DEAR Jasminda, A mutual friend often offers me job opportunities during social gatherings, but doesn’t mention the subject again until the next time we catch up. Should I take these offers seriously and seek further information, or brush them off? Katie L. Dear Katie, Social situations often involve social lubricants. Is your mutual friend half-tanked […]
Indi Garvey with her impressive 83.5kg striped marlin! Landing a fish of this size on a 10kg line is a phenomenal effort. Port Macquarie Game Fishing President Matt Hobbs with a striped marlin just before successfully tagging and releasing it. THE Macleay River remains a prime location for flathead enthusiasts, with reports of excellent catches […]
PENDING the birth of their first child, Peter and Jane were staying with Jane’s mother, Betty. At the time, Betty was involved in a difficult divorce with her husband. They agree that if Peter and Jane help Betty with finance, they can retain the home and in return they would be registered on title. As […]
EVERY night, the stars wink down at us like ancient storytellers, daring us to come closer. They’ve been hanging there for billions of years, teasing us with the possibility that someone – or something – might be staring back. The great cosmic question is simple yet maddening: will we ever actually visit another star? The […]
WHILE most kids are spending their school holidays taking their foot off the pedal, sisters Poppy and Zaylee Cupitt have kept their hands heart-warmingly busy. With tiny, coloured rings spread over the table, the sisters aged 10 and 9 respectively, spent five days creating over 100 loom band bracelets for patients in the children’s ward […]
While the country lifestyle and lower cost-of-living was appealing, access to housing, health care, connectivity and public transport were seen as key barriers.
A QUIET life in the countryside appeals to nearly half of Australia’s city residents, but concerns about access to health care, housing and jobs are stopping them making the move. Country Australia is on track to become home to 11 million people by 2032, or 40 percent of the population, while 40 percent of people […]
Penny Dakin, Scott Howie, Ros Abercrombie, Andrew Barker, Danielle Fusco and Imogen Castledine.
REGIONAL Arts Australia is launching a “transformative” new funding initiative with $2.4 million dollars in support from Minderoo Foundation. The program offers multi-year grants of $160,000 to support independent artists living and working in regional communities across Australia. “Practice in Community” will deliver two funding rounds for independent artists working in Community Arts and Cultural […]
Some of the team from Flower Hotels’ Settlers Inn and Tacking Point Tavern. Photos: supplied.
THE Australian Hotels Association (AHA) reckons the Hastings’ pubs are among the state’s best when it comes to food, music and generally being “the heart of the community”. Port Macquarie, Lake Cathie, Wauchope, Beechwood and Long Flat all feature on the list of finalists for this year’s AHA NSW Awards of Excellence. These are the […]
An opening will typically occur when water levels rise due to rainfall, while closures happen as sand accumulates - creating a berm which acts as a natural seal between the lake and ocean.
LAKE CATHIE has closed to the ocean, however Port Macquarie-Hastings Council says conditions remain “ripe for recreation”. Excessive sand movement and dry conditions have caused the sand berm to close the entrance to the ocean, after more than 15 months of favourable weather conditions allowing it to remain open, according to Council. This is a […]
Building inspectors visited sites between Port Stephens and Port Macquarie.
THE Building Commission NSW has released the results of its three-day inspection blitz of worksites between Port Stephens and Port Macquarie. During August, a team of inspectors visited 41 sites across Nelson Bay, Forster, Diamond Beach, Bonny Hills and Port Macquarie. Inspections focused on identifying defective building work, monitoring for unlicensed or unsupervised specialist trades […]
