Community

Chris Oldfield. After raising almost $9000 for the community, Lucindale’s Op Shop has grown out of its store, and relocated. Affectionately known as “Harrod’s of Lucindale”, several women have been working around the clock setting up the Lucy Loves Again second-hand community store in the former ANZ Bank building.

Geoff Helisma. A small team of Lower Clarence women have found a great way to do charitable work while they exercise among the waves. ‘Swell Sisters’ – Clair Morton, Shannon Grainger, Emy Alexander and Georgie Smith – are on a mission to raise funds for  SurfAid ¸  which provides “a hand up, rather than a handout, to people in remote communities connected to us through surfing,” says Clair.

Chris Murray. Mary Marlowe’s novel, Psalmist of the Dawn (published in 1934 but probably written in 1931) is set on Lord Howe and populated with real places, activities and people – that latter only slightly disguised behind pseudonyms ... Garfishing was an important part of the Islanders’ semi-subsistence lifestyle before World War II. Large quantities of gars were caught not only for local consumption but also for sale to passing vessels.

The chair of Tennant Creek’s relief supermarket has thanked the hard work and dedication of the Jurnkkurakurr Volunteers action group for a dramatic decline in theft and vandalism at the store and the 24-hour BP service station ... Volunteers, including Traditional Owners and other community leaders, now sit outside the BP and supermarket every night, talking to youth wandering the streets and encouraging them to go home.

At the Public Hall on 12, 13 and 14 March there will be an exhibition of our community portraits taken for the album Isolation open to everyone on the Island.

"It is something I want to be part of," Electrical Trades Union national secretary Allen Hicks said at the Rappville Pub on Thursday. Allen flew from Sydney to announce a $50,000 donation towards a community bus for Rappville. The Rappville Social committee has been fundraising for a bus to pick up school children to increase student numbers at Rappville Public School and to take older people on shopping trips to Casino. The 22-seater bus they plan to buy will have disability access and will cost $156,000.