2014 a year February
January
DRIVERS across the state were set to save millions of dollars after the Victorian Government made the decision to abolish the need to display registration stickers for light vehicles. CONSTRUCTION began for a multi-million dollar health hub to unify a range of GV Health’s health and wellbeing services at the historic WB Hunter site on the corner of Corio and Edward Streets in Shepparton. LOCAL BUILDER, Kane Constructions was appointed for the new $18.3M Numurkah Hospital, after the building suffered significant damage in the 2012 floods. l SHEPPARTON rocked out to the chart topping hits of home-grown pop star, Jessica Mauboy, when she visited the region as part of her nationwide tour, NESCAFÉ Presents: Jessica Mauboy To The End Of The Earth.
l THE future of the last fruit and vegetable processing plant in Australia, SPC, was left hanging in the balance after the Federal Government decided not to invest $25M as a oneoff grant to help with the companies planned upgrade. AFTER holding the fort as Member for Shepparton for 18 years, the Hon Jeanette Powell made the announcement she would be stepping down from the seat at the November election. GREATER Shepparton City Council announced it would be conducting a $250,000 feasibility study, to determine a new home for the Shepparton Art Museum. 52 JOBS were to be created locally after Pactum Dairy announced it would be completing an expansion thanks to a $950,000 investment by the Victorian Coalition Government.
March
• FIRE devastated the region when 10,000ha were destroyed by the Wunghnu Complex Fire, but some people in the region were surprised by the generosity that followed including when Shepparton Marketplace partnered with the GMCU to kick start a Bale Out Fodder Appeal. • GREATER Shepparton City Council officially launched the Make Shepparton Greater Campaign, which aimed to highlight five infrastructure projects needed to help meet the needs of a growing community, kicking off with focus being placed on inadequate rail services. l A NEW proposal to close Andrew Fairley Avenue and sell the land to SPC was put out for public consultation, with SPC planning to utilise the road for its expansion.
August
July
l THE Committee for Greater Shepparton put the need to improve logistics in the region into the spotlight, meeting with the Parliament of Victoria Rural and Regional Committee to discuss the potentials of introducing High Productivity Vehicles and Bonded Warehousing to the region. ANOTHER prisoner fled the grounds of Dhurringile Prison, making him the sixth in 10 months. STATISTICS released by Victoria Police stated that there had been a 53.3 percent rise in burglaries on businesses over the prior 12 month period, leading police to urge the community to be cautious. AFTER 26 years in its current condition, it was announced that the Shepparton Library would get a $650,000 upgrade.
GOULBURN Valley Grammar School’s music department would get a $3M facelift, giving the 30 year old building a major overhaul. HOSPITALS across the region shared in $170M of funding to help with operation and employment costs. GROWERS, residents and businesses alike let out a sigh of relief when Coca-Cola Amatil made the announcement it would be recommencing its planned $78M investment into Shepparton’s SPC plant. l THE Shepparton Gators broke an 11 year drought, taking out the Big V Basketball Championships and beating the Casey Cavaliers by just one point.
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September
THE Great Escape Car Rally left from Shepparton for the first time in its 12 year history, seeing an array of colourful characters take on the 10 day adventure in the name of Cystic Fibrosis. l $2.5M of muscle car mastery went on display at the Shepparton Motor Museum as part of their month long Shelby Exhibit. AFTER being destroyed by fire at the start of the year, the Shepparton Golf Club was ‘restored to a tee’ after a $1.4M rebuild was completed.
in review April
June
SPEED limits across the region were altered by VicRoads, with plans to gradually phase out 70km/h and 90km/h speed limits. l ANZAC Day 2014 was a special occasion, marking the centenary of the beginning of WWI. R A DEVSK I Coolstores announced it would be co-investing with the state government to boost the company’s productivity and competitiveness, through a $3.5M upgrade which included a $250,000 grant form the Victorian Coalition Government.
May
October
SHEPPARTON was finally allocated an early morning train service that would arrive in Melbourne before 9am. ICONIC Shepparton businesses J Furphy & Sons and Furphy Foundry commemorated 150 years by holding a special celebration and officially opening the Furphy Museum at Emerald Bank. AN $18M expansion at Pac t u m Da i r y was announced that would create 14 new full time jobs. l LOCAL cricket star, Teagan Bret t was chosen to represent V ic tor ia as te a m Captain at the Under-15 National Championships in Sydney. THE sod was turned to mark t he b eg i n n i ng of construction of a $10 .4M Yout h Foyer that will provide integrated and supported accommodation for up to 40 young people aged between 16 and 24.
l SHEPPARTON was awarded a win in the state budget, after the announcement that the Victorian Coalition Government would be allocating $73M toward the construction of a new court complex and facilities. AFTER having a clock tower in the Shepparton skyline since the late 1880s, the clock face on the ‘Telstra Tower,’ was removed to make way for advertising material. A NEW state-of-the-art $5M robotic dairy was officially opened at the University of Melbourne’s Dookie Campus, giving the university the capability to demonstrate innovative dairying practices to farmers and students.
l THANKS to a wetter and warmer Autumn, crop growers across the region were reaping the benefits with a bumper start to the cropping season. BUSINESS in Shepparton’s CBD began to pick up as many of the city centre’s empty stores began filling up, with new both local and non-local businesses investing in the township. THE proposal to close Andrew Fairley Avenue was not received well by the community, leading to Greater Shepparton City Council voting to keep the road open and to not sell it to SPC. DINNY Adem was named as the seventh Greater Shepparton City Councillor following an electoral countback, which saw him replace Milvan Muto who was to be jailed for perverting the course of justice.
december
l AFTER holding the seat of Shepparton for 47 years, The Nationals saw an end to their reign when Independent, Suzanna Sheed won the state election. VICTORIA became the first state to introduce precommitment gaming machines into gaming venues.
november
MORE than 80 businesses from around the region were recognised at the 2014 Powercor 95 3SR FM Business Awards, with John Anderson Pharmacy being inducted into the Shepparton Chamber of Commerce and Industry Hall of Fame. GREATER Shepparton City Council’s Mayor, Cr Jenny Houlihan was contested at the Mayoral election by Cr Dennis Patterson, who was voted in to the role. l T H E livelihood of residents and businesses at Strathmerton was hanging in the balance, after Parks Victoria closed off roads to popular camping areas, diminishing the township’s tourism appeal.
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