More than 16 million people tune into community radio each week, leaving the Australian music scene the big winner, raking in almost $153 million a year from community listening. When asked to think about something nostalgic what would it be? Two dollar paddle pops? ABC3 early in the morning? Or maybe it’s listening to the radio on your way to school with your parents? You might have been listening to community radio in the backseat, such as the Illawarra’s VoxFM or the Kiama Community Radio. According to the evidence more people are tuning in to community listening – including younger…
Author: Koda Way
Wollongong Running Festival encourages runners of all abilities to band together and embrace the run club culture that is seeped within the Illawarra region. The festival’s yearly run is a celebration of fitness and community that has many locals have been training for. Wollongong sports store, Run Havoc, is sponsoring the event, and assistant manager Issac Shaw said the Illawarra area has seen a surge in run clubs attending. “Shellharbour has a bunch of different clubs, Wollongong’s got clubs, its really sort of increasing that reign boom then it already is,” Mr Shaw said. “Theres a major social aspect where…
Dog owners are celebrating after a council decision to return on-leash orange leash zones to an early time during winter on Illawarra beaches. Wollongong City Council’s proposal of a flat year-round policy of before 9am and after 5pm experienced backlash from locals during its meeting on Monday. https://www.canva.com/design/DAHKwmwAngA/fI_gUjZJRhqaV0ImLElrDA/view Wollongong City Council regulation and compliance manager Diane Sarkies said the community feedback was a priority. “We would get random comments both sent directly to council but also to our animal compliance team … saying that the time was quite confusing,” Ms Sarkies said. “Forty-five respondents didn’t support that change, mostly because…
Vinyl is making a resurgence across Australia as record sales and stores continue to grow, demonstrating that physical music is alive and well. Vinyl has shown yet another increase according to last year’s ARIA’s wholesale and sale statistics, for physical and digital music sold across Australia. Newtown’s Repressed Records co-owner Nic Warnock told Central News that the form of vinyl listening is a consumption choice that combats music streaming. “It’s kind of like a signifier of the type of person that people are….we all do that in our consumption choices,” Mr Warnock said. “There is an organic shift of people wanting…
Wollongong ceramic artists prefer authentic markets over online selling platforms. Thirroul ceramicist, Robyn Ramsay said the face to face experience provides a more personal look into the art for consumers. “One of the differences with ceramics is that the tactile is a very strong part of it – how it feels in your hand.” she said. Ms Ramsay uses a traditional format with mud to create vases and other homewares, showcasing how the century old technique still applies to modern ceramic arts. https://www.canva.com/design/DAHIM7GUs9U/aJJEor-O3W2DTuu-MYcbDg/view The Wollongong Makers Market is one of few upcoming events which allow artists such as Ms Ramsay…
Australian cinemas are still recovering from financial setbacks but continue to pursue entertainment for movie lovers. Screen Australia has released its statistics for cinema screenings and the gross box office for last year across the country, showing that the industry is steadily returning. Cinema manager Josh Panayiotou said the industry is beginning to stabilise after years of disruption. “2026 is meant to be the first year we sort of had things back to normal with the flow and effects from all that dropping off with writer strikes and COVID,” Mr Panayiotou said. The Australian Gross Box Office in 2025 saw…
The Flagstaff Group’s, ‘Travel Trainer’ app has shown effective outcomes in teaching road safety to people with disabilities. Executive Manager for Strategy Growth and Marketing at Flagstaff Group, Alison Turner, helped design and create the app. Mrs Turner felt like the app was needed for people with disabilities as a way to increase the accessibility to transport. “There are many facets when you have an intellectual disability when you’re travelling, so you don’t understand things like the speed of a car for example or distance,” Mrs Turner said. The Flagstaff Group released the app late March and provides advice on…
Wollongong City Council has introduced an animal care program and service that provides a more financially stable choice for adoption and fostering. Wollongong Animal Care and Impounding Services project director, Daniel Kennedy said since the opening of the new centre in 2024 there has been an increase in animal adoption. “At the start of this financial year we are starting to see an increase [in animals received]…but adoption numbers are also increasing, the statistics are moving together which is good,” Mr Kennedy said. https://www.canva.com/design/DAHFqotvaGQ/0r-Dpvvzb9UsxHVru8AvlQ/view Mr Kennedy said the program had witnessed outstanding outcomes, with 433 animals being successfully adopted in…
The School of Liberal Arts is opening the curtains to its new weekly philosophy lecture, Liberating Conversations. Senior Philosophy Professor Daniel Hutto has been an advocate for spreading philosophical knowledge and is encouraging everyone to attend, not just philosophy students. He said the lectures will cover topics from the university’s liberal arts subjects, and the faculty are working hard to get the word out. “We’re taking parts of our first year undergraduate course, what is now the liberal arts major,” Prof. Hutto said. “We’re actively trying to get students to be aware of this and think of this as an…
Written By Koda Way and Harrison Mellare When it comes to entertainment in the Illawarra, the times change like the lyrics of Dylan’s famous ballad. Once used for greyhound races, the Wollongong Showground was a staple of entertainment, hosting rugby league matches and marches. But people wanted more. Settling on the area directly next to the showground, construction on a regional entertainment centre began in 1997, and $26 million later, Wollongong’s pièce de résistance was finished. The WIN Entertainment Centre — or as locals would name it, the WEC — burst to life with Bob Dylan on his Never Ending…