East Gippsland Shire Council officially opened its redevelopment of the Bairnsdale Aquatic and Recreation Centre (BARC) aquatics area on Saturday.Mayor, Cr Natalie O’ Connell, opened the new aquatics area, which includes a warm water pool, interactive children’ s water play area, an expanded aquatic area and upgraded all-accessible change facilities, and expanded reception and café areas.“The...

Bairnsdale’ s impeccable home ground winning streak was snapped emphatically by a ruthless Maffra on Saturday as the Redlegs now gear up for their Gippsland League litmus test against ladder leader, Sale, this Sunday.The Redlegs are sitting sixth with a game in hand, however are currently eight points outside the top five and need to take a big name scalp and beat the teams below them if they...

Bairnsdale woke to the sounds of emergency service sirens on Friday, June 28, as popular local eatery and family-run business, Hendo’ s Café, was up in flames.An emotional café owner, Matt Henderson, said that he will rebuild after being in business for 13 years.“We will rebuild after the dust settles,” he said.“We will weather the storm and get back into it, whether that be there or in another...

A last-minute attempt to halt rate increases was defeated five votes to three on Tuesday as the East Gippsland Shire Council passed its draft budget for the next financial year.Councillor Jackson Roberts proposed an alternative motion that council did not adopt for the 2019-20 draft as presented and “instruct officers to re-cast the draft budget to reflect the amount to be raised from rates and...

Accepting an invitation from the Inner Wheel Club of Bairnsdale, Associate Professor Brad Turner’s visit to the region revealed East Gippsland has a very high incidence of reported cases of Motor Neurone Disease (MND).Much progress is being made by the team of 20 scientists at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, who are dedicated to finding a cure for MND.As head of this...