When the Cuddy family missed a planned holiday due to the pandemic, they stumbled on an idea to breathe new life into one of oldest commercial buildings in their hometown of Canowindra, in central west New South Wales. "We had driven past it so many times and suddenly realised that underneath the facade there was a beautiful old building just begging to be loved," Nerida Cuddy said.
For 1,000 years, millions of people have walked in each other's footsteps on a revered pilgrimage trail in north-western Spain. The Camino de Santiago, or "The Way of St James", is a network of routes across Western Europe leading to the resting place of the apostle Saint James the Great. Since 2014, pilgrims have be taking on an Aussie version, along the rugged coastline from south-west Victoria, into South Australia's south-east, following the life journey of Australia's only saint, Mary Mackillop.
In parts of Southern New South Wales, affected by bushfire more than a year ago, valleys are now green with lush new growth. But there is still much work to be done, repairing damaged fences. Volunteers, like Norma Seeney, are being kept busy, helping farmers get back on track. "There are so many farmers who haven't been given help yet and it's quite surprising that people just forget about it," she said.
Jillian Oliver was working in a remote area as a police officer when a sudden accident changed the direction of her life. A friend suggested Ms Oliver, who lives on the NSW Mid North Coast, start painting. One of her artworks, depicting an Australian Army service in Afghanistan, was later used by the army in fundraising efforts for an orphanage in Afghanistan. It started a chain of events that prompted Ms Oliver to create an art as therapy class.