dougk

â–ş dougk's blog contributions

Article Council Election Counting - Final Results

Monday 30th: The verdict! Preferences were allocated today and the composition of the new Council has been determined. Group B candidate Thomas O'Keefe of Hawks Nest was elected on the...
Article An ominous warning!

This afternoon, August 30th, it may officially be still winter but North Arm Cove is basking in a 31 degree day. There's a worrying smell of smoke and Hazards Near...
Article Voting to be heard. A chance for change.

Council Elections are just two weeks away. This time, we really need to put a bit of effort into our vote. For the past four years with zero "local" councillors...
Article Is North Arm Cove a Pleonasm? You may be asking “What on earth is a “pleonasm?”. Wikipedia warns you not to confuse a “pleonasm” with a “neoplasm” which is an abnormal and excessive growth. That would...
Article A Time To Yell! Since Walter Burley Griffin’s original plan went to Stroud Shire Council in 1918, our beautiful Baromee peninsula has been frequently let down by councils. Now, with MidCoast Council complaining how... (2 comments)
Article A Vice Regal Visit Visits to Port Stephens by NSW Governors are not particularly common though we did have one last week from Governor Margaret Beazley. But who was the first Governor to visit...
Article submission Life wasn’t meant to be that easy? Today, when I typed my usual first word into Wordle, all five letters lit up. “Genius” the NYT website shouted at me! My usual starter word was indeed the Wordle...
Article submission The byzantine network anatomy of escalating acronyms

Some of us have real difficulties coping when the Internet goes out! For reasons which are too embarrassing to relate, I needed to remain in a vertical position throughout last...

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Article Life and Death in the Cove . . . a saga Since early August we have had an armchair view of the valiant efforts of a beautiful pair of Eastern Rosellas who took possession of a nesting box in a nearby... (2 comments)
Article submission On symbols and symbolism

I’ve been thinking about symbols of late – particularly after I heard someone say, referring to the coming referendum, “It’s only symbolic, it won’t change anything.” But is that really...
Article Shedding Shackles

When the colonists first arrived in Aus The People of the Land called out “You’re not welcome. Go away!” The colonists? They ignored that call. The land, the water -...
Article submission A flippin’ nuisance I was in a bit of a flap last Friday. A couple of months or so back, I became the proud owner of a pair of hearing aids. Grey ones... (1 comment)
Article submission Boxing Boomers This week I am having a little rant about the ongoing ageist attacks on the so-called “boomer generation”. I may be preaching to the choir here! North Arm Cove has...
Article Media mangled messages How much confidence should you give to what you read in a newspaper? I have had reason to ponder upon this quite recently. I felt motivated to write a letter... (1 comment)
Article Hopes for a brighter future

With the content of the Australian Constitution very much in the news, I put my “historian hat” on to take a look at how the newspapers and magazines of the...

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Article submission Popular local member returned with large majority Hard-working local member, Kate Washington, has been given a strong vote of confidence by the electors of Port Stephens and will serve as a member of the new Chris Minns...
Article Eleven years on. What's the verdict?

It will be exactly eleven years ago on Saturday 25th February that this website was "Officially" launched. Getting it to that point took a lot of work. The planning for...
Article Answers to the 2023 Australiana Crossword

Check your answers to last week's Australiana crossword.
Article An Australian History Challenge This is always a good week to reflect on Australia's past. But how much do you really know of Australia's history over the past quarter of a millenia? Print off...
Article This week in 1788 The First Fleet had arrived in this country over the three days from 18th to 20th January. It did not take long for Arthur Phillip to decide that Botany Bay...
Article 1788 and All That!

My ancestral connection this to wonderful land that we call Australia dates back to 8am on January 20th 1788. That 235 years may seem a long time but it is...

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Article Happy 80th, Steve! Long term Cove resident, Steve Dumbrell, has never had trouble remembering the date of his birthday. It falls on Remembrance Day. This week, the eightieth of Steve's Remembrance Day birthdays...
Article submission Ian Cook, RFS I was saddened to hear during the past week that RFS Inspector Ian Cook had passed away last February. Ian Cook was responsible for developing the Community Protection Plan for...
Article submission The Cove votes 2022: the results With record levels of pre-poll voting right across the country, I had expected that there would be fewer votes cast locally in 2022 than in 2019 but no, the 300...
Article Ribald scenes at Downing Street It was January 6th. The Prime Minister had invited a select party of his dearest political connections to celebrate with him in a night of hilarity, alcohol and cake. (1 comment)
Article submission Push through. Let it rip. It’s not a great idea. It is hard to imagine now but, five decades ago, I was young and enthusiastic. One winter’s day I was hurrying across campus. Rather than take a 30 metre detour...
Article submission New Councillors announced Do you remember voting in a council election way back on 4 December? The results of that election were finally declared this morning (Wednesday 22 December). Why did the results...
Article Christmas Time in the Cove!

It's Christmas time in the Cove once more. Sing along with North Arm Cove's own Christmas song ...

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Article submission Too many candidates, too little info! Are you as confused as I have been about who's standing at the upcoming Council Elections? Voting is compulsory - but who to vote for? Too often in the past... (1 comment)
Article submission Draft Marine Park Management Plan released On Monday the NSW Government released a draft Management Plan for the NSW Mainland Marine Park Network (2021-2031) for community consultation over the next three months. Port Stephens-Great Lakes is...
Article submission Parts of MidCoast back in lockdown - but not us! Stay at home orders for parts of the Mid Coast Local Government (LGA) area were implemented by NSW Health last night (4 October 2021) following two confirmed cases of COVID-19...
Article submission MidCoast Lockdown Lifted - for now The Deputy Premier, John Barilaro, announced earlier this evening.that, as of midnight tonight (Friday 10 September), the lockdown of the MidCoast local government area has been lifted. MidCoast Council had...
Article submission Protection Plan Update Our Community Protection Planning Coordinator, Inspector Ian Cook, writes ... Currently I am in the process of reviewing North Arm Cove's Community Protection Plan, and attempting to begin producing a...
Article submission Bulky Waste Cleanup A bulky waste kerbside collection for North Arm Cove residents will take place between 4-10 June. It's a great opportunity to dispose of those bulky, unwanted items without even leaving...
Article submission Waiting for the jab! If you are over 70 or have underlying medical conditions, then you would be among the 1800+ “Phase 1b” people in the Tea Gardens/Hawks Nest statistical region who became eligible...
Article It should be "3 strikes and you're out" NBN! It is just not good enough NBN. Three electrical storms have passed over our village during a two-month period. That is three times that many Cove residents lost their NBN...
Article NBN Madness Late in the evening on 1 December, a flashy thunderstorm passed over the Cove. Not unusual. We get several such storms every summer. But at about 11 PM that night... (6 comments)
Article submission On reflection We might not have everything we want and there are things that certainly need to be fixed. But - it is too easy to take for granted the many great...
Article submission Twenty20 Vision It was the early nineties when I participated in my first “2020 Vision” talk-fest. As workshop participants, we were asked to envisage what the world would be like in 2020...
Article Plan & Prepare Now ... for the approaching bush fire season Ian Cook writes: Now is a good time for everyone to be thinking about preparing for the approaching bush fire season. For those in the community that may require or...

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