Life

Claire Rankin. After almost three weeks living in her car in Evans Head with her dog, a 74-year-old widow is now safe and well at home. Barbara Williams is grateful to all the people in Evans Head who came to her aid while she was living in her car. She felt forced to leave her Baptist Community Centre unit in Lismore when she was told she could not keep her four-year-old part-kelpie called Midnight.

Geoff Helisma. When it comes to succeeding at sport, desire is a powerful motivator – and it often makes itself apparent during a human’s formative years. Grafton-born Olympian Ryan Maskelyne – one of only two swimmers who represented Papua New Guinea at the Olympic Games – first made his Olympics dream public at the 2009 Yamba Convent Beach to Main Beach Ocean Swim. “He told us he intended swimming for PNG at the Olympics,” his uncle, Eddy Durkan, says. “He was 11 and is now 22.”

John McNamara. In March 1884, the lease and household effects of the “Ocean View” Boarding House in Pilot Street overlooking Yamba Beach was taken up by James and Hannah Ryall who later purchased the freehold from Kinnear in 1888. Ryall was a baker and established a bakery adjoining the boarding house.

In a first for Australian heritage tourism management, residents in 13 local government areas in the Central Victoria Goldfields region have been taking an online survey to gauge their happiness, quality of life and well-being ... The survey forms an important part of the region’s bid to have the best of its gold-rush era heritage sites included on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Organisers of Weipa’s first birdwatching event of 2021 were rapt with the turnout over two sessions, with more likely to be added to the calendar next year.

Patty Mills for Prime Minister – that was the call on Saturday night as the star basketballer drained 42 points to lead the Boomers to their first ever Olympic medal. The Torres Strait Island product was amazing in all the big moments as he led Australia to a 107-93 win against Slovenia to pick up a much-deserved bronze medal. Bronze felt like “rose gold” to Mills.

The Community Hub hosted felting workshops in June to create beanies for the Alice Springs Beanie Festival. Entries were sent down for display, judging and possible sale, and life went on. So it was a pleasant surprise to find three of the entries won awards.

Former Naracoorte High scholar Linda Cawley (nee Stanford) has written a children’s book called The Trick with Sticks. It is cleverly written in a Dr. Seuss style to help children and their parents with their child’s friendships. We all know how friendships can be tricky, so the book explores the bonds of friendship and how those bonds are formed.

The Wondai AP & I Society (est. 1911) has pleasure in announcing the program for the up and coming Wondai Show.

The Mount Morgan Show is on again this year and the committee is urging all interested persons to get behind the event to ensure its success.

Dogs have who escaped the comfort of their backyard and wound up in the City of Greater Geraldton’s Animal Management Facility have overwhelmingly made their way back home as shown by recent statistics.

Kendall Jennings, The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper Surrounded by wood heaters and spares from yesteryear, the Border Flywheelers volunteers restore machinery, preserving history for...

Lover's Point is a rocky headland in Yamba that juts out into the ocean. It is located 1.5km south of the breakwall. Access is via Ocean Street, and also Pippa Beach. Waves can be big when accessing from the southern side. It is a 600m walk out to the point.

Liina Flynn. Before he headed up North Coast Community Housing, John McKenna spent his childhood growing up in public housing. ... With 3000 families currently on the region’s wait list for social housing, John was proud to announce that a new social and affordable housing development project will be built this year on Callistemon St in Casino.

Seven sets of brothers make the Richmond Range rugby team a force to reckon with. Saturday’s 30-nil win over Iluka Cossacks means the team is set to play Byron Bay in the President’s Cup major quarter final.

Editorial. The people of Cape York were let down by the Queensland government, Rio Tinto and the Weipa Town Authority last Wednesday. While in their eyes there was nothing for locals to worry about, it was a different story for those who did not hold all the information.

Weipa product Tia-Clair Toomey has won a fifth CrossFit Games to etch her name into the record books. Toomey, who still has family living in Weipa, was an Olympic representative at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games in weightlifting and won a gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. But it is her performances in CrossFit – a huge competition in the United States and Europe – that have put her on the global map.

Collection significance assessment - In June, Melanie Piddocke from Queensland Museum visited the Island to undertake a Collection Significance Assessment of the collections held at the Lord Howe Island Museum. Cataloguing online - The Museum committee has also commenced cataloguing the artefacts held in the collection on a web-based system called eHive. Signal archive accessible at the museum - the museum now has a very accessible digital archive of all issues of the Island newspaper, The Lord Howe Island Signal.