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Feature stories and articles

Contributions are welcome. Please email [email protected]
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Archives
Feature stories 2024
Feature stories 2023
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Feature stories 2022
Feature stories 2021
Feature articles 2020
​Feature articles 2019
Feature articles 2018
Feature articles 2017
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​​Feature articles 2016
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​Feature articles 2015
Feature articles 2014
Feature articles 2013
Feature articles 2012
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Here’s to you, Comrade 
Nov 12, 2025 - Fifty years since the Dismissal, a gathering of the faithful started as a wake and turned into a celebration.

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Irreconcilable differences
Nov 11, 2025 - Catherine Watson digs deep looking for the seeds of the Great Wonthaggi Garden War of 2025.

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​Picnic with a purpose
Nov 12, 2025 - Tired of waiting for action on the Wonthaggi high school site, locals are planning a subversive action.

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From the Old Country to Wonthaggi
Nov 9, 2025 - Thousands of people crossed the oceans to work in the State Coal Mine at Wonthaggi. One of them was Linda Cuttriss’s grandfather.


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Meet the ologists
Nov 10, 2025 - Matt Stone’s crash course in the world of medical specialists.


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After we are gone
Nov 10, 2025 - Somewhere between joy and silence, Etsuko Yasunaga catches a glimpse of eternity.

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The class of `76
Nov 10, 2025 - Meeting old school mates after a 50-year gap prompts some profound questions for Geoff Ellis.

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Into the music
Nov 8, 2025 - After the long quiet of lockdown, Anne Olsen found her voice again in singing with others.

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Two parts science, one part magic
Nov 8, 2025 - With a scientist’s mind and a gardener’s heart, Miriam Ford is turning a modest Wonthaggi block into a showpiece of Australian plants.​

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Call of the wild
Nov 13, 2025 – Long days, sleepless nights and endless dedication … Julie Paterson meets the team behind Bunurong Wildlife Care. 

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Penguin secrets of success
Nov 10, 2025 - Just like humans, penguin chicks that get a good start tend to prosper in later life.​

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The happy snapper
Nov 9, 2025 - Dyonn Dimmock photographs the natural beauty of Bass Coast and the passionate, dedicated, resilient and committed people who live here.

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Life, luck and long journeys
Nov 11, 2025 - Laura Brearley is still dancing, still singing, still marvelling at the journey with friends old and new.

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Stories of home
Nov 10, 2025 - When Win Kyi thinks of growing up in Myanmar, he recalls the bamboo house he built with his father. Story by Daryl Pellizzer

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All in a day’s work
Nov 9, 2025 - Sick of the daily grind? Then get a job that aligns with your personal values, advises local podcaster Cathie Agg.


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Millowl comes alive
Nov 12, 2025 - Vegas Fitzmaurice turned to nature for a moving artistic tribute to his late mother.

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The one that got away
Oct 16, 2025 - The State Government missed its chance to buy the old Holden Proving Ground. Now we have to hope a Chinese car company will do the right thing, writes Neil Rankine.  

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An MP’s diary
Oct 17, 2025 - The first of a regular column in which the Member for Monash offers a glimpse behind the scenes of life in Canberra and her travels across the electorate.

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Holding back the tide
Oct 14, 2025 - Neil Daly asks whether it’s time to let nature prevail at Queensferry.

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Don’t go into the woods without it!
Oct 16, 2025 - When the pandemic clipped their wings, Jackie and Dave Newman turned their lenses closer to home. The result is on show in Birds of the Western Port Woodlands.

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The mystery remains
Oct 16, 2025 - In 1917, a huge skeleton found in sand dunes near Tarwin Lower caused great astonishment among the locals.   

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The grevillea whisperer
Oct 14, 2025 - In a sea of concrete, lawn and yucca trees, David Binch has created a sanctuary for birds, bees and humans.

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A gentle hand
Oct 15, 2025 - Everyone remembers Vic Benetti’s smile. That and the Tuscan villa he built in Wonthaggi as a young bachelor.

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A view from the other side
Oct 16, 2025 - A brief overseas holiday proves a tonic for farmers, writes Rob Parsons.  

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The art of dishwashing
Oct 14, 2025 - When Inverloch artist John Mutsaers couldn’t paint, he found a new way to make sense of life.


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Fleeting moments
Oct 16, 2025 - Kate Muir’s and Tessa Hubble’s contrasting styles and techniques open different windows on the passage of time in their joint exhibition.

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Kelp and the Sentient Sea
Oct 9, 2025 - Two artists dive deep into the beauty, mystery and power of the Southern Ocean.

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Seventy years of smash and spin
Sept 16, 2025 - Julie Paterson investigates how Wonthaggi’s table tennis club has stood the test of time. 

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So, where to start?
Sept 16, 2025 - Is so the new like? The question sent Matt Stone reaching for the dictionary. 

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We have been singing …
Sept 18, 2025 - EAL students and community lifted their voices in a joyful act of connection, writes Daryl Pellizzer

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Don’t lock us out
Sept 18, 2025 - Social media can mean community, learning and even survival, writes Oliver Jobe.

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At your service
Sept 10, 2025 - Deb Garvey starts work at 4.30 am and closes when she runs out of patients. The Post asks what drives the sole medical practitioner in the Waterline community.

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Rescuing the rescue station
Aug 14, 2025 - The State Coal Mine rescue station was going the same way as Number 5 mine brace … until a determined crew stepped up. By Carolyn Landon

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My brush with art
Sept 18, 2025 - Catherine Watson fails to draw a tree and has a good time anyway.

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Nature Notes
Sept 18, 2025 - Cockatoo lovers, possum squatters and mysterious flies … it must be spring.

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No fixed address
Aug 14, 2025 - At 83, Beth Banks is part of a grassroots fight for dignity, security and a place to call home in Bass Coast.

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Hands off our bridge
Aug 16, 2025 - The Kilcunda trestle bridge might not be grand, but it’s our history, writes Maxine Wright

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Lighten up,
​you guys

Aug 20, 2025 - Paul Cross wants to know why greenies can’t take a joke. By Catherine Watson

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The scroll stops here
Aug 19, 2025 - Anabelle Bremner asks whether Australia’s social media for under-16s will do more harm than good.

At your service
Aug 19, 2025 - She open at 4.30 am and only closes when  there are no more patients … What drives Deb Garvey, sole medical practitioner in the Waterline community?
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Calling citizen scientists
Aug 20, 2025 - If you go down to the woods today … take your phone because you never know what you’ll see.

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Nature to the rescue
Aug 16, 2025 - A landmark project will use mangroves, saltmarsh and seagrass as the first line of defence against climate change in Western Port.

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Gaza is our issue too
Aug 17, 2025 - Local councils have a role to play in ending the war in Gaza, argues Oliver Jobe.

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And now for some light relief
Aug 16, 2025 - This year marks the centenary of quantum mechanics. The Post asked local science writer and mathematician Robyn Arianrhod to “please explain” a theory that perplexed even Einstein.

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Stanley McGeagh: A life in many acts
Aug 13, 2025 - The Irish-Australian actor died on August 5, leaving behind a Coronet Bay community that had claimed him as one of its own.

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​A photo journal
Aug 17, 2025 - The Mouth of the Powlett teems with layers of life, visual textures, a multitude of species and a restorative force. By Julie Paterson

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From tent town to model town
Aug 18, 2025 - Wonthaggi arrived much later than most of the towns around Bass Coast, but it grow at breakneck speed. By Linda Cuttriss

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The long road to a rare diagnosis
Aug 17, 2025 - For years Liane Arno explained away her headaches, joint pain and skeletal changes. Only a chance encounter with a specialist revealed the truth.

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Delivered by hand
Aug 16, 2025 - From Airlie Beach to Bushy Park, a painted rock was Etsuko Yasunaga’s passport to parkrun camaraderie across continents.

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Play it on the porch
Aug 13, 2025 - What if, just for one day, the world stopped and we all listened to the music? By Michael Whelan

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All you need is music?
Aug 19, 2025 - Music’s so easy these days, at least for the fans. But what about the musicians, asks Alison Vincent.

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Thereby hangs a tale
Aug 16, 2025 - Tears, laughter, resilience and recipes … the Festival of Stories had it all. By Julie Statkus

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Slogans won’t save our beach
July 2025 - Trevor Forge makes the case for listening to the experts on Inverloch beach.

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Winding down?
July 22, 2025 - Wonthaggi’s windmills are approaching their use-by date. By Catherine Watson

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The power trip speeds up
July 19, 2025 - Is it finally time to install a home battery? Energy guru Werner Theinert does the sums so you don’t have to.

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The Nobbies jinx
July 23, 2025 - The recent closure of the Nobbies Centre is the latest twist in a saga that includes mini-tornados and multi-million-dollar court battles.

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The storm inside
July 22, 2025 - Chris Pitman’s acclaimed one-man play opens the door to difficult conversations, writes Tim O’Brien

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Reef Island and the shifting line
July 22. 2025 - After years of watching this shift-shaper from afar, Linda Cuttriss sets out for a closer look.

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The Birdman of Cape Paterson
July 23, 2025 - With his camera and a talent for storytelling, David Hartney captures the daily dramas of birds, beasts and humans.

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Roadkill Island
July 17, 2025 - Stop the slaughter! By Wallaby Wal, as told to Ron Day.

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​Sounds and silence
July 21, 2025 - A powerful new work from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra comes to Wonthaggi before its Melbourne debut.



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More power to you, Oliver
June 25, 2025 - When federal leaders keep detonating carbon bombs, our kids have every right to be angry, writes Michael Whelan.

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Can you hear it?
June 25, 2025 - Time for more of our politicians to get out of Spring Street and spend some time ‘down on the farm’, writes Neil Daly.

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​The last laugh
June 26, 2025 - Ten strangers walk into a café to talk about death and leave two hours later feeling strangely cheerful. By Catherine Watson

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Shrooms, booms and a touch of magic
June 25, 2025 - The hipsters appear each winter, like migratory birds from north of the Yarra. By Catherine Watson

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A photo journal
June 27, 2025 - Julie Paterson continues her voyage of discovery across Bass Coast.  
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Lost in the dream
June 26, 2025 - In his 90th year John Adam is still learning, one canvas at a time.


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The art of resistance
June 25, 2025 - A new exhibition of works from the Robert Smith collection reminds us that the fight for justice goes on.

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Big stories and
​bold strokes

June 26, 2025 - Basins, Oxides, Locals, Legend dives into life across the hills — raw, rich, and unmistakably Phil Henshall.

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Touched by the light
June 7, 2025 - Warren Nichols never dreamed that one of his paintings would hang alongside original works by Turner. By Catherine Watson

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Let’s talk some more
June 8, 2025 - The Teal movement missed out in the Monash electorate, writes Robert Durkacz, but a community approach to politics is worth pursuing.

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Rest in peace, but stay in line
June 7, 2025 - There’s a new corporate vibe at Wonthaggi cemetery since Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust took it over.

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My local MP blocked me
June 8, 2025 - What does it means for democracy if our politicians can shut us up if they don’t like what we’re saying? By Oliver Jobe

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Farewell friends
May 15, 2025 - Grace, diplomacy and a sprinkling of spite … the other Monash candidates sign off after a nerve-racking election. By Catherine Watson​
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In the line of fire
May 15, 2025 - Managing fire for people and wildlife isn't rocket science, says Professor Mike Clarke. It’s much more complex than that.

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Raise the rates and fix the joint!
Frank Schooneveldt’s plea to council on roads and drainage plan that stretches all the way to 2090.

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​Measure of success
May 7, 2025 - Neil Daly presses the case for an audit of our efforts to grow mangroves in the eastern arm of Western Port.

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For better or worse
June 7, 2025 - Blindsided but undefeated, Matt looks forward to the next chapter in his book of spills. By Liane Arno.

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From shields to surfboards
June 8, 2025 - Artist Steve Ulula Parker’s call to country … for all of us.

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Crays, muttonfish and gars with tails like pick-axes
June 7, 2025 - Fishing yarns from the Bunurong Coast by Rees Quilford


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The art of change
June 7, 2025 - More than a gallery, ArtSpace continues to inspire new ways of seeing and being. By Laura Brearley

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Frequent flyers and vagrants
May 17, 2025 - Dave Newman pays tribute to our migratory wader birds and their epic flights, including some that don’t go to plan.

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Welcome home
May 15, 2025 - As the Gurdies forest begins to recover from fire, the animals are returning

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​Growing together
May 12, 2025 – Friendship and learning flourish alongside the plants at the Wonthaggi Seed Bank and Nursery.

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​The birds are back
May 12, 2025 - As our migratory shorebirds depart for their Arctic breeding grounds, the Flyways exhibition opens to celebrate their extraordinary journey.

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​More than water
May 16, 2025 - A spectacular night sky photo by Iryna MacMillan has won first prize in West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority’s photo competition. 

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​Wombat woes
Pushed into an ever-dwindling corridor of habitat, San Remo’s wombats need our help, writes Eve Kelly.



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Bring back the town hall debate!
April 14, 2025 - Robert Durkacz laments the lack of serious discussion in the Monash election.

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​Who’d be a politician?  
March 27, 2025 - Belinda Henderson pities the would-be politicians who have put their lives on hold to beg for our votes. 

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​No place like home
March 25, 2025 - Each year, as the end of the lease nears, Danielle wonders whether she is about to lose her home. 

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The final set
March 27, 2025 - Neil Luke’s old surfing mates celebrate the life of a surfing legend who did things his own way. 

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What next, Mr Dinosaur?
March 22, 2025 - Mike Cleeland has given up the day job but he’s not hanging up the rock hammer any time soon. By Ed Thexton

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​The trail blazers
March 21, 2023 - It would be easy to mistake them for a bunch of ladies who lunch, but you are looking at a group of revolutionaries.

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​Nature notes
March 25, 2025 - Phillip Island Nature Parks is celebrating the fledging of 65 Critically Endangered fairy tern chicks on the island.

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Wonthaggi’s war
March 25, 2025 - The Plaza Arcade played an unlikely role as a drill hall in the Second World War.

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Double for Inverloch writer​
March 27, 2025 - Judy Vradenburg has pulled off a second major award with her fly-on-the-wall account of local community activism.

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​The miracle chick
April 14, 2025 - It’s been a long and difficult summer for our hooded plovers and their minders, but a fairytale finish to the breeding season has local volunteers celebrating.

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​My MP wishlist
April 10, 2025 - Policies are important but so is the character of our representatives, writes Alison Vincent.

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Hit them where it hurts!
April 16, 2025 - Too young to vote - but Anabelle Bremner is urging climate action at the ballot box.

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​Better than cupcakes
March 28, 2025 - In the midst of 100 others women, Leslie Adams reclaims her voice. 

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The voyager
March 24, 2025 - There’s a sense of timelessness in Jan Learmonth’s work, of slow-moving waters and a world beyond the human one. By Louisa Waters

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​​Long haul to first state coal mine
March 24, 2025 - The State Coal Mine came to life almost overnight. But it took more than half a century and a state of emergency for it to happen.

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​A photo journal
March 24, 2025 - Julie Paterson explores the Bass Coast, taking photos and observing contrasts.

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​Stuff my relatives never told me
March 26, 2025 - Peter Brown delves into his family history and discovers stories of mutiny, adultery and murder.

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​Hey presto!
March 24, 2025 - Liane Arno works her magic and has no idea how she did it. 

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One step at a time
March 27, 2025 - Sometimes running is effortless and sometimes it’s a feat of endurance. Etsuko Yasunaga cheers on a friend running his first marathon.

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​The fixer
March 1, 2025 - Who are we going to call now that Nifty Nev is gone? By Catherine Watson

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​Every bottle tells a story
Feb 28, 2025 - A hurricane, a fire and a twister couldn't stop Wendy Heaney and Bruce Preston. By Camilla Myers. 

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Tigers make a splash
Feb 27, 2025 - A Richmond Football Club subsidiary will replace the YMCA as manager of Bass Coast’s leisure centres from July 1.

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​Swimming against the tide
Feb 27, 2025 - There may be lessons for Bass Coast in another small coastal town’s attempts to halt coastal erosion.

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​Endangered Species
Feb 26, 2025 - On the morning they disappeared, the day was born into a thick sea mist. A short story by Aneta Marovich.

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Power plays
Feb 28, 2025 - So you think power lines for offshore wind are ugly? Look around you, suggests Christopher Eastman-Nagle.

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​Just the job
Feb 28, 2025 -  Kane Bond explains why we need our own local jobs board.

​Return to the dark ages
March 2, 2025 - Dismantling of the US public service hurts us too, writes Christine Grayden. 
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​Any time, any where
Feb 27, 2025 - Geoff Ellis searches for the sweet spot between reality and virtuality.

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Russ stands his ground
Feb 1, 2025 - You wouldn’t pick Russ Williams for a typical greenie but he’s ready to defend his patch of bush.

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​A long journey at the gathering place
Feb 4, 2025 - Over three days, hundreds of local people joined renowned artist Maree Clarke in creating an important artwork for Berninneit.

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​Signs of life
Feb 3, 2025 - Four weeks after the Gurdies fire, Dr Sera Blair began documenting the survival and return of wildlife to the fire zone.

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​Local boost for cancer patients
Jan 31, 2025 - Wonthaggi’s cancer centre provided over 1000 cancer treatments last year, sparing patients the emotional, physical and financial toll of travelling for treatment.

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​The koel, part II
Feb 3, 2025 - Remember the eastern koel with the infuriating mating call? Well it clearly worked because koel babies are popping up everywhere. 

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​A feast for all the senses
Jan 30, 2025 - Sixteen inspiring food gardens open their gates for the fourth annual Bass Coast Edible Gardens Weekend.

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Pillage and plunder in Warn Marin Western Port
Feb 2, 2025 - Industrialisation of the bay began 30 years before permanent white settlement, writes Christine Grayden. 

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Kilcunda Coal
Feb 2, 2025 - Linda Cuttriss had always wondered about that mullock heap. It wasn’t until she was held up by roadworks that she stopped to find out more.  

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​A bump in the road
Feb 1, 2025 - Obstacles make the journey even sweeter. By Etsuko Yasunaga

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Close encounters
Feb 2, 2025 – When Julie Paterson first heard about Wonthaggi’s emus she suspected it was a tall tale.

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​Please come again, but not for a while
Feb 4, 2025 - The visitors have gone at last and peace descends.  By Catherine Watson 

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​Andy Stewart Q&A
Jan 10, 2025 - Local CFA crews have responded to multiple callouts over the past three weeks. Bass CFA captain Andy Stewart talks about life on the front line – and behind the scenes. 

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This film is dedicated to the hundreds of firefighters who worked so hard over many days to save homes, woodland and wildlife.
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​Fire at The Gurdies.
Jan 7, 2025 - For over 50 years Richard Kemp has known this day would come. 

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​Not quite true blue
Jan 9, 2025 - Twenty-five years on from taking the oath, Catherine Watson reflects on what it is to be a citizen of Australia. 

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​Tales from the campground
Jan 9, 2024 - How do you make friends with a blue tongue lizard? Maxine Cummings has the answer. 

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​After the Fires:
​a photostory

Jan 7, 2025 - Wildfire swept through the Gurdies Nature Conservation Reserve on December 19-20, threatening properties adjoining the reserve and further afield.