ABC reporter and newsreader Nick McLaren looks back on three decades of reporting in Wollongong

Walk into any newsroom in metropolitan Australia and you’ll probably find that half of it is full of people migrating to the city to escape “the bush”.

My journalistic journey progresses from the city to the regions.

After growing up in Sydney and then traveling abroad through Europe, I took a job with the ABC in the coastal NSW city of Wollongong in 1998.

I came to the city, I didn’t know much. I had actually only been to Wollongong once, when my car broke down while heading south on a surfing trip.

After almost 30 years, I leave ABC Illawarra feeling privileged to have witnessed the dramatic transformation of the place I now call home.

out of the dark

Before arriving in Wollongong, I knew about the city’s spectacular slopes and numerous beaches and coastal reefs that were a surfer’s dream.

But I quickly learned about the city’s secret dark past.

I arrive just after Wollongong’s long-serving mayor, Frank Arkell, was brutally murdered while awaiting trial on child abuse charges.

Sitting in the courtroom for the trial of her murderer, 19-year-old Mark Valera, was a harrowing experience.

Arkell coined the phrase “Great Wollongong” and was seen by many as the savior of the city, until it was revealed that he was part of a pedophilia ring along with some of the city’s most prominent figures.

This is the story I get asked about the most, as Arkell’s sudden death refuses to bring closure to both his victims and the city.

“We were left with a larger-than-life character,” author Erik Eklund wrote in his biography of Arkell.

The privilege of being a regional news reporter is being able to see the city or region you cover slowly change and transform into something different.

Arkell’s death seemed like the end of a chapter and a new beginning for the city.

working class city

Wollongong has a proud history as a working-class city.

When I arrived it was home to Australia’s largest steelworks and several thriving underground coal mines.

But it wasn’t just steel and copper produced in Wollongong; It was also a bustling textile hub with factories supplying iconic Australian brands such as Bonds and King Gee.

I reported that the last major textile factory in the city, owned by Pacific Brands, was closed in 2010.

One worker described the closure to me as a “death in the family” for the women who had worked there for more than 40 years.

Just five years later, BHP Billiton, the region’s largest employer, found itself on the brink of closure.

Faced with a glut of cheap steel from Asia, the steelmaker was forced to lay off hundreds of workers to stay afloat.

A year ago the iconic Port Kembla Copper pile was demolished in what felt like the symbolic end of an era.

Loading…

But over the next decade, the steel mill underwent a transformation under the management of new owner BlueScope Steel.

When I arrived in Wollongong there were over 20,000 people working in the steel mill.

In its transformation into a modern steelmaker, profits increased but the number of employees fell to around 3,000 workers.

While manufacturing remains an important part of the region, it has surpassed healthcare, retail, education and, most recently, construction as the largest areas of employment.

Development is increasing rapidly

In 2000 I moved to a log cabin with “regenerative taste” in the northern suburbs of Wollongong.

At that time, the city’s skyline was relatively modest, with few tall buildings.

Development was a controversial issue and I covered many protests against overdevelopment.

This would also plunge Wollongong into global notoriety with the sex-for-development scandal in 2008.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has found unprecedented corruption at Wollongong council after it was revealed a council planner was involved with two property developers and approved buildings in exchange for cash and gifts.

The case led to the dismissal of the entire council.

Today Wollongong’s CBD has become a high-rise Mecca.

The housing shortage has given developers and planners the opportunity to build so big that it will transform the city’s skyline forever.

local link

One of the ABC’s core functions is emergency broadcasting.

I have handled fires, floods, storms and every other emergency you can think of, and it has been a privilege to serve the community during these difficult times.

However, it is difficult not to notice the increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events triggered by climate change.

It is easy to understand the value of local journalism at that time.

But while the ABC has been fortunate in maintaining a steady presence in regional communities, other regional media outlets, particularly print publications, have not been so lucky.

The rise of social media as it depends on advertising revenue poses an existential threat to many publications.

The collapse of local news sources is dealing a heavy blow to local communities.

One of the stories I told during my first year in Wollongong was the slow recovery after the deadly floods of 1998.

One of the last major weather events I covered in a moment of cyclicality was the devastating floods that ravaged the region in 2024.

I couldn’t help but notice the similarities.

It’s a good reminder of the cyclical nature of news, and that while some things have changed over the course of 30 years, some things have remained the same.