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Co-founder Simon Mumford describes the smartphone app as “everything Lismore – people use their smartphone severy day and we are connected to each other more than ever before, so we wanted to design a business where all your local information can be viewed by pushing one push of the button on your mobile phone,” Mumford says. “What we’ve created is something unique and specific to the Lismore region, something easy to use and  absolutely free.”

Lismore – nestled in the valley in the early morning sun.

Digital content editor and journalist Will Jackson says the app would be a one-stop shop for local news and sport, things to do and events, community contacts, trades and classifieds. Jackson says a big focus of the app would be keeping users informed of what was happening in the community with news articles published throughout the day specifically for the people who live and work in the Lismore local government area. The news agenda of the Lismore App would be a mix of council, crime, entertainment, social issues, sport and whatever other quirky interesting stories people wanted to share with the community.
“I definitely believe in reporting what’s in the public interest, not just what’s interesting to the public. Lismore is such a diverse community, and being fair to all sides is important,” he says. “My approach buy viagra with paypal is to celebrate what’s good in the community, expose what’s not so good and document what’s important.  Most importantly  the app will be an entertaining read.”
The Lismore App is the first foray into this unique model by the NSW Local App Company which hopes to eventually launch apps for communities around the region.

Lismore Lantern Parade – one of Lismore’s favourite events.

“The Australian media is going through what they call a period of ‘disruption’ at the moment – the old business models no longer works,” said the app’s advertising and marketing manager Mark Colegate. “We’re hoping that with a fresh, innovative approach on a platform that the people of Lismore use every day, the local app model can actually be financially sustainable. An important element of the Lismore App is that we offer display, trade and classified rates at very affordable rates compared to traditional media. We have kept our business costs very low so now any business can afford to advertise which, with high usage, will increase their profitability leading to more jobs being generated in the Lismore region.”

The Lismore App is available to download on Android from the Google Play app store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.app.p1792HI
iPhone support is to come at a later date.
You can also ‘like’ the app’s Facebook page at facebook.com/lismoreapp <https://facebook.com/lismoreapp> .

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Tech details: Nikon D500; 70-200mm f2.8 lens. Shot focal length: 225mm (effective). ISO 100; Aperture f5; Shutter 1/2000th.

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Matthew, described as ‘”a guitarist of superb technical accomplishment and a musician of perception and style” will perform the complete guitar concerto of Joaquin Rodrigo’s “Concierto de Aranjuez”. This orchestral masterpiece blends Spanish classical guitar with a full symphony orchestra – a rare feat in music and it has arguably made this work one of the most famous 20th century orchestral compositions.

Matthew Marshall

The music line up also includes Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra, 4th mvt, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No 5, 2^nd mvt and the Sibelius Symphony No 5, 3rd mvt and excerpts from the fabulous film “Babe” by Australian composer, Nigel Westlake.  acheterdufrance.com Sonya Lopes will conduct again in this concert series.

The Whitebrook Theatre at Southern Cross University is the location for these upcoming performances on May 27, 7.30pm and May 28, 2pm.

Book your tickets online at www.trybooking.com/PLBK

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I’d always said to friends in Melbourne that if Goonellabah flooded it was time to build an ark! Well, we had water throughout our living area when the drains failed to cope with the 400mm that fell in 24 hours. But that was trivial compared to the mess that Debbie left when she finally departed. The Wilsons River reached 11.6m – close to the 1974 big flood and the 10.6m levee was overtopped, as we always knew it would be when the inevitable big flood came.

Post flood debris – the remains of Scott’s Newsagency, Molesworth Street – now reopened.

When the flood waters receded and all of us got down to work, cleaning, laundry and door knocking to check on people’s welfare, I heard my fair share of distressing stories but even when people had lost most of their possessions, there was a general response “I’m OK, there are people much worse off than me”.
Through the tears there were often smiles and hugs as people connected like never before. The Lismore Come to the Heart symbol has always been more than a marketing logo. Many of us have worn the little heart badge as a sign of pride that we live in Lismore but after this flood event, the Heart has become a symbol of rebuilding and connection to each other. When the Black Sombrero in the CBD hung a Heart flag on its door to indicate it was reopening, requests came for more, so sewing bees were arranged at the Black Sombrero for these flags to be produced for other businesses as they reopened.

Lifeline NR set up in the Pavilion at Lismore Showgrounds to help people affected by the flood by distributing donated goods.

The heart badge became a sign of determination and resilience and council has noted a steady stream of residents buying the badges to wear and give to others to lift their spirits.
The stories of loss and grief will continue for many weeks and months and even longer for some but this community is strong and connected with someone always at hand to bear the load when things get too hard.
Thousands of people evacuated and while much of the contents of homes and businesses was secured and lifted, the height of the flood and the force of the water was greater than most people expected. As readers will have seen, the damage to homes and businesses in the CBD, North and South Lismore and parts of East Lismore was immense with thousands of tonnes of damaged goods piled up on footpaths as the recovery commenced.
The good thing – from every disaster, the strength of the community is demonstrated in the very difficult and long recovery stage after the emergency has passed.
An army of volunteers mobilised through Lismore Helping Hands Facebook page to attend thousands of homes and businesses. These volunteers helped clean premises and provide essential material aid and food to the people affected. Hundreds of RFS and SES volunteers from around the state provided much of the heavy lifting and high pressure hoses to help clean out buildings as people tried to salvage important items.

Jon English’s wife sent a box of his socks to the appeal!

As the emergency passed, the disused Lismore Railway station was a hub for the volunteers to form teams and for people to get food, bedding and clothing. Lifeline’s regional warehouse received tonnes of financed items and just as quickly was distributing goods to affected people. It wasn’t long before it became obvious that the warehouse was simply too small to cope with the supply or demand so a league Pavilion at the Showgrounds became the central collection and distribution centre not just for Lifeline but for many other charity groups.
The official NSW Government sponsored Flood Recovery Centre was also established in East Lismore to provide people with a one-stop-shop for advice on insurance, grants, fair trading, small business, primary industry assistance and more.
People who were unaffected by the disaster flocked to help and shopping in the supermarket in mud spattered clothing and rubber boots didn’t even cause a raised eyebrow, but the emotional toll of the flood was obvious despite the generally positive spirits. In the days after the water had gone, every heavy rain shower brought back feelings of dread.  The need for material aid for affected residents was also obvious and the community responded.
Lifeline Northern Rivers warehouse in South Lismore was soon overwhelmed by the sheer volume of donated clothing, furniture and household items so the opening of the Pavilion at the Showgrounds provided not only a much needed large space for donations and distribution but the opportunity for all charities to work together.

Flood rescue in Uralba Street, Lismore.

The Helping Hands hub remained the centre for donations of non perishable food, willing hands for heavy lifting and cleaning and teams of skilled people to undertake welfare checks in the most vulnerable people until it closed on April 23.
Our council, including Mayor Isaac Smith, has been magnificent as were the emergency services volunteers who came from far and near to help. Among the volunteers who put their own lives on hold to help others, new leaders merged with the temperament and skills to mobilise teams of people who had never worked together before. In my opinion, those leaders – many of them in their early 20s – will be names to note as community leaders of the future.
Three weeks after the flood, there is still much to be done. Hundreds of residents are not back in their homes and some may never be able to return.  Many people will continue to need material help, many more will require emotional support and fundraising will continue to be required on top of the welcome financial assistance from government.
It is hoped that the Lismore Helping Hands Facebook page will continue with people linking up to help each other not just in relation to this flood event but for the future.
Volunteers can only do so much and it would be ideal to see an existing larger organisation take on the coordinating role of overseeing the wellbeing of flood-affected people into the longer term. Volunteers will still be needed to contribute a few hours or a day when they can but I think that the overarching coordination requires a paid project officer with the structure of a larger organisation to provide the framework. We cannot let the aftermath of the flood result in a loss of community cohesiveness or wellbeing. That would be an indictment on all of us and a tragedy that we must avoid.

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If I had a dollar for every person who asked me ‘How’s retirement?’ I’d be a wealthy woman. I’m not wealthy of course but life is full of new-found riches so I respond ‘I’m loving it and I can recommend it highly’.

It’s now just a little more than six months since I relinquished my role as Lismore Mayor in September 2016 and many people also ask me what I’m doing with all my free time.

As a firm believer in lifelong learning and challenging oneself, I knew that retirement was not going to be boring or sedentary but I didn’t really have more than a few simple ideas about what I’d do with my time. As you might imagine, I had quite a few invitations to join various community organisations but I took the advice of another politician who retired not so long ago, Don Page, and decided to take a ‘gap year’ or at least a gap six months. I wanted to keep my mind open to opportunities and they have unfolded in many wonderful ways.

My husband Ron and I had planned a three-week road trip to Victoria last October to visit family and for me to attend a high school reunion and a gathering of the Bungalow Girls, eight female student teachers who roomed together in a bungalow attached to a Geelong Teachers College hostel. I also announced that I was suspending my very active Facebook account for several months to make it clear that I was no longer a representative of Council or a conduit to it. I admit that I missed the contact with community during that time but it was also a way of giving necessary clear space for the new Mayor Isaac Smith without the ‘old grey mare’ in the background.

Jenny and Ron celebrating retirement before their road trip.

There is something sad and unfair about a retired politician staying on the sidelines and making comments about political decisions so I also resolved never to comment publicly on the voting outcomes of the new Council or to be used to pressure current Councillors on their decisions. I do admit to reading the Council business paper but will not attend meetings and I’ll keep my views on Council decisions to myself.

So apart from that road trip, what have I been up to since September 14?

I was well aware as I approached retirement that I was overweight and too sedentary, had a few aches and pains and wasn’t eating as well as I should. Two years earlier I’d participated in the Cancer Council’s Dance for Cancer and in my efforts to tap dance, I’d joined a gym and become quite fit but in the six months before retirement, I’d lapsed into poorer habits.

Fortunately through being an Ambassador for Heart Health for Women and attending a community heart check morning, I’d been encouraged by Jillian Adams, from Health Promotions here in Lismore to sign up for the NSW Health GetHealthy free phone coaching program. My first phone call from Pierre, my coach, came through on September 16 and from then on, until my graduation last month, I benefitted from the support to set my goals to get healthy.

Having met with the local coordinator of Parkrun in the lead up to its launch in April last year, I supported and walked in the first few Saturday events in Lismore but then dropped away as my motivation waned. But through the GetHealthy program, I set a goal to do something active every day. Mostly that involved walking but soon, to my great surprise, I found myself jogging short sessions. I hadn’t run since I was 11 years old in my first year of high school when I was the only girl Under 12 in October that year and had to run in the interschool athletics at Olympic Park in Melbourne. The embarrassment was immense as I was not at all sporty. So you might imagine my surprise to now find that I can run 5km without stopping and can do it in 33 minutes!

I now run every day for 4-6 kms and have cut out sugar, upped my intake of vegetables, snack less and have lost 14k. I feel fantastic and my back, knee and ankle pains have reduced or disappeared.

Jenny teaching residents at Caroona seated tap-dancing.

Volunteering was also on my ‘to do’ list and as I’d always liked Uniting’s model of Inspired Care, I became a volunteer at Kalina at Caroona in Goonellabah in February. Initially I spent a couple of hours with 6-8 ladies over a cup of tea chatting, reminiscing and laughing at often outrageous stories from their youth. Kay Cleverly, activities coordinator, lived up to her name when she came up with the bright idea that I could teach a group of residents to tap dance while seated. The challenge (apart from my very limited tap skills) was to devise something that would fit on residents’ feet to make a tap sound. The best ideas often come in the middle of the night and so I experimented with the base of drink cans that I collected from the local park, Velcro-ed onto shoes. They work a treat! We’re doing a simple tap dance to Que Sera Sera and having so much fun.

I have also accepted a role as Patron of Jodie’s Inspiration and the Lismore Art Club and continuing roles as Ambassador for the Cancer Council and as Patron of The Rivers College, Kadina campus P&C. Several other Patron roles will come to an end at the AGM of various organisations because my Patron role was linked with the Mayoral position.

My big secret desire during my years on Council was to see if I could act on stage. Although some would say being Mayor was a great preparation, I really had no idea if I could learn lines or take on a character but just before Christmas I fronted up to the Lismore Theatre Company’s Christmas Party, paid my membership and literally put my name in the hat for the evening’s Theatre Sports. I must have played a convincing monkey in a dental surgery and before I knew it I had an email from David Addenbrooke to offer me a supporting role as Aunt Julie in Hedda Gabler. I was stunned and excited! We began rehearsals in late January and opened on March 31 for six performances. ( lismoretheatrecompany.org.au/)

Taking to the boards in the supporting role of Aunt Julie in Hedda Gabler.

My husband Ron retired more than three years ago and went travelling without me several times while I was fulfilling my Mayoral duties but now I can join him so we are off to France and Italy for a long holiday in late April. I learned French at school but knew no Italian except for a few basic words so I enrolled in Beginners Italian with U3A and have been attending weekly lessons this term. U3A has so many wonderful courses but so far, I’m only enrolled in Italian and the weekly discussion group, Friday Forum.

Of course in the midst of all this activity, gardening and reading remain personal passions that I’ve always enjoyed and to which I can now devote more time. I read 2-3 books a week and have recently written a book review for the Richmond Tweed Regional Library newsletter.

A couple of other surprises have also come my way since I retired. Both directly relate to my role as Mayor and both fill me with that odd mixture of humility and pride.

The first was an invitation to become a Mayors’ Mentors for Local Government NSW, the peak state organisation for Councils. When I was Mayor I was very grateful to have the ex-Mayor of North Sydney, Genia McCaffery as my mentor and I’m now so pleased to be able to support other mayors in their often-challenging role by providing a confidential sounding board and guide.

Accepting an Honorary Doctorate at Southern Cross University.

The second great honour is one that was bestowed as recently as Saturday March 25 when I was awarded an Honorary Doctorate at Southern Cross University in recognition of my services to the Lismore community. As part of the award, given at a graduation ceremony, I was invited to give the Occasional Address for the third time. I owe SCU a great deal – in fact I can honestly say I would not have been Mayor if it were not for SCU. My family moved to Lismore in 1991 so that Ron could take up a Lecturing position here in the fledgling Tourism school. As someone who values education and understands the role that regional universities play, I am absolutely thrilled to be given this very special award.

So as readers can see, I’m embracing my retirement with enthusiasm. I love my life and being a cancer survivor, I understand that every day is a blessing. So, as far as the future is concerned…bring it on!

Hedda Gabler opens tonight, Friday April 7 at the Rochdale Theatre in Goonellabah.  Tickets are available for tonight, Saturday, & Wednesday evening. Sunday at 2.00pm is sold out, and Thursday April 13 at 8.00 pm is sold out. You can book tickets here:  lismoretheatrecompany.org.au/

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“I took this main shot while I was photographing the progress of the disastrous 2017 floods on Friday,” Clarke says. “At this time the flood had reached its full height of 11.58m outside the levee, but the levee is 10.7m at its lowest point – a little higher in Spinks Park. To the left is the Wilsons River and to the right is the heart of Lismore. My feeling of unease and personal danger standing next to this spectacle was intense.”

This beautiful but destructive waterfall illustrates how the bowl of the CBD was filled slowly by floodwater until the level inside and outside were equalised – with catastrophic consequences for the CBD of Lismore.  “This infill process took most of the morning on Friday,” Clarke says,  “but by the afternoon the levels had reached equilibrium and I was able to kayak down the main street!”

It was, and has been classified as such, a natural disaster of monumental proportions. “Thousands of Lismore residents and dozens of businesses have been severely affected by this event, the third largest flood on record in Lismore,” says Clarke, whose own shop PowerMax, was one of those to flood in the CBD. With millions of dollars of property losses and the destruction of countless precious personal effects, the Lismore council anticipates that some 10,000 tonnes of hard waste will need to be cialisfrance24.com collected from around the CBD and suburbs of Lismore.

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It was with a mixture of sadness, nostalgia and excitement, a crowd gathered to bid farewell to a space that has captured the minds and imaginations of visitors for decades.

To mark this, we asked our visitors to share their thoughts and memories of this gallery, which we have been sharing on social media via #lrgmemories

While we have been closed to the public, work continues frantically behind closed doors. Our extensive library has been pulled from the shelves, with decade’s worth of items being sorted into a multitude of piles. When we move, this library will be available to visitors to view, along with a searchable catalogue of items for the very first time.

The other big job is assessing our permanent collection. The Gallery has close to 1,000 works in its permanent collection. The layout of the old gallery means that staff can not properly access works in the collection while we were open to the public. So it really only left Mondays as a day in which were able to pull all the works out from our collection store and to place through our upper story so that we could then access the painting racks or plan drawers.

Being closed to public is allowing us to pull everything out from storage, do a condition check, photograph it, and document it on the collection database. This is a slow and methodical job, but one we only really get one opportunity to do properly before we move to the new building, sometime around June. We then expect to open to the public in September.

An image of the new Lismore Regional Gallery.

For those that have been in to the Lismore CBD lately, they would have noticed dramatic changes at our new home. The bulk of the exterior work (apart from landscaping) is now close to completion. On the northern side of the building you will see an extension to the original C Block, containing storage, loading dock, toilets, lifts and stairs, corridors, and a large undercover event space. The southern side, facing the Lismore Library and newly created Lismore Quadrangle, has a large external awning, and a second level glass corridor that links gallery spaces, and has views across the Quad.

Inside the building is also quickly taking shape; with ceilings, wall finishes and glazing giving a very clear picture of what we will soon be working with. People keep saying to me – “You won’t know yourselves” – when we are in the building. And as the reality of this project is more and more sinking in, I’m really beginning to feel the truth in that statement.

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This time last year, I’d not long heard the news that funding was successful to construct a new gallery for Lismore. It’s been a mammoth 12 months getting to where we are now. In that time we’ve been blessed with amazing support; seeing $110,000 in donations to the project from the local community; a $500,000 donation from the Margaret Olley Art Trust; and additional funding of $300,000 from the state government to support gallery display infrastructure.

There was then all the finalising of architectural plans and development applications. Building commenced mid-year, and construction has been going according to plan (thanks to some unseasonably dry weather). The architect Dominic Finlay-Jones, and Bennett Constructions, have been fantastic to work with, completely understanding the needs of the Gallery. Today, when I stand onsite, I can see new roofing going on the building and structural steel indicating where the external awning and glass walkway will be going.

The Gallery team have also been very busy planning our programs for when we move, identifying and sourcing fitout needs and getting a grip of running a much larger space!

But perhaps for me, the most momentous moment was recently celebrating our final opening in our current building. To see such a diverse range of people, including so many artists who have been part of or program the last 6 years or so, was an incredibly gratifying feeling.

René Bolten discussing his work with Hilary Herrmann and Kellie O’Dempsey. Photo: Natsky

So what’s next? On February 4th, we’ll be closing the doors one last time. We’ll be inviting people in that day for a final chance to say goodbye, to share a drink and memories of this building that has served the community for so long.

Then, we will be doing an exhaustive audit of the permanent collection (numbering some 1,000 objects) and preparing our move. We’ll still be presenting some regular Peggy Popart sessions offsite, and will be collaborating with RealArtWorks and the Lismore Lantern Parade.

The plan then is to move in to the new facility in June, which includes placing the collections in their new storage locations and installing our opening round of exhibitions (in 4 times the amount of space we currently have). We expect then to open to the public in September 2017.

I’ve been actively sharing progress on Instagram and Facebook, so if you want see what’s going on, look us up!

In the meantime, we have our final round of exhibitions showing here, including stunning painting and drawing by René Bolten, screenprints and drawings by Nathan Gooley, a fun and colourful exhibition, Playroom, by Masato Takasaka and Madeline Kidd, and work by local Bundjalung artist, Adrian Cameron.

Lismore City Council acknowledges the people of the Bundjalung nation, traditional custodians of the land on which we work.
MAKE A TAX DEDUCTIBLE CONTRIBUTION FOR THE GALLERY <https://www.lismoregallery.org/cp_themes/default/page.asp?p=DOC-NBY-13-07-68>  RELOCATION

Showing 10 December 2016 – 4 February 2017:

Paintings and drawings: René Bolten

Playroom: Masato Takasaka & Madeline Kidd

Superheroes & Monsters: Nathan Gooley

Widjabul Dreaming: Adrian Cameron

The Gallery will close from 4 February 2017 until September 2017 while we prepare to move to our new gallery

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