NSW

Emma Pritchard. It was the perfect opportunity for the local hockey community to showcase their skills and home turf pride when the Grafton Hockey Association hosted the Men’s Masters Over 50’s State Championships last weekend ... “For Grafton to be able to host a tournament of that calibre in these current times, and for it to make a significant contribution to the local economy is a big thing for the community,” said President of the Men’s Masters Peter Gibbons.

Geoff Helisma. Clarence Head Longboarders is holding its third annual invitational surfing competition at Turners Beach, Yamba, over the upcoming long weekend June 11–14 ... this weekend’s event is just the second invitational competition to be held on the north coast since the Covid pandemic arrived.

As a cold front moves across NSW, bringing with it rain and below average temperatures, Local Land Services is urging livestock producers to prepare for the conditions.

Forestry Corporation had targeted its plantation forests for harvesting over the last 12 months to help keep up with strong demands in the building industry, setting the scene for the record 2021 planting season, said Roading and Plantations Manager, Craig Busby ... The IPCC recognises that sustainably managed production forests that maintain carbon in growing trees while producing an annual yield of timber deliver a large, sustained climate change mitigation benefit.

Environment Minister, Matt Kean has today announced the second largest land acquisition for national parks in the last 10 years with the purchase of the neighbouring Langidoon and Metford stations, 65km east of Broken Hill. The plan for the two properties, totaling 60,468 hectares, is to create a new outback reserve conserving significant biodiversity and Aboriginal heritage in the region ... The purchase follows on from the recent creation of another outback reserve - Narriearra Caryapundy Swamp National Park which was the largest purchase of private land for the national parks estate.

Jeff Hanson, NSW Country and Picnic Racing. Saturday’s Willow Tree Cup meeting at Quirindi Jockey Club is shaping up as a big event both on and off the track. 112 runners have been nominated for the six-race-program which will be headlined by the Willow Tree Cup, a 1000m Benchmark 50 Handicap that has attracted 25 potential runners.

Moruya Jockey Club

Kirstin Nicholson. It was a crazy few hours on Wednesday, May 26, when the Cohuna Kangas announced on its Facebook page that a person who attended their footy and netball matches on Saturday, May 22 had since tested positive for COVID-19. ... The town was sent into a flurry. Apart from the Kangas’ Facebook post, there was no official community-wide notification, and no official government announcement, leaving many wondering what was happening. The old bush telegraph was working at full capacity and social media was running wild.

CMEFG. Over the last two weeks Central Murray Environmental Floodplains Group has engaged on-ground managers of federal and state government departments responsible for the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, federal and state environmental water and its delivery, and the North Central Catchment Management Authority ... Passionate community angst was voiced continually throughout the day about present management of the forest contra to what has been publicly written and posted by government departmental staff.

The Murrumbidgee valley’s multi-million dollar winter cereal crop has dodged a bullet with minimal mouse damage and recent rain lifting grower’s spirits ... The promising cropping outlook and buoyant land values have resulted in three blue-ribbon corporate holdings in the region hitting the market in the same week.

Nicholas Rupolo. Barellan Two Blues are now in seventh place after a slim nine-point victory over Coleambally Blues in a drama filled game during round eight of the Farrer League. The Two Blues defeated Coleambally 32-23 away from home for just their second win of the season despite the game being called off in the third quarter.

Check the form of some of the winners at Beef Week at Casino.

Greg Targett said he is here to make hard decisions. He was a publican in Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory for years and owned his first hotel in the Territory in 1988 when he was 20 ... Now in ‛semi-retirement’, he lives in Yamba and is the new chief executive of Club Evans.

The Evans Head Men's Shed is where the blokes meet to have a cup of tea and a chat. They make things – but that isn’t the point, says Greg Davies. It’s about the mateship. Without it he wouldn’t have got through his wife’s death, he said.

This year's theme for World Environmental Day 2021 is "Ecosystem Restoration" in line with commencement of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Knox Park is a hosting venue on June 6 from 10am- 3pm.

After a year without live theatre, the Pelican Playhouse is proud to present their first production of 2021, Stories in the Dark, a moving celebration of the power of stories to sustain us during difficult times. From acclaimed Australian playwright, Debra Oswald comes the story of Tomas, a terrified young boy who finds himself alone in a war-torn city.