Around Gippsland 15/01/2026

BAIRNSDALE

EAST GIPPSLAND POLICE thanked the community for how they conducted themselves on this New Year’s Eve. All events conducted in East Gippsland were considered a success, with the majority of community members reporting a happy and safe new year. The East Gippsland police response was supported by the Mounted Branch and the Public Order Response Team.

SUN CINEMA NOW has a liquor licence and the bar is open for trading. A chance now exists to head in and enjoy a drink while watching a movie.

JANUARY IS NATIONAL Blood Donor Month, a tradition started in 1970 to combat seasonal donation shortages. One donation can save up to three lives, supporting cancer patients and emergency surgeries in the community. Nearest donation locations include Mobile Centre at the Sale Greyhound Club and Bairnsdale Bunnings. Bookings are essential.

A POPULAR BEER has been urgently recalled over risks excess alcohol and carbonation in the brew could lead to illness or injury. The Loophole Brewing Company’s pacific ale five litre party keg has been pulled from shelves due to secondary fermentation. Consumers have been urged not to drink the beer and to safely dispose of it. The beer was available for purchase at Costco’s across New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and Western Australia. The affected products include the date markings, packed 13/10/25 best before 13/10/26 and packed 15/10/25 best before 15/10/26.

A NUMBER OF roads in East Gippsland were closed across the region over the weekend due to bushfire risk. These include Bairnsdale-Dargo Road at Beverleys Road, Wallers Road (between Friday Creek Road and Bairnsdale-Dargo Road) and the Dargo High Plains Road – Great Alpine Road.

THE LOCAL COUNCIL libraries have reported their shelves were buzzing in 2025, with plenty of non-fiction books and some local tales making the top five, including Backup is Three Hours Away (Mark Tregellas), Recipe Tin Eats Dinner (Nagi Maehashi), The Salt Path (Raynor Winn), We Are The Stars (Gina Chick) and A Simple Twist of Fate (Deb Gray).

TRADIES IS BACK open after the festive season, operating from 5am-3pm.

BOISDALE

SALAD PRODUCER Hussey and Co has taken over operations of the Mills Lane vegetable farm, formerly operated by Dicky Bill Australia. Warakirri Asset Management, which owns the property and another in Drinan, Queensland, through the Warakirri Diversified Agriculture Fund, confirmed the new lease arrangements for both sites last week. Multigenerational family-owned business Riviera Farms, which had its early beginnings in Lindenow, has taken operational control of the Drinan Farms property near Bundaberg. At this stage their are no plans to open the factory that Dicky Bill Australia ran locally.

COWWARR

A GRASS FIRE last Friday caused some concern at Three Chain Road. The fire was travelling in a south-easterly direction towards Sundermans Road, but thankfully was brought under control quickly by local crews.

HEYFIELD

THE NEXT NATIONAL Timber Workers Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place at the Heyfield Memorial Hall this Saturday from 11am-3pm. Inductees include Bluey Lineham, Ray Armstrong, Ronald Hanneford, Allan Drew, Anthony Hutchinson, Noel Bransden, Gerry Egan, Arthur Ashley, Doug Membrey, Maurice Killeen, and Bill, Dennis and Geoff Munson.

THIS YEAR’S TIMBER Festival will be held on February 21 at the Gordon Street Reserve. This year’s event is set to feature, truck, car and motorbike shows, vintage engine display, heritage draft horses, woodworking display, model truck display, trade stalls, helicopter rides, food vans, carnival rides, tattoo tent, woodchops, woodcarving, Tim Coleman motorbike show, dog high jump, live music, bar, twilight market, tug o war and fireworks. There will be plenty for the kids to do, with face painting, a petting zoo, roving entertainment and giant kids games.

AT APPROXIMATELY 1PM on Sunday, January 4, while patrolling, local police observed a blue Ford Territory driving in a suspicious manner. Further checks revealed the plates affixed to the vehicle did not match the description of the Ford Territory and the plates were alerted as stolen. The vehicle was intercepted and the driver was identified as unlicensed, the male driver was arrested and taken to the Heyfield police station where he was charged and bailed for a number of offences. The vehicle was impounded for a period of 30 days at a cost of $950.

KALIMNA

GLAWAC’S BUSH CAFE and Aboriginal Art Gallery is back open for 2026. The best news is that if you’ve got a hankering for some fresh fish and perfectly crunchy chips, you don’t need to go into Lakes Entrance. They have got fresh Lakes Entrance gummy, direct from the Lakes Entrance Fishermen’s Co-op. The perfect opportunity to enjoy breakfast, lunch or coffee, surrounded by the towering Eucalypts of Colquhoun State Forest.

LAKES ENTRANCE

HARD WORKING LOCAL business Doin’ Dumplings was out on the road on the weekend, doing plenty of business and filling plenty of stomachs, making customers happy. Saturday saw them at Phillip Island for the Ocean Sounds Festival, backing up on Sunday at the Traralgon Rodeo.

MAFFRA

ONE OF GIPPSLAND’S oldest residents passed away on January 2. Kath Amey was 103 years old and was a much-loved resident of Stretton Park during her later years. Families across Gippsland will remember Amey from her decades of service as an infant welfare nurse in Sale. She was born in Maffra on March 8, 1922, and was the sixth of eight child for Jessie and Will Amey of Boisdale. She was educated at Boisdale Estate School, then Maffra High School before leaving school to work on the family farm as a 15-year-old. She was accepted into nursing at Epworth Hospital at the age of 22. An intrepid traveller in her youth, Amey spent time working in the United Kingdom before returning to Maffra in the 1950s. Amey and the fellow nurses she trained with maintained a strong friendship throughout their lives meeting almost annually until several years ago. Amey’s nursing career saw her work at Maffra District Hospital, where she retired in 1985 after 23 years caring for local babies and mothers. She will be fondly remembered by everyone whose life she touched.

TRANSPORT VICTORIA ROADWORKS are set to start on Stratford-Maffra Road rehabilitation works this month. The works will deliver vital maintenance works on approximately 1.4 kilometres of Stratford-Maffra Road in Maffra between Harkness Lane and Beet Road. Works are expected to take place from mid-January to March. They will be working during the day between 7am and 5pm. During works, lane closures will be in place with temporary traffic lights or traffic controllers on site to guide traffic through the area, one direction at a time. Delays of up to five minutes are expected.

MEERLIEU

AFTER THREE CONSECUTIVE Total Fire Ban days due to extreme weather and the ongoing fire situation, disappointingly the local fire brigades Total Fire Ban signs, which were put out last Thursday night, has been stolen on Sunday. The signs were placed on Bengworden Road near the Meerlieu School and at the turn-off to Hollands Landing Road. These signs are brigade-owned and are put out to clearly inform the public that it is a Total Fire Ban day — a critical safety message during dangerous conditions. This behaviour puts the community at risk and is completely unacceptable. If you know anything about this, or if you are the person who took the signs, return them to the Meerlieu Fire Brigade station. No questions will be asked.

PAYNESVILLE

DRAINAGE UPGRADE WORKS have began this week on the southern side of Fort King Road, between Heaths View and the canal. Works are expected to run through to late February. Because the Fort King Road bridge is the only access to Fort King Island, traffic changes will be in place: Traffic lights or controllers will manage access to the bridge and Heaths View. One lane only will operate from the Heaths View intersection to the eastern side of the canal Pedestrian access will remain, but they will be required to follow work-zone signage.

SALE

GIPPSLAND ART GALLERY has been transformed into a space where art, imagination, and a little bit of mystery collide. Synchron City invites you to wander through a world where coincidence feels intentional, dreams feel real, and every corner holds something surprising. From Patricia Piccinini’s beautifully strange sculptures to Jon McCormack’s ever-evolving digital worlds and Kenny Pittock’s playful, surreal installations, this exhibition brings together contemporary artists who aren’t afraid to challenge what we think we know. Curated by Cassie May and inspired by Carl Jung’s idea of synchronicity, Synchron City is all about those moments that make you pause, look twice, and feel something shift. The exhibition runs from December 6 – February 22 and is free entry.

WELLINGTON SHIRE COUNCIL last week closed McIntosh Drive and the adjacent footpath around Lake Guthridge, to ensure the protection of the local grey-headed flying fox population and the public. In line with its Flying Fox Management Heat Stress Response Procedure, Council closes McIntosh Drive when temperatures reach above 38 degrees celsius, as grey-headed flying-foxes cluster low in trees where they can encounter people. Bats are highly stressed and vulnerable during these times and need to conserve energy to ensure their survival. The closure minimised any disturbance and provided wildlife carers with access to support any bats that become ill from prolonged heat. Do not touch a flying fox, who are protected under the Wildlife Act 1975 as they are a nationally threatened species. Penalties apply for harassing or disturbing them. The bats are sensitive to noise, so it is in their best interests to minimise noise when near them generally.They are Australia’s largest native bat and, as pollinators, play a crucial role in the health of our forests. Grey-headed flying foxes pose no risk to humans when they are flying overhead or roosting. It is very important, however, that flying foxes are not handled because a small percentage may carry Australian bat lyssavirus or Hendra virus. Neither droppings or urine can spread these viruses, so it is not dangerous to have a colony sited nearby.‍‍

THERE WAS DISAPPOINTMENT last week at the local golf club, where some scooter riders felt the need to ride on the 14th green and through the bunkers on the sixth and fourth holes. Thankfully the damage was minimal, but the club’s staff were working tirelessly to save the greens in this extreme weather, they don’t need this extra work.

WURRUK

AN INCIDENT OF CRIMINAL occurred in the vicinity of the Wurruk Cricket Club between 6am on the December 26 and 3pm on the December 29. Police are calling for any witnesses who may have been in the area of the Wurruk Cricket Club during these dates and times and may have seen suspicious activity. If you have any information in regard to the incident, please call the Sale Police.

YARRAM

AUSNET HAS RESPONDED responded with details in relation to a recent power outage that affected Woodside Beach, Woodside, McLoughlins Beach and parts of Yarram. At 7.37pm on January 3 there was an equipment fault at Panorama Drive, Woodside Beach, on the high voltage network that resulted in 568 customers being without power. Most customers had their power restored progressively overnight, with 154 still without power at 4.25am on January 4. With all customers having their power restored by 2.24pm that day. Specialist underground crews worked through the night to complete the repairs. AusNet apologises for any inconvenience the outage caused.

THE LOCAL GOLF club will hold its Pro-Am on Sunday, February 8, with $15,000 in prizemoney up for grabs, as well a $30,480 Mitsubishi for a hole in one on the first for the professionals.