An exterior inspection demonstration. Photo: supplied. The participant workshop. Photo: supplied. LOCALS from Pappinbarra and surrounding areas gathered on Sunday 9 November at Hollisdale Hall, for a Community Resilience Workshop. The two-hour event focused on boosting bushfire preparedness and strengthening local infrastructure. Resilient Building Council CEO Kate Cotter said, “It’s exciting to see local communities […]

OVER a thousand children and teachers from 22 schools across the Mid North Coast took part in the Inspired Readers Festival from 11 to 13 November. Students met authors and illustrators who encouraged them to read, write, draw and dream bigger. For many, including the 300 students sponsored to attend, it was a rare opportunity […]

HASTINGS Neighbourhood Services has launched its annual Christmas appeal. Last year the organisation supported more than 250 families doing it tough. A spokesperson for Hastings Neighbourhood Services said they were grateful for the community’s generosity. The team hopes locals will help again by donating gifts and essential items. They are calling for new, unwrapped gifts […]

HIGH school students from Heritage Christian School had the chance to learn about local government and discuss issues first-hand in a mock council meeting hosted by Mayor Adam Roberts on Monday. Thirteen students from years 7 to 12 visited Port Macquarie Hastings Council chambers where Mayor Roberts explained the three tiers of government – local, […]

INVESTIGATORS have added drink driving to the charges against a 22-year-old man involved in a fatal crash on the Oxley Highway. About 9.15pm on Saturday 6 September, emergency services were called to the highway near Port Macquarie following reports a Toyota utility and a Holden hatchback had crashed head-on. The driver of the hatchback, a […]

ALL sectors have weighed in on the Federal Coalition’s decision to abandon Net Zero by 2050. This major tool for combatting climate change involves balancing the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere with the amount removed. Patrick Leyland, Chief Digital Officer at Populares and former Director of Digital Campaigns for the Australian Labor […]

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 […]

Laurieton RSL sub-Branch President Allan ‘Buster’ Beatty and Port Macquarie Mayor Adam Roberts at the Laurieton service. Photo: PMHC. Mayor Adam Roberts lays a wreath at the cenotaph in Laurieton. Photo: PMHC. The Port Macquarie Hastings Municipal Band plays at the Port Macquarie service. Photo: Pat Conaghan MP FB. The solemn service in Port Macquarie […]

MARINE Rescue NSW volunteers across the Mid North Coast have experienced their busiest start to a boating season on record, with 33 search and rescue missions including 19 emergency responses during October. A total of 56 people were safely returned to shore last month across all nine Mid North Coast units – Woolgoolga, Coffs Harbour, […]

IN 2019 Sarah Eade was a busy wife and mum working in the aged care and disability support sector, until a workplace accident changed everything. Subsequent surgical treatment resulted in a permanent spinal cord injury, leaving her a full-time wheelchair user. At the time, her family was living in a house in Port Macquarie that […]