The original brick hotel which was located on this land holding was the Merimbula Hotel. For many years this was owned by the Tier family and had been operational by 1879.

In March 1921 licensee Sydney William Ford applied for and was granted permission to change the name of the hotel to the Lake View Hotel. This is the same gentleman after whom Ford Park in Merimbula is named.

By February 1930, when Dan Grant became the new licensee of this hotel, the accommodation no longer complied with the standards set by the Liquor Act of 1912.

Before the licence could be renewed in July of that year, major renovations had to be done which were quoted to be in the vicinity of £2000. A Mr Layfield commenced work immediately and it was during these renovations that a fire broke out at 5pm on Sunday afternoon, July 20, 1930.

The fire soon took hold in the ceilings and, because the shingles were still under the iron roofing, the whole place was soon ablaze and the hotel, including the outbuildings, was totally destroyed. An inquiry was unable to discover the cause of the fire.

The ‘new’ Lake View Hotel, which had a modern electric lighting plant installed, was built by Mr Layfield and it was taken over by Mrs Harold Simpson on February 5, 1931. Many licensees of the hotel have come and gone during its 86 years, some being quite colourful characters.

No doubt the new owners have some exciting plans on the drawing board for the next chapter in its life.

The 2017 St Vincent de Paul Blanket Ride and Winter Appeal was the most successful to date and we thank the corporate partners for their much valued support: Robert Smith Furniture, Club Bega, Club Sapphire, Sapphire Marketplace, Target, Woolworths, Big W, Coles Bega, Furniture One Bega, Harris Scarfe, Merimbula Tourism Information Centre, Betta Home Living Bega, Grand Hotel, ABC South East and 2EC/Power FM.

The ride was supported by a wide range of social motorcycle clubs and riders from the Bega Valley and Batemans Bay community, with members of Rotters, Bastards, CRABS Bermagui, BREW, Women On Wheels, Australian Social Motorcycle Club, United Motorcycle Riders, Sapphire Coast Ulysses, and the Far South Coast Social Riders – as well as a number of independent riders all together for a common cause.

Three trailer-loads of blankets, bedding and warm clothes – plus $1800 – has been donated to those doing it tough this winter.

I am really grateful for all the public support throughout the months leading up to the ride, we are so lucky to live among such a wonderful community.

It is quiet humbling to see how much people are prepared to do to help those who need it. 

The planet is warming (that’s official), and we are experiencing more rain when natural systems configure a rain-making pattern. That’s because a warmer atmosphere holds more water (that’s physics).  So when it rains, it rains with more intensity and for longer. Heavy rain is now more frequent than under the stable climate we once had.

Globally, the observed number of record-breaking rain events from 1980-2010 was 12 per cent higher than would be expected in a world without global warming.

A recent Senate cross-party committee report concluded that climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.

That’s the reality. No debate, no ifs and buts. Climate change is real and in the absence of any effective action by governments we have to learn to live with it and adapt.