Tales of the Valley Cynthia Burke

How many residents of the Manning Valley have featured on an Australia Post stamp? 

Macquarie Island, located between Tasmania and the Antarctic, was the site of the world’s most successful rabbit eradication program ever conducted and Gus, the Springer Spaniel, was part of this program. 

Narelle Campbell, Team Leader on the island, fell in love with Gus and adopted this amazing dog after a tragic accident. 

This is their heart-rendering story.

The Manning Valley has produced some amazing people and stories. Today, we hear of a life very well lived!

From early wartime memories of plane-spotting through to living in the bush for months at a time as a 14 year old, Brian Crisp recounts his personal, life-long journey with our region. A working life that only slowed when he got to 82 years of age. 

The Manning Valley is a region he knows in some detail as he went on to become the surveyor of many of our coastal villages, such as Wallabi Point.

Brian's story starts at a pretty logical beginning – when he was born.

Paralympian runner James Turner is the best in the world. He's hoping to repeat his world beating performances in the T36 category of the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics.

James tells us that he’s always been active despite living with cerebral palsy. He took up ballet, Tai Kwon Do and even football as a child but now running is what he excels at. And his able-bodied, athlete twin sister Hayley has always kept him competitive!

The Manning River means different things to all of us - the natural beauty for some, or for others it is a playground for sailing, rowing and other aquatic activities.

To the Saunders family it represents an historical connection that goes back thousands of years and continues today.

In this episode filmmaker Grant Saunders explains that connection and how he has used the river as a scene for telling stories.

There are some really well known 'main street' families from Taree.

One of them is the Dahdah family which had a high profile connection to  Victoria Street for generations.

Peter Dahdah worked in the clothing retailer for many years and has contributed to the local community through his extensive service club work and connections.

We asked Peter to recall his recollections of the family's early days in Taree, the changes to the business and how the Manning Valley has changed in his lifetime.

It can take courage, skill and sometimes a bit of luck to follow paths that are offered to us in life.

Di Morrissey has found herself on many 'paths' . She's worked as a journalist,  lived in many interesting places overseas, worked as a high profile TV presenter and mixed in diplomatic circles.  Her journey has now come full circle with a return to the Manning Valley.

She is perhaps best known for her prolific and best selling novels and she has become one of Australia's highest selling and popular author.

Di Morrissey's new release is called Before The Storm and was published on 27 October 2020 - further details  here