WHAT’S ON THIS WEEK 🎟️

• FRIDAY, 12/09/25 | Warrnambool Paint and Sip with Stacey Williams

• FRIDAY TO SUNDAY, 12/09/25-14/09/25 | Port Fairy Literary Weekend

• FRIDAY, 12/09/25 | Noodledoof Brewery Koroit’s AFL Murder Mystery

• SUNDAY, 14/09/25 | National Jack Russell Terrier Dog Show, Hamilton

🗞️ LATEST HEADLINES

🎳 Colac’s 22-year-old lord of the lanes reflects on three years in business

When many 19 year olds were pulling shifts at a local supermarket, bar or cafe, or figuring out what’s next, Luke Shalley was signing papers to buy a bowling alley.

The 22-year-old celebrated his third anniversary of owning Colac Tenpin Bowl last week. 

“I was 19 when I bought it — the year after I finished school,” he told the Brolga. “I was working at Woolies and hated it. I wanted to find something that was mine, something I could put passion and time into.”

He said he “stumbled” across an online listing for the sale of the bowling alley “and thought, ‘Wow, that’s pretty cool’. I figured I was young enough to give it a go. I didn’t have a mortgage, no commitments, so why not?”

The bowling alley had been shut since 2020, when Covid forced its doors closed. By then it had become a shadow of its former self, with dated machinery and the interior was in desperate need of a lick of paint.

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🦭 Why do these 3,500kg giants of the sea wash up on the south west coast?

As the largest seal species on earth, Southern Elephant Seals are one of the big kahunas of the Southern Ocean. Massive, deep-diving predators that thrive in icy waters, they occasionally drop into Portland and other south west Victorian locations. 

But as ocean temperatures rise due to the warming of the planet, finding food and places to swim is becoming more challenging for the seals.

The Australian Marine Conservation Society’s Alexia Wellbelove told the Brolga the increase in sea surface temperature and habitat loss “affects the seals’ foraging behaviour and food availability”.

Southern Elephant Seals spend around 90 percent of their lives at sea, only coming ashore for breeding, moulting and rest. 

Their torpedo-shaped bodies allow them to dive to a depth of more than 1,500 metres and stay submerged for up to two hours, making them the deepest diving seals in the world.

They can grow up to five metres long and weigh more than 3,500 kilograms. By comparison, the maximum kerb weight of a Toyota Hilux is about 2,300kg. The seals can live for about 20 years.

Read more

TODAY’S DEAL 🔥

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📱 ON YOUR FEED

Hear Luke speak about his journey owning Colac Tenpin Bowl in his own words in the video below.

Clean energy projects deliver millions to rural communities, but the rewards vary dramatically between developers.

These arrangements are what’s known as community benefit sharing.

The Brolga spoke to Horsham grain farmer Susan Findlay-Tickner, who has hosted the Murra Warra Wind Farm on her property for 10 years, to get a better understanding and hear her opinions on how community benefit sharing could be improved.

Watch the full video below.