Port Stephens oysters are the best.
HERE is something different for Christmas, an oyster recipe given to me by my old friend Margaret Woods. If you love oysters, you will find more of her oyster recipes in one of my books, “Oysterman”, which is available around town. Mambo Oyster Soup Ingredients: – 2 dozen oysters – 2 tablespoons of cornflour – […]
TRANSPORT for NSW is encouraging motorists travelling on the Pacific Highway through Hexham to plan their trip and allow extra travel time during the Christmas New Year period, with high traffic volumes and delays expected. The M1 Pacific Motorway at Beresfield and the Pacific Highway at Hexham are linked via John Renshaw Drive and the […]
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with workers at the Tomago smelter.
MORE than 1000 jobs at a troubled aluminium smelter are secure after the federal government confirmed it would keep the site running with taxpayer support. Rio Tinto, majority owner of the massive Tomago smelter, had for months been threatening to shut down the plant due to spiralling energy costs after 2028, when its electricity contract […]
Stockton Beach bream.
THIS Christmas give rock fishing a miss and concentrate your efforts on the beach. Family-friendly, the local beaches have loaded up with cracker whiting and thumping big snowy white bream. Unlike their cousins that live in the estuary, beach bream are broad shouldered and pearly white. In the kitchen the beach bream can be filleted […]
PEOPLE living in communities impacted by recent bushfires who require essential medicines, including diabetes, heart and asthma medicines, can now access a limited supply without a prescription at pharmacies. NSW Health has issued an Authority under the Poisons and Therapeutic Goods legislation that enables pharmacists to supply prescription medicines to people without a prescription who […]
Scone Road disaster recovery repairs.
THE May 2025 flood resulted in over 28,000 defects to the MidCoast road network, with Council crews and contractors continuing flood recovery works. Assessment of 680 bridges, 1,800km of unsealed roads and 1,800km of sealed roads has been undertaken so far. Approximately $34m of emergency works and immediate reconstruction works have been completed to date. […]
THREE teens and a child have been charged after an alleged highway pursuit. About 6.50am on Tuesday 9 December 2025, officers attached to Port-Stephens Hunter Police District attempted to stop a vehicle on the Pacific Highway, Heatherbrae. When the vehicle allegedly failed to stop as directed, a pursuit was initiated. The vehicle allegedly continued towards […]
A Marine Rescue crew member with a rescued sailor.
MARINE Rescue NSW volunteers across the state returned 823 people safely to shore during November, completing more than 370 search and rescue missions including 108 emergency responses. Acting Commissioner Todd Andrews said demand remains high for the volunteer service. “Following successive record months in September and October, our volunteers were in high demand throughout November, […]
THE NSW Government is rewriting the framework that determines road management in NSW, announcing a new road recategorisation system this week. The move comes in an attempt to provide local councils with certainty over who will manage and maintain different roads, allowing for more targeted investment where it is most needed. Road recategorisation is the […]
PORT Stephens, the surrounding reefs and islands have the well-earned reputation as being a graveyard for shipping. It was thought that the establishing of a lighthouse on Point Stephens in 1862 would solve the problem. Unfortunately this was not to be the case, particularly for Captain Thomas Kehoe who continually ran aground. From the 1860s, […]
