Feature stories and articles 2023
Contributions are welcome. Please email [email protected]
Archives
Archives
Take that, Westpac!
“A disgrace … charlatans of the worst order … dirty money …” Cr Michael Whelan explains why council is giving the big four banks the flick. No thanks, say homeowners
Dec 13, 2023 - Council will review its urban roads and drainage policy following overwhelming rejection of Surf Beach scheme 
Punching above your weight
Dec 13, 2023 - Inverloch Surf Beach will feature in a monumental legal case against fossil fuel giant Shell, writes Ed Thexton 
Tell them they’re dreaming
Dec 13, 2023 - From Bass Coast to the Murray Darling Basin, there’s a credibility gap in our response to the climate crisis, writes Ken Blackman What price clean energy?
Dec 11, 2023 - Western Port is under threat once more, this time from a proposed offshore wind terminal at Hastings. Neil Daly reports. The master muralist
Dec 9, 2023 - Experience painting scenery stood Dennis Leversha in good stead when he began painting the extraordinary murals that tell Wonthaggi’s history. Story by Carolyn Landon |
Plain sailing
Dec 14, 2023 - Some people dream of cruising the Pacific; others of cruising the Rhine; for Catherine Watson it was a cruise through the Tooradin mangroves. Thank you … and sorry
Dec 14, 2023 - At dusk on a full moon the Inverloch jetty was transformed by a Buddhist ritual. 
Back on the rails
Dec 15, 2023 - The songs are still sad but this time round Tim O’Brien is enjoying the ride a whole lot more. Let the show begin!
Dec 9, 2023 - This summer’s pop-up exhibition marks a watershed moment for the PICES art group as it moves to the gallery at Berninneit. Curator Warren Nichols reports. The Wonthaggi wave
Dec 13, 2023 - Liane Arno fears the small courtesies may be going the way of button up boots. Winging my way on my website
Dec 11, 2023 - As she approached her 70th birthday, Christine Grayden set herself four challenges. The things we do for love!
Dec 12, 2023 - An empty shop in Inverloch sparked Carla van Laar’s imagination. And so the Inverloch Pop-Up Art CO was born. |
|
Worth the wait
Nov 16, 2023 - After five designs, 31 years and countless disappointments, Anne Davie was there to see Phillip Island get its cultural centre. Dancing into the future
Nov 15, 2023 - A 300-person mass boogie proved the perfect way to celebrate Berninneit, our new gathering place, writes Laura Brearley. When worlds collide
Nov 13, 2023 - For the first time, the Swamp Skinks of Inverloch are experiencing humans in their habitat. Brendan Casey fears it won’t end well. The toast of
Phillip Island Nov 16, 2023 - With a glamorous new hotel to rise on the site of the Isle of Wight Hotel, Pam Rothfield looks back at its predecessors. Coming adrift
Nov 16, 2023 - From the warm turquoise waters of Port Stephens to the cold grey waters of Inverloch, every swim is a fresh adventure for Etsuko Yasunaga. 
The call of nature
Oct 20, 2023 - We call them nature strips but only a few of them deserve that title. Catherine Watson surveys the good, the bad and the ugly. |
A Remembrance Day reflection
Nov 16, 2023 - Drivers see only a shady spot to park, not the sacred place Kongwak’s Avenue of Honour was intended to be. By Jillian Durance Spark it up
Nov 13, 2023 - Award-winning authors Lucinda Bain and Rees Quilford discuss the role of daydreaming in the creative process, writing as self-exploration, and the place of “I”. Q&A with Meryl Brown Tobin
Nov 15, 2023 - Meryl is well known for her poetry, short stories and non-fiction but she has entered new territory with her first romantic suspense novel. Lucky Laribee
Oct 17, 2023 - The story starts in July with a very sick wombat. That’s when a dedicated team stepped in. From Caridà to Wonthaggi
Oct 14, 2023 - Sam Gatto’s memoir of his family’s migration from an Italian village to an Australian coal town was written for his descendants, but it’s also a great story for the rest of us. ‘Are we home yet?’
Oct 12, 2023 - For Belinda Henderson, low house prices + services - not middle of nowhere + she sort of knew the place + six months pregnant = Wonthaggi. |
|
We shall remember
Oct 20, 2023 - Jane Ross and Christine Grayden call for a brief pause to remember the harsh impact of world wars on so many service people and civilians. 
El Niño return bodes ill
Sept 21, 2023 - It's like the death of an old friend, writes Philip Heath, as another old banksia succumbs to the retreating coastline. The homing instinct
Sept 22, 2023 - A lifelong Phillip Islander, Cherry McFee didn’t like to go too far from the sea. Story by Gill Heal 
The battle for Western Port
Sept 21, 2023 - Successive threats to Western Port have been stopped only by massive public opposition, writes Neil Daly. His master’s voice
Sept 21, 2023 - Ellen Palmer-Hubble’s soulful portrait of Bass Coast Mayor Michael Whelan and his kelpie Grouse has been selected for the 2023 Victorian Salon des Refusés Exhibition. 
Thumbs down for ‘eco-retreat’
Aug 17, 2023 - Questions remain about the council's new rural tourism strategy after councillors reject Kitty Miller Bay eco-resort. 
Albert Ruttle wetlands safe … for now
Aug 17, 2023 - Residents of the Inverloch estate are waiting for the next move in the long-running battle over their wetlands. |
Bird bonanza
Oct 16, 2023 - The shearwaters are home from Alaska and Phillip Island is alive with birds. Lisa Gilbert rounds up all the action. 
Who, me?
Oct 13, 2023 - “Some people call me adorable. Others call me a murderer.” Harry Hyper Highpurr purrs his heart out to Matt Stone The last goodbye
Sept 21, 2023 - To be present at the death of a loved one is a precious and profound experience, writes Etsuko Yasunaga. Brownie points for pet rescue group
Sept 12, 2024 - It started when Jen Rutherford borrowed a trap to catch her bantam, Brownie. Now she wants to repay the favour. 
Bikers versus orchids
Sept 22, 2023 - Mountain bike riders are cutting a swathe through The Gurdies forest, threatening some of Australia’s rarest orchids. 
The mangrove challenge
Sept 21, 2023 - Grand plans for blue carbon sinks in Western Port need to tackle the low success rate of mangrove planting, writes Neil Daly. Welcome to my world
Sept 21, 2023 - Volunteer aged care visitor Antonietta loves sharing good times with a special friend. And so do her dogs! |
|
‘What’s on at Berninneit?’
Aug 19, 2023 - Better get used to saying and hearing it because we’re going to be using it a lot. Painting with words
Aug 18, 2023 - What happens when 12 writers are randomly matched with a painting, a drawing and a word and asked to tell a story? 
Roaming cats not welcome here
Aug 16, 2023 - The juxtaposition of Picasso’s high art and cat crap got Ed Thexton thinking about the Jekyll and Hyde nature of Felis catus. Missing in action
July 21, 2023 – Some of Bass Coast’s councillors seem to have lost interest in the job. Beyond the VCAT experience
July 21, 2023 - The Summerland Estate buyback was about protecting public interest against private encroachment, writes Ken Blackman, and that's relevant to the Glade. 
|
Back to the future
Aug 17, 2023 - Linda Cuttriss envisages the State Coal Mine as a place where history, community, energy and creativity come together. Best of luck
Aug 18, 2023 - Almost $20 million was lost on Bass Coast’s pokies in 2022-23. Catherine Watson asks how local clubs are protecting their most vulnerable members. Moments of inspiration
Aug 17, 2023 - Holding wonder and grief together is the work of our time, writes Laura Brearley, of a new exhibition featuring works inspired by Bass Coast’s massive eco arts project. 
Caring for Country, Inverloch style
Aug 15, 2023 - Smoke from Aunty Sonia Weston’s welcome fire swirled around those converging for a Caring for Country celebration. Sally McNiece reports. Hanley’s Dairy
August 11, 2023 - Long before dawn, the milkmen and horses of Hanley’s Dairy criss-crossed Wonthaggi to deliver the daily pint. |
|
Painting with words
Aug 18, 2023 - What happens when 12 writers are randomly matched with a painting, a drawing and a word and asked to tell a story? Missing in action
July 21, 2023 – Some of Bass Coast’s councillors seem to have lost interest in the job. Enough talk
July 21, 2023 - We’ve been talking about the revitalisation of the Wonthaggi CBD since 2015. And now we’re going to talk some more. Catherine Watson reports Beyond the VCAT experience
July 21, 2023 - The Summerland Estate buyback was about protecting public interest against private encroachment, writes Ken Blackman, and that's relevant to the Glade. |
Ali Wastie: the exit interview
July 22, 2023 - Our departing council CEO reflects on the good, the bad and the memorable in Bass Coast. Opening arts and minds
July 21, 2023 - Adult students discover unexpected talents in an art class with a difference, writes Laura Brearley 
The cars that ate Phillip Island
July 21, 2023 - We’re doing it for ourselves with community energy; now let’s turn our attention to community transport. Christine Grayden lays down her blueprint. John Frohlich Q&A
July 19, 2023 - The Post caught up with the director of the Bass Coast Shorts Film Festival while he was en route from Berlin to Wonthaggi for the second festival from August 4-6. |
|
Homecoming
July 19, 2023 - Etsuko Yasunaga experiences the joy of reunion with loved ones and completes a pilgrimage. What happened to our cultural precinct?
June 23, 2023 - Five years ago the State Government announced the old Wonthaggi high site would be handed to the council for a cultural precinct. Catherine Watson asks what's gone wrong with the deal. 
A few home truths
June 14, 2024 - What would you do if you lost your home? Leslie Adams imagines how we might offer practical to the scores of people now homeless in our own community. Rural tourism backlash
June 22, 2023 - A proposed ‘eco-tourist resort’ at Ventnor that has attracted over 140 objections is shaping up as a test of Bass Coast’s new rural tourism strategy. 
A cautionary tale
June 22, 2023 - Given the vexed history of the Kitty Miller Wetlands, Linda Cuttriss is sceptical about an eco-tourism proposal for the site. |
The hut people
June 20, 2023 - Long before holiday houses were million-dollar mansions, the hut people of Shack Bay lived like kings. Frank Coldebella recalls those carefree, dreamtime days. Adventures with an AI writer
June 24, 2023 - Artificial intelligence is supposed to reduce the drudgery in our lives, writes Christine Grayden, but sometimes it just wants to take over. Historic hospital plans return home
June 23, 2023 - Architectural plans for the first permanent Wonthaggi Hospital dating from 1913 have been returned home after a surprise find at a church sale in regional Victoria. Q&A with Indigo Aurora
June 22, 2023 - On Tuesday, local students took time off school to join a Wonthaggi rally protesting at the NAB's financing of the coal industry. We asked Indigo why she was there. Tenby powers on
June 19, 2023 - Tenby Point might be off the beaten track, but this small community is making strides in its journey to sustainability. |
|
Part of the family
June 22, 2023 - The Ali family’s arrival marks another chapter in Bass Coast’s long history of welcoming refugees, writes Maddy Harford Flying high
June 20, 2023 - The Bass Coast Chorale’s mid-year concert looks to the heavens, writes musical director Larry Hills. Drones to the rescue
June 13, 2023 - Aerial thermal imaging technology is being used to help save entangled seals at Seal Rocks, writes Lisa Gilbert. 
Paul's patch
May 17, 2023 - “I can’t save the world … but I can make a difference locally,“ Paul Speirs told Gill Heal. 
The power trip continues
May 17, 2023 - The renewable energy revolution is taking place somewhere near you, writes Werner Theinert. Tall tales and true from island’s past
May 17, 2023 - Have you ever wondered why the main street of Cowes is called Thompson Avenue, or when motorsport became part of Phillip Island's culture? The good oil
May 17, 2023 - You’d hate to be paid by the litre for picking olives, but OMG, what olive oil! Catherine Watson was there for the first pressing of Wonny Olives. 
Mission Crimson Berry
May 17, 2023 - A team of ecological crusaders salvages critically endangered plants from Wilsons Prom to help regenerate the species on Phillip Island. |
Beneath our shifting sands
May 19, 2023 - Walk around Inverloch with Aunty Sonia Weston and you see her ancestral links to Country are lived every day, writes Sally McNiece. More than memories
May 17, 2023 - Like many descendants of Wonthaggi coal miners, the State Coal Mine is in Linda Cuttriss’s DNA. 
Lost and found
May 17, 2023 - As her mother’s memory declines, Liane Arno forges a new relationship with her. One step at a time
May 18, 2023 - Some magical days the mind clears and Etsuko Yasunaga feels like she could run forever. 
This one’s for Nature!
May 17, 2023 - Having worked in concrete for most of his career, artist Phil Henshall calls time on sand mining in woodlands. In the flow
April 22, 2023 - In his 81st year, John Mutsaers’ stamina might be diminishing but his creativity is blossoming. Listen carefully: Broadbent
April 17, 2023 - Liberal MP says an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament is the start of Australia’s healing. |
|
That’s a wrap!
April 22, 2023 - As the DAL hearings draw to a close, Catherine Watson looks back on a tumultuous two months in which our community has been probed, questioned, pondered and revised as never before. Give us a go!
April 22, 2023 - The State Government should hand the State Coal Mine back to the Wonthaggi community that values it, writes Brett Tessari 
Trees versus views
April 22, 2023 - Like most civil wars, the battle over the Corinella foreshore reserve is complicated and goes back several generations. Catherine Watson reports from the frontline. Short and sharp
April 13, 2023 - “Anyone can make a short film,” says the director of the Bass Coast Shorts Film Festival. And he hopes locals will take up the challenge. |
Enjoying the ride
April 22, 2023 - Eight months in, EV driver Michael Nugent couldn't be happier, except … 
Frog find puts woodlands on map
Discovery of endangered southern toadlets at multiple sites reinforces calls for protection of Western Port Woodlands. |
|
On a wing and a prayer
April 19, 2023 - After 10 anxious weeks of looking after eggs and chicks, the adult hooded plovers are exhausted, writes David Hartney. And the hoodie volunteers aren’t far behind. Lowest prices are just the beginning
April 20, 2023 - Herds of metal dinosaurs lumber across the landscape, issuing plaintive beeps, as if calling for mates. Mark Robertson has a ringside seat for Bunnings’ big build. Creative conversations from afar
April 21, 2023 - Inverloch artist Susan Hall enjoys a rich creative collaboration with Melanie Yazzie, a Navajo artist. The two artists exchange creative messages – by post. 
Chance encounter of the seedling kind
April 19, 2023 - Neil Daly discovers scientists – citizen and otherwise – are working towards the same end on the Queensferry foreshore. ‘This is our story!’
March 25, 2023 - A double blow has left Wonthaggi’s premiere – and only – tourist attraction reeling. Catherine Watson reports 
Adventures at VCAT
Feb 2023 - After a week spent binge-watching a pivotal case, Ed Thexton concludes that between the theatre and the tedium, a clash of world views is reduced to trivialities. |
Nature’s cure
April 13, 2023 - An old Post story on Henry’s Creek Sanctuary inspires Margie Matheson to dream big. The story teller
March 24, 2023 - Olive Justice never lost her adventurous spirit, positive attitude and love of a good story. Christine Grayden celebrates one of Phillip Island’s great characters in Women’s History Month. Good as new
March 24, 2023 - Wonthaggi’s Fixit Café is about more than recycling and reducing waste; it’s also a great way to connect to Wonthaggi’s social grid, writes Hilary Stuchbery. The numbers are good today
March 23, 2023 – These days Geoff Ellis’s morning routine starts with a finger prick and ends with toast. 
Every seal counts
March 22, 2023 - On International Seal Day, a Phillip Island Nature Parks researcher is appealing to local fishers not to discard fishing line. As good as Melbourne!
Feb 16, 2023 - Since the new Wonthaggi Hospital opened in December, previously healthy locals seem to have become strangely accident prone. Why I’m disappointed
Feb 17, 2023 - The National Anthem was a serious omission from Bass Coast’s recent citizenship ceremony, writes John Cobbledick |
Time for a ceasefire
Feb 17, 2023 - Sally McNiece calls for the chainsaw brigade to lay down their arms while there’s still some remnant vegetation left to save. Call this a compromise?
Feb 18, 2023 - After years of community consultation and planning on McBride Avenue, the Wonthaggi Club takes all. Catherine Watson reports 
Further, wider, stronger
Feb 17, 2023 -Western Port and the hinterland are inextricably linked, writes Neil Daly The colonial curse
Jan 25, 2023 - Christine Grayden’s great-great-grandparents were brutalised by the British Empire but at least their descendants were born into freedom. Unlike many Aboriginal people. |
What is calling through this art?
Feb 18, 2023 - Darug artist Daniel Church will be a special guest at a Deep Listening Circle being held to accompany his exhibition at Wonthaggi ArtSpace. No. 5 Brace
Feb 17, 2023 - The decaying bones of Wonthaggi’s last remaining mine brace are a moody reminder of the town’s early history, writes Carolyn Landon. Dino team return to their happy hunting ground
Feb 17, 2023 - “Dino hunters” embark on the first dinosaur dig at Inverloch since the COVID-19 pandemic. Guide Park: the review
Jan 26, 2023 - Adventure playground experts Esme and Clem check out the $1.77m makeover. The men who could make anything
Jan 26, 2023 - Trained in the Wonthaggi mine workshops, Danny Carr and his workmates proved a boon to the district after the mine closed. |
Let’s get together
Jan 25, 2023 - Given the lack of political will to protect Western Port, Neil Daly proposes a citizens assembly with the results to be presented as a petition to Parliament. Once upon a time in Inverloch
Jan 25, 2023 - Etsuko Yasunaga could have said no but a small voice whispered to her that adventures lay ahead. Flights of fancy
Jan 26, 2023 - Tim Shannon looks back to an era when airports celebrated the wonder of flight, rather than being shopping malls flanked by giant carparks. |
Operation Fairy Tern
Jan 27, 2023 - Three summers ago, 31 fairy tern pairs fledged 49 chicks on Churchill Island. Since then, not a single chick has survived. 
Yes please, more trees
Jan 27, 2023 - Cowes and Inverloch are the standout towns for tree cover in Bass Coast and San Remo is the barest. |