Paula Kontelj, TasteWithTab, Ash Burke and more to join Geelong Advertiser

Extra, extra, read all about it in the Addy. Our paperboy hit the city’s streets this week to inform readers about bigger weekday editions.

They say when people are fleeing from a conflict zone, the best journalists run towards it.

They put truth ahead of their own urges to run for cover.

They swim against the current in a bid to keep people informed.

For 184 years, the Geelong Advertiser has aimed to report the truth over all else too.

And while many newspapers, confronted with the digital age, have been cutting back, shrinking or closing entirely.

We have chosen to swim against the current.

Our weekday editions will be bigger and even more local.

We’re adding new sections on education, health, business, babies, weddings, home and garden, food, tributes, art and entertainment.

There will be more puzzles, more of the TV guide, more opinion and more local sport.

We’ll also open our pages to more local contributors – because this paper belongs to Geelong.

It’s your stories, your lives, your voices.

Find out who some of those new voices are below:

Greta Lannen

Community editor

When my family moved to Geelong from the Wimmera when I was an eight-year-old, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the city that was set to become my new home.

Of course, there were the obvious features of Geelong that I was able to wrap my head around as a child – its coastal location, AFL team, colourful and cultural events, and apparently a talking seal at a waterfront restaurant? (I never did get to witness Smorgy’s celebrity Salty the Seal in action but quickly learnt that the folklore runs deep).

But as I settled and grew up in Geelong – schooling, playing, working, studying and socialising – it became clear what a unique community I had joined. A proud, passionate and welcoming city with colourful characters, strong connections, a breadth of opportunities and fierce sporting rivalries.

The Geelong Advertiser has played a pivotal role in the Geelong community and surrounds for 184 years.

Community editor Greta Lannen. Picture: Alan Barber

Not only has it broken Geelong’s – and some of Australia’s – biggest news stories, it has advocated for important change, held powerful figures to account, championed local heroes and given a voice to marginalised and under-represented people.

Having read the Geelong Advertiser since I was young, interned as a journalism uni student in 2016 and worked for the gt magazine team in more recent years, I’m excited to continue a connection with the Addy as its community editor as we embark on an exciting new chapter – bringing you more local voices, more stories and even more Geelong. Our new hyperlocal pages in every weekday print edition will bring you content that celebrates and showcases our unique community, created by the community.

As Geelong Addy consumers, we all have different reading habits.

You might be a dedicated daily reader of the Addy’s hard copy edition, a digital subscriber who catches up with the latest news on your commute to work, or you might flick through the paper in your office tearoom before having a crack at the crossword.

Whichever category you fall in, we hope you’ll embrace, enjoy and get involved in our hyperlocal content that will shine alight on all corners of Geelong and its surrounds – from you and for you.

We’re lucky to be joined by talented regular contributors, and we’ll be bringing you more education, business, food, entertainment, home and garden, babies, weddings, tributes, and history.

Join us as we continue to celebrate our special community and become even more Geelong.

Email [e-mail]

Tabitha Gall

Content creator

“What makes you happy?” my mother asked. “Food,” I cried.

That conversation changed everything.

Hi, my name is Tabitha, but you can call me Tab.

If you use social media, you may have seen me pop up on your screen sharing my love for good food and things to do in the area.

But my journey to becoming a content creator started long before my first viral post.

Six years ago, I made a big decision – I left a job I loved at Barwon Health to chase my dream of travelling the world and living in London.

Then, the world changed.

When Covid hit, I knew it was time to come home.

My company kindly offered me a position in their Sydney office, thus opening a door to a brand-new chapter in my life.

However, working for a global company began to take its toll. I lived in Sydney, yet worked closely with a team in Singapore, reporting to my manager in London, with stakeholders in the US.

Social media food influencer Tabitha Gall. Picture: Alan Barber

It was common for me to jump on a meeting at 6am and finish the day at 11pm.

I was living my big city life dreams and yet I was sinking into a deep dark hole, teetering on the edge of being depressed.

Then came the call from my mum.

“What makes you happy?”

“Food,” I cried.

“Why don’t you create a blog and post photos of your food?” she offered.

I rolled my eyes.

The next day, a new Instagram account was born: “TasteWithTab.” (This is also my official apology to my mother)

Then life changed abruptly once again – I faced redundancy (now a blessing), got engaged, and decided to leave the city.

So, we packed our bags, and in March 2024, we returned to Geelong.

I had once run away searching for “more”, yet here I was, back with my loved ones in a city busier and better than I had ever remembered.

Initially, I had believed that I would only be able to continue my social media presence if I posted about food in Melbourne.

But that simply wasn’t true.

You see, much to my surprise – we’re not a small town anymore, but we offer a warmth, cities lack.

Our food is just as impressive, just as extravagant and just as exciting.

Our business owners in Geelong have passion and pride, and the love they pour into their food tells stories that I could write about for days.

This is why I love Geelong.

This is why you’ll catch me in the Geelong Addy every Wednesday, sharing my favourite food content from cheap eats and date nights to must-visit spots and experiences.

Follow @TasteWithTab on Instagram

Social media garden guru Ash Burke. Picture: Alan Barber

Ash Burke

Gardening guru

Hello. I’ll be sharing with you what I’m up to each week in the vegetable garden, seasonal planting guides, tips and tricks to get your patch thriving, keeping backyard chooks, composting and beekeeping, along with ways to get the kids involved.

But first a little about me and my patch.

My name is Ash, and I’ve been a Geelong local most of my life.

I live with my wife and three kids, plus two dogs, four chooks, a cockatiel, and a beehive on a quarter-acre block.

We’ve dedicated about 65 sqm of our backyard to a thriving vegetable garden containing timber raised garden beds, a greenhouse, 400l compost bin, a worm farm, beehive, fruit trees, and of course the chicken coop and run. My garden was designed to not only be a productive space, but something you could look out the back window and admire.

Our growing space is dedicated to about 50 per cent food that we eat regularly, 25 per cent to flowers, and the last 25 per cent to experimenting with the many weird and wonderful things that you won’t find in the local supermarket, or plants that might not be well known to grow in our temperate climate.

The vegetable garden, apart from providing a significant portion of our family’s weekly food, was more about me developing a positive escape and stress release from the fast-paced life of a full-time paramedic in the Geelong region.

While these days I’m primarily based in the office, the passion of gardening has continued to blossom over the years.

I’ve found myself dedicating more and more of my spare time to helping others grow their own backyard patch and also commencing studies for a post graduate diploma in garden design.

My aim is to deliver edible garden consultations, design, and construction across the Geelong region.

A few years ago, I started posting photos and videos of what I was up to in the garden across my personal Instagram account. After constantly annoying my friends and family I made a dedicated page – as a result, Ash’s Backyard Garden was created.

Fast forward a few years and I’ve been able to share what I’m up to each week in the garden to an audience a few hundred thousand strong across the world.

I’ve been able to connect with like minded people worldwide and form some amazing friendships.

I’m excited to share with you each week information specific to our Geelong climate and help you get your patch thriving.

Follow @ashs.backyardgarden on Instagram, @Ash’s Backyard Garden on Facebook or visit ashsbackyardgarden.com.

Mayoress Paula Kontelj. Picture: Alan Barber

Paula Kontelj

Geelong mayoress

I’m experiencing deja vu as my husband Stretch Kontelj returns to the role of mayor of the City of Greater Geelong, some 24 years after he was first mayor of our great city. I feel like we have lived multiple life times in those years between, living overseas, changing careers, becoming grandparents, living through the Covid lockdowns and losing loved ones.

The passage of time is a great teacher, and any grey hairs have been well earned by now, so I look forward to Mayor Stretch ‘Mark II’.

I understand Geelong’s population has grown by 25 per cent since 2015 when we left town to live in Guernsey in the Channel Islands for five years, so there are many new people in our region who we are yet to meet.

By way of introduction, I will share a little of our background, a brief synopsis of our lives. We were born in Geelong, but lived on the opposite ends of town, which in those days was the other side of the world.

He was a Bell Park migrant son who went to North Geelong High and I was a butcher’s daughter from East Geelong who attended Geelong High School.

As a child starting school, ‘Srechko’ had to learn to speak English and as he got older, he knew his only way out of poverty was to work hard, study and become the first person in his family to get a degree.

He went on to get 12 degrees including a doctorate of law.

My background was in the fitness industry, and through competitive aerobics, I found my way into radio and spent 26 years on air, initially on 3GL and then at BayFM.

I continued to teach group fitness to this day, as well as enjoying being an active member of our wonderful theatre community.

Our early married life was hectic, with three children to look after, and Stretch’s corporate legal work taking him interstate and overseas often, but we remained involved in our community through sport, theatre, church and through Stretch’s advocacy for our local migrant community during his 10 years as president of the Geelong Ethnic Communities Council and Geelong Migrant Resource Centre (now Cultura).

It was Stretch’s passion for Geelong that was the driving force behind his decision to first enter local politics.

While not every campaign has been successful, it has only further strengthened his resolve to work hard for his community. So now five years after we have returned to Geelong, we are back to the beginning.

On reflection, one initiative I was proud of as mayoress during Stretch’s first term in 2001, was holding a mayoral ball which raised $25,000 (a lot in those days) for the Andrew Love Cancer Centre.

Perhaps this is a fundraiser we can resurrect to inject much needed charitable funds, and a sense of celebration.

I look forward to presenting regular columns in the Addy, which will cover many topics with a Geelong flavour, such as the goings-on at council and local events.

Follow @paulakontelj on Instagram.

Arts contributor Jen Cromarty. Picture: Alan Barber

Jennifer Cromarty

Art writer

If you want to understand the heartbeat of a city, look to its artists.

They take who it is, what it feels, its struggles and beauty, and turn them into something vivid – something that makes us see the world, and ourselves, differently.

There’s a famous quote that speaks volumes: “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” – Cesar A. Cruz.

For decades, I’ve been intrigued by the creative sector – writing reports, developing policy and delivering projects – all to help support and highlight the impact of the sector, a sector that is rarely seen as the strong economic power and socially vital pulse that it generates.

In 2015, I founded Creative Geelong Inc, a not-for-profit with a vision to build a thriving creative economy – and deliver on projects that create impact.

Through Creative Geelong, we developed the first and second environmental scan of the creative industries in the G21 region, mapping the scale and growth of a sector too often underestimated.

With Deakin University, we helped produce Hubcaps to Creative Hubs, a trilogy of short documentaries capturing Geelong’s transition from an industrial past to a creative future (watch them on Creative Geelong’s YouTube channel).

Our most ambitious project, the Creative Geelong Hub in Centrepoint Arcade, was a pilot project to showcase how the arts can activate unloved places, and is now a bustling space for artists, designers, and creative enterprises.

After a 30-year corporate career in PR, I’ve finally stepped into my own creative practice as a visual artist.

I also founded Untether Gallery last year – in Centrepoint Arcade, of course – where I’ve hosted eight exhibitions so far, with bookings secured through to 2026.

And now, I’m excited to bring that passion to these pages in a brand-new fortnightly arts column.

I’m hoping you will read about the issues that matter to our creative community. I’ll also spotlight the exhibitions, projects, and people shaping Geelong’s arts scene.

I’ll celebrate successes and interrogate challenges.

And most importantly, I’ll make the case that the arts aren’t just “nice to have” for our city and its people.

They are essential.

Follow @creativegeelong, @jencromartyart, or @untethergallery on Instagram

Originally published as Paula Kontelj, TasteWithTab, Ash Burke and more to join Geelong Advertiser