►KEMPSEY: A talented swimmer, an outstanding college principal and the Dhangatti Language Group are all recipients of Australia Day honours in the Kempsey area...read all about them here

►COMBOYNE: luthier Graham Caldersmith has handcrafted and acoustically designed hundreds of guitars, violins, violas and cellos since 1978.  He has been awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day honours list for service to musical instrument making...read on

►GREAT LAKES: In a first for the Tuncurry Racetrack a business has sponsored an entire race day and it was the Great Lakes Advocate who lead the way...see all the photos here  

► GLOUCESTER: Remote area firefighters from the Mid North Coast, including a carpenter from GLoucester, are in Tasmanian fighting the blazes in the north west of the state...details here

Need a national news snapshot first thing - well, we have you covered. The focus of today's blog will be on our Australian award recipients. Click here for the national Honours List.

►AUSTRALIAN OF THE YEAR: It said a lot that three of the key players in the military's long, hard look at itself over its treatment of women were nominated for Australian of the Year.Former Army Chief David Morrison has emerged as the winner. Read all about it.

► YOUNG AUSTRALIAN OF THE YEAR: For decades, mobile libraries have brought books into the lives of those who would otherwise go without. Meals on Wheels has helped feed those who cannot cook for themselves. What no one had thought of was creating a mobile laundry to wash the clothes of the homeless. That was until September 2014 when best mates Nic Marchesi and Lucas Patchett, both 21, decided to give it a go.Marchesi and Patchett have now been honoured with the title of Young Australians of the Year to recognise their work to boost the respect and improve the health standards of homeless Australians. Read all about it.

► SENIOR AUSTRALIAN OF THE YEAR: Professor Gordian Fulde, the longest-serving head of an emergency department in Australia, is the Senior Australian of the Year. Full story.

► WOLLONGONG: Ask Sharyn Mackenzie about her life-changing work and she’ll tell you many other people are doing the same.

The humble 69-year-old, from Corrimal, has been awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for her service to the community through refugee support. Full story.

► BENDIGO:  The federal member for Bendigo says “it’s time” for a republic and has characterised Australian monarchists as clinging to an outdated, “colonial vision” of the country. Full story.

► BOWRAL:  John Olsen designed his splendid en-suite studio so that, like the artist Henri Matisse, he could be wheeled from his bed to create art until his last breath. Full story.

► BALLARAT: A suspected marijuana grow-house in Sebastopol went up in flames on Monday afternoon. Full story.

► ALBURY-WODONGA: After spending hours by her 15-year-old daughter's side in hospital, an Albury mother put her hands to her face before trying to put her desperate message into words. Full story.

► DUBBO: STRIKEFORCE detectives are moving closer to solving a cold case murder that has haunted a traumatised family for almost 20 years. Full story.

► NOWRA: Police have arrested an escapee who allegedly stole a car and crashed into the new Shell service station at Nowra on Monday afternoon. Full story.

► LAUNCESTON: Agriculture, local government, community service and sport have underpinned the selection of nearly all Northern Tasmanian recipients in this year’s Australia Day honours. Full story.

► NEWCASTLE: INTERNATIONAL rugby league will return to Newcastle for the first time in five years after confirmation that Hunter Stadium will host a mid-year Test between Australia and New Zealand. Full story.

► COOMA: The region's economy is set to receive a boost after Singapore Airlines announced they will commence international flights into Canberra Airport this coming September. Full story.

►The newest Australian of the Year, David Morrison, is famous for his capacity to deliver a slap down. Full story.

►A host of work-related tax deductions claimed by individuals every year that amount to tens of billions of dollars could be scrapped and replaced with low personal tax rates, submissions from Treasury and business groups to the Turnbull government's inquiry into tax deductibility show. Full story.

►Fired-up actor Samuel Johnson is using the spotlight of his Australia Day Honour to call on the Government to get serious about funding breast cancer research. Full story.

►With a prolific career in science spanning several decades, Emeritus Professor Mary O'Kane has been recognised for her contributions as one of the Australia's leading scientific experts and consultants. Full story.

► Whether it's the air in Beirut, where she was touring last week, or the national honour given to her, Tina Arena, that precocious child star who grew up to be the multilingual, feisty mother hen of Australian pop, is in an unusually blissful state. Full story.

► INDONESIA: Kalimantan, Indonesia: A so-called "deviant sect" living in a remote farming community are besieged by a mob who burn their settlement to the ground. Hundreds of suspected members are taken to transit centres. The government deploys warships to transport them back to their home villages, where they will be "re-educated" by religious leaders. Full story.

► NEW YORK: It's the blizzard that's shut down schools, shops and businesses. But it's also paved the way for a fearless thrill-seeker to make the streets his own. Full story.

► THAILAND: Seventy years after jungle reclaimed the infamous death railway at the end of World War II, negotiations are under way to rebuild a track from Thailand to the country now known as Myanmar.

1788  -  Today is Australia Day, commemorating the arrival of the First Fleet at Port Jackson, New South Wales.

MAX Atkins of Yatte Yattah is no stranger to the country shows, winning countless champion prizes over the years but this year it looked like he wouldn’t be exhibiting.

The day after the South Coast Register spoke to Mr Atkins at the Berry Show in 2015 about his winning roses, he collapsed.

“I was collecting my vases and the next thing I knew I was surrounded by medics. They thought I had a heart attack,” he said.

He was cleared of any heart trauma, but it would be the first of dozens of trips to hospitals over the next year.

“It’s been a rough year,” Mr Atkins said. Read all about it.