There is light at the end of the tunnel with restrictions eased slightly this week, but the road to recovery out of the COVID-19 pandemic will still be a long one. Premier Daniel Andrews said during his much-anticipated address on Monday morning as the State of Emergency was reassessed that from midnight this morning there is now a fifth reason to leave home: visiting friends and family. This is...

Term two has been a strange term for students, teachers, and of course parents, as they work as isolated teams to ensure education around the state continues for primary and secondary students during lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the teams of East Gippsland appear to be fairing well.“To say this term is different is clearly an understatement but it is clearly evident that the whole...

Following the route’s closure for much of the recent summer season as a result of bushfire, the Orbost and District Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ODCCI) has highlighted the importance of continuing to maintain clear roadsides along the Princes Highway through East Gippsland. At its monthly meeting on April 21, the ODCCI moved a motion stating its support for the safety, and tourism...

How easily we Australians slipped into a new daily routine during this current COVID-19 shut down. Without fuss, most of us have used tales shared by our parents and grandparents, (those who lived through the 1940 war years), to stock up pantries and cupboards, dig and plant out vegetable gardens and to bunkerdown to patiently wait. We have made good use of the time in shut-down: cleaning out...

Several residents in Orbost awoke early on Saturday to participate in the commemoration of ANZAC Day.  However, this year, due to the restrictions brought about by the COVID-19 virus, there was no dawn service with the 13th Gippsland Light Horse Ceremonial Troop. There was no ANZAC Day Parade and there was no 11 o’clock service at the cenotaph with hundreds of people. Instead, the Orbost...