Life

Troy Billin has been catching premium quality seafood and selling it to some of the country’s top restaurants for more than 25 years and last week the second-generation commercial fisherman was awarded for his exceptional quality products when he was announced as the 2024 Sydney Fish Market Seafood Excellence award winner in the Primary Producer category.

The deaths of 26 women in the first 114 days of 2024 is equivalent to one every 4.38 days ... In the Buloke Shire for the year end September 2023, 58 incidents of family violence were reported to Victoria Police and 75 per cent of all reported victims – survivors of family violence in the Buloke region – were female.

Mike Gillam. Travelling south, I leave Alice Springs before first light and I’m rewarded and indeed frustrated by a brilliant meteor plummeting to earth in the south west. The heavenly body is primarily bright green with an orange tail and I fail to capture it even though the camera sits on the seat beside me ready for such moments.

National online removalist booking platform Muval has joined forces with one of Australia’s leading population geographers to create an Australian-first real-time migration model which provides an instant ranking for Australian areas based on how many people are moving in and out.

I can see you admiring my library, You’re most welcome to stand there and look, But if you want our friendship to last past today, You won’t ask to borrow a book. “Oh! I’d love to read this one,“ you chortle, As you pull out the best from the rack ...

On Monday guests at The Homestead in Allora were treated to an unexpected performance by two accomplished musicians who were visiting the town. It all started just outside Allora when the caravanning couple from South Australia had car trouble ... While this is unfortunate for the visitors it has been a bonus for Allora.

Volunteering rates Australia-wide are yet to fully recover to their pre-Covid levels, according to new research. Newstead Men’s Shed is no exception when it comes to attracting volunteers.

Marching in Maldon’s 2024 Anzac Day parade, wearing his great-grandfather’s medals, was William Govier. William’s step great-grandfather was Richard (Dick) Cox, who served with great bravery in the army in New Guinea in World War II.

Thousands of Queenslanders have come out in support of the small far north community of Mossman, calling on the State Government to keep the local sugar mill operating to help underpin investment in the community ... The single biggest employer in the region, Mossman Mill went into liquidation last month, casting a pall over the local sugar industry and the community it has supported for over a century ... the e-petition closes on Sunday ...

Local Buloke Shire Young Citizen of the year (2024), Blake Lee, and Birchip P-12 teacher, Marian Haddrick, have created an advertisement for the township of Birchip to encourage a swell in population to take up the available employment opportunities in the region.  

The discovery of fire ants near Oakey has set off alarm bells across the eastern Darling Downs with authorities taking action to treat and maintain monitoring of the activity. A member of the public reported the nests on Tuesday 16 April, with initial surveillance and treatment conducted by the program the next day.

Phone lines to the Lucindale Health Centre have been reconnected during times local nurses are rostered on duty. From Reedy Creek, Keilira and Woolumbool to Spence, Callendale, Furner, Biscuit Flat, Greenways and everywhere in between - the Lucindale community can once again ring the local health centre they built themselves.

Northern District Community Health is leading a charge to have a rainbow flag flown on Gannawarra Shire Council’s buildings annually. The shire attempted to pass the change without community consultation at last week's council meeting by including it in the proposed Council Policy No. 148—Flags Review.

The region needs more volunteer firefighters. That’s the call from SA Volunteers Firefighters Museum (SAVFFM) chairman Alan Hall ... Mr Hall highlighted this as the SAVFFM held its ninth memorial service ... to honour those who have given their lives protecting homes and lives from fires across the state.

Kim Woods. Two community stalwarts, John Gavel and Sarina Saffioti, were honoured with life memberships at the Leeton Jockey Club’s 80th anniversary celebrations on Saturday ... Canberra Indonesian teacher and fashionista Sally Martin made it back-to-back wins in the Most Fashionable Lady in the competitive Fashions on the Field Competition.

It’s a good thing Englishman Peter Shuttleworth loves chatting to strangers when he’s holidaying. If he hadn’t struck up a conversation with the also holidaying John and Glenda Cleave back in 2013, he would never have discovered Cohuna ... once he heard there was a clay target club down the road, he came back for the club’s annual Anzac Day Shoot the following year – and kept coming.

According to vehicle marketplace Car Sales, 1,216,780 vehicles were purchased in Australia in 2023, breaking the previous record of 1,189,116, set in 2017. But what is the most popular?

New leaders emerged at the Wimmera Agricultural Societies Association’s Annual General Meeting on Sunday, April 15. Former Secretary and new Treasurer, Andrea Cross representing the Horsham Agricultural Society, said the two new leaders bring wisdom and innovation to the team.

“Bandages won’t fix broken promises”, is a grassroots campaign led by the Shire of Ashburton, following community demand to get the Minister for Health, Amber-Jade Sanderson, to follow through on her election promise to build the new Tom Price Hospital. The Tom Price community was promised a new hospital on 26 February 2021 as part of the 2021 State Election.