🦎 Ultimate op shop guide

Plus: Dead Man's Gully & poultry power.

Author

Jacob Wallace
August 12, 2026

⏱️ This Wednesday edition of our newsletter is a six-minute read.

👋 Hello Gippslanders, it’s Jacob here.

📸 First off, here’s a picture I took of the cliffs along the George Bass Coast Walk near Kilcunda over the weekend. I’m glad we got a couple days of sun before the clouds and rain came back.

🍻 I have to apologise for mentioning, but not including, the link to my video on the history of the Robin Hood Inn in my last newsletter. Here it is:

👀 Looking ahead. In this week’s newsletter we’re talking about:

  • 📿 Gippsland’s best op shops;

  • 👨‍🌾 The Toongabbie farmer harnessing the power of poultry manure;

  • 🚂 The history behind Dead Man’s Gully near Darnum, and;

  • 💰 The Australian state governments that are effectively gifting pokie companies billions of dollars.

🎊 WHAT’S ON THIS WEEK 🎟️

🧺 FARMERS MARKETS 🥧

⁉️ It’s the third round of the Gippsland Monitor’s Quiz. Test your knowledge of the region with our five weekly questions about everything Gippsland. The answers will be in our Friday newsletter.

Feel free to email questions you think may stump our readers to [email protected].

✍️ GIPPSLAND QUIZ QUESTIONS ❓

  1. What is the name of the major river that flows through Sale and into the Gippsland Lakes?

  2. What was the name of the estate owned by the Clement sisters (otherwise known as the Ladies of the Swamp)?

  3. What is the name of the island opposite Paynesville?

  4. Which Gippsland town is famous for its historic swing bridge over the Thomson River?

  5. In which Gippsland town would you find Ned Kelly’s Bakery?

🚀 Alright, let’s jump into the Monitor’s latest yarns!

🔍 HEARD THIS WEEK👂

🔋 What’s the alternative? Gippsland offshore wind companies warn political uncertainty puts industry at risk

Latrobe Valley communities have been preparing for an offshore wind industry in Gippsland for more than seven years. But two Gippsland companies are concerned about what may happen if Labor loses power at the November state election.

What happened: Gippsland’s Offshore Wind Zone has been ticking along since it was announced in 2022. 

Ports are being prepared to ship out 250-metre-tall turbines into the Bass Strait. South Gippsland and Wellington Shire councils are working on a plan to build infrastructure for the influx of workers and TAFE Gippsland is opening a new training facility to help prepare the workforce.

“One of the challenges for us is that there really isn't a clear alternative policy,” Project Director of Blue Mackerel Offshore Wind, David Ghaly, told the Monitor. 

“We need certainty in terms of a route to market if we're going to realise these projects and be able to continue to spend the money that it takes to develop them.”

  • Blue Mackerel is one of Gippsland’s nine proposed offshore wind projects. The company plans to build 60 to 70 turbines 10km from the shore between Seaspray and Woodside Beach. 

  • The project is expected to deliver 1GW of electricity - enough to power 750,000 average Australian households, according to Blue Mackerel.

Ghaly said the lack of bipartisan support and uncertainty was challenging for companies investing in Gippsland offshore wind projects.

“All these companies wouldn't be here if the resources and the fundamentals were not fantastic. Not taking this opportunity would deprive Victoria, and especially Gippsland, of a lot of private investment over a long period of time.”

🪦 The history behind Dead Man's Gully and the hidden grave near Darnum

Tucked away down an embankment about 1.5km east of Darnum is a small gravesite.

It’s the final resting place of John Molison, a railway worker who died while building the original railway line that ran through the town.

Check out a video on how Molison grave site gave the area its name below.

🧶 Have you got the op shop itch? Here’s our ultimate guide to Gippsland’s best second hand stores

There’s a certain rush of excitement when you discover exactly what you’ve been looking for at a second hand shop. The thrill of the hunt, blended with a very reasonable asking price, is a very potent mix.

To ensure you have plenty of op shops to continue searching for the perfect shoes, trousers or kitchenware, the Monitor has compiled a list of Gippsland’s best second hand stores.

If you have any suggestions for great Gippsland op shops to add to our list then feel free to email us at [email protected]. 

LOOKING NATIONALLY 👀

Four Australian state governments collectively gave pokie venues $1.4 billion last financial year.

My colleague Archie Milligan from the National Account looked into how tax concessions from state governments are effectively gifting pokie venues over a billion dollars every year.

Take a look at a video on the story below.

🎥 Watch: Gippsland chicken farmer turns 35,000 tonnes of manure into power, fertiliser, food dye

Since 2018, Toongabbie broiler farmer Chris Freney has been trialling a system that converts chicken litter into electricity, fertiliser and natural food dye.

It’s called anaerobic digestion and Freney is hoping to have a larger version of the project operational by the end of the year, which he estimates will generate 8MW of electricity - enough to power roughly 1,200 Australian homes.

Take a look at a short video about the technology below.

☎️ Call out. I’m looking to write a story next week on virtual emergency department (ED) services and whether Gippslanders are choosing to divert from in-person EDs to online.

If you have used a virtual emergency service I’d love to chat to you about your experience. You can remain anonymous. Feel free to reach out to me at [email protected].

Thanks for catching up with us this week at the Monitor. I’ll be back in your inbox on Friday with more stories, events and answers to the quiz.

Cheers,
Jacob & the Gippsland Monitor team

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