After walking up and down a derelict Crown Street for almost ten minutes trying to find the entrance, a vibrant, narrow staircase appears leading to a communal space that feels properly lived in. Every square inch of wall is covered in eclectic illustration, band setlists, poetry or postmodern photography. One torn piece of paper adorning a windowsill simply reads ‘I ATE BAD SUSHI’, another ‘I MISS YOU’. Society City is a third space in Wollongong, a place outside of home and work where you can make friends, read books, play music, create zines and have a drink. Unlike cafes or…
Author: Marcus Stevanoski
As the Labor Party celebrates its stunning election win as the first government since World War II to increase its share of the vote after a first term, the Coalition and Greens are grappling with an historic fallout. Anthony Albanese has secured another three years as Prime Minister with his party securing a majority in the House of Representatives, with 89 seats. The Liberal–National Coalition, seen as the favourite to form government just a couple months ago, are sitting with just 40 secured seats, with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton losing his seat of Dickson. ABC Canberra political reporter Patrick Bell…
The Wollongong music scene doesn’t seem to slow down. Dedicated punters pack out homely dive bar La La La’s most nights of the week, and if Rad was still around, they’d be there too. University students scout local talent at Open Mic Nights every Tuesday, and young journalists anchor radio programmes interviewing Illawarra musicians to a cult listenership. Meanwhile, the inventory of the city’s only independent record store Music Farmers grows stronger every year. Lingering in the background, connected in some way to almost every gig, venue, and artist in this city, is cafe-turned-music management company, Yours and Owls. Today,…
High school students from across the Illawarra joined Gardening Australia host Costa Georgiadis last Friday at Edmund Rice College for their fifth annual Sustainability Conference. The student-led event saw teachers and students from several schools, from St Mary’s in Wollongong to Waverley College in Bondi, gather to share new ideas about taking charge of sustainability at their campuses. Environmental educator and Silver Logie winner Mr Georgiadis hosted a presentation on leadership and managing waste at schools, while Robert Servine, General Manager of social good non-profit Green Connect, spoke about their progress emerging from the pandemic. Students worked together to brainstorm…
Members of the University of Wollongong Debating Society (SWORDS) have travelled to Victoria over the weekend to participate in an annual nationwide debating competition. The Australian British Parliamentary Debating Championships (ABPDC), held at the University of Melbourne, saw more than 50 teams engage in at least six debates regarding a range of topics — from sector unions and the privatisation of mercenaries, to paper abortions. Newcomers made up most of this year’s SWORDS team, with memberships almost doubling in the past semester. Member Angus Braiden said he was very proud of the growth and development of the club. “Out of…
Venues across the Illawarra are preparing for record-breaking crowds when Australia take on England on Wednesday night for a place in the FIFA Women’s World Cup final. The Australian team won last Saturday’s scoreless clash against France in a nail-biting 20-shot penalty shootout after almost 40 minutes of extra time, the longest tiebreaker in FIFA World Cup history. Fraternity Club employee Serena Lucato said that there was “not a spare seat in sight” at the Fairy Meadow Bar and that the crowds continued to grow as the game progressed. “Both in the restaurants and in the sports bar, everyone came…
UOW Pulse is set to deliver more than a dozen free events for University of Wollongong students this month, with many focusing on wellbeing and social connection. The non-profit organisation is central to student life at the University, responsible for running activities and managing clubs, with support mainly from a host of volunteers. Pulse staff member and former university student Jaimee Evans said the free events were focussed on the health and welfare of the university community. “It can be really tricky balancing work and study,” Ms Evans said. “Having something to help relieve stress and pressures, like yoga and…
The owner of a cafe in Warrawong Plaza has reported Telstra to the communications regulator after a month-long service outage left shops without eftpos in the lead-up to Christmas . Wendy’s Milk Bar owner, Brett Trembath said he had no internet connection for 72 days in the shop, almost completely cutting off payments by card, orders on food delivery service Menulog, and phone calls from potential customers. The outage began in December 2022, during the busy holiday shopping period. “We had no Eftpos, so our sales were down by about $3000 per week,” Mr Trembath said. Mr Trembath contacted the…