Are Prices Down?
Coles is currently before the courts in relation to its 'Prices are Down' marketing campaign. It's alleged it's a scam deliberately structured to rip shoppers off.
It works like this: A $10 item is sold for $16 for a week. Amid a blaze of publicity it is then reduced to a 'special' for $12.....$2 above the normal price!
Some see it as clever marketing. Others consider it highway robbery. The court will decide in a case that could fine the company hundreds of millions of dollars.
On the other side of the coin, Coles at Tanilba Bay does not like to waste perfectly good food. Perishables nearing their use by date are given away free to deserving local charities on a daily basis.
Some clever shoppers used to use the system to their advantage. All hot chickens had to be sold on the day and are discounted until there is none left. If they ran out, you got a voucher for a free one. Once this policy went viral on social media it was discontinued on 4th February 2026.
With packaged meat. It is reduced and reduced until it's all gone Thrifty shoppers know the time late in the day when this happens and pounce on the bargains.
One cunning lady used to take a small knife with her and cut the stub end of the broccoli off and only weigh the head at the check-out. Shoppers also complain that the boxes containing products are the same size with fewer contents or the size has been reduced but the price remains the same.
In our survey, locals were quick to defend the staff as they have no input into pricing and are trained to be courteous and helpful.
A general complaint was that the delicatessen at Coles Tanilba Bay was closed but was still available at other outlets.
So, dear reader, the overall message is that in the cut-throat world of groceries, you either like it or go elsewhere.
File photo: Coles staff on 'Daffodil Day' Tanilba Bay and a manager inspects the fruit and vegetable produce.
Toxic Logs and Bushfires
Treated pine logs were once used for children's playgrounds and decking. This was banned some 20 years ago as they were impregnated with copper chrome arsenate. This protected them from rot and insects. The arsenic co
uld be transferred to humans from contact or by breathing in the smoke.
You can get all the info from the EPA site on AI or on google.
That brings us to the pine boardwalks between Mallabula and Tanilba Bay.
This scrub is the most burnt out bushland in Tilligerry as schoolkids fire it up in the holidays. Indeed they forced the evacuation of our school one presentation night due to the smoke. The fires also destroyed the hardwood decking in the 'Habitat.”
PSSC owns the foreshore strip along the rim of the bay and its insurers foot the bill for replacement. The Habitat is responsible for the land from there up to the bike track near the School.
Former Councillor Steve Tucker is a burnoff advocate but the Council refuses to cool burn or slash near the bay. They cite a rare frog (which nobody has ever found there) as a burnoff could threaten its habitat.The wallum froglet i
s thought to live in the swamp and if it does it could be at risk.
The 'Habitat' volunteers are currently rebuilding some boardwalk but this begs the question: 'Will it all go up in smoke?' The answer is 'Yes', and there is a reason for this. You see PSSC and the RFS point blank refuse to burn it off on environmental grounds so the next fire will gobble it up.
Our local firies see it from a different angle as Life Member Richard Osborne OAM explains:
“There are no fire trails in this scrub and it's very hard to get trucks in there. Also there are no water mains for high pressure hoses to tap into.”
“We were lucky last time as it was high tide and our fire boat and a mobile pump could fight the fire from the water.”
So dear reader there you have it: Our little frog would stand a greater chance of survival if the area was cool burned in winter when his swamp was full of water. In summer he would be fried as the the wetland is bone dry. Our firies would be much more able to fight the fires if a fire trail broke the scrub into sections and if activists campaigned for cool burning the RFS and PSSC might just change their minds.
Photos: The wallum froglet....Dave Knight at a deliberatele lit fire....and Richard receiving his Life membership award.
Vaccinate Your Rabbits
Owners are being advised to vaccinate their pet rabbits as a new strain of the calicivirus is to be released in early March 2026.
Currently there is a plague of rabbits in Tilligerry and PSC has an ongoing control program for parks and reserves under its control.
They employ professional shooters and poison areas after identifying 'hot spots'. This process is repeated if the rabbits come back. Pindone is the preferred poison but 1080 (ten eighty) was used for many years.
Landowners are responsible for the management of rabbits on their own properties.
Rabbit populations were out of control until myxomatosis was introduced in the 1950s. Indeed a rabbit proof fence of over 3350 km was erected in WA to stop their march into Western Australia in between 1901 and 1907. On our own Broughton Island trials were stopped after residents got sick after eating them. Later it was found that this was not the case. The poisoning came from wild mushrooms!!! 'Myxo' reduced the population of 600 000 000 to 100 000 000 in the 1950s.
Today the calicivirus is more effective after bunnies became increasingly immune to 'myxo'.
And some good news! We can assure girls and boys that the Easter Bunny has been vaccinated and will be bringing you the Easter eggs as he has always done!
File photo: A warning sign near the sports oval at Mallabula.
The Picture Show Man Remembered
Long time residents, now in their 50s, will well remember Darryl West who recently passed away. You see Darryl was known as 'The Picture show Man' amongst the children of the 1980s as he converted the
LTP fire station into a cinema for the kids of a Saturday afternoon. He'd order cartoons and colour movies for the kids and they flocked to see them.
This was just one of his roles as secretary / treasurer and deputy captain of the brigade over many years. He also oversaw the big Queen's Birthday extravaganza which had as many as 120 stallholders, rides, firefighting displays, a huge bonfire and fireworks spectacular. He was also heavily involved in The Little Athletics.
Daryl and his family came to Tilligerry after he was appointed to the Australian Defence Force Warfare Centre ( ADFWC) at Williamtown RAAF base. He retired as as petty officer at the end of his naval career.
Helen, his wife worked as a teacher at Tanilba Bay school and Darryl found employment at the ACI sandmining company at both Tanilba Bay and Salt Ash.
He was a very keen walker and upon retirement decided to 'walk' Australia. The 1850 km assault on the Canning Stock Route was one of his most memorable achievements. They couple took off in their Winnebago and Helen drove ahead where she waited for him to complete the various stages. It was during this epic trek that she worked on her various novels. They were rural romances based around the mythical 'Oxley's Crossing'.
Both were avid readers.
Darryl suffered a long and debilitating decline but kept walking when he had the energy.
His nmemorial service will be held at Tanilba's Baptist Church at 11 am Tuesday 10th February.
'Home is the sailor, home from the sea....And the Hunter home from the Hill'.
Photos: Darryl and Helen between trips and sharing their mutual passion for books.
Big Boat Regatta
The next Big Boat Regatta will be held at Tanilba Bay on Port Stephens NSW on the 21st and 22nd February 2026.
Owners of catamarans 16 feet and over are invited to attend.
Facilities include:
- Clubhouse
- Toilets/showers
- Lawn rigging area
- Concrete ramps to water
- Chandlery at Lemon Tree Passage (7 minutes away)
Camping will be available on the club grounds from Friday night.
We look forward to seeing you.Photo: Mike and Anne along with Mark and Donna
Info provided by TBSC Facebook page
In the Wake of Captain Cook
Former Commodore of Tanilba Sailing Club Mike Colecliffe and his partner Anne have recently returned from a three month odyssey. Their journey more or less followed in the wake of Captain Cook's epic 1770 sea voyage of discovery to the tip of Cape York. Unlike the master mariner, they didn't run aground on the Barrier Reef as Mike explains:
“ Preparation and planning were the secret,” he said. “We'd fully restored a large sea-going cat, taking particular care with safety factors ,” he added.
“What's more we only put to sea during daylight and in favourable conditions. We kept a weather eye on the BoM site and our longest leg was eleven hours. This gave us plenty of time to explore the numerous ports and towns up and down the coast,”
“We also got to snorkel in the tropical waters and around the inner rim of The Reef,” he said.
And what of the future?
“Our catamaran is very much a work in progress and we plan to go north at a future date. It was the trip of a lifetime, and we want to do it all again.”
Tribute to Ian Hicks
In a reflective tribute to former Fire Captain Ian Hicks, RFS members and friends gathered at the Tilligerry Fire station recently to honour the memory of the 37 year veteran. Later the same day they joined with family and locals in a celebration of his life at Club Lemon Tree where Ian was a long time greenkeeper. A plaque will be put up as a memento.
Ian's happiest years were spent when firefighting was localized and independent. The LTP station was built by volunteer labour with assistance from tradies and local businesses.
The station was for use by any community group: The district nurse used the kitchen to check the health of young babies; a
kindergarten and Sunday school were stationed there; It was used as a cinema and a meeting point for the teenagers; Public meetings and the elections took place within its walls and the Coast Guard had its base station there. The infants' teachers at the old LTP School had the keys and the toilets were available for the children when they used the nearby park and play equipment each week.
The brigade put on an annual market day, bonfire and fireworks display which became the most prominent community event of the year.
Ian was part of a 'secret' release of some 50 koalas in the early days. We suspect that they came from the bush when Grahamstown was built and flooded the forested area. Whatever the case, Bernie Henderson and Norm Brooks swore Ian to secrecy as they had him take the caged koalas off the back of Norm's truck and open them as they slowly drove over the fire trail between Mallabula and LTP. Ian collected the empty cages on the way back.
He told of how he and a fire crew helped to win a war game between a US carrier base strike force and RAAF Williamtown: They were our at the Oyster Cove DZ doing driver training where they saw some Air Force blokes running out two parallel lines of half 44 gallon drums. They explained how they were going to light up the diesel in the drums to 'fake' the Williamtown runway after they had 'blacked out' the base. Ian explained that they would need petrol mixed with it to get it to ignite so the crew drove back to LTP to get some.
The RAAFies were very grateful and asked the crew to sit in on the exercise. Sure enough, sometime after dark the US fighters zoomed in and 'bombed' the fake runway. The RAAF won the war game!
These and other stores involving Ian are recorded in 'White Overall Days' which is available from the local library.
Ian was also invited as a role model for the local children to present the 'Brooks Award' at the then new Tanilba Bay School.
Ian passed away at 79 after a long illness. He was privately cremated.
Photos: Ian showing off his awards!...... Ian's memory being preserved at the new fire station........A copy of White Overall Days
Iron Man
It's a quiet sunny day and a retired couple sit on the hill opposite where the once majestic BHP steelworks once
stood. They unpack their picnic lunch, look over the now barren site and reminisce about times long gone.
The man in question is Aubrey Brooks and he and his wife Peg have travelled in from Tanilba Bay where they live in a modest single storey home.
Man of iron, man of steel....call him what you will but the late Aubrey Brooks will live on in the memories of Newcastle's steel workers due to his lifetime commitment to BHP. He was a third generation employee of the now international company. What's more the newspapers and TV cameras loved his rugged image as he seemed to epitomise the working class man of his day.
On the last day of its operation, Aubrey led the workforce to the entrance gates and made a speech on their behalf. He was also filmed flicking the switch to bring the operation to a grinding halt. Newcastle and the lives of all who lived there would never be the same again.
The company however offered Aub a job as a night watchman to roam around with a torch in hand as a security officer. It frightened him being alone with the ghosts of those who once worked there so he resigned.
There was no way that he could embark on a new career as iron was well and truly in his blood and he spent the rest of his life keeping the memory alive.
He offered his services to give talks to community groups and his fame quickly spread after he led the push to establish the 'Muster Point' in a nearby park as a memorial to workers who had died in serving the company.
To do this he and his fellow travellers needed money and in a deal to support politicians they came good with the dollars.
The centrepiece of the Muster Point is a rusting monolithic structure which captures the spirit of the steel industry. Aub would conduct bus tours of the site and answer question about BHP and its history.
He was also moved to offer up his services to train women in defensive tactics after reading of them being set upon and being assaulted at night. He was a highly trained black-belt recipient of an Oriental martial art. This he became involved with as young man which he confessed got him away from 'the wrong crowd'.
To his wife Peg and children we express our sincere condolences to a 'one off' character who stood head and shoulders above the rest of us.
Picture: Aub at his Tanilba Bay home.
Lift for Library
But where is it? This is most asked question by those wanting to borrow books in Tilligerry.
The town public library is situated on the main road opposite the Lemon Tree Passage Motel and when open, has a 'library' flag fluttering from a pole in front of it.
It's been there for decades and is staffed by volunteers and operates from 10am until noon six days per week. (Monday to Saturday).
A big makeover a couple of years back saw new carpet, reader friendly furniture and a slick paint job spruce it up.
What's more, a heavy cull of the least read books and an injection of new stock has something for everyone, including children.
Tilligerry Men's Shed workers have just removed the old overgrown sign and have carved a new one which is much more visible.
Business is more or less back to normal after a year or so of roadwork disruptions and the construction of a new police station two doors away. Council have taken over the computer access and has 2 brand new computers. A new scanner is on order and you will now be able to print A4 colour pages.
The library augments the mobile service which visits the villages of Tanilba Bay, Mallabula and Lemon Tree Passage on a rotational basis.
Both services have now recovered from the Covid lockdown restrictions and are back up to pace.
Photos: The LTP Library after the makeover......and the new sign giving it better visibility.
Book Donations
Tilligerry Community Library has always enjoyed the support of the community donating their books. Whilst we do appreciate them, we can only accept them with prior consultation. Our hours are 10-12 noon Monday to Saturday and our phone number is 4982 3477 if you wanted to call up or pop in and check with us before bringing them in. Please don’t leave them at the door.
More than Just a News Service
You've seen our illuminated sign 'tilligerry.com' beside the main road near the golf club as you drive into town at night.
With news services moving away from the print media, tilligerry.com for over 10 years now has moved with the times and gives local residents the news that they can't get anywhere else. Indeed, those travelling around Australia or internationally can keep up to date with a click on a mouse or a mobile phone.
Before our 'hit meter' broke down we were averaging around 2000 views each month. We have a few businesses supporting us but we really don't want advertisers as we are a not for profit community service.
It gets even better. There are constant requests, usually from residents new to the area, for general information about available services and organizations out this way.
We now have an extensive community directory listing some 80 of these which includes: churches, clubs, social groups, cultural events, schools, tourist information, community support, JPs, medical services, play groups and pre schools.
Photo: tilligerry.com more than just news.
elebrating the re-opening.
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