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1 week ago | 
abc.net.au | Justin Huntsdale
It is a real possibility that Stephen Brown will travel to the literal edges of the country, walk about 15 kilometres a day in heat and humidity and search for something he may never find. But sometimes, he strikes gold. The New South Wales butterfly collector has discovered and named three new species in his career,along with the honour of the insects forever bearing his name.
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1 month ago | 
abc.net.au | Kathleen O'Connor |Justin Huntsdale
It's 50 years this week since colour television was introduced into Australian living rooms. The ABC's The Aunty Jack Show was the first to broadcast in colour, the show's creator Grahame Bond still in disbelief he was asked to star in the special program. Featured:Grahame Bond, Aunty Jack creatorProf. Lauren Rosewarne, University of MelbourneAndy Park: It's 50 years this week since colour television was announced or introduced really into Australian living rooms.
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1 month ago | 
abc.net.au | Justin Huntsdale
Grahame Bond still cannot believe he was chosen to usher in the exciting new era of colour television in Australia. The year was 1975 and to mark the switch from black and white on March 1, the ABC chose Aunty Jack — a moustachioed part-trucker, part-pantomime dame with a penchant to "rip yer bloody arms off" — as the person for the job. Despite The Aunty Jack Show having finished two years earlier after two seasons, the character was brought back to life for the special episode.
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1 month ago | 
abc.net.au | Justin Huntsdale
After doing the gruelling Kokoda Trek three times, Lachlan Stevens got to a point where he wanted other people to experience the benefits of finishing it. The Wollongong army veteran has just launched a not-for-profit trekking company inviting both veterans and civilians to tackle the 11-day journey. It is run through his Raising the Bar Foundation.
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2 months ago | 
abc.net.au | Justin Huntsdale
While the Illawarra Hawks are proud to be the only NBL club to have competed in every season since the league's inception in 1979, it has been a turbulent 46 years. For a decade from the late 2000s, being a Hawks supporter meant accepting that your club might not be around next season. A campaign to save the franchise in 2009 saw it survive under a community-ownership model with a small player budget, before being placed into voluntary administration twice.
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2 months ago | 
abc.net.au | Justin Huntsdale
When you are not in a drought or under water restrictions, do you still care about how much water you are using? You should — not only because it is a precious resource, but you are also paying for it. Ignoring leaks or drips can cost money, but you might also want to look at what else can be done around the house to help with water efficiency. TAFE Wollongong plumbing teacher Terry Tomkin remembers a time when people were conscious of saving every drop and he has some handy water tips for summer.
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2 months ago | 
abc.net.au | Justin Huntsdale
Before 70 per cent of his New South Wales dairy farm burnt in the devastating bushfires of 2019–20, Robert Miller's property was teeming with wildlife. "We saw lots of big lizards, lace monitors, goannas, blue tongues, snakes, and birds," he said. "We have a billabong on the farm plus rainforest, so we have a pretty good setting for native wildlife."The Currowan fire that hit his property in Milton five years ago burnt nearly 500,000 hectares across the state's south east.
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2 months ago | 
abc.net.au | Justin Huntsdale
The Illawarra has hosted a number of big budget productions filmed here in the Illawarra. Planet of the Apes, One Night on Paramount and the BBC production Return To Paradise were all filmed in the Wollongong area. Recently, representatives from the film industry — including employees from Netflix, Warner Brothers and Disney — travelled through the Illawarra for what's been called a Familiarisation Tour.
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2 months ago | 
abc.net.au | Justin Huntsdale
If you've been to an Illawarra Hawks or St George Illawarra Dragons game over the past 40 plus years, you've no doubt seen Phil Driscoll on the sidelines. On Australia Day, he was given the honour of an Order of Australia medal for services to sport through medical roles. With his trademark white beard and friendly personality, Phil is a local legend when it comes to professional sport in the Illawarra.
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2 months ago | 
abc.net.au | Justin Huntsdale
On a sunny morning at the Warrigal Shell Cove aged care facility in Shellharbour, James Tebbutt is welcoming residents into his portable butterfly enclosure. Colourful butterflies fly around the mesh gazebo feasting on sponge feeding sticks and fresh flowers, and landing on all who enter. James says it can be a nostalgic experience for residents. "Many have raised caterpillars to butterflies and it reminds them of that experience, so we are bringing them back to when they were young," he says.
