2022 will bring new innovations with Virtual Santa magically appearing to the children at the first regional Christmas Wish held at the Bairnsdale RSL next Wednesday, November 30, from 9am to 3pm. This year Gippsland is hosting Australia's first Regional Christmas Wish and it will be an exciting development. In 2016 The Heart Project was born, lead by Karen Alsop who brought together a small...

Mosquitoes are back with renewed vigour following the recent wet weather in East Gippsland. The Victorian Department of Health has confirmed it has stepped up mosquito surveillance activity, such as trapping, earlier than usual this year. A spokesperson for the department said people in areas experiencing mosquito activity are recommended “to undertake protective measures now and over the coming...

East Gippsland residents have embraced early voting in the lead up to Saturday’s State Election. Since the pre-polling booth opened in Macleod Street, Bairnsdale on November 13, locals have lined up to cast their vote. “It’s been quite steady,” manager of the VEC for Gippsland, Sandra Wood, told the Advertiser.  “People like to get it done, particularly if they’re going away on election...

Gippsland Ports Authority has retrieved a reportedly stolen vehicle from the Mitchell River at Eagle Point. The white Kia hatchback was noticed floating upside down in the river, near ‘The Bluff’, after it was “sent off the cliff” in Rivermouth Road. Local residents alerted authorities to its discovery and after being inspected by the  Water Police to ensure no one was inside the vehicle, a...

Police have targeted a number of Outlaw Motorcycle Gang members and other serious offenders across East Gippsland this week as part of a Firearm Prohibition Order (FPO) operation. As part of the operation, detectives from East Gippsland and Wellington Investigations and Response Units, VIPER Taskforce, Echo Task-force, and Eastern Region Crime Squad issued seven new FPOs and conducted 16...