Brigitte Murphy

1 month ago | abc.net.au | Brigitte Murphy |Emma Siossian |Wiriya Sati

Surrounded by pitch-black, swampy floodwaters and using a makeshift bamboo raft, a rescue crew pulled off an extraordinary feat. Late on Friday evening the team of five Fire and Rescue in-water technicians responded to a call from an isolated farm near Kempsey on the New South Wales mid-north coast. The crew paddled their rescue boat 2 kilometres to reach 62-year-old Troy Irwin and his 52-year-old partner Mirasol Page, whose property had been cut off for three days.

Mar 25, 2025 | abc.net.au | Brigitte Murphy |Caitlin Furlong

A woman and two girls have been arrested and two teachers taken to hospital after an incident at a school in northern NSW. Police arrived at Armidale Secondary College at 10:30am after reports two girls, 11 and 13, had assaulted staff after trying to attack another student. Four staff were treated for minor injuries. Two were taken to Armidale Hospital for assessments. Both girls were arrested. Police say the 13-year-old also assaulted an officer.

Dec 12, 2024 | abc.net.au | Lara Webster |Brigitte Murphy

An century-old pub in north-west New South Wales where generations of families have enjoyed a cold beer has burnt to the ground overnight. Emergency services were called to the Royal Hotel at Gurley, a town with a population of about 250 people, at 8.30pm Thursday. A post on the pub's Facebook page said it had been due to close for a summer break from Friday until March. Gurley Fire Brigade member Brendan Munn was one of the first on the scene on Thursday night.

Dec 8, 2024 | abc.net.au | Emma Rennie |Brigitte Murphy

If it wasn't for a small section of white fence and some billboards, it would be hard to see where the rural border community of Wallangarra-Jennings splits into two. That separation though has become very clear to the residents of the towns which straddle the New South Wales-Queensland border after one side was granted tens of thousands of dollars in bushfire recovery money while the other missed out.

Oct 7, 2024 | abc.net.au | Brigitte Murphy

When Catherine Wright and Andrew Menzies bought their rural property in the New South Wales Northern Tablelands in 2003 they did not realise they would also become guardians of an endangered native plant species. Spring Camp, located south of Armidale, is one of the few areas in Australia where the Grevillea beadleana grows in the wild. "We feel like we are custodians of the land and our role here is to promote the biodiversity on Spring Camp," Ms Wright said.