It’s been a busy start to the year for Michael Coombs, who’s hardly had time to brush the sand off his feet after a summer holiday on Kokomo Island in Fiji.

“When we were waist-deep in the surf, they opened up a murderous fire,” Sister Vivien Bullwinkle recalled after the Bangka Island Massacre of WWII, "mowing us down like a scene I saw in a film as a child.”

A middle-aged local couple was brought to safety after their vessel became stricken in wild, stormy conditions.

Residents are invited to take part in the Erik Mather 2 – 4 – 6 charity Swim this Saturday 12 February.

Roots run deep on Clifton St in Mosman, with residents reluctant to make a move.

In our new series, Mosman Collective unlocks historic local crime case files, revealing new images and details of the lower north shore’s most shocking stories.