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.
A covert recording of a prison meeting between Beau Lamarre-Condon and a friend has been played to the New South Wales supreme court. Lamarre-Condon, 31, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one charge of aggravated break and enter. He is accused of fatally shooting Jesse Baird and Luke Davies with his police service weapon at Baird's Paddington home in February 2024. In the recording, Lamarre-Condon allegedly says he fully takes accountability for drawing his friend into the matter. The trial before Justice Natalie Adams continues.
Five Sydney homes for sale feature water features such as pools, spas, ponds and harbour or ocean views. Four Waters in Longueville has a swimming pool with an internal bridge spanning it. A newly built home in Bundeena has private stairs to a sandy beach and views across Port Hacking. A Federation residence in Mosman has a saltwater pool and harbour views upstairs. A 1966 home in South Coogee, designed by Hedley Carr, has a kidney-shaped pool and ocean views. A Californian bungalow in Randwick has a heated mosaic-tiled pool and a water feature at its entrance.
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A friend of former Sydney police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon has told the Supreme Court trial that Mr Lamarre-Condon said he had shot two people. The witness said the accused asked him to help clean up a mess and later said he did not realise bodies would be heavy. Mr Lamarre-Condon, 31, has pleaded not guilty to the alleged murders of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies and is arguing self-defence. The Crown alleges he killed Mr Baird after an obsessive infatuation. The trial is in its fifth week.
A friend of former police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon has told a jury that he fired his police gun in a national park weeks before the alleged murders of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies. The witness says Mr Lamarre-Condon asked whether the shots could be heard from a house, and that he fired with a paper bag over the barrel. Mr Lamarre-Condon, 31, has pleaded not guilty to murder and is arguing self-defence in the NSW Supreme Court. The couple were allegedly killed at Mr Davies's Paddington home on February 19, 2024.
Forklift mechanic Jeff O’Loughlin is selling the Bundeena home he rebuilt after a 2018 house fire destroyed it. The property at 41 Crammond Ave is listed through Biller Property agent Kyle Spyrides with a $7m price guide. O’Loughlin, who recently turned 60, says a run of injuries, illness and funerals led him to decide life is too short to keep the mortgage. The four-bedroom home offers 180-degree water views. The couple now plan to retire and downsize, with a possible move to Narooma.
Former Bellevue Hotel publican Susie Carleton has listed her beachfront property at 1A Liverpool St, Bundeena, with a $5 million guide. Carleton bought the 583-square-metre corner block in 2016 for $2.02 million. The old fibro shack was replaced with two two-bedroom residences designed to match the neighbourhood. The homes have open-plan living areas leading to north-facing gardens and Horderns Beach. Carleton says the grandchildren are now less keen to visit, which is why she is selling.
Lady Wakehurst Drive will close in both directions between McKell Avenue and Otford Lookout from Tuesday 20 to Thursday 22 October 2026, between 8am and 3pm, weather permitting. Motorists should allow an extra 10 minutes of travel time and follow signs and traffic control. Detours will run via McKell Avenue, the M1 Princes Motorway and Lawrence Hargrave Drive. Cyclists can use the same detour as motorists, while pedestrian access to Otford Lookout and beach walking tracks in the Royal National Park will continue as normal.
Illawarra man Adam Cook, who has paraplegia, will take part in the 82-km MS Gong Ride later this year, handcycling the course using only his arms. Cook was injured in a fall in 2018 that left him paraplegic. His 10-person team has cracked the top ten in fundraising, aiming for a $5000 goal. Local pizzeria Ciro's has pledged $1 for every kilometre Cook or his teammates ride. Cook trains four to five times a week and recently pushed his personal best to 50 km. He says he hopes to show what people with disabilities are capable of.
The Royal National Park, created in 1879 between southern Sydney and northern Wollongong, is described as a valuable green space. The columnist recalls a late-night train stopping at the now-closed Lilyvale station. A rail line through the forest was completed about 10 years after the park was gazetted, allowing people in the Illawarra to reach home by train from Sydney. The writer notes the park's value has grown as much of the continent's forest has been cleared. Writers D H Lawrence and Robert Louis Stevenson have also described views of the train route.
