Welcome to the Bass Coast Post, an online magazine written by and for residents of Bass Coast. The next edition will be published on October 16. Email submissions to editor@basscoastpost.com
NEWS
A guardian of Phillip Island history
Gaye Cleeland was fascinated by local history but she was far from staid about it. Pam Rothfield recalls their laughter as they searched for skeletons in their shared ancestral cupboard.
On yer bike, 80 years on
At last Geoff Ellis finds a use for his father’s collection of mysterious bike tools.
Pop-up art returns
Twenty-eight artists have been selected for the Cowes annual summer exhibition with works including pottery, sculpture, painting, drawing, photography, textiles, woodturning and glass.
The Snow Girls
Foster writer Graeme Wheeler has won second prize in the 2021 Bass Coast Prize for Non-Fiction with The Snow Girls, an account of the search for two young women missing in the Gippsland high country in the 1960s.
‘Welcome to Bass Coast’
Many people assume that regional towns are dominated by xenophobic attitudes towards refugees but Gemma Sou found another side to the story in Bass Coast.
A hive of activity
Exactly 44 years since the last passenger rail service to Wonthaggi. Jack Moyle recalls a time when the railway station was the centre of the town’s social and commercial life.
Fifth time lucky for the Gondoliers
Waterline residents and other light opera fans will be crossing everything that a long-awaited performance of The Gondoliers will finally go ahead in late January.
Beyond fish `n` chips
A coffee table cookbook released this week celebrates the farmers and chefs working hard to make Bass Coast a foodie destination.
VIEWPOINT
Why I went to Afghanistan
25 years after Australian soldiers were deployed to Afghanistan, Lindsay Guerin reflects on the human costs of that war.
Government has delivered for woodlands: MP
Advocates should press council to complete the work, says Jordan Crugnale
Come on Labor, finish the job!
Despite years of promises, the nationally significant Western Port Woodlands remain as vulnerable as ever to sand quarrying.
From ram raids to road repairs
After a couple of busy weeks in Canberra, Mary Aldred is back to the issues closer to home
Harriet Shing bows out
After 12 years representing Eastern Victoria in the Victorian Parliament, there were a few digs, some personal reflections and a spirited defence of the record of the Labor governments she served under.
ENVIRONMENT
The bush as supermarket
On a walk through The Gurdies, Bunurong ranger Ross Henry reveals a landscape where every plant has a story and most have a use.
Planting against the odds
Eighty volunteers brave wind, sand and salt to begin the long haul to restore Inverloch’s lost dune habitat
What’s killing Phillip Island’s eucalypts?
Research student Evie Cowling discovered the answer is complicated.
Don’t dream it’s over
Fifty-five years ago Professor Shapiro wrote “Western Port is more than an amenity; it is a treasure to be cherished for generations to come”. By Neil Daly
The koala detectives
Koalas living in the Western Port Woodlands are part of the special Strzelecki genetic lineage, but there is still much to learn.
ARTS
Just do it
No more excuses - time to work on your entry for the Bass Coast Artists’ Society’s spring art show.
A colourful call for Western Port
Community gathering celebrates the bay’s biodiversity and calls for stronger protection
Breakthrough
Anabelle Bremner was there to see Bass Coast’s young performers take their first steps into the real music world.
LOCAL HISTORY
‘We never stand still!’
For over 100 years, the Kongwak Hall has been the heart of this community. By Jillian Durance
Gordon House and the Union Café
Newly arrived in Wonthaggi, Nannie Grieve found a way to make a living and a home for her family.
What's on and where