Ostler family descendants Leanne Ostler, Ray Lee, and Chris Trotter outside River Cottage.
IN 1929 Alf and Valma Ostler built a home for their family on Ocean Drive, North Haven and subsequently began selling fishing tackle and groceries out of their front room. As holidaymakers started flocking to the area, Alf built a row of cottages that are still standing today. Their granddaughter Chris Trotter, a keen family […]
Youth Parliament offers young people the opportunity to debate in NSW Parliament, create Youth Bills on issues for change, and have their voices and recommendations heard by Members of Parliament.
THE Y NSW is calling for passionate young people from across the state to apply for the 2026 Youth Parliament program, now open to students in Years 10 to 12 across NSW. Operated for over 20 years by the Y NSW (formerly YMCA), Youth Parliament offers young people the opportunity to debate in NSW Parliament, […]
Sarah Eade with the staff of HEM Real Estate.
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 […]
Invasive Species Council’s Citizen Science Coordinator Jess Ward-Jones. Photo: Hayden Starr.
FROM 17-23 November, Australians are being urged to step outside and discover the secret world beneath their feet. Bugs in My Backyard Week is a new national initiative encouraging families, schools and nature lovers to photograph and record the mini-beasts living all around them. It coincides with the official launch of a national citizen-science project […]
By Jennifer DUDLEY-NICHOLSON, AAP
ENERGY retailers say they’ve been blindsided by reforms promising free electricity to hundreds of thousands of Australians during peak solar power hours. The Solar Sharer program, announced by the federal government last Tuesday, would give consumers free access to electricity for three hours each day as part of the default offer available. Households in NSW, […]
Supermoons are the closest to earth. Photo Greg Higgins.
Supermoons are the closest to earth. Photo Greg Higgins. The moon was 30% brighter than normal. Photo: Sis Higgins. SKYWATCHERS across the Mid North Coast looked to the heavens on Tuesday night as the biggest and brightest moon of 2025 rose over the horizon. Dennis Hughes, one of the amateur astronomers at the Port Macquarie […]
The Nationals make their net zero announcement at Parliament House. Photo: supplied.
THE Nationals have set up a possible showdown with their political ally the Liberals after unanimously agreeing to scrap their commitment to net zero emissions by 2050. The regional party argues Australia is doing more than its fair share to reduce carbon pollution, and emissions reductions should instead be tied to an average of similar […]
Ruth Durant, Mayor Adam Roberts, President Dr Caterine Settle, Susanne Pritchard and Dan Abei. Photo: supplied.
Ruth Durant, Mayor Adam Roberts, President Dr Caterine Settle, Susanne Pritchard and Dan Abei. Photo: supplied. HHH Secretary Jenny Delroy thanks members and volunteers. Photo: supplied. CURRENT and past members of Hastings Home Hospice (HHH) gathered for a special afternoon tea on Thursday 30 October at the Lions Club in Port Macquarie. The event was […]
Dr Baerin Houghton explains how the EBUS diagnostic equipment works. Photo: supplied.
Dr Baerin Houghton explains how the EBUS diagnostic equipment works. Photo: supplied. Mary Trotter, Wauchope Palliative Care Unit, accepts the grant certificate from Brendon and Kate Roods at the 2024 awards. Photo: supplied Nasendoscope funded by HCT, in use. Photo: supplied THE Hastings Cancer Trust’s 2025 fundraising year will end on Thursday 13 November, with […]
Bicycles are among the items that can be repaired. Photo: PMHC.
THE Port Macquarie Repair Fair 2025 is being held on Sunday 16 November from 10am to 1pm at the Port Macquarie Library. The event showcases local repairers, reusers and recyclers helping to build a more sustainable community. The fair features hands-on workshops, live demonstrations, a car-boot sale, and creative market stalls that exhibit the region’s […]
