Articles published in May 2026

And now for something completely different - the Omega Ensemble at the Malachi
May 7, 2026 in Entertainment

Sunday, May 3, saw the Omega Ensemble return to the Malachi Gilmore hall, but not with works by Mozart this time. The concert is named "Howl" after one of the program items the group is touring during 2026. It would have come as a surprise to anyone expecting traditional chamber music, but change is what makes things exciting and nobody would have gone away unsatisfied or unhappy.
Read about it and hear some examples here

Burraga's ANZAC celebration
May 7, 2026 in Community

The village of Burraga held its ANZAC Day event on the weekend after the actual day. There are so many events of a similar nature that spreading them out makes sense.
See the pictures here

'A study showed...' isn't enough
May 7, 2026 in General News

Someone I care greatly about has an advanced case of Parkinson's disease so it was interesting to see reports this week in social media and the main stream media about a breakthrough cure for the complaint. What was actually being reported wasn't a cure, it was early research which showed promise in reducing the symptoms and managing the condition better but the word in the headlines that grabbed all attention was "cure". Note that anyone finding a cure for Parkinson's would cause all other nominations for that year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to be withdrawn because coming a very distant second would be a waste of time.

I've been around and writing about science for long enough to see the rad flags waving wildly whenever I see the word "cure" in a headline, so this timely article from The Conversation caught my attention.
Read the article here

Congratulations
May 7, 2026 in People

Congratulations to Oberon local Lincoln Briffa for ten years service to the Red Cross Emergency Service.

Too much learning? No such thing!
May 7, 2026 in Schools

Nobody ever suffered from too much education or knowing too much. The opposite is not so.
See what happened around the schools here

Sport filling the back pages
May 7, 2026 in Sport

It's all here this week - soccer, league, hockey, ponying and now netball. And golf. Let's not forget the golf.
See all the details here

The Pines Wind Farm Reaches $100,000 Milestone
May 7, 2026 in Community

The Pines Wind Farm have issued a media release about the status of community grants.
Read the media release here

Is it "Bye, bye Buy me a Coffee"?
May 14, 2026 in General News

Back in February I introduced a donation scheme to help fund Oberon Matters. It was called Buy me a Coffee. It sounded like a good idea at the time. I've received several emails notifying me of donations but what I haven't seen is any money appearing in my bank account. I just checked my account at BmaC and the money owing is there. I've asked for it to be transferred to my bank (after converting it back to $A).

A few years ago I had a similar experience with a system called Patreon, but after getting none of the money supposedly donated I found that it only really worked if my web site was part of Patreon (eg oberonmatters.patreon.com) which wasn't what I wanted at all. (The current version of this is Substack, and I hope it works better).

All of that wouldn't matter too much (I eventually got my money) but I got an email this week to tell me that Buy me a Coffee now accepts donations in cryptocurrencies (called "crypto", of course) but as there are literally hundreds of these scams I'm not sure which one I should get a "wallet" for and where I could spend the "money". As I don't like to do business with anyone who deals in crypto, I'll be thinking about closing the account.

Thank you to everyone who bought me a coffee. Now I'm off to find another way to solicit donations.

The bricks are back
May 14, 2026 in Community and Entertainment

It's been too long since Playwell Events brought their amazing LEGO® creations to Oberon, but they were back at the Malachi Gilmore Hall on May 9. 250,000 blocks assembled into things that most of us couldn't imagine, including some that moved!
See a lot of pictures from the day here

Challenges in renewable rollout more complex and deeper than ever
May 14, 2026 in General News

There's a bit of talk around town about renewable energy projects. The Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner's (AEIC) 2025 Annual Report has been tabled in the Australian Parliament, highlighting the Office's work supporting communities, industry and governments.
Read the report here

New firefighters at 411
May 14, 2026 in People

We've got a some more firefighters keeping Oberon safe.

Fire station 411 had this to say:

A whole lot of learning going on
May 14, 2026 in Schools

There's a lot more than the Three Rs going on at Oberon's schools.
See the action here

All the sports news that fits
May 14, 2026 in Sport

There were winners, grinners and silver medal winners in the week's sports. Anyone remembering how cold Thursday was will appreciate those golfers who made the effort to crack the ice on the greens.
See the results here

Why has this autumn been so hot and dry?
May 21, 2026 in General News

Mark Twain is supposed to have said "Everyone talks about the weather but nobody does anything about it" (or it might have been Robert Underwood Johnson or Charles Dudley Warner or maybe even someone else), so let's talk about the weather and see if there might be something we can do about it. This article from The Conversation talks about the weather lately and why it has been like it has. And there can be no doubt that weather matters a lot to Australia's agricultural industries.

The article mentions climate change so deniers can skip past without bothering to read it, but the rest of us know that climate isn't weather but a smoothing and averaging of it over time. And that's the thing that's changing.
Read the article here

A bit of help needed
May 21, 2026 in General News

For many years I have been variously President, Vice President and general committee member of Australian Skeptics and part of the agreement there is that I never pretend to be psychic. Also, I for many years I ran a successful online magazine challenging such things. Because of these limitations, I have difficulty knowing things unless someone tells me about them. I can only add things to What's On, attend events or write about them if I know about them. As an example, I recently found out about an event that I would have liked to attend and write about half an hour after it started with no time to get there before it finished.

So, I need a bit of help here. Let me know what's going on. Obviously, I can't get to everything that happens but that doesn't mean there might  not be a story in it. Also, if you have an opinion about something, write something or send a Letter to the Editor.

The more material here that is relevant to what's happening around town or what people are thinking, the better it will be for all of us.

Thank you.

Schools stay sporty this semester
May 21, 2026 in Schools

Lots of learning going on as usual in the schools around Oberon, but a lot of running around and throwing things too as sport took up some of the time.
Follow the action here

The back page
May 21, 2026 in Sport

Another week of people running and jumping. Excerpt for golfers, of course, who walk when there's no cart to ride in. No league because everyone was at Grenfell for the Representative Round.
Go here to see what happened

Victoria Pass update
May 21, 2026 in Community and General News

Transport for NSW have issued an update to what's being done to alleviate the problems associated with the closure of Victoria Pass.
You can see the update here

May 19 2026 Oberon Council Meeting, May 4 2026 Extraordinary Council Meeting
May 21, 2026 in Community
Updated June 18, 2026

May Oberon Council Ordinary and Extraordinary meetings.
See the reports on the meetings here

Aussie Bird Count: Magpies on top
May 28, 2026 in Community and General News

The front page of this site on April 9 featured a photo of a magpie, Australia's best bird. According to BirdLife Australia it's the one that's most seen across the country. The white ibis bin chicken has become more visible this year and a pair was seen in Oberon in the last week. It's not known if they were travelling east to join the community in Hyde Park or going west to visit the relatives.
BirdLife Australia have issued a media release and you can read it here

Chloe Swannell at the Golf Club
May 28, 2026 in Entertainment

If you were looking for a perfect way to end the week it would be hard to go past having a couple of beers and a good meal while listening to Chloe Swannell at the Oberon Golf Club. Chloe is well known around the district for her musical ability and she didn't disappoint on Sunday, May 24. If you get a chance to see and hear her, make sure you go along.

The recording below contains just a few minutes of the show. Unfortunately it was a tough gig and there was a lot of background noise, but that can't be helped when the performance is in a small club and most of the audience are winding down from a day's sporting action. I wasn't really in a position to tap into the AV feed to pick up just the microphone and guitar but I've heard worse recordings of live performances (he says modestly). The best way to treat this problem is to go along in person to Chloe's next concert.

A look at the Book Nook
May 28, 2026 in Community

You don't have to drive to another town to find an excellent and varied collection of books for sale. And all for sale for only $1 each. It's the Book Nook in the Robert Hooper Centre next to the Library. Look for the sign outside and bring your money with you.
See a bit more about this here

Firefighters flex their fitness
May 28, 2026 in Community and People

Fire and Rescue NSW Station 411 Oberon had this to say about fitness testing:

Learn. Learner. Learnest(?).
May 28, 2026 in Schoola

Another week of fun and learning at the schools around Oberon. And a trip to the zoo!
See the stories here

And the sporting continues ...
May 28, 2026 in Sport

Over here at the Back Page we've got all the sports news that's fit to print.
See what's been happening around the grounds here