Tales of the Valley

Cynthia Burke

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Society & Culture
Updated Bimonthly

Conversations with the personalities and characters of the Manning Valley

11/25/2025

Jane Hosking and Ali Haigh. Art curators

Jane and Ali lift the lid on what it takes to curate a major art exhibition in regional Australia. The exhibition Feathered: Birds in Myth and Memory was a coup for Manning Regional Art Gallery and a major highlight of the two women’s long artistic careers.

40 min
08/22/2023

Gus - Macquarie Island eradication specialist retires to the Manning Valley

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.

55 min
11/25/2021

Brian Crisp - School Boy Plane Spotter to Valley Surveyor

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.

1h 1m
08/20/2021

James Turner - World Champion Paralympian

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!

41 min
04/13/2021

Grant Saunders - Filmmaker and Fisherman

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.

58 min
02/09/2021

Peter Dahdah - Retailer and Community Champion

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.

39 min
12/17/2020

Di Morrissey - Author, journalist and storyteller

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

1 hr
09/23/2020

Brian Wallace - Gallerist

Travel in our younger years can expand the mind and our ideas. Then many of us settle down to our regular life back at home. For Brian Wallace his earlier adventures have led him on a path to living and working in China for around 30 years where he is the Founder and Director of the Red Gate Gallery. The gallery is famous for the forstering, development and showcasing of contemporary Chinese art and artists. Brian has lived through the massive social and cultural changes and challenges the world's most populous nation of the last three decades. He was back in his home town Taree and on an extended visit due to COVID 19 preventing his return to his other home, Beijing.

1h 1m

Conversations with the personalities and characters of the Manning Valley

Creator

Cynthia Burke
Years Active

2019 - 2025
Episodes

22
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© Cynthia Burke
Show Website

Tales of the Valley