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

Hunter weather: Sunny day with light winds in Newcastle (19 degrees), sunny day with some winds in Raymond Terrace (20 degrees), sunny day with light winds in Maitland (22 degrees) and light winds but a sunny day for Scone (22 degrees).

Hunter beachwatch: A cool start to the day with the westerly winds easing overnight. Better waves during the mornings incoming tide as wind to go light onshore by the afternoon. Swell from the South to SSE at 1 to 1.5m. Wind N/W before turning S/E to N/E later on. Clean breaks early on the reefs at Cowrie, Bar Beach and Merewether. Shorebreaks at Cliff and Dixon. Best options at Port Stephens will be Samurai and Burubi. Down the coast try North Dudley, Redhead, Hams and Catho. Tide filling and seabreeze for the late surf. Merewether and Cowrie the picks. Swimming conditions are good with clean and warmer water. Swim in the flagged areas and water temp is 18C.

► Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said Newcastle’s Supercars race would be “noisy but worth it” after the city secured the championship finale for the next five years. More here.

► FORMER Jets defender Taylor Regan could be about to return to the A-League. Defending champions Adelaide are understood to have offered the 27-year-old a one-year deal as an injury replacement for Jordan Elsey. More here.

► NEW legal representatives for accused serial sex offender and Newcastle immunologist Dr Jeremy Coleman will apply to have his estimated six-month trial moved to Sydney, Newcastle District Court has heard. More here.

► THE University of Newcastle (UON) expects at least 10,000 people across the globe will enrol in its world-first online course in natural history illustration. More here.

► AUSTRALIAN workers have “benefited a great deal from increased global trade” with countries like China, but governments must make sure that “local producers and businesses are getting the benefits of open markets”. More here.

►  Pizza comes in many shapes and sizes. Thick bases, thin bases, bases with a hot-dog in the crust. Pizzas with meat pies or even cheeseburgers on top.  More here.

►  THE Baird government’s cap on container ships in the Port of Newcastle was a “smart”, “generous” and “sensible” decision that will one day give the city “huge capacity for a container terminal”.   More here.

► THE Baird government will spend $13 million building a permanent luxury cruise terminal facility in Newcastle. In an announcement at the Port of Newcastle on Tuesday morning, Premier Mike Baird said that from 2018 large cruise ships would have a dedicated home in the city, the latest in a series of funding announcements that he said made Newcastle “the envy of the nation”. More here.

► NEWCASTLE councillors have deferred a vote on the rezoning of land on the rail corridor between Worth Place and Newcastle Station, while UrbanGrowth is invited to hold an ‘opening briefing’ on the plan next month.  More here.

► A $100-million aircraft manufacturing facility will be built at Warnervale. Premier Mike Baird today announced the facility, to be built at Central Coast Airport, would create a new aerospace industry and sub-industries in Australia. More here.

► Following last year’s cracker crab season NSW Fisheries has released the following statement - “Last year DPI trialed new recreational crab gear rules in Port Stephens to reduce the number of turtles being caught in recreational crab catching equipment.  More here.

► FAMILY day care educator Kate Delaney admits she is big on communication – both with her young charges and their parents. It means that when a child in her care has a breakthrough moment, she likes to deliver the happy news to the parent, along with the evidence, as soon as she can. More here.

► COMMERCIAL fishing closures in Port Stephens will be lifted from October, the Department of Primary Industries announced on Tuesday. The closures were put in place in September last year after it was revealed that toxic fire fighting foam used at the nearby Williamtown RAAF Base had for years been contaminating the surrounding environment. More here.

► Nicole Dickie wants her son, Dylan, home. Friends and family of the missing 19-year-old are preparing to pick up the search again, in rugged state forest, on October 6. They haven’t seen him since he left the family home on a motorbike on June 23 and didn’t return, as expected, the following day. More here.

►  On the eve of an amalgamation announcement by the state government, Maitland City Council has elected a new deputy mayor. Councillors had two options: To conduct an election or defer it until a merger announcement had been made. Cr Henry Meskauskas moved to hold an election. He said council should show ratepayers it is getting on with business and should highlight the fact by being pro-active through electing a deputy. More here.

► Fire crews are working to contain a bushfire that has broken out off Charles Street, Abermain on Tuesday afternoon. No properties are under currently under threat by the 10-hectare blaze, which broke out around 2.30pm. More here.

►  The state government says a compensation figure for greyhound owners has not yet been finalised for implementation after a statewide ban on dog racing is introduced. The government is considering payouts of up to $1500 per dog for owners, News Corp has reported in recent days. More here.

► The inaugural Gresford Photographic Exhibition at St Anne's Hall was a roaring success. A hundred photos were on display, by local photographers as well as the only three Grand Masters of Photography in NSW – David Oliver, Peter Eastway and Jacqui Dean. More here.

► A CONTAINER filled with what is believed to be hundreds of ecstasy pills was found by police during a drug investigation in Raymond Terrace last week. Officers found the partially buried container in a “public area” in Raymond Terrace on Friday, September 23. More here.

► Homemade goodies will be out in force when the Stroud Country Fair kicks off on Saturday. A wide range of stalls will line the main street from 8am on October 1 against a backdrop of red and yellow decorations throughout the town. More here.

► A WOMAN is stable after becoming the Hunter’s eighth confirmed case of meningococcal case of 2016.  The woman is in a Hunter hospital and close contacts have been prescribed clearance antibiotics. More here.

► MUSWELLBROOK’S Ben Hoffman believes the recent Tug of War World Championships will hold the Australian team in good stead when it next competes on the international stage. More here.

► Central Hunter Police are urging the community to be aware of scams.  Last Wednesday police took a report from a woman who had received a phone call from a man that identified himself as an Australian Federal Police officer. More here.

►  MOST people would bury their head in the sand – but not author Mel Jacob. The former Muswellbrook resident has turned a major setback into a rare opportunity. More here.

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

BENDIGO: Police closed a main road in Bendigo after discovering a suspicious package in a suburban yard. Read more.

TASMANIA: THE occupants of car which crashed and killed the driver may not have been wearing seatbelts, early police investigations have revealed. Read more.

WANGARATTA: A Wangaratta woman is recovering in hospital after being stabbed in the throat in her own home. Read more.

GLEN INNES: A POLICE manhunt is underway after an inmate was sighted in Glen Innes just days after he escaped from the local correctional centre. Read more.

NEWCASTLE: NEW legal representatives for accused serial sex offender and Newcastle immunologist Dr Jeremy Coleman will apply to have his estimated six-month trial moved to Sydney, Newcastle District Court has heard. Read more.

WOLLONGONG: Wollongong’s iconic glass building at 90 Crown Street has sold for $43.9 million to a Melbourne based funds management group. Read more.

REDLANDS: FAMILY and locals have honoured the memory of Redlands boy Matthew Stanley who died 10 years ago after a one punch attack at an 18th birthday party. Read more.

MORNINGTON: Mornington Shire locals believe that a crocodile photographed near a doctor’s yacht is the rumoured and elusive ‘Whitey’. Read more.

BALLARAT: In-depth  analysis of the driving factors of bushfires in all Victorian communities is needed to ensure the state does not face continuous “Black Saturday” events, researchers say. Read more.

MELBOURNE: Australia has lost in its claim that an international commission has no jurisdiction to hear a complaint by East Timor in the bitter dispute over undersea oil and gas riches. Read more.

NEW SOUTH WALES: The NSW branch of the RSL is preparing to launch a forensic audit of the past seven years' spending by its senior leadership amid concerns about possible fraud and questions about financial transparency. Read more.

CANBERRA: Maverick Liberal senator Cory Bernardi has called on the government to support similar positions to One Nation in order to reconnect with voters concerned about Muslim immigration and declining industries. Read more.

BELGIUM: A top-secret memo sensationally leaked by a Belgian energy minister cites Australia's decision to block China from buying into the NSW power grid. Read more.

UNITED STATES: A Houston lawyer whose business was struggling opened fire on morning commuters on Monday, injuring at least nine people before being shot dead by police, authorities said. Read more.

935 – Saint Wenceslas is murdered by his brother, Boleslaus I of Bohemia

1066 – William the Conqueror invades England landing at Pevensey Bay, Sussex

1781 – 9,000 American and 7,000 French troops begin siege of Yorktown

1887 – Yellow River or Huáng Hé floods in China, killing an estimated 1.5 million people

1939 – German-Soviet Frontier Treaty is signed by Joachim von Ribbentrop and Vyacheslav Molotov; redraws German and Soviet spheres of influence in central Europe and transfers most of Lithuania to the USSR

Facts supplied: onthisday.com

Just two years ago, Ben Winwood was involved in a car accident that left him unable to walk. 

He spent months in rehabilitation and was faced with the enormous challenge of relearning how to take a step.

Read his story.