The Illawarra Edible Garden Trail returns, featuring diverse gardens from Helensburgh to Gerringong. Hosts like Oliver Risi and April Sampson-Kelly will share their expertise in urban permaculture and food forests. Running over two weekends, the event encourages visitors to learn practical gardening skills and explore local food security initiatives. Organisers emphasise the importance of showcasing what can be grown in different microclimates across the region. The trail, supported by local partners, aims to inspire sustainable living and community connection through gardening.
North Illawarra Probus, one of Australia's oldest branches, has existed for 47 years. The club meets monthly at the Woonona Bulli RSL, where guest speakers give practical talks to members. President Shelley Tough says the group has built lasting friendships, though membership fell after Covid. Members, now about 60, take part in trips, lunches and games days. The next meeting is on Tuesday, 13 October at 10.30am, with cellist Tanya Phillips as guest speaker.
Kiama Community Radio is hosting Blues in the Night, a fundraising event on Saturday 7 November at Kiama Leagues Club. The station, run by volunteers, is seeking support to fund its equipment, technology and facilities. Headliner Frank Sultana will perform alongside Shane Flew and Matt Ross, and Jr and the Jewel-Tones, which includes Kiama musician Dave Shaw. Doors open at 5 pm. Tickets cost $50, or $40 for station members, plus a booking fee. Every ticket sold supports the station, which has operated since 2020.
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Will Lee has served 56 years with the NSW Rural Fire Service, which he began after helping fight a major fire in the northern Illawarra in 1968. He joined the Austinmer Bushfire Brigade in 1970 and went on to hold several leadership roles, including Group Captain. He was recognised with a National Medal with a fourth clasp at a recent ceremony, where his daughter Belinda Lee also received a 40-year Long Service Medal. Will now focuses on training young firefighters. He says the job of an old firefighter is to teach young firefighters to become old firefighters.
Sexual assault complainants could face less distressing questioning in court under proposed changes. Wollongong District Court is one of three NSW courts chosen to trial new rules on how long questioning can last and what topics can be covered. The trial would run from 2027 to 2030 if passed by NSW Parliament. The Illawarra Women's Trauma Recovery Centre has welcomed the reforms, backed by $4.8 million in government funding. Attorney General Michael Daley said the changes would minimise trauma for complainants.
Wollongong's Illawarra Indigenous Business Expo has grown to 67 stalls since its 2023 debut. Nearly 600 people attended the fourth expo at Novotel. Organiser Maiquilla Brown, who runs the event through her Bimbala Collective business, said many visitors were non-Indigenous allies. Exhibitors included weavers, tradespeople, a plant nursery and a dairy launching in Western Sydney. Wollongong's Lord Mayor, Tania Brown, said the council started the expo with 30 businesses and now has over 65.
Seven filmmakers from the Illawarra region have made the finals of the SmartFone Flick Fest, the world's largest smartphone film festival. Three of the 13 films picked for the main gala finals at the Sydney Opera House come from the region. The festival, now in its 12th year, was founded to make filmmaking accessible to anyone with a phone. Its director, Angela Blake, said the region has a lot of talent. The festival runs from Saturday, 31 October to Sunday, 1 November at the Opera House and White Bay Power Station.
The Eastern Dwarf Tree Frog has been named October's frog of the month. It is found along eastern Australia and is very common within its range. Growing up to 2.5 centimetres, the frog makes a sharp, loud call for its size. It is usually found around ponds or swamps with plenty of reeds or sedge. A photographer spotted a male basking on a Lomandra bush beside the duck pond at the University of Wollongong, and in spring has counted up to 20 frogs in that single bush.
Australian Alexander Volkanovski defended his UFC featherweight title with a second-round TKO of unbeaten Russian Movsar Evloev in Abu Dhabi. The referee stopped the fight with six seconds of the second round left. It was Volkanovski's ninth UFC featherweight title fight win, a record. The 38-year-old, from Windang on the NSW South Coast, said he may keep fighting. In the co-main event, Petr Yan retained the bantamweight title against Merab Dvalishvili on a unanimous decision.
Dr Alison Haynes, a writer and conservation biologist, is introducing a new nature series for the Illawarra Flame. She moved to the Illawarra from Sydney in search of space and a garden. Rediscovering her interest in biology led her to a conservation biology degree, then a PhD studying how urban mosses survive city stresses. Her work has included field surveys of lizards, small mammals and bandicoots, and a four-week research trip to Antarctica in 2020. She plans to write about urban moss, city nature and community walks.
Eight Christmas markets across the Illawarra region are running from early November to late December. Events include the Wollongong Makers Market at UOW's Innovation Campus on 7 and 8 November, and a Port Kembla market at Red Point Arts Precinct on 14 November. Shoppers can find handmade jewellery, ceramics, gourmet treats and local crafts. Several markets offer live music, face painting and photos with Santa. The Kiama Seaside Markets on 20 December feature more than 150 stalls beside the Kiama Lighthouse.
Kiama council is progressing plans for a two-year trial of a special entertainment precinct, which could start by early next year. The precinct aims to boost live music, hospitality and the night-time economy through more flexible sound limits, longer trading hours and less red tape. Some critics say the proposal lacks ambition and want higher sound limits for longer periods. Councillors voted to progress the draft as originally recommended, with a month-long public exhibition still to come. Wollongong council is also investigating whether a similar precinct would suit its city centre.
A local history writer has long sought the architect of Rondanella, an unusual house at Kanahooka on the shores of Mullet Creek. Land title searches by researchers Wendy and Terry Nunan showed Charles Ormond Smith owned the property by 1914. The property passed to William James Johnson by mortgage in 1916 and was sold to Major Richard Pudsey Dawson in 1936. The writer suspects the Howard Smith family's architect, Verton Howard Bruce Smith, may have been involved, but says the link remains unproven.
Wollongong Pet Connection has named Tommy and Brock as its pets of the week, both seeking forever homes. Tommy is a two-year-old cat who is wary of people and needs a patient family to let him progress at his own pace. Brock is a five-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier cross who loves human company, long walks and time with other dogs. He has some fear of being confined in garages or rooms with closed doors. Interested adopters can apply through the Wollongong City Council website, and a council officer will arrange a meet and greet.
A man has died after being pulled unresponsive from the water off Number One Beach at Seal Rocks on the NSW Mid North Coast. Members of the public brought him from the water about 2.20pm on Monday. Paramedics could not revive him after responding to a concern for welfare call. The man, believed to be in his 60s, has yet to be formally identified, NSW Police said. The incident is under investigation, and a report will be prepared for the coroner.
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A woman from Point Frederick has been charged by Australian Federal Police for allegedly displaying prohibited hate symbols on social media. She is the second person charged by the National Security Investigations teams over similar conduct.
A luxury Byron Bay retreat linked to Hollywood actor Matt Damon has sold for $4.65 million. The Broken Head property, known as Blackwood House, was listed at a $12.5 million price guide in 2022. Damon rented the home in 2017 while filming a cameo for Thor: Ragnarok. He stayed for several months with friend Chris Hemsworth, which fuelled speculation he would move to Australia permanently. Damon did not buy the property, and he returned to the United States after his stay.
