documents’ did not make the Statement.

What Telisman failed to note was that many other countries

already successfully recognise their Indigenous people in their constitutions, including Canada, the UK, NZ, the USA, Finland, Sweden and Norway. State and Territory governments in SA, Victoria and Queensland are already negotiating Treaties with First Nations people.

The new NSW Labor government is in early discussions with Indigenous groups.

A truth-telling commission in Victoria is currently holding hearings.

The states are not shying away from this process.

They have recognised it’s fair and just.

Right here on the Central Coast, the Barang Regional Alliance (one of 10 Empowered Community regions around Australia) has been working with the Australian (and NSW) Government on a new business model for delivering local policies, programs and investment.

Barang works closely with seven other Central Coast Aboriginal organisations and two other partners to collectively advocate and improve services being delivered to the Darkinjung community.

Barang represents the Aboriginal people on the Central Coast.

We need a Voice at the national level with a focus on Aboriginal

and Torres Strait Islander communities.

The Voice is about inclusion and unity.

Constitutional recognition will acknowledge this fact.

The Voice doesn’t give anyone or any group more powers or rights than another.

I encourage any person or group to reach out to Barang if you would like to know more. We are more than happy to share our story and success, and how the Voice will make a real and lasting difference to Indigenous peoples, and to a unified Australia.

Email, Jun 13 Gary Field, Barang Regional Alliance

We need action, not a Voice

Last month, two of our most giving Central Coast community members died. Each practised the conviction that learning and its expression are at the heart of a fulfilling life.

For Anne Brack it was drawing and painting.

She could have spent all her free time producing wonderful pictures but instead she gave much of it to work unpaid through local arts groups, advising and critiquing to the benefit of others.

For Bob Puffett it was learning on a broader scale, but especially technical skills and their application in the workforce.

Though retired from leadership in TAFE for two decades, Bob maintained his involvement both locally and nationally, encouraging young people to explore their interests for

possible careers.

And they had even more important qualities in common—gentleness, warmth and modesty, and a love of the Central Coast as home.

Those of us who knew Anne and Bob well have lost two dear friends.

At the same time, our Central Coast community has been deprived of two of its best contributors.

Email, Jun 2

I would like to commend Linda Telisman for her thorough research into the Voice (CCN 392).

Her comments and observations exposed many compelling reasons for voters to be sceptical about voting for the Voice.

I share her scepticism, even though her list of compelling reasons is far from complete. However, I think Linda may have

made a miscalculation or perhaps a typing error, when she said: “There are already 11 Aboriginal MPs in parliament, more than 300 Aboriginal organisations that receive millions of dollars to act (as a Voice)”.

These organisations actually receive many billions of dollars each year, not millions.

In contrast to Linda’s frightening revelations, the “yes vote” campaign has given very few details and not even one

single, specific, practical action that the Voice will be doing to benefit any Aboriginal at all. That is probably because the Federal Government has made it very clear, by repeatedly saying that everything will be worked out after the referendum vote.

That declaration has been confirmed by the designer of the main Voice model, Tom Calma. The Government’s most

dredging not

Thank you for the subtle page layout in CCN393 demonstrating the Member for Terrigal’s double standard on marine seafloor destruction: FOR inshore dredging and AGAINST offshore mining. Dredging in North Broken Bay (which is not “Ettalong”) will have significant adverse

area with listed threatened marine species adjacent Bouddi National Park.

Costing half a million dollars of public money every couple of years, the State Government should allocate this expenditure to other more broadly beneficial demands (eg. affordable housing, road replacements).

of a suitable size for this estuary, are still using the channel.

Private ferry passengers may have assumed that humans can control a volatile and much-valued natural environment through dredging at disproportionate public cost. However, they have

compelling arguments seem to be that we should vote for the Voice because it is polite and good manners or if we don’t vote for the Voice, that means that we are some kind of evil, morally corrupt fiends.

To repeat Linda’s final words, I say, we need action from the Government for our Aboriginal people, not a Voice.

Email, Jun 5 John King, San Remo

Patonga option. More sensitivity to the North Broken Bay environment is needed.

Neither repeated dredging nor offshore mining for nonrenewable energy is sustainable.

Email, Jun 13

Powerful declaration of survival and belonging

In the spirit of truth telling during National Reconciliation Week, NAISDA Dance College, based at Kariong, will present a very special show at Carriageworks in Sydney on July 21-22.

The performance is called ATI: A Dance Reckoning of Truth, Place and Belonging, with ATI meaning “journey” in the Meriam Mer language from the Eastern Islands of the Torres Strait.

It is a powerful declaration of survival and belonging shared through cultural and contemporary First Nations dance stories, vibrant projections and an emotionally

charged soundscape of song and live voices.

Directed by NAISDA’s Head of Dance, Deon Hastie, ATI voices the First Nations experience performed by Australia’s next generation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dance artists.

A descendent of the Djabugay people of Far North Queensland, Hastie worked with Dharug and Gubbi Gubbi man Stuart McMinn and NAISDA graduates and Cultural Tutors, Dujon Niue and Jeanette Fabila, to share cultural song and dance within this showcase of movement, storytelling and deep connection.

The multi-disciplinary

performance passionately and honestly navigates dispossession and trauma to confront the interconnectedness of these experiences within systems of entrenched inequality which have persisted for generations.

Hastie said the performance confronted uncomfortable truths in order to challenge the weight of the system, and to guide young people through dislocation and loss.

“ATI goes beyond narrative; it is a profound portrayal of Australia’s history marked by greed, guilt, violence and inequality,” he said.

“We share a journey of lived experiences and it is not an

easy one.

“ATI begins in a sacred space, where connection to the land is celebrated.

“It unfolds as a call from afar beckons both performers and audience on a transformative journey.”

Hastie said the works delved deep into the impact of inequitable systems and processes on First Nations people, families and communities.

Through visceral and compelling movements combined with sensory projections, NAISDA developing and practising artists embody the struggles faced by First Nations people, including the

painful legacy of the Stolen Generations.

“But despite hardship and adversity, we are still here and we are free in mind, body, and spirit,” Hastie said.

“We are alive and we are thriving.

“This is where we’ve always belonged, and this is where we will continue to stand.

“At the heart of this production lies the power of reciprocal connection to ancestral land, our unsilenced voice and the evocative spirit of Country alive and healing.

“We look forward to immersing audiences in the spirit of place; bringing us together in celebration of the

essence that resonates within all living things as it sustains and provides.”

Visual installation artist Tetsutoshi Tabata incorporates dance, commissioned light projections and scenography to bring evocative textures, lighting and kinetic effects to the performance.

Performances will be at 7.30pm on Friday, July 21, and at 2pm and 7.30pm on Saturday, July 22.

Tickets can be booked through the Carriageworks website.

Source: NAISDA

The show combines dance stories, vibrant projections and a soundscape of song and live voices

Eagle Eye Jones heads for Wamberal

A near-death experience in the Himalayas was the inspiration for Eagle Eye Jones frontman Luke Saunders to write the single Alpine Meadows, which kicked off the band’s debut album, New Growth.

Central Coast audiences will have a chance to hear the music first-hand when the band plays at Wamberal on June 16 as part of an east coast tour.

“I was travelling through Nepal at the start of 2020 and as we got to base camp there was two weeks of crazy weather – falls of snow and then sunshine; prime condition for avalanches,” Saunders said.

“Sure enough, we were caught in an avalanche and had to run to a cave for shelter and hide there until the danger

had passed.”

Seven people lost their lives at the location.

“It really brought home to me my own mortality and then I came home to COVID-19 and

multiple lockdowns, which reinforced the fragility of life to the entire band,” Saunders said.

“We had started off as a bluesy rock groove band, but through that period we grew

up.

“We began to take ourselves more seriously as songwriters and our writing became a lot more introspective.

“The result is more orchestral

songs, with deeper messages and deeper songcraft.

“We were inspired by such master storytellers as Radiohead – they moved us and impacted us a lot.”

“The music was inspired by dislocation and disassociation in a frightening time.

“There are love songs, heartbreak songs and songs of triumph.

“They more or less follow our journey in chronological order – from feeling hopeful through a descent into madness and then a triumphant return to inner peace and hope.”

New Growth was recorded and produced at Studios 301 by Jack Garzonio, who worked with the band tirelessly throughout 2020 in order to perfect the songs – citing Jeff Buckley, Radiohead/Thom

Yorke as influences.

The trilogy of early singles from the album, Alpine Meadows, Paperskin, and Wardrobe of Masks, have clocked over 80,000 organic streams on Spotify.

As decades of friendship and musicianship strained under battles with addiction and mental health, Eagle Eye Jones banded together, glued by the vision of their sound.

New Growth is a love letter to humanity; 10 songs which are intimate, interwoven stories of five friends.

Eagle Eye Jones plays at the Ocean view Café, Wamberal, from 7pm on June 16.

Tickets can be booked at https://eagleeyejones.floktu. com/

Harvest Festival warmed the hearts of many

The Central Coast Harvest Festival 2023 brought warm hearts and smiles to organisers, locals and visitors alike over the recent long weekend.

Big attendances caused parking challenges at many of the Central Coast’s hinterland venues.

Pecan picking on the Artisan Estate at Somersby saw cars parked along the roadside for almost a kilometre as residents flocked to the popular nut foraging sessions, all of which were sold out.

At Wyong Creek Public School, the Harvest Day Fair was packed out as families enjoyed stalls with fresh local produce, gumboot throwing and a petting zoo.

At Glenworth Valley the Grazing Days were sold out as young revellers enjoyed a series of big-stage musical

The national touring exhibition William Kentridge: I Am Not Me, The Horse Is Not Mine will be at Gosford Regional Gallery from June 17-August 27.

performances from local and visiting bands as well as a dozen traditional and exotic food stalls.

Peter and Ruth Donnelly from Coachwood Nursery were thrilled with the numbers attending their plant, flower and fruit farm.

“Everyone’s been having a

really nice time, and numbers have been really good,” Peter said.

“They’re coming from all over NSW; we’ve had lots of people using BnBs around here, Airbnb, hotels, motels and they’ve been staying overnight,” Ruth added.

The Sustainable Wetlands

and Agriculture Makers Project aka SWAMP of Wyong shared knowledge and sold produce and pumpkins over the weekend.

“The Harvest Festival is a great way of bringing locals closer to the people and places that produce food locally,” SWAMP co-ordinator Sue Bradley said.

Up on the mountain Entopark insect farm opened its gates to allow hundreds of attendees to experience its innovative insect digestive system, which has attracted interest from around the world.

Company founders Romendo and Anne Atayde said: “It’s been a great opportunity to show the locals what we’ve

Major touring exhibition at Regional Gallery

been doing up here.

“We’ve been using insects as a way to recover organic content from our waste streams and then we recover all the residual waste, primarily the plastics, to produce a new product called synthetic coal.

“We don’t see waste as waste anymore; we see it as a resource.”

The final attendance numbers from venues have yet to be released by Central Coast Council organisers.

Central Coast Council said 32 event hubs ran a range of unique events and experiences from farm tours, fruit picking and produce markets to food and wine fairs, and live entertainment, with around 56,000 attendees boosting the region’s economy by an estimated $8.6M.

I Am Not

Me, The Horse Is

Not Mine premiered at the Biennale of Sydney in 2008 and was gifted to the Art Gallery of NSW by Anita and Luca BelgiornoNettis in 2017.

Regional Gallery Director, Tim Braham, said William Kentridge was one of the most powerful voices in art today, with this ambitious moving image installation now the most significant work by the artist in an Australian museum collection.

“Emerging as an artist during the apartheid regime in South Africa and grounded in the violent absurdity of that period in his country’s history, William Kentridge’s artworks draw connections between art, ideology, history and memory,” Braham said.

“I Am Not Me, The Horse Is Not Mine is a deeply immersive large-scale, eight-screen video installation.

“This is an all-sensory experience where the audience can immerse themselves in Kentridge’s moving image works.

“Audiences can also attend one of the animation workshops run by the gallery during the exhibition.

“Visitors can expect I Am Not Me, The Horse Is Not Mine to reveal the ways in which ideas

and images echo across time and between different cultures.

“Kentridge’s work is known

to offer analogies with South Africa’s recent history and, moreover, implores us to consider the consequences of the absurd in contemporary social and political life.”

Central Coast Council Administrator Rik Hart said it was important and exciting that the Central Coast could experience the work of major internationally acclaimed contemporary artists firsthand.

“The works of William Kentridge offer an incredibly important and prestigious art exhibition with wide appeal, talking not only to those interested in the arts, but also to the broader community including young people,” he

said.

“We are thrilled that funding from the NSW Government, made possible through its Blockbuster initiative, will bring this experience to our Regional Gallery – one of only four regional NSW art galleries in the 2023 and 2024 tour.”

The exhibition will be open daily from 9.30am-4pm, with free entry.

An opening night celebration will be held at 6pm on June 16 with dignitaries from the Art Gallery of NSW.

For more information visit lovecentralcoast.com/exploregosford-gallery

Source: Central Coast Council

Terry Collins

Eagle Eye Jones will play at Wamberal on June 16

Peter and Ruth Donnelly of Coachwood Nursery and farm Pumpkins grown by SWAMP at Wyong’s Pioneer Dairy community garden

The immersive installation draws connections between art, ideology, history and memory

Humble recital at Wagstaffe

Coast Opera Australia will present internationally acclaimed mezzo soprano Deborah Humble in Recital at Wagstaffe in August.

Founder Angela Brewer said the recital would be “an incredible experience of vocal power, beauty and technical brilliance”.

“Having sung beside Deb at the Opera House, the walls of Wagstaffe Hall are sure to ring and vibrate,” she said. Humble is coming straight off

the Sydney Opera House stage, where she will sing the night before beside one of the world’s most famous tenors, Jonas Kaufman.

The iconic Wagnerian singer, accompanied by Claire Howard-Race will perform Edward Elgar’s Sea Pictures and Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder.

Wagstaffe Hall will be the perfect setting for one of Australia’s greatest operatic voices of our time.

Guests with be greeted at the door by our major sponsor Belle Property with canapes and a glass of wine provided by Brycefield Estate vineyard owned by Deborah Humble and her husband, Dr Bruce Caldwell. The performance will be at 1pm on August 13 at Wagstaffe Hall.

Tickets are available at www. coastoperaaustralia.com

Source: Coast Opera Australia

Entries open for Bays Art Show

Entries for The Bays Art Show 2023 will close on July 3 with all artists encouraged to submit works.

The event, which will feature up to 60 artists from the Central Coast will be held over one weekend only from Friday, July 14, to Sunday, July 16, at the Bays Community Hall in Woy Woy Bay.

It will feature local artwork including paintings, drawings, photography, mixed media, sculptures, and prints.

Artist and Co-ordinator of the Bays Art Show, Naomi Veitch

the net wide this year.

“We will welcome up to 60 artists from all over the Central Coast to submit an artwork with space to display more than 100 artworks,” she said.

“This is an opportunity for Central Coast artists to showcase their talent and sell their artwork.”

President of The Bays Community Committee Carolina Schuiling said the show’s opening night was always a sell-out event, with an opportunity to hear from and meet local artists, connect with community and secure some of

at the show.

“We look forward to seeing you at the opening night or stop by on Saturday or Sunday and experience the beauty of the Bays and the artwork on display,” she said.

Artists can secure an entry form by emailing naomiveitchartist@gmail.com

Opening night tickets can be secured at www. thebayscommunity.org.

Entry on Saturday and Sunday will be by gold coin donation, with refreshments on sale.

Source: The Bays Community Committee

Deborah Hutton will perform at Wagstaffe

Multimedia symphony set for grammar school

Symphony Central Coast will present the multimedia symphony Celestial Emu on Sunday, June 25, as part of the 5 Lands Walk festival.

Combining Australian indigenous song, story-telling and dance, orchestra, choir and scientific presentation, the work is based on the observations of the annual cycle of the Celestial Emu (the dark spaces in the Milky Way) and how it has encouraged songs, traditions and dances of nations who have lived on this continent for generations.

The annual cycle is a metaphor for life itself, with birth, maturation, decay and renewal an ever-present phenomenon for all living creatures and this work takes this cycle as a basis for framing relevant stories, songs and, where possible, dances.

The work is in five parts and begins with a call to Country, connecting land and sky, sung

by a women’s choir, girls’ choir (all female to reflect the association of the Emu with the mother) and orchestra.

In January/February, in the early evening, the emu in the sky has yet to fully emerge but in April/May the Emu is now higher and can be seen at full length.

It appears to be running, reflecting the behaviour of the terrestrial females, who chase

the males during the mating season.

Emu eggs are soon plentiful for collection and eating.

In June/July, the legs disappear and the emu, which is now seen as male, is sitting on its nest, hatching the new chicks.

And in late winter, August to September, the neck of the emu becomes indistinct in the

sky, leaving the body to represent an emu egg.

This indicates that the emu chicks are hatching and eggs are no longer available for collection and eating.

As the male emu hatches and raises the chicks, so the elders nurture the young male initiates.

The head of the emu is still visible in the sky and, together

with the body, appears to form a large and small ring, which may be representative of the small and large bora rings that are laid out on the ground for initiation ceremonies.

In late Spring, around November, the emu is once again transformed and is now low on the horizon.

The neck and head are difficult to see and the body seems to be ‘sitting’.

It is believed that the emu is now sitting in a waterhole which, after spring rains, are full of water.

Then, over summer, the waterholes are dry and the terrestrial emu must continually wander, searching for water.

Celestial Emu was inspired by and is dedicated to ‘Ghillar’ Michael Anderson, Kamilaroi Law Man, without whom it would not have been conceived let alone written.

His guidance, always open and inspirational, was essential to the construction of the

Entries invited for Gosford Art Prize

Entries are now open for the Central Coast’s major institutional art prize, the annual Gosford Art Prize, and will close at 4pm on July 24.

Gosford Art Prize offers an exciting range of opportunities for visual artists working in any art form to showcase their work to a large audience and potentially become an

acquisition of the Central Coast’s art collection.

The list of prize categories in Gosford Art Prize 2023 include:

First Prize $15,000; Second Prize $5,000; Aboriginal Artist Prize $2,500; Gosford Ceramics Prize $2,500; Highly Commended (three prizes) $1,000 each; and Viewer’s Choice Award $500.

Central Coast Council Director

Community and Recreation

Melanie Smith said the Gosford Art Prize was known for making a real difference to an artist’s career.

“The Central Coast has a diverse art scene with sustainability at its core,” she said.

“You can explore art trails, creative spaces, exhibitions and theatres nestled in a region with more than 40 beaches and lush native bushland.

“We hope artists from around the country will recognise this, and we invite them to enter the Gosford Art Prize 2023.”

Council Administrator Rik Hart said since the Regional Gallery’s humble beginning in the 1970s, the Gosford Art Prize had grown with the Central

Coast.

“Artworks by 133 finalist artworks were selected from across the country to adorn the Gosford Regional Gallery’s walls in the 2022 exhibition,

Painting classes at Bay Gallery

Artist Helen Mortimer will be offering

painting classes weekly in July at the Bay Gallery at Ettalong Beach.

Painting from their own photographic reference, participants will acquire skills in the use of oil painting techniques, including paint application, colour guides, style, paint materials and picture composition.

The classes will run over four weeks between 10am and

every Thursday from July 6-27.

For further information, call 0431 172 777 or email mortimerart@hotmail.com

Meanwhile, Dianne Gerlach, who was the featured artist at Bay Gallery during May, will participate in the 5 Lands Walk on Saturday, June 24.

The day will feature a variety of talented artists working on their craft at all five beaches along the 5 Lands route.

concept of an annual cycle. His stories can be heard in Eleanor Gilbert’s film Star Stories of the Dreaming, which will also be shown at the concert, with music played live by Symphony Central Coast.

Celestial Emu and Star Stories of the Dreaming is part of the 5 Lands Walk weekend, a threeday gathering celebrating the physical, spiritual and cultural journey that is the 10km walk along the spectacular coastline linking five villages on the NSW Central Coast.

The aim of the walk is to connect people to people, and people to place and the walk itself is held on the Saturday closest to the winter solstice.

Celestial Emu will be performed at 2.30pm on June 25 at Central Coast Grammar School.

Tickets can be booked at www.symphonycentralcoast. com.au

Source: Symphony Central Coast

quality.

“Each year the finalist artworks offer a compelling visitor experience.

“Of particular enjoyment for visitors to the Gallery is the opportunity to vote for the Viewer’s Choice prize – the outcome of which is always much anticipated.”

The prize winners in the Gosford Art Prize will be announced on September 8 at the opening night of the finalist exhibition, on show from September 9 to November 5.

framing the region as a lively and welcoming place to participate in arts and culture,” he said.

“We expect this year will be of the same outstanding

For more information and how to enter visit judgify.me/ gosfordartprize2023

Source: Central Coast Council

Symphony Central Coast

Last year’s Gosford Art Prize exhibition

CCN

My Orchids by Helen Mortimer

Beautiful camera work on show at Top Shot exhibition

Some of the best amateur, enthusiast and professional photographers in NSW are set to showcase their work on the Central Coast as part of the NSW Top Shot Exhibition and Expo 2023.

The Top Shot exhibition includes nature, Australian landscape, digital art and, for the first time, drone photographs. The exhibition is an annual

event organised by the NSW Federation of Camera Clubs (FCC) which represents 86 photography groups and more than 2,200 photographers around NSW.

“There were nearly 1,000 entries this year from across NSW, and the quality of the photography was very high,” FCC President Michelle Kennedy said.

“Interest in photography seems to be getting stronger

every year, and this exhibition and expo is one of the largest we have held in the 69 years of our history.”

The Central Coast exhibition will be held from 10am-4pm on Sunday, June 18, at Central Coast Leagues Club.

Winners will be announced at 3pm and will receive new cameras as prizes.

There will also be an interactive Shooting Through

The Decades exhibition where the public can photograph seven different historical studio set-ups.

Members of the public can use their own camera, their mobile phone camera or bring an SD card if they want to use the historical cameras on display.

The expo will also include discounted offers to all attendees on the latest photographic gear from major

photographic brands including Nikon, Canon, Sony, Panasonic, Fujifilm, OM System, Sigma, CR Kennedy and Maxxum.

The Top Shot Exhibition and Expo is one of the state-wide events organised by the FCC to promote the work of local photography clubs.

“Camera clubs are community-based, not-forprofit groups open to people of all ages and from all walks of life,” Kennedy said.

“Clubs provide advice on how to take photos and they organise competitions and judges to give you feedback on how to improve your photos.”

The FCC Exhibition and Expo are open to everyone interested in making or enjoying photographs and photography.

Source: NSW Federation of Camera Clubs

Learning From The Master by Nancy Morley will be one of the photographs on show

He’s Always Here by Andie Scibilia

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Two big events for You Connect

Central Coast charity You Connect, which provides programs, supports and housing for people with disabilities and mental health diagnoses, has two big events coming up.

A NAIDOC celebration day will be held on Wednesday, June 28, from 8am-2pm at the Gosford centre, 24 Glennie St West.

The event will be a day to celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

There will be a smoking ceremony and acknowledgement of Country followed by indigenous painting, games and traditional music with Kyle Freeman, a Wiradjuri man.

The group will also hold an exhibition, I Shine, on Friday,

June 23, at The Entrance Gallery in Battley Ave.

The arts fiesta will be held

Frantastics set for annual concert

The popular Frantastics Choir will present its annual performance for family and friends at 1 pm on Monday, August 14, the Walter Baker Hall (corner of Blackwall and Victoria Rds, Woy Woy).

The one-hour program will include solos by seasoned performers Thayer Donaldson, Pam Brown and Douglas Kent

and experienced newcomers Laraine Day, Catherine Broady and Mark Corderoy.

The amazing Golden Girls, augmented by new members, will also perform a Gershwin medley a capella.

Choral items will include I Still Call Australia Home, a Gershwin medley, a Seekers medley, Puttin’ on the Ritz and many more well-known

from 5-8pm and continue online thereafter. People are invited to submit

paintings, photographs, drawings, sculptures, dances, songs, and videos – anything

that makes them shine – for inclusion in the exhibition, with submissions closing on June 19.

The opening night fiesta will include music and food, along with the amazing artworks.

A group of local professional artists from the Five Strings Collaborative will give feedback to all artists on the night.

For full details on how to submit an entry and the arts fiesta go to you-connect.com. au/i-shine or call 0424 548 305. For information on the NAIDOC celebration day email Belinda.Fidler@you-connect. com.au

Source: You Connect

songs.

Comic skits will complete the program.

Afternoon tea will be provided by choir members following the performance. Entry is $10 with no booked seats so early arrival is advised.

Source: Frantastics Director, Fran Kendall The Frantastics

The northern route through the Central Coast is top priority for the fast train (indicative image only)

The Sydney to Newcastle high-speed rail network, backed by a $500M commitment from the Federal Government, is the first priority for the newly appointed Board of the High Speed Rail Authority. Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Catherine King, said the first step would be planning and corridor works for the Sydney to Newcastle

Business & Property

section which would come through the Central Coast.

The Authority will also advance plans for other sections of the high-speed network which will eventually connect Brisbane to Melbourne.

The Board, chaired by Jill Rossouw, formally commenced operations on Tuesday, June 13.

The four other Board members are Gillian Brown, Dyan Crowther, Ian Hunt and Neil Scales.

The Authority will oversee the development of the high-speed

All aboard highspeed rail authority

rail network along the east coast of Australia which will revolutionise interstate travel, provide a fast alternative for people to move between cities and regional centres, promote sustainable settlement patterns and create broad economic benefits for regional centres.

The network could allow passengers to travel between major cities and regional centres at speeds exceeding 250 kilometres per hour.

A merit-based process was recently completed to select the Board members of the

Authority, resulting in a team with the appropriate skills, qualifications, knowledge and experience to best bring highspeed rail to reality.

Chair Jill Rossouw has multisector Board experience across privatised transport infrastructure entities, social infrastructure and public health care.

She is currently Executive Director, Infrastructure at IFM Investors and a Board member of the Port of Brisbane.

Dyan Crowther is CEO of High Speed One Ltd, which owns and operates the high-speed

railway in the UK.

Gillian Brown has expertise in transport, infrastructure and fund management and is a director of Ausgrid, a nonexecutive director of Queensland Investment Corporation and a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Ian Hunt is a former infrastructure CEO with more than 30 years’ experience in engineering and project management.

He is currently a nonexecutive director of Canberra Light Rail and the Royal

Melbourne Showgrounds.

Neil Scales is an experienced infrastructure leader and most recently the Director-General of the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads.

Formerly he was CEO of Translink and Director-General of Merseytravel in the UK.

At present he is Chair of Austroads, a commissioner of the National Transport Commission and a member of the Queensland Transport and Logistics Council.

Sue Murray

The northern route through the Central Coast is top priority for the fast train (indicative image only)

Visits

ingara Leisure Group has been given the go-ahead by Central Coast Council to build a $19M five-storey hotel at its Tumbi Umbi site.

The 86-room hotel will be integrated with the existing Mingara Recreation Club at 14 Mingara Dr as well as complementing existing facilities such as cafes and restaurants, the Mingara

Mingara hotel gets the green light

Regional Athletics Centre and AthleticsTrack, aquatic centre, bowling greens, fitness and wellness centre.

The hotel will have five accessible rooms as well as a main lobby, lounge area, guest laundry, luggage room, administration office, service rooms and 11 car parks including two accessible spaces.

There won’t be a restaurant

or bar at the hotel as guests would use the adjoining club facilities with a covered walkway linking the hotel and the entry foyer to the club. Up to 10 staff plus a manager will be on site at the hotel at any one time.

The new building will blend with the architectural form of the existing Mingara Recreation Club and design elements both inside and out will highlight the

Disability housing at Woy Woy

characteristics of the neighbouring water and bush landscapes.

Construction will start with the demolition of the 34-space accessible parking area and vegetation next to the club entrance.

Fourteen accessible spaces will be relocated within the existing car park.

A traffic and parking assessment by Intersect Traffic

Pty concluded that the proposed hotel development would not adversely impact on the local and state road network or the current intersections at the entry/exit to the site.

However, the report noted that with expected future growth in the area Wyong Rd would reach capacity before 2032 and Transport for NSW would need to look at some upgrading or network

improvements in the near future to maintain acceptable traffic flow along this section of the road network.

“It is understood TfNSW is currently undertaking a strategic review of its Central Coast road network and it would be expected that the review would include this part of the road network,” the assessment report stated.

Sue Murray

The sod will be turned on June 19 for a new housing project for people living with disability at Woy Woy.

The Specialist Disability Apartment (SDA) project being undertaken by Canopy SDA, a leader in innovative housing solutions, will provide accommodation for six people.

It will be located at 6 Bowden Rd, Woy Woy, with the site chosen for its proximity to amenities, services, transport, and hospitals.

“This prime location will provide convenient access to essential resources and contribute to the residents’ overall well-being,” a Canopy SDA spokesperson said.

“The new SDA Housing

Project is meticulously designed to enable greater freedom and independence for its future residents.

“Canopy SDA understands the importance of creating homes that go beyond functionality and prioritise the comfort and happiness of participants.

“Each apartment will be tailored to the specific needs of the individuals, ensuring a safe and inclusive environment that promotes a high quality of life.”

Canopy SDA will partner with Synergis, an investment firm which shares its vision of developing affordable, beautiful, functional and sustainable homes for those who need them most.

“Over the last six months we have been working with three SDA participants to ensure this home not only meets their individual needs but also empowers them to live as independently as possible,” CEO Adam Strong said.

“This ground-breaking ceremony is a significant milestone towards seeing these participants live their lives to the fullest in a home that has been designed and constructed exclusively for them.”

The sod turning ceremony will signify the official commencement of construction.

Source: Canopy SDA

Artist’s impressions of the walkway link from Mingara Leisure Club to the new hotel

An artist’s impression of the new development

10 ways to cut your small business's tax bill

With the end of the financial year fast approaching, small businesses can take steps to save on tax. Here are some last-minute tips to trim your 2022-23 bill.

1. Review all your expenses

The starting point for ensuring you’re reducing the tax liability for your small business is to review expenses and ensure you have all the paperwork to claim relevant deductions.

This can include everything from office supplies and travel expenses to advertising and professional fees.

2. Take a closer look at inventory

This is the ideal time to review trading stock for obsolete lines that simply aren’t selling.

Consider if stock that’s gathering dust should be written down or written off completely.

You’re normally entitled to a tax break for obsolete inventory, as the closing value of stock on hand forms part of your venture’s assessable income.

3. Write off bad debts

This may hurt a bit, but if your business uses an accruals-based accounting system, you may be able to claim a deduction for any bad debts it has incurred.

You can only claim a bad debt deduction for amounts that have been included in the assessable income of the business, either in this year’s tax return or in an earlier return.

4. Take advantage of temporary full expensing

This allows businesses an instant write-off (deduction) for the cost of an eligible asset rather than having to depreciate the item over its useful life.

As temporary full expensing is scheduled to end on June 30 this year, it’s worth making use of this tax saving while it lasts.

The catch is that the asset, such as plant and equipment or a new fleet car, must be in place and ready to use by June 30, 2023 to qualify for an instant write-off.

5. Prepay expenses

Small businesses can prepay certain expenses before June 30 to claim them as a deduction in the current financial year.

This can include expenses such as rent, insurance premiums, professional memberships and subscriptions.

Check the rules around prepayments to be sure you meet tax office guidelines. Your accountant can help here.

6. Make super contributions

Small business owners often make superannuation contributions for their staff but neglect

their own retirement savings: in fact, a 2018 study by the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia found one in five self-employed people have no super at all. That makes it worth making a contribution to your fund.

For 2022-23, the before-tax contribution cap is $27,500, but you may be able to claim unused contributions extending back to 2018-19.

7. Defer income if possible

If the current financial year has seen your business earn higher than normal revenue, it may

Warning on dangers of using rental platforms

As if life wasn’t tough enough for renters right now, according to the consumer group CHOICE more than two in five renters have been pressured to use so-called “rent tech” – third-party rental platforms – when they apply for a lease.

According to CHOICE, these platforms put tenants at risk of data breaches and often leave them with additional fees, including paying for their own background checks.

In a worst-case scenario, rent tech can see renters excluded from housing.

“Automated decision-making systems are becoming an increasingly common part of rental application systems,” says CHOICE consumer data advocate Kate Bower.

The Snug platform, for example, produces a “match score” for rental applicants,

using the personal information submitted by a renter to indicate their suitability for particular properties.

“A sore lack of regulation in this market means these automated decision-making systems could increase the barriers and discrimination for

be worth trying to defer part of your takings until next financial year by holding off invoicing customers until after July 1, 2023. This can be a useful strategy if you anticipate a quieter 12 months ahead.

8. Invest in staff training

Small businesses with aggregated annual turnover below $50 million may be eligible to claim an extra 20% for the cost of staff training.

The training needs to be run by an external registered provider to be eligible for the additional claim.

9. Boost your technology capabilities

There may still be time to take advantage of the government's Small Business Technology Investment Boost.

Introduced in the 2022-23 federal budget, it allows small businesses to claim 120% of the cost of digitising operations. This includes spending on portable payment devices, improving your cyber security systems or subscriptions to cloud-based services.

Any tech hardware you buy to take advantage of the upscaled deduction must be in place by June 30, 2023.

10. Consult your adviser Tax law is complex and stiff penalties can apply for getting it wrong.

A quick check with your tax accountant before June 30 can alert you to pitfalls to avoid as well as potential deductions you haven’t considered to help take the sting out of this year’s tax bill.

WITH Michelle BALTAZAR

Editor-in-Chief • Money magazine

Animal Liberation joins opposition to feedlot proposal

With the closing date for submissions on a controversial feedlot proposal for Mangrove Mountain extended by a week to June 13, Animal Liberation added its voice to a swell of community opposition and urged lastminute submissions.

Residents of the area have had several meetings encouraging submissions in opposition to the proposal, which would see up to 400 cattle housed in two sheds with many saying it would be unsustainable and unsuitable for the local community.

Among residents’ concerns are noise, water, dust and odour pollution, with a petition protesting the development attracting almost 2,000 signatures.

Australia’s longest running animal rights organisation urged last-minute submissions in the interest of animal welfare.

Animal Liberation’s Regional Campaign’s Manager, Lisa Ryan, said opposing “harmful developments” was just one of the many things the organisation did, and has done for more than four decades; to ensure better outcomes for

animals, the environment and local communities.

“We have always been at the forefront of this type of opposition,” she said.

“Increasingly, NSW communities approach Animal Liberation because they have been ignored by their local council, government agencies or departments, their MP or government.

“Where possible, we will always provide a level of support, energy and guidance, based on our experience and expertise.

“We frequently step up where others have failed.”

Ryan said the organisation was “thrilled” at the response to its appeal for last-minute submissions.

“The contribution by our supporters is always very strong because they care about a range of issues across animals, the environment and people,” she said.

“We always collaborate effectively with all key stakeholders across community concerns including Aboriginal culture and heritage, animal welfare and biodiversity issues and general environmental issues.

“We look at all the risks,

impacts and cumulative impacts which are always associated with all types of intensive animal agriculture.

“While the proposed feedlot is a local development, the inherent issues impact all NSW residents.

“You only need to look at the large scale consequences of the ‘chicken’ industry with both broiler chicken meat and egg farms to see the havoc they have wreaked across the Central Coast and across NSW.

“The public opposes intensive animal agriculture.”

Ryan said of special concern was a water licence application

which was central to the planning proposal and assessment.

“Over the past decade we have watched with increasing concern the former state government and departments literally rubber stamp every water licence application, including in regions where there was a scarcity of surface and groundwater and significant environmental concerns,” she said.

“This has to stop – it’s not a never-ending supply.”

Ryan said intensive animal agri-businesses were spreading and festering across

the landscape – harming millions of animals, destroying the environment and hurting rural communities in which they are situated.

“Our appalling animal welfare laws and inadequate planning laws are actually facilitating and fast tracking this spread and it’s time the NSW State Government listened and acted,” she said.

With submissions closing on June 13, Central Coast Council will now move to the next stage of consideration for the proposal.

Source: Animal Liberation

The proposed site

Residents have held several meetings to oppose the development

From collecting food for Coast Shelter to donating white goods to Allawah House, Central Coast Antiques & Collectables has community at its heart and has helped dozens of local charities and individuals.

Antique store has community at heart

Member for Gosford Liesl Tesch recently hosted local industry representatives at a session to discuss the NSW Government’s agenda to support the night-time economy and the extension of the operations of 24hour Commissioner to the Central Coast.

Minister for Arts and Music and Night-Time Economy John Graham and NSW 24-Hour Economy Commissioner, Michael Rodrigues, attended the session, held at the Central Coast Conservatorium of Music.

They addressed about 70 people from local industry.

The evening began with a performance by local musician Hannah-Rae Caulfield before Minister Graham and Commissioner Rodrigues discussed the Government’s

The business was established as Woy Woy Antiques & Collectables in Deepwater Plaza three years ago.

Mitchell Gordon and the team behind Fairhaven’s first longterm pop-up shop launched the venture to assist not-for-profit organisations affected by the

COVID-19 lockdowns.

A percentage of profits was divided between Rotary Brisbane Water, Woy Woy Youth Cottage, Brisbane Water Historical Society, Coast Shelter, Mary Mac’s Place, RSPCA Central Coast, WIRES Central Coast, Westlakes Stoke

Recovery Group and The Salvation Army Umina Beach Corps during the height of the crises.

The outlet relocated to larger premises in Gosford during the 2021 lockdown.

Several community-minded ventures – a complimentary

home clearance service for elderly people, excess stock donations to Lifeline Gosford and the distribution of bedding, food and household items to people experiencing hardship – have been implemented at the new location.

Central Coast Antiques &

Expanding the Coast’s night-time economy

Administrator and Director of Community and Recreations Services, Mel Smith, joined the discussion, saying Council will be working with the Government to deliver Safer Cities – Her Way to improve safety in Gosford and is currently working on a Night Time Economy Strategy.

“This session is just the starting point to drive change for the Central Coast’s live music scene as well as the night-time economy; change that will see the region come alive and thrive through music and performance,” Tesch said.

Collectables is located at 3 Watt St, Gosford, near Australia Post.

Opening hours are 10.30am5pm, seven days a week.

Source: Central Coast Antiques & Collectables

“I am committed to ensuring Coasties are able to enjoy live music and the night-time economy in a way we have never experienced before.”

Graham said the Government had made an election commitment that the Central Coast would be the first place to benefit from the 24-hour Economy Commissioner.

“The Central Coast has its own incredible collection of venues, artists and nightlife businesses that make it such a great place to live, work and visit,” he said.

McDonald’s

commitment to work with local government and venues to create an entertainment precinct on the Central Coast.

Using Sydney and the larger

international movement as seen in New York, Paris and London as a model, Rodrigues will lead a co-ordinated and collaborative effort with Council, communities, industry

and creatives on the Central Coast to build a strong and vibrant night-time economy that prioritises live entertainment.

Central Coast Council’s

“We have such amazing creative talent on the Coast, and it will be fantastic moving forward to unite community efforts and magnify opportunities for our local musos and the talented people working in the sector.

“But it also has its own unique set of challenges when it comes to operating at night and that’s why expanding the remit of the Commissioner is so important.”

Landmark McDonald’s closing and moving north

Two McDonald’s restaurants on either side of the Wyong M1 “twin servos” will close permanently next month and in early 2024 respectively due to an expired lease agreement.

Ampol, which operates the 24-hour service stations, said it would upgrade the sites once McDonald’s had vacated them before new outlets moved in.

Central Coast Council recently approved $4.3M improvements at the northbound service

centre including reconfiguration of the car parking area with an extra 27 spaces, the bus/truck parking area, demolition of the building now occupied by Oliver’s, a new dog park and extension of the single lane fast food drive-through to two lanes.

Ampol will also install three EV charging stations and two solar battery storage modules.

A statement from Ampol said upgrades would commence soon at its two service centres on the M1 to improve customer

amenity.

“The refreshed sites will include AmpCharge EV charging bays, along with Ampol Foodary, Hungry Jack’s, Oliver’s and other quick service restaurants on both sides of the highway,” the statement said.

A spokesperson for McDonald’s said it was unfortunate that the restaurants at M1 North and M1 South would permanently close in mid-July and early 2024 respectively.

“While we are disappointed

these restaurants are closing we are excited to be opening two new McDonald’s restaurants on the M1 at Cooranbong, north of Morisset, in 2024,” the spokesperson said.

“We look forward to continuing to be part of the local community and serving our iconic Macca’s menu at our nearby restaurants in Anzac Rd, Wyong and at Morisset and then from our exciting new restaurants in 2024.”

Sue Murray

The store is open seven days a week

Dozens of organisations and individuals have benefitted from sales at the store

at the northbound service centre on the M1 at Wyong

Source: Member for Gosford Liesl Tesch

Member for Gosford Liesl Tesch with Minister John Graham and Commissioner Michael Rodrigues

NAISDA opens applications for 2024

In its quest to uncover the hidden talent of tomorrow’s First Nations dance artists, NAISDA Dance College has launched this year’s application and audition process for 2024.

With a rich history of nurturing and shaping the careers of renowned First Nations performers for almost 50 years, the college is calling upon educators and mentors to help it uncover hidden talent and discover Australia’s creative and cultural leaders of tomorrow.

“While many of our graduates have become household names in the dance and performing arts industry, we recognise that NAISDA may be less well known in some communities,” CEO Kim Walker said.

“That’s why we are reaching out to education providers, schoolteachers, Aboriginal learning and support officers, friends and families who play a crucial role in guiding young people’s paths.

“We invite them to spread the word about applying to NAISDA to help us bring the next generation of First Nations dance artists into the spotlight.”

NAISDA provides a unique pathway to further study.

It offers Australia’s only nationally accredited dance

and performing arts qualifications specifically for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

The curriculum is developed, written, and delivered exclusively by NAISDA.

“We believe arts education is the most powerful way to

change the world,” Walker said.

“NAISDA is shaped by the needs and aspirations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people and communities across Australia.

“It’s their performances, works, steps and sounds that

power Australia’s creative economy and shape the future of Australia’s performing arts industry.”

Successful applicants will be invited to NAISDA for onsite auditions from October 3-5.

For auditionees who live 90 minutes or more from the

college, ABSTUDY assistance is available to cover travel costs and NAISDA provides accommodation and meals during the audition period with the support of ABSTUDY.

The college prides itself on providing a supportive environment that allows students to thrive and achieve their goals, demonstrated by a completion rate double the national average in accredited vocational education and training.

“We understand that coming to NAISDA may be the first experience away from home for many students,” Walker said.

“Therefore, we build a secure, holistic community around them, to help ease anxiety and remove barriers to training.” Applicants must be aged 16 or over.

For details go to www.naisda. com.au/apply

Applications will close on August 21.

Source: NAISDA

Grants for hands-on environmental learning

Students across the Central Coast are on their way to becoming the next generation of environmental champions with new funds from the 2023 Woolworths Junior Landcare Grants program.

Schools to be awarded a grant of up to $1,000 include Wamberal Public School, Budgewoi Public School and Goodstart Early Learning –Tumbi Umbi.

They join more than 1,100 schools and early learning centres across Australia to be awarded grants to help build and develop hands-on environmental learning projects.

Over the years, thousands of schools have used these grants to create interactive projects focused on sustainability and

have inspired students to play an active role in the future of their natural environment.

This year, the program also officially included First Nations perspectives projects for the first time.

Woolworths and Landcare Australia are excited to award more than 320 grants as part of this year’s funding to projects that focus on expanding students’ First Nations education and deepening their connection to Country.

Woolworths Wyong region Group Manager, Belinda Page, said bringing the classroom to the great outdoors and encouraging kids to get handson with nature was always something exciting to see.

“We hope all of the schools across Wyong will have fun working on their new projects,”

she said.

With their projects up and running, Junior Landcare’s online Learning Centre,

supported by Woolworths, offers a range of free online resources to help students of all ages build their knowledge

of biodiversity, sustainable food production, waste management and more.

Landcare Australia CEO, Dr Shane Norrish, said that for more than 25 years Junior Landcare had recognised the vital role children and young people played in caring for the environment.

“Thanks to the Woolworths Junior Landcare Grants and the Woolworths-supported Junior Landcare Learning Centre, young people have an opportunity to experience hands-on learning with environmental education,” he said.

Proud Wiradjuri man and First Nations educator for Junior Landcare, Adam Shipp, said the knowledge from Elders and ancestors was extremely important to capture and keep

Seminar

alive.

“Our lands will be much healthier in doing so, and so I am delighted that a number of Woolworths Junior Landcare Grants will be funding First Nations perspectives projects this year,” he said.

“From creating a yarning circle to learning about bush tucker – these are valuable experiences that can help our kids gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of First Nations culture and knowledge systems.”

To date, Woolworths has contributed more than $5M to about 4,900 Junior Landcare projects across Australia, reaching more than 400,000 children.

The seminar will be presenting in a friendly relaxed atmosphere and there will be plenty of time for your questions.

Mr Geoff Brazel, Solicitor

present the seminar on Challenging Wills to help you through the maze of legal regulation

You’ll be helped a lot in understanding the system and will then be able to confidently consider what steps you need to take to properly consider challenges to Wills.

NAISDA students during a performance

Source: Woolworths

Pupils at Wamberal Public School

Photo: Lisa Haymes

Hospital kiosk open for business again

After being closed for 18 months following COVID-19 lockdowns and renovations, the Woy Woy Hospital Auxiliary Kiosk is once again open and serving the community.

Open from 10am until 2pm Tuesday to Friday, the kiosk serves drinks and meals, including coffee, tea, sandwiches, and burgers.

Is it frequented by NSW Health staff and other health professionals and the auxiliary is encouraging the wider community to visit and support the kiosk.

All funds raised goes back into supporting patient care and buying medical equipment for Woy Woy Hospital.

Member

John Daven of Central Coast Prostate Cancer Support Group is one of three men to receive a prestigious national award for community service.

The Max Gardner Award for Distinguished Service was presented by Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (PCFA) on the eve of Men’s Health Week and is named in honour of the late Max Gardner, who helped establish a support group network which now comprises more than 120 local groups around the country.

Daven is the President of the Central Coast Prostate Cancer Support Group.

He was diagnosed in 2004 with aggressive prostate cancer and in 2012 decided to

“The Woy Woy Hospital Auxiliary Kiosk is an outstanding café on the Peninsula,” Reid said.

“You can taste the extra care that goes into each drink or meal prepared, as the auxiliary volunteers go above and

beyond.

“By purchasing drinks and meals, you are also supporting Woy Woy Hospital and patient care.

“The Woy Woy Hospital Auxiliary has been able to purchase a range of medical equipment through funds raised at the kiosk.

“I would encourage the community on the Peninsula, and across the Central Coast, to visit and have a drink or meal there.

“You will enjoy delicious drinks and meals and support a worthy cause.”

Auxiliary President Phyllis Thomas the kiosk was in need of more volunteers.

“For 20 years the kiosk has operated out of Woy Woy

Top award for cancer survivor

attend his local support group to see what they had to offer.

Two meetings later, he was appointed group leader and hasn’t looked back.

Daven is passionate about improving men’s wellbeing and quality of life.

He’s an active member of the community, attending regular events on behalf of PCFA and encouraging men to get tested.

In 2020 he was presented with the Caring for the Coast Award and in 2022 he received a Rotary Community Service Award.

Daven was recognised alongside Alan Barlee of Geelong Prostate Cancer Support Group and Alan White of Bayside-Kingston Prostate Cancer Support Group in

Victoria.

Between them the men have dedicated a combined estimated total of nearly 20,000 hours to supporting

men and families affected by the disease over many decades.

PCFA Chairman Professor Steve Callister announced the

recipients on Wednesday, June 7.

“The award recognises the outstanding contribution these gentlemen have made to our mission and their remarkable dedication to supporting other men and families impacted by prostate cancer,” Callister said.

“Over many years they have each gone above and beyond to champion our work, making a profound contribution to each of the three pillars of our service, these being research, awareness, and support.

“I speak for all those in our community when I convey my abiding gratitude to these gentlemen for the exceptional difference they have made to so many Australians impacted by prostate cancer, improving

Hospital and supported patient care,” she said.

“We have about eight volunteers but need more to keep up with demand.

“No prior experience or training is necessary, just the ability to make drinks and prepare meals.

“The kiosk has a brilliant new outdoor dining area for customers to enjoy and there are knitted gifts available to purchase as well.”

The kiosk is at Woy Woy Hospital on Ocean Beach Rd, and everybody in the community is welcome.

To volunteer at the kiosk, call 4344 8435 or contact the President on 0409 425 811.

survivorship outcomes for all.”

PCFA CEO Anne Savage said the organisation’s work was only made possible by the support of outstanding individuals who gave their own time to ensure that men and their partners did not have to walk alone when prostate cancer struck.

“They play a vital role in providing men and their loved ones with information, comfort, and support, calling on their own personal experiences to make a difference in the lives of others,” she said.

To find out more, go to www. pcfa.org.au

For support, phone PCFA on 1800 22 00 99.

R U OK? Conversation Convoy rolls into West Gosford

The R U OK? Conversation Convoy will visit West Gosford on Friday, June 23.

Residents are invited to visit Anytime Fitness at West Gosford between 8am and 10am for a free brekkie and cuppa, and a chance to learn more about the important role we can all play in looking out for our friends, family and colleagues.

Free practical tools and tips will be handed out to encourage people to stay connected and have conversations to help those close to them through difficult times in their lives.

“Regular, genuine conversations about how we’re really going, have the power to change lives, and help the people in our world feel more supported when they’re facing life’s challenges,”R U OK? CEO Katherine Newton said.

“By taking the R U OK?

Conversation Convoy around Australia, we work to empower people with the confidence to have a meaningful conversation if they spot the signs someone close to them might be struggling with life.”

The Conversation Convoy travels around the country and forms part of the outreach work R U OK? carries out in regional and rural communities.

This year the Convoy will travel through NSW, QLD, NT and SA, covering more than 9,000km.

“It’s important to give people the opportunity to come to us,” Newton said.

“Some people prefer that face-to-face conversation, or they want to know about services or organisations like us.”

During the Convoy, R U OK? links with local services and visits communities, school

leaders and workplaces providing resources and listening to feedback.

“We know that local knows best,” Newton said.

“The Conversation Convoy gives R U OK? the opportunity to hear directly from communities and better understand their current needs.

“This helps inform the

development of future resources and campaigns to ensure they are practical and useful.”

The R U OK? Conversation Convoy is supported by Connor Clothing, The Audi Foundation, KitKat, Nescafé and Spirit Super.

Anytime Fitness Operations manager Ange Goldsworthy

said the club wanted its members and the broader community to feel empowered in asking ‘R U OK?’ year-round.

“Conversations and feeling connected are a protective factor against suicide,” she said.

“We’re encouraging the community to run (or walk) as many kilometres as possible to

Source: PCFA

go towards the club kilometre goal and fundraise along the way.

“65,000 Australians attempt to take their own life each year, this gives us 65,000 reasons to run.

“Last October we raised $279,459 nationally for R U OK? (in the Tread as One promotion) with Central Coast clubs raising $29,000 and West Gosford club alone raising $11,400.”

13YARN is a free 24/7 service offering crisis support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on 13YARN (13 92 76).

For support at any time of day or night, Lifeline provides free and confidential crisis support. Call 13 11 14, text 0477 131 114 or chat online at lifeline. org.au.

Source: Anytime Fitness

John Daven of Central Coast Prostate Cancer Support Group

The Conversation Convoy will be at West Gosford on June 23

for Robertson

Gordon Reid popped into the kiosk recently to commend the organisation and volunteers on its re-opening.

Source: Member for Robertson Gordon Reid

Member for Robertson Gordon Reid with volunteers at the hospital

DOWN IN THE GARDEN: A Garden for the Birds

There are also many other benefits in encouraging native birds to your garden along with these obvious delightful additions to your plot of paradise.

Birds need to eat, and many will happily devour your pests and assist in pollination and will also help distribute seeds while flitting about on their business.

For happy and healthy birds, they require what we need, shelter, water, and food so to encourage them, you can try providing these elements in your garden but first, you must think of life at a bird’s level, not your own.

A good example is the ever-popular birdbath.

While it may look splendid high up on a pedestal in the centre of a vast lawn, many birds, (and probably the ones that need your oasis the most) won’t like being caught out in the open in clear view of predators like that.

Lower and shift the birdbath so that it is close to shrubs and trees, and you give birds an escape route if needed.

The key to welcoming birds it to make them feel secure and by offering water and food in a safe way that feels like home.

When providing plants, you need to think in layers as birds don’t just live within trees, they require shrubs and grasses as well as climbers and depending on the species, they need nectar producing and/or seed producing plants as well as places for insects and smaller creatures to live that may be part of their diet.

Along with places to hang out, birds need nesting areas and materials and while they are not going to find everything they need at your place, no matter how big it is, they may find just enough if you grow and provide it so that they drop

in regularly.

Plants for Native Birds Trees will offer birds places to perch, to nest and can also provide food.

Ones to consider for your garden are:

Wattles (Acacia spp.), Gums (Eucalyptus spp.) and Tea Trees (Melaleuca spp.) and (Leptospermum spp.)

Shrubs, especially thicker growth species, are safe harbour for the small birds in your backyard.

These can be in the form of a hedge but also grow a few together in another part of your garden.

A quiet area if possible as this could also offer just the right place for nesting.

Many shrubs also blossom in nectar producing flowers.

Try: Banksias (Banksia spp.) Boronias (Boronia spp.), Bottlebrush (Callistemon spp.), Correa (Correa spp.), Bursaria (Bursaria spp.), Grevillea (Grevillea spp.)

WHAT’S ON FOR PLANT LOVERS

Tabletop Cactus Garden Workshop1–2:30pm Sunday 18th June Burbank at Saddle, Mount White

Come join our lovely crew in creating your own tabletop cactus Garden to take home and enjoy.

Bookings essential. Phone: 4370 1010

Kincumber Community Eco Garden Working Bee - 3–4pm Friday 23rd June. 20–22

Waxflower (Crowea exalata), Lechenaultia (Lechenaultia formosa) and smaller species of wattles and tea trees.

Grasses offer seeds, a safe hiding place and a nesting spot for many ground-living birds.

Grow Kangaroo Grass (Themeda triandra), Wallaby Grass (Austrodanthonia spp.), Mat Rush (Lomandra spp.) and Tussock (Poa labillardieri).

Climbers will also be vital in a bird-friendly garden as a quick get-away spot and feasting opportunity.

Ones to consider are Bower of Beauty (Pandorea jasminoides), Black Coral Pea (Kennedia nigricans) and Hardenbergia (Hardenbergia spp.).

While not a growing plant, organic mulches are essential as they make good homes for easily accessible insects that can become dinner for your feathered friends.

Cheralyn is a horticulture author and along with Pete Little, hosts ‘At Home with The Gardening Gang’

8 - 10am live every Saturday on CoastFM96.3

contact@cheralyndarcey.com cheralyn.darcey

cheralyn

Central Coast Birds

Along with the usual suspects, rosellas, rainbow lorikeets, grass parrots and magpies, watch out for Eastern Yellow Robin along with the Tawny-crowned Honeyeater, Yellow-tufted Honeyeater, Brush Bronzewing, Dusky Wood Swallow. You might also catch a glimpse of a New Holland Honeyeater (pictured above) or a Red Wattlebird.

To find more and to help identify birds in your backyard these two websites have easy to use and fun interfaces suitable for all ages: birdsinbackyards.net and birdlife.org.au.

If you do unfortunately find a sick or injured bird, please contact either wildlife-arc. org.au ph: (02) 4325 0666 or wires.org.au ph: 1300 094 737

Should You Feed the Birds?

Attracting birds is good for you, but it is also a way of growing a garden to be part of the environment and add botanical value to the area your home is situated in.

This means that you are growing plants in a way that is good for the local ecosystem.

What birds don’t need however is for you to hand feed them food that is not part of their native diet.

you are encouraging bad habits in Australian native birds.

We are surrounded by National Parks and bushland so I can assure you, no native bird needs a plate of birdseed or a handful of mince.

Rather than setting out food, provide a more natural environment filled with the plants and the opportunities for birds to live naturally.

What they can do with is fresh clean water, especially in dry spells.

As mentioned, make sure that your birdbath or container is placed in an open, high area so that the birds can see predators easily.

Central Coast Bird Watching

Birding is the art of birdwatching, not just a happy hobby but a way of playing a part in the research and conservation of our wildlife.

One of our local Birding groups is Central Coast Birders who meet the fourth Tuesday of the month, 7:30pm at Progress Hall, Anzac Road, Tuggerah and they can be found online along with their informative and inspiring newsletters here:

Kincumber Street, Kincumber

Work bee - weed grass from garden beds, prune bushes and trees, check and attend compost,and worm farms, water, dig out arrowroot and prune citrus.

Tidy potting table and assemble shade house, tidy shed and prepare for June Produce Swap and Workshop.

Build Your Own Frog Hotel - 1-3pm Saturday 24th June Wyee Nursery, Wyee

Learn why frogs are important, learn about different types of frogs, touch on the flora & fauna that is best suited for frogs, build your very own frog hotel and learn how to maintain it once you take it home.

This workshop is suitable for all ages and will be a fun-filled adventure for the whole family!

Tickets: https://tinyurl.com/55ayt8aw

Support one of our wonderful community gardens. A fun night with cash prizes for winning table and other great prizes.

Tickets at door or book at: www.trybooking.com

GARDENING PLANNER

You can plant the following now: Culinary herbs, artichokes, broad beans, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbages, cauliflower, cress, garlic, kohlrabi, lettuce, mustard, onions, peas, shallots, spring onions, silverbeet, spinach, ageratum, alyssum, bare-rooted roses, calendula, candytuft, Canterbury bells, carnation, cineraria, columbine, cornflower, delphinium, dianthus, everlasting daisy, forget-me-not, foxglove, godetia, gypsophila, hollyhock, honesty, larkspur, linaria

Along with inviting rodents from fallen seed and food,

www.birdingnsw.org.au/ central-coast-group-news letter

Car Boot Sale

Woy Woy Peninsula Lions Club

Sunday 25th June 2023 7am to 1pm

Great variety of stalls, BBQ, Tea & Coffee Vendors Welcome $25 per car

Dunban Road Car Park

NB stall sites not open until 6.30am Cnr. Ocean Beach Road Woy Woy

Always last Sunday of the month (no events in December)

ENQ: 0478 959 895

WITH CHERALYN DARCEY

Photo: Jinesh PS

Helping hairdressers keep an eye out for concerning spots

Central Coast hairdressers, barbers and beauticians can access a new TAFE NSW course to gain the skills to “spot a spot” and speak up if they see something concerning through a campaign developed by TAFE in collaboration with the Australian Melanoma Research Foundation, Hair and Beauty Australia (HABA), Keune, and Airyday.

Australia has the highest rate of melanoma in the world, with one Australian diagnosed every 30 minutes and about 1300 deaths every year.

The new course aims to increase early awareness and prevention of skin cancer in communities across Australia.

TAFE NSW Hairdressing and Barbering Head Teacher

Vanessa Grant said the Spot a Spot course is the first to focus on hairdressers, barbers and beauticians working in a salon environment.

“The course showcases reallife case studies of hairdressers and beauticians with their clients and the process they

went through to raise concerns about skin changes that turned out to be skin cancer,” Grant said.

TAFE NSW will offer free places to TAFE NSW apprentices studying Certificate III in Hairdressing and Barbering and Certificate IV in Beauty to help skill the future workforce

in these important conversations.

“It’s a powerful tool for the hair and beauty industry, and arms TAFE NSW apprentices with real-world skills to confidently communicate concerns with their clients,” Grant said.

HABA National President

Maureen Harding said the course would help hair and beauty staff to start the conversation with their clients.

“I’ve been a hairdresser for 50 years and have had these conversations with my clients, including ones that turned out to have lifesaving outcomes,” she said.

“What’s great about this course is that it can be completed in an hour and on a mobile device.

“It offers practical information about what makes a spot suspicious and different ways to start a conversation with a client about a subject that can be very scary.”

Fundraiser for prostate cancer

After a successful Charity Race Day in 2022, Clubs

NSW Central Coast Region will hold another event to help raise vital funds for Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (PCFA) on Thursday, June 15.

The Central Coast branch hopes to continue increasing awareness and support for men and families living in the region with prostate cancer.

The Charity Race Day will be held at the Wyong Race Club during Men’s Health Week, with all proceeds going to PCFA’s work across the Central Coast. Across the region more than 300 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year.

Alarmingly, local men have a 20 per cent increased risk of

death from the disease compared to the national average.

Clubs NSW Central Coast Chairman Phil Walker said the

branch was committed to helping save lives and ensuring that all men had the best chance of survival.

“Too many Central Coast men

are dying before their time from this disease, and we are committed to working with PCFA to do something about it, by getting the message out and

raising funds for lifesaving research and specialist nursing services,” he said.

“Last year our inaugural event for PCFA raised $20,000 which helped support a local Prostate Cancer Specialist Nurse and distribute more survivorship kits to local men.

“We know the profound difference that this partnership can have, and we’re honoured to once again be raising funds for this worthy cause.

“We hope that the community will get behind the Charity Race Day and show their support by joining us for a day on the track.”

PCFA CEO Anne Savage said almost one in four cancers among men on the Central Coast were prostate cancer, which spoke to the prevalence

Dr Wayne Harvey from the Australian Melanoma Research Foundation said the survival rate from advanced melanoma has improved over the last decade, largely due to improvements in detection and treatment.

“We know 90 per cent of melanomas can be treated successfully if caught early,” he said.

“Early detection is associated with high survival rates.

“Hairdressers and barbers are in regular contact with their clients and access hard-to-see spots, so they are very well placed to recognise skin changes.

“Helping the industry to develop the skills to recognise a suspicious spot and then confidently talk about skin changes with their clients has the potential to significantly contribute to reducing the incidence of melanoma long term.”

To find out more about ‘Spot a Spot’ visit www.tafensw.edu. au/spot-a-spot

Source: TAFE NSW

of this disease and the impact it had on the local community.

“This important partnership enables us create change and raise awareness and funds that can save lives and promote detection of prostate cancer before it spreads,” she said.

“We know that we can beat this disease if we detect it at its earliest stage, and we are galloping towards that goal faster than ever thanks to the Clubs NSW Central Coast Region and Wyong Racing.

“We could not be more grateful to those involved and the local heroes who have inspired this partnership, and we look forward to hitting the track again.”

Source: Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia

Hairdressers can often see hard-to-spot areas of concern

Wyong Race Club will host the fundraiser

Young cricket star recognised in Parliament

A rising young cricket star from Holy Cross Catholic School at Kincumber has been spoken about in Federal Parliament.

Elizabeth Brannan, who is a member of the KincumberAvoca Cricket Club, was recently awarded the Girls Encouragement Award, following her sportsmanship during the Master Blasters program.

Member for Robertson Gordon Reid recognised this achievement by speaking about her in the House of Representatives.

Reid said it was excellent to see young people get involved in sport.

“I would like to congratulate Elizabeth Brannan on her

sporting award and for her participation in cricket on the Central Coast,” Reid told Parliament.

“We know what the benefits of regular exercise are and how involvement in sport can increase concentration at school and strengthen interpersonal skills.

“It is great to be told about local sporting achievements, like Elizabeth’s, and to be able to recognise them in the Australian Parliament.”

Reid attended a school assembly to present Elizabeth with a copy of his speech, which has now been recorded in Hansard.

“I visited Holy Cross Catholic School during its regular Friday assembly and presented Elizabeth with a copy of my speech in front of teachers,

students, and parents,” he said.

“I made sure Elizabeth’s parents, David and Salina Brannan, were notified in advance so they could see their daughter recognised.”

Reid frequently recognises community members who have demonstrated extraordinary achievements in a range of categories.

If you think you know a person who should be recognised in the Australian Parliament, visit Reid’s website to register: www.drgordonreidmp.com.au/ community-support/community -recognition/

Lauren scoops the pool at Masters Games

SWIMMING

Lauren Bradley from Ettalong Pelicans Masters Swim scooped the pool at the Great Barrier Reef Masters Games in Queensland recently, coming away with seven gold, one silver and three bronze medals.

The games were held from March 25-27 in Cairns, showcasing a wide variety of

sports, with 162 entrants from 45 clubs around Australia.

Throughout the three-day event Bradley swam nine individual events and two relays.

As well as winning a swag of medals, she broke four games records in the 400m butterfly, 400m backstroke, 200m butterfly and 200m backstroke.

Another member of Ettalong

Pelicans travelled to Fiji recently for an Ocean Swim Safari.

Brigita Parmeter spent six days in Fiji, during which time she did three 3km ocean swims around some of Fiji’s beautiful islands where the water was clear, temperature perfect and scenery magic.

Source:

Member for Robertson Gordon Reid

Elizabeth Brannan with Member for Robertson Gordon Reid and her parents David and Salina

RUGBY UNION

Three Central Coast rugby union teams did the region proud at the NSW Country Championships in Tamworth on June 10 and 11, scoring a first, second and third placing.

The Coast’s Colts team went through the competition undefeated to take out the Rowlands Colts Cup.

The men’s senior team made it to the final but was defeated by Central West to end runner-

Rugby teams do Coast proud at country championships

up in the Caldwell Cup.

The women’s team finished third, chalking up two wins and one loss in one of its best performances.

It was one of the best overall results for Central Coast Rugby Union.

Meanwhile, the Central Coast competition resumes on June 17 after a one-week hiatus due to the country championships.

The Round 9 match of the day will see Avoca Beach hosting Terrigal at Heazlett Park.

With both teams at the top of

the competition ladder and so far undefeated, the clash is expected to generate much interest.

Terrigal has won every match with ease this season and is top of the ladder.

Avoca Beach had a draw in its last contest with the Razorbacks, having won all previous fixtures.

Many of the players were involved in the NSW Country Championships.

Warnervale will travel to Ourimbah Rugby Park to take

on the Razorbacks in another important contest.

The Razorbacks are coming off a draw with Avoca Beach and Warnervale is coming off a loss to Gosford so both teams will be desperate to quickly get back to their winning ways.

The Razorbacks have that vital home ground advantage and that may be the only factor to divide the two teams at the end of the day.

Hornsby will take on Woy Woy at Mark Taylor Oval with both teams desperate for a win.

Hornsby will enjoy the home team advantage, while Woy Woy hasn’t played for two weeks because of a bye and then the Country Championships.

Gosford will host Lake Macquarie at Gosford Rugby Field at the Showground next Saturday.

Gosford will go into the clash as favourites.

In the President’s Cup, Terrigal will meet Avoca Beach at Heazlett Park, while the Razorbacks will take on

Warnervale at home.

In the Women’s 10s competition the Razorbacks will host Warnervale at Ourimbah Ruby Park, Hornsby meets Woy Woy at Mark Taylor Oval, and Avoca Beach will take on Terrigal at home.

The latter clash will see which team goes to the top of the competition ladder, with the two teams currently locked together at the top of the table.

Source: Central Coast Rugby Union

Peninsula Leisure Centre hosts swim championships

SWIMMING

Peninsula Leisure Centre, Woy Woy, was host to Coast and Valley Swimming Association’s (CVSA) annual Short Course Swimming Championships for 2023 on June 2-4.

CVSA is the area body comprising swimming clubs from the Central Coast and Lower Hunter Valley.

The meet program saw a full complement of races, including a combined format of both senior, junior and multi-class races throughout the sessions. The number of events swimmers could enter per session remained at five

events, similar to Long Course Championships.

A total of 16 teams competed over the weekend, with 417 swimmers taking part. This was slightly down from 2022, when 444 swimmers attended.

An impressive 18 Coast and Valley Records were broken over the weekend (six male and 12 female).

Central Coast swimmers to break records were Piper Jade Wardrop of Wyee Point Swim Club (11 years 400m freestyle) and Jodie Mead of Woy Woy Swim Club (14 years 50m freestyle).

Clockwise from top left: The women’s team finished third, The Colts went through the competition undefeated to take out the Rowlands Colts Cup, The men’s team was runner-up in the Caldwell Cup

Source: CVSA Piper Jade Wardrop Jodie Mead