My Triangle, our long-lived and much-loved column, is a profile of a local person, or couple, or sometimes even a family. We’ve gone through the archives to present them all here – stories of our neighbours, friends, families, customers, storekeepers … we hope you enjoy them anew.


Cobargo creative, Ivan Hollins

by Flick Ruby      

Among the most successful presents I have given to family and friends are special wooden boxes, hand crafted by Ivan Hollins. Maybe you have also been tempted by them when browsing in Cobargo Creators, or by his river redgum tables with antique sewing machine bases. I invited myself over to Ivan’s place for morning tea to hear the story of how he brought his remarkable woodworking skills to the Triangle area.

… Read more »

Cobargoans valiantly caffeinated

by Flick Ruby

As a loyal customer, I’m convinced that Valiant coffee tastes even better when sipped in the backyard of the CWA cottage. I enjoy meeting people down there, especially while live music is gently playing in the background. While enjoying a quiet cuppa in the shade one Saturday morning, I asked James Bristow about what drew him to this particular location for his van?

‘The first thing I saw was how this spot would benefit mums and … Read more »

Wally’s story

by Angela Marshall

Picking up Wally Stewart’s story where we left off in the July issue of The Triangle … 

The family moved from the Bermagui River encampment to Narooma in 1958, where Wally’s sister Susan was soon born. Two years later Wally was born, the youngest of ten children.

Their house on the Narooma Flat was a short walk to the Wagonga Inlet and one of Wally’s jobs was to walk over to the sandflats and collect a … Read more »

Chris Franks: ‘biting off more than it was sensible to chew on.’

by Jen Severn

Chris and Bev Franks married in Sydney in 1963. Her dad had a bush property (now the Bermagui Heights Estate) and they moved down to develop it. ‘The plan was for us to clear it then share-farm it,’ says Chris. ‘We started off without a cracker. So while we were clearing the property and sowing it down, I needed off-farm income.’ He heard that the Bermagui Country Club needed a … Read more »

Heather O’Connor: survivor, activist, volunteer, driving force

by Jen Severn

In 1988, Bob Hawke was prime minister and, arguably, the second Australian prime minister to take women’s affairs seriously (Gough Whitlam being the first). Margaret Reynolds was Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on the Status of Women, and Heather O’Connor was on her staff. She advised many ministers, particularly on the education of women, and she’s never lost that commitment.

Education, domestic violence, economic security – where did her interest in social … Read more »

Coral Vorbach

by Jen Severn

‘I’m not a performer,’ Coral Vorbach says. ‘I learned piano for years, and violin, but I’d never perform. I’m a listener. And an organiser – I work behind the scenes.’ 

And organise is what she did. She and her partner Graeme Fryer joined the Yuin Folk Club in 1998. They had arrived here from Melbourne in 1997, looking for a rural life, and had fallen in love … Read more »