The optic in the lighthouse in the late 1940s. The optic today, celebrating 146 years of lighting up. ONE hundred and forty-six years since its first illumination, the South Solitary Island Lighthouse optic will be lit to celebrate the milestone on Sunday 15 March. Following meticulous restoration work, the historic optic was installed in a […]
A NEW $50 million fund aimed at building community connections and supporting events in regional areas has been announced by the NSW Government. The Active Regional Communities Package delivers funding through three streams for non-profit local community groups, local councils and cultural or sporting organisations to deliver events, programs and activities. $15 million for Regional […]
Festival organisers Sarah Wright, Cole Flett and Jo Ware. Photo: Jessica Miller.
Festival organisers Sarah Wright, Cole Flett and Jo Ware. Photo: Jessica Miller. Rhiannon Mitchell from Saltwater Sistas, with science student and creative Amelia Hookway-Jones from Millie By The Sea. Photo: Jessica Miller. Jennie Fenton and Mala spoke at the event on women’s rights, access and inclusion. Photo: Jessica Miller. SARAH Wright, Cole Flett and Jo […]
Lecturer Gill Nicol with Jane Sturrock Nash, Peggy Zephyr, Alison Page and Sarah Mufford.
ARTSNATIONAL Coffs Coast began its 2026 season with a Sunday afternoon presentation that included a lively discussion panel with four local creatives. “It was a new style of event for ArtsNational and it worked well,” spokesperson Annie Talvé told News Of The Area. Australian-based, British born arts educator, Gill Nicol, delivered a masterclass in “creativity […]
City Centre Masterplan Committee Chair Oliver Gee said the pending opening of the Highway Bypass will be a watershed moment for the Coffs Harbour CBD.
CITY of Coffs Harbour Council has voted to recoup CBD Special Business Rate revenue deferred in 2020/21 due to Covid. The move comes after Council’s City Centre Masterplan Committee asked for options to continue funding activation initiatives in the city centre. In reviewing available options, City staff presented the option of ‘catching up’ the shortfall […]
FOUR-YEAR funding is being made available to local organisations to combat the impact of priority weeds, updating a previously annual grant program. The new $40.7 million NSW Weeds Action Program (WAP) is a key component of the NSW Government’s Biosecurity Action Plan, with funding being provided to 97 Local Control Authorities (LCA). Minister for Agriculture […]
Bridge Construction and Maintenance apprentice Maddi Ormsby. Photo: NSW Gov.
SEVENTY-ONE new apprentices and trainees are kicking off their careers at Transport for NSW worksites this month. From filling potholes to rebuilding flood‑damaged roads, planning major works and maintaining heavy vehicles, the new Roads Maintenance and Resilience recruits will join and support frontline teams strengthening the state’s transport network. Following group inductions in Wollongong, Newcastle […]
‘Affordable Housing’, by Pete Gailey, 2025 Sculpture/3D category winner. Photo: supplied/Pete Gailey. ‘The Never Never Bejewelled’, by Coco Elder, 2025 Landscape category winner. Photo: supplied/Coc Elder. ONE of the region’s favourite art competitions, the EJ Mantova Art Prize, is again open for entries with the hope this year will bring yet another record-breaking number of […]
Clean Up volunteers from Toormina community and Sawtell Dunecare. Photo: Dave Wood.
TOORMINA Bushland’s contribution to Clean Up Australia Day resulted in a trailer load of general rubbish, collected within two hours. The event was organised by local resident Brian Steele and included community members and volunteers from Sawtell Dunecare. They worked around the Toormina Community Centre. “While areas adjacent to pathways were generally pretty clean, it […]
DEAR News Of The Area, THEIR mothers were young and naive when they left Australia to marry ISIS fighters. They were barely children themselves. Allowing them to live in filth and squalor is a breeding ground for radicalisation, let alone shortening their lives due to malnourishment and disease. They are Australian citizens and above all […]
