Recent stories
![]() Developer tries again
June 15, 2024 - $54 million plan for Mahers Landing gets a bad rap. ![]() 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 ![]() Enviro fund set to launch
June 15, 2024 - Council goes into the property business – but not to make a profit. ![]() ‘A delightful place for gathering’
June 13, 2024 - Berninneit has won Victoria’s highest accolade in the public category of the Victorian Architecture Awards, announced last Friday night. ![]() 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, ![]() Ward restructure approved
May 30, 2024 - Almost one in five Bass Coast voters will change wards at the next council election. ![]() 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. ![]() The line of Counihan
June 7, 2024 - At last we are beginning to see glimpses of some of the treasures within the Robert Smith Art Collection. ![]() The sound of a wish
June 4, 2024 - The Bass Coast Chorale's mid-year concert marks the winter solstice. ![]() A cook’s journal
June 15, 2024 - As the garden hibernates, Liane Arno finds the ingredients for Palak Paneer are close at hand. ![]() Local legends shine
June 1, 2024 - All credit to our volunteers who have been honoured for their leadership and generosity at the second annual Bass Coast Community Awards. |
![]() 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’. |
![]() Cemetery clearing backlash
April 17, 2024 - Local naturalists were concerned when they heard an excavator within the hallowed grounds of the Tarwin Lower Cemetery. ![]() The housing divide
April 17, 2024 - More houses available as holiday home owners opt for long-term rentals but many local renters can’t afford them. ![]() Western Port plan in limbo
April 14, 2024 - The grand plan to protect Western Port is drifting with the four bayside councils losing focus, writes Neil Daly. ![]() 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. ![]() More surgeries on offer
April 9, 2024 - Shoulder replacements and endoscopic gastric stents have been added to the list of surgeries that can be performed at Wonthaggi Hospital. ![]() Lights out for shearwaters
April 12, 2024 - Phillip Island residents and business dim the lights for shearwater chicks on their perilous first migration. ![]() Storm cleanup continues
April 17, 2-24 - Residents in the storm-impacted areas of Bass Coast get an extra kerbside debris collection. |
![]() 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. ![]() Nirvana Park
April 19, 2024 - Ivee Strazzabosco created a magnificent garden, but nature always wins in the end. By Catherine Watson ![]() 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. ![]() 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. ![]() Press on!
April 17, 2024 - The olives are early this year and Wonthaggi’s community olive press swings into action this weekend. ![]() A cook’s journal
April 16, 2024 - Fruit fresh from the tree and a rich buttery home-made pastry – she’s apples for Liane Arno. |
More surgeries on offer
April 9, 2024 - Shoulder replacements and endoscopic gastric stents have been added to the list of surgeries that can be performed at Wonthaggi Hospital. ![]() Flood risk sinks Silverleaves house plan
March 23, 2024 - Should landowners be allowed to build on a site that’s likely to be swamped by rising sea waters? Cowes caravan park gets the nod
March 23, 2024 - … but councillors aren’t happy about Holiday Lifestyle Cowes. ![]() 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. |
![]() 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. ![]() 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. ![]() 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. |