Hunter trains: There is a good service on the Central Coast and Newcastle line and the Hunter line.

Hunter weather: Partly cloudy with a medium chance of showers in Newcastle (21 degrees), partly cloudy day with possible showers in the morning in Raymond Terrace (21 degrees), partly cloudy with a medium chance of showers this morning in Maitland (22 degrees) and a partly cloudy day with possible showers this morning in Scone (20 degrees).

Hunter beachwatch: Offshore wind to ease overnight and expected to get stronger again during the morning.Bigger tides for the next couple of days may effect some beaches. Swell more to the South at around 1m. Wind from the West becoming N/W by the afternoon 10/20kts. Clean waves for the early and once again the reefs suiting the high tide. Flatrock,Bar Reef,Cliff and Merewether. As the tide runs out,Divider and shorebreak at Dixon. Up at Port Stephens try Boxy,Samurai and Burubi. Redhead,Hams,Catho and Soldiers to the South. Favourable incoming tide for the afternoon surf. Check Cowire,Cliff and Dixon.In for a swim,then only at Nobbys,Bar Beach and Nobbys in the patrolled areas. Water temp is 16C.

► THE South Coast town of Eden has temporarily overtaken Newcastle as a cruise destination, securing 22 ships in the same time that Newcastle expects 14. More here.

► OPPONENTS of Sydney’s lockout laws “imply” that Novocastrians are “coarse” and “more inclined to violence” than their southern counterparts, according to a report commissioned by the Baird government. More here.

► AN INMATE who died after falling and hitting his head in the yard at Cessnock Correctional Centre had a history of suddenly losing consciousness and had suffered a brain injury five months earlier when he slipped and fell in a bathroom. More here.

►  MAITLAND’S long-promised new hospital will be built and run by the private sector under a plan announced by the Baird government. More here.

► A CANNABIS lobby group has challenged claims that the legislation of medicinal marijuana has been rushed through parliament without sufficient evidence. More here.

► NEWCASTLE China Week will include an outdoor cinema experience for the first time this year alongside a host of events that are expected to draw up to 30,000 visitors.  More here.

► CONTROVERSIAL gambler and former brothel owner Eddie Hayson has confirmed he borrowed almost $1 million from retired Knights forward Luke Davico, but says he repaid the debt.  More here.

► NEWCASTLE is witnessing a “massive” commercial building boom with a growth rate at almost five times the State average.  More here.

► THE president of the Paterson Liberal Party says his party’s fundraising ability is “seriously hampered” by donation bans placed on property developers, and says Labor’s victories in Saturday’s local government elections in the Hunter was “not surprising” given the state of party funds. More here.

►  Jets chief executive Lawrie McKinna will have to choose a new head coach on his own over the course of a few days as the clock ticks down to the start of the A-League. More here.

►  The inaugural Hunter Valley Moon Festival got under way at Hope Estate, Pokolbin on Thursday evening. More here.

► This month the Country Women’s Association’s Hunter branches will join a national push aimed to improve digital connectivity in rural communities.  More here.

► A Woodville man has had a stroke of good luck after a phone scammer conned him out of almost $20,000 earlier this year. More here.

► COUNTRY music stars including Catherine Britt, Anne Kirkpatrick and Wayne Horsburgh will perform at the one concert in Morisset next month. More here.

► NEWCASTLE, Penrith and Brisbane have done it. Now the Central Coast is embarking on a rebranding campaign. More here.

► THE annual Clans on the Coast Celtic Festival will be held at Tomaree Sports Complex on Saturday. More here.

► PORT Stephens councillor John Nell estimates that inappropriate street trees have cost ratepayers hundred’s of thousands to correct at Corlette alone. More here.

► SHOAL Bay Holiday Park has upgraded its safari tents. The holiday park is now taking bookings for stays in its eight new safari tents which Rebecca Smith, the business development manager for the Port’s beach side holiday parks, said offered a “comfortable camping experience”. More here.

Need a national news snapshot first thing - well, we have you covered. 

►ILLAWARRA: Police have charged a Blackbutt teen with dangerous driving following a crash at Windang on Wednesday that killed 18-year-old Jesse Brown. Read more

►BORDER: Six-year-old Ben Dean is now safe after police, SES and locals spent 18 hours searching near Beechworth when he disappeared from his family’s Wooragee property about 5pm Wednesday. Read more

►VICTORIA: The Avoca River was expected to peak at Charlton Charlton on Thursday morning. Picture Noni Hyettovernight as the flooding crisis across Victoria continues to unfold. Updates, photos, video

►TAMWORTH: A Tamworth man faces up to life in prison after he was charged with allegedly dealing more than $350,000 worth of ice exposed in an undercover police sting. Read more

► WAGGA: A political bun fight – of sorts – has broken out over where the iconic Aussie snack the Chiko Roll calls home. Wagga’s claim to be the home of the Chiko Roll is now being challenged by Nationals federal MP Andrew Gee, who used his maiden speech to parliament this week to pounce on the fact the deep-fried delight has been manufactured at Bathurst in his electorate since 1995. Read more

► STAWELL: When Adrian and Tanya Seeary took their 12-year-old son Caleb to the Stawell Medical Centre over complaints of fatigue, stomach and chest pain they never expected to hear the words, "open heart surgery". Read more 

►TUNCURRY: A badly decomposed body has been found in bushes behind sand dunes on Nine Mile Beach. Read more 

►Salaries for Australian teachers peak far quicker than in most other developed countries because our pay system offers little monetary reward for highly skilled or highly experienced teachers. Read more

►Three people were taken to hospital after a bus full of peak hour commuters caught fire at Milsons Point, temporarily closing all lanes of the Sydney Harbour Bridge last night. Read more

►The NSW government has been accused of sneaking through plans to privatise the operation of a further five hospitals across the state. Read more

► The RAAF wants to close bases at Richmond in western Sydney and Laverton outside Melbourne in a move that could shift hundreds of defence personnel to other states but free up large tracts of land for development. Read more

►BALI: Bali police have confirmed a second woman has died after an explosion on an Australian-made ferry travelling between East Bali and the Gili islands on Thursday. Read more

►UK: Psychological tricks used by governments to "nudge" how citizens behave may soon be applied to the contentious area of living wills and end-of-life decisions. Read more

►PHILIPPINES: A confessed death squad member has testified that controversial Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the killings of criminals and political opponents and Muslims when he was mayor of the southern city of Davao. Read more

1770: Captain Cook becomes the first European to note the appearance of the Aurora Australis.

1908: General Motors Corporation (GM) is founded in the USA. 

1956: Australia's first television broadcast is made by TCN Channel 9 in Sydney. 

1975: Papua New Guinea is granted full independence from Australia. 

1982: Over 1000 Palestinian refugees are massacred by Lebanese Maronite Christians.

You don’t leave a mate behind.

They were the only words racing through the mind of Shane Roche as he paddled furiously toward his mate Dale Carr who had just been savaged by a three metre white pointer shark off Lighthouse Beach.

The incident occurred last year, but for both men, the trauma of that day travels with them every time they step back into the water.

The pair are raising awareness about the impacts of post traumatic stress disorder, encouraging anyone who is struggling to seek out a mate and talk. Read more