Our latest media releases and local stories are shown below.
If you are a journalist seeking information from Council, please visit our Information for the Media page.
For generations, Geoff Phillips has been a firm fixture of local news bulletins and tonight he was named Wollongong’s Citizen of the Year for 2020. The veteran newsreader had a media career that spanned nearly 50 years on both radio and television. However, locally, he was also known for his commentary of sporting games and as a host of charity events for organisations including the Salvation Army, The Shepherd Centre, Greenacres and the Illawarra Connection.
Read more
Bird watchers will find it easier to identify the wide variety of feathered friends visiting Lake Illawarra with the launch of a new guide by Wollongong and Shellharbour City Councils today, Tuesday 22 January. The colour brochure—funded by a grant from the NSW Local Land Services—highlights the diverse variety of birds that live in and migrate to Lake Illawarra each year.
Beachgoers can avoid the midday heat, and still enjoy a dip tomorrow, Thursday 23 January, with Wollongong City Council’s Lifeguards extending patrol hours on 12 of our popular beaches. Flags will be up until 7pm at Stanwell Park, Coledale, Austinmer, Thirroul, Bulli, Woonona, Corrimal, Towradgi, North Wollongong, City and Port Kembla beaches. They’ll remain up until 6pm at Sandon Point.
A weekend diesel spill from a charter boat was reported to Wollongong City Council on Monday 21 January 2020. The boat’s owner has self-reported the incident to the EPA, and they’re investigating the matter. We understand the NSW Roads and Maritime Service, who are the agency responsible for the health of the Harbour, are aware of the incident and worked with NSW Fire and Rescue to manage the spill over the weekend.
Windang Beach is closed after a shark attack early this morning. A 59-year-old man was surfing near the entrance to Lake Illawarra when he was bitten by a shark. He has been transported to hospital.
Wollongong City Council is continuing to offer free green waste collections this weekend at Whytes Gully, Wombarra and Beaton Park.
Wollongong’s Australia Day 2020 will be an opportunity to come together and celebrate community.
Wollongong City Council is appealing for public assistance following a break-in at Western Suburbs Pool overnight. The pool will remain closed today after pool staff discovered the break-in at 5.30am this morning, Wednesday 15 January, and contacted NSW Police.
Children’s author and comedian Anh Do has made a clean sweep of the junior readers Top 10 Books for 2019 in Wollongong City Libraries. The popular writer’s novel Flying ninja! was the most borrowed junior fiction title last year and was borrowed 195 times. The other Do favourites that took out the top five were WeirDo, Game Time!, Hotdog, and WeirDo 5, totally weird!. All up, his books were borrowed 1,715 times.
Wollongong City Council has a range of activities to entertain the kids and get them out and about this January.
