Profile of the Week Annabelle Chapman - First Female Member at Palm Beach SLSC, Masters Athlete, Architect Annabelle Chapman, holds degrees in both Architecture and Interior Design, and has been a Chartered Architect since 1986. With over 40 years’ experience, having worked on Heritage Buildings, Commercial Interiors, small- and large-scale residential work, along with drawing functional works to meet clients’ requirements list, Annabelle has earned a high reputation in her chosen vocation. There is an element of responding to and framing the landscape these buildings sit in, a celebration of place and immersing a home in the landscape to draw in light, expand space, and honour environment.
Some of these influences are clearly drawn from her love of Palm Beach and Pittwater and decades of being immersed in this place.
There is another reason Annabelle loves Palm Beach though.
The 2026 Australian Surf Lifesaving Championships, the Aussies, commence next Saturday, March 21, with the Masters Divisions Individual events starting from Monday 23rd March and Masters Teams events running Tuesday 24th March 2026.
Palm Beach SLSC has a big contingent heading north to this year’s Aussies, being held on the Gold Coast, Queensland at North Kirra SLSC and Tugun SLSC – Masters, Opens and Surf Boat crews will race against their peers from across Australia, as well as have some good fun catching up with friends they haven’t seen since last year.
Some of the Palm Beach SLSC Masters athletes have been competing as Teams in the events for them for around 20 years, with Annabelle and team mates Di van Oos, Fi Rae, Karen Begg, and at the recent SLS NSW State Championships, Christine McGoldrick joining the girls in these Team events.
Palm Beach SLSC had their first female club Captain of Palm Beach SLSC (2009/2010) in Kate McDonald. Kate became first female president in 2014 and was followed by Alex Tyrell in 2016.
However, the first female Member to sign up to serve the community was Annabelle Chapman, currently celebrating her 40th Season with Palm Beach SLSC.
Anabelle is part of strong contingent of Pittwater Surf Lifesaving women who work together to make things better for all girls.
With so many of the local Surf Lifesaving SNB Branch members heading north, this week a few insights from Palmy’s first female member on why her passion for Palm Beach Surf Club and competing at the Aussies continues.
The mass exodus north to compete in the Australian Life Saving Championships (the Aussies) has begun, with residents sending in messages ‘from the road’ as athletes and families from local surf clubs take the opportunity to enjoy the Summer-becoming-Autumn beauty of this place in a slow dawdle up the coast.
Chapters such as ‘Those Wooden Things’ from the celebratory Avalon Beach SLSC centenary book ‘’100 Years of Saving Lives’’, celebrate almost 90 years of surf boats at Avalon Beach SLSC in Season by Season accounts.
In fact, Avalon Beach SLSC’s Boat Division teams have been competing with the clubs’ traditional caps according to Ash Cardiff, Director Surf Sports, and will do so at this year's Aussies too.
With the boaties getting ready to race in their final meet-ups for the 2025-2026 Season, we roll out the red and green carpet to share what Avalon Beach SLSC's historians and presidents have compiled on the Avalon Beach SLSC Boat Division.
Park Bench Philosophers Australia-India partnership takes step closer to green steel through world-first use of ag waste in steelmaking
Community News 2026 Inclusive Classic Success at Mona Vale, Avalon Shared Space Update, Council approved Bus Stop relocation at Palm Beach: Safety Problems, Harmony Week 2026: All Are Welcome - All Belong, Petition: SOS Mona Vale, Protect Aussie birds from lethal SGAR rat poisons: add your voice, Environmental Art & Design Prize 2026: Open, Aussies 2026, Scamps: Capital Gains Tax Survey, NSW Optimist Championship 2026 on Pittwater, 10 New B-Line Buses on their way: New bendy buses to boost capacity, Avalon Land Gifted to the Community: Notice, Bereavement Support Group: March 19 Meeting, Police issue warning over stealing and fraud offences targeting the elderly, French Film Festival at Warriewood until April 8, Lock it or Lose it, NSW Government's Heat Pump Feasibility Grant for businesses: closes March 31, Monika's Doggie Rescue Pets of the Week: Tango + ChaCha + Casper, Woody Point Yacht Club AGM 2026: Saturday 11 April, Open Arms group programs, $800,000 Social Cohesion grants to strengthen local communities and combat hate, NSW loses out again in GST carve-up, NDIS Evidence Advisory Committee: share your thoughts on supports, BHS Surf Team Raffle, Government delivers cost-of-living relief, Mow for Ol'Mate in March, Narrabeen Lakes Amateur Swimming Club: Saturday Afternoons, Saltwater Veterans: Helping Hands Needed, MWP Care Seeking Volunteers, AOK: Thursday Volunteers Needed, Petition: Stop Politicians from spamming & harvesting our data, Pittwater Residents Associations, Sports, Environment and Groups, Pittwater Offshore Newsletter
Environment Great News for Australian Wildlife: APVMA certifies that second generation anticoagulant rodenticides should be restricted chemical products, Protect Aussie birds from lethal SGAR rat poisons: add your voice, New ban on dangerous rodent poisons is lifeline for our native animals, Council - local politicians back Ingleside fauna corridor land campaign - Update, Land and Environment Court Proponents Appeal: Moran Seniors Development at Ocean Street, Narrabeen - Update, The Avenue Newport DA Approved through Land and Environment Court, Update on Heard Island’s H5 bird flu outbreak, Boguls Being Returned to local Bush Reserves, Help protect the Red Goshawk from extinction, Macro Lenses Let you see details of hidden worlds, Pioneering entomologist gifts $12.6m to create Sydney Insect Hub, Reef Pods, March 2026 at Kimbriki, Council's Wildflower Project + Bushcare Volunteers, NSW Government's Heat Pump Feasibility Grant for businesses: closes March 31, Have your say on the Murray-Darling Basin Plan Review, 5 top tips for the perfect compost – according to science, Too valuable to burn? Chemical and plastic industries will rely on oil far longer than motorists, Your cat is likely to live longer if you don’t let them roam – new study, Which climate policies actually make a difference? Our new analysis has the answer, The UN is turning refugees into carbon offset workers, How a grassroots UK campaign sparked a multi‑billion‑dollar exit from public fossil fuel finance, Alaska’s glacial lakes are expanding, increasing the risk of destructive outburst floods, Bird losses are accelerating across North America, particularly in farming regions where agriculture is most intensive, In its hunt for critical minerals, the US is misconstruing what is and is not America’s, Animals can talk over huge distances – but humans might be changing their range, What’s it like to be a bat? Scientists develop new solution to the puzzle of animal minds, Persian Gulf desalination plants could become military targets in regional war, Mona Vale Dunes bushcare group: 2026 Dates, Bangalley Headland WPA Bushcare 2026, Sydney Wildlife (Sydney Metropolitan Wildlife Services) Needs People for the Rescue Line, 2025-26 Seal Reveal underway, 622kg of Rubbish Collected from Local Beaches: Adopt your local beach program, This Tick Season: Freeze it - don't squeeze it, Protect wildlife: dispose of fishing gear responsibly, Notice of 1080 Poison Baiting, Volunteers for Barrenjoey Lighthouse Tours needed, Johnson Brothers Mitre 10 Recycling Batteries: at Mona Vale + Avalon Beach, Reporting Dogs Offleash - Dog Attacks to Council, Plastic Bread Ties For Wheelchairs, Stay Safe From Mosquitoes, Mountain Bike Incidents On Public Land, Report fox sightings, marine wildlife rescue group on the Central Coast, Possums In Your Roof?: do the right thing, Aviaries + Possum Release Sites Needed, Bushcare in Pittwater: where + when, Friends Of Narrabeen Lagoon Catchment Activities, Gardens and Environment Groups and Organisations in Pittwater, Ringtail Posses, Pittwater Reserves, Pittwater Environment History insights + Walks, Birds +
Aquatics Marine Rescue NSW volunteers return almost 850 people to safety in February: Demand Remains High On the States' Waterways - 1700 rescued over Summer 2025-26
Children Sunday cartoons and animations this Issue: Spinny's First Snow by Nina Podlesnyak, North Shelly Boardriders Crowned Champions at 2026 Australian Boardriders Battle: Four Local Clubs into Quarter Finals this year - Loci Cullen wins Junior Performer of event Award, The City Of Sydney in 1927, Crafting Australian Wildflowers into Jewellery in 1961, Curious Kids: why do bats sleep upside down, and other stories of animal adaptation + How do remote controls work? + When I swipe a matchstick how does it make fire? + Why do eggs have a yolk? + Why are leaves green? + Why do mountaintops stay snowy, even though they’re closer to the Sun?, Stories this week: The Leprechaun in the Basement + 'Otters vs. Badgers' read by Uzo Aduba, Local clubs +groups for you
Youth Australian MTB Interschools, Australian Junior Online Surf Championships 2026, North Shelly Boardriders Crowned Champions at 2026 Australian Boardriders Battle: Four Local Clubs into Quarter Finals this year - Loci Cullen wins Junior Performer of event Award, The City Of Sydney in 1927, Crafting Australian Wildflowers into Jewellery in 1961, Macro Lenses Let you see details of hidden worlds, Opportunities: Government delivers cost-of-living relief+ Game Changer Challenge 2026 + Free Training and professional development opps for aged care workers + Girls Can't Surf available for Free on ABC iview, Financial help for young people, School Leavers Support, Word Of The Week: Hubris, The deaf blacksmith who married in 1576 – and the history of sign as a legal language, Here’s why you might want to clean your headphones, What Irish politician Thomas Gould’s accent going viral in Jamaica reveals about colonial history, Five paintings that capture the complexity of motherhood – chosen by art historians, Which nut butter is healthiest – peanut, almond or cashew?, I borrowed my first books in Mumbai. Now, Sydney’s libraries are home, Do Middle‑earth and Westeros make sense? Climate scientists modelled them to find out, Can exercise reduce period pain? And what kind is best?, Local services and groups for you
Seniors Little Patti coming to Wednesday night Jazz at Avalon Bowlo this April, Seniors’ Stories Volume 12 - 2026 Theme, Police issue warning over stealing and fraud offences targeting the elderly, Mow for Ol'Mate in March, Government delivers cost-of-living relief, Local Seniors Festival Events: 2026, My mind keeps on going blank. How worried should I be?, NACC investigation into Robodebt reveals public service corruption, but it will take much more to fix the system, Sick of spam marketing texts and emails? This is how to stop them, Why doesn’t Hobart have a Chinatown?, Local groups, clubs, events and services for you
DIY Ideas Reducing Ticks in Your Garden: Garden care, Plants that Repel, What to Wear Outdoors
With confirmation this week of the nation’s first death from a tick-induced meat allergy, and research showing Pittwater has the highest population of people living with mammalian meat allergy (MMA), information on how to reduce ticks in local gardens runs this Issue. There are some things you can do to lessen the incidence of being bitten by ticks in your garden and some plants that have been shown to repel them from the outdoor areas your family uses.
The largest numbers of juvenile ticks are around in Autumn, with the middle phase, called “nymphs”, peaking in Winter and the adult numbers appearing through Spring and Summer. .
Inbox News Latest quarterly report shows NSW public health system experiencing record demand: Data, Rising CO₂ levels are reflected in human blood. Scientists don’t know what it means, 19,900 smiles and counting, Art abounds at AYAH, Gift helps advance treatment for aggressive bowel cancer at Royal North Shore Hospital, Consumers compensated $125,000 after NSW Fair Trading investigators uncover odometer tampering, Seeing the same midwife or doctor in pregnancy and labour reduces the risk of birth trauma, Louis Theroux’s Inside the Manosphere exposes the business model of misogyny, How ‘looksmaxxing’ apps are marketing misogyny to young men, As tonnes of illegal tobacco sneak in past our borders we risk missing a threat that could cost us billions, View from The Hill: David Littleproud quits declaring ‘I’m buggered’, Amid a surge in energy prices a windfall tax on gas profits could be the best way to protect households, Australia has granted some Iranian soccer players asylum – but 2 questions remain, Australia is sending an aircraft and personnel to the Middle East. Does this mean we are entering the war?
Food 10 Minute Salads: End Of Summer Sweetness - Summer vegetables and fruits in the best seasonal quality and price are now available with that end of season sweetness - peaches are at peak, melons are super-sweet and also have become cheaper. This week we’d like to share a few recipes and that combine some of these in dishes that suit the season and will give you great energy. Most of these, if the prep is already done, can be tossed in their dressings and served in 10 minutes, so these are great ideas for those who would rather spend more time enjoying the season and those late afternoon strolls in Pittwater than cooking.
Pictures Light Winds Delay Racing on Day One of the 2026 Pittwater OTB Regatta: hosted by RPAYC, BYRA, ASC + Pittwater!
Events Bungan Gold 2026, Manly Writers Festival, Woody Point Yacht Club AGM 2026: Saturday 11 April, 2026 Annual Group Exhibition & Fund Raising Event for Pittwater Artists Trail at Newport: March 27-29, French Film Festival at Warriewood, Music, Markets, Social Groups + more on!
