Rod Harding. It’s a funny thing, Christmas. Almost all of us celebrate Christmas in some fashion. For many, it’s a no-holds-barred occasion, with all the decorations, the food and presents, and all the family gathered together, maybe more than just once.

Over fifty people gathered on Friday to celebrate the pop-up launch of the Wiregrass mural at the Kaniva Post Office. The mural depicts townsfolk queuing at the Post Office—a scene that celebrates the spirit of rural life when such places were essential for keeping communities connected.

Cyclone Tracy devastated Darwin on Christmas Day 50 years ago. By dawn, on what is supposed to be a joyous day, at least 50 people were dead, 17 were lost at sea, hundreds injured and about 45,000 people were homeless ... Fifty years on, the night of hell on Earth remains with many survivors still alive. They will never forget their houses exploding into pieces as they tried to shelter from the cyclone. Christmas has never been the same for them.

Jessica Howard’s Bush Wisdom brings together a collection of stories and photos of people from across rural Australia in the places they call home ... It is 240 pages of words and images that are a feast for the eyes as well as for the soul. If you live in rural Australia, so many of the images feel like home, although there is such a variety of locations that there are new landscapes to explore for everyone.

French-born violinist Marie Limondin clearly remembers the day she bought her much-loved violin.  She was 12-years-old and it was already clear to everyone that Marie was not only a passionate player, she was also a very good one.  When the day came to upgrade her child’s violin to an adult-sized instrument Marie, along with her music teacher and parents, headed to Paris’ legendary rue de Rome ...

I am a co-founder and Chair of a business (My Word) that enables families to capture the life stories of their loved elders. Storytelling is the oldest and most accurate way to pass on history and wisdom. To know where you have come from is to know who you are ... The elderly, with decades of life behind them, offer unique insights into what it means to lead effectively and meaningfully.

The Man from Snowy River Tourism Association in conjunction with the Memorial Hall, RSL subbranch and Upper Murray Historical Society is working on a new addition to Corryong’s Avenue of Honour. The Avenue of Honour was first planted in 1918 to commemorate the 122 servicemen from Corryong, Colac Colac, Nariel and Khancoban who left the district to serve in World War I.

On Saturday, January 11, Watchem Church will have its proverbial roof lifted by the musical stylings of Taylor Sheridan and Brooke Taylor. Doors open at 7 p.m. for an 8 p.m. start at the “old church on the hill” and is bound to be an impressive night of country music for all.

Jackie Noonan. Standing proudly at the heart of the Wycheproof community is a remarkable former school building which has been beautifully restored to honour academic heritage while offering new life inspiration as the home to an impressive local history museum collection ... One could say there was no better place to host the recent book launch of “Wycheproof and District – The Way it Was”, as here it felt especially fitting; the space embodied the very heritage and pride that Prof’s work captures.

Karen Welsh. The Nimbin Diversity exhibition, held at the invitation of the Gunnedah Bicentennial Regional Gallery, has been a new and interesting experience for both the Nimbin Artists Gallery and many of our local artists. Gunnedah could be considered to have many different values to our local region – a hot dry climate, large monoculture agriculture and a vast coal mining industry across the scenic Liverpool Plains.

Sarah Herrmann. An exhibition featuring works by two Narungga artists has been recognised with a statewide award. Saltbush Country, a Country Arts SA curation of seven regional Indigenous artists’ works, won the Outstanding Regional Event or Project ... Narungga sisters Deanna Newchurch and Lynette Newchurch worked together to create a major element of the exhibition — a possum-skin cloak thought to be the first of its kind made in more than 100 years.

Tweed Regional Museum is excited to announce the launch of its latest exhibition, How to Draw a Dinosaur, an innovative fusion of science and art bringing the captivating world of dinosaurs to life. The exhibition celebrates the creativity and collaboration that help us imagine and understand the dinosaurs that roamed the Earth millions of years ago. 

Georgie Ah Ling, Donald’s famous market gardener has been immortalised on the wall of the town’s “modern market” thanks to a Donald 2000 initiative and the creative talents of Melbourne-artist Heesco. This incredible artwork tells Georgie Ah Ling’s story and his remarkable contributions to the Donald community.

Keith Castle, now aged 93, was one of the most influential figures in The Centre’s budding tourism industry. Editor Erwin Chlanda picked some gems from his 164 page memoir about the people who devoted their lives to developing the region’s visitor industry. They are only a handful of men and women but they all had skin in the game ... Governments barely get a mention.

Patricia Gill. Shamara de Tissera began to play the harp as a young woman when pregnant with her son and no longer able to do eurythmia ... With her move to Denmark and first performance directing the Hildegard Harp Meditation at the Brave New Works Festival in January, she brought a wave of interest in the instrument.

Patricia Gill. Zak Launay has won the inaugural Denmark Arts sculpture competition’s big works section with Anemophilous Recyclum, a windbox designed to harvest the energy of winds ... The windbox is made of metal, wood and glass recycled from ‘bits collected here and there’ and, according to Zak, does what a windbox is supposed to do.

Honor Auchinleck. Artist Simon White’s mural ‘The Men and their Mounts’ in Corryong tells the story of the bush horses or brumbies and the stockmen who mustered and brought them down from the High Country and the bush-covered hills surrounding the Upper Murray before the First World War. The breeders of the Remounts and Walers often turned the young horses out into the bush to toughen them up and then brought them back in as four-year-olds for sale to buyers for the British Army in India.

Two larger than life figures have been seen at the front of the Gunbower Soldiers Memorial Hall and are attracting a lot of attention. The figures are painted silhouettes depicting a World War I soldier and a World War II nurse and hang either side of the entrance to the Gunbower Soldiers Memorial Hall – not to be missed as you approach the building or drive by.

A captivating chapter of Tasmania's industrial heritage - a story of history, engineering, and environmental stewardship that celebrates innovation and resilience in Tasmania's wild west ...The story culminates with the remarkable Lake Margaret Hydroelectric Power Scheme - a testament to ingenuity and the enduring legacy of wooden pipelines.

Creativity within the silo world will take a new twist in Rainbow’s addition to the Silo Art Trail. Contractors are preparing to start construction of the Llew Schilling Silo Tourism Development within the next week or so. However, this innovative project will offer much more than one large-scale painting on the outside of a silo, according to Hindmarsh Shire CEO Monica Revell.