Echuca moama magazine (low res)

SPRING/SUMMER 2015

Great

Scott!

The hard yards behind the hard yards

If I could

turn back time IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE A

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WORDS Andrew Mole, editor editor@riverineherald.com.au Di Thomas Erin Lyons Tyla Harrington Natalie Durrant Rusty Woodger

Trent Horneman Ivy Wise Ben Carter Lana Murphy Sarah Crossman

PHOTOGRAPHY Jayme Lowndes Ben Carter

Luke Dempsey Bruce Povey

Welcome to EM. ECHUCAMOAMA HAS QUICKLY BECOME ESTABLISHED AS A FL AGSHIP PUBLICATION WHICH CELEBR ATES THE T WIN TOWNS AND SURROUNDING REGION.

Cover Image: Photography – Tamara Cadd Lighting – Rhys Leslie Photography Model – Scott Beattie

This third issue again demonstrates the remarkable people who make up that community — and their stories make for some entertaining and enlightening reading.

DESIGN

From things as simple as the backyard vegie garden and jams and preserves to the hi-tech search for making us look, and feel, younger and the back stories of our sporting stars.

Brendan Cain Bella Considine Warren Goater Sue Lewis

Corey Jinnette Alysha Bathman Tanya Pymer

CONTRIBUTORS Tamara Cadd Photography P: 0448 745 824 E: tamcadd@yahoo.com W: tamaracaddphotography.com Rhys Leslie P: 0401 617 662 E: rhys.photography@gmail.com W: rhyslesliephotography.blogspot.com/

ADVERTISING Haydn O’Neale, general manager E: haydn.oneale@riverineherald.com.au Emma Mortimer Stuart Addicott Carly Richardson Peter Anderson

Kerry Vevers Jodi Spence Vanessa Brewis Jenny Dwyer

PUBLISHER Riverine Herald 270 Hare St Echuca P: 5482 1111 W: www.riverineherald.com.au facebook.com/EchucaMoamaMagazine

Our cover story looks at footballer Scott Beattie, drilling right down to the most fundamental parts of the game — how far he runs, what it does to his heart rate and how he prepares for a season.

We have a dramatic black-and-white pictorial essay on Scott, shot by Tamara Cadd with lighting by Rhys Leslie, which is a must see.

Writer Rusty Woodger explores an emotive topic — the fate of dogs turned into the Lost Dogs’ Home. And he has some good news to report.

While colleague Ivy Wise fronts up to a face full of Botox, and more, to give us a firsthand account of the fight to stave off time itself.

Our readers have also got more involved in this issue, with another pictorial spread using submitted pictures of Echuca Moama after dark.

It offers a fascinating look at the towns when the sun goes down.

As always we trust you enjoy reading our magazine as much as Riverine Herald team enjoyed putting the spring/summer issue together, along with the support of some fantastic advertising clients.

Happy reading,

Andrew Mole Editor

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contents ON THE COVER 14 59

90

Great Scott. The hard yards behind the hard yards Star Echuca footballer Scott Beattie shares some of the science behind the contest. Hitting a heart rate of 184 bpm while picking up 35 touches and 4 tackles, it’s a solid day’s work.

It doesn’t have to be a dog’s life A small, determined band is making a difference. Echuca Animal Rescue Service is hunting for loving homes for dogs that no longer have one, and for foster carers to help them bridge the gap until those homes are found.

If I could turn back time ‘Abandoned, but still so beautiful and grand’. That was the Moira Station that so intrigued Rex Watson and Kate Pitt, who are now determined to honour the rich history of this extraordinary property.

INSIDE age — it’s an age-old challenge 22 Old as we get older Riv journalist Ivy Wise confronts ageing literally head on. Botox? Yep, but only for your illumination dear reader….

a high time with cuppa and 30 Having cakes High tea lives on in Echuca Moama, an occasion and a treat, perhaps even a deserved indulgence best shared with friends.

the sun goes down the 38 When cameras come out Echuca Moama has myriad faces, and it’s no longer only the professionals who can capture them. Thanks to those whose submitted these beautiful images for us to share.

of the River and the Princess 48 King of Hearts

WANT MORE EM MAG? Find us on facebook: facebook.com/EchucaMoamaMagazine

Kevin Hutchinson is a treasure, albeit a craggy, laconic one. He fell in love with paddlesteamers half a century ago, and Echuca Moama continues to enjoy the fruits of that love.

11 EchucaMoama

122

98 of life a growing 54 Classroom success

steamed up about costly 84 Get holidays

Getting down and dirty in the Moama Anglican Grammar School garden with some small but enthusiastic horticulturalists.

Every year thousands of holidaymakers flock to our backyard — Rusty Woodger (new to town) checks out one of the experiences he keeps hearing raves about…

Firebird is hot: and she’s 68 This on a roll Caitlyn Nevins has scaled the pinnacle of the ANZ Championship twice, winning the premiership in her first year in Brisbane, after quitting the Vixens to chase new opportunities. It’s been a big couple of years for the young star.

is cheaper than 75 Gardening therapy — and you get tomatoes A vegie patch is a labour of love, but what an extraordinary bounty is returned. You might be surprised at the range of fruit and veg Norm Walter has successfully grown.

preserve me! What was 80 Saints I thinking?

The title ‘Mistress of Citrus’ has been bestowed on Fiona Hendry and one taste of her famous orange Cointreau marmalade confirms the title has not been misplaced.

98

And on that farm he had a …

Simple, yet stunning, this is not your traditional farmhouse. Clever design and lots of glass means Athol McDonald can keep an eye on his farm while venturing not too far from his beloved wine room.

110

The men who keep our team kicking goals We watch the stars and strugglers of our favourite teams on the field each week. Ben Carter spent some time with the second team — the volunteers whose labours of love keep the wheels of local sports turning.

up — and blown away 114 Blown Echuca’s own master blaster takes us behind the ropes for a close up look at the skill and precision behind a big, often really big, show.

144 ow does he manage it all (and 122 Hmake it sound so good)?

Local favourite Benny Walker hits the road again, showcasing his latest album ‘Through the Forest’. He’s doing it his way, and doing all the heavy lifting too.

copped one of the 136 Rhonda’s toughest jobs in town Dealing with escalating domestic violence, Leading Senior Constable Rhonda Urbaniak is a comforting, capable presence. Ivy Wise spent some time getting her perspective.

Weeks is a long day in footy 144 Grant Weeks is almost a throwback to old school footy. The full forward caused a crick in the neck of defenders who watched the ball soar over their heads for another on the way to a bagful.

one hell of 154 Riverboats a family affair Not your average music festival promoter, David Frazer brings the relaxed atmosphere of the Riverboats Music Festival back to Echuca Moama in February.

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14 EchucaMoama

Great Scott!

THAT’S A PRETTY TOUGH DAY AT THE OFFICE They may not be as fit or as totally muscled as ballet dancers, but they cop a few more hard hits, really hard hits. And when they take to their own stage, there’s no doubt our footballers have to push their bodies to the limits. So how much ground do they cover on your average Saturday afternoon? And how many kilometres do they have to run during pre-season to prepare their physiques and their endurance for such tasks? ERIN LYONS spoke to Echuca footballer Scott Beattie after he wore a heart rate monitor during a Goulburn Valley Football League game this season. >>

16 EchucaMoama

>> As far as footballers go in this corner of the country, Scott Beattie’s something of a star.

would have produced if he was playing in the midfield.

But according to the former Echuca United coach, at a

Solidly built, he can mix it with the biggest and the best.

country level he expects his centres to only cover between

The day he was wired for performance, Beattie was playing off half-back against Shepparton United.

7–10 km.

Which meant he would not be covering as much ground as the centres; or fleet footed wingers. But still racked up an impressive 9.12 km during four quarters keeping an eye on the Shepparton forwards.

At the same time the Murray Bombers’ utility picked up a handy 35 touches and laid four bone-crunching tackles.

Not a bad day out.

“I suppose I did do a fair bit of running for a half back that day and played quite well, so it was a lot of ground for me to cover in that position,” Beattie said.

“A week later I played terribly and probably would have only covered a few kilometres.”

In the 9 km he covered, Beattie sprinted 1.1 km, walked 2.75 km and jogged 5.27 km while reaching a maximum heart rate of 184 beats per minute (bpm).

“The outside midfielder would cover more ground,” he said.

“But the inside bash and crash type player would find it tough to do the hard grunt work and get around the ground freely.

Similar to most teams, under Echuca’s current game plan, Beattie said midfielders would easily cover the most ground, with the wingman a nearby second.

“For us, we expect the midfield to get to the contest wherever it is,” he said.

“And the wingers are required to cover the space.”

And then, once again, the territory players cover is subject to a number of factors, from whether you are being tagged or copping a hard knock — or two.

“When you cop a hard tackle or a knock it does slow you down,” Beattie said. “When you try and continue you exert so much physical effort to get back up again and it’s extremely draining. It’s something you can’t really train for.”

Not bad, because at 28 Beattie should never exceed his maximum heart rate of 193bpm.

Recovering during the game isn’t something Beattie is too

And his resting was only 126bpm.

minutes on the pine that day.

It is hard to compare Beattie’s results to the outcomes he

Playing across half-back, he said his rest comes when the >>

concerned about though, having only spent about two-

17 EchucaMoama

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18

“WHEN YOU TRY AND CONTINUE YOU EXERT SO MUCH PHYSICAL EFFORT TO GET BACK UP AGAIN AND IT’S EXTREMELY DRAINING.”

EchucaMoama

SCOTT BEATTIE

>> ball is in his team’s forward half, but if the opposition keeps belting it inside 50, Beattie and the rest of Echuca’s backline can find themselves suffering fatigue earlier than anticipated.

And as you can imagine, that’s generally been the case for the Echuca defenders this year.

“On the day I was buggered,” he said. “The first three quarters were okay because we controlled the game. But the last quarter was very end-to-end footy and became a really good contest so I certainly knew I had covered some ground by the end of the day.”

Another factor which can influence his run is tagging.

Although he wasn’t tagged during his echucamoama experiment, he conceded being tagged can really stem your run to a degree, particularly if your pesky opponent is physical.

“It makes you exert energy you wouldn’t otherwise use,” he said.

“The tagger who goes everywhere with you is tough because it just restricts your uncontested possessions rather than you winning your own footy.

“Neither are easy to deal with, but it’s always a compliment from an opposition coach that they consider you a key to the team.”

Like most footballers, injury is a regular part of their careers and something you can never plan for.

This year for Beattie it was a dodgy ankle due to tarsal coalition (a tarsal coalition occurs when the bones of the feet fail to separate during foetal development) and a fractured navicular (fractures of the navicular are not evident on plain radiographs. This often leads to a delay in diagnosis, which may result in prolonged disabling foot pain) which have pestered him since round one 2011 and eventually resulted in the swingman having to go under the knife.

He missed the 2014 season, returning in round one this year — but this time in the Murray Bombers’ bottle green jumper.

Beattie said the time spent on the sideline meant he had to do a hell of a lot of pre-season running to get his body prepared for the real season, especially if he was going to slip straight into Goulburn Valley League.

Beattie used his heart rate monitor religiously during the lead up to the home and away season and said he was running seven to eight kilometres during a regular training session which was increased to 10–12 km for harder sessions.

“Pre-season is a must,” Beattie said. “I found the start of the season tough as I was still recovering from ankle surgery so I didn’t get enough kilometres into my legs.”

But the hard work paid off for the newfound Murray Bomber.

“I’ve found in the second half of the season I started to feel better in my feet and started to find some consistency in how I’m moving on my feet week to week.” n

19 EchucaMoama

After working on the first two issues of echucamoama, the opportunity to come up with something different, and eye-catching, was an exciting challenge.

Looking at the initial pictures of Scott it was agreed they would improve significantly as a black-and-white shoot.

I worked with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III, with an 85 mm 1.2 lens shot at 1/200 f8.0 and also with Scott, who is not a professional model and needed some coaching/ encouragement and in the end did an outstanding job.

I was delighted with the result — and hope you are too.

In order to produce a photograph which truly represented Scott’s physique, the lights needed to be positioned in such a way as to cast shadows at the right angle on the right parts of his physique.

Firstly, the key light (main light) was placed on a tall stand at about 70 degrees to Scott. At this angle, shadows were cast on his body in such a way as to accentuate muscle tone.

Secondly, to draw his figure out of the background, a rim light was used — a light positioned behind, and off to one side of the subject. The effect achieved using this light is an outline of the body.

PHOTOGRAPHY

LIGHTING

Tamara Cadd Photography P: 0448 745 824 E: tamcadd@yahoo.com W: www.tamaracaddphotography.com.au

Rhys Leslie Photography P: 0401 617 662 E: rhys.photography@gmail.com

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Old age

EchucaMoama

— IT’S AN AGE-OLD CHALLENGE AS WE GET OLDER

Ageing gracefully sounds a great idea when you can afford all those essentials to get you from your early 30s to late 60s. But for most of us time is remorseless, and apart from a few unguents, and maybe changing cleansers, makeup is the front line against wrinkles, the ravages of sun and day-to-day demands on the skin. IVY WISE agreed to go under the needle in search of the Holy Grail — turning back time.

I have always been for ageing gracefully. Until I noticed I had started ageing.

And suddenly decided neither it nor I was going to be very graceful about it after all.

Age, I conceded, had the upper hand, and getting older hasn’t exactly been a graceful and gentle process for me. More of a wild and emotional rollercoaster ride.

In my 20s I was not only sceptical of unknowns such as Botox, fillers and other things passed to you via a very sharp needle, my friends and I often mocked the women we saw in magazines after they had clearly undergone ‘a procedure’.

Donatella Versace and Melanie Griffith spring to mind.

They could afford that vanity, and were sufficiently famous that people would not burst out laughing when they met them (although what happens when backs are turned I do not know).

Even at 30 this sort of skin-deep vanity was beyond my ken.

Nature had not yet betrayed me, even two children and gravity were yet to take their full revenge.

But at 35 I discovered I had developed, amongst other things, a remarkably open mind — to all sorts of potions, notions and lotions. Suddenly I had this nagging little voice in the back of my head whispering “you’ll never really know if you never have a go”.

Then I suddenly looked around the office one day and realised, with the exception of the boss, I was the oldest person in the room.

How in the hell did that happen? The final straw was his throw-away comment, when he heard me mentioning that sudden age issue to a colleague: “Hey, you’re closer to 40 than 30”.

Yeah. Thanks for that Captain Obvious.

But that night, when the kids were asleep, and I lay in bed, in the quiet, dark of the night, that niggling little voice started getting very loud. And very repetitive.

Now none of this means I don’t get it. I know that one day, somewhere in the next 20 or 30 years maybe, I might start to look a bit older. My beautiful Scandinavian genes won’t be

23 EchucaMoama

able to hold back the tide forever. It’s just not something I

new mystery after you have children and life, as you know it,

need to panic about. Today.

will never be the same.

Sure, there are some fine lines, on others they might be

Yes, it’s wonderful and fulfilling and blah, blah, blah, but yes,

wrinkles, on my forehead. And yes, the circles under my

it’s also hard work, stressful and exhausting.

eyes were getting just a shade darker. After all, I am a very

Hence some women end up with wrinkles, like I have ended

expressive person, so I use my whole face whether I’m happy, sad, angry or excited.

So 30-plus years of my face being my calling card for what has been a very eventful life, has, in fact, left its impression.

I didn’t want to see if Botox would help. But as a professional I thought it my duty to investigate, on behalf of my readers, so I could give them the best possible advice.

If it did something for me, well that had nothing to do with me. I’m just doing my job.

up with fine lines.

So convinced by my patient history, Clare opted for Botox for my forehead and dermal fillers on the lower part of my face.

I had seven points of Botox, which paralyses the nerve to block the muscle I use when I constantly raise my eyebrows.

To say I was quite nervous before the procedure is to say I would happily throw myself under a bus. This was worse than waiting for the dentist, I could feel cold sweat breaking out across my brow, even feared Clare’s hand holding the needle

The same as Eyedolls director Clare Casey is doing hers when

might slide off and my eyeball would get harpooned.

she began a painstakingly detailed examination of me, at the

But like me she was a professional, putting me at ease and a

same time asking what my main concerns were.

few little pricks and a few minutes later, it was all over. The

It would not have worked if I told the truth and said none,

dermal fillers were, I admit, a little more uncomfortable. In

so I had planned ahead and rattled off a couple of (pages) of

an eight-point lift procedure, numbing cream was put on the

‘concerns’ with a focus on not wanting to look so tired all the

targeted areas before the filler was injected around my lips,

time.

cheek bone areas and under my eyes.

You girls know where I am coming from. I may have been

My lips, as you would expect, were the most sensitive but the

tired for the past eight years since my first child was born but

procedure was again over within a few minutes, leaving them

that doesn’t mean I wanted to look it. Sleep takes on a whole

numb for a few hours so I couldn’t eat anything hot or >>

Ivy Wise after Botox.

24 EchucaMoama

Botox Injections with Ivy Wise and Clare Casey.

“30-PLUS YEARS OF MY FACE BEING MY CALLING CARD FOR WHAT HAS BEEN A VERY EVENTFUL LIFE, HAS, IN FACT, LEFT ITS IMPRESSION.” >> cold during that time.

self-esteem, but it’s a strange feeling when you still feel

So my morning coffee had to wait, which may well have been more painful than anything else.

20-something and then look in the mirror and wonder who

It took about three to four days for the Botox to take effect. By then, I couldn’t stop looking in the mirror. I would raise my eyebrows and guess what? No wrinkles, whoops, fine lines.

Since I’ve had these procedures, I feel more like myself. When

It was magic. Absolutely magical.

I have to admit it; it has given me more confidence, but has

After a few days, my forehead looked smoother and, dare I say it, younger.

A few weeks later, I had my first of four laser genesis skin therapy treatments with Justin Davies, who also visits Echuca every month.

The procedure uses non-invasive laser technology to safely and naturally treat fine line wrinkles, diffuse redness and scars. The laser works by heating up the upper dermis below the skin’s surface to improve the appearance of wrinkles through collagen stimulation.

It felt like a warming sensation on my skin and not requiring any downtime, I was back to work within 25 minutes.

I didn’t notice a huge difference in the first treatment, but by the second and the third session, my skin was smoother, spots had disappeared and my pores were less visible.

I was looking forward to the compliments and how others would see me but, to be honest, it was how I felt about myself that had the biggest impact.

I’ve always been a confident person, with fairly good

the hell is staring back at you.

I look in the mirror, I don’t see a tired and dull-looking face staring back at me. I look fresher and brighter. also motivated me to take a more holistic approach to my health.

If you want to look good and healthy on the outside, you need to be good to yourself on the inside.

I try to drink more water and less wine.

I try to eat more vegetables and fewer sweets.

I try to be more active and spend less time in front of the television.

Overall I am happy with the results from my procedures. And happy with the changes they have encouraged me to make.

Yes, it has lessened the appearance of my wrinkles and made my skin look better, but it has also given me a new lease on life.

I want to get back into shape and am feeling more determined now than I have in a long time.

Besides, I have a goal.

To look good for my 20-year school reunion in October — and younger than every woman there. n

CLARE CASEY THE FACIAL ARTIST Registered nurse and Eyedolls director, Clare Casey has been coming to Millewa Spa once a month since January.

With more than 10 years’ experience in facial aesthetics, Clare provides glamourising and anti-ageing solutions through antiwrinkle injections and dermal fillers to her 99 per cent female client base.

Her most popular treatment is Botox for frowns.

“Most people don’t realise how their face changes shape with age and the role dermal fillers play in reshaping it,” she said.

The main reason clients come to her is for their frown, lips or concern with their overall facial appearance.

“Understandably, many clients cannot describe or know what treatment is going to give the best aesthetic result,” she said. “I like to educate them on how the face ages and why they are seeing changes to their face. This helps prioritise treatment areas which may be administered over more than one session.”

Most people wanted to look their best and less tired, rather than younger, she said.

“Almost all clients request not to look overdone and, thank

Generally, Clare has two types of clients; the early adopter, and the post-40-year-old adopter.

“The early adopter is very aesthetically oriented and looks for facial solutions and feature enhancements that make them feel glamourous,” she said. “They may be experiencing very early signs of ageing such as a pronounced frown, however most often they seek to enhance their lips, cheeks and brows.

“With today’s continuous use of computers, devices and phones, it is not unusual to see younger people develop a constant frown far earlier than previously expected. When we reach 40, we start to see signs of ageing such as a flattening of the check area, deepening of the fold between the nose and the lips and a general loss of facial curves.

“This is because after we turn 30, we start to lose skin elasticity and the sugars that provide our skin with plumpness and curves decrease. Facial fat pads begin to descend, exaggerating some lines and displacing facial curves.

“These clients have started to notice their face is changing and acknowledge they are beginning to age. Clearly this group is looking for different solutions and, quite often, they have not considered anti-wrinkle treatments and dermal fillers as an anti-ageing option.”

CLARE’S ANTI-AGEING TIPS 1. Have enough sleep.

Just as exercise and nutrition are essential for optimal health and happiness, so is sleep. The quality of your sleep directly affects the quality of your waking life, including your mental sharpness, productivity, emotional balance, creativity, physical vitality and even your weight.

2. Stay well hydrated.

To prevent a dry skin, I have introduced coconut water as a part of my two-litres a day water intake. From my own experience, coconut water can promote smoother, more youthful-looking skin. Coconut water is claimed to be a natural source of cytokinins, a group of plant growth hormones that help regulate cell growth, development and ageing. Rich in potassium, antioxidants and lauric acid, cytokinins are said to balance pH levels, strengthen and hydrate connective tissues and even reduce the risk of age-

acidic. The ideal pH for blood is 7.4. Research shows unless the body’s pH level is slightly alkaline, the body cannot heal itself.

Alkaline-forming foods include almonds, aloe vera, apples, apricots, buckwheat, cabbage, cantaloupe, celery, carrots, and cucumbers, dairy products except hard cheese, dates, poached eggs, figs, grapefruit, honey, lettuce, millet, parsley, raisins, peaches, fresh red potatoes, pineapple, soy products, sprouted seeds, cooked spinach, rice and mineral water.

4. Posture and expression A straight back exudes vitality, positivity and confidence.

Unfortunately, poor posture and round shoulders are very ageing and make you look old and tired. Negative expression is caused when the muscles in the face pull downwards. A frown may be caused by myopia, sitting in front of the computer for long periods of time or extended screen time. These expressions can be improved by anti–wrinkle injections and for the chronic frowner; you will feel less tense in that area.

related diseases.

3. Evaluate what you ingest from a pH perspective. pH is the abbreviation for potential hydrogen. The higher the pH reading, the more alkaline and oxygen rich the fluid is. The lower the pH reading, the more acidic and oxygen deprived the fluid is. The pH range is from 0 to 14, with 7 being neutral.

Anything above 7 is alkaline, anything below is considered

5. Stick to a routine Have anti-wrinkle injections every four months and don’t let yourself “go back to zero”. Research shows your results will improve with each treatment of anti-wrinkle injections by receiving the recommended dose and maintaining treatment every four months over a two-year period. For information, visit www.eyedolls.com.au

25 EchucaMoama

Country born and raised, Clare said it was important to provide her services to regional and rural Victoria, visiting Echuca, Koondrook, Bendigo, Ballarat and Colac on a monthly rotation.

goodness, as I would not have any work,” she said. “I strive to always achieve a natural look and will decline to administer an unnatural or extreme appearance.”

Justin Davies carries out laser genesis skin therapy treatment on Ivy Wise.

JUSTIN DAVIES THE SKIN DOCTOR Known as the ‘skin doctor’, Justin Davies visits Echuca twice a month where he treats about 30 clients.

26 EchucaMoama

He uses laser technology to provide hair removal, skin rejuvenation and vein removal treatments to his mostly female (80 per cent) clients.

With his clients aged from 12 to 80, Justin said hair reduction and vascular treatments for leg and facial veins were the most popular treatment.

“They want to look hair free for summer and also prevent those leg veins from developing into those large varicose veins that require surgery for their removal,” he said.

Because of this, “Is this going to hurt?” and “How many treatments will I require?” are among the most common questions he hears.

For hair removal, it is eight to 10 sessions followed by maintenance as required; while vascular treatments will require two to four sessions.

For skin rejuvenation, he recommends three to four sessions, but that depends on how well clients look after their skin after the procedures.

Once an almost exclusively female industry, Justin said he was seeing an increase in men actually booking treatments to improve their skin tone, remove unwanted facial or leg veins, or hair from their back.

He says his business has increased 100 per cent over the past few two years, thanks not only to the team at Millewa Spa but due to results-based procedures for which clients don’t have to travel to Melbourne.

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Justin first trained as a plastic surgery nurse 26 years ago and later worked for former Australian of the Year and plastic surgeon Fiona Wood, which he considers his biggest achievement so far.

When she invented the innovative spray-on skin to treat burns victims, Justin became the product manager, visiting operating theatres to show medical staff how to use it and help with wound management.

Later he switched to medical laser technology and began educating staff in hospitals how to use the lasers.

He now owns his own laser business, Pulse Light Solutions, and works in clinics in Hawthorn, Elsternwick and country Victoria, including Echuca, Cohuna and Koondrook.

He said he loved working for himself but the best part of his job was seeing results.

“When customers come back into the clinics I service, thanking me for improving their skin or vascular conditions,” he said. “I love the flexibility of working for myself and getting results. If I can change something a patient doesn’t like, that’s great.”

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Nicole Mills (left) and Vicki Ough from Tea on High.

30 EchucaMoama

Having a high time with

cuppa and cakes The High Tea conjures up scenes of noble ladies gathered in an elegant salon, servants hovering with refills and fresh delicacies. However, IVY WISE finds you don’t have to go far in Echuca Moama to indulge in your own lazy afternoon with a dash of Darjeeling and the freshest of fancy foods.

The British nobility, for all its historical in-bred shortcomings and arrant snobbery, has leant itself to a raft of the mundane, the humdrum.

Try Lord Raglan and his brother-in-law the Earl of Cardigan (both of Charge of the Light Brigade infamy) when you are next discussing clothing.

Or the Duke of Devonshire (yes, he of the tea) and, of course, the Earl of Sandwich and the miracle he wrought with two slices of bread.

Imagine what that patent alone would have been worth had patents not been beneath his station in society.

Then there is High Tea. Not named after anyone in particular, indeed, it sounds as if

it might have emerged from the 1960s or ’70s. But it is a much older, more convoluted story than that. Amongst the poor in Ireland it was referred to as a working class meal served somewhere between 5 pm and 7 pm, starting with a hot dish and moving on to cakes and bread and jam.

In England, back with our beloved nobility, circa mid-1800s, one Anna Maria Stanhope, Duchess of Bedford lifelong friend of Queen Victoria and Lady of the Bedchamber, has garnered some credit as creator of High Tea for the highest in the land.

In reality she cooked up afternoon tea after suffering a ‘sinking feeling’ in the afternoon, and enticing servants to sneak her a pot of tea and a few bread stuffs, soon adopting the European tea service format. Thinking it a jolly good idea she soon invited her friends to join her for a meal

31 EchucaMoama

centred around small cakes, bread and butter sandwiches (remember the earl?), assorted sweets and tea (the duke).

Gradually, with her ducal patronage, this afternoon meal became an established event on the social calendars of the peerage and genteel well-to-do who liked to mimic them, morphing into a High Tea because that sounded more befitting.

Amongst other things this High Tea (high being used in the sense of well-advanced, such as high noon, to signify it was taken later in the day than afternoon tea) soon served a practical purpose, allowing ladies and gentlemen the opportunity of a substantial top up before attending an evening of theatre, cards or paying court to any nearby royals.

So a practical feed for the Irish, the Scottish and the humblest in northern England became the domain of the ducal class, and lesser titles, giving it a veneer of high class as well as High Tea. There’s no nobility (and only one baronet) in egalitarian Australia but that is doing nothing to dampen the resurgence of the High Tea as a splendid excuse to while away an hour or two of an afternoon with your peers rather than the peerage.

And they are popping up everywhere in Echuca Moama.

Such as the appropriately named Tea on High, as well as at places including Rich River Golf Club Resort. >>

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32 EchucaMoama

>> It was the desire to offer High Tea in the country that inspired sisters Vikki Ough and Nicole Mills to open Tea on High in the Port of Echuca in 2014.

Their menu is designed around tea, and High Tea is the signature dish.

On average, the girls create 80 High Teas a month, in-store or in people’s homes, with Saturday the most popular day.

They believe High Tea has always been popular, however better understanding and availability has meant more people can enjoy it.

“High Teas are popular for hen’s parties, Mother’s Day, birthdays or just because. It is nice to spoil yourself,” Nicole said.

“High Tea is special. There are delicious treats as well as the opportunity to eat and drink from fine china.”

The tradition of the occasion, the enjoyment of the guests and the “oohs and aahs” as the High Tea is revealed, course by course, are highlights for the sisters.

“Also, the variety of the savouries and sweets are a delight to create,” Nicole said.

Because of this, High Tea is an occasion and an indulgence which requires time as well as taste. “High Tea should not be rushed, but savoured and eaten like a three-course meal, allowing time for conversation with friends,” Nicole said.

So what makes a good High Tea? “Variety, freshness and texture of the food and time to enjoy

the offerings,” Nicole said.

Tea on High offers four standard High Tea options — the popular Junior High Tea and for the adults there are the Echuca High Tea, a Murray River High Tea (including hot savouries, house-made fine chocolates and fresh fruits) or a sparkling High Tea. All High Teas include a choice of beverages, and, as current fashion demands, an assortment of gluten free and vegetarian options.

“Our High Teas are affordable, generous and available every day, with no bookings required. Making High Tea available to everyone,” Nicole said. “All our treats are made in house and our scones are legendary.”

Rich River Golf Club Resort has been offering High Teas for several years, with a demand for them from a select group of people.

Mainly booked for specialised functions, High Teas are becoming the hot ticket for hen’s parties, according to functions co-ordinator Sarah Milgate.

“But our main clientele are ladies between 45 and 65, however the hen’s parties are making a real day of it, mixing their High Tea with a round of croquet,” Sarah said.

“I think women aged between late 20s and the older generation are enjoying spending time with their friends and family while enjoying some beautiful cakes, slices and savoury items. It is quite a social outing these days.”

Rich River Golf Club Resort High Teas offer a range of

33 EchucaMoama

sweet and savoury canapés, as well as beverages, including champagne, and having a barista on hand to whip up coffees for the High Tea. “We can also offer decorations for hire such as table runners, bunting, flower centrepieces as well as entertainment,” Sarah said. “High Teas can be held upstairs in our first-floor Tatalia venue, overlooking our golf course, at our Lakes function area or alongside our croquet greens.

“It truly can be a spectacular afternoon. Some also wish to play some social croquet or listen to light acoustic entertainment.”

The most extravagant High Tea at the resort was held in

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February for the women and partners of the over 60s cricket tournament.

“It was a remarkable afternoon of soaking up the sun playing croquet, followed by an extraordinary High Tea in our Tatalia function rooms,” she said.

More than 30 women made merry on a vast array of delectable desserts and scrumptious savouries.

“It was the perfect number for a more intimate setting,” she said. “And we had our beautiful pianist Maurice Fewster playing gently in the background creating a mood quite perfect for a High Tea.” n

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38

EchucaMoama

When the

When the sun goes down Echuca Moama puts on a different face.

The edges soften, even blur, the cool of the evening is an escape from the glare of the summer sun, and even the most familiar sights are, well, sort of different.

And they are all but irresistible to an army of amateur snappers, equipped with cutting edge

technology — and cutting-edge phones.

But there is a story to be told about Echuca Moama after dark and we invited anyone who was interested to send us their impressions of the twin towns.

In this issue we publish a selection of those we received and thank everyone who contributed to the project.

Darren Morgan Camera used: Canon EOS 1000D. ISO set at 800 with a six second exposure.

Location: Braund Rd bend, Echuca Description: As the engineer of PS Emmylou Darren said he gets to experience a “bit of magic under the stars”.

He chose this shot because he believes it captured the amazing river, the paddlesteamers and Echuca.

EchucaMoama

the cameras come out

39

SUN GOES DOWN

Ben Horne Camera used: GoPro Hero 4 Location: Murray River, bush Description: The photos are a form of ‘star-trail’ photos; which is done by stacking multiple images to show the movement of stars over a period of time.

40 EchucaMoama Ben Horne — Rotation of the stars Photo was taken during an entire night. The rotation of the stars is caused by the natural rotation of earth. The mid-point of the rotation is called the southern celestial pole. The streaking lines, other than the stars, are satellites, planes and a shooting star.

The photo was taken in the Pianta forest. The ISO was set at 400 and the exposure was at 30 seconds.

It also won ‘GoPro Photo Of The Day’ earlier this year.

Ben Horne — Star-trail on the Murray River Setting: camera was out for around two hours. ISO was set at 200, while the exposure was set at 30 seconds and white balance: 3000K.

Ben Horne — Star-lapse in the bush Camera was out all night. ISO was set at 400, exposure set at 30 seconds, and white balance at 3000K.

41 EchucaMoama

Ben Horne

Vicki Coffin

Bridie Dwyer

Camera: iPhone Location: Hatwell Rd, Echuca Description: The photo was taken, by phone, from Vicki’s front veranda.

Camera used: SLR Nikon D5100 Location: Echuca’s Banyule State Forest Description: Bridie’s subject is a girl dressed in her graduation dress as she walks toward the light. She said the photo brings with it a haunting feeling, “what is really lurking in the dark?”

42 EchucaMoama

Jenna Fullard Camera used: Nikon D90, f/11, 2 sec, 120 mm Location: Bamawm Description: ‘Hay Season’ was captured on the Fullard farm at Bamawm. I wanted to see how the bright spotlights would work with night photography. And what better subject then her dad’s tractor.

Jenna Fullard Camera used: Nikon D90, f/11, 2 sec, 120 mm Location: Echuca train station.

43 EchucaMoama

Brooke South

Rebecca Pilgrim

Camera: Canon IXUS 145, low light settings Location: 392 Mitiamo Rd, Echuca Description: Brooke loves to take pictures and she also loves to edit them. Her cameras are full of photos. And it runs in the family, with her father obsessed.

Camera: iPhone 5 Location: Echuca wharf Description: Rebecca took this snap on her iPhone of the Emmylou on the Murray River at Easter.

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44 EchucaMoama

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48 EchucaMoama

King of the river

AND THE PRINCESS OF HEARTS Kevin Hutchinson has all but ruled the river, from Echuca to Mildura, for more than half a century, and as TYLA HARRINGTON discovered, there’s still plenty of life in this crusty old river man.

Kevin Hutchinson was able to recognise Princess Diana.

By her ankles.

But that’s another story.

He can also recognise every paddlesteamer sailing out of the Port of Echuca by hearing just one note of its steam whistle.

And doesn’t need to raise his head to his office window to confirm his choice.

Because he’s right. He always is.

After more than half a century working on the river, the past 41 in Echuca, this crusty old barnacle truly has forgotten more than any of us will ever know.

So don’t get between him and a mistake about his beloved boats because he will be more than happy to set you straight.

These days our man is shore-bound, and spends a good deal

of his time running the steam engine display behind the Port of Echuca Discovery Centre.

And that’s about as far as you will ever get him from the water and the boats he loves. Even he reckons the undertakers will have to pick him up from the tourist precinct.

But fortunately there appears to be plenty of life in the veteran, who’s become as much an attraction as the boats on the river behind him.

Kevin decided to make the move from Mildura to Echuca in 1974, accepting an offer from the then City of Echuca.

He had completed an apprenticeship in carpentry and joinery and spent his weekends helping to fix boats in Mildura, using the experience to hone his craft.

Married with a young family, once in Echuca Kevin’s first role was to work repairing the Bridge Hotel, before he was

49 EchucaMoama

“I USED TO SEE THE PADDLESTEAMERS THERE (MILDURA) AND THERE WAS JUST SOMETHING ABOUT THEM.” KEVIN HUTCHISON

asked to help rebuild the dilapidated paddlesteamer Pevensey, which also followed him to Echuca from Mildura.

He also held a detailed 10-minute discussion with former

Kevin would go on to restore the boat, skipper it and then help it become immortalised as the PS Philadelphia in the classic Australian miniseries All the Rivers Run, which really put Echuca and its fleet of paddlesteamers on the map.

Kevin and his connection with paddlesteamers has been back

After completing the Pevensey, Kevin was called on to restore the PS Adelaide, high, dry and derelict in Hopwood Gardens.

years and said when the latest round of repairs, from the hull

Big jobs which clearly attracted a lot of attention because in 1990 Kevin was awarded an Order of Australia for his work on the paddlesteamers.

Prime Minister John Howard in the Pevensey’s wheelhouse. in the news recently as Campaspe Shire sinks $500 000 into its latest maintenance project.

The Arbuthnot is one he has had a lot to do with over the up, are finished even the boat won’t know itself.

In July council approved an additional $65 000 to undertake deck repairs and an engine overhaul, taking the total budget on the boat to $492 621.

Over the years, Kevin has had several brushes with fame while skippering his beloved Pevensey.

Council recognised the 92-year-old Alexander Arbuthnot’s

Unfortunately he didn’t get a proper look at the most famous guest to grace the paddlesteamer — Princess Diana.

2011, which resulted in a strategy to restore the whole of the

He was working in the engine room at the time and when he looked up he only saw her ankles.

2017.

But they are a pair of ankles he won’t be forgetting in a hurry.

discovered a staged approach was not feasible and it was >>

hull was in “generally poor condition” during a slipping in hull over three separate slippings scheduled for 2013, 2015 and When the boat was slipped in November 2013 it was

50 EchucaMoama

>> recommended the hull be restored over two slippings, both this year.

were excessively loose and there was considerable leakage past

Most of the hull planking and all the floors (the timbers running across the vessel) have been replaced.

The crankshaft has been repaired (probably in the 1970s) but

The keelson — like the keel on a traditional boat — and two sister keelsons have also been replaced removing a lot of the sag in the middle of the boat, while the steel bulkheads and steel frames have either been repaired or rebuilt.

If council had decided to wait on the engine works, it would

Works still in the pipeline, which have been given the nod, include the deck replacement.

the pistons and the slide valves. has evidence of galling on the bearing surfaces. have cost an additional $20 000 to remove the engine from the boat as a standalone project.

Those nuts and bolts are grist for Kevin’s mill.

He just lives and breathes it. You could say he’s nuts about it.

The deck had some replacement works in 2011, but according to council much of it now has dry rot having never been properly sealed when restored in the 1970s.

But 50 years in the one business is a long haul for anyone, so

Officers were not confident RMS would issue a Certificate of Survey if the deck was not addressed, which they believed should be given high priority.

He says it goes back to his Mildura childhood, where the river

And without the survey, the AA would not be able to return to commercial service.

something about them,” he said.

Council has also approved an engine overhaul.

fascinated he couldn’t get away from them.

The engine last received work in about 2002, with only minor maintenance works since then.

In his laconic style he leans back, looks at the sky for a

Council said there was no sign an engine failure is imminent, but neither is there any rigorous way to assess what remaining life the engine has, nor when major works might be required.

then. “It all went from there,” he pronounced.

A recent assessment revealed all the linkages and pin points

there’s a few stories to be written yet. n

what got him hooked in the first place and what keeps him firmly anchored in the port? was as much a part of growing up as it is here.

“I used to see the paddlesteamers there and there was just He didn’t use the word romantic, and he didn’t say he was so

minute, and decides he was just really interested in them from From there to here has been a lot of sailing but Kevin’s pistons, slide valves and linkages are all still functioning so

51

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54 EchucaMoama

Hetti Jones of Moama Anglican Grammar joining the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation.

55 EchucaMoama

Classroom of life A GROWING SUCCESS TYLA HARRINGTON gets down and dirty in the Stephanie Alexander garden with some very small, but enthusiastic, horticulturists and finds she has a taste for what they are up to.

Moama Anglican Grammar School is not just teaching the young people in its charge, it is working hard to educate them about food.

About addressing the diet of the young Australians circa 2015 — and tackling the childhood obesity crisis head on.

A major step was joining the not-for-profit Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation in December last year — a class the school currently offers about 80 Year 3 and Year 4 students.

Today the school has a vegetable garden, kitchen facilities and a dozen hens.

You name it, and the vegetable garden has probably produced it — or plans to.

Snow peas, lettuce, herbs, tomatoes, chilli, onions, kale, potatoes, apples, blood oranges, garlic, broccoli, silver beet, corn, bok choy, cauliflower, edible flowers, rosemary — and take a breath.

And they are just some of the things which have filled the garden.

The best part, of course, is in the eating.

Taking the food they have helped grow and turning it into all sorts of (very healthy) goodies.

Jonte Grubb and Harvey McGillivray.

56 EchucaMoama

>> Vietnamese rice paper rolls, fried rice, hummus, tzatziki, plenty of vegetable recipes, potato, leek and bacon soup — ad infinitum.

Michelle Downie, chef by trade and now the school’s head of foods technology, said the program had well and truly been a hit.

“We’ve really embraced the program and everything that it represents,” she said. “How it came about is I thought we had fabulous facilities to support the kitchen garden program and we loved the program’s philosophy, so decided to put in a submission.

“I explained why we wanted to be part of the program, we did four days training, and here we are. Now each class meets once a fortnight in the kitchen. On the alternate weeks they’re out in the garden.”

The school joined the program after Alexander, in her own words a cook, restaurateur, food writer and champion of the quality and diversity of Australian food, welcomed schools and early learning centres into her kitchen garden education community.

The service provides access to more than 700 resources based

on the program, which now reaches 837 schools and more than 100 000 children across the country.

It draws on the foundation’s 14 years of experience and helps educators use real-life learning in the garden and kitchen to change the food habits of Australian children.

But that’s not all the program covers, according to Michelle.

“It covers so many different areas, including art in relation to the garden design,” she said.

“We’ve made 3D sculptures for the garden and scarecrows.

“A lot of the students have taken home recipes and made meals for their families. I’ve had parents tell me they’ve had meals cooked for them and we had one student who made their own garden on the school holidays.

“It’s about trying different things and expanding their taste buds but it’s also about learning life skills. They’re not only cooking but doing literacy and numeracy through reading recipes and measuring ingredients.”

Thanks to the program, and student Tyla Naughton, the school is now producing a recipe book, which is expected to be out this month or October.

57 EchucaMoama

Jonte Grubb, Indi Gilmore, Olivia Davey, Will Quirk and Oscar Burns.

Shayne Thompson.

Tristan Watson, Marli McKenna and Ava Charnas.

“A LOT OF THE STUDENTS HAVE TAKEN HOME RECIPES AND MADE MEALS FOR THEIR FAMILIES.” MICHELLE DOWNIE

Kitchen garden foundation chief executive Ange Barry said it was exciting to be opening the foundation’s toolkit to secondary schools and early learning centres after being inundated with requests over the years.

“While in the past we’ve had to limit access to the primary sector, we can now also welcome ELCs and secondary schools into the kitchen garden community,” Ange said.

“We are looking forward to continuing to expand this homegrown program, forging a ground-breaking community which will change the way generations think about fresh, seasonal, delicious food.

own food. I believed this was the best way of convincing students to become more open to new flavours, learn new skills, and to better understand the connection between fresh food, the shared table and wellbeing,” Stephanie said.

“My dream was always to make pleasurable food education available to every student in primary school and, just maybe, to extend the vision even further — and now it’s being realised.” n

“The service has been established in order for pleasurable food education to reach as many Australian children as possible.

We have worked hard to minimise costs to schools while simultaneously aiming for the long-term self-sustainability of the foundation,” she said.

Stephanie Alexander said she was delighted to see pleasurable food education grow from one Australian school in 2001 to more than 800, and potentially thousands in the near future.

“In 2001 I persuaded Collingwood College to let me involve students in growing, harvesting, preparing and sharing their

Jonte Grubb, Harvey McGillivray, Tanner Tonkins and Hetti Jones.

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59 EchucaMoama

IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE

a dog’s life

A little band of campaigners are the frontline in the fight to dramatically reduce the number of dogs being put down in Campaspe Shire and they are making some serious inroads.

But RUSTY WOODGER learnt with more help they could do a lot better.

It’s hard to tell who is being rescued the most — the dogs which would otherwise be put down or the disparate band of campaigners who fight to keep them alive.

In the sanitised world, unwanted dogs are euthanased.

In reality they are killed.

Killed because they have been abandoned, because they are lost and no-one has claimed them (or cared enough to have them microchipped, tattooed or even given registration tags).

Most brutally, they are killed simply because no-one wants them.

Echuca Animal Rescue Service is the final court of appeal for dogs in this region.

Not just a few dogs. Hundreds of dogs. Through the years probably thousands of dogs.

In 2014 with no homes available, or interested, 158 dogs in Campaspe Shire were put to death.

Despite the best; at times the frantic, efforts of EARS. And its rank and file of men and women, young and old, white collar and blue, united by a shared love of animals and a determination to always try and find a better solution. >>

60 EchucaMoama

Echuca Animal Rescue Service. Standing (L-R): Gillian Cairns, Mairin McCubbin, Leeanne McMullan, Glenys and Allan Miles. Crouching (L-R): Rhonda and Bruce Taylor.

>> Their numbers are small, the challenges almost overwhelming, and every failure leaves another scar on their souls.

They see their role as noble work but so often it is almost the death of a thousand cuts. They don’t want to just save some dogs, even a lot of dogs. In their perfect world they would save every dog.

Of course in their perfect world there is none of the disdain, the cruelty, that so many, too many, inflict on these defenceless animals whose lives are so inescapably bound up with humans.

The euthanasia of animals is a contentious and ongoing issue in Australia.

Figures show tens of thousands of dogs and cats are euthanased in Victoria alone each year.

The 158 put down here last year were just the tip of a gruesome iceberg.

“But it’s a hard reality — you can’t save them all.”

The couple have enlisted the help of professional dog trainers, veterinarians and groomers to assist with the process of helping dogs who, for one reason or another, no longer have permanent owners.

But perhaps the most crucial aspect of the organisation is its volunteer foster carers — people who take on board an animal while it is being retrained to be suitable for a new home.

“The success of the organisation depends wholly on our network of foster carers,” Bruce said.

“But it’s very satisfying to people who eventually take it on.

“You get dogs who have been mistreated — some pretty sad ones — and when you see them respond to people who give them a bit of care and attention, that’s very satisfying.”

One of those foster carers is Echuca’s Gillian Cairns.

The retiree has been involved with the group for 12 months.

Volunteers such as Rhonda and Bruce Taylor are at the frontline of combating animal euthanasia.

“I used to work as a volunteer at Glanville Village and that stopped, so I thought I’d take on the dogs,” she said.

The Torrumbarry couple were voted in as president and treasurer of the rescue service last year and have worked hard to reduce the rate of dogs being put down.

“I read a book about old dogs and how people disregard them.

I thought I’d like to help them,” Gillian said.

“We want to position ourselves as a group which rehomes as many dogs as we can because that reduces euthanasia rates,” Bruce said.

Since signing on for the cause Gillian has taken care of five dogs. Best of all every one of them has gone on to find new homes.

She even has her own rehomed dog on a permanent basis.

“One of my dogs is a rescue dog — I got him from Geelong,” she said.

“He was very badly treated but he is a wonderful dog.”

Gillian said other people in the region should volunteer their homes to allow these dogs to rehabilitate.

61

“It’s not hard work. You just enjoy it,” she said.

EchucaMoama

“And it’s nice to see them go to a good home.”

Rushworth’s Glenys Miles and husband Allan are currently looking after two dogs.

“Caring for dogs gives me an enormous amount of pleasure,” Glenys said. “It’s heaps of fun watching and being involved with their antics. And helping them adjust to a different lifestyle is so rewarding.”

But despite the best efforts of these dedicated few, the reality is EARS cannot make a significant difference without more recruits.

At the moment there are just four foster carers. Bruce needs this number to grow to at least 20, sooner rather than later.

Because there is no later for the dogs already on death row.

“We need foster carers badly,” he said. “If we have 20 carers, we can do five times as much as we’re doing now. That’s a true measure of how you’ve grown — not how many members you’ve got coming to a meeting, or how much money you’ve got in the bank. But it is all about how many foster carers you have in your network.”

Help me Rhonda, help, help me Rhonda Rhonda Taylor’s day usually starts with a power walk.

Breakfast is eaten in front of the computer as she deals with the rescue service’s Facebook page and its incoming messages.

Because she knows it won’t be long before the phone starts, with calls from people asking about dogs.

Some are looking to take care of one; most are looking to offload one.

This is a genuine full-time gig for the former B&B owner.

“It’s getting busier and busier,” she said. “Every day I’ve got to ring and do that, I’ve got to organise this. Before I know it, it’s lunchtime.”

But the heavy workload has not deterred her ambition to help these dogs find a home.

“I always think everything is worth it,” she said. “I never think ‘what am I doing?’ or this is not worth it, because it is.

“It gives you this fantastic feeling when a dog ends up finding a loving new home. It’s just amazing, it really is.”

But those feelings of elation are also tinged with sadness for animal lovers such as Rhonda.

“When you send a dog off, the family picking it up is just so happy,” she said.

“They pick up the dog, the little dog trots off. And the foster carers are just standing there in tears. And the dog doesn’t even look back!

“That’s happened to me a couple of times.” n

IT GIVES YOU THIS FANTASTIC FEELING WHEN A DOG ENDS UP FINDING A LOVING NEW HOME. IT’S JUST AMAZING, IT REALLY IS. RHONDA TAYLOR

62 EchucaMoama

Gillian Cairns

Historic partnership a big step forward After years of tension with Campaspe Shire and its handling of the regional animal pound in Echuca — The Lost Dogs’ Home — EARS has struck a partnership with the shire.

“And with how busy I am nowadays, I’d also like to have a house cleaner. And a gardener.”

EchucaMoama

Bruce agrees, citing their dog euthanasia rates which were officially at 32.8 per cent in 2011 — a short time after EARS was formed.

“I’d like to see us spread out. That’s my dream,” she said.

63

“We’ve made history by working with The Lost Dogs’ Home,” Rhonda said.

On top of a growth in foster carers, Rhonda hopes to expand the service’s reach in the coming years and link up with other animal pounds and rescue groups in the area.

For details about Echuca Animal Rescue Service go to www.facebook.com/echucaanimalrescue

“That’s been a significant change because there has been quite a lot of animosity towards the Home and with its past practices,” he said.

“But they seem to have changed that culture. There are some young people who have come on board and really have an animal care focus.

“Their euthanasia rates just weren’t good. They deserved that criticism in our view.”

In the past four years the euthanasia rate at the pound has dropped to 20.6 per cent.

It is an improvement, but Bruce and Rhonda point out it is still a far cry from other local government areas — such as the City of Stonnington in south-east Melbourne — where euthanasia rates of unclaimed dogs is below 5 per cent.

“Far too often the euthanasia of treatable and otherwise healthy animals has been the sad reality,” Rhonda said. “Our group believes there is another way.”

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EchucaMoama

in your career.

65

Take the next step

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Villawood Things are moving along at an impressive pace at Lakeview Moama, Villawood Properties’ outstanding residential community, Lakeview offers prospective residents an enviable lifestyle choice of both park front and lake views.

Stage 3 features 16 lots ranging in size from 750m2 to 2091m2, priced from $149,500 to $195,000.

The estate can boast that it is the newest estate to be connected to the NBN so what better time to build than now.

Moama’s only NBN ready estate

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Visit the website today for more information www.lakeviewmoama.com.au

Perricoota Road, Moama

view in Moama?

HAPPY CUSTOMER Kirsten Baxter

www.winninghomes.com.au

Winning Homes Winning homes directors Steve and Sarah Robson have chosen to build their very first display home in Villawood’s Lakeview Estate. They are excited to be able to showcase their architectural designs to the public in such an idyllic setting. “Lakeview has so many great features, so it was the perfect option for us” says Sarah. Combine that with the fact that Lakeview is now an NBN ready estate made sense as they can utilise this to run their business and not be slowed down.

Villawood’s newest land buyers Kirsten Baxter and Joshua McIntosh have purchased Lot 64 and say if you are going to live on the river you need to know you have access to boat ramps.

And at Lakeview you do, just up the road at the Five Mile Boat Ramp She said you also need to have a block big enough for a house, a yard for the kids — and room for a boatshed, or to at least park the boat (and/or caravan).

And at Lakeview you do.

“You also will want to be close to the best schools, the best sporting facilities and shopping,” Kirsten added.

“And at Lakeview you are,” she says.

“If you want to take the dog for a walk, or just take yourself for a walk, there are tracks and choices every where “Even better, Lakeview is the only NBN estate in Moama, and in today’s world that is essential — for students and especially if you have a home business or need to be connected for any professional or financial reason and connected at high speed.

“And at Lakeview you will be faster than anyone in Echuca-Moama.

“And it doesn’t get any better than that.”

TESTIMONIAL Tony Aquino from Design Homes

Watersun Local Moama resident and Watersun Sales Consultant, Sean Burns is excited to see his first dedicated display home start in Lakeview. It will provide potential customers with the benefits of being able to view the quality of Watersun’s products. Customers can touch and feel fittings and fixtures and then tailor their home to suit their needs, all from the comfort of their home town.

Sean says Watersun is using local trades where possible and is looking forward to announcing the official opening date which will be celebrated with some on site activities.

Selling Agent

(03) 5482 2111 172 Hare Street, Echuca

“I am very excited about the spec home we are about to build in Lakeview Estate.

I have been waiting for this to happen again in this area and can see that Lakeview Estate has a good balance of home sites that will cater to people in retirement or mums and dads who have found the perfect place to bring up a family.

After all the years I have been in the trade, it’s great to see the new estates now with classy street lighting, friendly rollover kerb and channel, the way the nature strips been designed and the trees planted on them, the public open space, the effort put into the estate to maximise northerly aspect so that the houses benefit the most from our four seasons.

Amazing places like our clubs, the Murray river, wineries, sports grounds and botanic gardens are also in walking distance if you choose to stroll there.

I have always said that living in the area is like being on holidays where you live.”

2015 ANZ Championship ANZ Grand Final Queensland Firebirds v NSW Swifts Queensland Firebird's Kim Ravaillion and Caitlyn Nevins celebrate.

68 EchucaMoama

Photo: David Callow/Netball Australia.

69

AND SHE’S ON A ROLL

Echuca’s Caitlyn Nevins played with an ANZ Championship winning team in 2014 and quit. But as she told ERIN LYONS, it turned out to be the coolest move she has ever made.

Caitlyn Nevins (nee Strachan) has never considered herself a gambler.

But the Echuca netballer took a serious punt when she left the Melbourne Vixens in the ANZ Championships and headed north to the Queensland Firebirds.

Where she hit the jackpot.

The Firebirds were this year crowned Trans-Tasman premiers following a stunning one-goal win over the NSW Swifts, 57–56.

And it was a case of third time lucky for the Firebirds, who had been bridesmaids the past two years (and remarkably, back-to-back premierships for Caitlyn, who was part of the Vixens 2014 premiership squad).

Caitlyn said the home crowd erupted at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre as the final whistle sounded at the 2015 finale. >>

EchucaMoama

This Firebird is hot

70 EchucaMoama

“WE CAME INTO THIS SEASON WANTING TO BE A REAL DRIVING FORCE AND WE HAVE DONE THAT.” CAITLYN NEVINS

>> “It was an incredible feeling,” she said.

tall Romelda Aitken and unconventional Gretel Tippett (a

“To be one-goal winners in a grand final is unbelievable.”

diminutive 192 cm), who formerly represented the AIS in the

Caitlyn married husband Ben in November last year and moved to Brisbane just a few weeks later to start training with the Firebirds.

Unsure whether she would enjoy the lifestyle up north Caitlyn admits she has treasured everything about the move — bar the humidity.

Women’s National Basketball League.

“Gretel is such an exciting player and can be very unpredictable at times,” Caitlyn said.

“I think it’s her natural flair which makes her so unpredictable.

“Kimberley Ravaillion (centre) and I have worked really hard with Gretel and Romelda and now I know how they both want they ball and we’ve been able to find our rhythm.”

“It (the humidity) was a bit of a shock at first and we struggled a lot to get used to it,” she laughed.

Caitlyn has enjoyed being out there on court with both the

“But we are absolutely loving it now; it’s such a nice little city.”

Firebirds starting shooters, but it took a little to click with a

Starting in the wing-attack bib, Caitlyn has been an integral part of the Firebirds line-up this season going overnight from bench warmer to key player, making her mark in the team’s starting seven.

Queensland only dropped the opening game of the season before winning the next 10 and flying to the top of the Australian conference ladder before taking out the TransTasman title.

Although it is hard to be privy to the inner workings of every team in the ANZ Championship, one thing she does know is she is confident she is in the right place.

And the premiership flag isn’t the only indication of that.

Caitlyn slotted in nicely and never once looked out of place in her new team.

“The weather is absolutely beautiful here,” she said. “And because Brisbane is a smaller city, it’s much easier to get around.”

“I’m really enjoying the lifestyle.”

A standard training week for the trans-Tasman’s top netballers usually consists of five training days per week (two weight sessions and three court sessions) and a few yoga classes, but during pre-season they were training twice a day.

Caitlyn said while it was grueling; the training is the easy part, it’s getting used to new combinations that’s tricky.

Playing a feeding role Caitlyn had the opportunity to work with two of Australia’s top goalers, the towering 196 cm

number of new faces taking to the court this year, including the former Echuca netballer.

“I felt I was able to adjust quickly and was able to understand the other girls and make connections on the court,” she said.

“Everybody takes feedback really well.”

In the current Trans-Tasman format, the Firebirds play the other Aussie teams twice and the New Zealand teams once during the home-and-away season.

Caitlyn said each country has a different style of how they approach the game.

“When you play the Australian teams you always have a body next to you with every single ball you receive,” she said.

“New Zealand play a zone defence, and they try to create fake space.

“It’s always a little tricky when we play them” Caitlyn also has her own podiatry business, but has cut down her hours due to her netball commitments during the final series while husband Ben is an osteopath.

Like most budding netballers, Caitlyn has one major dream — to play for Australia. But for now, she is happy to have entrenched herself as a more than capable wing-attack in the Firebirds line-up.

And to have won two flags in her (so far) short ANZ Championship career is purely remarkable.

Caitlyn has also re-signed with the Firebirds for season 2016.

2015 ANZ Championship Australian Conference Final Queensland Firebirds v NSW Swifts Caitlyn Nevins, Firebrids.

71 EchucaMoama

Photo: David Callow/Netball Australia

Locals taking care of locals Murrayvale Aged Care is a modern, purpose-built aged care facility.

We have 50 bedrooms, divided into 16 single and 17 double rooms. Each bedroom has a fully appointed ensuite, built in robes, ducted heating, evaporative cooling, telephone and television outlets and emergency call system. All bedrooms are serviced daily with linen provided.

Our home is fully secured for our residents’ safety while still enabling access to our private courtyard gardens, meeting areas and a secured dementia walk garden with bus stop and water fountain. Residents are encouraged as far as possible to maintain their independence, social and personal interests. Choice of medical practitioner or specialist is encouraged. Medication, nutrition, dietary and personal care needs are carefully supervised. Murrayvale Aged Care welcomes input from each resident, as it is their home.

Additional features • Division 1 Registered Nurse 24 hours • Medication supervision • Comfortable lounge room area • Dedicated secure dementia wing

Our long term staff are dedicated professionals who are fully qualified to meet the residents’ personal and clinical care needs, many of whom have been there since the facility opened in 1982.

They are trained to deliver the best service with qualified Personal Carers and a Registered Nurse, 24 hours a day, every day, with a special understanding of the needs of the aged. An integral part of our care is to develop individual care plans which provide a holistic team approach. The care plans are regularly reviewed to meet the needs of each resident assisting in the care of the resident’s mental, spiritual and physical wellbeing, giving our carers a sense of achievement and satisfaction.

• Secure dementia walk

Our trained Chefs provide delicious varied menus with fresh selections each day. A qualified Dietitian also ensures that the specific nutritional needs of our residents are met, including religious and cultural requirements.

• Barbeque garden area

Activities, recreation and therapeutic programs including exercises, crafts, movies, readings, special events and outings are catered to the residents’ personal interests.

Murrayvale Aged Care offers visiting Hairdresser, Podiatrist, Physiotherapist, Pharmacist and arrangements for newspaper deliveries upon request.

Menarock Aged Care Services

• Sitting room with open fireplace • Ceiling fans • Large activity rooms • Two separate garden courtyards • Hairdressing salon • Dedicated facility bus.

Australian owned and operated.

63 Regent Street, Moama t. 03 5482 1311 f. 03 5480 9336 e. don.murrayvale@menarock.com.au manager.murrayvale@menarock.com.au

Life is Good

at Allen Court Retirement Village Moama’s ‘hidden secret’ offers residents the independence of owning their own home, while having the freedom to enjoy their retirement.

Travel or take up a new hobby or simply take advantage of what Allen Court has to offer.

As well as a very active social club, Allen Court has an indoor and outdoor bowling green, hydrotherapy pool and spa, table tennis, billiards and entertainment area with barbecue, set in beautifully landscaped gardens.

Allen Court is a 64–strata title village catering to over 55’s.

The self-care units have a new, personal 24-hour emergency call system and provide independence and privacy with the knowledge of feeling safe and secure in a controlled neighbourhood, supported by an on-site manager.

Become a part of a caring, supportive and stress-free community, while enjoying the peace and tranquility and the freedom retirement offers.

Become a part of a caring, supportive and stress-free community, while enjoying the peace and tranquility and the freedom retirement offers.

A member of the Menarock Aged Care Services Group

61 Regent Street, Moama, NSW 2731 Phone: (03) 5480 9147 or (03) 5482 1311 Mobile: 0428 008 192 Email: allencourt@bigpond.com www.allencourt.com.au

Christmas Parties

Christmas Day

75 EchucaMoama

Norm Walter in his garden in Bunnaloo.

Gardening is cheaper than therapy — AND YOU GET TOMATOES Bunnaloo local NATALIE DURRANT drops in on her neighbours to see what they are up to beneath those curious bird cages which have sprung up around their fruit trees.

A vegetable patch is a labour of love.

And love is in abundance in Norm and Leonie Walter’s garden.

Their Bunnaloo block is a dedication to their decades of work, nurturing their land and growing their own fruit and vegetables.

A few years ago a vegetable vandal helped themselves to every pumpkin “bar one”. The theft of the prized pumpkins was all the more perplexing to Norm who admitted he would have happily given the thieves a pumpkin to take home if they’d asked.

Norm is a little hazy on exactly how long he has been

For anyone meandering through the tiny hamlet of Bunnaloo,

greening his thumbs — “maybe 40 or 50 years” — but the

the Walters’ home is easily recognisable as the place with the

nonchalant piggery-worker, dirt-carting retiree is at his

“bird cages” around the fruit trees.

And in the summer the ground behind their back fence is a sprawling sea of pumpkin and melon plants.

happiest when he’s among his garden beds.

“Since I’ve retired it gives me something to do,” he said. “It keeps me active and busy. >>

76 EchucaMoama

>> “But the best result is at the supermarket. Our greengrocery bill is not very much at all.”

Homegrown tomatoes top the list of items which make the effort worthwhile.

Unfortunately Norm had his hands full for the first time this summer, combating the dreaded fruit fly. But with heavy baiting and fruit fly-specific shade cloth, he is optimistic he can keep them at bay.

His signature “bird cages” have their purpose too.

“We put cages over the trees because we had a possum. But the

“We always plant what we like to eat and if we have more than we can use, I give it to the neighbours.”

While Norm does “all the work” according to his wife, Leonie keeps records of what vegetable has been grown in each bed which enables them to correctly rotate crops each year.

She also has her hands full making cauliflower pickle, green tomato pickle and relish from Norm’s bounteous garden beds.

Norm’s passion for his garden is evident as he proudly wends his way between the beds, pointing out plants along the way and handing out tips for his success.

main problem was the (Indian) mynah birds. The only trouble

And he isn’t afraid of trying new things either.

is we don’t have the mynahs anymore but silvereyes instead,

He stops beside a capsicum plant sheathed in shade cloth and gently lifts a corner.

and they can slip between the wire,” Norm laughed.

All his vegetable beds are raised and numbered, which does create a bit more work.

“But I’ve found it has its advantages with insect control because I can spray the ground around the beds without having to spray the plants,” Norm said.

“Also the manure flows out of the beds and around the ground which helps feed the fruit trees.”

Plenty of cow manure, and planting seedlings at the right time of the year, are Norm’s secrets to success.

“Normally you would pull these out at the end of summer,” he confesses. “But someone told me don’t pull them out and they will be ready for next season.”

He smooths the cover back into place.

“They are supposed to last four to five years. So I’ll see how it goes.”

He next gestures towards a fruit tree.

“You’re learning something all the time. I used to get codling moth in my granny smith and I was going to pull it out and

77 EchucaMoama

then somebody told me, I think he was an Italian, that you should paint the tree trunk white. So I white-washed it with lime and water and within two years, no more codling moth.”

Likewise, he proudly points out the rainwater tanks sitting beside his shed.

“These rainwater tanks are the best thing I’ve done. We used to have channel water but now everything runs on rainwater.”

What Norm Walter grows Vegetables: Carrots, beetroot, onions, garlic, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, potatoes, beans, snow peas, pumpkins, watermelons, rock melons, capsicums, silver beet and cucumbers.

Fruit: Oranges, pears, apples, blood plums, passionfruit, peaches, grapes, avocados, lemons, apricots, figs, mandarins and a lemonade tree.

Although Norm was unsure how much time he spent in the garden each day, a free-standing wood fire in his shed was an obvious drawcard during the winter months after all his weeding, watering and almost fanatical fussing over his horticulture heaven.

As I farewell Norm at the front gate, he turns back to his garden and its shed and, no doubt, that warm fire. n

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Fiona Hendry and her jams and relishes under her brand Fiona's Kitchen.

80 EchucaMoama

Saints preserve me!

WHAT WAS I THINKING? LANA MURPHY goes north to Mathoura where she finds the Mistress of Citrus, the woman who has turned an occasional hobby into an all-consuming passion — which now has a profit attached.

Fiona Hendry has a nickname.

professional researcher, drinking to her future as a cocktail

A tag she does not take lightly.

artist and speaking about the students she used to teach in

Because, ladies and gentlemen, she is the princess of preserving, she is the one, the only, the undefeated Mistress

her international English classes.

But most of all, she insists, being a mother is her crowning

of the Citrus.

glory.

Not least because her signature orange Cointreau marmalade

With two children under five, Fiona is already pretty good on

has made her a household name throughout the southern

her feet. Not that she has a lot of choice.

Riverina.

So the Mathoura mum really didn’t see it coming, when her

And it’s so good demand is fast outstripping supply.

humble hobby of preserving, started to take over her life.

But if nothing else, the project is helping preserve her sanity.

She could hardly have had time for leisurely pursuits.

When she’s not busy whipping up her magical marmalades

“But that’s what preserving is for me,” she said. “My lifestyle

this Mathoura mother of two uses her spare time to maintain

changed so drastically when I had children, I moved from a

her career as a published author, looking into her work as a

big city to this small town because I wanted a life for them

“I LIKE TO PLAY AROUND WITH FLAVOURS AND ONE DAY JUST DECIDED TO POP IN SOME COINTREAU WITH AN ORANGE MARMALADE.” that was stripped back and simple.

At first glance the cottage is a distinctly colonial construction, with its stone exterior.

However, the true story starts to unfold as you walk through the front door; where the sense of smell is immediately assaulted, today by lemonade scones, the conventional oven lost beneath clouds of steam.

Glass jars and wooden spoons are scattered across the timber workbench, amidst a sea of sugar crystals and strawberry seeds. The breakfast bar is home to orange and mandarin peel and, like a gentle dusting of snow; the brick floor is hidden beneath a steady fall of icing sugar.

The walls belong to those children; their sketches plaster the rock walls; encouraging and inspiring. Books fill assorted nooks and crannies in every room, leaving no doubt the walls are home to a contented, thriving family.

It’s a warm home, despite its rock walls and timber bathroom — because it’s filled with love.

“Maybe that’s the difference,” Ms Hendry said. “I didn’t think I had a secret trick, but maybe the kids are it.”

After all, she didn’t really start preserving until daughter Lucy was born five years ago.

“I’d always had an interest in it,” she said. “But I grew up in a house with white polished bench tops. Living here there is no take away; you can’t just call and order some Chinese or fish and chips. Everything has to be made by you, and that took some adjusting.”

In this house wasting food was an anathema, fruit growing a major part of the daily rhythm of life.

Preserving was inevitable.

“Apricots, tomatoes, rockmelon, basil, pesto, olives, mulberries and pickled cucumbers; if you can think of it I have preserved it, or turned into a jam,” she said. “We bought the land with a small citrus orchard on it and I’ve slowly expanded on that and now grow mulberries, olives and cucumbers.

“It’s a local tradition here to grow fruit trees; they’re so vibrant so it would be silly not to take advantage of that.”

A swap system quickly evolved with friends and neighbours, letting Fiona get her hands on pickles and oranges.

“I think I get the better end of the deal, but they’re pretty content with the jams,” she said.

And so are most of her friends and family who have quickly realised Fiona’s knack for making delicious bottled goods extends way beyond a strawberry paste.

“I like to play around with flavours and one day just decided to pop in some Cointreau with an orange marmalade,” >>

EchucaMoama

Every jar of jam and marmalade is produced and bottled in the country kitchen of Fiona’s Gulpa Creek home.

81

“And what’s simpler than making jams and preserves in your kitchen for your children to enjoy?”

82 EchucaMoama

>> she said. “It was a big hit then and it is still the first thing to go at markets.”

The self-taught preserver credits Margaret Fulton’s Book of Preserves and Pickles for teaching her the ropes and unlike other parts of her old-style life, she has turned to cyberspace to learn new tricks of the trade.

“There was a long time where I had to go through the trial and error scenario,” she said. “But practise makes perfect. I’m still experimenting with flavours but the stock never lasts; my friends have been unusually sociable lately,” she laughed.

Preserving is both a tradition and an art, written onto the pages of those treasured recipe books passed from one generation to the next. But these days, as each page is turned, those lines grow fainter.

“Not only is it thrifty but it’s also continuing a tradition and keeping a rich memory alive,” Fiona said. “We’re also very lucky in this region to have the space and environment to grow fruit trees. Sometimes Melbourne can be a bit of a concrete jungle; I love the space and fresh air here and do that justice by creating delicious products for my family.”

A modern woman, who co-authored a research project for the Council of Single Mothers and their Children while studying her Bachelor of Arts (Sociology) in Melbourne, Fiona said few experiences could be more cathartic than simply tying her linen apron strings and creating something in her kitchen.

“I’m a mix aren’t I? I’ve taught English in Japan and made cocktails for politicians and MasterChef judges, I have a diploma of professional writing but there is still nothing more enjoyable than baking or preserving for my family.”

Thankfully, it’s not just her family reaping the benefits of Fiona’s hobby. Her products are available at the Mathoura Visitor Information Centre — and are proving popular with passing tourists.

It’s a relationship for which she is thankful.

“I think it’s wonderful they are stocking local produce and promoting the local area,” she said. “It’s so important we all

support each other here. I’m currently looking into getting the product into some local cafes — how fantastic would that be?”

Fiona also frequents the Naponda Farmers Market in Deniliquin (on the second Saturday of each month) and said her favourite part was getting to know the people interested in her product.

You can spot her a mile away as traditional gingham cloth drapes her display table.

“It’s so lovely to have a chat and hear people’s stories,” she said.

“And they can see how passionate I am about preserving too; it’s not just something I slap together. A lot of my heart and soul goes into it; it comes from my home, from me.”

Her jams have made it as far afield as Perth, where she subsequently received a request to send jars after a friend had travelled to Mathoura, which, of course she did.

A couple from Bendigo even had Fiona create 70 jars of her finest flavours as wedding favours.

“That was fun; I had customised labels made and people were negotiating with each other to get their preferred flavour.”

And with more than a dozen regular tastes on the table (with plenty of one offs and limited editions too) there was lots to choose from.

“Tomato relish is an oldie but perennial goodie; but sweet citrus jelly is my favourite. Cumquat marmalade, tangelo jam, quince paste and fruit jelly are all among the steady fare.”

But Fiona’s love for creating flavours means she will never rest.

“I love making delicious things for people,” she said. “It makes people happy.

“And anyone can do this; they just need the time, energy and inclination.”

It’s something she will have more time for once her four-yearold Rory heads to school.

Until then she will continue refining that other skill I forgot to mention — juggling. n

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84 EchucaMoama

Get steamed up ABOUT COSTLY HOLIDAYS

When did you last indulge yourself in the Murray experience, instead of driving home and dreaming of places far away? RUSTY WOODGER writes this double delight offering you a mini holiday which would be hard to match anywhere else in the country.

Every year hundreds of thousands of tourists flock to Echuca Moama, drawn by the river, its paddlesteamers, the weather, the boating, the fishing, the history and the très chic strips of High and Hare streets.

But while our backyard becomes home for those hordes, how many of us, who have all this every day, have taken advantage of it ourselves — thought about taking a holiday at home?

Sure there are lots of places you might not have seen, but have you really, truly, seen everything you have at home?

Because if you sat down and did just a little planning you might think twice about jumping on a plane to a faraway destination — and spend months, even years, repairing the damage to the credit cards.

Which is what got the award-winning Murray River Paddlesteamers and Morrisons Riverview Winery together to offer as domestic an alternative as possible — letting you sample some of the very best Echuca Moama has to offer

(and for a reasonable price, where the exchange rate has no impact).

At just $75 a pop, the Wharf to Winery Package invites you to cruise the Murray on one of the town’s historic paddlesteamers, before disembarking at Morrisons for a twocourse lunch and complimentary drink.

Oh, and once you’re done, the trusty old vessel will get up a new head of steam and carry you back to the port.

“You get a ride back, so you can make the most of your afternoon,” Morrison’s general manager Simon Reid said.

According to Simon, since its introduction the package has been a big winner and should entice locals to love a local experience.

“It ticks a lot of the boxes,” he said. “It’s a day out on the paddlesteamer which is an Echuca icon. It’s kind of like a novel taxi. And a lunch at Morrisons is always on the bucket list if you’re coming to town, so you’ll get to taste and

85 EchucaMoama

experience everything we have to offer.”

Simon’s counterpart down the river could not agree more.

Rohan Burgess, a co-owner of Murray River Paddlesteamers, said a trip on one of his vintage vessels down the famous waterway was a must.

“It’s all about the experience of being on a paddlesteamer and stepping back in time,” he said. “It’s an old style of transportation and it’s pretty amazing. People always go ‘wow’. It’s something you can’t do anywhere else. You get to see and feel what it was like in an earlier era.”

The three boats which form the Murray River Paddlesteamers fleet are the PS Emmylou, PS Canberra and the Pride Of The Murray.

“Instead of just simply going to a restaurant here, why not go out on the river to the restaurant and come back again?”

Rohan said.

“And it’s pretty stunning down there at Morrisons. You get a very high standard lunch on a beautiful part of the river.

This is an amazing way to showcase us as a community and what our assets are — the river and our boats.”

Simon said it should also serve as a reminder of what tourism opportunities are available in the area for locals to enjoy.

“This is just one of so many things you can do,” he said. “I could easily round off 20 attractions or activities that would take up three or four days.

“I believe there are so many activities out there in Echuca

Guests are treated to on-board commentary as they take in

Moama that even locals don’t know about. It’s such an

the stunning surrounds.

appealing place for all age groups.”

The trip between the Port of Echuca and Morrisons

For more information go to

Riverview Winery generally takes about 30 minutes each

www.murrayriverpaddlesteamers.com.au

way, as it links the best features of the river.

or www.morrisons.net.au. n

2 Merool Lane, Moama. Phone 03 5480 0126

$75 The The Morrisons Morrisons Experience...

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Nestled amongst bushland, on a beautiful Nestled alongside amongst bushland, onRiver, a beautiful vineyard the Murray alongside the award Murraywinning River, isvineyard our newly renovated, is our newly renovated, award winning restaurant. restaurant.

Take a short drive from Echuca, or a Take atrip short drive one fromofEchuca, or a serene aboard Echuca’s serene trip aboard one of Echuca’s paddlesteamers, relax, unwind and enjoy paddlesteamers, relax, unwind and enjoy the afternoon! the afternoon!

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A picturesque setting requires delicious food and great company.

At Junction, the emphasis is on a truly social experience that extends beyond the fantastic shared dining menu, to the relaxed, warm environment of the space itself.

Junction’s latest High Tea series has reached new heights. From the subtly sweet macaroons, to the decadent chocolate brownie and classic savoury options, guests are in for a treat with matched sparkling wine from Seppelt and teas from T2.

Head Chef Michael Giarrusso is excited to put his mark on Junction’s High Tea and loves keeping the menu seasonal, so that regular guests are surprised with each event.

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90 EchucaMoama

Reliving the majesty STEP INSIDE MOIRA STATION Like the good doctor and his Tardis, LANA MURPHY stepped through the gates of Moira Station and found she had entered another world, one which stretches into our most ancient past but which will soon be available in these most modern of times.

The history is almost palpable. As though you can just reach out and touch a story which has already been 175 years in the telling and has many chapters still to be written.

The dramatic and the despairing, some of it so poignant that events from a more dangerous time can still reach across the years — and all but break your heart.

You only have to pass through the gates of Moira Station to enter a different world, from a different time.

It harks back to the earliest of colonial days, when the squatters took up vast selections and built vast stations whose names were enshrined by the likes of Paterson and Lawson, and whose legend still lives on, integral to the bush mythology.

Circa 2015 this grand old aggregation of land, buildings and memories has not looked this good for generations.

But its restored buildings stand testament to its origins, maintain the narrative of those from earlier days; from the Aboriginals for whom it was home first to the white pioneers, the convict workers, the bushrangers, soldiers from too many wars to the custodians of today.

Kate Pitt and Rex Watson have their names on the deed but they recognise they are as temporary as the years themselves.

What they have done, though, is breathe new life into this very old story, delivered promise of generations to come — a legacy to be treasured by its custodians and indulged in by its visitors.

The Deniliquin-based drilling contractor and wife Kate purchased the station a decade ago and if asked why, tend to stop, scratch their heads, and look a little lost for words. >>

Owner Rex Watson and dog Jagger in the newly restored grounds of Moira Station.

91

EchucaMoama

92 EchucaMoama

>> “Madness, I suppose,” Rex laughs.

But it would seem for this history junkie there is no doubt this is where he was meant to be; at this point in time.

“I would always drive past the station on my way to work in the early ’80s,” he says.

“I looked on fascinated, wondered what it really was and what it was all about.

“It intrigued me and then, in the end, I guess you could say it seduced me. All but abandoned but still so beautiful and grand; there was something about Moira that just got me.”

Moira Station was an archetypal pastoral run, the land taken up in 1842, with the current homestead built in 1866.

On the Cobb Highway in NSW, south of Mathoura but just 27 km north of Echuca, it stood at the crossroads of the fledgling nation.

Perched on the escarpment of the Cadell fault, Moira and

adjoining Murray Valley National Park contain significant Aboriginal sites including ring trees, canoe scar trees, an ochre pit, ovens and middens, confirming its link to Australia’s most ancient past.

But Moira Station would be forever etched in the story of colonial Australia as the litmus test in the escalating conflict between opponents of the NSW land act and squatters.

A case which reached the Privy Court and ended in favour of the selectors, accelerating a wave of acquisition as selectors looked to grab more and more land, some carving out great empires.

Yet when the Pitt/Watson dynasty took the keys to the castle it was a pathetic shell of its glory days, when it commanded 100 000 acres, running flocks of sheep and herds of cattle.

While the white settlers fought for more in the courts, Rex says the stories of Australia’s first people cannot, should not, be forgotten.

93 EchucaMoama

“IT INTRIGUED ME AND THEN, IN THE END, I GUESS YOU COULD SAY IT SEDUCED ME. ALL BUT ABANDONED BUT STILL SO BEAUTIFUL AND GRAND; THERE WAS SOMETHING ABOUT MOIRA THAT JUST GOT ME.”

Their history at pastoral stations was important, many whites

After leaving one of his victims “earnestly injured” by the

would have failed without them and their innate skill with

roadside, with a shot-up ankle, Melville’s gang raced off to

horses and livestock and their traditional understanding of

the “near deserted Moira Homestead” and at gunpoint forced

the very land itself.

the cook to feed them, casually took their pick of the station’s

Rex says they have worked hard to honour the Aboriginal impact on the land.

Still seldom acknowledged in mainstream history, it is of huge significance to the elders who once worked damned

horses and headed for Deniliquin.

Barely a year later Melville would be cornered in a Geelong brothel, tried and sentenced to 32 years.

For his part in a subsequent escape attempt from a prison

hard as stockmen, station hands and domestic servants, the

hulk, in which a guard was killed, he was sentenced to death

cornerstone to the prosperity of the ‘owners’.

and moved to the Old Melbourne Gaol.

Nor would any station be complete without its bushranger

His sentence was later commuted to life but he was found

story, and while Ned Kelly somehow managed to ignore the

hanged in his cell in 1857.

prosperous spread, the notorious Captain Melville did not.

“If the walls could talk, there would be so many stories to tell,”

In league with some of his gang, Captain Melville bailed up

Rex says.

the station in 1850 after leaving Maidens Punt (and squeezing

This bluff character; who has cut his teeth drilling some of

in three robberies in transit).

the toughest potential mining sites in outback Australia,>>

94 EchucaMoama

>> might play it down but he simply cannot disguise his enthusiasm for history.

Particularly the history of his historic home.

He does concede he absorbs the local history of every town he visits, but it might be the last thing you expect from this burly, nugget bloke who has done a lot of very hard yards in his own journey to this point.

Even more surprisingly, some of the stories of which he is now part can still see him cuff at his eyes, probably blaming the sun, as he points to the old men’s quarters, empty for so many years.

“A windmill worker visited Moira at the outbreak of World War II and asked (the then owner) John Clark if he would hang onto his possessions until he came back.

“As he departed the station, headed God knows where to God knows what, his luggage was left in the quarters and Mr Clark kept it safe.

“But the soldier never came back, was never heard from.

“Mr Clark looked after that bloke’s gear for decades — always in the vain hope he might just make it home,” Rex says.

It wasn’t until the 1960s, when the Clark family finally sold the property; that those precious few memories of a face and name lost in time, and almost certainly in battle, were finally moved.

Rex, looking the other way, is still clearly moved by that little gesture of humanity, connectivity, so typical of the many Moira stories.

At its peak the station was more than a home, it was a

community, from the stone homestead to cottages, servant quarters, wool and shearing sheds, stockyards, saddlery and stables, butcher shop, meat safe, bakery, staff store, school room and, inevitably, cemetery.

“The station was the second drinking stop out of Moama,” Rex says. “It was run by William Clifton until 1860 when Hugh Gracey became the owner and he advertised himself as one of the finest grazing paddocks on the highway and boasted of accommodation and meals.

“The restaurant was a Cobb and Co stopover, but was designed mainly for teamsters, and closed overnight with the coming of the railway.”

The Clark family was the last of the long-term owners, Moira would change hands five times in 30 years before the arrival of Kate and Rex. “It was a shell of its history, a deficit collection of times gone by — I just had to restore it; I had to honour that eminent past,” Rex says. “There’s something about this place; it speaks for itself. You can’t replicate this feeling; it has to already be there.”

So with little building experience and only a few years in the hotel industry, a drilling contractor and an event manager held their collective breath and embarked on their biggest project to date; to resurrect Moira Station.

Today, the commanding front gates at 2636 Cobb Highway, Mathoura once again lead to a glorious setting. It covers just 570 ha, not the original 41 000, but its gardens and grounds flourish once more, guarded by patrols of free-ranging turkeys, geese and ducks, linked to walking tracks in the

95 EchucaMoama

neighbouring park, and the homestead is a grand affair in its grand tradition.

Each building has been restored using original bricks; and many other materials found on the property have been incorporated into the renovation.

An old sulky from the 1900s — used on Moira Station by one of the Clark girls — sits with vintage vehicles ready to be restored for a future on-site museum.

It was in that shed a party was staged on New Year’s Eve. But there were no people.

“It was very weird,” Rex says. “There was so much noise coming from the shed, but when I checked, it was silent. It was as if the ghosts were celebrating.”

With four spacious lodges, custom built with bricks from the original homestead, Rex has been determined to maintain the fabric of the Moira story.

“It’s like the life is coming back to this place,” he says. “I love history and I love sharing it — that was my main reason for coming here.

“It’s been five solid years of effort but as hard as it’s been it has still proved an easy effort — we’re doing what we love.”

And he is leaving no stone unturned in that determination to get the story right, even hosting a Clark family reunion, which he unashamedly mined for more minutiae, those intimate family details no-one else would have ever heard but which are so important to the station.

“Oral storytelling and information sharing was all they had in past years, if I can pass that on to a few people I’ve done my

job. I just want people to see how beautiful this place is.”

The Moira Station story is never ending. Future plans include history and forest tours hosted by Rex, the establishment of a cooking school, on-site brewery, even an infinity pool, using geothermal technology, is also on the horizon (as it were).

All this is on the drawing board — and the official re-opening of Moira Station is not until November 6.

And whether or not it becomes a successful boutique accommodation destination or not is the least of Rex’s concerns.

“I didn’t do it for that, I didn’t even do it for our passion,” he declares. “We don’t have a whole lot of modern history in Australia, but what we have here we have tried to capture and preserve.

“It’s been a lot of long hours but we have loved every minute.

There is a very real chance none of this would be here if we didn’t buy it. Hopefully we’ve secured some history for future generations to enjoy.

“But at the end of the day it’s all for love.”

When you first enter the gates of Moira Station — you feel different.

And it’s not just the ghosts.

Or the air.

Or the land.

It’s the history.

The stories.

And the love. n

‘‘

‘‘

Rich history, breathtaking views, relaxation and a truly memorable experience.

– Emma and Andrew Mortimer, Echuca

Dream under the Stars

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And on that farm

EchucaMoama

HE HAD A …

Twelve months in residence and neither Sandra nor Athol McDonald have been able to find a thing they would change about their striking home.

Not one colour.

Any feature.

Or fitting.

Nothing.

Not a single thing.

And don’t think they haven’t thought long and hard about it.

But the concept, execution and outfitting have been as near to perfect as you get in the real world.

Yes, they did make a few alterations as construction progressed — the planned interior rammed earth wall gave way to a stunning wave of spotted gum.

The swimming pool, which was to have been at the eastern extreme, has given way to the self-realisation that, at this

point in their lives, was something the almost-retired dairy farmer and his wife didn’t really need.

So when they were finally handed the keys it was everything they wanted, exactly as they had dreamed.

Sandra has endless enthusiasm for its friendliness, its capacity to entertain from two, three or four to the 40-plus they had the other day.

Athol’s major concern, from the first briefing with Echuca’s Brandrick Architects, was the room for his not insignificant wine collection.

In his eyes it is almost a wine room with house attached. A secure wine room, so guests and family members who might take the wrong turn won’t be curious and/or accidentally wander in (to help themselves).

Pictures: RHYS LESLIE PHOTOGRAPHY

99 EchucaMoama

“It is,” says Sandra, “everything, and more, we hoped for, and try as I might I can’t think of a single thing we could, or would, change.

crowded, such as the 40 we had for lunch the other day.”

“Our initial brief was for an open-plan living, dining and kitchen area, with lots of glass and light — and a fireplace,” she says.

years.

“Originally we were thinking something long and low, as we are on top of a sandhill, and we would blend into the landscape.

“But Steffi Jacobs at Brandrick came up with something close to what we have now and we are thrilled she did because we are thrilled with what we have. The rammed earth was going to be a real feature but Steffi’s alternative of the wavy passage and its spotted gum walls is an amazing wow factor.

“It doesn’t feel too big, it is great just for the two of us and yet it easily accommodates much bigger numbers without feeling

Keeping it all in the family, the house was actually built by their son Angus, who has been working in Darwin for several Although he has now come home to take over the family farm and its 300 crossbred dairy cows.

With which he had better do a good job because all that glass in the home he has built for mum and dad also means the old man has an uninterrupted view of everything happening on the farm.

Any mistake and he will be on the phone; or the ATV and down in the paddock in the blink of an eye.

Old McDonald not only had a farm, he still has one he can keep an eye on.

In spectacular style. >>

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With Dollar Curtains and Blinds SIMPLE, AND SIMPLY STUNNING Ged Brandrick — The architect “This is a simple house that just happens to look spectacular,” Ged Brandrick says.

“Steffi Jacobs, a German architect who was with us for five years, and I worked together on this but a lot of it is her,” he says.

“Particularly the wavy corridor, which is not just a central feature but a journey of interest through the home; it lets you meander from one end to the other.

“At the same time it provides a central feature, particularly with the timber, and it can isolate an intimate space or be expanded to create a genuine entertaining area.

“It is lit up by the clever use of skylights and feature windows at its eastern end.”

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Ged says one of the keys was facing the living areas to the north, and the extensive use of glass creates amazing views in every direction.

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“It is also set up so that even with family and friends staying the McDonalds have their own area and visitors are off in another space,” Ged adds.

“Although we had to laugh, Athol’s absolute priority was the room for his wine — which is an impressive collection — and that is now set up in the coolest part of the home,” he says.

“The McDonalds have done a brilliant job of decoration and fitting it out, still keeping it simple to match the theme.

“Overall it is a stunning home and I can’t recall that we have ever done anything quite like it.” n

103 EchucaMoama

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110 EchucaMoama

ON THE CATS' CLIMB BACK: Vice president, committee member, clearances guy, team manager, data enterer, jumper allocator and all-round clubman Colin Bacon in the match-day office at Norlec Oval for the home game against Mount Pleasant, June 27 in the Heathcote league.

Photo: Ben Carter.

The men WHO KEEP OUR TEAMS KICKING GOALS BEN CARTER has written plenty of stories about the stars who shine on the field each week. But behind the scenes are those invisible workers, the volunteers, doing the hard yards to keep everything on track at the local sports club.

We all cheer our sporting stars every week at the footy, beep

works just as hard to make sure the stars shine.

horns as they slot goals, love watching them go about their

And most people don’t ever notice them; just pass them by as

buffed, but balletic, business, ball in hand.

they go about their absolutely essential business.

But there’s a second team — no, not the reserves — which

Even take them for granted.

“I’M JUST HERE TO KEEP THE CLUB RUNNING AND HOPEFULLY GET IT BACK TO SUCCESS, ON FIELD AND OFF.”

Those all-but-invisible legions, the ones operating the scoreboard (where an electronic version still isn’t available), collect fees at the gates or scribe for the match-day program.

Goers such as Lockington-Bamawm United’s Colin Bacon — club vice-president, player clearance official, jumper number assigner and orderer, team sheet completer and corrector. Oh, and now in the cyber age, online data results enterer.

Your proverbial chief cook and bottle washer.

Bacon does it all; it seems, for the Cats each week. At home at Norlec Oval or on the road, he helps keep the motor of the Heathcote league club purring.

not being able to always see his sons play as often as he would like.

“I’m prepared to help out the club but it is tiring,” he said.

Continuity of personnel — both on-field and off — can be a big help to footy clubs, and Bacon can see his place as part of the overall plan to push the Cats back up the ladder after their recent four-time title success and total collapse this year.

“Hopefully we get a few more on board to do it so I don’t have to myself,” he added with a laugh.

Clearly, despite the workload, footy administration is something Bacon does love, because it’s an extension of his love for the club itself.

He’s already been an under 14 coach, assistant senior coach and runner for the under 17 side.

Catching up with him in his natural habitat — at the matchday office — with LBU welcoming Mt Pleasant later in the “(You could say) I’ve come through with the kids,” said Bacon. afternoon’s senior footy clash, Bacon seems a reasonably quiet, The oddest element of his job at present has been seeing the unassuming sort of bloke. number of players departing LBU since the heady premiership He’s become known as a Cat-of-all-trades in the era, culminating in last year’s big win over North Bendigo. administrative sense in the past three years, battling to lace up “From this year to last year we had 17 players out of the some very big boots left vacant by Bernie McManus — senior premiership side, so we have five (still) playing now,” said team manager for two decades.

Bacon.

Living eight clicks out of town, Bacon’s average Saturday “We want to be back up the ladder rather than down but that’s duties begin around 11 am and being a dairy farmer hardly just down to change. That’s the battle we cope with now.” makes this significant commitment any easier.

The Cats have congratulated Bacon for his efforts, naming Because as well as running the farm; everyone in the family is him best person at the club for 2014. involved in sport in some way. Daughter Stacy plays netball for the LBU senior grade teams, despite being still eligible as an under 17 age, while sons Jarod (the eldest), Trent and Kurt have all spent time on the field in Cats colours in their junior days and have since gone on to represent clubs in Rochester and Ballarat.

Fortunately, on this particular Saturday, Bacon had an extra reason to get all that scoreboard data uploaded in quick time.

“I’m going on holidays on Sunday,” he said.

“I enter all the scores and someone else will take home the jumpers and do the washing this week.”

Bacon might be in the middle of most happenings at the club, but one area where he keeps his nose clean is which players are transferring in — and those shipping, or being shipped, out.

“I’m not into the actual recruitment,” he said.

“I just do the computing. It’s not where I stick my nose.”

Bacon does, however, oversee each footy team’s individual manager’s work, from the under 14s to the reserves. And that means making sure there’s a correct line-up given to the umpires — and the half-time fruit has been cut up, of course.

For Bacon, the downside to all of this volunteering has been

“That was unexpected,” he said.

Being thanked made the volunteer hours on and surrounding match day even more meaningful for Bacon — and equally it really showed what sport means to the town itself.

“The whole Locky community runs on sport,” he said, adding people see it as a “complete and successful environment” to be a part of.

One thing Bacon has never come across in his time at LBU, though, is seeing his own name among the best players or goal kicking lists in the senior ranks.

He’d never consider accidentally including it on the internet, even just for the sake of a prank.

“I think Trevor Arnel (Heathcote league secretary) would know who’d done it,” said Bacon with a chuckle.

“There’d be questions asked (and he might not have the right answers).”

But there’d be no questions about Bacon’s continued commitment to the Cats.

“I’m just here to keep the club running and hopefully get it back to success, on field and off,” he said. >>

EchucaMoama

So how about a cheer for our club volunteers?

111

COL BACON

When he is not on the front gate at Echuca United, Jay Galvin is a regular on the tennis court of Echuca South during the warmer months.

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>>

Rustproof, bulletproof and always on guard When it comes to galvanising a club off the field no-one is more driven than Echuca United’s Jay Galvin.

There will be no rust build-up at the entry booth to United’s southern home venue as long as Jay Galvin is standing there.

He — along with club president Ian Johnson — protect their property with a ready smile and quip about the coming day’s play to every patron making their way through the gate, by foot or four wheels.

Galvin is as much a part of the Saturday experience at the Eagles’ nest as the rest.

Now into his fourth Murray Football League season head of the ACCC — Authorised Club Currency Collector — Galvin said in late June there was no place he’d rather be each weekend.

So how did he end up with the job on the gate in the first place?

“I used to go there just to watch the footy and have a drink,” said Galvin.

“Then one day I thought to myself, there must be something more to it.”

Soon enough Galvin was helping out at the scorer’s desk and at the bar. Then came a change of committee, and Galvin was asked to attend the annual general meeting.

While he’s a staunch club member, the administrative side of his duties is the less-than-exciting part.

“I rarely attend committee meetings now,” said Galvin.

“I get more of a kick out of just doing to the work for the club. And I enjoy the contact with young people (of the community). That’s one reason why I do it.”

Game day for Galvin starts at 8 am and he usually shuts up the proverbial shop front midway through the opening term.

“You can’t justify standing there for the rest of the day,” he said.

The remainder of his afternoon is spent helping out at the bar, but whenever he can, Galvin loves getting the chance to actually watch United play. It is his team, after all. And whenever given the chance he is happy to spruik the benefits of closer involvement.

“There are a lot of people who would constantly pay to get in and I suggested, why not become a member?” said Galvin. “So we’ve got 15 to 20 per cent more members (since the start of the year). Not only does it give people a sense of ownership of the club and the game but we can also spend the money early in the year.”

Galvin and Johnson get along well together as both club mates and work buddies, but it’s hardly real work for Galvin — more like a fun day out. And that’s what makes being a volunteer mean so much to him.

“I’m there from eight in the morning until sometimes seven at night,” Galvin said.

“It’s a long day and it can be pretty exhausting but it’s not a chore at all. It’s something I love to do and I’m proud to

113 EchucaMoama

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say I’m a member at United.”

There are still occasions when some fans turn up at the footy and don’t want to pay for their diet of sporting action, according to Galvin, but they are definitely in the minority.

“We had a lot of that in the first 12 months or so (when I was in the job) but now locals know and we have barely one per cent of people worried about having to pay to get in,” he said.

That’s only half of it. Galvin said all sorts go, or try and go, through his gate.

Including a walking police chase, shadowing a group of drunks from the corner of High and Ogilvie streets and in to the ground.

The drunks sat there for around half an hour, and the boys in blue sat not far away, keeping an eagle eye on them.

“People came up to have a look and we had to keep telling them to let the police do their job. The police handled it really well, no fuss, no muss.”

And he can imagine himself as a permanent, Galvinised feature on High St. Cementing him directly to the driveway itself won’t be required.

“I can’t see myself leaving here, the club or the town,” said Galvin. “The only way I’d leave the footy club is if I leave the town, and I can’t see that happening.” n

205 Pakenham St. Echuca

(03) 5480 1317

114 EchucaMoama

Easter fireworks and sail past.

Scott Downey, Southern Cross Fireworks

115 EchucaMoama

Blown up – AND BLOWN AWAY Scott Downey is an artist, the night sky his canvas and, as TRENT HORNEMAN discovered, his palette is a battery of high-explosive missiles, each containing Scott’s secret hi-tech concoction — making him one of a kind in the twin towns.

Science split the atom. But Echuca’s Scott Downey can fill the skies with a kaleidoscope of stars, and spectacular sunbursts of colour.

To the booming accompaniment of explosion after explosion; leaving clouds of cordite floating slowly on the night breeze.

While the conductor, the pyrotechnician, sits hunched over his orchestra of switches and controls, ensuring his aerial opera enthrals and amazes the hundreds, sometimes thousands, of local faces upturned, their mouths providing a chorus of oohs and aahs.

The actual story of fireworks is lost in the mists of time — somewhere in China, from bursting bamboo in the Han dynasty around 200BC, to the first manmade pyrotechnics in the Sui and Tang dynasties 800–1000 years later.

But it is now imprinted in the human DNA. Few can resist

that first bang, that first blinding explosion of stars lighting up the night sky.

At their peak, New Year’s Eve, fireworks can draw millions, from the throngs who pack Sydney Harbour to the Eiffel Tower disappearing in a spectacular blaze and the skyscrapers of New York, silhouetted as night turns into a riot of colours.

Or the Port of Echuca’s annual sail past, river and paddlesteamers bathed in an ethereal glow as the colours seamlessly blend, red to blue, green and purple, dazzling silver or a sudden shower of crackling explosions.

It is masterful, and it takes a master to not just put it all together but to ensure it goes off like clockwork.

Scott is a singularly rare commodity. We are lucky to have him. He is one of only about 100 licensed pyrotechnicians in Victoria and while he has been involved in the industry for several years he actually fell into it by chance. >>

116 EchucaMoama

Fireworks and paddlesteamer sail past event as part of the Heritage Steam Festival.

>> Fascinating for him, fantastic for us.

“I was working with a church outreach group and we would have fireworks shows for the community,” Scott recalled.

“We used to have a guy donate his time to come and help us until one day he asked me if I would like to be put through the course rather than having to get him to come out each time,” he said.

So after an exhaustive training process, Scott got his ticket as a qualified pyrotechnician.

“Initially, it was just for the church shows,” he said, but word soon got around the twin towns now had their own master blaster.

Since then he has worked with fireworks companies, producing massive shows, including New Year’s Eve celebrations in Melbourne.

Among the 100 shows — give or take a cracker or two — he has been involved with it is an indoors Valentine’s Day concert which remains his pièce de résistance.

“The show started with a rocket hurtling toward the stage.

When it arrived there was a flash of light and the band started playing,” he said.

“There was a waterfall (of sparks) cascading behind the band at the back of the stage, which was really impressive against the black backdrop.

“I had also rigged a fountain to the neck of a guitar, which the guitarist could trigger. So there were sparks shooting out of the guitar while he was playing.

“It might have only been for about 80 people, but it was a truly memorable show.”

Scott arrived on the Murray a couple of years ago to run Moama’s Comfort Inn Resort.

When he first arrived he had stopped pyrotechnics, but it did not take long for him to be roped back in, from a familiar cause.

“The Epicentre Church had asked me to help out with their Christmas Spectacular, so I became involved again,” he said.

So Scott’s reputation — and work — has exploded across the region through his business Southern Cross Fireworks.

Since then, he has put some real bang in some of our biggest occasions, such as the annual sail-past, Echuca-Moama Show and the American Hotel’s recent 150th birthday and Fourth of July celebrations.

Scott said there was no limit to what could be done in a fireworks show.

“With the American show, they obviously wanted red, white and blue. Well red is pretty easy to do, white looks more like silver, but blue is almost impossible to do, it will come out purple,” he said.

“The show can be as large or small as you want, it all depends on budgets,” he said.

Scott said there was a lot of preparation work which went into a fireworks show.

From choosing a colour pattern and what effects to use,

117 EchucaMoama

through to assembly and safety checks.

He said Southern Cross Fireworks prepared its own cakes — multiple tubes of fireworks with a single fuse — each as individual as possible.

Obviously safety is one of the biggest issues confronting any pyrotechnician.

He said that means arriving at a site several hours before a show to check the surroundings and then prepare the fireworks and their fuses.

Trees, wind direction and a safe perimeter are all essential.

“For the American show, we fired from a spot in the Onion Patch, which has a clearing,” he said.

“There were some effects I could not use, because the nearby trees posed a fire risk.

“We usually have volunteers patrol the perimeter to watch out

While there is a lot going on as the fireworks are being launched, Scott said he tried to remain as calm as possible during the show.

“There are always things that will go wrong,” he said. “I try to remain calm, but I know of others who would be in a panic. If I have done everything to check and double check what I have done before the show, then you should be calm.”

Even once the last firework is sent spinning into the heavens, Scott has no time to sit back and admire his genius.

“There might have been a misfire, which can go off even up to five minutes afterwards,” he said. “I have heard of one going off in a truck on the way back from a show — fortunately not my truck.”

While the gratification is instant for the mesmerised masses, Scott’s reward is in the telling, as people rave about the show he has just staged.

for spot fires or other safety issues. For the American Show it

But as with anything, you can’t please all the people all the

was Echuca-Moama Search and Rescue. They offered a couple

time.

of volunteers for an hour and I gave them a donation from our fee.”

Once at the site, the master blaster has to then set fuses and load mortars to ensure the show will go off with a bang.

Like any live theatre, timing is everything, with fuses carefully arranged to ensure the right space between effects.

“A gap of two seconds might not seem a lot but it is a long time

“I remember being at a show in Williamstown. We were in the middle of an oval and the show was going,” he said.

“Another guy and I were working, dressed in our protective clothing, ear muffs and eyewear.

“Next thing you know I was being tapped on the shoulder by a guy whose house backed onto the oval. He had walked out his back gate, over to us, into the middle of where everything

in a fireworks show,” he said. “We try not to have too many

was going off, dressed only in a singlet and shorts, and

long gaps in between.”

complained the noise had woken his daughter.” >>

“... WORD SOON GOT AROUND THE TWIN TOWNS NOW HAD THEIR OWN MASTER BLASTER.” 118

SCOTT DOWNEY

EchucaMoama

Easter fireworks and sail past.

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>> Scott said given the extreme safety measures he had to observe putting on a fireworks show, he wanted to pass on a simple reminder to the public.

“If you see an area roped off around a fireworks show, please don't go through it. The number of times I see it happen simply amazes me,” he said.

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As for the rest, well Scott’s ability to amaze us puts him in a class of his own and for just a few moments, on just a few occasions a year, he and his colourful creations rule the skies. n If you want Scott to light up your life, give him a call on 0428 125 523.

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Steve Reid and Brent Coburn

After completing his internship with Shane Weller and Steve Barlow, Steve Reid has now stepped into their shoes with fellow pharmacist Brent Coburn.

Steve lives locally in Echuca with his wife Lauren, two year old Lenny and another bundle on the way, after spending his childhood in Tongala.

Brent has moved back to the region after growing up in Swan Hil with his family, wife Mel and two kids Leni and Addison.

Brent is looking forward to the country style of life and pleasant local camaraderie after

managing a large metropolitan pharmacy.

Sharing 19 years’ experience and a passion for treating paediatric eczema and other skin related allergies as well as diabetes management.

Along with their industry trained staff, Brent and Steve are excited to assist the Echuca Moama residents back to and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Weller Barlow Pharmacy offer a lot more than just prescription medicine ask in store about: • Medschecks – one-on-one consultations • Webster packs – pre-packaged medication

• Bioceuticals – vitamin range • Newborn – Toddler products • Range of luxurious fragrances

• Resmed – sleep apnoea consultant and products

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• Gift packs and toiletries

1 7 7 A N N ES L EY S T REET, EC H UC A PH (03) 5480 6011

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I'm sitting in the railway station.

Got a ticket to my destination.

On a tour of one-night stands, my suitcase and guitar in hand.

And ev'ry stop is neatly planned, for a poet and a one-man band.

Homeward Bound, Paul Simon

Benny Walker has big plans for his musical career.

But it’s a big ask when you are trying to do it on your own. Because Walker is one of those rare success stories, even in the world of indie music.

He is not only the performer; he is the manager, record seller, chief cook and bottle washer.

Benny Walker really dances to the beat of his own guitar.

He writes his own songs, sings his own songs — and is also his own manager.

It’s not that the highly-talented Echuca Moama muso is opposed to having a manager.

In fact he would more than welcome handing over some of the more onerous parts of the touring scene.

And it’s not as if he hasn’t dabbled in management in the past — he has actually worked with two managers.

But now does it all himself.

Which, when you think about it, is a pretty big ask for someone trying to focus on his musical magic.

Take August and September, when Walker, with suitcase and guitar in hand, hit the road for a tour of Canada.

For a total of 19 gigs, stage shows and festivals, all organised by himself, along with plane fares, accommodation, visas and all the other minutiae which makes up the complex life of the musician.

It’s no different when time comes to record the next album.

Walker has written all the songs, done his own rehearsals, then has to get down to the nitty gritty and book studio time, find the session players he needs to work with him on each track and then pull it all together.

Benny Walker

Through The Forest is his most recent album, beginning with the deep and dark title track, Walker’s third long-player (and fifth release thus far) defies definition to be sure. >>

EchucaMoama

(AND MAKE IT SOUND SO GOOD)?

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How does he manage it all

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EchucaMoama

>> It is, at its core, a roots music album, but specific tags need not limit the follow-up to 2012’s acclaimed Sinners & Saints.

Blues, Americana, folk and gritty rock ‘n’ roll all play a part, but they come together to form a whole, something that isn’t anything but a Benny Walker album.

hits (he’s only covered one song in his life and vowed never to do it again).

“When you produce your music live, you and the audience, not someone pushing a play button, that’s when you are playing music.

Produced by Shane O’Mara (who also ran Walker’s last album), “The rest is so much background noise. Those who are Through The Forest is the mark of an artist comfortable going to be remembered will still rise to the top.” in his ability to craft a song first, without the distraction of The other thing Walker mentions is CD sales after each of whether or not said song will ‘fit’. his live performances while he is on the road.

And yet all nine songs do fit, a definite cohesive thread He might have left town with just one suitcase and running through; an album, not just a clutch of songs. guitar — and he did — but he had already shipped a large “When I pick the songs [that go on the album], they’re container of his albums to Canada to be there waiting for songs from me, so they’re always going to have some sort him to arrive. of familiarity,” Walker reasons. He goes on to say, of his Then they became part of the travelling show. producer, “there’s something that comes from Shane and I working together, that makes it sound like a record”.

And, again, where a manager would have come in handy.

And do all that while still maintaining his artistic focus on the reason he is actually in the studio.

Would a manager come in handy, or not?

“Absolutely,” Walker said. “It would take so much off my mind and give me the space to do what I do best.

“It’s not as if I haven’t tried it, but it just hasn’t worked out how I want.

“My wife Fiona really helps me out, she does my website and manages all that side of the promotion, which is a big help.”

But for now Walker goes on as a one-man band.

Although his recently concluded Canadian tour saw him double up with Tom Richardson in British Columbia, and they turned it on as a duo for the Golden Sound Festival and then at Serenity Performing Arts Centre, Grizzly Plaza and closing the tour at Big Rock Brewery in Vancouver.

So what does being a one-man band really involve?

Well in the past year, give or take a few weeks, Walker has done 146 shows (including the Canadian tour) — in the state, interstate and internationally.

As soon as he returned from North America, Walker was already booked for the Swagger Festival at Bright on October 24 and the Benalla Festival on November 7.

And the band played on.

Because unless you “sell your soul” to a big label that’s the pointy end of the business for the indie performer.

Walker said the big recording contract is not the be-all to end all; he doesn’t really care for that part of the music industry at all.

And certainly doesn’t want to play pre-approved commercial

“As soon as you finish you have to do a quick change and try to get out where the audience is leaving so you can try and sell them as many CDs as possible,” he said.

“That’s a major spinoff from the concerts and you do the concerts to sell the songs. I guess if I had a manager they could take care of that, set it all up and get it started, then I could mingle with the crowd while they handled sales.

“But right now that is all me. Only once the last person has gone do I get to pack up and get back to the hotel for a shower, some sleep and back on the road the next morning.

“It makes for a very hectic show.”

Like most artists from other places, Walker has dreams, and is making plans, to try the US market.

Which is why he was joined by Fiona at the end of the Canadian tour for a trip south of the border to see what his opportunities might be.

“The Americans make it so hard to go over there and play, you can’t just wander in,” Walker said.

“We planned to go to Nashville and see if we could make some contacts — I know a big label contract would make all that easier but it’s not part of the plan,” he said.

A manager might be able to get involved and come up with some opportunities as well, but Walker hasn’t even got around to placing the advertisement in the Situations Vacant column in the newspaper.

It’s one of those jobs where you will have plenty to do.

But if you can’t help the client write more, and better, music by taking some of the load from his shoulders don’t bother applying. n

EchucaMoama

BENNY WALKER

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“WE PLANNED TO GO TO NASHVILLE AND SEE IF WE COULD MAKE SOME CONTACTS — I KNOW A BIG LABEL CONTRACT WOULD MAKE ALL THAT EASIER BUT IT’S NOT PART OF THE PLAN.”

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136 EchucaMoama

RHONDA’S COPPED ONE OF THE

toughest jobs in town Leading Senior Constable Rhonda Urbaniak has used a successful and diverse background in the force to take a new role in Echuca Magistrate’s Court and make it her own. IVY WISE met with the woman, and police officer, who is now at the frontline when it comes to coping with our soaring rates of domestic violence.

police prosecutors, and be the link between parties applying for family violence intervention orders.

The lack of privacy in Echuca courthouse causes unnecessary risks for victims of domestic violence and challenges for police.

With one public waiting area, women seeking protection are often seated just metres from their attackers, or, most cruelly, face-to-face across the narrow passage.

The inevitable outcome of tension between two groups caught in the shoebox conditions of the courthouse erupted into an all-in brawl on April 28.

“There have been lots of incidents because of the layout of the court,” Rhonda agreed.

“We try to separate the parties and talk to them quietly but it is very difficult because there isn’t an area allocated for them to feel less intimidated, to feel safe.

“Most are too frightened or intimidated to face the perpetrator.”

Legal Aid, Court Network and Corrections each have rooms to interview people confidentially, but private lawyers, Community Legal Centre and police prosecutors do not.

Ideally, Rhonda said she would like to see private interview rooms for family violence applicants and respondents to avoid confrontations.

“It would be great for all the agencies to have private rooms … even for the solicitors who have to stand in the foyer of the court to try to talk to their clients,” she said.

Family violence court liaison officer Leading Senior Constable Rhonda Urbaniak at Echuca Magistrates Court

“There certainly is a demand for it. As everyone in the community knows, it’s (family violence) certainly escalated over time,” she said.

“There’s certainly more reported to us and we attend more incidents.”

She can’t say if this soaring rise in domestic violence is due to more incidents, or more people reporting because of increased awareness.

After 26 years in the trenches, Rhonda Urbaniak has become a good negotiator.

And a caring person, a calming presence with a friendly demeanour — despite being dressed in her blue uniform.

All of which is critical to her role as a police officer and, since March, a family violence court liaison officer.

Echuca police appointed her to the key role because of the escalating local levels of family violence incidents.

So many, with so much violence, they are now clogging the court system.

Rhonda’s role is to massage it through, streamline the court process, alleviating the backlog of work and pressure on

“I think perhaps it has escalated and whether that’s through alcohol, drugs or the knowledge people have they don’t have to live like this and are reporting more, knowing there are agencies out there that can help them, I think that’s another reason why they report more; because they have that support,” she said.

You can find Rhonda at the police station on Mondays reading the background history and contacting both parties involved in family violence matters to try to work out what they want with an order and if respondents are agreeable.

“It’s not about being divisive and breaking up families. We’re actually trying to come to a resolution for all the parties,” she said. >>

EchucaMoama

Pathetically, today, in Echuca, the trauma doesn’t end there for victims, many of them forced to attend court to apply for intervention and personal safety orders.

137

In those 26 years of service Leading Senior Constable Urbaniak has been behind her share of closed doors, where much of this violence plays out, dealt with the battered and tried to help get them back on their feet — physically, emotionally and, most important of all, safely.

“WE TRY TO SEPARATE THE PARTIES AND TALK TO THEM QUIETLY BUT IT IS VERY DIFFICULT BECAUSE THERE ISN’T AN AREA ALLOCATED FOR THEM TO FEEL LESS INTIMIDATED, TO FEEL SAFE.” RHONDA URBANIAK

138 EchucaMoama

>> In some cases, people were relieved and grateful police had finally stepped in, while others did not want any intervention, she said.

“There are occasions where they don’t wish for police to get involved, but we feel it’s for the safety of them and need to step in and help protect them, whether it’s for themselves or children involved,” she said.

“We try to make them see this might be needed to assist their relationship and it’s certainly not saying they’ve done anything wrong, but just having an order put in place to allow the affected family member to feel a bit more secure and protected. It’s certainly not making allegations against them.

“It’s not a crime to have an order against them and once they realise this, sometimes they are more receptive to the idea, particularly if they want to make the relationship work.”

Tuesdays are then spent at court where she meets the applicants and respondents to help them through the process, liaises with police prosecutors and acts on behalf of police informants.

“A lot of these people (applicants) have never been involved in the court system before and it’s a frightening thing for them,” she said.

“Also, family violence is not just physical assaults, it’s not always that. It can be constant verbal abuse, financial and emotional abuse, not just physical violence.”

When it comes to stopping family violence, the police officer in Rhonda knows it needs to start before the first blow lands. She is adamant said it is about education and breaking the cycle.

“Sometimes, not always, it’s the same family life that they grew up in, so I think education is a big thing to break the cycle,” she said.

“I think different agencies set up to help, whether it be mediation or anger management or drug and alcohol counselling is certainly going a long way in helping people with why they might lash out and be violent.

“However, I don’t think there’s an answer of trying to fix the whole thing.”

Whatever the solution, Rhonda believes we’re heading in the right direction.

“It’s more open now. I think a lot of things happened many years ago where it did go on but people weren’t willing to come forward because it’s an embarrassing situation and

people were shamed by it,” she said.

According to police prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Alan Walker, having Rhonda at court makes his job a lot easier, “People are now more transparent and willing to come out and talk about it and try to seek help for themselves and while Centre for Non Violence prevention and development whether it be their partner or their child or neighbour; manager Robyn Trainor said she played a key role in they want resolution and they’re trying to get that.” supporting family violence victims through the criminal and civil processes to increase safety, accountability and criminal Making perpetrators take responsibility for their actions justice responses. and supporting them is another important strategy in Although intervention orders were just a piece of paper and do not always stop violence, Rhonda said they were there as protection.

“If something does go wrong, police can act on it, they have the power to act,” she said.

Rhonda knows violence against women is a serious problem in Australia, where on average; one woman is killed every week as a result of intimate partner violence.

And while most dangerous, abusive and violent behaviour occurring in the privacy of people’s homes is committed by men against women, Rhonda said in her experience, family violence was not just between partners.

“It’s often parents and children or neighbours. So it’s not just de factos who can go their separate ways,” she said.

“These people, particularly parents and children or neighbours, need an order to be able to come to some sort of agreement to be able to live together or live next door to each other harmoniously.

“That’s what we’re trying to do; get a good fit for all parties concerned.

tackling the issue, according to Rhonda.

“They also need help. It’s not just about casting them aside, it’s about assisting them and helping them,” she said.

“This is what I try to do as part of my role. I have contact with these people to encourage them to come to court to have their say or to assist them in getting some sort of help and assist their relationship.”

And she believes people can change for the better.

The saying ‘if he hits you once, he will hit you again’ doesn’t necessarily ring true for Rhonda, as a woman and as a Snr Constable.

“I don’t necessarily think if something’s happened once it will continue, not at all,” she said.

“I think people sometimes give themselves such a fright that they think ‘it’s gone too far, this will never happen again’.

“I believe everyone can change and all situations can improve, given the right support.”

And no-one in Echuca is more determined to provide that support than Leading Snr Constable Rhonda Urbaniak. n

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144 EchucaMoama

Weeks is a long DAY IN FOOTY

A Weeks is a long time in football, especially if you are a defender in the VFL, Bendigo Football League, Goulburn Valley Football League or Heathcote and District Football League. Because the one-man scoring machine Grant Weeks just keeps on kicking goals, hundreds of them. But now ERIN LYONS reports the king of Colbo is considering his future.

It would be a brave, maybe even foolish, individual who tried to call Grant Weeks a walking cliché.

advantage of this opportunity to put paid to one of the local

Although Weeks does talk the football talk — taking the season a game at a time, not thinking about 2016 until 2015 is finished, still weighing his options, kicks the leather off the ball.

Because if the AFL had come knocking he would have signed on the spot.

It might almost be laughable but for two things.

First, in country football, Grant Weeks is bona fide superstar.

Second, by any standards, at any level, everyone seems to agree he is a genuinely good bloke.

Even the defenders he has just crushed on his way to another 100-plus goal season are happy to shake his hand after a game before heading off to the physio for treatment, whiplash the most likely diagnosis as they snapped their heads back watching ball after ball soaring over them.

Heathcote probably got a team discount after Weeks booted 20 against them in the final home-and-away game (oh, and three behinds as well) to finish the season with a whopping 119 goals.

Backing up his 2014 season at Rochester — with a lazy 101.

This guy is a one-man wrecking machine.

And he looks like it.

His wild dreadlocks make him a standout in local footy, easy to spot on the field, just as easy to find and tag, double team or, when the pressure is really on, push him over before the ball arrives.

While he is not giant as forwards go (Geelong’s Tom Hawkins, another country boy who went all the way, stands 197 cm), at around 188 cm he is still a handful.

And his phenomenal ability to take contested marks makes him a fair bit to get around at the best of times.

myths.

But after a couple of seasons in the VFL, where he played for the Bendigo Bombers, an Essendon affiliate, the call never did come. Recruiters possibly backing away because of stress fractures in Weeks’ foot, looking further afield for taller players on whom they might gamble with injuries.

In 2011 The Weekly Times named Weeks the best player in regional Victoria. That was number one out of 44 leagues, 450 senior clubs, 13 500 players — and just 10 available places.

The same year Victorian Country Football League coach and Hawthorn legend Peter Knights said Weeks was an “automatic selection” in his state team.

“He leads hard at the ball, he uses his body well and he’s such an accurate kick,” Knights said.

“He’s such a go-to player for us and you very rarely see him beaten. In a body-on-body contest, you’d back him every time.”

For someone with all that potential, who had made his name the hard way, starting as a 13-year-old in the Colbinabbin Under 17s in the Heathcote District Football League; it must have seemed within his grasp.

“You don’t really have any other option at Colbo other than to start in the under 17s at a young age,” Weeks said.

“Kids start with Auskick and then as soon as they are 13 they start playing in the 17s,” he said.

It didn’t take long before scouts noticed Weeks and his potential — and that ability to mark the ball.

Right out in front, arms outstretched; with several opposition back men hanging on wherever they could get a good grip.

When Weeks isn’t kicking the crap out of the Sherrin on a Saturday afternoon, you can generally find him at his family’s Toolleen cropping property, dog Max at his side.

“I gradually built myself up and started playing with the Bendigo Pioneers in the TAC Cup,” Weeks said.

While he loves the farm life, Weeks would also like to take

“And then that progressed to those seasons in the VFL.” >>

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“I HOPE TO STILL HAVE SOME GV FOOTY IN ME AND I GUESS I’M AT THAT POINT IN MY LIFE WHERE I HAVE TO MAKE A DECISION WHETHER I‘M TOO OLD OR NOT FOR THAT LEVEL OF COMPETITION.” GRANT WEEKS

146 EchucaMoama

>> When the call-up at the draft was not made, Weeks walked away from the almost-big leagues and headed home to Colbinabbin, before spending three years at Golden Square in the Bendigo Football League and then on to Rochester where he spent two years making his mark in the Goulburn Valley Football League.

All the time racking up massive totals — three years in Bendigo, for example, returned a whopping 451 goals, an average of a point or two more than 150 goals a season, and with 164 his best.

Despite not going to the AFL Weeks seemed to have little trouble getting back into seeding and harvest, plus all the other things life on the land demands on a cropping property.

But he is still mixing work with success on the field.

A highlight was certainly his 101-goal home and away season with the Rochester Tigers last year.

He kicked 14 goals in the final round of the GVFL season (six in the last quarter) to reach the ton and sink Echuca by 90 points — the first Tiger to accomplish the century milestone.

“When you’re in something like the Pioneers system it’s always the aim (to be recruited by an AFL club) but if that opportunity doesn’t arise, you move on,” he said.

“I was going down that pathway in the VFL but nothing came of it either.

“It’s hard when you’re a young kid and you’re playing against older guys, it’s hard to stand out.”

Weeks, who has spent the majority of his career up forward, said in the end he “wasn’t too stressed” about not breaking into the elusive AFL world.

“I’m only 188 cm,” he said.

“And most of the AFL forwards are all at least 10 cm taller, so I was never tall enough.

“I think if the opportunity presented itself I would have jumped at it, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles.”

The avid Essendon supporter started on the farm for his parents once he finished school and despite the 16 and 17 hour days at each end of the cropping season still managed training twice a week with whichever club he was playing for at the time.

“Autumn is a very busy time for us and it can take a lot out of you,” Weeks laughed.

He said returning to Colbinabbin in 2015 for its centenary year was the right choice as he has enjoyed being home and playing football with blokes he grew up with.

147 EchucaMoama

“WHEN YOU’RE IN SOMETHING LIKE THE PIONEERS SYSTEM IT’S ALWAYS THE AIM (TO BE RECRUITED BY AN AFL CLUB) BUT IF THAT OPPORTUNITY DOESN’T ARISE, YOU MOVE ON.” GRANT WEEKS

“This year at Colbo has been great because all the local kids are back playing here,” he said.

“All the seniors have some connection to the town itself which is really nice.

“We don’t have any random recruits from Melbourne and it was just such a great little ring for the centenary.”

At the time of print Colbinabbin was preparing to play table-topper Leitchville-Gunbower in the first semi-final of the HDFL competition.

And Weeks was eager to finish the season off with a flag.

“That’s always the plan,” he said of Colbinabbin taking home the premiership cup.

“We’ve given ourselves every opportunity to get there.”

However there is one main question everyone is dying to ask the country footballing legend — and it’s not whose idea was his full head of dreadlocks.

Everyone, including a lot of football club coaches and presidents, want to know what Weeks is going to do next season.

Does he stick around at his home club? Or does he give Goulburn Valley football another crack?

“I just want to play out this year and then I’ll work it out after that’s over,” he confessed.

“I hope to still have some GV footy in me and I guess I’m at that point in my life where I have to make a decision whether I‘m too old or not for that level of competition.”

At just 27 you would assume Weeks still has many successful years ahead.

“I left Rochy on great terms last year and they know why I came home,” Weeks said.

“Those two clubs (Colbinabbin and Rochester) have a great relationship.”

But for anyone who was there when Weeks kicked 20.3 in the last game of this season, to deliver the 100-plus goals the Grasshoppers hoped for, where he goes will be immaterial.

Because for years to come so many people, probably twice as many actually at the ground, will still be saying: “I was there the day Weeks kicked 20 and Colbo turned 100”. n

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Excessive Workplace Noise Exposure.

Approximately 37% of hearing loss is caused by excessive noise exposure. A number of years ago this type of loss was commonly called Boiler Makers Deafness because that job was considered to be extremely noisy and the use of ear protection was not as widespread as it today. In most cases this type of loss is preventable and most workplaces now enforce strict rules regarding the use of ear protection.

The use of ear protection should help reduce the amount of people suffering from hearing loss in the future. Unfortunately the rate of hearing loss is expected to increase and it is not only noisy workplaces causing this. So what else could be one of the causes of the increase?

Excessive Exposure To Loud Music.

Everybody has seen or heard someone driving with their car stereo that loud that their windows seem to vibrate or what about the person with earphones in their ears listening to music that you can also hear quite clearly. Listening to music at these levels for even a short amount of time can cause can cause permanent damage to your hearing.

This will be one of the main causes of hearing problems in the future.

Please remember listening to music at a reasonable volume will not cause hearing loss, it will only occur if the volume is excessive over a long period of time.

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EchucaMoama

Sarah Blasko.

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ONE HELL OF A FAMILY AFFAIR The seed for the relaxed and friendly feel of David Frazer’s Riverboats Music Festival at Echuca Moama was sown during time he spent as a young man working with family at their restaurant, cafe and boutique hotel in the Yarra Valley.

“One of the lovely things we get is the feedback from the audiences they have really enjoyed themselves,” David said.

“We’ve got a family-run feel to the event and there is probably an element of my background in that.

“I don’t come from a rock ‘n’ roll background; there are no big egos; and as a result a lot of the time the artists are so delightful to work with.

“They are hard-working musos. It’s hard to forge a career and make money as an artist if you’re not on the road.”

Next month David will announce the lineup for the fifth Riverboats Music Festival at Echuca’s Aquatic Reserve on February 19 to 21, 2016.

With the lineup launch comes a major re-branding for the festival and David is excited about the results the illustrator has achieved in developing a new look for next year’s event.

He says the music program has “gone from strength to strength” since his first festival in 2012, with recent coups including The Cat Empire in 2014 and Pete Murray in 2013.

This year it was Sarah Blasko and Dan Sultan as the festival cements its place as the Murray River’s premiere contemporary music event.

“It’s a great niche genre. We’ve had a fantastic spread of singer-songwriters, soul artists and my personal favourite, old country,” David said. >>

EchucaMoama

Riverboats

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David Frazer, Riverboats Music Festival producer.

>> “But we can never be complacent, and not take for granted our success.

“We now appear to be in people’s diaries on the third weekend in February.

“I’d like to think every year we get better but if we get too big we become like every other music festival.

“People are always telling me how lovely the atmosphere is with our connection to the town.”

David said it was that connection to Echuca which had delivered commercial success for not only the festival but also the town’s commercial and tourism sector.

“People can come and go all weekend; it’s great to see them come down, take in a couple of acts, take a paddlesteamer ride and go to a cafe.

“It has taken from what was a quiet post-Christmas weekend to what people say is one of the busiest weekends of the year.”

David Frazer seemed destined to make his living in the arts and/or hospitality.

After completing a commerce degree at university in Melbourne, his first job was in media and public relations with the Melbourne Theatre Company.

He also began staging music shows at the family restaurant, Stones of the Yarra Valley, forging initial contacts with the music industry that were to come in handy later on when the idea emerged for the Riverboats Music Festival.

“It was always my aspiration to launch my own production company,” he said.

David made that move in 2006–07 when he began producing school productions, beginning with a Hannie Rayson play, the rural family saga, Inheritance, that was on the VCE syllabus.

“It’s a beautiful play and because a lot of regional schools had chosen to study it we could bring busloads of students to Melbourne, fill a theatre at the University of Melbourne, have Q & As and get Hannie involved,” he said.

Thereafter followed a series of smaller independent productions.

After Peter White moved to the region in 2010 to take over as CEO of Echuca Moama Tourism, he made a call to his friend David Frazer.

“He said there was an opportunity to stage an event in Echuca and would I be interested?”

“I jumped in the car, came up and had a coffee.”

David had only ever been to Echuca Moama as a holiday visitor and the opportunity became his first chance to work in the region.

“The community had run a jazz festival for 20 years; it had moved venues a couple of times but had settled at the Aquatic Reserve,” he said.

“The committee had approached Pete in his new role, believing the event would benefit from a new model.

157 EchucaMoama

The Bamboos.

“THIS IS A FESTIVAL WHERE THE KIDS CAN RUN AROUND, WHERE THERE AREN’T LONG QUEUES AND BIG CROWDS.” DAVID FRAZER

“After 20 years it had kind of run its race and needed to go in a new direction.”

category for music events; offering a great experience without the major expense of other festivals.

However David said he didn’t want to damage strong

He said tickets are $135 which includes a three-day program of

community relationships built over those two decades.

world class bands.

In 2011 he took over and ran the jazz festival as he

There has also been a deliberate attempt to keep other prices

contemplated taking the plunge to make a complete

as low as possible.

transformation.

“I sat down and said ‘we can do something exciting in this part of the state’,” he said.

“It was really a brand new event at an established, very beautiful venue.

“Essentially we started again.”

“All the stuff that frustrates people we ensure we have addressed,” David said.

“This is a festival where the kids can run around, where there aren’t long queues and big crowds.

“And I’ve always been conscious that we are putting on a wonderful weekend of entertainment, not changing the

The Riverboats Music Festival launched in 2012 and since

world.”

then it has built its audience to about 10 000 people over the

David says he is proud the Riverboats Music Festival will mark

three-day event.

its fifth year in 2016.

“One of the challenges we had when launching Riverboats was that it is a very saturated market with lots of activity in the summer months,” David said.

“We needed to find a way to differentiate from other festivals and we found that by staging Riverboats in a very iconic town with a very iconic river.

“These were local points of difference we were keen to promote from day one.”

David remains keen to promote Riverboats in a boutique

More than half of the festival audience makes the trip to Echuca Moama from inner Melbourne suburbs, prompted by strong promotional support through RRR radio and ABC local radio.

“The remainder is from regional Victoria but we also have a big local contingent that comes down,” he said.

“It’s fantastic to see that local involvement. In addition to it being a tourist event, it’s great to hear that the restaurants are full and the port is busy.” >>

158 EchucaMoama

Dan Sultan.

>> Preparing for the annual festival is now a 12-month exercise for David, who divides his time between managing Riverboats and working with his family in the Yarra Valley.

evokes fond memories for festival visitors who recalled school excursions to learn about its history or wonderful family holidays.

He said putting together the annual event offered an even split between being creative and involvement in production and logistics.

But he says Riverboats is also part of a shift by a town proud of its history and now embracing more cultural events.

“Getting the line-up in place takes about six months after starting in early April,” David said.

“If Riverboats can put Echuca on the music map we will have been proud to help and maybe we can include some public art as part of that cultural shift at future festivals.

“Then post-launch it shifts into a logistical exercise, getting the local contractors into place.

“It’s a great town to work in and I hope to be working there for years to come.”

“We are fortunate that staging the event in Echuca for a number of years means we know who to call on.”

“ The Riverboats 2016 line-up will be announced on Monday, October 12. Stay in touch at http://riverboatsmusic.com.au n

Five years down the track and David says he is always looking for ways to improve the product and that means putting yourself in the shoes of an audience member.

The festival’s paddle steamer cruises, where artists are invited to perform acoustic sets on a paddle steamer continue to grow in popularity among performers and audience alike, and the 2016 event will see up to six of the cruises scheduled.

“That’s something you can’t do at any other music festival,” he said.

“We have support from the shire and from a regional business supporter program.

“We also look to ensure our impact on Aquatic Reserve is minimised for locals because it’s their venue.

“When people walk their dogs on the reserve on the Tuesday afternoon after the festival, we want them to say ‘those Riverboats people really look after the venue’.

“Now after five years the community approaches us with ideas.”

David says Echuca Moama remains one of those places that

Mark Seymour

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The Cat Empire Riverboats Music Festival Echuca Moama 2014.

James Reyne Riverboats Music Festival Echuca Moama 2013.