Life

Approximately 60 people of various nationalities attended the 2025 Harmony Day celebrations held at the Nhill Memorial Community Centre on Thursday 20 March 2025. Hindmarsh Shire Council Mayor, Cr Ron Ismay, hosted the evening and explained that the event was being held to celebrate and acknowledge both Harmony Week and Cultural Diversity Week...

BlazeAid is a volunteer-based organisation that works with families and individuals in rural Australia after natural disasters such as fires, cyclones, droughts and floods. Working alongside the rural families, our volunteers help to rebuild fences and other structures that have been damaged or destroyed.

Last week, Nhill's own Ava returned home to a very special moment—ringing the bell to mark the end of her cancer treatment for the second time in four years. It was a hard-won milestone, celebrated with love and emotion at the Royal Children's Hospital, where staff gathered to honour her incredible bravery.

Sebastian Calderon. A well-known Riverlander will test his mental and physical limits as part of a popular reality TV series, premiering today ... “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to really find your limits and we don’t get that opportunity often": Ben Grieger.

The Federal Budget for 2025-26 is a mixed bag for rural, regional and remote Australia in terms of funding for healthcare. While certain aspects of the budget benefit rural populations, there is a lack of a targeted strategy to address the unique health challenges these communities face.

...statement from the chief executive of the Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals (BCCM), Melina Morrison, on the Federal Budget ... “The significant expansion of aged care and housing policies unveiled in the Federal Budget will ensure many Australians can now rightly expect a better quality of life.

This tight-knit town of 86 residents is deeply committed to supporting one another, with nearly half the community recently coming together at the community hall to strengthen connections, share perspectives, and build a Community Emergency Management Plan to face challenges with confidence.

The steam engine at Donald Lions Train Park received a much-needed preparatory wash on the weekend from CFA members of the Donald Fire Brigade. The train is scheduled for a facelift and required washing prior to being painted by Geoff Blake.

Sarah Herrmann. A fight for justice has begun after revelations that neither ElectraNet nor SA Power Networks are required to compensate customers for the up to 20-hour power and telecommunications outages that hit Yorke Peninsula on Friday, March 14. Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis told the South Australian Parliament on Tuesday, March 18 there is no regulated compensation scheme for transmission network failures...

Rachel Hagan. Community consultation on the Yorke Peninsula for the Regional Shark Mitigation Project has begun, with Surf Life Saving South Australia visiting southern YP.

Lorraine Dutton aka Lawless is a Barkandji woman, born in Broken Hill, raised in Bourke with a deep connection to Wilcannia. Back in 2017, Lorraine teamed up with Desert Pea Media (DPM) ... Lorraine has continued her work with DPM and is now being paid to improve her skills as a singer/ songwriter.

The Barkandji Rangers are coordinated by the Barkandji Native Title Group Aboriginal Cooperation (BNTGAC). The program is a ‘career pathway for Barkandji Traditional Owners’, a stepping stone to further employment with organisations such as NSW National Parks.

Central Darling Shire Council has announced that the Campervan and Motorhome Club of Australia Limited (CMCA) has declared Wilcannia an RV Friendly Town. The CMCA has grown since 1986 to become the largest recreational vehicle (RV) club in the southern hemisphere, now boasting over 68,000 members and a fleet of more than 34,000 vehicles.

Regional and rural leaders must navigate ongoing challenges that require resilience, creativity, and a strong sense of community. Indeed, the mere nature of living in the bush requires a timeless set of qualities which require constant practice and application. It seems many of these qualities are being lost or diminished with our next generation of city-based leaders.

“Without the actions of Captain Burke, the driver of truck would have perished in the fire. His actions on this day were courageous, selfless and in the finest traditions of CFA volunteer firefighting. The CFA is pleased to award Captain Burke the Chief Officer’s Commendation for Courage.”

Leader of The Nationals David Littleproud said the Teals' 'fake online news site', funded by Teal donors, is extremely misleading to local communities and harmful to regional Australian media organisations. Mr Littleproud said it is disappointing the Teals have launched online 'Gazette News' in a bid to deceive residents...

An elderly Denmark man paid the airfares for his niece and her husband to come to WA from England so he could move his life savings from Bank West to the Commonwealth Bank. The couple’s airfares cost Kevin Doherty, 87, $6100 for the niece to help him with drawing up his will as well as the bank transfers for term deposits because he is unable to do online banking.

Former pharmacist and Denmark Shire councillor Adrian Hinds, 87, wants banks to allow non-computer users to make cheque payments when cash is not appropriate ... He prefers to use cheques believing there are insufficient protections for bank customers from fraudulent electronic transfers from their accounts.

Representatives of Inland Rail and Illabo to Stockinbingal contractor John ... be at the session at The Rules Club, 188 Fernleigh Road, Wagga Wagga, between 9am and 11am on Tuesday 18 March ... The Meet the Contractor events are intended to provide local and First Nations businesses and communities with a greater understanding of the opportunities available with the project.

The cancellation of the recent Cohuna Bridge to Bridge fund raiser has created ripples through the halls of power in Melbourne and is still causing discussion about the huge jump in traffic management fees ... After The Bridge ran the story in our March 6 edition, we received a call from the Premier’s office asking to have more input into the story ...