Plus egg scrambling and a real Crackerjack. Welcome to Galah Weekly, our award-winning newsletter keeping you up to date with regional headlines that matter, plus other delightful things from life beyond the city. By Dean Southwell, who is having snakey nightmares.
The Big Four banks have agreed to a deal that keeps their remaining regional branches open for at least the next two years, although it comes too late for many communities.
The arrangement with the federal government means ANZ, NAB, Commonwealth and Westpac have guaranteed no more closures until July 2027. They’re also signing new agreements with Australia Post’s banking service, Bank@Post, to deliver services.
Industry commentators have questioned whether it really is such a great deal for the bush, when more than a third of regional bank branches have already closed since 2017. Equity analyst Nathan Zaia said the cost of operating the remaining branches was relatively small in the context of the big banks’ overall operating expenses.
Expect a lot more promises to suddenly “solve” issues such as this in the lead-up to the federal election. Another issue is the cost of groceries, in which remote communities can pay double the prices paid in cities for essentials. The federal government this week announced funding to help remote stores lock grocery costs to city prices for 30 essential items.
Outback grazier Ian Jackson can thank his own common sense, his neighbours and the Royal Flying Doctor Service for his quick recovery from snakebite.
Jackson, 73, was working on his isolated station 240km north-east of Broken Hill when he was bitten on the knee by an eastern brown. He knew he had to stay calm and managed to contact neighbours, who bandaged his leg and drove him to a health centre before the RFDS flew him to Broken Hill.
He did not require antivenom, even though he showed some symptoms from the bite. He was home within 24 hours and the RFDS praised Jackson and his neighbours for their response.
Elsewhere, the big wet that has caused widespread flooding in north Qld is also causing more snakebites, with 166 reported in a little over a month as snakes look for shelter. A woman was in intensive care after a taipan bite, while six people were treated in one 12-hour burst last week.
If you really can’t get enough snakes, check out this video in which more than 100 red-bellied black snakes were relocated from a backyard nest in Sydney. Pregnant females are known to gather in groups for greater protection against predators when they give birth.
A NSW bowls club facing its own Crackerjack fight for survival has been given a six-month reprieve.
The Gosford Community Bowling Club had managed to retain its home for almost 40 years thanks to support from the local leagues club, which leased the land from Central Coast Council on its behalf. The leagues club has declined to continue the lease, saying it wasn’t financially viable to continue the arrangement. That left the bowls club facing the prospect of losing its home, with the land likely to be rezoned for commercial or residential use.
Central Coast Council has given the bowls club six months to come up with a plan and funding that will let it stay on the site.
Perhaps it needs a Mick Molloy-style hero. Molloy played the character who ultimately saved a bowls club from redevelopment in the 2002 comedy Crackerjack.
The impact of energy infrastructure projects on a group of residents in the NSW Hunter Valley demonstrates there can be “victims” in every development that might benefit the wider community.
Kathy Morris and her husband Peter Blansjaar are arguably among them. Their 20ha Millfield property is likely to be acquired by EnergyCo, the NSW authority responsible for delivering renewable energy zones. Morris and Blansjaar live on one of about 25 properties directly affected by 100km of overhead transmission lines for the Hunter Transmission Project.
Ian and Vicky Barry live about 10 minutes from Millfield and also face the loss of a significant portion of the property they’ve lived on for more than 30 years.
They and other residents faced with compulsory property acquisition have told of their stress and anger over EnergyCo’s approach to consultation.
The big picture: The Hunter Transmission Project is regarded as central to NSW energy security as coal-fired power is phased out. EnergyCo says it will form part of a transmission system that will be critical to the NSW energy grid, delivering renewable energy to residents across the state.
EnergyCo conceded community consultation had not been perfect, but said it had made improvements.
Kaye Powell loves her 99-year-old home so much she’s taking it with her as she moves from Melbourne to the central Victorian town of Malmsbury.
Powell bought her California bungalow in the suburb of Reservoir in 1982, and the house has been part of her life ever since. She needed to sell the property, but couldn’t face the prospect of her beloved home potentially being demolished by a developer.
"I just couldn't bear that happening, so I'm being a snail and taking my house with me," Powell said.
Powell is having the bungalow cut in half and relocated to the block she has bought at Malmsbury.
Home bakers might be scrambling to find eggs for a while yet as a new bird flu outbreak emerged at a north-east Victorian poultry farm just a week after the last restrictions were lifted on farms involved in a 2024 outbreak.
Last year’s outbreak sparked egg shortages across several states and there are still empty shelves in many areas.
Agriculture Victoria confirmed last weekend that avian influenza was responsible for bird deaths at the Euroa farm, which is at the centre of a 5km exclusion zone as authorities assess the new outbreak.
The Galah team had so many questions about snakes. Why doesn’t every snakebite victim receive antivenom? Why do some people pick them up – and should they be doing that? And why are we so fascinated by weird snake tales?
Sophie Hansen told of one acquaintance who popped resident snakes in the freezer briefly to calm them if they became too frisky around the front door.
We’re determined to get a few answers to our questions – and yours. Tell us your snakey questions. And tell us about weird snake behaviour you’ve spotted or dealt with.
We received more than 1100 entries in the Galah Regional Photography Prize, and editor-in-chief Annabelle Hickson said the quality of submissions is amazing.
Our judges now have the daunting task of selecting 40 finalists by 28 February. Winners will be announced at the exhibition party at the New England Regional Art Museum on 3 May.
Tickets go on sale soon, so save that date.
We’re beavering away behind the scenes getting Galah Issue 12 ready to send to the printers.
This is “crunch time” for Galah’s cash flow, says editor-in-chief Hickson. “It’s now when all the costs associated with putting the issue together really start to flow, but before on-the-stand sales money starts coming in.
“Print subscribers are the lifeblood of Galah. I am so grateful to our print subscribers, whose financial support keeps me sane during this part of the publishing cycle.”
If you don’t already subscribe, but would like to join our Galah gang, please click the button below.
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Mudgee Arts Precinct is hosting two exhibitions with links to rural life. Udder Bliss: Life on the Farm features works by artists who have explored their own farming life, including one of Australia’s foremost landscape artists, William Robinson. The precinct also features a solo exhibition, The Good, by Anna Louise Richardson, whose work is often focused on rural life. The WA artist featured in Galah Issue 10. At Mudgee Arts Precinct, NSW, until 23 March. Read more
John Glover Prize judges have named 42 finalists for 2025. The $80,000 prize is awarded for the best contemporary landscape painting of Tasmania, with the winner named at the official opening of the prize exhibition. All states are represented, with 22 home-state finalists and one from France. At Falls Pavilion, Evandale, Tas, on 7-16 March. Read more
Artist Patricia Piccinini’s hot-air balloon sculptures Skywhale and Skywhalepapa are returning for a second tour of regional centres across the country, this time including WA. The Skywhales Across Australia tour includes events with the artist and a 90-minute experience at sunrise. At Goulburn Regional Art Gallery, NSW, on 22 February. Read more
With the aim of turning the NSW south coast town of Berry into “a vibrant artistic playground”, Bega-born Kripac has drawn on all her artistic credentials – as an accomplished actor and singer-songwriter, with a passion for the visual arts. In 2023 she helped to create OpenField, an event that showcased contemporary art in and around the town in non-museum venues. She is co-chair and artistic director for the 2025 event, which will be held on 13-15 June.
Tell us about the community of Berry? It’s an evolving country town with absolutely idyllic nature, quaint heritage buildings and country-coastal positioning. It's got that feeling of a destination town that blossoms with visitors on the weekends, but it also has a really nice supportive local community.
What’s the idea behind OpenField and what do you hope it achieves? A few of us local creatives had felt that even though there were a lot of artists and culturally engaged people in the area, there was a lack of arts infrastructure: no gallery, no music venues, no cinema. We wanted to transform the town for at least a moment into a vibrant artistic playland.
What sets OpenField apart from other arts festivals? It’s an immersive experience, where you walk around town discovering contemporary art installations and events via a map and program.
How has Berry responded to the event? People were actually crying and hugging on the street after one of our events. I was stopped in the street many times with smiles and thanks for weeks after the festival. I learned you can achieve change and growth on a local level if you put the work and love into a project. And that the satisfaction that comes from volunteering to do something good for the community is a wonderful feeling.
What are the highlights of the 2025 program? We hope to take over the main street with an art and music procession, which will be weird and wonderful. We also have some brilliant artists on board, including Janet Laurence and Joan Ross, and I'm really excited to showcase artists such as Tianli Zu, Jayanto Tan and Akira Kamada.
Jen O’Neill believed she was healthy when she suffered the first of three heart attacks almost a decade ago, at the age of 36.
The NSW Central Coast resident brushed off some of the early warning symptoms as the normal signs of exhaustion that came with juggling a three-year-old toddler and an 11-month-old baby.
O’Neill was lucky – her husband identified she was experiencing the early signs of a heart attack and acted quickly to get her to hospital, ultimately saving her life.
She’s one of dozens of people who have shared their stories for Heart Research Australia, which dedicates February as REDFEB, encouraging people to wear red to promote heart health awareness and raise money for research. Read more
We’d love to hear about the news, events and people that should be making the headlines in the Galah Weekly newsletter. Share what’s new(s) in your neck of the woods with us at newsie@galahpress.com
