May 8, 2026
Port Macquarie Hastings Bridge Club Australia wide restricted pairs winners, Susanne Hollis and Tom Meakin.
Sport Results

Port Macquarie Hastings Bridge Club

THE Australian Bridge Federation holds a number of competitions throughout the year and a recent one, the Australia-wide restricted pairs, was for players with less than 300 Masterpoints (a term only bridge players would understand). It is a classification of a players’ level and this excludes very highly ranked players but to achieve 300 MP’s […]

Read More
OPINION: Why are young women embracing traditional gender roles?
Opinion

OPINION: Why are young women embracing traditional gender roles?

FOR decades, research and activism have highlighted the pitfalls for women when stereotypical gendered roles are prioritised in heterosexual relationships. But recent signs suggest young adults may once again be embracing the idea that men should be dominant, while women play a supporting role. In our research, we wanted to know whether young Australian adults […]

Read More
Sophie Lien wins Youth Category of 2025 Phoenix Art Prize Sophie and her winning ceramics “Superstar Stacy” & “Windy Wendy.” Photo: Sarah Jae, Photographer, Doula and Creative (via Facebook).
Local News

Sophie Lien wins Youth Category of 2025 Phoenix Art Prize

SOPHIE Lien has been recognised for her creativity and passion at this year’s Phoenix Art Prize 2025, held in Bowraville. The 22-year-old local artist won the Youth Category with her striking ceramic works of “Superstar Stacy” & “Windy Wendy.” The Phoenix Art Prize 2025 celebrates artists of all ages and abilities, providing an inclusive platform […]

Read More
Stargazing: What’s inside black holes?
Opinion

Stargazing: What’s inside black holes?

PICTURE this: somewhere out there in deep space, the universe has a few places where the rules just stop working. Gravity goes haywire, time slows down, and light itself gets trapped like a fly in honey. Welcome to the weirdest show in the cosmos – the world of black holes. A black hole is what’s […]

Read More
Guulabaa’s Big Koala features on new Monopoly board Port Macquarie MP Rob Dwyer, Hello Koalas founder Margret Maher, Deputy Mayor Nik Lipovac, and ‘Big Koala’ artist Pauline Roods unveiling the ‘Big Things Edition’.
Editor's Picks

Guulabaa’s Big Koala features on new Monopoly board

Port Macquarie MP Rob Dwyer, Hello Koalas founder Margret Maher, Deputy Mayor Nik Lipovac, and ‘Big Koala’ artist Pauline Roods unveiling the ‘Big Things Edition’. The new Monopoly board features The Big Koala in the centre. The game’s inspiration at Guulabaa, west of Port Macquarie. PORT Macquarie’s Big Koala has made the cover of Monopoly’s […]

Read More
Hastings Cancer Trust join country music fundraiser at Kew Hastings Cancer Trust directors and friends
Community, Health

Hastings Cancer Trust join country music fundraiser at Kew

HASTINGS Cancer Trust (HCT) was formed in 2005 with a goal to mobilise funding and volunteers to assist cancer patients in the region. Administration Co-ordinator Sue Ryan told News Of The Area, “We aim to fund and provide a full spectrum of equipment so that patients can be treated locally instead of travelling long distances […]

Read More
OPINION: Australian ‘fire chiefs’ are letting us down
Opinion

OPINION: Australian ‘fire chiefs’ are letting us down

THE outcry in the media from “fire chiefs”, asserting that the eastern seaboard bushfire crisis during Black Summer was the result of climate change, begs an embarrassing question. Embarrassing for the “fire chiefs” that is. “Where were you when the root cause of this crisis was being laid down in the bush over the last […]

Read More
‘Amazing’ Pink Ladies launch Christmas fundraiser The Port Macquarie Pink Ladies.
Community, Health

‘Amazing’ Pink Ladies launch Christmas fundraiser

IF you’ve ever spent time in Port Macquarie Base Hospital, it is likely that you have interacted with one of the “Pink Ladies”. This dedicated group of approximately 70 women and 30 men can be found in almost every ward of the hospital and refer to themselves as ‘gophers’. With one volunteer scheduled on most […]

Read More
Citizen scientists recording the Coffs Coast’s frogs for FrogID Week Australian Museum Lead Scientist for FrogID Dr Jodi Rowley.
Community

Citizen scientists recording the Coffs Coast’s frogs for FrogID Week

THE Australian Museum’s FrogID Week is on, finishing at midnight on Sunday 16 November. Australia’s biggest citizen science project and the world’s biggest frog count, FrogID Week encourages the public to make a meaningful contribution to scientific understanding of the world. The free FrogID app enables anyone with a smartphone to record different frog species […]

Read More