Life

Julalikari Council Aboriginal Corporation. Our Elders’ Yarn Up group happens once a month, with Elders coming in to express their concerns and their love for children and families ... Last week, Marlungku-Kari Child & Family Centre celebrated its last Elder’s Yarn Up meet for the year.

Heather Gibbons. Health Harmony and Happiness Inc. has recently made a donation to Jodie Hutchins Born Free Native Wildlife Care in Millicent. This assists in covering some of the many costs Jodie has such as fencing, food and veterinary bills.

Chris Oldfield. A bright red rose named Fields of Fromelle is one of Hynam hybridist George Thomson’s most famous roses. It is the first and only Australian bred rose ever to be planted in France.

Narrandera Lions Club Christmas Carols in the Park 2022 was held in near perfect conditions on Sunday night with revellers turning out in force at Marie Bashir Park to enjoy an evening of song and dance and spread the festive spirit ... Narrandera East Infants, St Joseph’s Narrandera and Narrandera Public schools gave performances, as well as Leeton SDA Choir, With One Voice and Riverina Men’s choir groups, the Uniting Church community choir and individual soloists Jamie Gawne, Joan Graham and Texas Rose (Lou Hoare).

CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, is part of a nappy recycling trial announced today to help address the 1.5 billion disposable nappies that end up in Australian landfill each year ... The trial has been underway in South Australia since July 2022 and uses anaerobic digestion to turn the organic materials in used nappies into nutrient-rich compost, as well as bioenergy which is captured and used to power the recycling process.

New support to improve the mental health of people working in social and community sector organisations will be available in the seven flood-impacted local government areas of Northern Rivers NSW ... “Having worked in the social sector for many years, I’ve seen the almost normalised acceptance of this kind of burnout and mental ill-health across the social sector – a sector that is always on the frontline when disasters and pandemics strike": Julia Keady, founder of The Xfactor Collective Foundation.

Janelle Saffin. Jamie Simmonds, the man who directed the relocation of the town of Grantham, shared his story with Lismore when Janelle Saffin MP hosted him during a visit ... Ms Saffin said it was a great opportunity for locals like South Lismore’s Harper Dalton, who established the Relocate Lismore Homes Facebook group, to link with a planning and development expert who nowadays advises disaster-affected communities globally on managed retreat.

Emma Pritchard. After helping to keep the Clarence Valley community safe for 20 years alongside his fellow crew members from South Grafton Fire and Rescue 307 Station, Graham Richards has been recognised for his selfless contributions and dedication to his role. On December 7, the local firefighter was proudly presented with the long service and good conduct medal by Zone Commander Greg Lewis.

Matt Blakers sees the seasons through a photographer's lens and each season has a unique signature that it scribes across the sea. Spring is playful, even flirtatious, and writes with a light hand.   The waves are smaller with a soft and inviting luminescence. Summer, by contrast, writes with a pen packed full of colour, casting hues from a palette of blues and golds. The falling lips of the waves are lighter, the sunsets are brighter and the water is warmer ... But it’s big waves that excite Matt the most ...

Notebooks, illustrations, photographs, letters and transcripts of some of our best-loved songs, poems and stories have been brought together for the first time. Banjo's great-grandson and sole executor of the poet's literary estate, Alistair Campbell, has curated this rare collection and provides intimate commentary on his famous relative.

Long-time Weipa firefighter Tony Lankester says he’s excited about the prospect of a new station for the local fire brigade after years of lobbying for better facilities in the region. In an early Christmas present, it was announced last week that more than half a million dollars would be spent on building the new headquarters for the Western Cape Rural Fire Brigade.

Health authorities are encouraging all Cape York residents involved in pig-hunting to take advantage of the free vaccination program for Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) ... there was heightened awareness of JEV on Cape York following the detection of the virus in some feral pigs in an area north of the Skardon River in June, and a further detection in pigs in the Mapoon area in September.

In Remote as Ever, David Scrimgeour tells the story of his working life as a doctor in isolated communities in Australia's Western Desert in the late 1970s. Being involved in the Homelands movement and the Aboriginal community-controlled health campaign gave him significant insight into the strength of the Aboriginal struggle for autonomy - a struggle too often undermined by government policy.

February is when our first turtle hatchling emerges from its nest beneath the sand. Before that happens, Sunshine Coast Council is calling on our community to come together to tidy up their local beach as part of the 9th annual Clean up for the Hatchlings event on Saturday, February 4, 2023 ... Volunteers can register now to pick up litter at various beach locations between Noosa and Caloundra from 6am to 7.30am.

During the war, quail could save millions of Ukrainians from hunger and poverty. Only 1m2 is needed to grow this bird. For this, 200 dollars is enough. Investments begin to make a profit after 2 months. The income is 25-40 per cent of the invested funds per month. However, several reasons do not allow the quail to become a national bird in Ukraine.

More than 1500 Sunshine Coast residents helped make part of local government history at the weekend as the first members of our community to set foot in the newly opened Sunshine Coast City Hall. Sunshine Coast City Hall is situated in the heart of the new Maroochydore City Centre and has been designed and built for our community.

A partnership between Forestry Corporation of NSW,  Pentarch Forestry and the Tumbarumba community has seen donated timber enhance facilities at Tumbarumba Carcoola Children’s Centre and Tumbarumba Public School. The partnership has seen renewable resources used to benefit children and the community, said Forestry Corporation’s Billie-Jo Brown.  

Chris Oldfield. The sweet smell of roses hangs in the air wherever you walk in the garden of internationally acclaimed hybridist George Thomson and his wife Linda. On the outskirts of Naracoorte, they live among hundreds of colourful roses – varieties which have taken decades to breed and grow.

Santa Claus has been flat out this year preparing to fill the Christmas orders from all the well-behaved children around the globe, and urgently enlisted the help of the Mayor of the Barkly when trouble arose. Thousands of dollars of presents for this year’s 88th annual Tennant Creek Christmas Tree event were at risk of not arriving for the event due to freight issues.

Move over Boomers and Gen X - the Millenials have become a leading influence in the world of politics. Reflecting this generational change is the recent election of Mt Alexander Shire’s Mayor, Rosie Annear ... The greatest need in the Shire at present, according to Rosie, is for secure, safe housing.

Author Leslie Scott never expected that a rumour about wild horses roaming on a mountain near her home would consume months of her life and result in such a deep connection between animal and human. Set in rural Victoria, Once Were Wild is an easy-to-read book that recounts the moment Leslie finds two brumbies amongst the rugged terrain of Mount Beckworth near the town of Clunes.

Since its inception, Toowoomba’s Christmas Wonderland has welcomed over one million visitors and has returned over $1.32 million back to the local community through its beneficiaries. This year is its 20th year of bringing the joy of Christmas to the young and young-at-heart across the Toowoomba region.