Feature stories and articles 2024
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Archives
Archives
![]() Leave our trees alone!
Dec 12, 2024 - A classic David & Goliath story … residents of a quiet bushland enclave versus a multinational giant. By Jan Grimes ![]() Walking Screw Creek Trail
Dec 9, 2024 – It was destined to be cleared for housing, but after a massive community effort it's now a wildlife refuge and Bass Coast’s newest walking trail. Linda Cuttriss reports. ![]() For sale in San Remo
Dec 9, 2024 - Someone should slap a heritage listing on that old fibro cement shack, writes Althea Thomas ![]() Time and space
Dec 9, 2024 - There aren’t many good things that came out of Covid, but Annalisa Christiansen’s beautiful landscape paintings are some of them. Liane Arno reports. ![]() Sounds like trouble
Dec 12, 2024 - Catherine Watson goes hunting for Australia’s most annoying bird. |
![]() Sun, surf … and a dash of history
Dec 13, 2024 - Wonthaggi Historical Society’s mini history talks have become an unlikely highlight of summer ![]() The inspiration of birds
Dec 9, 2024 - “Every fledgling is like gold …” Bass Coast’s chief hoodie Stephen Johnson explains what keeps him going. ![]() Our summer of art
Dec 9, 2024 - Phillip Island’s pop-up exhibitions are evolving in unexpected and delightful ways. Curator Warren Nichols explains. ![]() The greatest gift
Dec 11, 2024 - Wondering what to give this Christmas? How about the gift of time? Christine Grayden explains. ![]() Calling the shots
Dec 12, 2024 - Don’t be surprised if a bunch of people stop you in the street and ask if they can take your photo. |
![]() Time for action
Nov 16, 2024 - Finally we have a pathway to address Inverloch beach erosion, writes Ed Thexton. Now it’s time for action – and quickly. ![]() What happened to PICAL?
Nov 14, 2024 - Fortunately PICAL will survive but it’s worth asking how this trusted institution came so close to failing. By Catherine Watson ![]() Berninneit scoops fourth award
Nov 10, 2024 - Cowes Cultural Centre wins national architecture prize, celebrating fine design and connection to country and community. ![]() The koala crew
Nov 15, 2024 - The once common koala appears to be hurtling towards extinction in the wild. Kelly Smith and helpers are working to stop that happening. ![]() The last cowboy
Nov 12, 2024 - To hear Clive Dobson tell it, he'd led a charmed life. Catherine Watson loved the stories. ![]() Avenues of honour
Nov 14, 2024 - On 11 November, as always, Kongwak’s school children observed one minute’s silence and laid their poppies at the memorial cairn in this Valley of Peace. By Jillian Durance |
![]() The back tracks
Nov 16, 2024 - Dick Wettenhall’s new guide book takes visitors to the Gurdies Nature Conservation Reserve off the beaten track to discover different worlds of nature’s creations. ![]() Across the waters
Nov 15, 2024 - From both sides of Western Port, they gathered as one community, writes Laura Brearley. ![]() The gift of giving
Nov 14, 2024 - Etsuko Yasunaga has fun looking for the ideal present for someone she doesn’t even know. ![]() A warm welcome
Nov 15, 2024 - It’s easy to despair at the state of the world but a local refugee support group finds generosity at the heart of our community, writes Maddy Harford. ![]() Same, same, different
Nov 15, 2024 - Solace and The Red Rattlers are two groups with eerily similar people, mainly because they are mostly the same people but playing vastly different types of music. ![]() Looking for the Tiger
Nov 12, 2024 - A retrospective of Russell Kent’s art at Berninneit features his distinctive style: high realism with a touch of humour, surrealism and romance. ![]() In memoriam
Nov 12, 2024 - Scattered in our bushland are tributes to our hard working naturalists and volunteers. Terry Allen reports. |
![]() Warrior of change
Oct 22, 2024 - Few people in their lifetime will achieve what Jan Child did in her eight-year tenure at Bass Coast Health. Mary Whelan pays tribute to a remarkable CEO. Job done
Oct 22, 2024 - Bass Coast Health’s CEO Jan Child has stepped down after eight tumultuous years during which she transformed local health services. ![]() In plain view
Oct 12, 2024 - Our new rural tourism strategy threatens the very landscape that brings tourists to Phillip Island, writes Linda Cuttriss. ![]() PICAL services safe, for now
Oct 14, 2024 - While Phillip Island Community and Learning may have to wind up, funding and support agencies says crucial services will continue. ![]() History in the making
October 15, 2024 - How a famous architect planned to help Wonthaggi out of the doldrums. ![]() Rich pickings in proving ground
Oct 14, 2024 - The largest stand of critically endangered Strzelecki Gums in existence has been found at the former Holden Proving Ground, confirming its status as a biodiversity hotspot. |
![]() Art, the environment and a good glass of wine
Oct 13, 2024 - His name was Warren Thompson and he had big plans. Janice Orchard was part of them. ![]() Capturing sunlight in a glass
Oct 12, 2024 - Intrepid reporter and bon vivant Kit Fennessy attends the judging of the Gippsland Wine Show at the Cape Paterson Surf Life Saving Club. ![]() Nature notes
Oct 16, 2024 – An encounter with a sick fox raises troubling questions for Catherine Watson. ![]() Here to stay
Oct 16, 2024 - After years of being shuffled around, the Phillip Island Community Art & Craft Gallery has a new home, writes Aleta Groves ![]() Take a bow, Offshore
Oct 15, 2024 - Just over a year ago, Remi D'Agostin sat in the audience at Berninneit’s opening event, and wondered what it would be like to perform in such a beautiful space. |
![]() Mission accomplished
Sept 13, 2024 - How Clare Le Serve and Michael Whelan changed our lives. By Catherine Watson ![]() Saving our beaches
Sept 12, 2024 - Conservation Society pushes for urgent dune reconstruction to prevent further damage to the Inverloch surf beach. ![]() The tourist trap
Sept 10, 2024 - Council’s flawed rural tourism strategy could be the death knell for farming on Phillip Island, warns Greg Johnson ![]() To solar or not to solar - that is the question
Sept 12, 2024 - Tim Herring crunches the numbers on home battery storage. ![]() Earthly delights
Sept 12, 2024 - Two inspirational Bass Coast native gardens kick off the Open Gardens Victoria spring season, writes Kate Anderson. ![]() Big Honcho to the rescue
Sept 11, 2024 - A note on the rusty handlebar advised "Will start on eighth go". Geoff Ellis took a chance. ![]() Call of the wild
Sept 12, 2024 - Sixteen local naturalists share the challenges and joys of working in nature. |
![]() Grow your own
Sept 9, 2024 - Graeme McAlpine is keen to pass on the secrets of his mind-bending craft, reports Liane Arno. ![]() Travelling north
Sept 12, 2024 - Etsuko Yasunaga’s winter escape brings new experiences and some unanswered questions. ![]() The line to Wonthaggi
Sept 13, 2024 - Just 10 weeks to lay the railway line from Woolamai to Wonthaggi sounds incredible. What’s more, most of the work was done by pick and shovel, writes Carolyn Landon. Across the Waters
Sept 11, 2024 - Wanted: a six-word sentence that describes how you feel about Western Port (Warn Marin) 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. ![]() Nature notes
Sept 11, 2024 - Happy times when the yellow tailed black cockatoos call in for a visit. |
![]() Michael Whelan Q&A
August 13, 2024 - Listen to the evidence, not social media, and remember it’s not a popularity contest … retiring councillor and former mayor has some advice for aspiring councillors. What’s up, doc?
Aug 17, 2024 - If you’ve tried to see your GP recently, you’ll know it can take weeks to get an appointment. Dr Nola Maxfield explains what’s changed. ![]() No shelter from the storm
August 13, 2024 - Graeme Charles wonders what would happen if the money spent on keeping homeless people out of the old high school site had been spent on sheltering them. ![]() The inside story
August 14, 2024 - One of the biggest stories of our time was off limits at the Festival of Stories, writes Travis Thompson ![]() What next for Chisholm?
August 15, 2024 - Maddy Harford delves into the mystery of Chisholm TAFE’s empty Wonthaggi campus and concludes the next step is probably up to us. ![]() So much for pride
August 14, 2024 - The Rainbow Flag was raised twice, and that was it for Pride Month in Bass Coast, writes Mikhaela Barlow ![]() Trees that please
Aug 15, 2024 - What’s your favourite local tree: perhaps the Townsend Bluff eucalypt, climbed and loved by many, or the extraordinary Churchill Island moonahs? |
![]() What happened to Alice?
August 14, 2024 - Christine Grayden sifts myth from fact in a real-life mystery ![]() A wreck, a whale and that shiny black rock
August 14, 2024 - Linda Cuttriss explores Wreck Beach and finds a complex web of events linked by coal. ![]() The little creatures
Aug 15, 2024 - Next time you see a bug or a spider, don’t squash or spray it, writes Dave Newman. Admire it first and let it go on its way. ![]() Worlds within worlds
Aug 16, 2024 - While Ray Dahlstrom found inspiration in the depths of the ocean, Ellen Hubble looked beyond the clouds to outer space for their joint exhibition. ![]() Nature notes
Aug 15, 2024 - Strange times indeed, with wombats and pardalotes joining forces, and an influx of aliens. Catherine Watson reports. ![]() Planting into Life
In years to come Inverloch students will remember the day they planted trees on the oval. Ed Thexton reports |
![]() Our war on pitto
July 11, 2024 - This enemy overpowers everything in its way, but Jon Temby is equally pitiless. And the tide is turning. ![]() A little thing called Tryssglobulus
July 9, 2024 - Only two specimens have ever been collected and one of them was found in the Western Port Woodlands. Ian Pascoe tells the tale of his favourite fungus. ![]() Call in the A team
July 10, 2024 - It starts with a jumble of disconnected paintings. It takes Karin Murphy Ellis, Susan Hall and Ursula Theinert to turn it into an exhibition. ![]() Stuff and nonsense
July 12, 2024 - It's hard to resist a pile of stuff on a nature strip, writes Catherine Watson. |
![]() Invitation to a memory
July 12, 2024 - Janet Budge’s extraordinary fabric collages were the unexpected hit of the Woodlands Exhibition, writes Geoff Ellis. ![]() Maritime adventures and misadventures
A lifetime of research and experience has gone into John Jansson’s A Source Book of Western Port Maritime History. Christine Grayden reports. ![]() The universal language
July 13, 2024 - Robyn Arianrhod’s new book celebrates the power of signs and symbols. The Post asked our resident mathematician to tell us more – in simple terms. ![]() For Rex and Freddy
June 8, 2024 - A future prime minister, a dean of medicine and a brutal superintendent all play a role in The Killings at Newhaven. But author Joe Fairhurst never forgot that at its heart are two frightened young boys who died horrible deaths. |
![]() Why the secrecy?
June 14, 2024 - Sand miners ride roughshod over our community with mining regulator’s acquiescence, writes Neil Rankine ![]() Our little battler
June 15, 2024 - The survival of the koala in Gippsland is a modern-day miracle but now, more than ever, they need our help, writes Ed Thexton ![]() 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. ![]() Autumn idyll
June 11, 2024 – What an autumn. You could see the smiles, writes Linda Cuttriss. But it didn’t start off that way, ![]() Penguin chicks come through
June 3, 2024 - Phillip Island’s little penguin population has survived a strong El Nino event, with a higher than expected number of fledgling chicks this breeding season. |
![]() Our woodlands, frame by frame
June 15, 2024 - Artists respond to exhibition challenge. ![]() ‘Wonthaggi needs a music festival!’
June 14, 2024 - Ellen Hubble heard the call and so Wonthaggi’s first Acoustic Music Festival was born. ![]() On a high
June 11, 2024 - Julie Statkus discovers the joy of singing together in the Good News Community Choir. Photo: Cath Moutafis ![]() Life of the party
June 14, 2024 - They worked hard in Wonthaggi’s early days and they partied just as hard, writes Carolyn Landon. |
![]() Back on track
May 16, 2024 - After 10 years of cantankerous debate, the third and final stage of Inverloch’s beachside pathway is cleared for take off, though it won’t please everyone. ![]() Greg Box Q&A
May 17, 2024 - As an arts graduate, local government – then he learned it was the place to make a difference. ![]() A welcome for Berninneit
May 14, 2024 - Tim Shannon discovers no grand statement but a fitting portrait of the Phillip Island community. ![]() What remains
May 16, 2024 - The eroded vegetated dunes of Inverloch hold more than most of us could imagine, writes Ed Thexton ![]() Parrot puzzle
May 15, 2024 - The discovery of a rarely seen Eastern Ground Parrot in Inverloch has local birdwatchers wondering if there might be others around. Dallas Wyatt reports. ![]() Don’t mess with my miniature creatures
May 10, 2024 - Tiny insects, bacteria and fungi keep our forests functioning, writes Dick Wettenhall in an extract from his guide book to the hidden world of the Gurdies Nature Conservation Reserve. ![]() Solidarity forever
May 15, 2024 - On May 1 each year a motley crew gather in Wonthaggi’s Apex Park for an ancient ritual. Catherine Watson is one of them. |
May 16, 2024 - Bass Coasters were in the box seat for one of Nature’s exhilarating light shows.
![]() A golden age
May 15, 2024 - Angela Newberry told her children to hang on to her work for at least 20 years because by then no one would be making linocuts. ![]() Stepping up
May 14, 2024 - Sometimes it’s easier to accept a new challenge than to worry about it, writes Etsuko Yasunaga. ![]() Chicory and the Island
May 14, 2024 - For almost a century, Phillip Island’s main crop was a coffee additive, writes Pamela Rothfield. ![]() ![]() Rock on for refugees
May 10, 2024 - A night of music and dancing with Lionel Loves Vinyl will raise money to help resettle refugee families in Bass Coast. ![]() A cook’s journal
May 15, 2024 - Liane Arno’s fruit cake with a difference uses the autumn harvest. ![]() A budget for hard times
April 18, 2024 - Wonthaggi-Inverloch shared pathway is the single ‘big ticket’ item in a budget described by Bass Coast Mayor Clare Le Serve as ‘conservative and responsible’. |
![]() The laggard
April 17, 2024 - For every farmer working to retain native vegetation, there are neighbours who continue to clear it, because that’s what Dad did. Ed Thexton reports. ![]() Nirvana Park
April 19, 2024 - Ivee Strazzabosco created a magnificent garden, but nature always wins in the end. By Catherine Watson ![]() Rick and the beanstalk
April 16, 2024 - There’s a fairy tale quality to Rick Coleman’s introduction to gardening. And he’s ready to share the magic in the Garden Gems series of workshops. ![]() Silver lining for little old penguin
April 3, 2024 - One of the oldest penguins ever seen at the Phillip Island mega-colony has returned to sea after five weeks of intensive rehab. |
![]() Greg Johnson Q&A
April 18, 2024 - The newly elected president of the Phillip Island Conservation Society learned activism from some of the best. ![]() Post cards from World War One
April 19, 2024 - Private Percy Dominick’s war story is recorded in a series of postcards he wrote home to Phillip Island. By Christine Grayden ![]() The view from the other side
April 18, 2024 - Like the rest of us, artists usually stare put to sea, but Lindy Yeates has turned her gaze around to document our ceaselessly changing shorelines. ![]() These precious things
April 16, 2024 - It’s not just the objects in the Wonthaggi Museum that intrigue but the stories that come with them, writes Mark Robertson. |
![]() Dear Corinella and beyond
March 22, 2024 - In a few shocking minutes Jen Rutherford lost her house. That’s when a community wrapped their arms around her and told her she was not alone. ![]() Get used to it
March 22, 2024 - As climate change accelerates, Helen Zervopoulos says it’s time to stop the blame game and get ready. ![]() Back from the brink
March 22, 2024 - The astounding recovery of Eastern Barred Bandicoots highlights the potential of the former Holden Proving Ground as a predator-proof sanctuary for threatened species. ![]() Relief for Ruttle Estate residents
March 23, 2024 - Residents chalk up second victory in their battle to preserve the wetland reserve. ![]() The thin green line
March 22, 2024 - Ed Thexton visits the Corinella Foreshore and finds the locals have achieved something remarkable. ![]() Road upgrades back on the agenda
March 20, 2024 - After a resounding collective NO! to a $32 million scheme to seal, pave and drain Surf Beach and Sunderland Bay, more than 130 property owners are requesting road upgrades. ![]() Say that again
March 22, 2024 - Hard of hearing? Then you might need a different kind of smoke alarm. Liane Arno reports. |
![]() Lights out for shearwaters
April 12, 2024 - Phillip Island residents and business are being asked to dim the lights to protect short-tailed shearwater chicks on the first leg of their first migration to the northern hemisphere. ![]() The power trip continues
March 22, 2024 - The lights stayed on during our recent prolonger power outage, reports Werner Theinert. ![]() Facing Island, Facing Mortality
March 22, 2024 - Christine Grayden revisits the life of Jan Bassett, a remarkable historian whose family roots were deep in Phillip Island. ![]() Art of the woodlands
March 23, 2024 - Prize money of $2500 is up for grabs in an art exhibition celebrating the Western Port Woodlands. ![]() The wreck of the Speke
March 11, 32024 - How one of the world’s biggest steel rigged ships came to grief on Phillip Island’s rugged south coast. By Pam Rothfield ![]() A family affair
March 22, 2024 - Open Gardens Victoria features two contrasting Inverloch gardens, owned by mother and daughter Judy Morcom and Sue Jarvis. |
![]() The forgotten south
Feb 23, 2024 - It’s all very well to expand to the north of Wonthaggi but what about the south, asks Beryl Farr. ![]() Ian Robinson Q&A
Feb 23, 2024 - After a long writing career, Ian Robinson’s first children’s picture book opened up a rich vein of creativity. ![]() Time at the Tech
Feb 16, 2024 - It only takes one teacher to change a life, and Bruce Phillips was lucky enough to find several in his Wonthaggi school years. ![]() AI and me
Feb 23, 2024 - Catherine Watson discovers that we’re all replaceable. Except perhaps for cleaners. |
![]() The woman with the x-ray eyes
Feb 23, 2024 - Melissa Lowery sees things that no one else does. And she’s transformed our knowledge of the dinosaurs that once roamed Bass Coast. ![]() A splash of joy
Feb 22, 2024 - Our mortality reminds us to cherish each special day, writes Etsuko Yasunaga ![]() Across the Narrows
Feb 20, 2024 - Time and tide wait for no man and nowhere is the saying more apt than in the narrow channel between San Remo and Phillip Island, writes Linda Cuttriss ![]() On the arrival of Warren at the Homestead
Feb 22, 2024 - Ron Kousal’s mostly fallacious rabbiter’s guide to Rhyll, from Don Giovanni to La Causa Nostril. |
![]() Wonthaggi hopes and fears
Jan 26, 2024 - With our little country town destined to become a major regional centre, the Post asked residents to reflect on what lies ahead. ![]() Bigger - or better?
Jan 25, 2024 - The developers are already circling Wonthaggi, eyeing the prize and working out how to maximise the carve-up, writes Mark Robertson. ![]() The views have it
Jan 24, 2024 - Corinella homeowners have won the right to a sea view, with the long awaited landscape plan. Debate remains whether that's a victory for common sense or environmental vandalism. John Lippmann and Jenny Date put the case for and against. ![]() Yes, no, dunno
Jan 25, 2024 - Bass Coast councillor Les Larke continues to perplex. His latest council lark is not to vote, reports Catherine Watson. ![]() Not a good look
Jan 25, 2024 - Writer Selena Routley sometimes works in convivial spaces such as cafés and pubs. And that seems to upset some people. ![]() Australian made
Jan 25, 2024 - Geoff Ellis finds himself the custodian of things that were built to last. ![]() Total immersion
Jan 25, 2024 - There’s no separation between Mae Adams’ life and art. Her bush block provides the materials for her exquisite weavings. |
![]() Time at the Tech
Feb 16, 2024 - It only takes one teacher to change a life, and Bruce Phillips was lucky enough to find several in his Wonthaggi school years. ![]() Across the Narrows
Feb 20, 2024 - Time and tide wait for no man and nowhere is the saying more apt than in the narrow channel between San Remo and Phillip Island, writes Linda Cuttriss ![]() The great ships of Phillip Island Millowl
Jan 19, 2024 - As the Phillip Island Conservation Society marks its first 55 years, Christine Grayden ponders how members have kept up the good fight for decades without wavering. ![]() The other war
Jan 22, 2024 - If you love living here, imagine how much First Nations people must have loved it before the British invasion, writes Frank Coldebella. ![]() Not a murder, just an unkindness
Jan 25, 2024 - A mass gathering of ravens at The Oaks intrigues Ed Thexton. ![]() Shootout at the RK Homestead
Jan 22, 2024 - You might think they’re cute. Ron Kousal begs to differ. ![]() Extreme painting
Jan 26, 2024 - Mark Schaller’s been having fun. He hopes we’ll enjoy the results. ![]() 'The eye of a hawk and the hand of a surgeon'
Jan 25, 2024 - Noted ceramicist Rob Matheson has been engaged to run a monthly class in Wonthaggi. Liane Arno gets to know the man behind the work. |