NSW

In October 2021 Maclean Business Chamber approached Mark Stephenson from Big River Ski Club to start the conversation around bringing the Bridge-to-Bridge Ski Race back to the lower river and the traditional full course, turning at Harwood Bridge ... “The Race is a big-ticket event in the Clarence Valley with competitors and spectators coming from far and wide, to take part, or be a part of the spectacular event": President of the Chamber, Christine Tyler.

In just under a month we have run multiple stories on IndyNR.com about youth crime in Coraki ... One of those arrests is now the subject of national media interest after the family of one of the arrested boys posted graphic video of the boy handcuffed on the ground with blood on his head and drifting in and out of consciousness.

What is the council’s intention on waste and incinerators? Liz Stops asked this question in the public access time at last month’s Richmond Valley Council meeting ... The State Government has identified four sites suitable for Energy from Waste (EfW) facilities and the Richmond Valley Jobs Precinct (RJP) in Casino is one of them.

Out now!

A Blue Plaque has been installed for the first time ever in NSW as part of the popular NSW Blue Plaques program, which recognises extraordinary people and events from our State’s history. Minister for Heritage James Griffin said the Caroline Chisholm Blue Plaque in the suburb of East Maitland was the first of 21 Blue Plaques so far to be installed.

An Australian university has discovered four in five primary school students have no idea how modern milk is produced. The survey of more than 5000 Australian primary and secondary students found many had outdated ideas about where food came from, with the majority thinking cows were still milked by hand.

Tiny solar-powered, satellite backpacks are tracking one of Australia’s rarest bird species after they were released for only the second time ever in NSW as part of a conservation effort between the NSW, SA and Victorian Governments. Fifteen critically endangered Plains-wanderers have been released into Oolambeyan National Park in the NSW Riverina, which was protected in perpetuity in 2002 due to its high conservation value in protecting critical habitat for the Plains-wanderer.

Rex Mansfield, a roving painter is in town working on some much needed repainting of the town’s old business fronts and iconic installations. He has started in Ray Hunter Park where he is putting the finishing touches to the “Barkindji Fish”, the original creation of the late Karen Riley. The Barrow & Co steam engine has been finished.

‘The NSW Coalition and the Shooters Fishers Farmers Party have condemned the Darling/Baaka to longer periods of dry riverbed with stagnant slimy pools. This decline in river health started when floodplain harvesting exploded upstream during the 1990’s. The NSW Government has rewarded decades of unsustainable and unregulated water use with new licences while conducting no assessment of the downstream impacts on Darling/Baaka communities, native fish populations, groundwater recharge and important wetland areas’: Brian Stevens, spokesperson for Inland Rivers Network.

"As artist and mentor, Sunno is a key part of the Wilcannia community. His practice across textiles, printmaking, carving and more are intrinsically tied to his role as a community educator, and tell stories of family and his home along the Barka."

State-wide surveillance will be strengthened to ensure NSW beekeepers have greater flexibility to continue their operations, through a new Varroa Mite Emergency Order ... Minister for Agriculture Dugald Saunders said changes to the Emergency Order will increase the surveillance registered beekeepers are required to conduct each year.

Out now!

Plan Bee, Australia’s national honey bee genetic improvement program has had its hives at Tocal Agricultural College euthanised as part of the all-of-industry response to the 2022 varroa mite incursion. Prior to the hive euthanasia, selected highest value queen bees were removed securely and re-homed to ensure these genetics are banked for future breeding and research.  

Health leaders gathered on 16 September for an emergency health summit in Lismore to urge the State and Federal Governments to immediately support healthcare services in the region ... “It’s been more than six months since the floods devastated the region and many healthcare service providers have yet to recover”: AMA President, Professor Steve Robson.

Ivanhoe Dry Times Truck, Tractor, Car and Bike Show 1-2 October, 2022

Agricultural Pastoral & Show Society of Lockhart Inc. The Lockhart community is excited to once again be holding its annual show on Sunday 25th September...

Ali Bohn. The world was informed of the news last Thursday that Her Majesty the Queen had passed away at the impressive age of 96; not a bad innings for anyone, least of all for someone who is often considered as having the most important position in the world ... So, what are your thoughts on the Queen’s passing and our new king?

A cold and windy day with fleeting glimpses of sunshine set the stage at the Nullawil Football Grounds for the Golden Rivers Finals. The action was hot and so too were some tempers as passions ran high ... Murrabit walking away as A Grade netball premiers in the ’22 Golden Rivers Football Netball League season.

Kirstin Nicholson. Cohuna’s Dean Smith has just returned from the Royal Adelaide Show with a haul of Grand Champion ribbons. Dean and his family own Strzboer Goat Stud and breed Fullblood Boer Goats, the fullblood meaning that there is traceability with genetics back to South Africa. With 10 years of showing experience at Sydney Royal Easter Show and numerous local and interstate shows, Adelaide had been beckoning.

The Department of Planning and Environment has had more than 100 interactions with First Nations people on environmental water, including Wiradjuri elder Michael Lyons, of Narrandera. Mr Lyons said one per cent of water in the Murrumbidgee River was allocated to Aboriginal people for cultural or environmental use and there needed to be improved communication about where that allocated water ended up.

... the 2022 Canola Trail experience - a self-drive immersive experience filled with good food, exciting experiences, and incredible views ... The 2022 Canola Trail flowering season was launched at a media brunch held at the Junee Licorice and Chocolate Factory on Saturday.

Narrandera's treetop residents will take centre stage at the inaugural Koala Festival at the Narrandera Showground on Saturday ... It is being held to promote Narrandera’s free-ranging koala colony ... the colony is Narrandera’s tourism trump card and one of the shire’s greatest natural assets.