Mark Anning

From the ridges above the Manning Valley, the argument can look brutally simple. Below are the forests of Bulga, Yarratt and the wider Mid North Coast: country that has supplied timber for generations, habitat for countless species, water catchments for local communities, and now — increasingly — part of Australia’s climate ledger. Yet the old economic arithmetic still tends to begin and end with a truckload of logs. Dr Ken Henry knows that history from both sides.

When Diane Keaton first stepped onto the screen and the public’s consciousness in 1977’s Annie Hall, dressed in that iconic mix of men’s vests, ties, and oversized jackets, audiences thought they were witnessing the birth of a new kind of style. Turns out, they were watching a revelation — a woman unafraid to inhabit her contradictions. Keaton, who passed away in 2025, didn’t just redefine how women could dress; she redefined how they could see.

Imagine a time when bicycles were still exciting new machines. When Banjo Paterson wrote Mulga Bill’s Bicycle 130 years ago in 1896, most people travelled by foot, horse, cart, train or boat. Cycling was becoming fashionable, but a bicycle could still seem strange and slightly daring — especially on rough country roads. Mulga Bill comes from Eaglehawk and thinks he can ride anything. He has handled horses, bulls and the hard tracks of the bush, so he is certain a bicycle will be easy.