Living in About Regional country gives you access to beautiful sights, amazing wildlife, and some of the best people around. Take a look at some of the stories that made headlines in 2025.
18. It’s seven years since Norman Sanders’ ashes set sail from the South Coast. Where is he now?
by James Coleman
The SS Norman, before it set off from Corrigans Beach, Batemans Bay. Photo: Captain Norm Sails Home, Facebook.
Captain Norm’s final journey began when his family launched his ashes aboard a little handmade boat in January 2018, bound for England. But whatever happened to the SS Norman? We checked in with the family …
17. Jeeperz Creaturez brings whimsical welding to Bungendore’s Old Joinery Lane
by Hayley Nicholls
Tim Hodgson’s creations often stem naturally from a single ‘interesting’ piece of scrap metal. Photo: Hayley Nicholls.
Dating back to circa 1870, Old Joinery Lane in Bungendore has undergone a recent renaissance, transforming what was once a functional workshop laneway into a vibrant hub of creativity, wellness and cafe culture.
Central to this new artisan vibe are the eccentric pieces of local scrap metal sculptor Jeeperz Creaturez.
16. Reviving a Corsican’s French country garden at Rossiville
by John Thistleton
Rossiville owner Georgina Chambers, her Cavoodle Chester and garden designer and horticulturalist Lorna Vallely near an olive tree at the property’s entrance, believed to be 200 years old. Photo: John Thistleton.
History records Captain Francis Rossi as the NSW’s colony’s first reformist police superintendent. Through their research the owners of his Goulburn property Rossiville have discovered much more about the man from Corsica.
15. Photographer captures, counts whales during an annual survey – and shares the results
by Claire Sams
South Coast photographer Josh Burkinshaw has captured images of some of the roughly 40,000 migrating whales. Photo: Josh Burkinshaw Images/Facebook.
For South Coast photographer Josh Burkinshaw Images, photographing whales starts with a hike in the bush to find a vantage point. Now, he’s sharing the results so you can see them too.
14. Horse in a hole: Unique rescue brings multiple agencies to South Coast property
by Claire Sams
Peter Collins, one of the rescuers, says the rescue had a happy ending. Photo: Croakers Towing Service Facebook.
The mission that brought multiple agencies, worried owners and an excavator to a South Coast property started with a one-of-a-kind call – news that a horse had fallen into a septic tank.
The call came through to Peter Collins’ SES Moruya Unit at around 8:30 pm on 11 March.
13. Why Bob has spent a quarter of his life restoring this old train carriage
by James Coleman
Canberra Railway Museum’s Bob Hall and Sylvia Jamieson. Photo: James Coleman.
“Persistence” is the name fellow volunteers have told him should be written across its sides.
Bob Hall has been painstakingly restoring the same 1800s train carriage at the Canberra Railway Museum in Kingston for 24 years.
But this isn’t just any train carriage. It was a saviour to hundreds of NSW’s most needy residents for three decades.
12. Relief as little penguins swim ashore after 30-year absence
by Claire Sams
Two of Eden’s newest (and smallest) residents seen making their home near Wheel Cove. Photo: Little Penguins Eden Facebook.
Little penguins are tiny and fluffy – and they’ve recently made a new home on the South Coast after a three-decade absence.
11. From Poland to Goulburn to create a food garden fit for Costa
by John Thistleton
Bozena Peplowska’s brother Zdzislaw and her mother Antonina with a freshly cut crop, which her father Boleslaw is stacking on top of the cart. The photo was likely taken in the early 1970s. Photo: Bozena Peplowska.
Bozena Peplowska came from Poland to Goulburn and turned a barren garden into such a flower and food-producing paradise she attracted high-profile gardeners like bees to pollen.
Having been raised on a little dairy farm where her parents grew just about everything, Bozena was well prepared for the rock-hard clay that she struck in Bradfordville, Goulburn in 1997.
10. Bushwalker’s $2700 surprise proves there’s still gold in them thar South Coast hills
by James Coleman
Gold ore nugget found by Robert Keler, near Mogo. Photo: Have A Go Prospecting, Facebook.
A hobby prospector has stumbled across a nugget of gold worth about $2700 on one of Australia’s old goldfields, proving there’s still much out there to be discovered.
The Facebook page ‘Have A Go Prospecting’ shared the find from Robert Keler, describing it as a “very nice piece”.
9. How 19 years of beach walks have brought a species back from the brink
by Claire Sams
For 25 years, South Coast shorebirds have been kept safe under the watchful eye of volunteers. Photo: Peter Collins.
In the spring sun, Peter Collins walks along the South Coast’s long stretches of beach.
Unlike other beachgoers, he doesn’t cool off in the water or let a dog burn off some energy. He keeps a keen eye on some tiny visitors.
The walks are part of the South Coast Shorebird Recovery Program, a NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service program.
8. Sci-fi horror author spells out qualities giving Goulburn an edge
by John Thistleton
Author and Goulburn resident Barbara Truelove has been impressed with the city’s library’s staff for connecting her to a new circle of friends, and the intergenerational groups enjoying library activities. Photo: John Thistleton.
A rising young author of sci-fi horror has made Goulburn her home and is enchanted by its “cute, quirky and charming’’ qualities.
Well-travelled for a 31-year-old, Barbara Truelove’s appetite for adventure has taken her from high school in Canberra to Brisbane, Sydney, Seoul, New Zealand, Darwin and Goulburn.
She arrived in Goulburn in 2021 to be closer to her father, a grazier in Gunning experiencing ill-health. By the time he recovered she had found Goulburn just the place to pursue a full-time career writing.
7. On tiny wings, angels of Earth replenish the soil and multiply
by John Thistleton
Adam Rabjohns is passionate about dung beetles, chemical-free farming and sustainability on ‘Leeston’, the family’s innovative cattle grazing property near Goulburn. Photo: Rabjohn family.
They can fly like Christmas beetles yet dung beetles are the gift that keeps on giving, working around the clock to improve soil, and multiplying along the way to get the job done faster.
6. Southern NSW stars in eerie new sci-fi thriller In Vitro, now streaming
by Edwina Mason
In Vitro was filmed entirely on location across the Southern Tablelands and Monaro over five weeks in early 2022. Photo: Shelley Farthing-Dawe.
A feature film shot near Cooma and Goulburn is now available on streaming platforms. Here’s what it’s about.
5. Bermagui holiday park goes to the dogs – and it pays off!
Reflections Bermagui park managers Chris and Di Donohue with their dogs Mia (left) and Lucy. Photos: Supplied.
A holiday park on the South Coast has literally gone to the dogs – and the owners couldn’t be happier.
Reflections Bermagui has nine dog-friendly cabins for guests travelling with “fur babies”, but for two weeks in February, park managers Chris and Di Donohue check in even more dogs than usual for a special fortnight.
4. Yarrangobilly thermal pool gets a thoroughly modern makeover
by Edwina Mason
The Yarrangobilly caves and pools attract around 50,000 visitors annually. Photo: Paul Sims/NPWS.
For decades, the Yarrangobilly Caves Thermal Pool has been a well-loved escape, tucked within the rugged beauty of Kosciuszko National Park where mineral-rich waters – a constant 27 degrees Celsius year-round – have soothed weary travellers and intrigued adventure seekers.
But for all its natural splendour, the experience had long been hindered by outdated facilities, difficult pathways and a lack of accessibility – until now.
3. New interactive map for coastal walk puts region’s beauty on display
by Claire Sams
The Munjip Trail runs along a 15 km stretch of coastline. Photo: Jon Harris.
A new interactive map is taking hikers through a new walking track, proving the South Coast has some of the best views around.
The Munjip Trail is a 15 km walking track that runs between Observation Point and McKenzies Beach on the NSW South Coast.
The trail opened earlier this year, and its route is highlighted in a new interactive map and webpage.
2. Why this South Coast sparky is calling on more people to eat (and hunt) invasive species
by Claire Sams
Andrew Joulianou hasn’t been to the butcher in five years – and he’s not a vegetarian. Photo: Thebaldchefau/Facebook.
CONTENT WARNING: This story contains images that some readers may find distressing.
Rather than heading to the shops when he runs low on meat, sparky Andrew Joulianou heads into the bush.
There, he hunts invasive species like deer, pigs and goats, and brings the carcasses to feed his family.
1. Yass property to earn its living after multi-million dollar renovation
by Tenele Conway
Owners of the newly renovated Highclere Farm Edward Wakatama and Lee Pinder. Photo: Supplied.
When Lee Pinder and Edward Wakatama fell in love with the English elms at Highclere Farm, it led to a multi-million dollar renovation and the Yass region’s newest wedding and event hire venue.
