On Our Selection News - 30th March 2023

QCWA celebrated at Cambooya

A Garden Party celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Queensland Country Women’s Association (QCWA) at “Marinya”, the former home of Mrs Ruth Fairfax, the founding president of the organisation, drew a large crowd of branch members from a wide area along with local and visiting dignitaries.

Close to 400 people joined the party, which featured a range of stalls along with an official ceremony which included the unveiling of plaque by Tim and Gina Fairfax.

Mayor of the Toowoomba Region, Paul Antonio was among guest speakers and said the QCWA was an important part of the Region’s history.

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Tim Fairfax AC, a grandson of the founding president of QCWA Ruth B. Fairfax, was joined by his wife Gina tom unveil a plaque commemorating the 100th anniversary of the organisation.

Mayor Antonio spoke of the dedication and achievements of Ruth Fairfax as she worked to extend the reach of QCWA. He said it has become the largest and most widespread women’s organisation in Queensland.

The Mayor said the Toowoomba Region has a very strong culture around helping people and the work of the QCWA is aligned with that culture.

Continued on page 2

area, head bail and ramp

Fancy yourself as a basketballer?

Toowoomba Basketball Association will soon commence the winter season of basketball competitions.

Players who are interested in being involved should go to the website https://toowoombabasketball.com.au/ or contact one of the affiliated clubs.

Basketball is a great sport for junior and senior players and there are many opportunities to compete at Regional level or State level.

QCWA’s 100th Birthday

Continued from page 1

Member for Condamine Pat Weir spoke of the continuing relevance of the QCWA today while Member for Toowoomba South David Janetzki spoke of the continuing support the organisation provides for the community.

A 100th birthday cake was cut by the State International Officer for QCWA Barbara McMillan, the president of the Darling Downs Division Phoebe Mitchell and a long serving member of the Kingsthorpe branch, Marie Ehrlich.

Later in the day Regional Councillor Nancy Sommerfield acted as compere for “Ten Decades of Fashion”.

Tim Fairfax AC is a grandson of Ruth Fairfax and after addressing the gathering mingled with those in attendance.

enjoying the day were Vale View resident Margaret Gallagher who’s a member of Middle Ridge branch, Lydia Woods (Pittsworth) and Cr Melissa Taylor.

Break the cycle on Crime Boasting

A petition has been launched following the announcement of the Breaking Online Notoriety Bill being introduced into Parliament this week.

The Federal Member for Groom, Garth Hamilton is asking residents to show their support for the Bill by signing the petition, which calls on all parliamentarians to back the Bill.

“The petition, which is hosted on my website is open for signatures from all residents who are

concerned about the use of social media to promote anti-social behaviour,” he said.

“Again this week we saw the disgusting behaviour of local youths damaging private property, filming it and putting it online and sharing it with their peers to boast.”

The Breaking Online Notoriety Bill seeks to extend the powers of the eSafety Commissioner, which will help prevent young offenders from gaining social credit and discourage others from engaging in similar behaviour.

The petition will be available for signing online at garthhamilton.com.au/delivering-for-groom/1839-2/ or at Mr Hamilton’s electorate office, at 516 Ruthven Street in Toowoomba.

Mr Hamilton said he hoped that the petition would demonstrate the community support and encourage the Government to take action and support stronger powers for the eSafety Commissioner.

“I urge everyone in the Groom electorate who is concerned about the promotion of criminal activity on social media to sign the petition in support of the Breaking Online Notoriety Bill,” he said.

“I call on the Government to listen to the concerns of our community and support my Private Member’s Bill.”

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SUPPORT AND SERVICES

We believe every human has the inherent right to live a ‘normal’ and empowered life; to have ability and opportunity to make one’s own choices. We aim to empower people with mental health or with disability

SUPPORT AND SERVICES

There has been a lot of media coverage about the crime wave that has been troubling our region for some time now. Whilst it was good to see the Premier reinstate breach of bail as an offence, there is still much to be done.

Even though the rise in youth crime is the result of the Labor Government’s soft on crime stance, I want to make sure that the Federal government does everything it can to support the victims of these crimes.

MiChoice Disability Supports, offers a variety of services supporting you to take steps in accomplishing your goals; your ambitions; your targets. For some people, goals may be reached in a time that may be lengthy. This may take 6 months; this may take several years of challenges and barriers. That is when we are at our most creative and supportive and our ‘together-journey’ begins

with mental

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HOW CAN WE HELP YOU?

MiChoice Disability Supports, offers a variety of services supporting you to take steps in accomplishing your goals; your ambitions; your targets. For some people, goals may be reached in a time that may be lengthy. This may take 6 months; this may take several years of challenges and barriers. That is when we are at our most creative and supportive and our ‘together-journey’ begins

We believe every human has the inherent right to live a ‘normal’ and empowered life; to have ability and opportunity to make one’s own choices. We aim to empower people with mental health or with disability

§ Support you in your home, in the community, or at your workplace to build confidence to live an autonomous life.

HOW CAN WE HELP YOU?

§ Support you with making the right choice for you and your safety.

SUPPORT AND SERVICES

Support you in your home, in the community, or at your workplace to build confidence to live an autonomous life.

§ Support you with an improved living arrangement to feel at ease in your living environment

MiChoice Disability Supports, offers a variety of services supporting you to take steps in accomplishing your goals; your ambitions; your targets. For some people, goals may be reached in a time that may be lengthy. This may take 6 months; this may take several years of challenges and barriers. That is when we are at our most creative and supportive and our ‘together-journey’ begins

§ Support you with your household tasks to keep on top of hygiene and instil home-pride Social and community participation helping you stay connected with your community.

Support you with making the right choice for you and your safety.

Support you with an improved living arrangement to feel at ease in your living environment

HOW CAN WE HELP YOU?

§ Support you in your home, in the community, or at your workplace to build confidence to live an autonomous life.

Support you with your household tasks to keep on top of hygiene and instil home-pride

§ Support you with making the right choice for you and your safety.

§ Support you with an improved living arrangement to feel at ease in your living environment

§ Support you with your household tasks to keep on top of hygiene and instil home-pride

Social and community participation helping you stay connected with your community.

CALL

§ Social and community participation helping you stay connected with your community. CALL

That’s why I plan to introduce my Private Members Bill, the Breaking Online Notoriety Bill, to the Parliament. The powers of the Bill make life harder for these criminals who choose to use social media to brag about their exploits by strengthening the eSafety Commissioner’s ability to force down posts and pages that promote the sort of repeat crimes that are plaguing our community.

It’s important that we keep the spotlight on crime until we see a marked change in results but it’s also important to remind ourselves and others what a great part of the world the Toowoomba Region is.

Following the death of Robert Brown outside Grand Central shopping centre in Toowoomba, a group of locals have come together to offer anyone who is afraid of coming into the CBD someone to walk with. The idea came from within our community, has been supported by local police and we’ve been inundated with volunteers who want to make people confident about coming in and enjoying everything our region has to offer. Anyone interested in the service can contact my office.

human has the inherentrightto live a‘normal’and empoweredlife;to haveabilityand opportunitytomake one’s own choices.We aimtoempowerpeople

health

withdisability.

School leaders mixing with Region’s leaders

On Thursday of last week, Toowoomba Region Mayor Paul Antonio and Regional Councillors hosted many of the Region’s primary school leaders for morning tea, in what has become a much anticipated annual event for the students and their principals.

RIGHT: During the morning, Cr Megan O’Hara Sullivan caught up with Drayton State School Leaders for the 2023 school year Jessica Leicht and Jonah Booth and Principal Aleksandr Taylor- Gough.

Second supermarket proposed for Drayton

Toowoomba Regional Council has received a development application requesting permission to build another shopping centre at Drayton, including a supermarket, just down the street from the existing complex anchored by Woolworths.

If approved, the shopping centre will be built at 29-33 Brisbane Street, a 6,276m2 block of land which is currently vacant, between the Downs Hotel and Drayton Police Station. Alongside the supermarket, the shopping centre will

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include two specialty shops, an alfresco dining area, main entry foyer and 106 car spaces.

The application was submitted by Capital Transactions Development Management Pty Ltd, a property developer based in Brisbane.

A previous development application to construct a shopping centre consisting of a supermarket and six other shops was approved in 2008, however construction never began and the development permit lapsed.

The front entrance of the proposed shopping centre.

Cambooya N.E. Highway stretch under the microscope

The Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) is seeking community input on the future of the New England Highway between Hodgson Creek and the southern side of Cambooya Connection Road, but get in quickly as consultation closes this Friday, 31 March.

Residents and road users are invited to provide local views on this section of the highway and to identify any concerns about safety and efficiency.

TMR Southern Queensland Regional Director, Bill Lansbury said the planning project will investigate future infrastructure requirements such as widening the highway to accommodate wide centre lines and additional overtaking lanes.

“Opportunities for improving this two kilometre section of the New England Highway will be shared with local property owners to analyse options for future infrastructure upgrades,” Mr Lansbury said.

“This section of the highway services major industries across the Darling Downs as well as the growing population centres of Cambooya, Ramsay, Greenmount and Nobby.

“We will be exploring the safety and efficiency of intersections and ways to increase highway capacity.

“Problems such as the road surface condition and width, a lack of overtaking opportunities and intersection configurations, will be on the table.”

TMR will consult with stakeholders most likely to be affected by the planning project over the coming months.

The project is not funded for construction at this stage.

The New England Highway junction with Cambooya Connection Road was the scene of a fatal traffic crash last July when a vehicle left its lane and collided with a truck.

All road users of the New England Highway at this location are encouraged to have their say by emailing the Department at DownsSWR.Office@tmr.qld.gov.au, by calling 4639 0777 or by visiting the project website at tmr.qld.gov.au/projects/districts/ darling-downs and following the link to ‘have your say’.

This project is being delivered under the Transport System Planning Program funded by the Queensland Government.

Flood Recovery Program

We are working hard to ensure our roads remain safe, accessible and resilient to future natural disasters. We are keeping the longterm interest of our community at the heart of what we do.

In 2021-2022 we had three declared flood events. Since then we’ve methodically assessed the damage to our road network and put forward 18 submissions for funding to the Queensland and Australian Governments through the jointly funded Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).

What’s happening near you?

The total Flood Recovery Program is expected to cost around $100 million with project works anticipated to be completed by June 2024.

This means that you will be seeing a lot of roads being worked on over the next 16 months which may have an impact to your day-to-day driving routine. Thank you in advance for your patience.

For more information, visit www.tr.qld.gov.au/floodworks

Key roads in your area that we have identified for inclusion in the Flood Recovery Program include:

Watts Siding Road (Cambooya)

McNally Road (Greenmount)

Mt Sibley Road (Nobby)

For more road repairs happening in your area, visit www.tr.qld.gov.au/floodworks

Permanent reconstruction work is expected to total more than $100 million

Council will be joining forces with multiple contractors to deliver the large amount of repairs to our road network

The project is anticipated to be completed by June 2024 (weather permitting)

Part of the stretch of highway that’s subject of the review.

Yearlings sell well at Magic Millions

Major thoroughbred horse studs on the Darling Downs are generally happy with sales at the March Gold Coast Magic Millions auction, given that overall sales were a little down on the last two years.

The horse racing industry is always a high risk venture and the risk begins when thoroughbred breeders firstly hope that their foals grow big and strong for the yearling sales.

Young horses being what they are can be very prone to injury and a breeder’s hopes can be dashed well before the big sales.

The health and well being of the yearling is only part of the risk as breeders must choose a suitable stallion for their mares two years before yearling sales.

During this period the stallion might become unfashionable in an industry prone to sudden changes in attitudes towards stallions.

Breeders on the Darling Downs are fortunate to have two of Australia’s best stallions, Spirit of Boom and Better Than Ready, here on the Downs.

While these stallions are easily assessable for local breeders the risk is still there with a service for mares by Spirit of Boom costing $33,000 and Better Than Ready $24,000.

Yearlings by both these stallions sold well at the Magic Millions but breeders are gambling their yearling will fetch more than the service fee.

Yearling sales like all commodities are affected by the state of the economy and sales this year were slightly down.

Jeff Kruger of Lyndhurst Stud near Warwick was, however,

pleased by the sales of his stallion, Better Than Ready with Lot 270 by his stallion selling for a healthy $115,000 and Lot 280 selling for $100,000.

Scott McAlpine of Eureka Stud at Cambooya was also happy with the sales of yearlings by his stallion Spirit of Boom, with Lot 103 fetching $140,000 and several others topping more than $100,000.

Clear Mountain Fairview stud at Greenmount would no doubt have been pleased with a price of $110,000 for one of its yearlings and solid prices for yearlings by stallions Love Conquers All and Wanted.

Oaklands Stud at Umbiram would have been over the moon with the sale of the yearling by stallion, Power, going for $100,000.

As an example of the fickle nature of yearling sales another Power yearling sold for only $5,000.

All studs have yearlings where the sale price falls well below expectations or does not meet the reserve price at auction.

Sales clearance at the recent March Magic Millions auction was about 83 per cent and the average sale price about $35,000.

The racing industry is by nature a high risk proposition and thoroughbred breeders share this risk with all other areas of the industry.

Eureka Stud’s Spirit of Boom.

Mayors plug in to roads, waste, migration

Advancing plans for potential road network upgrades, regional waste management plans and providing an incentive for skilled workers to relocate to regional Queensland were some key of the topics discussed at the Darling Downs and South West Queensland (DDSWQ) Council of Mayors’ meeting in Toowoomba on Friday.

DDSWQ Council of Mayors Chair and Toowoomba Region Mayor Paul Antonio said the meeting would receive an update on a CSIRO freight analysis proposal designed to offer Councils data that could inform funding applications for road infrastructure upgrades.

“This evidence-based analysis approach is likely to result in greater funding success for vital road infrastructure upgrades,” Mayor Antonio said.

“Every local authority is well versed in the competitive process for securing state and federal funding which is vital to supplement our investment in upgrading important road freight networks.

“Highlighting the most important roads to consider for funding, based on freight data, will ensure local authorities and the State Government avoid duplication and work collaboratively to plan upgrades for key freight routes.”

Mayor Antonio said moves to establish a Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) to streamline visa applications for skilled migrants moved a step closer with discussion of a coordinated proposal for the region.

“There are various skill gaps across the local authorities, and this process, which mirrors a similar scheme that is operating successfully at Cairns, could match workers to the areas in greatest need,” he said.

“There is evidence to show the area DDSWQ covers is losing skilled migrants because of the opportunities for permanent residency being offered in areas designated as a DAMA.”

The meeting was updated on the Darling Downs and South West Waste Management Plan, that is due to be finalised later in the year.

Other topics discussed included ideas to address workforce strategies, plus presentations covering future transport, disaster management, education, incentives for renewable energy and improving rural telecommunication coverage, plus food and fibre updates.

Presentations from Queensland Government departments, AgForce, Lifeline Darling Downs and South West, NBN Co, the Murray Darling Association, Southern Queensland Country Tourism, the Local Government Association of Queensland and other invitees are scheduled on the program.

The Council of Mayors (DDSWQ) represents the communities of the Bulloo, Quilpie, Paroo, Murweh, Maranoa, Balonne, Western Downs, Goondiwindi, Southern Downs and Toowoomba regions and shires, covering an area the size of Sweden.

The group represents one quarter of Queensland’s land area and carries around 25 per cent of its cattle stock and produces 75 per cent of its grain and pulse crops.

Darling Downs and South West Mayors in Toowoomba.

by

Division President

Phoebe Mitchell with Cr Nancy Sommerfield, David House of “Marinya”, sponsor Clive Berghofer and Member for Condamine Pat Weir.

Report offers blueprint for sustaining local papers

These are two of 22 recommendations in the new report, Media Innovation and the Civic Future of Australia’s Country Press, the culmination of a three-year Australian Research Council project, led by Deakin University, in partnership with Country Press Australia, the nation’s peak local news lobby, and RMIT University.

Project lead Professor Kristy Hess, of Deakin’s School of Communications and Creative Arts, said the project’s aim was to examine the local media landscape to identify challenges and opportunities for sustainability and innovation.

“We wanted to examine the challenges facing small-town news providers given the commentary in recent years about the crisis they are facing in Australia and across the world,” she said.

This was the first comprehensive report of its kind in Australia and its recommendations provide a blueprint to preserve and grow rural and regional news for future generations.

The study began at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in the temporary or permanent closure of dozens of local mastheads across Australia and a shift among some to digital-only platforms.

“The first thing we did was conduct a major national survey to find out what people valued about their local mastheads,” Professor Hess said.

“We found people in many regional and rural towns and cities were passionate about their local mastheads but rejected an over-reliance on syndicated content, in print and digital, sourced from neighbouring areas or other parts of the country.”

The research team conducted two main national surveys – one with local news audiences and one with those who do not engage with local news; 35 interviews with Australian news editors and proprietors; and 7 interpretive focus groups with editors, journalists and advertising managers within the Country Press Australia network.

One key finding was the strain on local mastheads hit with lost revenue from local, state and federal government advertising, which in recent years had prioritised social media and metropolitan news outlets with a larger digital reach.

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“Our research found there is this obsession with digital reach,” Professor Hess said.

“That’s all well and good, but a local masthead, whether in print or online, isn’t designed to reach one million people.

“If we use the digital reach metric as an indicator as to which news outlets should get government advertising, these independent regional and rural outlets are going to lose out every time,” Professor Hess said.

The report supports a recent Parliamentary Inquiry recommendation that stipulates 20 per cent of all Federal Government advertising expenditure be directed to regional and rural news organisations.

Data from the study also showed government funding schemes for local news outlets were often tied to digital innovation, for instance to buy drones and other technologies, when what local news providers needed was financial support to upgrade print infrastructure or to hire more staff.

“Print is not dead for many regional and rural communities,” Professor Hess said.

“We need to remember there is a digital divide in Australia that means some communities still struggle with poor-quality and unreliable Internet connections.

“Some segments of the community, including older citizens, find it difficult to use newer technologies. Younger audiences also like the look of a printed newspaper.”

The report also recommends better incentives, including pay, to attract seasoned reporters to the regions.

Governments are also urged to provide seed funding for journalist-led news start-ups to counteract local ‘news deserts’ developing in some parts of Australia.

“Our research shows people in these communities want more local news content, including stories on locals’ achievements, successes and milestones,” Professor Hess said.

“They also want news on local events and more investigative-type pieces.

“We also found there is more capacity for regional and rural news providers to develop collaborative advocacy and solutions-style reporting campaigns that address important rural and regional issues that span multiple communities.”

It’s showtime!

This Friday, 31 March, is a public holiday for our Region to celebrate the Toowoomba Royal Show.

Our customer service centres will be closed during this time. However, our waste collection services will continue as usual. Need to get in touch over the show holiday period?

• For non-urgent enquiries, you can lodge your requests at www.tr.qld.gov.au/onlineservices

Art workshops

Children aged 8 to 25 can get creative with local artists to discover recycled art, crafts, photography and electronics. Registration is essential.

Laser

Grab a hat, water bottle and some friends these school holidays to enjoy FREE laser skirmish!

131 872 www.tr.qld.gov.au

• Our after-hours service will be available for emergencies. Please call 131 872 for assistance.

A national report into local news sustainability is challenging the perception that print newspapers are dead and is calling on governments to revise their advertising rules to help local news providers and better target regional and rural communities.

Rural Aid’s photo comp returns

Australian rural charity Rural Aid has opened its fourth annual Spirit of the Bush photography competition.

The winning twelve photographs will be used in Rural Aid’s 2024 calendar.

Rural Aid CEO John Warlters said he was excited to see what the bush’s talented photographers had captured this year.

“The photographs that are submitted are always breathtakingly raw, real, and reflect the highs and lows of life on the land,” Mr Warlters said.

“Last year, we received more than 1,100 entries from across the country, making it very hard to whittle down to just 12 winners.”

“I hope to see dozens of photos of successful crops, happy working dogs and fat cattle.

“On the flipside, the pictures of flooded creeks

and empty paddocks tell a sobering, but equally important, story.

“I’d encourage anyone with a love, and eye, for the bush, to send their photos in.”

Photographers are encouraged to submit their photos to the themes of; Family, Community, Mates, Faces, Eyes, Tough, Golden Hour (Sunrise/Sunset), or All Things Rural.

Winners will be awarded a feature in the 2024 calendar, and a $250 pre-paid VISA card.

The competition closes 29 May, 2023.

To enter the competition, entrants must submit a highresolution, landscape image via Instagram or Facebook, with the hashtag #SOTB2023 and tag @ruralaid in the picture, or

upload their photo at ruralaid.org.au/spirit-of-the-bush

Rural Aid’s 2024 calendar will be available for purchase later this year.

Proceeds will directly support Rural Aid’s range of programs that help farmers and their families.

Hospital patients waiting longer

Over two-fifths of patients who present to the emergency departments at Toowoomba Hospital are waiting longer than the clinically recommended time before receiving care.

From October to December 2022, 41 per cent of patients were not seen on time, up from 35 per cent in the same quarter in 2021.

The clinically recommended time before receiving care is 30 minutes.

The median emergency department wait time is the quarter was 22 minutes.

One of the twelve winners last year was Anne Bell, who captured this shot near Esperance, Western Australia.

Greenmount Greenmount

State School

What fabulous learning we have had over the past couple of weeks at Greenmount.

INSPIRATIONAL INSTRUMENTS

Greenmount State School students have been enthusiastically re-using plastic bottles to create amazing music.

Inspired by the Kaboom Percussion performance who travelled to the school last year, they have made the instruments from plastic bottles and car tyre valves and are playing them with knitting needles.

Students have been using the “bottleophones” to practice playing rhythms, to accompany well known songs and are just beginning to compose their own pieces of music.

Who would have thought that such pure melodic sound could come from something so simple?

PREPPIES

Our Preppies have been busy with their InitialLit lessons, they are well under way to becoming super learners.

LUNCH TIME SCIENCE

Our school has been abuzz with Science at lunch.

Last week our sandpit was transformed into an active volcano and the resulting explosion was well anticipated.

SUPER SENIORS

Our 2023 seniors were inducted with great excitement. We are so proud of them officially becoming school leaders and can’t wait to see what great role models they continue to be throughout the year.

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8,790

A lot has been happening at Greenmount lately. The new school leaders have been inducted (above), plastic bottles have been re-purposed as instruments (left), preps have busy learning (below left) and sandpit volcanoes! (below).

Cambooya State School

Nine weeks down and only one to go until the first term of school for 2023 is done. Where has that time gone.

Here at Cambooya State School we know the Easter holidays are close as we celebrated Easter on our most recent parade. The R.I. ladies (Helen, Jean and Marion) and Father Brian spent time conducting our Easter celebration with students, staff and parents. Many children participated in the celebration and a free dress day was held with many wearing Easter themed clothing and head gear.

Thank you to Helen, Jean, Marion and Father Brian for their hard work during the term and in organising our Easter celebration.

NOBBY STATE SCHOOL

CENTRAL DOWNS TRIATHLON AND MINI TRIATHLON

On Friday 3rd March, Nobby hosted the Central Downs Triathlon and also held a mini version for our younger students.

The effort and sportsmanship shown by every single competitor in the Central Downs Triathlon was nothing short of outstanding.

It is an extremely gruelling event and every single student tried their very best.

Congratulations to Mason for winning the 10 year boy age champion and to Ava and Brylee for being awarded runner-up in their respective age groups.

As for the littlies, they also did a sensational job and should also be applauded for their efforts.

INTERHOUSE CROSS COUNTRY

Our Leslie vs. Cunningham cross country was held on Tuesday 14th February.

Every student who participated gave their absolute all in this tough event.

Students born 2018-2014 completed a 1 kilometre run; students born 2013 completed a 2 kilometre run; and students born 2012 and 2011 completed a 3 kilometre run.

In what was an incredibly close finish, Leslie was the victorious house for only the fifth time since 2007.

On your marks... Get Ready... Go!

Hodgsonvale Community Sports Club

A good crowd attended our Friday night function with Maureen’s meatloaf and veges being a hit. This week it is a barbecue and fresh salad from Helen and Colin, which will be $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under. The members’ draw for $40 was not won this week, with member number 3, Elizabeth Schmidt being drawn out but she was not there so the members’ draw goes up to $60 next week. Remember you must be there and be financial to pick up the prize. This will be our final Friday night function until October as Easter is the following weekend. There will be a Sunday lunch/afternoon function later in the year and possibly a State of Origin night.

The air conditioned Sports Club is open for private functions, so please contact Mark our booking officer. The mobile contact is 0431 014 618 for further details, inspections and future bookings but is not the contact number for tennis court bookings. You can also check out our website to see what facilities are available or you can send an email to hcsc8315@ gmail.com Discounts apply for financial members who hire the facility.

The tennis courts are available for hire. The keys are available at the Hodgson Vale shop. Hire costs are $4 an hour for financial members and $8 an hour for non financial members. Lighting costs are $2 an hour at night. Government Covid rules must be adhered to at all times while the tennis courts are being used. The toilets at the Sports Club are also available for tennis hirers.

- Ted Cavanagh

Nobby’s triathlon stars, Mason, Ava and Brylee.