Wollongong news, sport and weather | Illawarra Mercury | Wollongong, NSW

DIFFICULT TIMES: Kayla Johnson, 21, lives in community housing in Wollongong. She recently had her work hours cut drastically due to the pandemic. Picture: Sylvia Liber

Anxiety, depression, payday loans: How a young Wollongong woman dealt with cuts to job hours due to COVID

Brendan Crabb
2hrs ago

What a difference a year makes: The large crowds seen in 2019 won't be a feature of the 2020 Santa Fest which will largely involve participants sharing their festive fundraising celebrations online. Picture: Robert Peet.

COVID-safe Santa Fest plan to allow The Gong's longest-running pub crawl to continue

Greg Ellis

FORCED EVACUATION: Kiama High School was among more than 30 NSW high schools to have received anonymous threatening emails over the last two days. Picture: Sylvia Liber

UPDATEDKiama one of 30 NSW high schools forced to evacuate after email threats

Agron Latifi

Who has noticed this? The giant Menulog billboard driving north along the Princes Highway from Dapto past Kembla Grange Racecourse towards Wollongong, Picture: Sylvia Liber.

Did somebody say Woollongong? A new sign might be on the menu

Greg Ellis

Picture: Supplied

UPDATEDUpdate: Macquarie Pass re-opened after bus breakdown

A video on social media posted by 'Mr Drifter' depicts a white VR Commodore creating plumes of smoke on the Illawarra Highway, an 80km/h zone, near Jamberoo Mountain Road. Picture: TikTok

'Like living on a race track' Robertson locals fuming over car hoons

Desiree Savage

WINNERS: Distinguished Professor Zaiping Guo and Distinguished Professor Antoine van Oijen received NSW Premier's Prizes for Science and Engineering in recognition of their pioneering research work.

Pioneering UOW researchers awarded NSW Premier's Prizes

Agron Latifi

Extra hours for free Gong Shuttle could ease beach traffic: Scully

Extra hours for free Gong Shuttle could ease beach traffic: Scully

Kate McIlwain

Corrimal coke works' future unclear as 'disappointed' developers consider their options

New bar and live music venue planned for Crown Street in Wollongong

Work from home Sydneysiders drawn to new $60m Kiama apartment development

54m ago

SUBSCRIBERDriver identified through swastika tattoo tries to reverse guilty plea for drug supply

1hr ago

DIFFICULT TIMES: Kayla Johnson, 21, lives in community housing in Wollongong. She recently had her work hours cut drastically due to the pandemic. Picture: Sylvia Liber

Anxiety, depression, payday loans: How a young Wollongong woman dealt with cuts to job hours due to COVID

2hrs ago

Safe space: Stockland Shellharbour centre manager Daniel Buchanan with Illawarra Women's Health Centre's Sally Stevenson at the new room. Picture: Robert Peet

Stockland Shellharbour opens safe room for women escaping domestic violence

Albion Park resident Liz Kemp with her niece Rosie Glover, 3, and dogs Lacey, London and Dutchess all set for Halloween. Picture: Robert Peet

WHAT'S ONHow to have a COVID-safe Halloween across the Illawarra

NO SHOW: People won't be able to line along Wollongong harbour foreshore to watch New Year's Eve fireworks this year now that the council has officially cancelled them. Picture: Adam McLean

Wollongong's New Year's Eve fireworks display officially cancelled

Safe hands: Zac Lomax. Picture: Grant Trouville.

Emerging talent Zac Lomax stakes claim for NSW debut

Towradgi Beach Hotel creative team members Daniel Ward and Zoe Kennedy at the new-look venue. Pictures: Robert Peet

Check out the new-look Towradgi Beach Hotel: video, photos

Work from home Sydneysiders drawn to new $60m Kiama apartment development

54m ago

SUBSCRIBERDriver identified through swastika tattoo tries to reverse guilty plea for drug supply

1hr ago

Norval, Tsovolos in running for Illawarra Premier League's 2020 George Naylor Medal

1hr ago

TAFE Wollongong students welcome delivery of hail-damaged cars

1hr ago

SUBSCRIBERFigtree woman convicted for role in brother's prison drug smuggling racket

1hr ago

Anxiety, depression, payday loans: How a young Wollongong woman dealt with cuts to job hours due to COVID

2hrs ago

Annastacia Palaszczuk was named the "clear winner" of the election debate against Deb Frecklington.

Palaszczuk clear winner in election debate

50m ago

The LED wristbands have easily accessible button batteries.

Recalled: 'Life-threatening' wristbands given away at AFL grand final

A corruption inquiry has heard a Metro Trains executive was taking kickbacks from a cleaning firm.

Vic trains exec admits to corrupt payments

1hr ago

Professor David Blair is one of four scientists recognised for their work on gravitational waves.

Physicists awarded top Aussie science gong

1hr ago

A parliamentary committee says Australia's mandatory data retention regime must be more transparent.

Push for more transparent metadata scheme

Rebecca Gredley
1hr ago

DFAT's Frances Adamson says the Australian ambassador has raised Cheng Lei's case with China.

Australia lobbies China on jailed citizens

Matt Coughlan
1hr ago

Ben Cousins has pleaded not guilty to stalking and family violence restraining order breaches.

Fallen AFL star Cousins 'out of control'

Michael Ramsey
2hrs ago

Storms have again lashed Queensland, a day after wild weather caused flooding in Brisbane.

More dangerous storms hit southeast Qld

Aaron Bunch
2hrs ago

Teacher retention program extended for drought recovering schools

Teacher retention program extended for drought recovering schools

You know it's reopening when flights are relaunching

You know it's reopening when flights are relaunching

'Don't let NSW do all the heavy lifting' Berejiklian urges other state premiers

'Don't let NSW do all the heavy lifting' Berejiklian urges other state premiers

Inset: Montague St Bridge today. Photo: Twitter @MontagueStBridg

Bridge bingle signals return to new normal for Vic

Health Department secretary Brendan Murphy. Picture: Sitthixay Ditthavong

Government in more vaccine talks, under pressure to release more detail

Sally Whyte

The dumpster fire that is 2020 burns less brightly

The dumpster fire that is 2020 burns less brightly

Janine Graham

Coronavirus testing reveals four new cases in NSW

Coronavirus testing reveals four new cases in NSW

Glen Humphries

ACT residents can travel to Tasmania with quarantining from Monday. Picture: Dion Georgopoulos

EXPLAINERThe Tasmanian border is open. Here's what you need to know before you go

Kathryn Lewis

Wollongong United's Billy Tsovolos (left) and Cringila's Toby Norval are in the running for this year's George Naylor Medal as the Illawarra Premier League's Player of the Year. Pictures: Dylan Arvela and Edmund Esterbaur

Norval, Tsovolos in running for Illawarra Premier League's 2020 George Naylor Medal

Joshua Bartlett
1hr ago

Dustin Martin is the first player to win the Norm Smith three times. Photo: Bradley Kanaris/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

OPINIONNo asterisk needed, Tigers among AFL's very best

Rohan Connolly

Fall short: Illawarra's Kurt Ogilvie playing for Moorebank Liverpool in the Sydney grand final. Picture: Tony de Souza

Illawarra stars lose grip on Sydney hockey title

Tony de Souza

Wollongong United's Billy Tsovolos (left) and Cringila's Toby Norval are in the running for this year's George Naylor Medal as the Illawarra Premier League's Player of the Year. Pictures: Dylan Arvela and Edmund Esterbaur

Norval, Tsovolos in running for Illawarra Premier League's 2020 George Naylor Medal

1hr ago

Fighting through: Corrimal talent Keeley Davis is in line to make her State of Origin debut next month. Picture: Sylvia Liber.

UPDATEDKeeley Davis leads Dragons NSW Origin selections

Cameron Mee

Winning ways: Stefanie Hall won the women's stroke play title at Shell Cove Links. Picture: Dave Tease/Golf NSW

Shell Cove, Grange club championships decided

Who has noticed this? The giant Menulog billboard driving north along the Princes Highway from Dapto past Kembla Grange Racecourse towards Wollongong, Picture: Sylvia Liber.

Did somebody say Woollongong? A new sign might be on the menu

Greg Ellis

New bar planned for Wollongong, but not in the mall. Number 46 Crown Street - down past Corrimal Street - is set to "enhance the precinct". Picture: Robert Peet

New bar and live music venue planned for Crown Street in Wollongong

Desiree Savage

Qantas pilot Georg Bobbert is hopping into organically brewed aged beer on a large scale, in a warehouse shared by other creatives. Picture: Robert Peet

A brewery and a comedy company together? It's a barrel of laughs in Bellambi

Desiree Savage

AA hits fast ice off Davis V1 7 Nov 2019. PHOTO: Simon Payne AAD

LISTENClimb aboard the only Australian-made icebreaker

AA hits fast ice off Davis V1 7 Nov 2019. PHOTO: Simon Payne AAD

LISTENClimb aboard the only Australian-made icebreaker

Ride Dungog's Chloe Chick and other volunteers installed flow tracks down the hill at the Common. PHOTO: Marina Neil

LISTENWhy this town is booming its way through COVID

Ride Dungog's Chloe Chick and other volunteers installed flow tracks down the hill at the Common. PHOTO: Marina Neil

LISTENWhy this town is booming its way through COVID

Craig Hall, Sherry McArdle-English, Anne McGrath and Fred McGrath Weber and Paul Keir want certainty for the Majura Valley producers. PHOTO: Matt Loxton

LISTENIn their own words: The battle faced by the ACT's farmers

Craig Hall, Sherry McArdle-English, Anne McGrath and Fred McGrath Weber and Paul Keir want certainty for the Majura Valley producers. PHOTO: Matt Loxton

LISTENIn their own words: The battle faced by the ACT's farmers

The sunset viewing area near Hay offers views across the flower-filled fields. Pictures: Michael Turtle

The drive-through towns that will make you want to stop a while

Michael Turtle

ACT residents can travel to Tasmania with quarantining from Monday. Picture: Dion Georgopoulos

EXPLAINERThe Tasmanian border is open. Here's what you need to know before you go

Kathryn Lewis

Shannon Noll is back on the road for Great Southern Nights.

Great Southern Nights: 1000 gigs to get you up and moving

Brittany Lazarus

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Get the digital version of Today's Paper

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Farmers and outdoor workers may be at greater of risk non-melanoma skin cancer

Farmers and outdoor workers may be at greater of risk non-melanoma skin cancer

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Regional NSW is calling!

Regional NSW is calling!

Your future trip is outback

Your future trip is outback

Emma Brown

Farmers and outdoor workers may be at greater of risk non-melanoma skin cancer

Farmers and outdoor workers may be at greater of risk non-melanoma skin cancer

Aussie cricket great calls on fellow farmers to get skin checked regularly

Aussie cricket great calls on fellow farmers to get skin checked regularly

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A perfect hot plan for you

A perfect hot plan for you

Emma Brown

HOT PROPERTY: More than 100 expressions of interest have reportedly been registered for the new 60-apartment development during recent weeks. Pictures: Supplied

Work from home Sydneysiders drawn to new $60m Kiama apartment development

54m ago

HOT PROPERTY: More than 100 expressions of interest have reportedly been registered for the new 60-apartment development during recent weeks. Pictures: Supplied

Work from home Sydneysiders drawn to new $60m Kiama apartment development

54m ago

No.30 Mary Street. Picture: Supplied

One of the earliest surviving buildings in Shellharbour set to go to auction

No.30 Mary Street. Picture: Supplied

One of the earliest surviving buildings in Shellharbour set to go to auction

TV host Larry Emdur and wife Sylvie have bought a property at Kangaroo Valley for $2.15 million. Picture: Getty Images

SUBSCRIBER'You've got the best of both worlds': Why celebs are flocking to buy property in Kangaroo Valley

Brendan Crabb

Picture: Supplied

Tenants sought for 'most exciting hospitality opportunity in this region in living memory'

Brendan Crabb

RELOCATING: James Koutsoukos and wife Rebecca (pictured inset with sons George and Fredrik) bought a property (pictured) after conducting a FaceTime inspection. Pictures: Supplied

SUBSCRIBERHow a couple in Melbourne lockdown bought an Illawarra home after FaceTime inspection

Brendan Crabb

HUMBLY ACCEPTED ON BEHALF OF HIS MATES: Bob Smith with his World War II 75th anniversary commemorative medallion and certificate.

Soldier who came of age amid battlefields in New Guinea

HUMBLY ACCEPTED ON BEHALF OF HIS MATES: Bob Smith with his World War II 75th anniversary commemorative medallion and certificate.

Soldier who came of age amid battlefields in New Guinea

COMFORT BELOW: Nurses in the Second World War in the Underground Hospital in Mount Isa.

Did 79 soldiers die of cyanide?

COMFORT BELOW: Nurses in the Second World War in the Underground Hospital in Mount Isa.

Did 79 soldiers die of cyanide?

SHOVELLING SNOW IN SYRIA: Members of the 2/3 Battalion clearing snow in 1942.

Tragic drowning of digger who fought the enemy in three countries

SHOVELLING SNOW IN SYRIA: Members of the 2/3 Battalion clearing snow in 1942.

Tragic drowning of digger who fought the enemy in three countries

What a difference a year makes: The large crowds seen in 2019 won't be a feature of the 2020 Santa Fest which will largely involve participants sharing their festive fundraising celebrations online. Picture: Robert Peet.

COVID-safe Santa Fest plan to allow The Gong's longest-running pub crawl to continue

Greg Ellis

Growing capacity for heavy engineering: Jason, Kenley, Ray and Carel Leussink with the new state-of-the-art Okuma CNC Lathe at family run engineering firm Leussink in Unanderra.

Engineering firm invests $1 million to increase manufacturing capacity

Greg Ellis

Who has noticed this? The giant Menulog billboard driving north along the Princes Highway from Dapto past Kembla Grange Racecourse towards Wollongong, Picture: Sylvia Liber.

Did somebody say Woollongong? A new sign might be on the menu

Greg Ellis

What a difference a year makes: The large crowds seen in 2019 won't be a feature of the 2020 Santa Fest which will largely involve participants sharing their festive fundraising celebrations online. Picture: Robert Peet.

COVID-safe Santa Fest plan to allow The Gong's longest-running pub crawl to continue

SCHOOL VISIT: Television personality and children's book author Andrew Dadoo was king of the kids at Calderwood Christian School on Tuesday.. Picture: Robert Peet

Andrew Daddo drops by Calderwood school to inspire would-be writers

Agron Latifi

On the rise: Illawarra Business Chamber executive director Adam Zarth and president Amy Harper looked forward to a better 2020 at the annual business awards. Picture: Greg Ellis.

Brighter outlook lifts business confidence

Greg Ellis

Garrawarra Cemetery. Pictures: Christopher Chan

The forgotten souls of Waterfall's Garrawarra Cemetery

8 of the most haunted places in the Illawarra and South Coast

8 of the most haunted places in the Illawarra and South Coast

The Imperial Hotel at Clifton from a new angle — at Mt Mitchell, Stanwell Tops. Photo: Bushwalk the Gong

Is this Wollongongs most spectacular bushwalk?

Blue pool. Photo: Bushwalk the Gong

This Southern Highlands bushwalk has a blue pool, cascades and multiple lookouts

A video tour of the majestic Wollongong garden tucked under Mount Keira

A video tour of the majestic Wollongong garden tucked under Mount Keira

Bushwalk the Gong

A video on social media posted by 'Mr Drifter' depicts a white VR Commodore creating plumes of smoke on the Illawarra Highway, an 80km/h zone, near Jamberoo Mountain Road. Picture: TikTok

'Like living on a race track' Robertson locals fuming over car hoons

Desiree Savage

The view from Burragorang lookout and picnic area. Photo: Chris Piazzo, Piazza Wood Works

7 wilderness walks near Wollongong to add to your bucket list

Ashleigh Tullis

A still from footage of the fire by Top Notch Video.

Watch dramatic footage of massive Corrimal High inferno

Marj Thornton (nee Pullen) left with her friend Joy as special wireless operators at Kedleston Hall in the early 1940s.

At 98, code-cracking Marj is no enigma

NATIONAL TREASURE: Jack Thompson thinks there's something special about seeing a film at the cinema. Photo: Peter Brew-Bevan

It's never too late, says Jack

Samara Ross

Advocate says older workers' jobs are threatened by the government's new JobMaker scheme.

JobMaker sees older workers dumped by employers

Eileen Wood

The underfunding of frontline DFV services akin to financial abuse

COMMENTThe underfunding of frontline DFV services akin to financial abuse

Sally Stevenson AM

ON THE RECORD: Malcolm Turnbull being video taped by 8 year old Nathan Marsh at the 2011 barbecue at Barrack Heights.

OPINIONNBN blues? Let's revisit the day Malcolm lobbed at a Barrack Heights barbie

Ben Langford

Welcome to Brian Goorjian's Steel City basketball

COMMENTWelcome to Brian Goorjian's Steel City basketball

Illawarra Mercury

Reliable supplies of safe, clean, high-quality apples are available year-round from growing regions across Australia, and we already produce most of world's most popular apple varieties.

APAL demands Australia prioritise Australian food security

2hrs ago

NSW stuck in an unstable weather pattern

NSW stuck in an unstable weather pattern

BEN DOMENSINO, Weatherzone

Georgia White of Talbragar at Coolah with ewe lambs that were part of their rebuilding strategy. Photos: Lucy Kinbacher

Young gun leads big changes

Lucy Kinbacher

Who has noticed this? The giant Menulog billboard driving north along the Princes Highway from Dapto past Kembla Grange Racecourse towards Wollongong, Picture: Sylvia Liber.

Did somebody say Woollongong? A new sign might be on the menu

Greg Ellis

New bar planned for Wollongong, but not in the mall. Number 46 Crown Street - down past Corrimal Street - is set to "enhance the precinct". Picture: Robert Peet

New bar and live music venue planned for Crown Street in Wollongong

Desiree Savage

Percentage estimates of power used in drivetrains are wildly inaccurate. Photo: Shutterstock.

Drivetrain loss isn't a loss, it's just a necessary expenditure

Sam Hollier