Latest news with #Wollongong
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Science
- Daily Mail
Ship that vanished 120 years ago is explored for the first time after it was accidentally discovered on the bottom of the ocean
One of Australia's most baffling maritime mysteries is in the spotlight after four divers captured incredible images of a century-old shipwreck. Diving to depths of 160 metres off the coast of Wollongong in NSW, volunteer divers from the Sydney Project are the first people to lay eyes on the coal ship SS Nemesis since its disappearance in 1904. The 73m Nemesis vanished in a storm after leaving Newcastle for Melbourne with a full hold on July 8, sinking with all 32 crew on board. The wreck's whereabouts were unknown for more than 100 years until a remote sensing company stumbled across the coal ship while trying to locate cargo containers lost off the Sydney coast. The CSIRO has completed mapping of the wreck using remote-operated vehicles but the leader of the Sydney Project dive team says nothing compares to laying human eyes on a long-lost ship. 'We saw there is the cradle for the lifeboats, which was cool to see because you don't normally see these things intact on other shipwrecks,' Samir Alhafith told AAP. 'Seeing things like a steam relief valve on the wreck, no one knew before this was actually a steam ship.' A century in the making, the four divers involved in the June 18 expeditions took nine minutes to reach the wreck and spent a further nine minutes surveying the wreckage. Mr Alhafith says the Nemesis is a unique wreck because it has significant damage at both the front and rear of the ship but other parts of the hold are well-preserved. The coal ship has since become a haven for thousands of fish including wobbegong sharks, although the human cost of the tragedy is not lost on the divers. 'You're looking at a lump of metal on the ground but there is a human connection to this particular object and in this case, there are relatives that lost their loved ones,' Mr Alhafith said. Heritage NSW assessments director Tim Smith was full of praise for the divers' 'incredible feat' and said the information and images gathered will be invaluable for understanding the demise of the ship. 'These four divers have shone a light on the vessel's rich legacy, capturing never-seen-before footage of the ship up close,' Mr Smith said in a statement.
ABC News
4 days ago
- Climate
- ABC News
Flights delayed, runways closed, trees down as 100kph winds roar through Illawarra
Winds in excess of 100kph have delayed flights in Sydney, blown roofs off buildings in Wollongong, and left some 12,300 homes and businesses on the state's south coast without power. Airservices Australia has ordered the Sydney Airport to shut two of its three runways, leading to a number of flight delays and cancellations. Passengers are being urged to check in with their airlines to confirm the status of their flights. Train services between Kiama and Bomaderry were also disrupted this morning after a tree was blown across the tracks at Gerringong. Transport for NSW says normal services have now been restored. In Bellambi, north of Wollongong, a gust of 117kph was recorded at 9am, while gusts up to 102kph were recorded further south at Albion Park and Port Kembla. The State Emergency Service has responded to 230 calls for assistance since midnight, while 12,300 businesses and homes were without power in the area at the time of writing. SES Southern Zone duty commander Matt Price told the ABC most of the jobs had involved damaged roofs and powerlines. "We've seen some significant wind gusts overnight … and seen a big uptake in job in the last couple of hours in the Illawarra and south coast," he said. In Wollongong's CBD a beauty business in Keira Street had its roof ripped off by the strong gusts and the road closed by emergency service crews. There have also been reports of trees crushing cars and falling on homes around Sydney. The SES received 60 calls for help in the hour between 9am and 10am, with that numbers expected to grow throughout the day. "We'll no doubt get another surge in requests for assistance at 4pm or 5pm when people start to return home from work and see any damage that's occurred during the day," Commander Price said. Endeavour Energy crews are working to restore power to the thousands of homes and businesses. Damage to a substation at Unanderra, south of Wollongong, left around 7,000 properties without power. The worst-affected areas in the Illawarra include Unanderra, Farmborough Heights and Berkeley. Further south, other areas without supply include Huskisson, Shoalhaven Heads, Shell Cove, Ulladulla, Berry and North Nowra. Endeavour Energy's manager of corporate affairs, Kate McCue, told the ABC that by 9am crews had 385 hazard reports to inspect. Power for some residents may not be restored until Thursday. Other areas impacted by the power outages include Batlow and Harden in the state's south, as well as the Monaro area. The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for damaging winds for people in Illawarra and parts of Mid North Coast, Hunter, Metropolitan, South Coast, Central Tablelands, Southern Tablelands and Northern Tablelands forecast districts. A gale warning is in place for Sydney Enclosed Waters, the Macquarie Coast, Hunter Coast, Sydney Coast, Illawarra Coast, Batemans Coast and Eden Coast.
News.com.au
6 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Zac Lomax prepared for boos from Dragons fans as he returns to Wollongong in Eels colours
Parramatta star Zac Lomax knows exactly what to expect as he prepares for a return to Wollongong this weekend. He also knows that the result is far more important than silencing any of the jeers that come his way. 'Oh, what do you think,' Lomax said when asked whether he expected to be booed by Dragons fans. 'That's footy. I'm not the only person that's been in this situation. I'm sure it will be weird. I'm sure I won't get a real nice reception there, but that's the way that it goes. 'They're all my good mates down there and they'll be some of my best mates forever you know. 'We have a job to do. I want to go down there and put in a good performance. It's going to be a good test for us.' • SAINT, SINNER, SHOOSH: SCHUSTER TAKES INDEFINITE BREAK FROM NRL Lomax left the Dragons at the end of last season in a blaze of controversy and he had a game to remember when he played against his former club earlier this year. On that occasion, Lomax stepped up and nailed a field goal in golden point to give the Eels a win over St George Illawarra. That game was at CommBank Stadium, where Lomax has quickly become a fan favourite. He was once feted by Dragons fans as well at WIN Stadium but a move to the Eels changed that and there seems little doubt he will be in the eye of the storm on Saturday night. Asked whether it would be emotional given it will mark the first time he has played at WIN Stadium in anything other than a Dragons jersey, Lomax said: 'To be fair, I don't even know. They're in a very similar boat to us where they have to win. 'You completely try to take the emotion out of it because the emotion can affect your game I guess positively and negatively.' The Eels will arrive in Wollongong with their spirits lifted after a big win over the Gold Coast, a result that gave them a buffer over the Titans at the foot of the ladder. Lomax kicked six goals from as many attempts against the Titans, exorcising the demons from the second State of Origin game in Perth when his goal-kicking radar was awry. Asked whether he felt any responsibility for the Blues defeat, Lomax replied: 'Oh man, it's easy to look at it that way because it's two points. 'For me I pride myself on being a good goalkicker as well. So for me, it was not ideal. We're in situations like that, that's, that's Origin. 'The thing is I probably couldn't have struck them any better, they just stayed out. That's the way that footy goes.'
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Aussie exposes the crucial industry that is on its way out: 'Costs too much'
A carpenter has claimed the trade industry is 'dying out' as more businesses turn to subcontractors because they're less of a hassle and more cost-effective. Josh Alcorn, the owner of a luxury cabin-building business in Wollongong, shared a video last week explaining why 'apprentices are too expensive to hire'. 'People love to talk about the trade shortage, but no one's talking about why,' he said. 'From my experience, there's two big reasons: apprentices are too expensive to hire and young people have other ways of making money these days.' As the owner of a business, Mr Alcorn said there were several disadvantages to hiring apprentice tradies. 'I've crunched the numbers and when you factor in annual leave, TAFE days, sick leave, public holidays, RDOs, rain days - a first-year apprentice ends up costing you the same as what it would to have a subby (subcontractor) for $50 an hour,' he said. 'That doesn't include overheads, insurance, payroll, all that other s***. 'So as a boss, you've got two options. You can either take on an apprentice who doesn't know anything or a subby who's got a car, tools and can work unsupervised. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Josh Alcorn | The Builderpreneur (@its_josh_the_builder) 'From a pure financial perspective, what would you do?' With no financial incentive for business owners to hire apprentices, the size of the next generation of tradies could be drastically smaller. 'Obviously, I did my time as an apprentice and I believe in training the next generation, but I can see why people aren't hiring apprentices like they used to,' Mr Alcorn said. 'Some people will tell you it's because they don't make them like they used to. 'Maybe they're right, but I'm sure there's some young guns out there who won't get a shot because it just costs too much to hire them. 'Until that changes, we'll continue to hear them talk about how the trades are dying.' Data from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research showed that while the number of apprentices in Australia was higher than pre-pandemic levels, the figure had steadily declined since the last boom in early 2022. The Apprentices and Trainees 2024: December quarter report stated: 'Trade numbers decreased by 2.9 per cent compared with December 2023, while non-trade numbers fell more significantly by 19.1 per cent.' During campaigning for the federal election, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged an almost $627million boost for the construction industry. The funding was set to cover residential and clean energy sectors and cover about 62,690 apprentices. Albanese's proposed scheme promised to pay apprentices $10,000 in five instalments over the duration of their apprenticeship, in addition to their usual pay. He also promised to raise allowances for apprentices living away from home. 'Right now, a first-year carpentry apprentice earns about two-thirds of the minimum wage,' Albanese said in January. 'Many apprentices have said they could earn more stacking shelves at the supermarket.' However, the Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia warned the promise was not enough as it still left other trade sectors in the dark. 'Supporting apprentices in the construction and energy sectors is important, but this measure fails to address the needs of the small businesses in other parts of the economy,' council chief executive Troy Williams said. 'It also lets down employers looking to take on an apprentice. 'Without meaningful support for employers, the pipeline of skilled workers will continue to remain under threat.' The move was part of Albanese's larger promise to build more homes to address critical housing shortages.
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Miners locked out of work over pay dispute
About 160 coal miners have been locked out of work for more than one week without pay over a bargaining dispute with their employer. The Mining and Energy Union (MEU) allege US-owned Peabody Energy retaliated after union members at the Helensburg coal mine near Wollongong in NSW stopped work for one hour in response to a 'lack of progress in negotiations.' The union was advised its members would be locked out without pay for eight days from Wednesday less than two hours after a meeting with the Fair Work Commission over the dispute. Miners asked for three pay increases of 5 per cent over a three-year period and an extra $1.50 added to their hourly rate, after miners were allegedly told they would be looked after when they received a low increase under their last agreement. MEU South West District vice president Mark Jenkins said Peabody's lockout was a harsh response aimed at coercing MEU members into giving up their bargaining position. Mr Jenkins said workers had experienced several years of low wage growth compared to high inflation and cost of living pressures, but had continually set production records at the mine for their employer. 'Now, they deserve to see some of the benefit that they were promised in the last agreement,' he said. 'Peabody's move to lock out MEU members for over a week is nothing but an attempt to punish and intimidate workers for exercising their industrial rights.' Peabody Energy have been contacted for comment, but they told the ABC the company implemented employer response action from Wednesday until next Thursday. 'Peabody remains committed to the bargaining process and will continue to negotiate in good faith toward a new enterprise agreement,' a spokesman told the ABC. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data
