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.
Australia's Wheelaroos are aiming for a breakthrough at the wheelchair rugby league World Cup, which begins on Friday in Wollongong. The tournament will be broadcast free-to-air in prime-time slots. The Wheelaroos, ranked fourth in the world, have never won a world title. Captain Bayley McKenna, who is non-disabled, says the sport's inclusive rules help attract players at every level. Coach Brett Clark says the team is ready to show the sport at its top level.
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Social enterprise leader Kylie Flament is standing as an independent for the NSW state seat of Keira, held by Labor since 2011. The seat is currently held by NSW Health Minister Ryan Park. Flament, who has never held political office, says voters want alternatives to party politics. Her campaign launch drew about 100 people at Corrimal Community Centre on October 17. Her main priorities include hospital wait times and housing. She says her campaign starts with far less funding than the major parties, which receive public money based on past vote tallies.
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.
Former Tour de France champion Cadel Evans says it would be possible for a Grand Tour stage to start in Australia, though he would not want to tell the riders. He said the idea has been discussed before, and that some Grand Tours are considering stages in America. Evans also said Tadej Pogacar may return to race in Australia, with Tour Down Under race director Stuart O'Grady having sought to bring him to Adelaide for several years. Evans praised Pogacar as the greatest of all time in his sport.
NSW Police are asking the public for help finding Ewan Meades, a 16-year-old boy last seen on a northbound train at Woonona at about 11:15 am on Thursday, 22 October. He was reported missing on Friday, and Wollongong Police have begun inquiries. Police and his family are concerned for his welfare, as he lives with autism. Ewan may be using the rail network to travel. Anyone with information about where he is should contact Wollongong Police.
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 New South Wales government has promised a $6.8 billion upgrade to the South Coast rail line if re-elected next year. The plan includes electrifying the line between Kiama and Bomaderry, so passengers could travel from Sydney to Nowra without changing trains. Extra tracks and passing loops are also planned between Wollongong and Kiama. Planning is expected to start in 2027, with construction completed in the mid to late 2030s. The announcement follows the scrapping of a planned timetable overhaul on the line, which had drawn commuter backlash.
A business network in Yallah with 14 members says it has generated $282,000 in revenue and 161 direct referrals this year. Members pay an annual fee of $1200. Foundation member Joel Warren, a web design and marketing specialist, says the group gives a return of roughly 18 times the membership cost. Each business category has one seat, and members meet every Wednesday at 8 am at Yallah Woolshed Kitchen. Several categories, including physiotherapists, builders, painters and bookkeepers, are currently open to new members.
The NSW Government has dropped plans for a new South Coast rail timetable after strong opposition from commuters, unions and community groups. Premier Chris Minns said he had not met anyone who supported the change and would rather reverse the policy than go ahead with it. The changes, due to start on 15 November, would have added more regular services but also extra stops for travellers heading to the airport or towards Bondi Junction. Local groups and unions welcomed the decision, while a rail expert said the plan lacked proper consultation with regular users.
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.
Severe thunderstorms are moving across eastern Australia, bringing warnings of damaging winds and heavy rain. The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, with flash flooding possible. Wind gusts of up to 113km/h were recorded at Cabramurra in the Snowy Mountains. Queensland is forecast to be hardest hit, after 100mm to 200mm of rain fell in parts of the Wide Bay-Burnett region. Flood warnings are current in several parts of Queensland, including a major warning for the Mary River at Tiaro.
Hannah McPherson, who lives with a cognitive impairment, went skydiving on Saturday, the day after her 22nd birthday. Her father, Greg, said he had been worried about how she would cope, but she was thrilled and wanted to jump again straight away. Hannah had long been fascinated by skydivers after watching them land near her home. Her father said the jump had given her new confidence, and she later insisted on catching the bus home alone.
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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.
