Gold and bronze for Oak Haven Brewery

Gosford RSL Club’s Oak Haven Brewery has been awarded two gold and two bronze medals in the 2023 Australian International Beer Awards, the largest annual beer competition in the world judging both draught and packaged beer.

Oak Haven took home the gold for Sly Grog (pale ale) and Rusty Sail (mid) as well as the bronze for Dr. Paul’s Pils (pale ale) and Bolthole (porter-style dark ale).

The West Gosford brewery continues to develop different beers, available on tap for local members.

The ales are crafted by expert brewer Steve Morenos, who has 13 years’ experience in brewing American, British, European and Belgian beers.

The brewery has state-ofthe-art equipment, uses fresh

Four new members have been elected to the Board of the Central Conservatorium of Music, bringing a new wealth of experience.

They are former Chief Media and Digital Officer of New York’s Lincoln Centre for Performing Arts Elizabeth Scott, digital transformation leader Janet Attwood, magazine founder Catharine Retter and corporate finance expert Douglas Wallace. They join the following members who were re-elected; Claire Braund (President), Hilary Day, Rob Kitchen, Penny Lee, Bettina Pidcock, Kate McCallum and Paul A Murnane. Board President Braund, who is co-founder of Women on Boards, said both the new and re-elected Board members were a showcase of the depth of director talent now available on the Central Coast.

“This highly experienced and skills-based board will work

First home buyers on the Central Coast are set to save, with the NSW Government introducing legislation into NSW Parliament to deliver on its election commitment to create a simpler, fairer stamp duty concession scheme.

Under the changes, stamp duty exemptions for first home buyers will be lifted from $650,000 to $800,000 and stamp duty concessions from $800,000 to $1M. This means a first home local produce where possible, no preservatives or artificial ingredients, supports farmers using ethical and environmental sustainable practices and utilises the world’s best, highpurity hops.

In naming the brewery and beer brands, significant consideration has been given to pay tribute to the history of Gosford RSL.

Oak Haven Brewery’s first pale ale has been named Sly

Grog in memory of the initial members who were a little cheeky in exchanging coupons for alcohol in the basement, to ensure no alcohol was technically being sold.

Brisbane Water was famous for its shipwrights from the 1820s through to 1950s and the surrounding hills provided the hardwoods, demand for quality vessels grew, the old hands mentored the newcomers and family businesses flourished producing all manner of ketches, schooners, ferries, launches, barges and pearlers.

Rusty Sail is named in honour of this proud heritage and the fact that some locals say they still hear the rusty old rigging of the ghost ships plying these waters on a dark, windy night.

Dr James Paul owned the land which housed the original home of Gosford RSL Club as well as the Anglican church.

As a man of the highest morals and concerned for the health of the returned servicemen, Dr Paul decreed that “no intoxicating liquor would be sold” on that

Con’s four new board members

closely with our new CEO Lisa Barnes in our newly refurbished building to bring music education and performance opportunities to students across all walks of life,” she said.

Elizabeth Scott, who is also the former Executive Director of Create NSW, has been appointed Board VicePresident.

She also serves as Board member of the US’s largest artist peak body, Fractured Atlas, and as a Director of the Australian Romantic and Classical Orchestra.

An accomplished performing artist who has freelanced as a conductor with opera companies, choruses and festivals across New York, her recent work in Australia includes conducting the Orange Symphony Orchestra and the East Sydney Chamber Orchestra.

She recently assumed the role of music director with the premises. the arts to the local community and was grateful to be contributing to the Conservatorium’s next steps.

Central Coast’s VERVE Voices.

Prior to her arts sector executive work, she ran the business of Major League Baseball’s film and television production for more than a decade.

Douglas Wallace is highly experienced in the fields of investment management and corporate finance.

Based on the Central Coast, he works remotely as a senior executive of an asset management firm in South Africa.

Prior to his move into investment management, he held various corporate finance roles, participating in numerous M&A and capital markets transactions.

He strongly believes in the long-term value of education in all spheres of life and that music education in particular provides unique benefits and transferable life skills.

Janet Attwood is an accomplished transformation leader with more than 20 years’ experience in the public sector.

Our crafty forefathers found a way around that but Gosford RSL Club owes a great debt to the generosity of Dr Paul, for allowing the use of his property, so his name has been immortalised with a loweralcohol beer – Dr Paul’s Pils.

The Bolthole, Oak Haven Brewery’s first dark ale, has been named to capture the essence of the basement bar in the original Gosford RSL premises.

In the early days the bar was nothing more than a basement full of beer.

Gosford RSL is very proud of the Oak Haven range and is committed to providing its members with the finest locally brewed beers on tap at Gosford RSL.

Catharine Retter is the publisher of Coast magazine and an experienced board director and CEO with a strong career background in management, marketing, tourism and publishing.

She specialises in digital transformation, strategic planning, regulatory policy, compliance, governance, and risk and has a deep understanding of work health and safety.

She is a Non-Executive Director and on the finance committee of the Central Coast Community Women’s Health Centre.

A born-and-bred Coastie, Attwood said she understood the key role the Conservatorium played in bringing music and

First home buyers set to save

buyer purchasing a $800,000 home will save up to $31,090. With the growth of house prices on the Coast slowing, the new scheme will provide additional relief to ensure more first home buyers have a chance of owning their home. The legislation will also improve the integrity and targeting of first home buyer assistance programs, increasing the requirement to live in the home from six months to 12 months and offering greater support to those living in regional NSW.

Premier Chris Minns said he understood the stress of buying a first home. “I want more singles, couples and families realising this dream.,” he said.

“This is a fairer and simpler system to ensure more first home buyers have a chance of owning their first property.”

Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said the move delivers on a key election promise.

“This policy will deliver the most help to the first home buyers most at risk of leaving the housing market all together as interest rates go up,” he said.

“Now five out of every six first home buyers will get help to

She has been a senior marketer of some of Australia’s major events, including the bicentennial celebrations, Sydney 2000 Olympic Bid and Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Retter has been a member of the Central Coast Tourism Advisory Committee for Central Coast Council and similarly for the Gosford-Erina Business Chamber.

She is also the author of nine published non-fiction books, as well as being a closet novel writer.

Source: Central Coast Conservatorium own the roof over their heads.

“It will benefit more first home buyers overall and more fairly goes to those who need it most.

“The new thresholds for stamp duty exemptions and concessions are a simpler and fairer way to help more first home buyers than the property tax, which helped a smaller cohort of first home buyers.”

Source: NSW Government

In the wake of World Hypertension Day on May 17, Blooms the Chemist is urging residents to have their blood pressure checked regularly.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the leading chronic health conditions in Australia, responsible for the hospitalisation of more than 600,000 people each year.

High blood pressure is a common condition that affects an estimated 1.28 billion adults aged 30-79 worldwide.

But an estimated 46 per cent of adults are unaware they suffer from the condition and only one in five adults with hypertension have their blood pressure controlled.

The year’s theme for World Hypertension Day was Measure Your Blood Pressure Accurately, Control It and Live Longer, with a focus on combatting low awareness rates, particularly in low to middle-income areas, and greater education on accurate blood pressure