News Just In

THERE has been a four vehicle accident approximately 5 kilometres north of Wingen and the New England Highway is closed in both directions and initial reports that a person is trapped in a vehicle. Some diversions are not suitable for heavy vehicles and people taking the alternate roads are implored to drive carefully. UPDATE: 10:18am: […]

TWELVE year old, Isabella Henderson, loves swimming and is only three kilometres away from achieving her goal to swim 50 kilometres in 30 days and raise money for children in hospital. “I started on the 26th of January and I’m swimming until the 24th,” said Isabella. “I’ve got a big country carnival in Sydney tomorrow […]

ON average one Australian woman is murdered each week by their partner, or former partner. This week the murder of a woman and her three children has made national headlines and in Scone, every month there are an overwhelming number of assaults, stalk/harass intimidate and breach apprehended violence order matters in our own community. Read more…

THE Pages River is flowing through Gundy. It may be shallow and a bit brown, but it is great to see some water in it. Special thanks to Gundy resident, Dianne Pittard for sharing her video.

AS predicted a thunderstorm hit Scone last night at approximately 1:40am and while the rain was short lived it was fairly intense with plenty of lightening and thunder. The Bureau of Meteorology measured the following rainfalls in the Upper Hunter in the last 24 hours: Aberdeen: 4.6mm Blandford: 16mm Bunnan: 8mm Cassilis: 16mm Ellerston: 13mm […]

SCONE resident, Peter Tullia, was shocked to find a sink hole in his backyard yesterday. His wife had heard an loud bang, which she thought may have been a tree falling, but to Peter’s surprise a sink hole had appeared next to his swimming pool taking some concrete, tiles and a pot plant with it. […]

By Lyn Banks The Annual Presentation Night for men and ladies from the 2019 Scone golf season was held on Saturday night, February 15. It was a lovely evening of celebration and friendship amongst the Scone golfing fraternity. Appreciation is extended to all the trophy donors and congratulations to all the prize winners. On Saturday, […]

MORE thunderstorms are on the way late this afternoon as a trough over South Australia moves through overnight clearing skies tomorrow and bringing cooler weather on Thursday. Light showers are expected to return to the Upper Hunter on Friday and throughout the weekend. See aerial shot of Scone below, before and after the recent rain. […]

THE Bureau of Meteorology measured the following rainfalls in the Upper Hunter in the last 24 hours: Aberdeen: 43mm Blandford: 19mm Bunnan: 14mm Cassilis: 61mm Ellerston: 25mm Glenbawn: 46mm Hunter Springs: 44mm Merriwa: 42mm Moonan: 22mm Mount Barrington: 34mm Murrurundi: 26mm Parkville: 13mm Rouchel: 31mm Scone: 16mm Upper Rouchel: 38mm Wingen: 12mm Related Story: Weather: […]

SHANNON Noll and Dragon will kick off the 40th anniversary of the Scone Horse Festival with a concert a the Scone White Park Arena.  The concert will be the first event of the Festival, which this year runs from May 7 – 17. Legendary Aussie band Dragon will begin the concert with many memorable hits, […]

THE Bureau of Meteorology recorded the following rainfalls in the Upper Hunter Shire area: Rainfall – until 10am Sunday / until 9am Monday Aberdeen:2mm / 15mm Bunnan: 0mm / 15mm Cassilis: 0mm / 1mm Ellerston: 0mm / 2.2mm Glenbawn: 6mm / 16mm Hunter Springs: 14mm Merriwa (Rosscommon): 0mm / 19mm Moonan:8mm / 12mm Mount Barrington: […]

THE Golden Highway south of Jerry’s Plains is closed in both directions, following a motor vehicle accident, according to Live Traffic. Motorists are advised to use the New England Highway.

THE Civil Aviation Safety Authority has announced flexibility and extensions of six months to two years, for airports to meet new regulations being introduced in August this year. CASA has previously confirmed Scone Airport will not close if it does not meet the regulations. Read: CASA Confirms Scone Airport Won’t Close. Consultation is being undertaken […]

A temperature change of just a couple of degrees in the Indian Ocean can indicate if we will get more rain in the Upper Hunter. Since the 1960’s climatologists have monitored the temperature of the Indian Ocean to trace El Nino and La Nina weather patters and with the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and the […]

By Lyn Banks THE welcome rain throughout the region made for some difficult conditions for play on Saturday, February 8 at the Scone Golf Course. The rough has grown significantly and combined with the mud made it hard to find the ball at times. The rest of the course and especially the greens were presented […]

YESTERDAY, Council’s development and environment committee moved a motion to recommend approval of another petrol station in Merriwa at this month’s Council meeting, a proposal Councillor Sue Abbott described as predatory for other small businesses, which are struggling. The petrol station proposed by Rana Petroleum at 132-140 Bettington Street, described by the Roads and Maritime […]

By Graham Turvey Eleven Vets played a stableford event at Murrurundi Golf Club on Tuesday, February 11 and as usual were organised expertly into their groups by their captain Phil Ledgerwood for the game. The pies for lunch were delicious too. Phil also did best on the greening-up golf course to win with 31 points. […]

THE first Manning River turtles and 12 eggs have been rescued from the Barrington to begin a breeding program with the Aussie Ark and the Australian Reptile Park. The eggs are being incubated at the Australian Reptile Park with homes that some of the hatchlings will be the first turtles released back into the wild. […]

POLICE are investigating a spat of graffiti in Kelly Street, Scone following a number of shop fronts were affected, sometime between midnight and 6am last Friday. Police are appealing to anyone who has CCTV or dashcam footage, or other information to contact Scone Police Station on 6544 0199 or to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 […]

THE Upper Hunter enjoyed steady rain over the weekend and some isolated storms. What did your rain gauge measure? The Bureau of Meteorology measured the following local falls: Saturday: Aberdeen: 23mm Blandford: 27mm Bunnan: 36mm Cassilis: 57mm Ellerston: 28mm Hunter Springs: 48mm Merriwa: 78mm / 45mm Moonan Dam: 14mm Murrurundi: 29mm Parkville: 22mm Scone: 32mm […]

IN April 2018, the new Middlebrook Bridge was opened and this afternoon water flowed for the first time beneath the bridge, much to the excitement of locals gathered. Watch video and see photos below: Related story: New Middlebrook Bridge Opened – April 26, 2018.

YESTERDAY at approximately 8:40am, a 10 year old boy was riding his bike east on Liverpool Street, when a man sitting on the side of the footpath and approached the child. The boy reported the incident to his school and police were alerted. Police are appealing for assistance to identify a man approximately 70 years […]

WELL known and well loved Scone man, Brian Brown, passed away aged 89 on Tuesday, at the Scott Memorial Hospital in Scone. Brian was an advocate for going to the gym and was in good health, until he suffered a stroke on Sunday. He was incredibly proud of his family, was enjoying their company before […]

BUNNAN had the most amount of rainfall in the last 24 hours according to the Bureau of Meteorology, with a steady 35mm, considering Bunnan has missed out on much of the rainfall in the Upper Hunter, it is great to see they got the highest fall. Aberdeen: 19mm Bunnan: 35mm Cassilis: 27mm Ellerston: 11mm Glenbawn: […]

THE Scone Neighbourhood Resource Centre is often the first port of call for people needing to access a range of community services and three members have been recognised for their outstanding service.  This month Lee Watts has dedicated 25 years, Jaala Presland 15 years and Jan Kelaher 12 years to the Centre. Stephen Watson, president […]

THE drought and fires have resulted in brush-tailed rock wallabies struggling to survive. The Aussie Ark helped the state government assess the species and they found numerous deceased animals, but approximately 30 were found need dwindling water supplies. The surviving animals are now receiving food drops and are being monitored by remote cameras until the […]

NEXT Tuesday the new 120 stone Loram grinder will be used for the first time on the Hunter rail network, with 1,200 rail employees working on 120 maintenance jobs, during a three day rail shut down. Buses will replace train passenger services, check the Transport NSW website for details: Timetable. The maintenance jobs include: removing […]

By Graham Turvey WINDY and much cooler conditions were enjoyed by the 24 vets who played a two ball best ball and individual stableford events at the lush Muswellbrook Golf Club on Tuesday, February 4. George Campbell and Bruce Robinson combined well to win the two-ball with 41 points from Red Palmer and Terry Mitchell […]

Betty Pinkerton: 26/11/1928 – 02/02/2020 By Coleen Brown BETTY was the third child born to Stan and Edith Pinkerton of “Zanzibar” Ellerston – the eldest of the four girls. She started school at the age of seven – first on correspondence lessons and then to Ellerston for the rest of her school life except for […]

Iconic artist, Max Joseph Watters OAM, died on Saturday, aged 83. By Roger Skinner I first met Max in 1979, when his brother Frank (of the old Watters Gallery in Sydney) was visiting town and doing preparatory work for the Upper Hunter Environmental Exhibition. I had been introduced to Frank by my friend Garry Philp […]

STORMS overnight brought some much needed rain to parts of the Upper Hunter and the Bureau of Meteorology predicts cooler temperatures and more rain this week. See rainfalls below. A coastal low pressure trough is building, which is predicted to bring widespread rainfalls towards the end of the week, reaching into the Upper Hunter. Today […]

By Lyn Banks Jodie Hinde won the Asser House voucher on Thursday, January 30 at Scone Golf Course when the ladies played a 9 Hole Stableford. She had a great score of 20 points. Balls went to June Jukes 18, Lyn Banks 17 and Judy Carmody 16 points on a countback from Annie Woods. On […]

AT approximately 5pm today the Westpac Rescue Helicopter responded to a single vehicle accident on the Golden Highway near Merriwa. A 20 year old male and his girlfriend, also in her 20s, were trapped in the vehicle, which had rolled after reportedly travelling at high speed. Both patients were freed from the vehicle by the […]

TODAY, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission confirmed Gummun Place is still under an accreditation cloud. Council, the current operators of Gummun Place, passed a motion on Tuesday night to investigate options for future management of the facility. Typically, facilities are accredited for three years after assessment, but due to the number and nature […]

ST Joseph’s High School in Aberdeen issued a note to parents yesterday, advising one of their teachers had holidayed in China and while they had not shown any flu like symptoms, or been to the outbreak area, they will have two days off school to meet the 14 day requirement implemented in the catholic school […]

By Graham Turvey ‘Twas very warm and humid on Tuesday, January 28 when 19 Vets played a stroke and putting event at Aberdeen Golf Club. The whole course is showing the benefit of the recent rain. The Vets wish Gerrit and Pam de Boer best wishes as they move to Sydney after many many years […]

ON Tuesday, the Upper Hunter Shire Council has awarded the contract for village water reticulation systems to TDW Johnson for $250,855, taking the villages of Blandford, Wingen, Parkville, Middlebrook and Gundy a step closer to accessing the town water supply. Initial designs are to be completed this year and the systems will be implemented in […]

COUNCIL have begun reporting motions from closed Council sections of the meeting and listing a reference to the items on the agenda papers. The three items in this month’s Council meeting were the village reticulation tender contract and the Omadale Brook Bridge tender contract. They also passed a motion to examine future options for the […]

ON Tuesday night Upper Hunter Shire Council moved a motion to examine options for the future management of Gummun Place, the aged care facility in Merriwa. For several years under Council management, the facility has had a string of non-compliance issues and been on the verge of sanction. However, Council’s decision may bring fresh hope […]

WELL known and much-loved Scone couple Tom Lavelle aged 83 and Rosemary Lavelle aged 84 are back in their home in Guernsey Street and yesterday sat down to talk to scone.com.au in the hope of people helping them find who assaulted them on Sunday night.  The community of Scone has been outraged by the attack […]

LIVE Traffic reported at 10:45am “wires down” over the New England Highway south of Scone, however an update at 11:59am states the hazard is actually between Muffett Street and Belmore Street at the northern end of Scone, just south of McDonalds.  Traffic is affected in both directions and emergency services are on scene. UPDATE – […]

THE view from a truck in the hay convey as it drove through Scone and Murrurundi on Saturday was filmed by passenger Lint Gannon, with his mate Peter Craig at the wheel. Watch videos below. Lint did his apprenticeship at the local butchers in Scone and now lives on the Central Coast, but said he […]

By Lyn Banks On Saturday, January 25 the Scone golfers played an 18 Hole Stableford for the David Bradshaw and Garry Carter Trophy. It was also Round 2 of the Summer Shield. In hot and steamy conditions and with the course showing benefits of the recent rain, there were some very good scores in the […]

COUNCIL has approved discounting water rates from $2.35 to $0.96 per kilolitre for one year for the Scone Race Club, following community consultation.   Council advised in a letter to people who made submissions that 82 percent received, supported the discounted rates “based on maintaining support to an important local industry that brings large numbers […]

ON Sunday night at approximately 10pm, a man aged 84 and a woman aged 86 were putting their bins out in Guernsey Street, Scone when they were assaulted by an unknown woman, alleged police. Update: A victim of the assault, Tom Lavelle said the person had long hair, but may not have been a woman. […]

MERRIWA hosted this years Australia Day district awards which was held at a packed Merriwa RSL Club. See photos below. Jackson Keane was honoured to be awarded Merriwa Young Citizen of the Year and Upper Hunter Shire Council Young Citizen of the Year for his efforts within the community, particularly in the sporting area. “It […]

Watch the videos of local Australia Day Award Recipients: James Archibald accepted the Scone District Hunter McLoughlin Memorial Citizen of the Year Award, on behalf of his mother, Helen Archibald: Lindy Hunt, was awarded for her Ongoing Support to the Youth of Our Community: Janine Katon, was recognised as Aberdeen District Citizen of the Year: […]

AT the Aberdeen and Scone Australia Day Awards, held in Scone, the best and brightest in our community were recognised and the award recipients this year included: Helen Archibald – Scone District Hunter McLoughlin Memorial Citizen of the Year Janine Katon – Aberdeen District Citizen of the Year Bella-Rose Partridge – Young Citizen of the […]

NEW Australian Citizens who took the oath on Australia Day in Scone included: Louise Field (Ireland), Scott Glover (United Kingdom), Luciana Kidd (Brazil), Shane Kidd (New Zealand), Eni Murtini (Indonesia), David O’Leary (Ireland), Sarah O’Leary (United Kingdom), Aaron O’Leary (Ireland), Blake O’Leary (Ireland), Jack O’Leary (Ireland), Wiset Sammor (Thailand), Veerapat Sam-mor (Thailand), Ziva Mullins (Ireland), […]

THIS month Magistrate Donnelly in several matters pointed out references of good character do not carry much weight in crimes relating to domestic violence and driving matters, “as usual there are six or seven references that they are of good character…functioning members of the community…but it’s their driving…this is a serious offence where good character […]