Life

Ali Bohn. Last week I was thrilled to return face-to-face with our Pioneers after almost a year apart. Although we were not permitted to meet indoors, we sat under the tree out the front of Murray Haven and Barham’s stunning autumn weather did not disappoint; so much so in fact that it was cool drinks on offer in place of the usual hot cuppa. Today’s discussion topic was wartime and what our Pioneers’ memories are of such time with family members heading off to the unknown, and the uncertainty of ever seeing them again.

Only a few weeks until the Kyogle Writers Festival kicks off ... Authors attending include Melissa Lucashenko, Stuart Rees, Daniel Browning, Ellen van Neerven, Nardi Simpson, Scott Bevan, Laura Elvery, Jessie Cole, Lisa Walker, Kristina Olsson and many more ... Local authors at the festival: Jarrah Dundler, Paul Shields, Linda Woodrow, Odette Nettleton, Gwendolyn Gray, Hayley Katzen, Andrew Johnston and Thor Phillips.

A Casino man lied about his age to enlist in the army in World War II. He was 17 but said he was 21. Private Raymond Leslie Geraghty was captured by the Imperial Japanese military and held in Singapore’s Changi Prison on February 15, 1942. With five other men, he stole a boat and attempted to escape.

Ken Vary knows a lot about Tabulam and about horses ... Ken is a regular at the Bonalbo Show where he sat watching the horse competitions. In his younger years, Ken mustered and went to rodeos. At 77, he may ride less but he can spot a quality horse with no trouble at all. In 1976 he won Campdraft Horse of the Year at the North Coast National with his horse Gift.

Emma Pritchard. Proudly holding his beautifully framed certificate in his hands, Grafton man Ian McGaw remains humble and appreciative as he shares the story behind it. After dedicating more than 60 years of service to local shows, including the Grafton Show, Mr McGaw was recognised for his selfless contributions by the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW who recently presented him with a certificate of appreciation for his ongoing support and service to the most famous show in Australia, the Royal Easter Show ... Describing the “friendships formed through volunteering” and being able to “share your knowledge with others” as highlights throughout his association with local shows and the Royal Easter Show, Mr McGaw said he felt very humble upon receiving his certificate during the Easter long weekend, and he is looking forward to adding “a few more years” to his impressive portfolio.

Emergency management teams are often required to work under considerable pressure and heavy workloads, during times of stress and fatigue. Researchers have developed two new tools that help support and enhance individual and team capabilities during emergencies.

Jai-Mec Rural Contracting has joined forces with Remondis to create new company Red Earth Industrial Services ... Sandra Kirk, who runs Jai-Mec with husband Jai Christie, said Indigenous employment was one of the priorities under the Red Earth Industrial Services structure. The longer-term goal is that Red Earth Industrial Services will flourish into a diversified industrial business, offering a variety of additional services which may include sand blasting, painting and electrical work.

As a part of the School Holiday Program, local band The Last Resort has been performing series of gigs at different Town Camps each evening. Intended to help keep the kids off the streets, the gigs have been well attended by families and supported by Elders and community organisations.

Many wine enthusiasts have dreamed of producing their own wine. They dream of walking among the vines, of family weekends at the vineyard, of the pride of serving one’s own label wine to friends, of winning show medals and accolades from the press. Tell them they’re dreaming.

Indian-born Abir moved to the Northern Territory with his family at the age of two. His parents have always supported his education but moving to Victoria to further his studies was an expensive dream not readily available. Abir was successful in his application for financial support and received the generous Mary Vernon – Country Education Foundation (CEF) Scholarship of $21,000 over three years ... Abir says, “The people you surround yourself with is your community. It can be your friendship group, your school peers and teachers or your neighbours. And when good things happen to people in your community, it rubs off on everyone.”

Barellan is now on the map when it comes to historic aircraft with the Whispering Pines Aviation Museum securing the naming rights to the Australian Aviation Museum. The museum was officially opened on Saturday by Bland Shire deputy mayor Rodney Crowe. Guests flew in from Bankstown and Wagga Wagga for the occasion with around 13 planes on the property’s dirt airstrip. Among the planes surrounded by red dust and cropping paddocks are a De Haviland Dove, Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer, a 1963 Cessna 172D, a replica Spitfire and a Clancy Sky Baby, reputedly flown by pioneer aviator Charles Kingsford Smith.

Can you quantify the impact music has had on your life? Don Hearn from Caldwell near Barham believes music is intrinsic to our DNA and is enjoyed in every culture, and in every country around the world and he is looking to share the unity that music brings to us all ... Noteworthy’s aim is to repurpose pre-loved guitars or the like and provide them to people around the globe.

Kirstin Nicholson. A turtle nest – a wonderful construction, dug by the female to lay her eggs in and filled back up to keep the eggs safe from the world until they hatch up to a year later ... Despite being backfilled, the eggs are still in danger from predators like foxes and water rats. While we may not be able to easily identify a turtle nest, unfortunately a fox can ... Graham Stockfeld from Turtles Australia has been visiting the Gunbower and Cohuna area several times a year to protect the nests and collect data.

“Fisher folk, stand-up boarders, kayakers and everyone are invited to bring their sailboats, tinnies or whatever and come along with us to stand up for our inland rivers,” says Carol Carney. Carol is the proud owner of "Sneaky Snag", a beautiful 4.8 metre long blue and white trailor-boat that floats around the Murray River and other waterways near Echuca, one of Victoria's primo river towns. At 3pm on April 16, 2021, boats of all descriptions will launch into the weir-pool above Lock 32, at Menindee in Western NSW.

With power out throughout the Midwest and extensive damage to properties in the region, the City of Greater Geraldton is reminding people to be cautious of food safety and to be asbestos aware.

For 90 years paramedics have operated from the pale brick building on Centre St in Casino. Richmond Valley mayor Robert Mustow said he’d been to the station “a few times as a young boy to get stitched up.” All that is about to change after an announcement on Friday about a modern ambulance station to replace it ... Paramedic Hayley Hemmings said they had outgrown the station: “The new station will have a lot more infrastructure, new equipment and training spaces”.

Norco Primex director Bruce Wright is ready for the event to roll next month. With all necessary covid measures in place, he is confident this will be the best Primex yet ... Norco Primex calls itself “Australia’s sustainable farm and primary industries exhibition” and says it offers a complete paddock to plate experience where farmers & foodies meet.

Every Friday afternoon stalls selling honey, fruit, vegetables and cinnamon doughnuts are set up close to the beach in the surf club car park. This is Evans Head and the market here is like no other.

Geoff Helisma. Brisbane-based company, Go Ahead Enterprises Pty Ltd, is proposing to build the two-storey building at 17 Coldstream Street at an estimated cost of $2,002,377.30. Eighteen car parking spaces will be provided on site: six spaces for the residential units – one space per dwelling plus two visitor spaces; 7.26 spaces for the chemist (one per 30m2); and, 4.3 spaces for the medical centre (one per 30m2). The proposal’s economic and social impacts statement states that the development “will make a significant contribution to the town of Yamba through the addition of valuable essential services to the local area.

Geoff Helisma. Damming the Clarence River has long been a controversial subject – and the draft regional water strategy for the north coast rules it out (for now) – but one Clarence Valley man hasn’t given up on the idea, although he’s not talking about diverting the river westwards. Lawrence resident John Ibbotson has spent considerable time and money developing his idea for a dam located downstream from where the Clarence and Mann rivers converge, despite the North Coast Regional Water Strategy discussing dam proposals under the heading “options not progressed”.

Geoff Helisma. Morgan Cibilic grew up surfing Angourie before relocating to Newcastle, where he is a member of Merewether Surfboard Club – last week he took down two-times world champion Hawaiian John John Florence at the Rip Curl Newcastle Cup, made it to the semi finals and climbed the ratings ladder to number seven in the world.

A new campaign is set to make a big difference in helping to reduce waste and provide more food security for our region. NE Waste in collaboration with Councils, Northern Rivers Food, Northern Rivers Area Health Service, NSW Environment Protection Authority and the Love Food Hate Waste Program, have been working to address issues around food waste, nutrition, food security and sustainability.