Courtney Yeandle

1 month ago | abc.net.au | Bridget Murphy |Courtney Yeandle |Jean Kennedy

Dozens of residents across parts of the New South Wales Hunter region were forced out of their homes overnight after evacuation orders were issued due to fears of major flooding. The State Emergency Service (SES) issued an emergency warning for residents in some streets in the communities of Dungog and Paterson, urging them to evacuate by 11:30 last night. SES crews and police door knocked the area and told residents that they could get trapped if they did not leave.

1 month ago | abc.net.au | Amelia Bernasconi |Courtney Yeandle

Olympians, actors, models and horse racing royalty have saddled up for the 2025 Tour d'Horse, raising more than $1 million for the KIDS Foundation. The foundation supports children with traumatic injuries from things like car accidents, house fires, abuse and neglect. Ambassador Spencer Connelly says the foundation has helped build his confidence after he suffered severe burns to more than a third of his body.

2 months ago | abc.net.au | Amelia Bernasconi |Courtney Yeandle

One of New South Wales's largest coal mines has been given a lifeline by the state government, two months before it was due to close. Hunter Valley Operations' mining approvals for HVO North, between Singleton and Muswellbrook, were due to expire by the end of June. The Yancoal-Glencore joint venture mine has been given an 18-month time extension while it continues its bid to mine out to 2050.

Mar 31, 2025 | abc.net.au | Courtney Yeandle |Charles Rushforth

Emergency crews are searching for a camper swept away by "raging" floodwaters on the NSW mid-north coast. Police have recovered a caravan and SUV belonging to an elderly camper at Bretti Reserve near Gloucester. Crews will continue searching the banks of the Lachlan River for the missing man over the next three days. Emergency services are holding out hope for a man swept away by "raging" floodwaters at a camping site on the New South Wales mid-north coast.

Mar 22, 2025 | abc.net.au | Amelia Bernasconi |Courtney Yeandle

Move over gin, distillers say rum is next in line for a resurgence. The number of Australian spirit makers has exploded from around 30 in 2013 to more than 700 today. Around half of those are in regional areas, and the latest addition to the list is at Muswellbrook in the NSW Hunter Valley, in the town's former milk factory. Steve McGarry is the chief executive of the Sydney Rum Distillery, which is in the process of transforming the 1940s-built former Oak milk factory into a rum distillery.