đŸ”” Not in my 3–4 backyards!

Planning fury, brunch institutions, smashing pumpkins, Killara pies

Author

Huw Bradshaw
October 10, 2025

⏱ The 49th edition of our newsletter is a 5-minute read.

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Morning all,

If you’re living in the lower North Shore area, you may be smelling a hint of smoke while you read this newsletter. That’s because just over in Wollstonecraft, the NSW Fire and Rescue service should be conducting a planned hazard reduction in Badangi Reserve. That’s just over from Berry Island.

Unless poor weather causes the operation to be called off, I’ll be over there too, getting some footage of the work necessary to protect us in a climate that is only getting hotter, drier, and more vulnerable to bushfires.

Later in the day I’ll be working on a piece about why these practices are so crucial to maintaining our ecosystems and protecting us from extreme weather events.

đŸ—žïž Anyway, let’s get into the rest of the news.

“One thing we haven’t done is compromise on quality.”

North Sydney cafe Eighty Ate co-owner Jim on managing a small business amid a cost of living crisis.↑

WHAT’S ON THIS WEEK đŸŽŸïž

HEARD THIS WEEK👂

đŸ’°ïž She’s spending $500,000 to block new developments in Mosman. The council won’t be joining in.

Mosman residents crowded council chambers on Tuesday evening, demanding their small local council take legal action against the New South Wales Government over recently introduced planning reforms they claim could ruin the suburb’s “heritage”.

The focus of the evening was Mosman local Judith Pearson, who has been lifted to the status of celebrity among those against increased developments after she initiated a court challenge against the state government in the Land and Environment Court

Read the full story here.

She’s spending $500,000 to block new developments in Mosman. The council won’t be joining in.

The legal challenge of North Shore local Judith Pearson has come to represent a larger group of Mosmanites opposed to new housing developments.

☕ â€œYou build up goodwill and you’ve got to hold it”: Eighty Ate, North Sydney’s 50 year-old brunch institution

Another great piece from Mel this week. This time, she spoke to the owners of long-operating North Sydney cafe Eighty Ate.

Read the full piece here.

“You build up goodwill and you’ve got to hold it”: Eighty Ate, North Sydney’s 50 year-old brunch institution

North Sydney’s Eighty Ate has been in same family for fifty years, but a love story in the mid-90s made it what it is today.

đŸ•žïž The one Halloween decoration you should ditch this year

This Halloween, animal welfare and environmental groups are asking Australians to ditch one decoration: fake plastic spiderwebs.

Read the full piece here, or watch me explain it while carving a pumpkin below.

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EATEN THIS WEEK đŸ„§ 

We made our way a little further up the North Shore this week to Killara bakery. Hear my thoughts on this upper North Shore pie shop in the video below.

That’s all from me.

Got a local story tip, mystery, or someone I should meet? Hit reply or reach out to me at [email protected].

Cheers,

Huw

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