March 12, 2026
Rainbow Beaches 2026 to transform Port Macquarie Surf Club into a celebration of pride and inclusion Surf Life Saving Australia Pride Rescue Board Launch at Port Macquarie SLSC. Photo: supplied
Local News

Rainbow Beaches 2026 to transform Port Macquarie Surf Club into a celebration of pride and inclusion

Surf Life Saving Australia Pride Rescue Board Launch at Port Macquarie SLSC. Photo: supplied Jake Little racing for Port Macquarie Surf Life Saving Club. Photo: supplied PORT Macquarie will host a vibrant celebration of inclusion, pride and community when “Rainbow Beaches 2026” takes over the Port Macquarie Surf Life Saving Club (PMSLSC) at Flynns Beach. […]

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Margaret Townsend’s Memories of Port Macquarie’s Guest House in the 1940s Port Macquarie’s Manor House (formerly Carrick Guest House). Photo: supplied by Port Museum from Port News Collection.
Community

Margaret Townsend’s Memories of Port Macquarie’s Guest House in the 1940s

Margaret Townsend reflecting on life in Port Macquarie. Photo: Pauline Cain Port Macquarie’s Manor House (formerly Carrick Guest House). Photo: supplied by Port Museum from Port News Collection. MARGARET Townsend was reminded of her childhood holidays after reading recent articles in News Of The Area about the Manor House  Manor House is a former guest […]

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Government flags tougher penalties for animal cruelty including jail time for leaving dogs in hot cars Even if parked in the shade with the windows partially down, dogs can die in a car in less than six minutes. Photo: GabesDotPhotos/Pexels.
Government

Government flags tougher penalties for animal cruelty including jail time for leaving dogs in hot cars

DOG owners tempted to leave their pet in the car when they run to the shops, will soon risk tougher penalties. The State Government is delivering on its election promise to review the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979 (POCTAA), flagging heavier fines and longer jail sentences. Minister for Agriculture, Regional and Western NSW, […]

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Port Macquarie duo ‘The 2 Mums’ nominated for 2026 Spirit of Community Awards The 2 Mums, Julie Bowes and Sherrill Weidenbohm at Town Green. Photo: @The2Mums.
Community, Health

Port Macquarie duo ‘The 2 Mums’ nominated for 2026 Spirit of Community Awards

CHRONIC and terminal illnesses come at very high emotional, physical, and financial cost to individuals and their loved ones, but locals Sherill Weidenbohm and Julie Bowes are doing their best to alleviate that burden on the Mid North Coast. Known as “The 2 Mums”, they have spent the past seven years as a constant and […]

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Autism Swim’s Dippers return to Lighthouse Beach, Port Macquarie The Dippers program returns to Lighthouse Beach with inclusive beach and ocean safety.
Community

Autism Swim’s Dippers return to Lighthouse Beach, Port Macquarie

The Dippers program returns to Lighthouse Beach with inclusive beach and ocean safety. Dippers is being run in partnership with Tacking Point Surf Life Saving Club. Dippers is being run in partnership with Tacking Point Surf Life Saving Club. LIGHTHOUSE Beach in Port Macquarie will once again host Autism Swim’s inclusive beach and ocean safety […]

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Bumper summer trade for local tourism operators in Port Macquarie Billabong Zoo operations manager Blake Stone with a red panda this week. Photo: supplied.
Local News

Bumper summer trade for local tourism operators in Port Macquarie

Billabong Zoo operations manager Blake Stone with a red panda this week. Photo: supplied. Timbertown owner David Waite, pictured with Jaida from Forster, has revealed the Wauchope attraction has been very busy this summer. Photo: @Timbertown/Facebook. Town Beach has been popular with visitors this summer. Photo: Matt Taylor. TOURISM operators across the Port Macquarie-Hastings region […]

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Council sidelined as State Govt fast-tracks 18-storey development plan The Park Street site where a proposal for an 18-storey mixed-use development has been fast-tracked by the State Government. Photo: Matt Taylor.
Local News

Council sidelined as State Govt fast-tracks 18-storey development plan

THE NSW Government has stepped in to take control of a plan for a major high-rise development in the heart of Port Macquarie, declaring it State Significant without prior consultation with the local council. Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, Paul Scully, last month declared the proposal for an 18-storey mixed-use building on the corner […]

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CSU study reveals the ‘ecosystem’ feeding on great whites
National, School

CSU study reveals the ‘ecosystem’ feeding on great whites

A WORLD-FIRST study by Charles Sturt University (CSU) has identified an ecosystem of parasites inside great white sharks. The global study by researchers in CSU’s School of Agricultural, Environmental and Veterinary Sciences, and the Gulbali Institute for Agriculture Water and Environment, found evidence of at least 116 parasites inside the apex predator. Professor in Veterinary […]

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