July 20, 2026
Thursday walkers find routes past the winter rains At the Westpac Rescue Helicopter base. Photo: Jane.
Health

Thursday walkers find routes past the winter rains

At the Westpac Rescue Helicopter base. Photo: Jane. Flooding created a serene scene in Hawks Nest. Photo: Robyn. Alum Mountain – ’Something is watching from above’.Photo: Judy. Shearwater’s hidden tracks. Photo: Robyn. First Aid course with Kelly – practising CPR. Photo: Jane. Paterson Walkabout – ‘Lunch at the Paterson Tavern’. Photo: Jane. JUNE began with […]

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Native bird flu case sparks ‘nightmare’ wildlife fears Australian Agriculture Minister Julie Collins speaks during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra. Photo: Lukas Coch, AAP,
Health, National

Native bird flu case sparks ‘nightmare’ wildlife fears

A KILLER  bird flu strain has been discovered in an Australian native seabird for the first time, sparking fears it could trigger a wildlife emergency. Testing detected the H5N1 strain in a greater crested tern discovered at Robe in South Australia. The case marked a major escalation in the crisis, Invasive Species Council policy director […]

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BreastScreen NSW mobile van offering free breast screens for women The BreastScreen NSW mobile van travels around the Hunter and New England Region to provide free mammograms to women. Photo: Supplied.
Health

BreastScreen NSW mobile van offering free breast screens for women

MORE women in Bulahdelah will have easier access to free breast cancer screening when the BreastScreen NSW mobile screening van visits the town from 16 July to 24 July from 8.40am to 4pm. The mobile clinic will be located outside Bulahdelah Community Hospital on Richmond Street, with one female radiographer working to provide the free […]

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Australian records first case of H5 bird flu
Health, National, Regional

Australian records first case of H5 bird flu

THE deadly H5 bird flu has been detected in Australia, the Australian Government confirmed on 20 June, 2026. A detection of H5 high-pathogenicity avian influenza (bird flu) was confirmed by the CSIRO Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness (ACDP) in a single brown skua (migratory seabird) in an isolated area in southern Western Australia. This is the […]

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Wilma’s crochet animals bring joy to children Some of Wilma’s many crochet animals.
Health, Regional

Wilma’s crochet animals bring joy to children

Wilma with her gifts of love. Some of Wilma’s many crochet animals. YOU never know what happens when you hand over a gift to someone. Will it be appreciated, loved, packed away, passed onto someone else or – worse – sent to the Op Shop? Wilma Whysall, a retired bank teller who had relocated from […]

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Home caring options explained at Probus meeting Ten-year Probus pin recipients (L-R): Jan MacDonald, Inga Reed, Carol Harrap, Keith Harrap, with President John Lamb. Photo: Thomas O’Keefe.
Community, Health

Home caring options explained at Probus meeting

Ten-year Probus pin recipients (L-R): Jan MacDonald, Inga Reed, Carol Harrap, Keith Harrap, with President John Lamb. Photo: Thomas O’Keefe. President John Lamb with new Probus member Judy Binnie. Photo: Thomas O’Keefe. Jo Sheehan, from Home Caring Myall Coast, spoke to the members in April. Photo: Thomas O’Keefe. MEMBERS of the Hawks Nest and District […]

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Thursday Walkers pound the pavement through March Getting wet on the way to Johnson’s Beach. Photo: Jane.
Community, Health

Thursday Walkers pound the pavement through March

Newcastle’s spacious new art gallery was a March destination. Photo: Bea. Newcastle’s spacious new art gallery was a March destination. Photo: Bea. Getting wet on the way to Johnson’s Beach. Photo: Jane. WALKING has become an apt pastime with recent world events, and the Thursday Walkers group has relished the regular return to their long-established […]

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Thursday Walkers limber up for another year of tramping trails The Thursday Walkers somewhere in the depths of Myall Lakes National Park. Photo: Thursday Walkers.
Community, Health

Thursday Walkers limber up for another year of tramping trails

The Thursday Walkers somewhere in the depths of Myall Lakes National Park. Photo: Thursday Walkers. The Walkers hiked their way to Johnson’s Hill and beach in the Myall Lakes National Park. Photo: Thursday Walkers. THE Tea Gardens Hawks Nest Thursday Walkers group will head off on its first trek for 2026 in early March. The […]

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Nerong fires continue to burn and smother towns in smoke Diggers clear burnt trees and open up hidden ground fires near the pine plantation. Photo: Pindimar-Tea Gardens/RFS Facebook.
Community, Event, Health

Nerong fires continue to burn and smother towns in smoke

The 6500ha bushfire sits just a few kilometres north of Tea Gardens and Hawks Nest. Image: Fires Near Me website. A water-bombing helicopter refills at a dam on a property near Nerong. Photo: Pindimar-Tea Gardens RFS/Facebook. Diggers clear burnt trees and open up hidden ground fires near the pine plantation. Photo: Pindimar-Tea Gardens/RFS Facebook. Grass […]

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NSW Health offering subsidies to future health workers Medical student Aimee Long is one of the 7,900 students who have benefitted from the program since 2024. Photo: NSW Health.
Health

NSW Health offering subsidies to future health workers

UP TO $12,000 in financial support is on offer for students enrolled in medical, nursing, midwifery, dentistry, Aboriginal health and allied health degrees across NSW. The new round of applications for the Tertiary Health Study Subsidies Program opened on 28 January. This year, support will be available for up to 4,000 students across the state. […]

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