I was lucky enough to have a few minutes alone with Bruce Pascoe before we flew from the Yuin Nation to the Bundjalung Nation where we would both be guests at the Byron Bay Writers Festival. Sitting in the makeshift terminal at Merimbula, Bruce told me how pleased he was to hear that Indigenous author Melissa Lucashenko had just won...

The Eurobodalla's most promising young writers have received applause with the winners of the 2019 Mayor’s Writing Competition announced. And exclusive to the About Regional community we have the winning story for you to enjoy. Eurobodalla Mayor Liz Innes presented each of the finalists with a certificate and an anthology of the students’ stories, before awarding overall winner Rosie McPartland...

Local author, poet and playwright, Diana Harley, has just published her latest children's picture book - Fantastic Gymnastics. With simple bouncing rhymes and beautiful illustrations by award-winning illustrator, Sue Rama, the book weaves a tapestry of movement, learning and fun for kids to enjoy - and that adults will love reading out loud. Aimed at the birth to 8 years...

How books make a house a home is the focus of a new film about recovering from the trauma of the Reedy Swamp, Vimy Ridge and Tathra Bushfire. The Book Love for Tathra film, partly funded by a Bega Valley Fire and Resilience Grant, tells the story of how more than 3000 new book donations have created positive and long-lasting...

When I sneak into the Bega Showground Pavillion, light is streaming through the high windows and the fLiNG crew are sitting on the floor, listening attentively to creative director Kate Denborough, who is taking them through a play-by-play of their new production, My Black Dog. The production is part of a two-year project by the Bega-based physical theatre company which tackles...

The revitalised Bega River is again one of the town’s treasures. There is more repair work to be done in this precious environment but the animals, plants, birds, and bugs that rely on this ecosystem have responded to the work of many in recent times. National Science Week will prove it – with the help of local citizen scientists, that’s...

Australia’s most respected and experienced social researcher, Hugh Mackay, believes something is wrong with our nation and in the lives of its citizens. At the inaugural Festival of Open Minds in September 2018, Hugh came to Bega to explain what and why, but more importantly how he thinks we can change for the better. "It's at the local level that...

Is there such a thing as a happy ending? What are your dating dealbreakers? Is finding your one true love just a myth? The truth here may be stranger than fiction according to two Canberra women who have explored the answers to these questions and much more in their book, Tales of Tinderella. The book is a mostly fictional account of...

The sun was shining, the smell of exhaust was in the air and the passion for all things motorised intoxicated the river village of Nelligen over the weekend. The Clyde River Classic car, bike and boat show attracted a bunch of colourful characters nursing self-confessed "car issues".  After buying his car 'Big Red' from a mate 12 years ago and...

One of the region's rising artists is the latest to sign on for the Festival of Open Minds in Bega this September. Sassi Nuyum, aka Meaghan Holt, has been writing since she was a little girl - writing runs in her family's blood. Meaghan lost her mother at the age of 9 and has since been raised predominately with her Aboriginal...

Hot on the heels of the Bega Library makeover comes a fresh new look and feel for Eden Library. Eden's house of knowledge and imagination will close for renovations from Saturday (August 3) and will reopen a week later on Saturday, August 10. Thanks to NSW State Library funding, new mobile shelving and a new children’s reading nook will be...

Every Monday for the last year, high school band Bournda Rock has met up for band practice and this week, the talent and commitment of the five members paid off. Jeremy Koenigkamp, Sarah Lingard-Sinclair, Jake Hansen, Malachi Mills-Hindle, all Eden Marine High students and Angus Ashcroft, a Bega High student, this week competed in YouthRock in Sydney and won a...

The longtime hosts of the Dragon Dreaming Festival at Wee Jasper, which has been cancelled this year, have expressed frustration and disappointment with its characterisation as a drug risk. They say that the Festival is an economic and social benefit for the Yass community with strong ethical foundations. This week, organisers announced that Dragon Dreaming would not take place this November, citing "the...

Has your family plugged into the Creative Kids voucher scheme yet? Money is waiting to help cover the cost of your child's education. Over 250,000 Creative Kids vouchers have been downloaded in the last six months, providing each child with $100 to help with the cost of creative and cultural learning activities. Member for Monaro John Barilaro says, “This voucher helps...

When Peter Papathanasiou was growing up in the Canberra suburb of Narrabundah, his family felt so insubstantial that it could be blown away by the wind. His older Greek parents cherished him, but he yearned for siblings, something more grounded and weighty. But when the Canberra scientist was an adult, his mother dropped a bombshell: he was not their biological child....

Yes it's a cruel thing I'm doing here, telling you about a fabulous wine event that has sold out, however there are a couple of great stories around the upcoming Nattie by Nature the main one being the marvelous concept of 'natural' winemaking. But there is also the enthusiasm and chutzpah of three hospitality friends, plotting and scheming good-times on the Sapphire...