Gippsland Lifestyle Online #01 by gippsland life

free online issue 01

have a read on us

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P (03) 5662 2327 F (03) 5662 2642 E edney@dcsi.net.au

LMCT 1500

www.edneysleongatha.com.au

RUBY BY PAUL HENDERSON

THE MAGICAL RED GEM CLOSE TO OUR HEART

A natural Australian ruby crystal still embedded in rock

An elegant ruby and diamond 'Elizabeth' eternity ring

One of the most popular gems, ruby has held a fascination for centuries. Look back into history and you'll see rubies as a favourite of royals - a ruby was said to protect and preserve, symbolising love, energy and passion. Rubies are rare and precious, one of nature's most valuable gems, with a breathtaking colour that will enthral.

Curtis Australia also guarantee what they sell you, and provide a professional service and warranty too.

Rubies have an obvious link to a ruby wedding anniversary, but are often seen in eternity rings combined with diamonds to celebrate the birth of a baby, special birthday or 'just because' you want a colourful and distinctive gem. They are wonderfully warm in colour, combining particularly well with yellow and pink golds, and look great set in white gold for a fresh, different look. Given all these wonderful attributes, who wouldn't like a sparkling ruby in a beautiful piece of jewellery? But how do you choose a ruby, and where should you look? Some people are concerned about getting a natural ruby – you might be one of them. If you look locally, rather than on the internet, it removes half of the potential problems – is the ruby genuine or synthetic? Does the photo show the actual gem I'll get? What about the colour – is the photo accurate, does it show the inclusions in the gem?

Seeing rubies for yourself - before you buy is the best way to go. The other half of the problems are solved when you call in to an expert jeweller, such as Curtis Australia in Bairnsdale. Glenn Curtis is a Master Jeweller, and the only expert from outside the USA to be invited to judge the Global Jewellery Design Awards, so you really are in good hands.

A stylish take on a traditional cluster ring with the ruby set in yellow gold

As gem experts with over 50 years of experience this international award winning jeweller will help you choose your special ruby in their relaxed, comfortable and private Macleod Street showroom. You'll not only see beautiful ready to wear jewellery at Curtis Australia you can even have something special crafted just for you, choosing your ruby from their private collection of loose gems from all around the world. Part of that collection includes Australian rubies, and ruby cabochons too – these are smooth, domed gems without facets that look great in more contemporary pieces. The classic faceted look is usually round or oval, but there are other shapes to consider too. You can even see Australian ruby in its natural crystal form still embedded in the rock. Colours range from the softest pinks to the deepest blood reds, and a good ruby will always have an appealing colour and light that touches you. Often found in rings of course, but equally exquisite in pendants or earrings, rubies are a truly gorgeous gem. Wherever you wear your ruby, enjoy it and cherish it too. Second only to diamond in terms of hardness, a ruby will, if looked after, stay beautiful for a long time to come. And, because Curtis Australia have their own jewellers working in their own studio (well worth a look when you call in) they will create a personal design and hand craft a special piece of ruby jewellery just for you, or your loved one. When it comes to choosing your ruby, or any other gem for your special moment you really need expert help, so be sure to seek it out. That way you'll be assured of love, energy and passion in your unique ruby!

A stunning oval ruby embraced with brilliant diamonds in yellow and white gold

You can see more at Curtis Australia’s stunning work at www.curtisaustralia.com or, next time you are in Bairnsdale, why not pop into their studio at 129 Macleod Street. Ph | 03 5152 1089

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EVANS BP JOHNSONVILLE JOHNSONVILLE

1760 Princes Highway, Johnsonville, Vic 3902

Office/Fax: 5156 4102 Workshop: 5156 4233 Email: johnsonville@evanspetroleum.com.au

BP Service Stations FISH CREEK 2 Falls Road, Fish Creek, Vic 3959 Tel/Fax: 5683 2521 Email: fishcreek@evanspetroleum.com.au

FOSTER 94 Main Street, Foster, Vic 3960 Tel/Fax: 5682 2008 Email: foster@evanspetroleum.com.au

INVERLOCH 25 Williams Street, Inverloch, Vic 3996 Tel/Fax: 5674 1442 Email: inverloch@evanspetroleum.com.au

JOHNSONVILLE 1760 Princes Highway, Johnsonville, Vic 3902 Office/Fax: 5156 4102 Workshop: 5156 4233 Email: johnsonville@evanspetroleum.com.au

KORUMBURRA 2-8 Commercial Street, Korumburra, Vic 3950 Tel/Fax: 5655 1668 Email: korumburra@evanspetroleum.com.au

LEONGATHA 95 Bair Street, Leongatha, Vic 3953 Tel/Fax: 5662 2440 Email: leongatha@evanspetroleum.com.au

BP Johnsonville Automotive Workshop since 2015, offering outstanding customer service with qualified, experienced mechanics that have been in the industry for many years. BP Johnsonville stocks a wide range of products and services to better serve their customers. Opening Hours | Monday - Sunday | 6:00am - 8:00pm

MIRBOO NORTH 106 Ridgway, Mirboo North, Vic 3871 Tel/Fax: 5668 2377 Email: mirboo@evanspetroleum.com.au

MUDDY CREEK 26 Foster Road, Toora, Vic 3962 Tel/Fax: 5686 2324 Email: toora@evanspetroleum.com.au

NEWMERELLA 5327 Princes Highway, Newmerella, Vic 3886 Tel/Fax: 5154 1601 Email: newmerella@evanspetroleum.com.au

SALE 344 Raglan Street, Sale, Vic 3850 Tel: 5143 1030 Fax: 5143 2686 Email: sale@evanspetroleum.com.au

TRARALGON 23-29 Shakespeare Street, Traralgon, Vic 3844 Tel: 5174 1138 Email: Tim@evanspetroleum.com.au

WESTSIDE 7 Anderson Street, Leongatha, Vic 3953 Tel/Fax: 5662 2834 Email: westside@evanspetroleum.com.au

WONTHAGGI 103-105 McKenzie Street, Wonthaggi, Vic 3995 Tel: 5672 3988 Fax: 5672 5229 Email: wonthaggi@evanspetroleum.com.au

Service Manager Stuart Thomson

YARRAM 325 Commercial Street, Yarram, Vic 3971 Tel: 5182 6019 Fax: 5182 6458 Email: yarram@evanspetroleum.com.au

EVANS PETROLEUM HEAD OFFICE 22 Hughes Street, Leongatha Vic 3953 Tel: 5662 2217 Web: www.evanspetroleum.com.au

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gippsland wellbeing books

UNCAGE THE LION WITHIN NAVIGATE THE JUNGLE OF YOUR MIND TO UNCOVER YOUR PURPOSE, FIND DEEPER LEVELS OF HAPPINESS, AND LET GO OF WHAT NO LONGER SERVES YOU BOOK BIO

ZOE’S BIO

“Chances are, something deep inside has been calling to you for a long time; you’ve just been too afraid to listen.

Zoe spent the first 22 years of her life saying “No” to opportunities, lacking clarity, feeling invisible, and that she would never amount to greatness. It wasn’t until she found the courage to trust her own inner lion, that she truly transformed her life. In doing so, she stepped into her wisdom, found her life’s purpose, and embraced who she truly was: a strong, extroverted woman who dives head first into the projects which light her soul on fire.

Instead of dulling this voice by latching onto short-term problems and temporary fixes, why don’t you stop and listen to what you have been searching for all along? We all have the answer to what brings us happiness, and it doesn’t come from the latest diet, materialistic possession, or number on the scales. It comes from finding our true north, and following the calling of our inner lion.

And in going through this journey herself, Zoe has since dedicated her life to helping people do just this, so that they can find purpose and enjoyment from their lives, and embrace who they truly are. www.zoehyde.com.au | 0431 428 424

In essence, your inner lion is your authentic self. The version of you who knows what she wants, who embraces fear, who challenges the status quo, and who paves her own path. Allowing your inner lion to shine comes from finally being honest about what you want, following your purpose, creating better habits, and refusing to listen to fear and judgement from yourself or those around you. We all have the power to create a meaningful and fulfilled life; we just need to find the courage to unlock the cage and let our true selves shine.” ‘UNCAGE THE LION WITHIN’ by Zoe Hyde Is available for purchase from Booktopia | Angus & Robertson Online | www.zoehyde.com.au

TRUTH, LIES AND THE POWER OF CHOICE BY WENDY MORRISS As we are not man-made and part of the natural world, we all have feelings and emotions. Generally, we categorise these feelings into good and bad. We strive to retain the good feelings and do whatever we can to escape or eliminate the bad and we live in a society that offers a variety of unhealthy solutions. But, what if I were to tell you that all our feelings and emotions are as essential to our health and happiness as the air we breathe and can be used to gain anything we want in life. Some of us may have uncomfortable or painful feelings that seem to affect every aspect of our lives. It may be suffering through each day with extreme anxiety, depression, stress, anger or overwhelming panic attacks and sadly, some may have reached the point of feeling suicidal and my heart goes out to anyone that has.

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More often than not, we will have perceived reasons for feeling the way we do. It may be a financial crisis, a difficult relationship, the end of a relationship, the loss of a loved one, workplace bullying or a traumatic experience and believe we will feel better if we change our current situation. Then there are times when we just don't know why we feel the way we do, which leads to the added burden of feeling helpless and without hope. This is something I have researched extensively for many years and you will find through the pages of this easy to read little book, the one miraculous reason we feel the way we do and the natural, spiritual connection it has to our beliefs and our perceptions of reality. Published by BlackWattle Publishing, Australia and available on Amazon Kindle

BOOK RELEASE 'A Plan Unravelled' by Lia Spencer $24.99 Ruby was only a child when she wrote out an ambitious plan: Move to New York Get an Acting Gig Make money She achieved it all by the age of 18. Fast forward fifteen years and Ruby's hit rock bottom. She’s broke, unemployed, and in the tabloids for all the wrong reasons. Her reputation is in tatters and her career is on the line. Ruby’s publicist, Michelle, has a damage-control plan. She insists that Ruby move back to her lifeless, rural hometown in Australia to live with her dysfunctional family until the scathing headlines disappear and the scandal blows over. Despite her initial reluctance, Ruby quickly embraces the break from the bustling, cab-ridden concrete jungle. She indulges in carbs, spends quality time with her family, and reunites with her high school sweetheart. But when Ruby strikes up a romance with the mysterious guy next door, she is confronted with dirty secrets, hard truths, and is forced to make a choice between a familiar past or an unchartered future. And if Ruby's learned anything from her mistake, it's that one bad decision could instantly derail any well-thought-out plan.

AUTHOR BIO Lia Spencer is a Canadian-born journalist who now works and lives in country Victoria. Having spent more than a decade working in print media, Lia now juggles creative writing, freelance reporting and mum duties from the comfort of her own home in Bunyip. You can see samples of her work or read her personal blog at liaspencer.com. 'A Plan Unravelled' is Lia Spencer’s debut novel. Elements of the book were fuelled by Lia’s childhood dream of a life of becoming a famous actress, though she was hopeless at acting. The setting, based both in New York City and rural Australia, was inspired by Lia’s upbringing in a small town and her love of New York City after honeymooning there in 2013. However, the book is purely fictional and written for anyone who wants to escape from reality and dive into a blissful story about a woman swapping a life of fame and fortune in bustling NYC for a much quieter one in her quiet, mundane Australian hometown. It’s been described as a heartwarming read to enjoy with a glass of red during the winter, and the perfect beach book to dive into during the Summer.

'A PLAN UNRAVELLED' IS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE FROM Elephant House Group-Trunk Online Store, Booktopia, Barnes and Noble, Angus and Robertson and Amazon

IT IS ALSO AVAILABLE AT ALL GOOD BOOKSTORES INCLUDING Need2Read in Warragul, Impodimo Living and Giving in Garfield and Variety Bookroom in Moe.

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THE KORUMBURRA DENTIST

The Korumburra Family Dental Surgery is located upstairs in a historical building in Korumburra and blends today’s dentistry with a cost effective professional environment. Dr Gary Wilkie BDSc (Melb) has been servicing the Bass Coast and South Gippsland communities for over 30 years, as a local family owned and operated dental practice which was established in 1945.

Dr Gary Wilkie

We bulk bill eligible child dental scheme and Veteran Affairs patients.

B.D.Sc. (Melb) L.D.S. F.R.A.C.D.S. F.A.I.C.D. Member of Australian Dental Association

Call now 5655 1026 1 Radovick Street, Korumburra 3950

Support LOCAL, SUPPORT Gippsland "We are open for Business"

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SUPPORTING LOCAL BUSINESS SUPPORTING GIPPSLAND GET ONLINE WITH GALLERIES AND CURRENT STORIES, PLUS MORE INFORMATION ON HOW TO ADVERTISE AND GET IN TOUCH WITH US. ADVERTISE + CONTRIBUTE + ENQUIRE

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PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE SEEING THE END RESULTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL WORKS CAN TAKE A WHILE. TREES TAKE YEARS TO GROW, LANDSCAPES TAKE TIME TO CHANGE, BUT BEING PATIENT IS SOMETHING THAT STAFF AT WEST GIPPSLAND CATCHMENT MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY (WGCMA) KNOW ALL TOO WELL.

Tree planting Toora North – a new site at Toora North has had more than 10,000 trees planted to help protect Corner Inlet. Over the coming years, this site will be a beautiful forest and will help native animals move through the landscape.

WGCMA CEO, Martin Fuller, said that seeing the difference their work made was extremely rewarding. “As an organisation, we’ve been working with our partners and community to create a better environment for more than 20 years,” said Mr Fuller. “But this takes time. Through our projects this year, we planted almost 200 hectares of trees and vegetation. The equivalent of about 100 football fields. “To see the outcomes of this work we have to go back and visit some of our past worksites. When we look at Silcock’s Hill in Corner Inlet, Heart Morass near Sale or our work on Coalition Creek in Leongatha we can see the difference our work combined with maintenance and time makes.” WGCMA develops and delivers projects to improve and protect soil, water and biodiversity.

This approach to looking after natural assets is the best way to ensure Gippsland continues to be one of Victoria’s largest agriculture producers, while also protecting important ecosystems and species.

These trees will then grow to filter run off from farms and improving water quality.”

“Our work is focused on catchments in the western half of Gippsland. We work with farmers and communities to protect our rivers and improve the land that has an impact on those rivers.

“Other works we’ve done this year include 1,444 hectares of weed control, 6,869 hectares of pest animal control and 72 hectares of earthworks. We know that this work results in better habitat for fish in Corner Inlet, a healthier Gippsland Lakes system as well as a more beautiful environment that we live, work and play in.”

“Since European settlement, our rivers have been modified, straightened and water is taken out for farming and household use. Trees have been removed from the landscape and all this has an impact on the health of our local environment. “Over the last 12 months, we funded almost 70 kilometres of fencing. This fencing is important to make sure that we’re protecting the juvenile trees from being stepped on or eaten by stock.

These pictures of Coalition Creek near Leongatha shows how time and maintenance can make a real difference to a waterway.

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Projects that WGCMA tackles are complementary to each other.

A constant feature of WGCMA’s approach is working with energetic local people and organisations to take action that helps ensure future generations and the environment benefit from the wealth of Gippsland’s natural resources. “Our local farmers have done a huge amount of work with our staff and partners this year, with

Community partners are vital to catchment health. Kate Walsh points out some key features at the Black Spur wetlands.

more than 15,000 hectares of land set to benefit from whole farm plans, irrigation farm plans and soil erosion management plans. “They’ve also done work to save more than 2,000 megalitres of water by making irrigation and other farm improvements. This is more than 800 Olympic sized swimming pools.” In June, more than 200 community members, scientists, farmers and agency staff members got together to better understand the impacts climate change is having on agriculture in Gippsland. The conference, funded through the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program, featured the best available science and speakers on a range of topics about managing the climate impacts on farms.

“It was fantastic to see the energy of the participants. Many of these agricultural producers are facing the impacts of climate change on their properties every day but their willingness to share experiences and solutions was inspiring.

Much of the work has been completed at Horseshoe Bend on a new fishway which will allow fish to get around the tunnel and to access the upper reaches of the Thomson and Aberfeldy rivers.

“Like many of our projects, delivering this conference was a partnership effort and we were really proud to work with community groups to host this event.”

“We’ll be doing fish monitoring as well as regular site visits, but we’re excited that the construction is completed and the fishway is being used,” added Mr Fuller.

The CMA also tackled fish passage in one of its largest river systems this year, the Thomson River. For a long time, the tunnel at Horseshoe Bend has been a barrier to fish migration, as water is diverted from the often-dry riverbed through the tunnel, effectively cutting off almost all of Horseshoe Bend and stopping migratory fish from accessing more than 85km of pristine habitat.

“Completing this fishway has been a high priority for us for a long time.” For more information on any of these projects and many more, please visit wgcma.vic.gov.au Photographs and references courtesy of WGCMA

Event organiser, Sam Shannon, said this was the first time a climate conference like this was hosted in Gippsland. Local farmers saved more than 800 Olympic sized swimming pools full of water this year by making irrigation improvements and other efficiency measures on their farms. Photo by Craig Moodie

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AT G R O W M A S T E R T R A R A L G O N I N S P I R AT I O N A W A I T S Y O U

GROW MASTER TRARALGON

COME TO GROW MASTER FOR ALL SHOPPING, GIFTWARE, HOME WARES, LADIES FASHION AND GARDEN SUPPLIES OR CHOOSE A GIFT CARDÂ

W E A R E Y O U R D E S T I N AT I O N

For advice, range and quality. For an experience and a garden encounter that will enchant you. For solutions, inspiration and motivation. WANDER THROUGH THE LAYERS OF OUR BEAUTIFUL GARDEN CENTRE, EACH STEP LEADING YOU INTO ANOTHER CHAPTER OF IDEAS FOR YOUR HOME, GARDEN AND LIFESTYLE.

Hours | Monday to Sunday 9.00am - 5.00pm 62 Argyle St, Traralgon Vic 3844 Ph: (03) 5174 2861 Em: growmastertraralgon@yahoo.com.au www.growmastertraralgon.com.au

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WINTER

INSULATION

With winter coming on fast, our design team decided to throw around a few hints for designing the perfect home to keep the family snug all winter.

Insulation choices are critical to the comfort and efficiency of your home for years to come. Because all our designs are tailored to the client’s needs, there are many options. This is one thing that’s almost impossible to change in an existing home!

FIRES If we said “Cosy house in winter” we’ll take a bet the first image in your mind is a nice burning wood fire! It’s the very image of snugness when it’s cold outside. Since all our Kingbuilt homes are custom designed, the fireplace can be placed in the optimum location. There’s nothing like a real wood-burning (or ‘Solid fuel’) fire, for the ultimate in winter comfort and authenticity. However, you have to chop the wood, stoke the fire and clean up the mess. Still, if you live on a farm, or have teenagers and a 4x4, you may not mind! If you have timber on your property it may even be cheaper than gas or electricity. One of the most popular solutions is a gas log fireplace, which will eliminate the work and mess of a solid fuel fire. Some gas fires are designed just to be beautiful, others can be extremely effective and efficient heaters for a large portion of your house. Just flick the switch and enjoy the glow! While still requiring care, they can also be safer than a wood fire if you have children or pets. If the purchase or installation cost rule out both these options, there are also some attractive electric fireplaces available, but are generally not as realistic.

High efficiency insulation is more common and affordable than ever. The main elements are wall insulation, ceiling insulation, roof sisalation, window glazing and subfloor insulation (in houses on stumps), and Kingbuilt can optimise the different elements to get the highest rating for the most reasonable cost. Upgrading to a higher performance material can be cheaper than you might expect. “When I built my 25 square home a few years back, I upgraded the wall and ceiling batts to the next size, then used 55mm foil-backed blanket instead of plain roof sisalation,” one of our design team, Ollie, told us. “I also upgraded to double glazing. I kept the footprint of my house fairly simple and square to minimise the wall area to floor area ratio. Even though I had a lot of window area, my house was rated at 8 stars energy efficiency – and it only cost a few thousand dollars compared to the bare bones requirements.” Upgraded insulation is wasted if not properly installed, though. That’s why it’s important to use a real locally owned builder with good quality controls and local trades.

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GLAZING Upgraded glazing offers a dramatic efficiency boost without having to change any other building elements. You can get high efficiency single glazing, such as ‘Low-E’ or low emissivity glass, but we still love double glazing because of its sheer effectiveness. Plus, double glazing is far better for blocking out sound, which can be important if you live near a main road. Kingbuilt recently upgraded our design tools so we can select double glazing for just the windows that will make the most difference to your rating and energy bill - great for getting the most bang for your buck. This is only possible with bespoke design. “There’s still a place for Low-E glass, though,” said Ollie, “If I built again, I’d use it in my stacking patio doors, because they’re very heavy when double glazed.”

DRAFTS All the good appliances and materials are no good if there’s a whistling draft of cold air where you need it least. Many of us grew up in older homes with cold spots everywhere, and thankfully a well built new house with all the latest materials and standards can eliminate these. Kingbuilt homes are constructed by high quality trades to ensure all those leaky gaps are filled and sealed, and finished off with quality Raven door seals and strips all round. “I never really knew how different a well built house could be,” said Ollie, “Until Kingbuilt built my house in 2013. My house holds its temperature sometimes for days, without even having to turn on the heating or cooling. It’s not just cheaper to run, it’s also far more comfortable for everyone. My wife and kids are snug and safe and I have no regrets on the extra care designing and building my house well, and the extra few pennies to do a great job of it.” Contact Kingbuilt on 1300 546 428 today to see what we could build for you! Alternatively, drop into one of our display homes in Traralgon or Warragul. 1300 546 428 | sales@kingbuilt.com.au www.kingbuilt.com.au

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BOATING SINCE 1964

LIVE THE DREAM

CAMPION EX21 After an absence of almost a year, Crawford Marine has returned to the waters in our Summer issue and appropriately in the waters of the beautiful Westernport Bay. We took off from the revamped Corinella boat ramp. Corinella has three boat ramps which is truly needed to cope with the demand. Terry and I were greeted by Alan Morris of Campion Australia at Corinella, and we set off in the sturdy waters of the bay.

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Since our last boating venture, Crawford Marine has invested in the new Campion range of boats and I was the lucky one to go out on the Campion EX21 which is a 6.55 metre walk around boat, which means there is tons of room on board and with a full walk around deck and self-draining non skid floor, it means you can move around the craft with complete ease and peace of mind.

THE CAMPION EX21 IS A 6.55 METRE WALK AROUND BOAT, WHICH MEANS THERE IS TONS OF ROOM ON BOARD...

The weather was quite bright when we left Corinella and after a few set up shots for more photos taken ably by Alison Kuiter, the Campion EX21 showed its brilliant versatility in manoeuvrability and pick up speed, the EX21 literally walks on water! I mentioned the weather being promising but on heading into San Remo a brief misty shower welcomed us on arrival but soon cleared. Also, John ‘Bear’ Willis with many years of boating experience, had a spell of driving the boat and it wasn’t easy removing John, I think he enjoyed his spell of running the EX21. There are many great features on display and no doubt the sliding hard top windows, three in floor catch tanks, twin battery system, deck wash, two live tank baits for fishermen, side clears with rear drop curtain and the hardtop is fully lined with LED overhead lighting.

What I noticed most particularly with the EX21 is the way it sliced through the waves with little effort and the pickup speed is quite noticeable. This is probably down to the solidly built hull which is constructed with 3D woven fibreglass and has a Kevlar reinforced keel. Also, as usual our reliable 200hp Mercury 4 stroke did what it does best and how handy is that Vessel View 7” multi function screen with GPS and fish finder. If you like your fishing, recreational pursuits, or just having boating fun then you cannot look past the nifty Campion EX21! Photographs Alison Kuiter and Doug Pell Words Terry Raymond

BOATING SINCE 1964

71-77 Chickerell Street, Morwell 3840 P: 5134 6522 E: info@crawfordmarine.com.au www.crawfordmarine.com.au

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VIRTUE HOMES 'BUILDING EXCELLENCE'

We invite you to visit and be amazed with our wide range of displays to inspire and help with ideas for your future home. 41-45 Standing Drive Traralgon Open 8.30am to 5pm weekdays or by appointment.

AN AWARD WINNING TEAM The company’s success at winning  FIVE MASTER BUILDER AWARDS  TWO HIA VICTORIAN HOUSING AWARDS  2019 LATROBE CITY BUSINESS & TOURISM ASSOCIATION TRADE PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD 2019 WINNING WAS A TESTAMENT TO TEAMWORK. THAT ENTHUSIASM FILTERS DOWN TO ALL OUR CUSTOMERS.

NEW STATE OF THE ART DISPLAY HOME COMING TO WARRAGUL IN 2020 22

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YOUR LOCAL GIPPSLAND BUILDER

2018

2019

WINNER 2019

NEW

SHOWROOM & OFFICE

NOW OPEN Our experienced design and building team offer a complete home building experience including block site inspections, custom home design, interior design and landscaping, all from our location in Traralgon through to Warragul and Drouin.

Having built new homes for over 300 satisfied homeowners in the Greater Gippsland area, Virtue Homes has established a reputation for exceptional quality. Founded by Mick Nicola in 2003 and based in Traralgon, Virtue Homes’ open and honest approach, combined with outstanding attention to detail, allows each client to fully customize their dream home.

Whether it’s your first home or a prestige custom build, Virtue Homes are here to guide you every step of the way. Our years of building experience ensure that you’ll have a stress free and enjoyable journey to your new home.

VIRTUE HOMES DISPLAY HOMES at The Rise Estate in Traralgon OUR TWO DISPLAY HOMES ARE OPEN AND WE INVITE YOU TO VISIT. OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK 11.00 AM - 4.00 PM The homes are situated next to each other in The Rise Estate, Traralgon (just off the Traralgon-Maffra road)

Visit our showroom at 41-45 Standing Drive Traralgon

Phone: 03 5176 5997 Email: info@virtuehomes.com.au

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Nathan Lay

On a high note 24

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From Gippsland to centre stage By Anita Butterworth

As a boy growing up in Gippsland, Nathan Lay never dreamt his voice would carry him to operatic heights, gracing some of Australia’s most prestigious stages. He was far too shy and too conscious that boys from his corner of the country didn’t really sing. But as is usually the case with incredible talent, it never stays hidden for long. The son of two teachers, Nathan spent his early childhood in Morwell, before moving with his family to Churchill. His earliest memories of music were from his mum, who taught guitar during his childhood. “It was a way of making some income while she was home looking after the kids. She has played guitar since she was a teenager and has taught it for years. Anyway, I picked up the guitar one day when I was very young, and was soon strumming along to something on the TV that I was watching. I think that’s when my parents reached the conclusion that I was musical. From then onwards, Mum gave me guitar lessons.” The middle child with two sisters who had a love for dance, Nathan’s interest in the arts intensified after starting high school. “When I started high school, I began playing the trumpet and I reached a relatively high level, but I eventually gave it up in Year 11 to pursue my singing more seriously. There just weren’t enough hours in the day to be working on my singing and trumpet at the same time.” While Nathan’s passion for singing was a slow burn, it’s something that was always simmering under the surface. “I always knew I could sing. It was actually about confidence more than anything. I expressed my musicality in other ways because I was too shy or too embarrassed of my voice to sing in front of others. "I didn’t have mates who were good male singers - it just wasn’t a thing in my life. I wasn’t exposed to it enough, and it felt like I would be putting myself out there in a way that I wasn’t comfortable with. It wasn’t until I was about 16 that I thought, “I don’t care”. Funnily enough, it wasn’t a big deal anyway, I was making a mountain out of a molehill.” It was Nathan’s older sister who finally managed to put the shy teenager on centre stage. “I was enjoying writing my own songs and playing the guitar when I was in my mid-teens, but I kept it to myself. During this time my sister kept nagging me to do a local musical. She knew I could sing, and so did the rest of my family, even though I thought it was a secret. Eventually my older sister managed to talk me into auditioning for a musical in Moe with Class Act Productions. This show was directed by the late David Pickburn, who was highly respected in local theatre circles. I was given the main role of Tevye in their junior production of Fiddler on the Roof. That was a bit of a moment where I realised, “Hold on a minute, maybe I am pretty good at this.”

Nabbing the role as the protagonist in his first production at just 16 was enough to light a fire in Nathan’s belly. “That was the point where I finally came out of my shell and sang in public. Once I did that first junior production of Fiddler on the Roof, I caught the theatre bug and found that I really enjoyed it. It just became easier after that. The next year I played Riff in West Side Story with the Latrobe Theatre Company and loved that too. It was a big step forward for me, as it wasn’t a junior production this time. I still have very fond memories of it, and I know I learnt a lot.” One of Nathan’s early mentors was the show’s director Laurie Fildes. “He was very helpful to me in West Side Story and gave me some great direction and coaching. I really enjoyed working with him.” “In that same year, I competed in the Latrobe Valley Eisteddfod and met my first singing teacher, Peter Mander, who was the adjudicator. He told me I had a nice voice and after chatting to him, he offered to teach me. He was Melbournebased, so it meant my parents had to take me to Melbourne every week for lessons. When I was in Year 12, I studied VCE Music, majoring in singing. I had to prepare a lot of repertoire for the examinations, so these singing lessons were very important. As a result of my vocal examination, I was invited to perform in Top Class, something only the highest scoring students in the state achieve.”

Nathan was the lone Music student at his high school, his teacher ferrying him to exams at neighbouring schools. A diligent and talented student, Nathan finished year 12 in 2005, scoring full scholarships to attend the former Melba Memorial Conservatorium of Music. This led him to a new world the world of opera. “I didn’t start singing to become an opera singer, as I enjoyed other styles of music. In fact, I knew nothing about opera before I started my singing training. It was my studies that led me on a classical pathway, and in time, I learnt to love it.” However, while in the throes of his degree, Nathan and his fellow students were told the Conservatorium would be closing its doors. “It was meant to be a four-year degree but I actually managed to do it in three. A few of us were given the option to do two years in one, so I did the third and fourth year of my degree in one year, which was pretty intense.”

“In 2009 I took a year off because I didn’t quite know what I was going to do. I came back to Gippsland and taught guitar for a full year. It was useful because I made some money to build up my bank account.” “After that year of working in Gippsland I moved back to Melbourne again and with the help of a scholarship, started my course at The Opera Studio Melbourne. It was like professional development for opera singers. We attended masterclasses, put on shows including fully staged operas, and built up our repertoire.” After the two-year course, Nathan’s hard work finally began to pay off. “I finished at The Opera Studio at the end of 2011. In 2012, I had a busy year with roles in a few operas. The first company I worked with was Melbourne Opera Company. The key was putting myself out there and getting to know people in the industry. Undertaking courses such as the one at The Opera Studio helped with that.” Nathan, now 31, says that while getting a foot in the opera industry door helps, knowledge is the key. “People will often say it’s who you know, but that’s not all there is to it. You need to be dedicated and work hard at mastering your craft.” Nathan’s exceptional talent and work ethic have seen him land a vast array of roles and guest appearances. He’s performed with Opera Australia, Melbourne Opera, Sydney Chamber Opera, the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic, the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, and extensively with Victorian Opera including completing their Developing Artist Program/Master of Music (Opera Performance) in conjunction with The University of Melbourne. His accolades include winning the National Liederfest, Australian Music Events’ Opera Scholar of the Year, the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Aria, and placing third in the Herald Sun Aria. Nathan also won the 2016 Australian International Opera Award. This gave him the opportunity to study with highly-acclaimed international tenor Dennis O’Neill CBE at the Wales International Academy of Voice, whilst undertaking a Master of Arts in Advanced Vocal Studies. His performance highlights are a running sheet of prized roles, including appearing as ‘Tarquinius’ in the Sydney Chamber Opera’s production of Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia in 2017, and again in 2018 in Hobart as part of the Dark Mofo festival.

A hectic climax to his studies left Nathan with a desire to regroup, and head back to Gippsland.

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Back in 2013, Nathan performed the role of Bunyip Bluegum in Victorian Opera’s world premiere of The Magic Pudding - The Opera. He and the rest of the cast received a Green Room Award for Best Opera Ensemble, and in 2018 he reprised his role in a re-run of this award-winning show. He then worked with Opera Australia touring Victorian schools with its production of By the Light of the Moon (The Owl and the Pussycat). Bookending an auspicious year, Nathan joined popular Australian classical crossover group The Ten Tenors in late 2018 to tour the USA.

“The reason that I have to live in Melbourne is because there’s next to no work for an opera singer in Gippsland. There might be the odd gig here and there, but fulltime work isn’t available. It is always nice to sing at home in Gippsland because it doesn’t happen very often.”

In an already stellar career, Nathan finds it understandably difficult to pinpoint a career highlight but choosing a venue that holds a special place in his heart is slightly easier.

“Something amazing about opera singers is that we don’t use microphones. We sing unamplified and that’s half the reason we go through so much training. We have to work our voices to a superhuman level of strength and vocal dexterity."

“The first time I performed in Hamer Hall on my own, just myself and an orchestra behind me, was a big moment. At the end of 2012, the late Richard Gill, founding artistic director of Victorian Opera, invited me to sing at his Gala. There were moments where I had the opportunity to sing solo, and having a full orchestra behind me was something special.” Nathan will be returning to Gippsland in June 2019 for Winter Journey, a unique project combining an art exhibition with a recital. He will be accompanied on piano by Brian Chapman, who is also from the Gippsland region. “It’s going to be nice to actually perform in Gippsland because the classical music scene rarely goes out to rural areas.”

And what about that young boy in Gippsland all those years ago, hesitant to reveal his gifted voice? Nathan says if only he could tell his teenage self that opera singing would take him to super human heights.

“We’re basically vocal athletes on a level that’s quite hard for most people to comprehend. We’re like Olympians of the voice because we have to train to a point where we can do what almost shouldn’t really be possible. When we’re singing in a space that has 2500 seats with a full orchestra of 100 players behind us, and you can still hear us without a microphone, there’s something quite extreme and magical about that!” Photographs by Andrew Raszevski www.andrewraszevski.com

Nathan Lay on a high note

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sorry is

one of the most overused words in our vocabulary

By Erin Miller

Heartfelt apologies can go a long way in dissolving hostility, encouraging forgiveness, and mending damaged relationships. Yet in everyday life, how many times have you uttered the words, “I’m sorry” when you haven’t actually offended someone or done anything wrong? It seems as though “sorry” has become one of the most overused words around today, used like a reflex or politeness strategy rather than a meaningful apology. We all do it from time to time and certainly may be familiar with some of these examples:

“Sorry, I have a question.” “Sorry, I’m boring you aren’t I?” or “Sorry, would you mind if I get past?” Apologising for being hurt by someone else’s offense, apologising for being over-sensitive, apologising when someone else bumps into you, and even apologising for apologising! But are we actually aware of how over-apologising may impact our lives and those around us? The word “sorry” is defined as an apology, an admission for when something wrong has been done or said. An apology is about taking responsibility and making a commitment to do differently next time. If you aren’t responsible or would do the same again, then it’s not the time to say sorry.

When we use a word for other than it’s true meaning, over time its effectiveness and overuse becomes meaningless and could be sending out the wrong message. If you think about it, using the word “sorry” in any of the above examples, suggests that you’re apologising for speaking up, expressing an opinion and for taking up space – but is this justified? You’re allowed to speak up, to express your opinions and to take up space in the world as much as the next person and you can still be kind, courteous and respectful to others in the process, without unnecessarily apologising!

So, how can you kick over-apologising to the kerb and still be a thoughtful, considerate and caring human being?

Two Embrace your imperfections We are all perfectly imperfect beings, therefore you do not have to apologise for being you, for having a bad day or for things outside of your control.

Three Don’t cry wolf As we’ve explored earlier, the overuse or misuse of a word can deem it meaningless when we need it most. Saying sorry too much can demise the act of a sincere apology when needed.

Four Actions speak louder than words

Flip the script and shift your perspective from a negative to a positive approach – here’s how:

Respond with actions not words. Find an appropriate solution to a challenge through resolution which allows you to move forward.

One Replace the word “sorry”

Five Get support

There are many ways that you can attract a person’s attention before making a request – from a wave, friendly smile or “excuse me”.

If you find yourself racked with guilt and shame even when you’ve done nothing wrong, you may need to take a different approach and find ways to express what you truly mean. Professional support through coaching may be helpful for addressing underlying self-worth issues or a history of trauma.

Express your gratitude with a simple “thank you for listening to me” rather than “sorry, I’m boring you” this allows both people to feel happy, appreciated and heard. Acknowledge another’s expectations with appreciation rather than apology. “Thanks for your patience”, “thanks for waiting for me”, “thanks for your call”.

Remember, there are still plenty of times in life when a sincere and heartfelt apology is what’s most needed, but let’s be mindful of falling into the trap of chronic over-apologising for being you.

Erin Miller is a NLP life coach, mentor, writer and proud mama to 3 very active young boys. Her previous career roles have been quite diverse and she has a background in hospitality/travel, disability/mental health and business management. Trained in a variety of modalities including NLP, Life Coaching and as a Soul Modes Mentor, she has had the privilege to work with clients all around Australia and also runs empowerment workshops, retreats and group events.

For further information please call 0418 328 441 or visit my website www.erinmiller.com.au or follow me on Facebook and Instagram. Do you have a question or a topic you would like Erin to write about? Send her an email at erin@erinmiller.com.au

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Support

7 REASONS WHY WORKING WITH A COACH WILL TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE! WORDS BY CHRISTINE BOUCHER

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WORKING WITH A COACH IS SOMETHING THAT MANY PEOPLE ARE UNSURE ABOUT OR DO NOT FULLY UNDERSTAND. MOST OF THE WORLD’S SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE WORK WITH A COACH – FROM OLYMPIC ATHLETES TO MULTI-MILLIONAIRE BUSINESS PEOPLE. PEOPLE WORK WITH COACHES TO EXPEDITE THERE GOALS, IDENTIFY AND FILL SKILL GAPS, STAY ACCOUNTABLE AND ACHIEVE THEIR GREATEST SUCCESS WHATEVER THAT LOOKS LIKE FOR THEM IN CAREER, LIFE OR LOVE.

So how will working with a coach transform my life? 1. HELP FIND YOUR DIRECTION AND LIVE YOUR TRUE POTENTIAL

5. INCREASE YOUR CONFIDENCE AND INSPIRE EMPOWERING BELIEFS

Do you ever feel lost, uncertain of your path or lacking direction when everyone else around you seems to have it all together? This is normal and you are not alone. Many people drift through life without really knowing, planning or understanding where they are headed. However, if you find that you want more out of life and you want to live your true potential then a coach can help.

If you have been struggling on your own for a while, it is easy to give in and put it in the ‘too hard basket’. Self-doubt and self-sabotaging stories can be our biggest limitations in moving forward and achieving our true potential. “I’m not going to get that job promotion, I’m not leadership material.” So therefore there is inaction toward applying for the position.

A coach will help you to identify and understand your values, strengths and what lights you up, guiding you along your authentic path leading to your bucket of gold. The gold being your ultimate dreams and desires experienced and realised. Your coach will help to reverse engineer from the bucket of gold all the small steps and actions that need to be actioned in order to build the momentum to reach the desired destination. 2. FOCUS ON WHAT IS IMPORTANT It is important to identify what you want in your life and what truly puts a fire in your belly. Yet, it is so easy to be distracted by shiny bright lights that may seem good at the time but are navigating you off course and distracting you from your dreams. It is easy to become overwhelmed that your dreams are too big, too difficult too insurmountable for you to achieve them. It is easy to loose motivation, lose interest and lose sight of the big picture. Your coach is going to support you every step of the way. They will continue to support you when you are feeling overwhelmed. A coach will guide you, reinforcing that bigger picture, and stoke the flame when it dulls down to harness your intrinsic motivators during the tough times. 3. KEEP YOU ACCOUNTABLE TOWARDS YOUR ACTIONS When you are only answerable to yourself, it is easy to put things off, make excuses, and procrastinate on activities. “I’ll start my exercise regime tomorrow”, yet for some reason tomorrow never comes. Months have gone by and you are still in the same place, sound familiar? A coach is going to kick your butt with love. You are now accountable to someone who is there to check in with you and keep you accountable. We are a lot more likely to take action when we share our goals. We have a drive that encourages us to not let the other person down when really we are only letting ourselves down. I do not know how many times I have heard clients say to me when I ask the source of the motivation for taking action. Their response is that I would be checking in and demanding answers if they let themselves down.

A good coach will help you identify your limiting beliefs create a turn around statement to inspire new empowering beliefs. Increasing self-belief and confidence to believe and act with purpose. “I am a confident leader, with good communication skills and years of experience in the field and would make an excellent leader.” This self-belief inspires action, applying for the position - results achieved through action. 6. HAVING A STRATEGIC PLAN TOWARDS SUCCESS Sometimes we want to achieve something in life but do not have a plan we just have the desire. “A goal without a plan is simply a wish.” Unknown. A coach will help you to develop a strategic step-by-step plan towards achieving your goals and realising your dreams. Expediting the process and helping you get from point A to point B more efficiently, saving time, energy, and stress. 7. BOOST YOUR PERSONAL SKILLS AND OVERALL WELL-BEING Life can be tough and we are often challenged by not just the day-to-day tasks but life changing experiences and curveballs thrown our way. A death in the family, looking after someone who is sick, moving house, changing jobs, breakdown in a relationship can all add to the pressure and stress we experience in life. A coach is someone in your corner cheering you on, supporting your journey, helping you be in the driver’s seat of your life equipped with the roadmap to success. Your challenges will be easier to handle, you will feel more supported and less alone. You will harness your inner strength and confidence to pursue and achieve everything your heart desires. Living a full, authentic, purposefully driven and passionate life.

4. TO IDENTIFY YOUR GAPS AND UNDERSTAND YOURSELF BETTER We are such creatures of habit and can sometimes ingrain unhealthy routines and patterns into our lifestyles for years. We do it that way because it is easier, familiar and routine. If we continue to do things, the same way we will continue to get the same results. “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” – Albert Einstein A coach will help to identify your gaps, dig deeper into your own psyche and analyse your strengths, weaknesses and areas for improvement. Harnessing your strengths and filling the gaps where there is a weakness, maybe in the form of education, a resource or just doing things differently. Once you truly understand yourself, you can work on becoming the person you need to become, in order to achieve the success that you desire.

Christine Boucher www.naturalhealthbalance.com.au

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THE CHANGING SHAPE OF

health & wellness BY CHRISTIE NELSON

The way we look at the health and wellness industry has altered in recent times and it’s refreshing to see that consumers, businesses and manufacturers are changing their habits by leaning towards a more educated and healthier lifestyle. Traditionally we’ve considered the “health industry” to be derived of doctors, hospitals and pharmacists, which when considered is actually more representative of the “illness” industry. The inter-generational shift we’re seeing is skewed towards gaining the right education and support tools to accommodate better daily habits in order to avoid the need to visit healthcare professionals too frequently. We as consumers like to feel some sort of empowerment that we are making ethical decisions and trends are moving towards greener, cleaner and healthier choices. The health and wellness industry is something of which I’m proud to be an advocate, for many reasons and I’m excited to see what the future holds as the world is embracing change for the better. “In 2016, analysts reported that the global wellness economy reached $3.7 trillion and growth is expected to accelerate by 17% in

the next five years,” (1) which is an encouraging demonstration of how we’re looking to take better care of ourselves and live life to the full. We are living in a busy world of fast lives, degrees of uncertainty, little time and higher expectations, which can lead to a lack of exercise, buying highly processed, convenient food that often has very little nutritional value and we also tend to make personal product purchases based on price instead of product knowledge and quality. Consider how many times you may have consumed a take-away or pre-packaged meal, dived in head first like Augustus Gloop at Willy Wonka’s Chocolate factory and inhaled a highsugar or high-sodium meal that left you feeling hungry and dying of thirst and low in energy again an hour later? Or perhaps purchased the supermarket brand cosmetics because they’re cheap, just to throw them out because they smell like chemicals and make you itchy? I know I have done this many times myself and thankfully didn’t end up stuck in a tube after falling into a chocolate river or having irreparable skin problems however, it did prompt me to make changes and take control of my own actions and adopt a more holistic approach.

A holistic view of wellness can include combining regular exercise with healthy, clean eating and adequate sleep, which may assist with better gut health, reduce stress levels, support your body to rebalance and also promotes maintaining a healthy weight. Another more readily embraced health benefit is mind and emotional health, which are factors that tie in with physical health benefits. Sometimes you may wake up full of motivation and positivity, only to end up dragged down to a state of blubbering mess, looking for a Kit Kat, chewing your nails with an elevated heart rate and feeling like the whole world is against you. There's nothing worse than the feeling of being overwhelmed, under-appreciated or feeling unhappy in your own body or own head for that matter. It’s then important to look at some of the cumulative factors that lead to these feelings; look at what toxins are around us doing the damage. The word toxin or toxic is usually associated with things like harmful ingredients for example, but toxicity can disguise itself as many forms which can affect us every day without us realising it.

what's good for consumers is good for business changing consumer demands are driving preferences for products and services

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TOXICITY CAN COME IN THE FORM OF

Christie Nelson

º º º

Technology: Overuse of our technology can lead us to eliminating personal interactions, conversations and general social skills practice. Poor diet: Our bodies don't function correctly when we don't look after them. The compounding effect is also on our selfesteem and being happy in our own skin. Bad habits: Smoking, excessive drinking or drugs, lack of exercise, too much refined sugar or stimulants such as coffee or energy drinks. Remember, what goes up must come down; your mind and body will just keep chasing the 'up' in a never ending cycle.

Toxic friends, relationships or workplace: YOUR VIBE ATTRACTS YOUR TRIBE. Consider why spending the time with negative people is making you feel different. Perhaps you feel like you should surround yourself with more like-minded, supportive people?

Are you toxic to yourself? How do you talk to yourself in your own head? Would you talk to your children or friends the same way as you talk to yourself? These are all physical things that can be within your control in order to achieve so much. "Your philosophy attracts your attitudes, which create your actions, which creates your results, which creates your life. " Jeff Olson, The Slight Edge

TOP TIPS FOR A LIFESTYLE DETOX

º º º º º

Switch off the news/social media in the morning. Start your day by reading / listening to something inspiring. Un-friend/unfollow the people who constantly post negative content.

Christie is a dual health and wellness business owner, business builder, social networker, educator and busy Mum who can offer solutions and products to those looking for a postive change. For further information, please email youcanactivewear@gmail.com or go to www.youcanlifestyle.com.au www.christienelson.arbonne.com youcanactivewearandlifestyle youcanactivewear christienelson0827

Switch habits: Make healthier choices, exercise for half an hour per day, swap your Netflix membership for a gym membership. Set realistic goals to kick some bad habits and have a trusty accountability partner to support you. Surround yourself with positive, open minded people or look for a career that makes you happy. Tell yourself the wonderful things you're going to achieve, do daily affirmations if it helps you. Consider the example we're setting our children. There's no way we would ever tell them not to reach for their dreams, that they're not good enough, not pretty enough or not worthy enough of being loved, so why do it to yourself?

1. www.womensmarketing.com/blog/2014/11 health-and-wellness-market REFERENCE CONSUMER GRAPHIC 2. www2.deloitte.com/au/en/pages/consumer-industrialproducts/articles/health-wellness.html

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PARENTING self-care

THE IMPORTANCE OF SELF-CARE FOR PARENTS AND CARERS. WORDS BY CHRISTINA KEEBLE

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Voila! Hopefully, now the drawer feels a bit better, I have demonstrated what I should have done (along with what to do when I make a mistake) and my little people have experienced some observational learning. Then I can take any residual frustration out on the potatoes with the fork. Along this same line of thinking, it is through practising self-care for ourselves that our children learn to take time for self-care to facilitate their own self-regulation.

BUT HOW AND WHEN DO I DO THIS? The how and when is the fun and creative part! Of course it will be widely different for each parent or carer depending on your family life and your preferences. Here are 10 simple ideas that can be implemented in most places.

The beginning of summer heralds the end of the school year, a time many kids look forward to with excitement and anticipation. There are adventures to be had, days to sleep in and evenings which stretch further providing opportunities for long evening bike rides, bush walks or beach swims. As a parent or carer, however, our view of summer may not be seen through the same rose coloured glasses of our children. Depending on our individual family situation, work responsibilities and other commitments do not stop because summer has arrived, and summer holidays can bring added stress. The stress can come from adding in an extra ball to balance and juggle to our everyday activities along with our desire to provide our children with the opportunities to experience those lazy summer days and family adventures that memories are made of. If you are one of these parents or carers, I want you to stop right now and BREATHE. It is during these moments of life when we feel our workload is increasing, stress and chaos are all around and expectations of others are high, that we must remember to breathe and make sure we take time for self-care.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Barefoot walk in nature. Headphones on listening to a podcast while you do the housework. Your favourite music (turned up) in your car as you drive away after dropping the kids off at school singing at the top of your lungs. Listening to an audiobook while you exercise, drive or work. Waking up 10 minutes earlier to have a cuppa before your little people are up. Lying down outside for 5 minutes (on the ground or trampoline) and watching the clouds. Lighting some candles and putting on your favourite music while you have a bath or shower. Buying a hand lotion that you love the smell of and using it every time after you wash your hands. Going for a walk and picking flowers for yourself to enjoy in a vase at home. Locking yourself in the bathroom to eat that special treat you bought yourself, uninterrupted.

Number 10 is one I have practised on many occasions. This list is merely to get your creative neurons moving and to inspire you to come up with your own list that suits you and your family life. If my little people are around, I explain to them that I am going to take a few minutes to look after myself and that I need them to entertain themselves for a few minutes. When I say this, of course, I 100% expect to be interrupted, but this is a teachable moment. One where I can gently and lovingly demonstrate my boundaries and my need for self-care. After two years of demonstrating this, my little people are beginning to understand that it is important for mum that mum will come back afterwards and that mum is happier when she comes back. And when it’s the end of the school holidays and we are all frazzled? That is when I resort to example 10. You do what you have to do.

The idea of self-care is one that you either embrace enthusiastically or choose to scoff at because let’s be honest here, you don’t have time for it. Not only are you time poor, but when you became a parent or carer, you acknowledged that your needs were set aside for the little people in your life. But it’s this mindset, the one that self-care is selfish and there is no space for it in your life that I want to challenge and hopefully change.

OK, I’M ALMOST CONVINCED. IS IT REALLY THAT IMPORTANT?

LET’S START WITH WHAT IS SELF - CARE

When you go on an airplane and they do the emergency briefing, they always say to put your oxygen mask on first before helping others. Why? Because if you’ve passed out due to lack of oxygen, how are you going to be there to help your little people? You won’t be. So, take the time to put your oxygen mask on first. Through this example, you’ll be teaching your little (or not so little) people to do the same as they grow up into bigger people.

Self-care, as defined by Lexico is: “The practice of taking an active role in protecting one's own well-being and happiness, in particular during periods of stress.” I would like to take this a step further and point out that when we actively and regularly practise self-care, we are teaching through modelling important mental health practices for our children. In psychology, Albert Bandura’s work in social learning theory discusses the importance of observational learning, learning through watching others. How we go through our day, respond to our stressors, manage our emotions and relationships, teach our children how to adult. Does that mean we have to get it perfect every moment of every day? Of course not! What it does mean is when we have our imperfect parenting moments, we need to let our little people know, these become teachable moments. I find the best way to do this is to narrate what is going on in my head and act out the appropriate response. I lost my temper at the kitchen drawer because the potato masher was shoved in and now I can’t get the drawer open? No worries, I proceed to speak (somewhat loudly but calmly to the drawer). “I’m sorry I yelled at you, I should not have done that. I’m just very frustrated that I can’t get you open. I’m going to do some deep breathing to calm down and then try to mash the potatoes with a fork.” Once I’ve finished my deep breathing practice, I continue my narration. “Oh wow, I feel much better after calming myself down with some deep breathing. Next time I will try that instead of yelling first.”

YES! Yes, self-care is that important. As parents and carers, we need to hold space for our little people, we need to be there to hold their emotions and support them as they work through them. However, in order to do that successfully we need to be ok.

SO NOW I UNDERSTAND, I GET IT, SELF - CARE IS IMPORTANT. NOW WHAT? I’m glad you asked! As I mentioned at the start, the summer school holidays are coming. I want you to make a plan to practise self-care once a week (at a minimum). There are six weeks in the school holidays and I want you to create a list of two things you can do each week for self-care. Option one will be your ideal self-care activity (what you would love to do that week for yourself) and option 2 will be your realistic-back-up-plan self-care activity. Then put your list up in a place you will see every day. My list is above the coffee machine on the kitchen cupboard. As each week goes by and you’ve practised your self-care, get the satisfaction by ticking (or crossing) it off your list. Now go, take care of yourself so you can take care of your little people. As the weeks go by and you take time to rejuvenate your spirit and re-fuel your tank, start to notice if your glasses through which you view the summer school holidays, appear a touch rosier. Christina Keeble www.christinakeeble.com

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Lakes Entrance

OUT & ABOUT IN GIPPSLAND Ruins near Foster

Jam Jerrup

Old Gippstown Moe

Maltese Festival at Morwell

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Point Hicks

Pelicans at Marlo Traralgon Post Office

Cross Over

photography by Doug Pell

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SUZI AND GLENN BATH

WELCOME TO HEALTH & WHOLE FOODS LEONGATHA WORDS BY ANITA BUTTERWORTH

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A SOUTH GIPPSLAND MECCA FOR ALL THINGS DELICIOUSLY ORGANIC, THOUGHTFULLY SOURCED AND LOCALLY GROWN FOR HALF A CENTURY, LEONGATHA HEALTH FOODS HAS SPREAD ITS WINGS AND FOUND A NEW HOME AND A NEW NAME IN BAIR STREET. From its first days in the town, to the introduction of a café in the 1990s and a couple of location changes, Health & Whole Foods has always maintained an enviable reputation as a one-stop-shop for a huge range of products that are ethically, environmentally and socially responsible. Glenn and Suzi Bath are more than just the proud owners, they are the heartbeat of Health & Whole Foods. With their extensive knowledge and passion for sourcing the highest quality offerings, they bring more than 30 years of experience to the store. “Our great range of products and sought-after items keep regulars coming back,” Suzi explains. “We have a great relationship with all our suppliers, from all over Australia; some have been serving us for over 25 years. We continually connect with new suppliers to expand our selection. “Our range is ever changing with new items in every week, while keeping a strong range of staple lines. It is very important to keep up with current developments to encourage new people to the store, and also to keep shoppers local. We are always grateful for the support of our many local customers and are committed to meeting their needs.” Suzi says that many of their customers are now also searching for alternatives to help with health issues, or just to make healthier choices for themselves or their families. “Customers are concerned with where their food is from. Allergies and health issues are seeing more people seeking better quality food and lifestyle choices. The store has a well-supported place in the local community.” The store is beautifully stocked with bulk dry goods, organic wholefoods and fresh organic produce, herbal and nutritional supplements, personal products including soaps and makeup, eco-friendly lifestyle products, a range of local organic meat, dairy and breads, Home Brewing gear, bulk cleaning goods, aromatherapy oils and much more. Clean food is predominately Suzi and Glenn’s motto and to fulfil this the store has forged strong relationships with a raft of speciality and local suppliers, over many years. “There is a growing range of healthy wholefoods that are both more environmentally farmed and free from undesirable food industry additives, and by the nature of the Health & Whole Food business and by personal preference, both growers and manufacturers are far from multinational and preferably local.” The new Bair Street location and name change has given Health & Whole Foods room to grow, and has been embraced once again by the local community. “The move to a bigger store was long overdue, customer support has been fantastic. The new space offers more options and a great opportunity to expand our services. Our team works hard to provide a great experience for each customer every time. We really enjoy what we do!”

33 Bair St, Leongatha Vic 3953 Ph: (03) 5662 2290 Hours: M-F 9am-5.30pm | Sat 9am-12.30pm www.leongathhealthfoods.com

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Vintage Treasures at Toora Gem

“Vintage is, without a doubt, recycling at its best.” This is according to the proud owner of Mauzie's Most Marvellous Vintage, a beautiful shop in the town of Toora.

Mauzie was perusing the treasures at each stall and stumbled upon a beautiful 1940s reversible dressing gown. She knew the price was high, but she splurged and purchased it anyway.

The shop includes items from the 20s and 30s through to the 90s. If people can’t find what they are looking for in her shop, Mauzie tries to source them internationally.

Maureen ‘Mauzie’ Chau opened the doors to the business in 2015 and has been inundated with locals and visitors who can’t get enough of the unique vintage items she has collected over the decades.

“This pink and lilac quilted and waisted dressing gown had magical qualities; it had the ability to lift my spirits and make me feel glamorous on even the most humdrum of days. As a result, the seed of my love of vintage was well and truly sewn,” she said. “The dressing gown prompted me to start looking out for special pieces, and for 30 years on and off my hobby, or should I say addiction, was collecting vintage and designer clothing. I didn't have a plan other than to rescue these wonderful items!”

“I just love searching for specific items for customers; with frequent requests for 1920s, 1950s and 1980s for themed parties or Weddings,” she said. “If I can't find what's needed in my storeroom, I thoroughly enjoy the challenge of searching the Internet to find the perfect item, more often than not sourcing from the U.K or America.”

For Mauzie, her passion for fashion and unique items runs deep, having been embedded in her youth during the rise of people like fashion-icon Twiggy and musicians such as Cilla Black and Dusty Springfield. Mauzie grew up in Northamptonshire, England where her father was the sole breadwinner and her mother stayed home to care for Mauzie and her two siblings. Money wasn’t plentiful, but their house was filled to the brim with love. When Mauzie was a teenager in the 1960s, she would spend countless hours flipping through magazines, being drawn to the glamourous lifestyles of Twiggy, Cilla and Dusty, as well as designers such as Mary Quant and photographers such as David Bailey. “I had become aware of a whole new exciting world out there. A world of creative make-up, fabulous fashion and pop music,” she recalled. “My poor mother had a difficult time accepting the change in her quiet, well-behaved daughter when I suddenly started attempting to emulate those people by wearing the fashions of the era such as very, very short mini-skirts and see-through blouses!” In 1971, Mauzie immigrated to Australia with her daughter Sharon. She lived in Sydney, the Blue Mountains and Tasmania, where her passion for vintage was sparked during an outing at the Salamanca Market.

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In 2015, Mauzie married her husband Frank. They moved to Toora in South Gippsland with three shipping containers full of Frank’s items and an impressive vintage collection. They purchased an old Scout Hall which had been vacant for 20 years. In 2015, they decided to open a beautiful shop full of their prized findings. “I had at last found my niche and Mauzie's Most Marvellous Vintage has offered me a way of sharing the collection for others to enjoy,” she said. “The shop has become quite popular not only with locals but with tourists and it gives me a thrill every time I hear a ‘WOW!’ when the front door is opened. Nobody expects to see such a place tucked away in the back of Toora.” One such customer was a New York based caterer holidaying in South Gippsland who stopped in to browse at the shop. She stayed for several hours and returned a few days later with a friend from Los Angeles. “I can't help but smile when I think that some of my rescued items are now being proudly worn in New York,” Mauzie said.

The shop also includes a wedding room where nothing is priced over $450. The wedding and deb dresses have been sourced from all over the world. “Brides-to-be are encouraged to try on and work out what suits them the best and then, if they would like, take photos and go to a seamstress,” Mauzie said. “In many cases the perfect dress is here waiting for them and they don’t need to look any further. I do hire out, however, even if I say so myself my prices are so reasonable that more often than not the dresses are purchased then and there.” Another amazing aspect of the shop is a mini museum which showcases items such as a coat from the wardrobe department of the Sullivan’s, a Victorian 'coming out of mourning suit', an Edwardian Wedding Dress, a camera collection and much more. Many of Mauzie’s prized possessions were lovingly donated to the mini museum. “So many people have gone out of their way to bring treasured family heirlooms for me to look after. I take the custodianship of these items very seriously and am proud to be entrusted with them,” she said.

“One item donated to the mini museum is a black wedding ensemble which was worn in Switzerland in the 1880s by Carolina Allioli nee Martinolli. Carolina went on to have fourteen children and was a very strong lady who faced terrible struggles throughout her life. What absolutely astounds me is that throughout all of this hardship, Carolina held onto her wedding attire. Carolina’s grandson, who lives in Queensland, contacted me and asked if I would like to take over the custodianship of the outfit. He then posted it to me along with a bio.” Other favourite museum items include an Edwardian walking suit which was donated along with other items by a local lady whose family goes back in South Gippsland for four generations, and a beautiful nurse’s belt which was brought in by a lovely local couple. Mauzie said she gets great enjoyment when customers see an item that reminds them of a special moment or person in their life, or when she gets called upon for restoration advice or to help wardrobe departments for television and stage productions.

Mauzie Chau’s shop celebrates recycled fashion, historic tales and worldly charm By Lia Spencer

She also takes great pride in helping locals, tourists and the local community. Mauzie loans items of clothing for various fundraising events and musical or dramatic productions. Mauzie said she wanted to continue helping the community, putting smiles on visitors’ faces and improving the business any way she could. “The shop is constantly evolving and I’m always thinking of ways to improve the displays so that I can bring out more items,” she said. “My aim is to keep ‘wowing’ people and to be able to continue contributing to this wonderful community and of course to continue finding that rare and special piece to add to my collection.”

MAUZIE'S Most Marvellous! VINTAGE Hours Thursday to Sunday 11.00am – 5.00pm *Open every day in January 10.00am – 5.00pm

*For Private Viewings ring Mauzie 0411 238 673 27 Victoria St, Toora,VIC 3962

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David and Annette Mogford at their new country home

LIVING THE DREAM

after a lifetime of challenges DAVID AND ANNETTE MOGFORD, WHO OWN AND OPERATE THE COWES NEWSAGENCY, HAVE RECENTLY FULFILLED THEIR DREAM TO LIVE ON A PEACEFUL COUNTRY PROPERTY WITH A SMALL VINEYARD. By Wendy Morriss They now commute from their new home in Hallston to work in their successful business two to three days a week. “We’ve been here for eight weeks so we still have a lot of boxes to unpack but it’s really nice,” Annette said. “We love the views, the peace and quiet and we love the wildlife. We have little wrens hopping around, kookaburras, king parrots, various cockatoos, a family of koalas and wild deer. It’s just beautiful.” David who has had a long-held interest in wine making said the vineyard is an ideal size with several good varieties of wine grapes and he has future plans to put in an orchard. For the last nine years, the couple have lived in the rural town of Cowes close to the business after a lifetime of challenging experiences that have taken them to the other side of the world. David, who is originally from South Wales in the United Kingdom, came to Australia in 1995 with his then wife and three children to work for a company called Amcor in Melbourne.

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He arrived with the position of State Manager for Victoria and Tasmania with 250 employees. Sadly, within the first three months his wife left them and went back to the UK. ”It was a difficult time,” he said. “I didn’t know anyone in Australia, I had a demanding new job and three children to get off to school each day.” After a return trip back to the UK and an unsuccessful attempt to reconcile with his wife, he returned to Australia with the children and said they somehow muddled through. Sometime later, he met Annette on a blind date that was organised by their employers. “We went to Tolarnos in Melbourne, talked all night and we’ve been together ever since,” he said. Annette, who grew up in Melbourne, was separated with two children of her own. “When we met they were 10 and 12 years old and David’s children were 13, 14 and 15 so it was a pretty challenging time for a few years and we had a very busy household but we all got through it,” she said. The couple were married in 1997, two years after they met.

She said in 2006, while David was working for an American recruitment company called Westaff, they travelled to Mildura for a weekend break. “David said I love this place why don’t we buy something here so we did. We purchased a 9-hectare property with sultana grapes, merlot grapes and currants. We sold our house in Melbourne and moved, which fortunately David’s position allowed for and he opened an office in Mildura. It was a huge learning curve because we knew nothing about it. We dried the sultana grapes and currants and sold them to Sunbeam Foods and we sold the merlot grapes to the local Yellow Tail winery.” It was there that David developed more of an interest in wine making and he experimented with a few varieties until the company he worked for offered him a position as Managing Director in their UK office, which had 24 branches nationwide. He accepted and they sold the Mildura property and moved to the UK. “We lived in a small village surrounded by farmland,” Annette said. “We realised then that we really liked country life and being in the country.”

David Mogford amongst the vines with Chloe and Alfie

Their dogs Alfie and Chloe

First wine grapes

David said within six months, the company that had offices in America, Australia, New Zealand and the UK decided they wanted to divest and he was asked by the CEO if he wanted to purchase the UK part of the company. “We didn’t have a lot of money but we managed to buy the business and stayed in the UK longer than we expected to. At the time, it was turning over £140 million a year but then later the global financial crisis hit and the business started to struggle, so we sold it and came home. “I started looking for work but after applying for more than 20 jobs just as a salesman, I couldn’t even get an interview, so we went to Phillip Island looking for a business to buy and the Cowes Newsagency was for sale.” “My parents had a holiday house in Cowes for a long time and had moved there permanently,” Annette said, “so we knew the Island well, we knew the newsagency well and we knew we didn’t want to live in the suburbs anymore. Again we embarked on something we really knew

nothing about so it was another huge learning curve. We worked really hard, about 10 hours a day seven days a week for the first 12 months and we’ve been there now for nine years.”

She said they built a house in the town and were really well centred but over the years, Cowes had become much busier and there had always been this underlying thing about wanting some space and a bit of peace. They are both still very involved in the business and said fortunately they have fantastic staff, which enabled them to wind back the hours they spend there, so they sold the house and moved to their 1.2-hectare property in Hallston with their dogs Chloe and Alfie and their cat Molly.

as well. Brewing and wine making is a hobby I’ve had for a long time. I’ve always made wine, beer and cider and I’ve become better at it. Normally I would buy the grapes but now I can grow them and produce wine from my own. I was told when we bought the property that the vineyard could produce 600 bottles of wine so we won’t be producing it commercially but I want to produce enough to share with others. We’re going to call it ‘Two Dogs Valley Wine’ and we’ll keep living the dream.” Photography by Wendy Morriss

“The grapes in the vineyard are pinot noir, chardonnay, sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz and merlot,” David said, “so we’ll make a lot of different varieties of wine and there are some fruit trees

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home

is where the art is John Mutsaers is a significant artist, sculptor, writer & creative thinker. He and his wife Mary share a fascinating house and gallery in Inverloch. Words: Wendy Hall

The blustery South Coast winds and a sky bleached dull by clouds are no match for the little explosion of light, colour and joy that spills from the home of John and Mary Mutsaers.

He built a straw bale house entirely by himself. He is a determined thinker and this was another ‘creation’, to be sculpted by his own hands and his inventive mind.

John is a distinguished artist of world renown and his wife of more than 50 years, Mary, is his manager, partner in art, critic and friend. They are a formidable team across the cultural and artistic network that exists in this beautiful part of Gippsland and their home expresses all that they are.

One enters John and Mary’s home via a glass atrium; even on a grey day, light pours quietly down, its winter white a natural spotlight on an array of paintings and pot plants that welcome you into their home. A beautiful mirrored mosaic greedily swallows and multiplies this light. The atrium connects the old building which was on the site with what John has built. A few steps beyond is John’s studio.

John and Mary moved to Inverloch in 2013. They had previously lived and worked just north of Moe on the Walhalla Road where they had established their home and the very successful Kylor Art Gallery over a number of years. In 2009 John’s studio burnt down (ironically, just after the Black Saturday bushfires) and John lost more than a hundred paintings. It was devastating.

The house is built almost entirely of recycled materials and there is a warmth and beauty added to this home by this very fact. John speaks about timbers, doors and windows like old friends; there is always an anecdote, a history and this really breathes life into what might otherwise be just a building.

They were drawn to the Bass Coast by the stunning beauty of the natural environs and by an awareness of the growing community of artists, writers and musicians that was similarly finding it a home for their creativity. They decided they would move and build.

“That glass door is bulletproof” laughs John, “Well at least that’s what the bloke who sold it to me said!” There is a wicked giggle as we consider how necessary bulletproof glass is in Inverloch but such is the life that seeps from the story of this home.

John’s natural passion for ideas and his flourishing imagination would for a time shift from canvas and oils to straw and timber.

Entering John’s studio you are struck by the immediate aroma of the artist’s space. Oil and canvas. It is modest in size but filled with richness.

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A work in progress sits on his easel and above it a worn piece of paper reads, “If colour is my music, then the brush is my instrument”. Everywhere you look there are signposts of John’s life. Stunning paintings lean casually against the walls. A pair of antique, wooden Dutch ice skates, a reminder of his heritage, dangle beside a large laptop screen. An aged, plump, leather armchair, much loved, nestles in the corner. Here he muses, reads, writes and watches the footy! Inside, a similar patina. The living room is rich with suggestions of the lives of John and Mary. Art, of course. It is hard not to ignore everything else. His work is captivating. Collected memorabilia, loved pieces, furniture speaking of history and time and occasional nods to the modern world meld into the eclectic mix that produces a room you just want to be in. All this ensconced in walls crafted by the owner himself, from straw, chicken wire and render. Wandering outside into the garden is again a reflection of this partnership. Plants thrive (“that’s Mary”) among all kinds of manifestations of the couple's imaginations, artistry and finelyhoned wit.

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John & Mary Mutsaers

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From an exquisite trio of garden sculptures to his quirky “disappearing sink”! John and Mary burst into laughter as he reveals this yet to be patented gem of alfresco living. With his typical self-deprecating humour, he notes that it is functionally brilliant except for the fact that it has no taps! There are nooks and crannies, works in progress (“I must finish that one day”) and everywhere, what appear to be almost accidental fusions of nature and art, that capture your eye. Nothing is necessarily straight about the external structure of this house, by engineering standards, but they are true and perfect keepers of the lives of this couple. John was born Johannes Mutsaers in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, in 1942 and came to Melbourne with his family as a 14-year-old boy. He has been a professional artist for more than 30 years and has so far held 38 solo exhibitions both here in Australia and overseas. Notably he has successfully exhibited in Shanghai in 2008 and London 2009. Among John’s favourite subjects are still life and portraiture and he is proud to have been selected as a semi-finalist in the prestigious Doug Moran $150,000 National Portrait Prize on two recent occasions. His works hang in the homes of many well-known collectors including the late Princess Margaret and astronaut Charles Duke (who famously left his family photograph on the moon!) His works hang on the walls of numerous private and public regional galleries and significant organisations here and around the world. However, those that rest here seem most perfectly at home. John and Mary are proactive advocates much of their time is connections between benefit of all.

both passionate and for human rights and given to promoting the art and culture for the

John has contributed to innumerable humanitarian and community-based art projects. He has applied his MA in the psychology of art therapy to working with disengaged youth in the region, namely through the Arts Billabong Project which he ran for 10 years in collaboration with two other art therapists. Both Mary and John are members of the Bass Coast/South Gippsland Reconciliation Group, which runs the annual NAIDOC Week Indigenous Art Exhibition. Mary, with John’s assistance, has coordinated the exhibition for the past five years. John is part of the Wonthaggi ArtSpace leadership team. Their most recent success has been the inaugural Archies Bald Portrait Prize. He was instrumental in the redesign and development of the Moe City commercial district, incorporating mosaics produced by local youth. In 2015 he led a community project, which created a permanent sculpture at Callignee to commemorate the lives of those lost in the Black Saturday fires. He and Mary are both members of SWAG (Stormy Waters Asylumseekers Goodwill) media group, another cause close to their hearts.

He is a member of the Bass Coast Shire Arts and Culture Advisory Board and Chair of the Wonthaggi Sculpture Town committee.

Writers will be invited to contemplate the metaphors depicted in the paintings and use them as a catalyst for their written response.

And so much more.

An innovative and exciting idea coming to life.

Much of this involvement grows from John’s philosophical stance.

Visiting John and Mary is like finding a box of crayons under the bed that you didn’t even know was there and opening them to find new and old colours, fragrances of the past and the present, memories of what you drew with them and imaginings of what you might. You could scribble or write something poignant, you could share them with others or they could launch recollections. The box has been there a while but there is still lots of colouring left to be done.

“My main hobby is thinking,” he says. He is currently working on a series of paintings entitled “The Infinite Birdcage” which are at face-value extraordinary and captivating but speak to the theme of freedom and what it means to have or not have it, to value or not value it, to give or to take it. There is metaphor at work in this series and in many of his paintings, but understanding his references fully does not exclude you from just relishing these remarkable works and letting them speak to you however you choose. John Mutsaers is a funny man and his sense of the playful is evident in the words he attaches to his art. The series of paintings destroyed in the 2009 fire was entitled “My Life as an Avocado”! He created a largely metal sculpture called “Wolfgang Amadeus Mazda”. He is writing a book with the curious title of “The Thinking Man’s Manual for Effective Dishwashing”! On the Princes Highway near Trafalgar you have no doubt passed his sculpture, “Forksn-Spuds”, a response to the UN call to end world hunger. These sculptures were originally launched and exhibited in Federation Square, Melbourne in 2008. Listening to him unravel these unusual choices is fascinating. Expecting the unexpected now the enigmatic painting of a woman with a bird’s nest on her head (one of the Infinite Birdcage series) will surely carry some cryptic title. No. It is called “Lady with a bird’s nest on her head”!

Future editions of Gippsland Lifestyle Magazine will feature John’s art and more details of the forthcoming exhibition. There is much to read about John and his work at www.johnmutsaers.com It’s well worth taking the time.

In February/March 2020, John will exhibit “The Infinite Birdcage” at the Wonthaggi Artspace Gallery. This will be something not to miss, as it will be a unique collaborative exhibition fusing art, music and writing. Renowned composer, Mark Finsterer is currently writing music to reflect how he interprets each of the works in the series. As part of the exhibition a threesided stage-like installation, including a writer’s desk and chair, will feature three of the major exhibition works.

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TOMORROW BEGINS TODAY JOINING THE TODAY SHOW HAS PROVIDED ANOTHER STEP FORWARD IN THE CAREER PROGRESSION OF FORMER NINE REGIONAL NEWS GIPPSLAND SENIOR REPORTER, IZABELLA STASKOWSKI. WORDS: CHRIS WEST

IZABELLA STASKOWSKI

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Izabella Staskowsi describes her move back home to Melbourne after just over a year with Nine Regional News Gippsland as somewhat bittersweet. She is filled with excitement surrounding the opportunity she has been given in joining the TODAY Show as a reporter/ producer, but admits to having fallen in love with the region and will also miss the team she worked with at Nine Regional News Gippsland from its Traralgon base. Refreshed and reenergized following a relaxing short break in Bali, Izabella commenced in her new role with the TODAY Show on 29th July. Izabella wasn’t actively seeking her next career step when Nine Melbourne reporter Christine Ahern made contact to canvas her interest in the position with the TODAY Show. After an initial conversation with Christine and subsequent interview in Melbourne, Izabella was offered and accepted the role. “I saw joining the TODAY Show as another opportunity to grow again professionally, to challenge myself, and to enjoy the privilege of working alongside some of the best professionals in the business. It has given me a chance to work on a different platform with a national audience, which is a wonderful progression for me to make in my career,” she says. “The producing aspect of the role is new for me, which is also exciting. Adding this new skill set will be another learning curve in my professional development.” At the same time, there has been more than a tinge of sadness for Izabella in saying goodbye to Gippsland. “I’ve formed great relationships with the people in the community and feel honoured to have been able to have done the stories I’ve reported on through my work in the region,” she states. “People have opened up and shared their stories with me. Along the way, I’ve met some people who are just so resilient and passionate. That’s really left an impression on me.” Some of Izabella’s most memorable and emotional stories from her time in Gippsland involved interviews with volunteers who cared for stricken wildlife following the bushfires last summer and her coverage of whales becoming beached at Mallacoota in November 2018. From a visual and sensory perspective, Gippsland’s sights have also left an indelible mark on Izabella. “It’s just so ridiculously beautiful. If you go down to Phillip Island or the Bass Coast and you drive through the rolling hills it’s just like a postcard,” she observes. Izabella says she fell in love with Gippsland during her time in the region and will continue to visit when she can. “Once the weather gets warmer, I’m sure to get in my bathers and head down the coast. I want to stand up paddle board at Inverloch, which is something I haven’t yet done,” she says. Being a self-confessed “foodie” who loves to cook for friends and go to markets, Izabella will miss having ready access to all that Gippsland offers in those areas of her interest. She has also enjoyed the lure of the coastal beaches.

Like any good reporter, Izabella wants to keep tabs on news from Gippsland and follow the progress of some of the stories she has covered that still have chapters left to complete.

“I’M SURE TO CONTINUE TO TAKE A CLOSE INTEREST IN WHAT’S HAPPENING AROUND THE REGION,” SHE PROMISES. Izabella’s own story begins with her early years growing up in the Melbourne suburb of Bentleigh. Her parents both emigrated from Poland, firstly her dad in the 1960s followed by her mum in the 1970s. They met and married in Melbourne. She was educated at Star of the Sea College in Brighton, which has a list of notable past students including Germaine Greer, Nicky Buckley, Rachel Griffiths and Holly Valance. Journalism wasn’t particularly in Izabella’s sights as she progressed through her schooling. “You hear some in our industry say they were walking around wanting to be a reporter from three years of age. I more so developed an interest in people’s stories when I was growing up,” she says. “Over time, I was looking more towards a possible career in photography, videography or film. My school work experience in Year 10 was at a photography studio in Richmond. I also love language. Although I was born in Australia, Polish was my first language. I also speak a little German, having studied it all throughout school.”

An invaluable part of Izabella’s time at RMIT was spent as an intern at Nine and the ABC in Melbourne and SBS in Sydney. “Those three internships provided me with an enormous grounding. Being able to go out in the field to watch media professionals in action really inspired me,” she states. “Every time I met a reporter or a cameraman or a producer I would lap up as much information as I could. I remember during my time at Nine in Melbourne watching a reporter at an out of court session prepare for and deliver a live cross. I was in awe of his coolness under pressure.” Izabella secured her first job at Sky News before she had completed her degree at RMIT. “I worked part-time at Sky News while finishing my studies. It was a behind-the-scenes role and I stayed there for almost a year,” she says. The job at Sky News had given Izabella a foot in the door of the television industry, but she really wanted to be at the forefront of the action in a reporting role. “Everyone was telling me I had to look to use a regional opportunity as my stepping stone,” she remembers. “The people at Sky who I really looked up to had done a couple of years in regional areas somewhere in Australia, so I recognised that was the pathway I needed to take as well. Although I’m very much a city girl, I decided to roll the dice and start applying for jobs and see what would happen.”

While finishing her secondary education, Izabella decided to hone her sights on a future career in the media and commenced a three-year degree in Journalism at RMIT University in 2014.

Izabella was open to the idea of having to move to get her start, but would not have guessed it would end up being with WIN News in Cairns.

“I was keen to learn about the industry and went to RMIT thinking I was heading down the feature writing path, or somewhere in the print side of media,” she recalls.

“I had two interviews for the job in one day. Just two days later I was given an offer and had about two weeks to pack up my life and move across the country,” she explains.

“But once I started doing the TV side I saw how it incorporated all the things I had been interested in – photography, video and story-telling.”

“It was a very exciting time and looking back it was certainly a major learning curve in both a professional and personal sense. Going from Bayside Melbourne to Far North Queensland was a huge change, but it taught me a lot.”

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As Izabella had not been to Cairns since visiting as an infant, she went there not knowing what to expect. “It was a bit of a culture shock and a massive adjustment but in a good way,” she says. “I fell in love with the place, got involved in the community and made a lot of friends in the process. It took me by surprise how much I really grew as a person.” After about a year in Cairns, a desire to get back home to be nearer to her parents, older brother Michael and other familiar faces saw Izabella on the move again. She utilised her network of contacts in the media industry to scan for opportunities and soon found her next destination at Nine Regional News Gippsland. “I got in touch with someone who got in touch with someone at Nine. I sent a showreel through and it so happened that they were looking for people at that time, so I was quite lucky in that way,” she recalls.

“In Cairns the stories invariably seemed to involve crocodiles or floods, and there was a different political environment up there with people like Bob Katter. Gippsland offered greater diversity of story subjects to report on across a wide region from Traralgon to Mallacoota,” she says. As was the case when she moved to Cairns, Izabella only had limited familiarity with Gippsland when she made her new home in Traralgon. “My dad had done some electrical engineering contract work in Gippsland many years back,” she recalls. “We also had family friends in the West Gippsland area and had been there a few times.” Adjusting from the warmth of Cairns to a cooler climate in Gippsland was the most challenging part of Izabella’s move back to Victoria. She excelled in her job with Nine Regional News Gippsland and was subsequently promoted to the senior reporter role when that position became vacant.

Returning to her home state meant Izabella would be reporting about Victorian issues, which also appealed to her.

IZABELLA STASKOWSKI “I’VE FORMED GREAT RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY AND FEEL HONOURED TO HAVE BEEN ABLE TO HAVE DONE THE STORIES I’VE REPORTED ON THROUGH MY WORK IN THE REGION,”

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“I continued to grow in my career during my time in Gippsland. With the job at Nine Regional News everything was on the road and I gained benefit from the opportunity to do live crosses and in preparing stories for both the 4pm and 6pm bulletins, which was different to what I had experienced before,” she comments. Izabella is certain that she will maintain the close connection she has with her colleagues in Gippsland long into the future. “It was the same with the people I worked with in Cairns. We were all so close and everyone from that group has gone on to do really amazing things,” she notes. “There are people now in Perth, Brisbane, Sydney, Darwin, Rockhampton, other regional areas and even overseas doing wonderful things in their careers. Wherever they have gone in the world, we still have a lifelong connection.” Although Izabella’s career is still only young, she does have a sage piece of advice that is born of her own initial experiences.

“IF THERE’S ONE THING I LIKE TO GET ACROSS, PARTICULARLY TO YOUNG PEOPLE STARTING OUT IN THEIR CAREER, IT IS TO BE OPEN TO MOVING AND GOING TO DIFFERENT PLACES ACROSS AUSTRALIA,” SHE EMPHASISES. “In my case, it’s not only been beneficial to my career but has also helped me grow as a person. I’ve met a lot of people and experienced things that I wouldn’t otherwise have done. It doesn’t matter if you’re in journalism, law, teaching, or anything really, the message is the same. I would encourage people to work hard, give it a crack and see what happens.” Photographs by Doug Pell and supplied by Izabella Staskowski

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LATE SWEET

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WHITE WINES

By Frank Butera

Generally the last grapes to be picked are those destined for late sweet white wines, they have to wait until the end of autumn and in most cases the vines are bare of any leaves. At that point, they don’t look very good: brown, shrivelled, and rotten. Picking them requires patience. When grapes are allowed to hang on the vine after they are fully ripe, they begin to lose their juices. As a result, sugar and acids become concentrated. This is the natural process for the production of the elegant sweet wines. Two factors (mostly) make the process possible: on the one hand, the skin of the fruit becomes thinner and thinner, until it allows water to pass through. On the other hand, there is the appearance of the grape mold Botrytis cinereal, whose spores grow through the skins and leave behind microscopic holes. The first produces raisin-like, shrivelled fruit; the second covers the shrivelled fruit with a mold. These two factors have the same effect: they cause the water within the berries, which is originally 90 percent of its bulk to evaporate through the now-porous skin. The outcome is that the relative concentration of the other components of grape juice, the extract increases.

Sweet wines are usually made from late-picked grapes or grapes, which have undergone some kind of concentrating process. The reason is that to make a sweet wine you need to start with a high sugar concentration, so that when some of it has been fermented to produce alcohol, there is still some unfermented sugar remaining. One of the rare sweet white category is ice wine. This wine gets a special quality by being harvested and crushed while frozen. Obviously, for this to happen freezing weather is required. Since the water content of the berries has largely turned to ice, what little juice can be pressed out contains a very high proportion of sugars, acids, and other extract components. In other words, the lower the temperature and the more solidly frozen the grapes, the more concentrated the must. The grapes have to be at least at minus 7°C when they arrive at the presses. Other common methods of concentrating the juice are by freezing the juice in a tank, so that a large ice-block forms, and the remaining super-sweet juice is then drained away to ferment and make a sweet wine. Another method is to snip the vine’s canes a few days or week before picking, to stop the sap flow and encourage the grapes to shrivel. A method known as cordon cut.

At Bass River we have developed a hybrid method to the freezing grapes to develop our Iced Riesling wine. The grapes are picked at optimum acid and sugar levels, the grapes are then pressed and transferred into our freezer. The temperature of the grape juice is then lowered to minus 7°C to form ice blocks on the surface of the juice. The ice is removed, and the remaining juice is intensely sweet. We have developed a process of fermenting a portion of the juice to dryness. The two portions are then combined, that is the fermented wine and unfermented juice. The result is a balanced acid sweet wine with citrus and lime characteristics underlining orange-marzipan sweetness at normal wine alcohol.

There are various examples of Gippsland sweet wines, these wines are labour intensive and as a result are generally priced a higher than conventional table wine. It’s often a great wine to finish a meal or share with dessert, often served in smaller portions. Frank Butera is the wine maker at Bass River winery. frank@bassriverwinery.com

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The Little RedDuck Rosie Duck / The Little Red Duck

Produce from the kitchen garden

in the heart of picturesque Noojee

Herbs from the kitchen garden

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Employee Brooke Peters, Shane & Rosie with some gourmet foods

Café & Store By Wendy Morriss

The exceedingly popular Little Red Duck Café, in the heart of the serene picturesque town of Noojee, now has store items for locals and campers and a wonderful provedore devoted to exploring local gourmet foods and produce.

Shane the chef with some of his treats

Rosie & husband Simon Duck on the café verandah

The café is contemporary with an old-fashioned touch and a friendly, country atmosphere. It is situated close to the beautiful Latrobe River and not far from the iconic Trestle Bridge, Toorongo Falls and Mt Baw Baw snow fields.

Six people, who all live locally, are employed in the café on a shift basis and Rosie gets in more help when she needs it, from staff working in the other venues.

It is owned and operated by Rosie and Simon Duck, business owner of the Noojee Hotel, affectionately known as the Nooj, and the Willow Grove Duck Inn.

She said the provedore was part of the plan from day one, but it has taken time to source the products that people want and it’s still evolving. The reason for it was so patrons could enjoy a meal and take something nice home with them as a memento of their visit. “We started with our own packaged blend of coffee beans, Noojee honey and honeycomb supplied by Eric Duffy and a large range of homemade chutneys, and sauces from St Fiacre’s farm in nearby Neerim South. Since then we’ve added artisan breads, dairy products, local pasteurised free range eggs and Weyhill Farm garlic granules and salts, which are popular. We have Tambo gourmet jams and preserves, Darryl’s natural peanut butter, which is made from freshly roasted Australian peanuts with a pinch of sea salt, and King Valley natural popcorn in salted caramel, lightly salted and chilli and parmesan.”

We assume that Rosie Duck, who is an endearing, shorter than average redhead, is the Little Red Duck. She is the face of the business and manager of the café and store. In the café both she and her staff serve all day breakfast, brunch, lunch and afternoon tea. They offer perfectly brewed coffee, quality T2 teas, light meals, a variety of house made cakes and sweet treats and a selection of Peter’s gourmet and traditionally flavoured scoop ice cream. Rosie and Shane her chef, who has exceptional culinary skills and 20 years’ experience in the industry, both cook and create all the wonderful food that’s served both inside the café and outside in the garden, under the verandah.

“Everything is now made in-house from scratch,” Rosie said. “We make popular homemade quiches and now we make really delicious gourmet pies that are chicken and vegetable and chunky beef steak.” Another recent development at the back of the building is the kitchen garden where they have grown vegetables, strawberries and a variety of herbs that are used in the café. “This year,” she said, “we have had to share a few cherry tomatoes and strawberries with the local king parrots.” During winter, the café is heated by a central wood fire and the fresh organic flowers placed around the venue are supplied by local organic flower grower Heather Gillespie. An exhibition of photographic works by local bushman and photographer Peter Christian adorn the walls along with artist D Till’s unique coffee prints. “Her beautiful prints are wonderful and popular,” Rosie said. “They are all painted with coffee and water colours and she’s painted a signature coffee cup ring in each one.”

In December last year, The Little Red Duck Café celebrated the first year of business and Rosie said during that time, the business has grown rapidly. “The busiest times are on the weekend when thousands of visitors and campers come to Noojee. We see all sorts of people all ages including locals, workers and tourists from various parts of the state and from overseas.” She said the recent installation of store items was instigated by the closure of the small general store on the opposite side of the road. “It’s to provide basic supplies for locals and campers so they don’t have to go to another town to get what they need. Although they are store items, we still try to source Australian products whenever we can.” Rosie has future plans to supply fresh organic produce, to further develop the kitchen garden for the café and to source more unique gourmet products locally, from other parts of Gippsland and Victoria that will satisfy the needs of their discerning patrons. The café is the main business while the store is a service that enhances it. She said she loves it, she enjoys the work and the customers, so it’s become a dream almost fulfilled.

Photography by Wendy Morriss & kindly supplied by The Little Red Duck

Shane and Rosie

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Mountain Millie Photos & Words by Ken Roberts

I’m sure it’s a trick how time passes, seemingly slowly but then you look up and suddenly it has whizzed past and so many changes have happened! I have unconsciously looked at a mountain that looms prominently in my landscape all my life. It has always sat silently in the background of my vision but is now more prominent as the view outside my bedroom window. It is called Ben Cruachan, named by Scottish explorer Malcolm MacFarlane in 1847 after a mountain in Argyll, Scotland. It rises 836 metres and is located about 25 km northwest of Maffra. The most striking thing in my memory about Ben Cruachan was always ‘the gap’. As I grew up you could always look up and see a large gap, like a missing tooth, dead centre in the middle of the top of the mountain. I can remember as a young boy accompanying my dad and uncle as they went up there for some reason and I suddenly found myself ‘standing’ in the gap. It must have been quite significant to me as the memory holds strong. I learnt later that the gap was cut to make a helipad for fire fighting. As time passed by I forgot about it and then at some stage looked up and the gap was gone! In the 50 years or more fire fighting techniques had changed and the helipad was no longer needed and so had been allowed to regenerate. Now you can’t really even discern a bump where the gap had been. Ben Cruachan is now so prominent in my daily life and I see it all the time. I remember the gap but I now appreciate more the beauty of the mountain and the surrounding wilderness. My friends Chris and Trev are avid members of the Ben Cruachan Walking Club, which still has the gap in their official logo. When they said they were going on a drive up there to check out access after the recent fires Millie and I eagerly accepted their invitation to join them. Though it’s accessible by road it is a little more ‘adventurous’ than I would feel comfortable driving and so it was the perfect opportunity to go along for the ride and make a return after half a century.

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On the way I mentioned that, even though it is so close to home, it is maybe 30 years since I had visited another local site, ‘The Channel’, up the back of Newry. I had been there in my twenties and remember visiting and swimming in this glorious place but had never returned. They graciously took a detour and we made our way there. I recalled that it was just a quick drive up a local road and you were there, but my memory failed me. We drove up and down and around a rough winding and badly marked road to finally get to the carpark and campsite. I’m sure the steep and lengthy walk down to the river wasn’t there in my youth! My memory of the place though remained strong as we arrived at the gorge of sandstone cliffs overlooking the channel with the softly meandering Avon River below. When in flood the then mighty Avon River rips through this channel as a raging torrent. On this moody day with Millie at my side I could recall the blazing sun of that summer’s day decades ago as my cousin and I swam in the cool, clear pools below. My friends had been here before as there are networks of walking tracks through the region that link up to other scenic spots such as Huggetts Crossing, Green Hill and Dermody’s Camp. It is a bush walker’s paradise for all different levels of ability and easily accessible. After our diversion we headed off again towards Ben Cruachan. Next stop was Pearson’s Point, a drivable but steep viewpoint over the lush Macalister irrigation district. The escarpment gives grand sweeping views across the vast plain below with a wonderful vista of Lake Glenmaggie. The nooks and crannies in the rocky outcrops reminded me of Hanging Rock. There was so much to see and it’s the perfect vantage point to try to pick out local landmarks. Next visit I must bring binoculars! Off we drove on our quest. We didn’t see another car or person, though the area is popular it’s a little off the beaten track. It’s fortunate to still find some places that are not overrun with people. We stopped for a cloudy view of the back of Ben Cruachan, a totally different aspect to what I usually see. Next stop was Mount Hedrick, a lovely walk through bush tracks to more rocky outcrops and another marvellous panorama.

The Avon Wilderness really is an understated wonder of Gippsland that is not always appreciated as much as some other higher profile areas. It’s a hidden gem. Millie was totally comfortable in her mountain climbing and viewing, she was a natural! She loves a ramble through the bush.

As we drove deeper and higher into the region we began to see the effects of the recent bushfires. The intensity of the fires was evident with scorched earth and charred trees. We finally arrived at the start of the climb to the top of Ben Cruachan. It was a steeper drive with sharp ditches at times made for rain run off. It was slow and steady going until we were stopped by a section of the track that was all soft clay and a bog waiting to happen. We left the car and walked the last kilometre or so to the top. Surrounded by the blackened bush and the smell of the burnt landscape it was easy to imagine the fury of the fire that had roared through the bush. Though sad to see the destruction caused it was heartening to see so many signs of recovery and the beginning of regrowth. As we finally walked up the last incline to the car park at the very top it was amazing to see that the post and rail fences and log picnic seats there had remarkably survived unburnt! Climbing up the rock pile to the very top I was a little disappointed that the tree canopy wouldn’t allow me a view down below so that I could try to see my house, impossible as that would be. I was quite amazed that I was actually at the top. I wondered how few people ever had the opportunity to get there. It was a really wonderful and achievable goal. As always the return trip seemed to just fly by and it felt like no time at all that I was back home. I stood in my backyard staring up at Ben Cruachan in disbelief. It was hard to fathom that I had been right to the top and was now looking up at it from below. Millie, as usual, was a wonderful travelling companion. No complaints and always eager to explore and be a part of yet another adventure in our fantastic Gippsland home. Where to next Millsy?

Millie

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TOURING WITH JOHN JOHN WITH

STEP BACK IN TIME TO A WORLD OF TREES, TIMBER & TRESTLE BRIDGES, TESTAMENTS TO OUR PAST PIONEERING SKILLS. We find ourselves in Nowa Nowa, a small town nestling amoung tall grey box and ironbark trees and adjacent to one of the upper arms of Lake Tyers namely Boggy Creek. Nowa Nowa and surrounds including Toorloo Arm has a population of about 200 and is a pleasant meandering and mostly tree-lined drive of 23km (about a 15-20 minutes) east of Lakes Entrance along the Princes Highway. An interesting mix of nature, art, local culture, tourism and a single remaining timber mill, Nowa Nowa is a popular spot for a break along the Sydney to Melbourne Coastal route. With its general store, the ever present pub, and a café known as “Mingling Waters” your refreshment needs are well catered for. Alternatively, take a picnic and drive down the dirt track adjacent to the caravan park and enjoy the peace and tranquillity of Boggy Creek, an arm of Lake Tyers, take your fishing gear and cast a line, photograph the scenery and local wildlife or just sit back and relax. There is an interesting track alongside the creek with occasional seating and some locally produced sculptures to the east of the small boat ramp area, which leads to the oval and pony club. Take care, as when the lake is at its highest, this track can be covered in water.

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Why is this little gem called Nowa Nowa? There is no clear definitive answer, all of the following being cited in various references. Arguably an Aboriginal word for black cockatoo, after Mt Nowa Nowa, (2 Kms NNE with its old wooden fire tower), may derive from an Aboriginal expression describing a hill of black stones, or a rising sun. Alternatively, Nowa Nowa, is an Aboriginal word meaning the meeting of the waters, an obvious reference to the confluence of Ironstone, Boggy and Stony Creeks nearby. Nowa Nowa then has a deal of history of its own, its Post Office opened in March 1893, the Railway Station in April 1916 after completion of the line from Bairnsdale via Bruthen. It derived its income mainly from farming and the timber industry, the advent of the rail line being a major factor in the siting of a number of timber mills in the locale, having relied until then on slower water born transport using coastal ports and inlets, often unreliable and sometimes dangerous. A critical factor in the extension of the rail line from Bairnsdale was the need to traverse the Mitchell, Nicholson, Tambo and Snowy Rivers by way of some large trestle bridges, and minor creeks on its way to Orbost.

Canoeing on Boggy Creek

The Victorian Railways Standing Committee after some delay due to cost, finally recommended the construction of the railway line from Bairnsdale to Bruthen then on to Orbost at an estimated cost of £391,360.00, construction commenced in 1912 and it was opened to the public on 10th April, 1916. One of the most expensive projects undertaken by Victoria Railways at the time it was managed by the respected engineer, Maurice E Kernot.

During construction many of the original plans and bridge designs had to be modified due to the actual terrain encountered with many gradients, steep valleys and resultant washaways after rain. It was estimated that 1,529,110 cubic metres of earthwork was carried out by hand with transportation by horse or bullock drawn vehicles.

Nicholson Rail Bridge

The Stony Creek Trestle Bridge is about 4.5kms west of Nowa Nowa towards Lakes Entrance, just off the Princes Highway within the Colquhoun State Forest is perhaps the most significant of all the bridges built along the old line which rises from almost sea level to about 120m over its length. This spectacular trestle bridge was built in 1916 from locally sourced red iron bark and grey box timber and measures 276m long and 19m high with spans of 9.09m, and is listed on the Register of Historic Sites. The bridge is generally accepted to be the largest standing wooden trestle bridge of its type in Australia and possibly the Southern Hemisphere. The turnoff from the Princes Highway is not easy to spot although it is signposted. The road into the forest is unmade, windy and a little bumpy, but fine for a two wheel drive except perhaps after excessive heavy rain. The extension of the existing line from Melbourne by 97Km to Orbost, and the construction of this and other bridges, provided not only local jobs but a boost to the regional economy. Following World War 1, timber was in huge demand, and the area surrounding Orbost was, and still is, rich in quality hardwood such as grey box and red ironbark, the production of timber is still maintained although on a smaller scale to this day. All the timber materials in its construction were felled and gathered from local forests and still is a fine example and testament to the early engineering skills of Australian pioneers.

Mingling Waters Cafe

The line continued in regular use, providing both goods and passenger transport for over 60 years until it sustained bushfire damage in 1980. In 1964, seven years after diesel engines replaced steam locomotives on the line, the Stony Creek Trestle Bridge was the scene of a dramatic derailment. Eleven timber filled trucks left the tracks and fell from the bridge, three of them at the time of the accident and the remaining eight as crews cleaned up. In a stroke of good fortune the engine and guard's van remained on the tracks and all on board were safe. Although the railway closed in 1987 the last train to travel over the Stony Creek Trestle Bridge was on 21st August 1988.

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Wairewa Road Trestle Bridge

TOURING WITH JOHN Today unfortunately, this bridge itself is not well maintained and cannot be traversed being barricaded for safety reasons, the view across from the eastern side is none the less impressive and gives a sense of height and space. The site and surrounds of Stony Creek Bridge are part of the East Gippsland Rail Trail, a 96km cycling, walking and horse riding route running from Bairnsdale to Orbost along the route of the railway line. It is recognised that the engineering heritage and legacy of Stony Creek Trestle Bridge, indeed the railway itself is significant, having a number of other impressive and interesting structures along its route. The remaining structures of the railway will be protected and preserved being part of the East Gippsland Rail Trail. These include the Nicholson River Bridge just upstream of the township, the smaller but none the less impressive trestle bridge at Wairewa Road Nowa Nowa, and the low level but lengthy trestle across the Snowy River flood plain on the western approaches to Orbost.

The Stony Creek Rail Bridge is historically and architecturally significant, recognised by National Trust as a representative and essentially intact example of a timber trestle bridge along the Melbourne to Orbost line and is historically significant as a notable example of timber trestle bridge construction, demonstrating a distinctive construction method that utilised the native bush timbers. Classified: 25/04/1974 (Adapted from Heritage Victoria statement 25/10/2011)

The East Gippsland Rail Trail now extends up and down the steep sides of Stony Creek and visitors can walk close to the existing framework and marvel at the methods by which this outstanding structure was built. On the western vehicular approach a viewing area and small parking bay have been provided from which an overview of the structure can be seen. A small car park is provided close to the eastern end of the bridge and steps lead up to the level of the old tracks. Information boards at the site provide the visitor with some interesting history. To continue along our woody way, and to make a round trip more interesting than never ending tarmac, there is a well-made although dirt trail, from Stony Creek Bridge back to Lakes Entrance or Bruthen via the Colquhoun Forest Discovery Drive, this is signed with site markers and some interpretive signage and passes close to Costicks Weir, the historic granite quarry, and fuel reduction burning sites, with examples of silvicultural practices. Enjoy this leisurely drive through the forest watching out for the occasional wallaby or goanna and seeing the many shapes and sizes of ant hills around old trees. The route ends with re-entry on to the Princes Highway at Forestech about 7kms west of Lakes Entrance, however at the intersection of Scrivener’s Track there is an option to re-enter Lakes Entrance via Colquhoun Road, then turning right at the intersection with and Ostlers Road down into the town. Words + Photographs by John Munns Sources: Heritage Victoria: Geocaching Australia. Railtrails Australia, Inc. Visit Victoria.com. Pinterest. Names and their Origin. John George Sexton 1907.

View from East side Steps

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View across the top

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So, what is ® Community Bank ?

Branch Manager, Chris Wood with staff: Eve Cameron Molly Farnham and Stacey Tannard

The Lang Lang Community Bank® branch is a locally owned and operated company, which functions as a franchise of Bendigo and Adelaide Bank. The Bank provides the coverage of its banking licence, a full range of banking products, training of staff and ongoing support.

And behind those numbers are thousands of stories of Community Bank® branches making a real difference to the lives of local people. Our Community Bank® branches are helping improve the economic and social prospects of their local communities.

The Bank and the community company are each entitled to agreed portions of the revenue of the local Community Bank® branch and the local company is responsible for paying branch running costs.

The essence of the Community Bank® is in sharing the responsibilities and rewards between the community and our bank. Communities across Australia have accepted the responsibility of providing start-up capital and making their branches successful - and are increasingly reaping rewards that aren't just limited to banking.

When the local company begins to make a regular operating surplus, after the payment of branch running costs, and the Bank's share of the revenue is received, the remaining funds are available to be reinvested back into the community through dividends to shareholders and grants to community groups and projects. Between 1993 and 2000, more than 2,050 bank branches closed across Australia. These closures represented a 29% reduction in branch numbers in just seven years and many communities were left without branch banking facilities. Bendigo Bank identified this trend and recognised the impact the reduction in branch numbers was having on communities. The Community Bank® story first started in 1998 when Bendigo Bank partnered with the Victorian communities, with the Lang Lang community being one of the first Community Bank® branches in Australia providing banking services to their town. When it first started, Community Bank® was eagerly sought out by many rural communities looking for a sustainable solution to branch banking that could be quickly implemented, but the model has proven to translate into metropolitan communities with almost half of the Community Bank® network now based in the major cities of Australia.

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In the early days, most attention was focused on how the Community Bank® concept has secured face-to-face banking services for local communities. Of course, this is important, but it ignores the tremendous social and economic contributions being made by Community Bank® branches as more capital is retained locally, more commercial activity is stimulated and the confidence of local community leaders increases. We continue to witness the tangible results produced by the Community Bank® model - not just in rural areas, but in our regional centres and the suburbs of our capital cities.

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank continues to participate in the development of the Community Bank® model with an enormous sense of pride. We are indeed fortunate to partner with many vibrant and successful communities. Today, more than 20 years later, $205 million in community contributions and 324 Community Bank® branches throughout Australia, why not come and join us and be a part of the better big bank.

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LEONGATHA RSL

Leongatha Returned Services League SubBranch recently celebrated their 100th year with various activities including a Saturday night gala dinner with live entertainment, attended by RSL State President Dr Rob Webster and past State President David McLachlan AO (Ret’d). A Thanksgiving Service was held on the Sunday at The Place of Reflection at the Leongatha Recreation Reserve near the Avenue of Honour. The Leongatha RSL received its charter on January 3, 1919. Since then it has grown and now has more than 2500 members. The club today provides a place for social connections for veterans, former service men and women and the general public in a comfortable modern venue where they can enjoy drinks, meals and view an extensive range of service memorabilia. Three staff members that were heavily involved in the preparations for the centenary are Anne Davies, Manager, Wendy Wyhoon, the welfare and activities coordinator, who has worked for the RSL for 12 years and Ricky McNaughton, the assistant manager who has worked for the club for more than 20 years.

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“The RSL venue is a medium size but probably a large one for the area,” Ricky said. “We can seat 120 in the bistro and the same number in our members lounge. We can also cater for dinner meetings upstairs for about 20 – 25 people.”

They are however, expected to become a member after the first visit, if they live within 10 kilometres of the club but the cost to become a member is gained back quite quickly though points and discounts.

Wendy said the club is well supported by members and there are more tourists coming through the town and new people moving into the area that find them. “Many comments made are about how much they love Leongatha RSL because it’s personable and the staff are always pleasant.”

Apart from service memberships, the club has affiliate memberships, which is for anyone that hasn’t served themselves but have a family member that has. It could be an uncle or sister, a person that is deceased or a living son or a daughter. Social membership is for members that don’t have any personal or family service record. Wendy said all members whether they are affiliate members, social members or service members all receive the same benefits and discounts.

“Although the club is a substantial size, it’s family-friendly and still has that small country feel,” Ricky said, “which is something we never want to lose. When Joe Blow walks in off the street, we generally know what he drinks. We also have members that come in for dinner on particular nights and want their certain table, which is always booked for them.” He said Member’s Nights, which are Thursdays and Fridays offer them the chance to win raffles and a weekly members' draw. “We purchase the prizes from local businesses around the town so it’s supporting them as well,” he said. “We have free live entertainment on the first Friday of the month and I try to get in local acts that play from 7 to 10 pm.” Wendy said patrons coming in don’t have to be a member, they have the option of signing in.

Ricky said they also have the same reciprocal rights as well. “If a member from here say goes to Phillip Island for the day and wants to have lunch at the RSL there, they can use their membership card and receive the same discounts and accumulate points as well. It’s the same in all RSL venues throughout Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia. The remaining states are governed differently and a separate membership is required.” Apart from the main venue, the club also has a Veteran’s Resource Hub close by, which according to Wendy is a type of drop in centre for veterans, veteran’s families and for the community as well. “We have a large library there containing donated books, a pool table, a dart board and the coffee pot is always on.” She said the facility is often used by community groups and sporting clubs as a meeting room.

Centenary

By Wendy Morriss

Major.H.Pern A.A.M.C. A.I.F.

Leongatha group taken at heliopolis in egypt 16th January, 1916 (after Gallipoi)

“Friday mornings we have a local Knit and Natter group come in. For the centenary, the group along with the local Probus ladies knitted around 800 poppies. The poppies along with 25 more from a woman who came in off the street were all sewn onto a camouflage canopy that was displayed during the celebrations in the Leongatha Memorial Hall.”

Leongatha Sub-Branch Ladies Auxiliary 1960 left to right: Mai Riseley, Mrs R McIndoe, Jessie Motton, Iila Burchell Mrs Parson, Lesley Hunt, Lorna Goldsworth & Mrs Bond

The Memorial Hall, which was built in 1926, is where the Leongatha RSL first held meetings until their club rooms were built. Anne believes that when the community were raising funds to build the hall, the RSL contributed £1000 on the proviso that when the hall was built, they could hold their meetings there until their clubrooms were available. She said the RSL club rooms had to be built as a house to obtain the building supplies they needed. It was built on the current site and opened on July 19, 1952 by Lieutenant-General the Honourable Sir Edmund Herring, Lieutenant Governor of the State of Victoria.

Leongatha RSL 1972

Members of the No:33 RSL District Board last meeting of the board at the Leongatha RSL Club - 27 February, 2003

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LEONGATHA RSL

Centenary

Ken Wanklyn (President) Ricky McNaughton, Michelle Andrews Anne Davies (Manager), Wendy Wyhoon, Andrea Koolen

The club’s founding president was Dr H Pern, who served during the First World War, the secretary was Mr A Bryan and Mr W Wilson was the treasurer. “Back then, women weren’t allowed to become members even the women that had served, so The Ladies Auxiliary was established and they did all the catering until 1986,” Wendy said. “They were allowed to feed everyone but they weren’t allowed to join.” Ricky said in 1972, the original building was extended and reclad in brick. In 1996, it was again extended, refurbished and opened by the then RSL State President Bruce Ruxton. On December 11, 2009, major extensions and refurbishments of the Leongatha RSL were officially opened by State President Major General David McLachlan. These new extensions and refurbishments included new offices and meeting rooms. The same year, the club was awarded the Victorian RSL Licenced Sub-Branch of the Year and long serving committee member Rod Cameron, who was president at the time, was inducted into the RSL hall of fame. Photography by Wendy Morriss Historical Images kindly supplied by Leongatha RSL The Member’s Lounge

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Bar staff - Travis Strybosch, Nick Tuckett Ricky McNaughton

The Bistro

WONTHAGGI MEDICAL GROUP

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YOUR LOCAL GENERAL PRACTICE FOR • Medical Services for the whole family • Obstetrics - Pregnancy Management/Birth • Palliative Care • Aged Care • Vascular Health Assessments • General Health Assessments • Healthy Kids Check

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A Story from the TRESTLE BRIDGE Frank Keighery 24th Battalion of Lang Lang / Australian War Memorial

THE FIRST SOLDIER OF LANG LANG WORDS BY JE MILLER

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Leaving Melbourne on the HMAT Euripides A14 on the 10th of May 1915 / Australian War Memorial

As a storyteller I am always aware of the responsibility that rests with me to do justice to any story that is gifted to me to tell. The enchanting town of Lang Lang has such a rich history filled with comradery, bravery and community, epitomising true Australian spirit, that I am honoured to share it with you. If you have already heard this tale from the little treasure in South East Gippsland that is the town of Lang Lang, then I hope you enjoy reminiscing with me. Before I begin, I pay my respects to the first storytellers of our beautiful country, elders past, present and emerging, whom in the area of Lang Lang, were the Bunurong Aboriginal people. With gratitude I humbly thank them for allowing us to share our stories on their land. As one of the founding members of the Lang Lang and District Historical Society once said about her cherished town, “What a story we have to tell.”

The third of four children of a founding family, Frank probably grew up as many young people did in the town, swimming near the Lang Lang River bridge… running in the glorious Gippsland summer sun, through the trees and down the bank to the cool water. As I gaze into the distance and imagine the landscape at a time when it was properly maintained, I can almost hear their laughter and cries of glee as the train rattled past overhead. I can picture Frank seated in a small lecture style class room, at a timber desk with a lift-up lid practising his writing… possibly thinking about the regular lunchtime football or cricket match ahead. He often played music with his family to raise money for improvements in the town, while the birthdays of his youth, in the middle of winter, were likely spent by an open fire reading books filled with exciting adventures of distant lands.

Having dinner with a film scout friend of mine recently, I was enthralled to hear the things that he looks for when finding the perfect place for his upcoming films. As he spoke, I kept thinking of the beautiful images of the charming Lang Lang River trestle bridge… the longest timber trestle bridge surviving on the original Dandenong Leongatha section of the Great Southern Railway. Those images, along with a beautiful picture of a railway track meandering through a dense treescape, reminded me of one of my favourite films, Stand By Me. A beautiful coming of age film, these poignant images stir memories of four young boys on the adventure of a lifetime, as they journey into the mysterious unknown of adulthood.

An avid sportsman and dearly loved by his community Frank went on to become an apprentice printer at the Lang Lang Guardian, until 1915 when he became the first man of Lang Lang to enlist in WWI. After a large send off given in his honour in the Memorial Hall, the heart of the community, he left to embark on an adventure of his own. I picture him there, at the tender age of 20, brave and expectant, gazing out from the train window as it pulled out of the station. Leaving Melbourne on the HMAT Euripides A14 on the 10th of May 1915 for Egypt, Frank likely spent his 21st birthday in an infantry camp, under the shadow of the Great Sphinx, and in no need of an open fire to keep warm.

Bonds of friendship and mateship, sacrifice and honour are entwined in their story, just as they are in the abundantly quaint town of Lang Lang. In particular the story of one of its residents from years past, the son of a boot maker, Frank Keighery.

On September 4th, 1915, Frank and the 24th Battalion arrived on the shores of Gallipoli. A few days after his arrival, Frank wrote a letter home, describing how “…the whiz of the missiles reminded us that our playing at war was over, and that we were in the real thing.”

Far from the carefree boy once swimming under the Lang Lang River trestle bridge, Private Frank Keighery had certainly come of age. Acutely aware of the dangers he faced, he wrote: “Don’t worry about me… and if the Higher Powers decree that I should pay the extreme price you will know that it will be for some good end…” On September 11th 1915, Frank became the first Lang Lang man to valiantly give his life in service. Frank and some places of his childhood may be lost to memory - the Memorial Hall and his school building both lost to fire, and the trestle bridge overgrown and no longer accessible - but his community has continued to flourish. The Lang Lang Op Shop raised the funds to rebuild the Memorial Hall, and still raises over $40,000 each year to help the local community. The school was rebuilt in 1973, and even today members of the wider community are working together towards repairing and re-establishing the iconic Great Southern Railway. People stand by each other with helping hands and generous hearts in a thriving town that is as resilient as it is beautiful. Frank’s legacy in both his town and country remains. The peace and freedom won by many, including a once carefree boy from Lang Lang who played music with his family, will always be remembered. Pvt Frank Keighery’s last letter home can be found in the Australian War Memorial archives. More on the author can be found at www.rememberlestweforget.com and for more information about the captivating history of this charming town please search for the Lang Lang and District Historical Society on Facebook. Trestle Bridge, Memorial Hall and rail photos courtesy of The Lang Lang & District Historical Society

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walking a mile in their shoes WORDS BY JE MILLER

I WAS DELIGHTED TO BE ASKED TO GO ON ASSIGNMENT IN PHILLIP ISLAND AND RE-VISIT THE NATIONAL VIETNAM VETERANS MUSEUM. IT HAS CERTAINLY CHANGED SINCE MY LAST VISIT THERE, WITH SOME BEAUTIFUL ADDITIONS, INCLUDING A GRUMMAN TRACKER JET AND A HUGE CARIBOU 231 AIRCRAFT PARKED OUT THE FRONT.

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HOLOGRAPHIC DISPLAY

It was an incredibly impressive sight as I drove along Phillip Island Road. The museum offers visitors a chance to step into the shoes of those who served in Vietnam… to learn about our history and to visit with their stories. Before I begin, I pay my respects to the first storytellers of our beautiful country, elders past, present and emerging, whom in the area of Phillip Island, were the Yalloc Bulluk clan of the Bunurong Aboriginal people. With humble gratitude I acknowledge their ancestry and the beautiful land they first walked. It is the stories of our ancestors, particularly our Vietnam Veterans… their courage, sacrifice, love and integrity, which I want to share with you today. It was a story so important for me to tell first hand, that I travelled from Brisbane to visit this unique place once again. The last time I was here, my father was beside me and we walked the halls together and today I have my daughter Lucy with me for her first visit to the museum. So come with me, as we walk a mile in the shoes of our brave service personnel. Entering the museum, I am overcome by the stillness of the vast space. I feel like I have stepped back in time as the vintage vehicles and uniforms fill the quiet space of the custom building. In hushed voices my daughter and I wonder around, soaking in the exhibits, as we talk about what we see. We talk about the red poppies, the different medals contained in glass cabinets, and the lottery which decided the fate of so many Nashos, including for my own father. This is a very special assignment for me, taking Lucy to step into their shoes. How lucky we are to have a place like the National Vietnam Veterans Museum, where we can all have that opportunity.

Strolling through the museum we see the heavy artillery gun that was used throughout the Vietnam War, complete with footage playing of Australian soldiers operating the machinery. In fact, at many of the exhibits we can scan a code and hear a running commentary about the significance of each item. It’s like having our own personal tour guide. Alongside the other visitors here today, we stand beside a Bell AH-IG Cobra Attack helicopter, a decommissioned jeep, and walls of remembrance where the names of those MIA and KIA are reverently listed, and we can feel the weight of the sacrifices made. Breathing deeply, we can still smell the gunpowder, as we take time to reflect. Venturing into a camo net display, we find a place to sit and watch a cleverly designed holographic display. It is a nice, cool place to enjoy a thorough account of Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam war, and the sacrifices made by so many young service members in the pursuit of freedom and justice. But when we reach the Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopter (Huey), we have a different conversation. We aren’t talking about people we had never met, or names on a wall. We talk about my father… Lance corporal Ivan Williamson, and his service to our country in the Vietnam War. A very kind volunteer from the museum even lets my daughter climb up into the cockpit, for an extra special up-close experience. And I tell her Grandpa’s story… Part of the 2nd Ordinance depot, when he finally began to tell his story many years after returning home, we heard about his adventures on a Huey helicopter. He told us about a balmy day in Vietnam, in the searing heat, when him and his mate Les were onboard with the pilot, flying over thick jungle. A call came over the radio, and Grandpa’s heart momentarily stopped. COMMS DEVICE

WALL OF REMEMBRANCE

COBRA ATTACK HELICOPTER

HEAVY ARTILLERY GUN

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walking a mile in their shoes EMPATHY

IN BOOTS

The chopper was needed urgently, and him and Les couldn’t go with them. Doing the only thing he could, the pilot dropped the two soldiers off on a deserted airstrip. Despite his racing pulse and no desire to be left alone in a potentially hostile environment, Grandpa clutched his only weapon, a small hand pistol to his chest, and disembarked the Huey, dutifully following orders. They hid in the Vietnam jungle for hours, back to back, while they waited for another chopper to pick them up. ‘It was the longest few hours of my life,’ he said. I think it explains why we’ve never heard Grandpa complain about waiting in queues. Lucy and I continue our tour of the museum, and I tell her about more of the equipment her grandfather would have used during his service. She picks up the tacking and water flasks. She especially likes the portable comms device. We see a nurse’s uniform and I tell her about the time Grandpa sat at attention on his bed, when a General came to visit the hospital he was in once. ‘What are you in for son?’ the General had asked him. ‘Sunburned feet Sir,’ the embarrassed young soldier had replied.

MACHINE GUN

We come across a mannequin of a camouflaged soldier, hidden by dense foliage, and I am reminded of another of her Grandpa’s stories. His section, including Les once again and an interpreter, received intelligence and were given a mission to capture a VC who was hiding in a nearby village. No more than ten little shacks beside a river, it was as terrifying as a fortress, with the threat of the unknown prominent in their minds. In full camouflage and with rifles drawn, they stealthily approached under the cover of darkness. As dawn broke the soldiers entered the village, and successfully took the prisoner in for questioning, without bloodshed. Grandpa has always had a knack for diplomacy. Really getting to step into their shoes, even at her young age, I know Lucy understands more about our Nation’s history, she has gained empathy for so many brave Australians and what they faced, and she knows a whole lot more about the service given by her own Grandpa. And that’s an experience that money can’t buy.

MEDALS

UNIFORM DISPLAY

NURSES UNIFORM

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REMEMBERANCE PLAQUE

GRANDPA

MILITARY AIRCRAFT - CARIBOU

HOSPITAL DISPLAY

MILITARY JEEP

But as for what money can buy, the beautiful gift shop has grown somewhat since the last time I was here. There are some great car stickers, toys for young and old, memorabilia, clothes, and some great books, including a special new edition that I’m particularly excited about, which you’ll hear more about in the next edition of Gippsland Lifestyle. Equally as exciting, is the fantastic campaign that the museum is currently running to install a unique picket fence at the front of the building. For just a $25 donation a picket can have a name or short message up to 22 characters inscribed on it. Mostly run by volunteers, the museum relies on the proceeds from the gift shop and programs like this to continue to flourish. I think it’s a fantastic initiative and I’m looking forward to seeing the picket bearing the words ‘JE Miller Author’ on my next visit. For more information on the museum or the 'Pick-a-Picket' Museum Picket Fence Project, please go to www.vietnamvetsmuseum.org or contact staff on 03 5956 6400.

The way I see it, just like the National Vietnam Veterans Museum stands to remember the legacy of the brave Vietnam Veterans, now I’ve made my mark there too. A picket bears my name and will be a record through the ages that I stood in recognition of their service, proud of my fellow Australians. In more than words, I stood to support the important work that the National Vietnam Veterans Museum does and will continue to do into the future, and those that come after me will know… We will remember them. Photographs by JE Miller

MILITARY HUEY - HELICOPTER

MILITARY HUEY - HELICOPTER - COCKPIT

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“Food, Dance

& A Little Romance”

The Good Ol’ Fashion Social Dance is in Full Swing in Gippsland By Lia Spencer

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On any given Monday, men and women are flocking to the Longwarry Hall to dance the night away. The Longwarry dance has been running for about half a century and is one of about twenty social dances held weekly or monthly in the Gippsland area. About 40 people from across the region will show up every week or on one Saturday a month to share a supper, socialise and ballroom dance. They follow a set routine of steps over 16 or 32 bars of music. Each routine is danced several times over the length of the music being played, and everybody dances in unison. Jim Garnham, who has attended the weekly event with his wife Heather for about 30 years, is not surprised by the longevity of the popular event. “Every second little town used to have dances. Some have closed. But the ones that keep going have picked up a bit lately. People return every week because they know the dances and can do them with confidence,” Jim said.

“It’s also about the social interaction with each other and the camaraderie amongst us that keeps this dance going. We enjoy each other’s company.” Albert Bateson also attends dancing at Longwarry every Monday night. Albert used to attend weekly dances when he was a teenager, but as he got older and work became a priority, dancing took a back seat. It wasn’t until 21 years ago that he and his wife Leanne decided to start dancing again, and he hasn’t looked back since. Jim and Albert both receive dance training of their own from different instructors in Morwell. They then teach amateurs or newcomers’ basic skills or more advanced moves so that they too can be

confident to join the group who dance in unison. Some weeks, groups of school students show up at the Longwarry Hall to learn a dance for an upcoming event. Young couples have attended to learn how to dance for their upcoming wedding. But mainly, the same core group of people have been coming week in and week out. Some of them are aged in their eighties or nineties and have danced their entire life.

“Dancing keeps people feeling their best. It’s good exercise. It helps the mind and body,” Jim said. “Physiotherapists will tell you that dancing, and doing crosswords, is one of the best brain teasers going around to keep you mentally intoned with what you are doing.” Albert agreed. He said that even the music could resonate with aging crowds and bring back memories of their younger years. That is why he often takes a group of dancers to senior citizen’s home to perform for them. “They love hearing the old music,” Albert said. “They love watching people dance and they tap along.”

“And it’s romantic,” Albert added. And because there is a romantic element to dancing, it’s no surprise some relationships have formed between attendees over the years. ““We do get a few single people who come and meet,” Albert said. “And traditionally, that where people used to go to meet people.” Jim and Albert encouraged everyone, young or old, single or partnered, to come along to the weekly or monthly dances to have fun and keep fit. If people can’t make the weekly event, they can attend the social dance on the last Saturday of every month, where music is provided by organists Ronda Richards from Leongatha or Ian Shields from Sale who alternative every month. All money made at the weekly or monthly dances go the Longwarry Hall Committee. Anyone wanting more information can visit the website www.socialdancegippsland.yolasite.com or call Albert at 0401 257 519 or Jim at 5659 6345.

Jim and Albert both believe that the type of dancing younger people do today pails in comparison to the dancing they grew up learning and loving. “What they do in the pubs today is just bouncing around,” Jim said. “(What we do) is structured. It has a meaning to it and it makes you think,” Jim said. “I’m not a rock and roller, some people are, but I find that boring because you are doing the same sequence all the time. Here, you get about five or six different variety of dances.” Those dances include Blues, Rumbas, Waltzes, Tangos, Cha Cha’s, and Saunters. But both Jim and Albert’s favourite dance is the Modern Walz. “There’s a beautiful flow to it,” Jim said.

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A LIFETIME OF SALES

THE REMARKABLE CAREER OF VETERAN SOUTH GIPPSLAND LIVESTOCK AND REAL ESTATE SELLING AGENT PETER DWYER NOW SPANS SEVEN DECADES. HIS ENDURING STORY IS A GENUINE NOD TO ANOTHER ERA. WORDS BY WENDY HALL Peter Dwyer is not Peter Dwyer, he is Clifford Leslie Dwyer born at Foster on the 19th of May 1930 – a little less than six months before Phar Lap won the Melbourne Cup and brought some much-needed cheer to a nation still engulfed in the effects of the Great Depression. Peter is not a lot of other things that one might expect an 89-year-old man to be either. He is not retired. He is nowhere near his use-by date. He is not fusty or out-of-touch, not faded or struggling for relevance in the 21st century. So what, then, is he? Peter Dwyer is a bona fide gentleman and a gentle man. He is authentic and unpresuming but, equally, sharp, articulate and ‘current’. He is also a man who would definitely be uncomfortable digesting accolades about himself, but they are true.

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I meet Peter on a cold, damp day at his home in Inverloch. The grey day is in sharp contrast to the warm home and even warmer reception he extends. He is immaculately dressed, sporting a neat tie which I suspect is not a shallow gesture on behalf of my visit but rather how Peter Dwyer always presents himself to the current world of jeans and sneakers. In his ninetieth year, Peter is still working full time. “I even worked Saturday morning this week,” he quips, with absolutely no suggestion that this is anything exceptional. He recalls that just before the passing of his beloved wife Shirley in 2002 she had said, “I want you to keep working. It will help you.” She was so right. And he did. Peter has now been a part of livestock and real estate management and sales for nigh on 70 years. That is something!! Shirley would be proud.

So how did this remarkable career and life unfold? Peter’s parents, John and Marjory Dwyer were share farmers during the “worst depression in history”. They gained employment managing “Shetland Heights” and “Anderson’s Paddock” in the San Remo area, running sheep. Peter’s mother sadly passed away from meningitis at the age of just 31 years. Despite various relatives offering to take care of Peter and his brothers Kevin and John, all just young boys, his father decided to keep the family together. During this time John employed a number of housekeepers to help him with his boys. One of these, Miss Florence Clohesy (who had previously worked at the infamous Tally Ho Boys’ Home), eventually became his wife and the boys’ new stepmother. Peter speaks warmly of her care for them. Peter spent time in Port Welshpool as a lad, with his Aunt and Uncle but was unhappy and homesick and soon returned home to Shetland Heights at a time when war was raging across the globe and times were tough. The boys trapped rabbits and sold them around town to help the family survive. Both Peter and his brother spent time at De La Salle College in Malvern during this period, but their restlessness was ingrained and eventually they both returned to the land.

PETER DWYER

The fat lambs from Shetland were onsold through Dennys Lascelles at Newmarket and through a connection, Peter’s father was able to gain him employment, feeling that his son would be well suited to work in the livestock industry (knowing however, that if a soldier needed the job on his return, it would be forfeited –“that was fair”) Peter recalls he was earning less than £2 ($4) and board was 5s ($1.50)! And so it began. But, again, Peter returned home. Another chance meeting on the property saw Peter offered work in Leongatha, at the sale yards and his previous experience with Dennys Lascelles served him well here. He was now earning £2 10s per week ($5) and paying 35s board. My how he was moving up in the world! With an early pay packet he deemed it time to upgrade his undergarments and went to the drapers to purchase one singlet and one pair of underpants. Mr Vern Pease (yes, he remembers his name) the store manager said, “take six of each young man and pay me when you can”. Mr Pease was paid out within the month. Peter smiles and notes that this sentiment stuck with him: “it is so rewarding to do the right thing in life”. It is a lesson to which he has borne testament. That’s Peter to a tee.

Peter Dwyer at Koonwarra saleyards (4th from right)

Leongatha was a thriving centre in this post-war period and Peter remembers a happy and full life. At the close of 1949 a position in livestock sales became available in Maffra and Peter, again, moved on and grew with his love of land and livestock. This work led to meeting the Livestock Manager at Gippsland and Northern and when Peter said that he wanted to return to South Gippsland he was offered Yarram. So Yarram it was, and another stepping stone in Peter’s journey stood before him. And so important it was, for it was here that he courted and won the heart of the beautiful Shirley Margaret James, so popular and sought after that Peter fully expected to be politely declined when he asked her out. However, he thought he “might have a chance” and did, indeed, get a date with her to go to the Saturday night dance! They were married in 1956 and raised four children: Terrence, Peter (Tony), Susan and Mark. To this day, he carries in his wallet, a photo of her standing on the old San Remo bridge. Listening to him speak of her, now 17 years gone, it was a special love.

Koonwarra saleyards opening day 4 January 1982 (2nd from right)

In 1954 Peter became second auctioneer and was eventually promoted to senior auctioneer at the Leongatha branch of Gippsland and Northern, a position he held until his retirement. Peter bought and sold cattle for various parties and spent much time on the road between destinations while Shirley ‘kept the home fires burning’.

Peter was appointed Livestock Manager, responsible for the organisation of saleyards at Leongatha, Meeniyan, Fish Creek, Tarwin Lower and Mirboo North. He speaks of his love of auctioneering adding that if you “were not nervous before an auction you weren’t ready”. He loved the adrenalin and the speed of the saleyard auctions and notes that this is something he misses in the land sales world although he still enjoys it immensely. Peter Dwyer (2nd from right) at Koonwarra saleyards opening day 4 January 1982

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Opening of Koonwarra Saleyards 4 January 1982

A LIFETIME OF SALES PETER DWYER Peter was instrumental in development of the Koonwarra Saleyards which opened on the 4th of January 1982 moving from the old site at Leongatha (which is now the site of the town’s McDonalds store – still vending beef I guess!) In 1986 Gippsland and Northern opened the Peter Dwyer Administration Building named in his honour for his outstanding contribution to the company. He eventually “retired” on the 19th of June 1995. But retirement was never to be. In November he returned to the company, which had by then been sold to Dalgetys, as a land salesman. As one door closed, another opened.

August 1973 Ron Fletcher Gippsland & Northern Branch Manager who was promoted to the Melbourne Office shaking hands with Peter Dwyer (right) who became the new branch manager for Gippsland & Northern Leongatha

In 2009, prominent real estate agency Alex Scott & Staff invited Peter to join their Leongatha office to service rural land sales, no doubt recognising the enormous reach of his local knowledge and connections with families and the land. Peter still works there today.

So that is the bones of the Peter Dwyer story, but not the flesh. Peter asked that names be excluded from this story because he felt he might forget to mention someone and that this would not sit well with him… “it’s so rewarding to do the right thing in life”… lingers still. Across South Gippsland and beyond, Peter is held in the highest regard. People trust him. Families know him. He is now buying and selling with the grandchildren of people he grew up with. He is a man who represents things that are timeless – respect, integrity and genuinely caring about people. Throughout our discussion he constantly returns to the theme that good people, good friendships and family are what matter and later says with absolute conviction that he is “a privileged person” for having known some of the best of these throughout his life.

Peter Dwyer – Eddie Hams – Kevin Cochrane (Gippsland & Northern representatives) photo taken at former Korumburra saleyards

Today, Peter doesn’t get about as quickly as he used to but there is a quickness to his spirit. We sip tea in a room surrounded by photos of his cherished grandchildren of whom he speaks with love and admiration and whose presence in his everyday life gives him such joy. And where to now? True to form, right now he’s about to head to the office where more work awaits!!

There doesn’t seem to be any stopping the indefatigable Peter Dwyer, a man for all times and one of South Gippsland’s true living treasures. Photos taken from Peter Dwyer’s photo album collection

Dwyer's last stand

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Accountant & Tax Agent Lang Lang + Cowes 1300 865 624 | info@ff.tax

Shelley Beilharz CA

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CALL 5997 5515 - 0418 396 856 Victorian Electrical Licence - A14618 gippsland lifestyle online ��

from above | shelley beach | kilcunda

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from above | phillip island

photography by media101

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autumn

r e n cor

Charley - the Australian Shepherd

Gizmo @ 6 months

Levi - Maltese Shih Tzu cross (Malsi)

Ollie - luv my beanbag!

Meg - Cape Paterson - Best place to play

Tilka - Oi Yogi wotchya sayin

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our best friends

Do you want to place a photo of your dog in Canine Corner ? It's easy, just email us your pic and their name at thelifestyle@dcsi.net.au

...just pawfect Jet - ' I'm ready to play'

Millie - Where to next Ken

Dozer - My owner loves me

Charlie - where's my stylist

Yogi - Canine Corner, just saying Tilks

Murphy -'The Star

Lucy loves Biggy rat - mmm!!!

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AFTER THE SIREN

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A SEA CHANGE TO PHILLIP ISLAND, A NEW CAREER IN TEACHING AND AN INVOLVEMENT WITH A RESTAURANT VENTURE ADDS UP TO PLENTY ON THE PLATE FOR FORMER AFL FOOTBALLER CAM PEDERSEN. WORDS: CHRIS WEST

Cam Pedersen

Photographs courtesy of the Melbourne Football Club

No matter how long their time in the game lasts, all AFL players must one day consider their future beyond football. In former North Melbourne and Melbourne footballer Cam Pedersen’s case, the planning and preparation began well before his playing days at the highest level came to an end. “I already had studied for a Bachelor of Applied Science before I got drafted, then finished my Masters of Education while playing at Melbourne,” he explains. “Coming into the AFL football late as rookie, I was never on big money. Even on my best contract I was not earning half of what you hear the average player’s wage is made out to be.” Midway through his eighth season in the AFL system, Cam could see the writing on the wall. “I pretty much knew by then I wasn’t going to get another contract into 2019. You don’t need to be told things to be able to read the play inside football clubs,” he comments. “During the last few years I had said to myself that I needed to play a minimum of roughly twelve games per season for me to feel like I would warrant playing on and I wasn’t reaching that target.” When the curtain came down on Cam’s AFL career at the end of 2018, he had reached a total of 80 games – the first 16 at North Melbourne where he was drafted from the Box Hill Hawks as a mature age rookie in 2011 and the remaining 64 games at Melbourne from 2013. Fans will remember him as a versatile player capable of performing at either end of the ground or even on ball in the ruck at times. Standing 6 foot 4 inches tall, Cam was always undersized whenever asked to fill in as a makeshift ruckman, often giving away several inches in height to his opponents. He mockingly refers to himself as a “jack of all trades and master of none” but a more fitting description would be that he was a talented footballer and respected clubman who gave his all to any role asked of him during his career. Cam made his AFL debut for North Melbourne in Round 1 of the 2011 season against the West Coast Eagles in Perth and played his last senior game in Melbourne colours in the narrow nine-point loss to Sydney at home at the MCG in Round 21 last year. Although his swansong against the Swans may not have ended on a high, he did manage to register his 70th career goal in that final match in the senior team. True to the no-fuss style in which he played, Cam bowed out of AFL with little fanfare at the end of the season. “I played eight years which was great but I only played eighty games. I didn’t feel like I’d done enough to deserve to stand up and do a speech about retiring,” he remarks. With his AFL career at an end, Cam’s future plans with wife Sarah and their three young daughters centred around creating a new life for their family on Phillip Island. “We sold our place in Bayswater and moved down to Phillip Island in October last year,” he says.

“I had often come down here for holidays, so knew this area well. It felt like a really good community and the sort of place that would be perfect for us. Luckily, we managed to get the two older girls into the last two spots in Prep and Grade 1 at Newhaven College for Term Four.”

Photographs courtesy of the Melbourne Football Club

Cam says the lifestyle change is proving to be a positive one for his family. “It’s been fantastic. The girls love the school and we are just six hundred metres from the beach. Having come to a small community on Phillip Island, there’s virtually no traffic in comparison to what I was accustomed to. I certainly don’t miss driving from Bayswater to Melbourne every day.” Initially renting, Cam and Sarah are currently building a new home in Cowes. “We’ve committed our family’s future to Phillip Island. We’re here for the long haul,” he insists.

Cam is still pulling on his footy boots, albeit at a lower level now, having resisted approaches from several other clubs in both Melbourne and the local region to sign with reigning premiers Phillip Island in the West Gippsland Football League for the 2019 season. Maintaining a playing involvement in local football is something Cam is enjoying greatly, but it certainly doesn’t pay all the bills. A major part of the seachange, therefore, has involved the commencement of new careers for both he and Sarah. During Cam’s days as a full-time professional footballer, Sarah had been busily establishing her own career as a teacher. Ironically, with Cam seeking to become an educator himself postfootball, Sarah was ready to head in a different direction and step away from teaching to follow a dream of establishing a restaurant with her mother Janet. Although Sarah did not have any experience in the hospitality industry, Janet had formerly owned and operated a café/wine bar for a couple of years a decade or so back. The two ladies possess a wide range of skills and personality traits that complement each other and are well suited to the demands of operating a restaurant.

Photograph of Cam Pedersen playing for MFC courtesy of the AFL

They found the location and premises for the venture at 2185 Phillip Island Road, Cowes. “The venue had previously been a burger/diner place. We completely gutted it and did a total refurbishment,” Cam explains. “Sarah and Janet’s vision was to create a restaurant that caters to the fact that parents want to go out and want their kids to be entertained, but they also want to eat good food at the same time.” Emerging from that transformation, Citrus & Vine was born and welcomed its first customers in February this year. “It’s been going really well considering the timing of the opening meant we only caught the tail end of summer,” Cam states. Cam Pedersen playing for Phillip Island Football Club

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“Being a holiday destination, the peak period here is going to be from around November to the end of January. We are looking forward to the Superbikes coming up in October and then the busy times to follow through summer.”

Cam outside the entrance of Newhaven College

The family-friendly restaurant has been designed to cater to everyone, being split into two separate rooms. One area features a dedicated kids’ zone, which includes a huge indoor playground and a space where youngsters can watch movies or draw.

Cam Pedersen

The other area caters to diners without children and includes a comfortably appointed lounge area which gives patrons a feeling of relaxing in their own living room at home. At present, Citrus & Vine is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner from Thursday to Sunday. During summer the restaurant will be open every day. Live music has already become an established highlight every Saturday night and adds to the feelgood vibe at the venue. Just as the restaurant is up and running, so too is Cam’s new career as a school teacher. “When we came down here last October, I knew I would not be able to get a full-time teaching contract until the start of 2019, so all I could find was a little bit of substitute teaching to fill in the time. I probably did eight or nine days as a substitute before the end of the school year,” he says. Seeking to commence 2019 with his first full-time teaching engagement, Cam soon faced a choice between two local schools on Phillip Island. “I had two interviews and was offered both jobs straight away. It came down to a decision between Newhaven College and a small Catholic school located opposite Citrus & Vine,” he reveals. Cam opted to accept the position of Year 5 class teacher at Newhaven College, the largest educational facility on Phillip Island with over 930 students from Foundation to Year 12. “In truth, it wasn’t an easy decision at all,” he concedes. “At the Catholic school I would have been both the PE and Grade 5/6 teacher. That would have immediately realised my ultimate goal which is to be a PE teacher. But I had to weigh that up against the opportunity at Newhaven College, which is a bigger school with great facilities offering far more room to grow professionally.” So far Cam is not regretting his choice one bit. “I’m loving it. I’ve made it through my first half year and I’m still buzzing with energy. The kids haven’t scared me off yet,” he laughs. “I have fourteen boys and twelve girls in my Year 5 class. They’re a pretty good bunch really and all have great personalities. They can be very lively and chatty, but that’s ok as you can’t expect them to work in silence.” In addition to his role as a Year 5 teacher, Cam is also coaching several of the school’s football teams for boys and girls at different age levels. Becoming a teacher is something Cam could never have envisaged when he was a student himself.

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Cam with his daughters at local Phillip Island Football match

Citrus & Vine Restaurant Cowes Phillip Island, wife Sarah Pedersen pictured

“Deciding to take up teaching was quite an interesting step for me given I didn’t really like school when I went,” he admits. With the benefit of hindsight, Cam has now changed his outlook. “I think the best reflection on school is the teacher you have. It can be so influential in shaping your perception of school and whether you enjoy your time there. Friends in the playground are a part of it, but liking your teacher helps you stay in school,” he says.

Working around his full-time teaching duties and playing and training commitments with Phillip Island Football Club, Cam helps out at Citrus & Vine as much as possible. “Sarah’s father Simon and I normally work weekends but I’ll help out whenever needed. My role can vary depending on what Sarah and Janet happen to need at the time. I could be helping organise the chefs with what dockets they’re on and ensuring meals are taken to the right tables. I’ve waited tables myself, been behind the bar and washed dishes. I’m happy to throw my hat in the ring and do whatever I’m told. You know how the saying goes – happy wife, happy life,” he smiles. According to Cam, adapting to the restaurant life has been along the lines of how he and Sarah expected, with a few challenges thrown in along the way. “The most surprising aspect is just how much time it actually takes up. Sarah is working really hard in the day to day operation of the restaurant. On some days, she can be there from 8am to beyond midnight,” he says. In addition to the current trading days from Thursday to Sunday, preparations are also undertaken behind closed doors at Citrus & Vine every Wednesday. “We had hoped for more family time, but we have been very fortunate to have such great support from family and friends in helping us to look after the girls,” Cam states.

As Citrus & Vine has continued to build up custom since opening in February, one source of frustration for its owners has been the inability to obtain Council approval for roadside signage or lighting. “We’re on the main road and everyone has to drive past but we’re a little set back from the roadside. It would be beneficial for us if we could have signage or lights to promote the Citrus & Vine name to make it a bit more visual for passing traffic and help attract trade,” Cam explains. There can also be a few challenges on occasions with staffing arrangements, given less emphasis on punctuality on Phillip Island, where locals can be inclined to operate on something referred to as “island time”. As his family’s new life on Phillip Island continues to take shape, Cam is content to be away from the spotlight and concentrating on fresh challenges beyond AFL football. In terms of his priorities, the goalposts have moved. “I felt a little lost for a short period after finishing football waiting until I could begin full-time teaching,” he confesses. “I don’t think you ever really grow up when you play football at AFL level.” Cam says the things he has missed since ending his career at the highest level have been the competitiveness, the mateship and impact AFL players are able to have on young fans. Much of that void has now been filled by playing locally with Phillip Island under premiership coach Beau Vernon. Fresh out of AFL ranks, it is not surprising that Cam has enjoyed an outstanding season for the Bulldogs. At the time of writing, Phillip Island was sitting on top of the West Gippsland Football League table undefeated after 17 games, with Cam having reached 50 goals for the season from a ruck/ onball role. “I’m finding it really relaxing, with far less pressure. It feels like a hobby instead of a job. All the stress has gone,” he comments.

Two of his former teammates at Melbourne, Max Gawn and Shannon Byrnes, have made the trip down to Phillip Island to watch him play this season. “It was good to see them and keep in touch,” he observes. In his first season at Phillip Island, Cam has also been impressed by coach Beau Vernon. “Beau is an excellent coach. He’s a really strong motivator,” he says. Several prominent coaches have been major influential figures on Cam’s football development during his career. “In terms of influence, I would put Brendon Bolton at the top of that list. I played under Brendon for two of my five years at Box Hill,” he states. “In my fifth year at Box Hill, he told me I need to play in the back line and it turned out I had a really good season at centre half back. Before then, I had played as a forward through all my junior football at Mooroolbark and the first four years at Box Hill.” After elevating to AFL level, Cam received guidance from several high profile coaches including Brad Scott at North Melbourne and Paul Roos, Brendan McCartney and Simon Goodwin at Melbourne. With his debut season on Phillip Island nearing an end, Cam can look forward to many more milestones ahead in this next chapter in his life. “My teaching career has only just got under way and we want to continue to build on what we’ve started with Citrus & Vine,” he says. “Our end goal with the restaurant is to start getting weddings, birthdays and bookings for other types of functions. We are on fourteen acres and have a nice garden, with room in the restaurant to seat one hundred and fifty people. That gives us the scope to hold the type of events that will take us to the next level.”

“There’s a good atmosphere around the club and we have quite a strong playing list.”

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CRICKET AS IT WAS MEANT TO BE Bundalaguah is home to one of Victoria’s most unique & historic cricket settings. Words: Chris West

Nobody has such a strong family connection or would know more about the interesting history of the Bundalaguah Cricket Club than Life Member, Neil Wrigglesworth. At nearly 80 years of age, Neil either has first-hand knowledge of the people and the events that have shaped the club, or he can tell you about them. According to Neil, although it took until the beginning of the 1920s to have a formally established cricket club in Bundalaguah, there is historical record of the game being played in the area as early as 1888 when a team of locals was rounded up to play against Sale. But another 32 years passed before the first chapter in the story of the Bundalaguah Cricket Club was written when it was decided that a team should be established for the youthful lads attending the local school. “It was the teacher Charles Unkles who got it going,” Neil says. “He knew a bit about cricket and turned out to be a pretty good player.” Sufficient money was raised for the club to begin playing in 1921 and it was Neil’s grandfather Arthur Wrigglesworth who provided somewhere for the team to play.

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“My grandfather gave the club a corner of his farm to use as a ground. They decided not to fence it off and instead let sheep run on it to keep the grass down. The club has never moved in all that time and still plays on the same land today,” he notes. There are now two ovals on the reserve at the club’s home base. Beside the main oval stands a majestic gum tree which is the ground’s iconic feature. “The gum tree is part of what makes playing at Bundalaguah unique,” Neil says. “I’ve seen cars nearly run off the road when they drive in. People can’t believe what they are looking at when they first see our ground.” Neil is one of the few players who have managed to hit a ball over the tree, a feat that requires a huge swing of the willow. “It’s a pull shot over mid wicket and you have to be a pretty big hitter to do it,” he states.

Quite remarkably, the Wrigglesworth family’s involvement with the Bundalaguah Cricket Club now spans five generations.

Four of those five generations have produced players who have represented the club. Arthur Wrigglesworth wasn’t a cricketer, but both of his sons were. They started the playing tradition within the family and both had success in the game. Eldest son Vernon captained Bundalaguah for over 20 years and was a very good wicketkeeper. Arthur’s other son Colin – Neil’s father – also played for the club and went on to captain Sale-Maffra in Country Week. Neil continued the family tradition and had a long career playing at Bundalaguah. He started at the age of thirteen and played his last game at fifty. “I had my share of wonderful experiences with cricket,” he reflects. “At one stage I attempted to play at a higher level and managed one game with St. Kilda’s second eleven. It took about four hours to get to Melbourne in those days and at the same time I was helping dad on farm, so I soon realised that trying to do both just couldn’t be done.” Neil’s brother Barrie also played at Bundalaguah and captained the club. Barrie’s son Ian Wrigglesworth was a fine all-round cricketer and went to Melbourne to further his career.

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Very first team in 1920. Back Row: Walter Cross, Jack Cross, Colin Wrigglesworth, Allan Cross, Harry Schroeder Middle Row: Dave Langshaw, Jim Wrigglesworth, Frank Cross, Jack Smith, Harry Schroeder Senior, Andy Chrome, Bob Cameron, Peter Booker, Alan Johns Front Row: Vern Wrigglesworth, Tom Cross, Len Cross, Charlie Uncles (Teacher), Eric Johns, Hec Mitchell, Neil Chrome. Photo taken next to “famous gumtree”

Neil & Marian Wrigglesworth

He played Sheffield Shield cricket for Victoria and won the prestigious Jack Ryder Medal in Melbourne’s district cricket competition in the 1996/97 season when playing for Carlton. “Ian played for several clubs during his time in Melbourne and he also played for us at Bundalaguah before and after he went there,” Neil says. At present, there are seven members of the Wrigglesworth clan playing cricket for Bungalaguah. “That makes me feel pretty proud,” Neil says. Two of Neil’s adult children, Trevor and Greg, still play at the club and five of his grandchildren are also making their way in the game – Lachlan, 21, Megen, 18, Grace, 16, Abby, 13, and Hayden, 12.

Trevor is currently the Club President and Lachlan plays in the first team. Of all the grandchildren, Neil identifies Abby as showing considerable promise. “Abby tried out for the State Under 15s but didn’t quite make it. She has the makings of a really good fast bowler. All three of the girls play with the Sale Maffra Women’s team on Sundays, whilst Grace and Abbey play juniors here at Bundy and also take the field with the men on Saturday afternoons if we’re short of players,” he says. Neil is one of four living members of the Wrigglewsorth family to have been bestowed with Life Membership of the Bundalaguah Cricket Club, along with his wife Marian, his son Greg and brother Barrie.

At 74, Marian still contributes around the club by cleaning the pavilion and in the past has been involved with various duties including scoring and arranging afternoon teas amongst many other forms of involvement. “Marian has done all sorts of things for the club over the years. She never missed a match that I played in and always brought the kids along,” Neil comments. Although Neil’s nephew Ian Wrigglesworth is no longer playing with Bundalaguah, his standing as a former Victorian player and Ryder Medalist assures his place amongst the legends of the club. But Ian is not alone, being one of several outstanding cricketers produced by Bundalaguah who have progressed to higher honours in the game.

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B U N DA L AG UA H C R I C K E T C L U B Travis Birt playing for Tasmania

Neil and Marian Wrigglesworth in front of pavilion

“The best has been Travis Birt, who played for Australia at international T20 level between 2010 and 2012 after earlier making the Australia A team,” Neil states.

The Bundalaguah Cricket Club has won more than 70 premierships in its history, the earliest of which came in 1930/31 when its First Grade team was the competition’s best that season.

“Travis was a local kid who firstly went to play for Richmond in Melbourne but then moved to Tasmania in 2003 where he really began to make his name.”

Bundalaguah now plays in the Sale-Maffra Cricket Association, which was officially formed in 1950/51.

“We’ve been the most successful club in the SMCA since it came into existence,” Neil says.

A left-handed batsman who became known for his big hitting, Birt crossed over to Western Australia in 2011 for the remainder of his firstclass career and has played for both the Perth Scorchers and Hobart Hurricanes in the domestic Big Bash competition in recent season as well as securing contracts to play in several overseas T20 tournaments.

“A recent highlight was in the 2014/15 season when we won all four senior premierships that were available in the competition at that time,” he adds.

“We’ve had quite a few other very talented cricketers come through Bundalaguah over the years,” Neil continues.

Bundalaguah’s home ground accommodates two ovals, the main one having a turf wicket and the other a synthetic surface.

“Apart from Travis’s achievements, we’ve had my nephew Ian and two other players – David Shepherd and Nathan King – play Sheffield Shield cricket for Victoria. David was a fast bowler and Nathan a bowling all-rounder. They both went to try their luck in Melbourne and proved to be good enough to gain State selection.”

“It’s purely a cricket ground, although I believe the football umpires may train there next season,” Neil observes.

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Anyone visiting Bundalaguah’s home base will notice permanent recognition of two members of the Wrigglesworth family at the ground. The whole reserve carries Neil’s name, whilst the main playing oval is named in honour of his father Colin.

Travis Birt signed Tasmanian Shirt

“I thought you had to be dead to get something named after you,” Neil says of his own recognition. Also located at the ground is an indoor cricket centre which is owned and operated by the Salebased Sporting Legends group. “The indoor centre at Bundalaguah is popular with cricketers across Gippsland and the Victorian Cricket Association even sends down some of the promising Under 17 and Under 19 boys and girls to use the facility,” Neil comments. “When the Sporting Legends got involved, they made the indoor centre free to everyone in the Shire of Wellington. You just need to book it. Former Richmond player Ian Simpson is managing the centre and has had a residence built on site.” Bundalaguah has a long-standing connection with the Richmond Cricket Club, an association that began by chance when Neil was on holidays in Merimbula many years ago. “I arranged to meet up in Merimbula with an old friend of mine, Alan Crompton, who was coming down from Sydney. Alan actually ended up becoming the CEO of the Board of Control for Australian cricket. Also in Merimbula at the same time was a young bloke named Graeme Paterson, who was a fast bowler from Richmond,” Neil recalls.

The Wrigglesworth family. Standing: Dianne, Greg, Trevor, Greer, Marian, Neil, Lachlan. Front row: Abby, Hayden, Grace, Megen.

“The three of us got together and all we did was talk cricket over beers and in the end I suggested to Graeme the idea of bringing Richmond down to Bundy for a pre-season game. That was about forty years ago when they made their first visit and, apart from a break for a while, it’s just about became an annual tradition. I reckon they’ve been down here around thirty times since we began the arrangement. In return, we try to send our players up to Richmond if they’re good enough to have a go in Melbourne.” Neil says that the Richmond players and any other visiting cricketers get to experience something special when they play at Bundalaguah. “It’s very unique because we’re not only out in the country, but right out of the way between Sale and Maffra. Bundalaguah only has school and a hall. There was a church, but that’s gone now. It’s just different here,” he states. “I can clearly remember Graeme Paterson stopping in his run up the first time Richmond came up here and he said:

‘ This is how cricket was meant to be played – in the peace and quiet. No trams, no trains, no noise, just a cow mooing in the background.’

I thought that was very true. We’ve still got that peace. It’s a real English sort of atmosphere.” Known as the Bundalaguah Bulls, the club fields four senior teams and four junior teams in the SMCA competition.

Cloete Buitendag is a batsman who plays first class cricket back in South Africa. Both of them are in their first season with us and are really impressive blokes. They are as enthusiastic as hell and set the example to the rest of the players in our club.”

“For a long time we were known as the Bundy Boys, but someone thought Bulls was more fitting for a club in a rural area like ours,” Neil says.

Munasinghe is performing the dual role of player/ coach alongside the club’s non-playing coach, Alec Young.

“People wonder how we can keep our player numbers up in such a small place.

“Our players have access to some excellent coaches here,” Neil says.

Our players tend to come from adjoining towns and we also have a few locals, but not many.”

“We also have Ian Simpson who coaches throughout Sale-Maffra and also adds his experience by doing some coaching at the club and Ash Miller is in charge of our juniors, where we have two coaches for every team.”

Neil says that the club is fortunate to have assembled a strong group of coaches and also has secured the services of two very talented players from overseas this season. “We are allowed two overseas players and whereas we’ve generally had English players in the past, this year we have the captain of the Italian cricket team, Gayashan Munasinghe, who is of Sir Lankan descent and Cloete Buitendag who is South African,” he notes. “Gayashan Munasinghe is an opening bowler and pretty good batsman. His now lives in Rome and skippers the Italian national team that competes on the world stage in the ICC competition.

Over the years, no fewer than eight visiting clubs from overseas have found their way out to play at Bundalaguah. “These clubs have come from as far away as England, India and British Columbia. In turn, we’ve taken teams abroad to the USA and Canada,” Neil says. “A couple of years ago our club was invited to practice at the MCG and just recently in November this year it was organised for a group of our juniors to go to the Junction Oval in Melbourne for training.”

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B U N DA L AG UA H C R I C K E T C L U B

Many fine cricketers have graced the turf at Bundalaguah and many significant events have occurred in the club’s history, but perhaps the most notable took place on 18th March in 1933. “That was the day when England captain Douglas Jardine faced a ball here at Bundalaguah,” Neil declares. England were in Australia on the infamous 1932/33 Ashes tour that became known as the Bodyline series because of the tactics that Jardine employed, particularly in relation to intimidating

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short-pitched fast bowling from Harold Larwood aimed at the bodies of the Australian batsmen with the added use of a leg-side field. The theory was utilised mostly to curb the batting brilliance of Australian hero Don Bradman.

face an over and went out to the middle without gloves on. They gave the ball to Emmett Lanigan, a fast bowler from Maffra who happened to be good enough to be selected for Victoria without ever going to Melbourne.

“A fellow from our local district had attended Oxford University with Jardine and invited him down here to visit during the tour,” Neil explains.

“Lanigan bowled a thundering bouncer that missed Jardine’s nose by a fraction. Jardine said ‘that will do gentlemen’ and walked off. If that ball had been one inch closer to his face, Bodyline may not have happened and we might have changed the course of cricket history.”

“There was a game of cricket going on and Jardine sat watching in a big flash car. They eventually talked him into having a bat. He said he would

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