The Local Paper. Regional Edition. Wed., July 31, 2024

The Local Paper

WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2024

4682 SIGN PETITION

OE this Saturday

■ Premier Division. Round 15. Saturday, August 3. Olina Ferny Creek v Upwey Tecoma. Emerald v Gembrook Cockatoo. Officer v Pakenham. Berwick Springs v Woori Yallock. Wandin v Narre Warren. Mt Evelyn v Monbulk.

■ Division 1. Round 16. Saturday, August 3. Warburton Millgrove v Powelltown. Healesville v Seville. Alexandra v Yarra Glen. Yarra Junction v Yea. Belgrave: Bye.

Goulburn Murray

■ Under 14 Seymour. Round 14. Sunday, August 4. Tabilk v Alexandra. Yea v Seymour. Broadford: Bye. Wandong: Bye.

● ● ●

● Leading Yea citizen Neil Beer has presented petition sheets regarding Save Yea Hospital to Eildon MLA Cindy McLeish. The petition is due be tabled in State Parliament. Some 4682 people signed the petition due to their concern that the State Government’s Health Services Plan will result in forced amalgamation of health and hospital services. The petition requests that no amalgamation of Yea and District Memorial Hospital takes place, and that the powers, authority and responsibilities remain with the local board and CEO and that genuine public consultation is undertaken about the Health Services Plan.

■ Division 1. Round 15. Saturday, August 3. Bundoora v West Preston-Lakeside. Eltham v Banyule. Heidelberg v Greens-borough. Montmorency v North Heidelberg. Macleod v Hurstbridge.

■ Division 2. Round 16. Saturday, August 3. Northcote Park v St Mary’s. Thomastown v Watsonia. Laurimar v Panton Hill. Whittlesea v South Morang. Diamond creek v Lower Plenty.

■ Division 3. Round 17. Saturday, August 3. Fitzroy Stars v Epping. Kinglake v Kilmore. Heidelberg West v Old Eltham Collegians. Lalor v Ivanhoe. Bye: Mernda, Old Paradians, Reservoir.

Mt Evelyn upgrade

■ Yarra Ranges Council is looking for community input into the development of a space at Morrison Reserve, Mount Evelyn where youth can come together to explore, have some fun and hang out.

This consultation will focus on the needs of younger people aged around 10-18. Features put forward for community members to provide feedback on include ‘chill’ zones, group seating, opportunities to be active, nets and ropes, climbing zones and equipment, and a performance area. Mayor, Cr Sophie Todorov, said that incorporating a youth space was important to create an inclusive space for all at Morrison Reserve.

● ● See isnide for local football scoreboard results.

✖Three of nine Mitchell Shire Councillors were not present for last week’s Council meeting. Apologies were submitted from Mayor Louise Bannister, Cr Annie Goble and Cr Rob Eldridge.

✔The City of Whittlesea is seeking community input for the development of a Landscape Improvement Plan for Fortress Park in Doreen. This plan aims to enhance the natural beauty and facilities of the much-loved park. Fortress Park is characterised by its river red gums, natural scenery, and features like the basketball half-court, exercise station and children’s play areas. In developing the improvement plan, Council is considering features such as seating areas, shelters, improved signage and lighting for safety and accessibility. Upgrades to existing paths and other elements are also being evaluated. City of Whittlesea Chair Administrator Lydia Wilson emphasised the significance of providing an inviting local space for residents to stay active and enjoy the outdoors. “We recognise the importance of our neighbourhood parks to the community, and we are excited to begin enhancing Fortress Park to make it an even more enjoyable space,” Ms Wilson said..

✔Some 34 Combined Whittlesea Probus Club journeyed to Kilmore Trackside restaurant to partake in their version of Christmas in July. Outside the weather was “Irish Christmassy” as the temperature fluctuated trying to meet the forecast top of 8 degrees. Club correspondent Michael Halley says the fare was turkey or pork followed by Christmas pudding or pavlova. “Rita Miller whose committee responsibility is to arrange a monthly dine-out, as usual had everything ready as planned and was able to quickly settle down to enjoy the company. Getting the Dine-out organised is somewhat difficult task and is often likened to ‘herding cats’.”

?Mitchell Shire has awarded a $820,105 contract to Simple Integrated Marketing for the provision of the Counbcil’s Corporate Website Hosting and Development Services over four years. Councillors voted to determine that this contract commences August 1 to July 31, 2028, for four years with a subsequent three year renewal period. Councillors authorised the Chief Executive Officer to do all things necessary to execute the contract. They also authorised the Chief Executive Officer to renew the contract subject to a vendor’s performance and Council’s needs.

HIT-RUN AT ELTHAM

■ Greensborough Highway Patrol are appealing for public assistance as they investigate a hit-run in Eltham on Thursday afternoon (July 25). It is understood a white Nissan Patrol collided with a blue Holden station wagon on Main Rd about 1.35pm.

Officers were told the Nissan was travelling north on Fitzsimons Lane when it failed to navigate a left turn into Main Rd and drove over the medium strip and collided into the driver’s side door of the Holden.

The driver and only occupant of the Holden, a 34-year-old Fitzroy North man was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

The driver of the Nissan did not stop at the scene and continued travelling along Main Rd into oncoming traffic towards Bolton St.

Late on Thursday evening a man in his 60s from Mernda contacted police in relation to the collision.

He was taken into custody, interviewed and released pending further enquires

Police still wish to speak to anyone who saw the collision.

Anyone who witnessed the collision, with dashcam/CCTV footage or information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au

SHIRE BACKS VALLEY WALK

■ A continuous 200km walking trail running along the Birrarung Valley from the mouth of the Yarra River in Port Phillip Bay to the Upper Yarra Reservoir has received the support of Nillumbik Shire Council

The Birrarung Valley Walk is proposed to link mainly existing walking tracks and paths on public land, providing a multi-day continuous walk with the aim of protecting, enhancing and promoting the natural environment and First Nations culture of the Birrarung

The project has been proposed by the Birrarung Valley Walk Inc and is an outcome of the Burndap Birrarung burndap umarkoo, Yarra Strategic Plan, endorsed by Council in 2021.

The 10-year strategy led by Melbourne Water seeks to protect and enhance the Yarra River, Birrarung, and its parklands.

Members of the Yarra Collaboration Committee, of which Nillumbik is one of 15 government and agency stakeholders, have been asked to sign a Memorandum of Understanding in support of the project building towards a sense of collective responsibility for care and stewardship of the Birrarung. This was endorsed at the June Nillumbik Council meeting.

Consultation will be programmed in the future on the recommended alignment of the walk which will include First Nations cultural mapping.

Examples of sites of interest within Nillumbik Shire include Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung cultural landscape including eel traps, Garambi Baanj (viewed from opposite side of the river), Bend of Islands (viewed from the opposite side of the river), and Sugarloaf Reservoir Park. Nillumbik Mayor Cr Ben Ramcharan said he was impressed with the project, which is still in its early stages.

“This is something that has come from some of the objectives of the Yarra Strategic Plan, and so aligns with the direction we want to take for our river,” Cr Ramcharan said.

Junior Mayor sworn

■ Mitchell Shire Acting Mayor Cr Nathan Clark last week facilitated the swearing in of the 2024 Mitchell Youth Council and election of Youth Mayor and Youth Deputy Mayor.

Some 13 Youth Councillors took the oath of office. Bailey White was elected as Youth Mayor, Catherine Jacobs elected as Youth Deputy Mayor, Cena Marshall as Secretary and Nic Houghton as Senior Youth Councillor.

Luncheon at Yea

■ Murrindindi Shire Council hosted a community lunch in Yea on Saturday, July 20, for residents to learn more and have their say on a range of local emergency management issues.

Feedback gathered from residents during the lunch will help inform Yea’s Local Emergency Action Plan, which is being developed in partnership with the community with input from local emergency agencies and Council.

During the session, residents discussed plans for what to do in an emergency, particularly during the first 72 hours of isolation. There was also discussion on local community strengths, challenges and concerns.

40 YEARS SERVICE TO MURRINDINDI, YARRA RANGES WHITTLESEA AND MITCHELL

In April 1984, Ash Long purchased the Yea newspaper business from Tom Dignam. Exactly 40 years on, throughout 2024, Ash Long continues his lifetime of community service as Publisher of The Local Paper.

Times change. For some in the 1980s, the definition of ‘local’ was being between the two bridges in the Yea township. The local government mergers of the 1990s saw the new Murrindindi Shire widen the scope to take in parts of the Alexandra, Broadford, Eltham, Whittlesea and Yea municipalities.

The reconstruction and recovery from the 2009 ‘Black Saturday’ fires again broadened the meaning of ‘local’.

By the 1990s, Ash Long could see that the concept of a paid-circulation local newspaper was already outdated.

In the early 2000s, The Local Paper and its progenitors were already developing an online presence, as well as growing the free printed editions.

Tom Dignam and Ash Long, 1984. Today, The Local Paper is still the largest local newspaper, with editions covering Mansfield, Mitchell Murrindindi, Nillumbik (rural), part of Strathbogie, Whittlesea (rural) and Yarra Ranges. Decades on, Ash Long and his team remain committed to providing best possible service to readers and clients.

● ● Fortress Park

The Local Paper

In association with the Established September 14, 1969

Published in localised editions in 40 areas across Melbourne, Mornington Peninsula and some country areas.

ABOUT US

Incorporating the traditions of the Evelyn Observer (Est. 1873), Seymour Express (Est. 1872), Yea Advertiser (Est. 1995), Yarra Valley Advertiser (Est. 1995), Whittlesea Advertiser (Est. 1995).

The Local Paper is published weekly online and printed fortnightly and circulates in local editions:

• Regional/’Dindi Local’ Edition: Murrindindi, Mansfield, Strathbogie, rural sections of Nillumbik and Whittlesea

• ‘Lilydale and Yarra Valley Express’ Edition: Yarra Ranges Shire

• Mitchell Shire Edition: Mitchell Shire

CONTACT US

Phone: 1800 231 311, 9489 2222, 9439 9927, 0450 399 932, 5797 2656. Reg. Office: 30 Glen Gully Rd, Eltham, Vic 3095 (same address for 30 years)

Mail: PO Box 1278, Research, Vic 3095

Web: www.LocalPaper.com.au

www.MelbourneObserver.com.au

www.LocalMedia.com.au

E-Mail: Editor@LocalPaper.com.au

Editor@MelbourneObserver.com.au

Editor@LocalMedia.com.au

Matt Bissett-Johnson, Cartoonist

Editor: Ash Long

Kemp, Art Rob Foenander, Music

Features Editor: Peter Mac

Columnists: Len Baker, Matt Bissett-Johnson, Rob Foenander, Peter Kemp, Aaron Rourke, Ted Ryan, Cheryl Threadgold, Julie Houghton, Kevin Trask, John O’Keefe

Honorary Reviewers: Juliet Charles, Sherryn Danaher, Peter Green, Lyn Hurst, Kathryn Keeble, Beth Klein, David McLean, Graeme McCoubrie, Maggie Morrison, Peter Murphy, Jill Page, Elizabeth Semmel.

Logistics: Tyler Sandiford, Tim Granvillani, Erica Koldinsky

Credit Manager: Michael Conway OAM, Fast Action Debt Recovery, 0402 142 866

Mayor, CEO visit Canberra

■ Murrindindi

Mayor Cr Damien Gallagher has told of visiting Canberra this month with Council CEO Livia Bonazzi to advocate the Shire’s needs.

“In Canberra in July ... we had yet more opportunities to tell the Murrindindi story at, and around the events of the Australian Local Government Association National General Assembly,” Cr Gallagher told last week’s Council meeting.

“Economists shared perspectives on the megatrends such as the digital economy and our aging population, and speakers pointed out that despite collecting just 3 per cent of taxes, compared with 17 per cent from states and 80 per cent from the Commonwealth, local government was shown to be the most fiscally efficient level of government when it comes to servicing communities. In terms of asset management,

“Local government manages $10 worth of assets for every $1 of revenues, compared with $4 for states and $0.40 asset value for every $1 of Federal Government revenue.

“It was an exceptionally successful visit as we returned home with a Federal Government grant of $968,000 to support a Development Plan to enable sustainable growth in Murrindindi , aligned to Council’s recently adopted Housing and Settlement Strategy.

“We also highlighted our needs for disaster recovery funding to support Breakaway Bridge

Long Shots

rectification works, and provision for building back better, more resilient assets. ★

“It was very gratifying to see so many people turn out to the community meeting in support of Alexandra District Health

“There is a concern that our existing challenges with health and wellbeing outcomes will only be exacerbated by a loss of local, decision-making voices.

“It’s with appreciation that I recognise those who came out; those who inspired Councillors with their passion and commitment to Alexandra and to Murrindindi

“Earlier this week, I was honoured to have had the privilege of recognising the young Marysville Primary School leaders.

“The dedication of the students to attentive participation was absolutely evident.

“It’s not lost on me that the school’s success is founded upon the generous and professional leadership of Principal, Sandra Bishop and her committed staff.

“This morning I was welcomed by the Principal, Kathryn Stuart, staff, students, and families of Sacred Heart Primary School in Yea.

“The occasion was the celebration of a whole-of-community effort to raise funds to support to the construction of a challenging ninja course.

“Murrindindi Shire Council’s grants and sponsorships program contribution was recognised with appreciation by all present,” Cr Gallagher said.

Local

Local Briefs

Jobs at Mitchell

■ Mitchell Shire Council is advertising a number of job vacancies:

■ Manager Strategic Planning and Economy

■ Senior Statutory Planner/Principal Statutory Planner

■ Development Contributions Officer

■ Early Childhood Teachers - Broadford and Wallan

■ Finance Support Officer

■ Resource Recovery Centre Operator (Casual)

■ Duty Manager - Aquatic Facilities

Kilmore and Seymour

■ Group Fitness Instructor Yoga - Kilmore and Seymour

■ Group Fitness Instructor - Les Mills Qualified - Kilmore and Seymour

■ Aqua Aerobics Group Fitness InstructorKilmore and Seymour

■ Swim Instructor - Kilmore and Seymour Lifeguard

Absences at Dindi

■ Deputy Mayor Cr Sue Carpenter and Cr Ilona Gerencser were absentees from last week’s Murrindindi Shire Council meeting. A motion was registered to acknowledge their apologies. Cr Sandice McAulay attended the meeting “virtually”.

Vale Ted Hall

■ Murrindindi Shire Mayor Cr Damien Gallagher last week paid tribute to Edward ‘Ted’ Hall of Maintongoon.

“It’s with sadness that we recognise the passing of Edward ‘Ted’ Hall last week. But it’s with great joy that we fondly recall a life well lived,” Cr Gallagher said.

“Ted was a classic character, devoted to his Val, and to his community. Ted was a prolific European wasp chaser and despite his mechanical hand, was a gifted shearer –one of the Guns of Alexandra, no less. And, Ted was a talented knitter who gifted socks to those he held dear. Vale, Ted, Mayor of Maintongoon,” Cr Gallagher said.

Mansfield declines

■ Community satisfaction survey results have been released for Mansfield Shire Council.

“Mansfield Shire Council’s overall performance score of 57 reflects a decline of two points on 2023, however remains significantly higher than the statewide and small rural council averages,” said a Council media statement.

Mayor Cr Steve Rabie said communities across Victoria had really felt the pinch of cost of living issues and that most councils had experienced a significant decrease in their rating in this year’s survey.

“The appearance of public areas remains Council’s highest rated area with a score of 80. Council has maintained this rating following a significant improvement in 2021.

“The next highest rated area was art centres and libraries which increased five points on 2023 to a score of 78, following the increased opening hours and programs introduced at the Mansfield Library during 202324.

“Tourism development and recreational facilities (both scoring 69) also increased on 2023 and rated well above the State-wide and the Small Rural group council averages.

“Our strongest performance areas are our public spaces and our library. The survey results are a credit to the hard work put in by our teams in those areas.”

“There were two areas where we returned negative results – planning and unsealed roads, which have both been a continued focus for this Council

“Those results were a bit disappointing –considering we have made massive improvements in our performance in those areas. For example, we’ve been approving more planning permits within tighter timeframes and we’ve graded more kilometres of road in the last 12 months than we ever have before.

“The decline in our results in these areas is a result of our significant population growth and the increased expectations of our changing community,” Cr Rabie said.

Healesville. 1909. Photo: Frank Ernest Allen.

Photo Flashback

Cheryl Threadgold, Local Theatre

Julie Houghton, The Arts Kevin Trask, Entertainment Aaron Rourke, Film

Ted Ryan, Horse Racing Len Baker, Harness Racing

Local Briefs

Community grants

■ Community groups across Strathbogie Shire Council will receive nearly $170,000 with 19 projects endorsed through two funding streams at the July Council meeting.

Administrator Peter Stephenson said it was fantastic to be able to support local community projects to a total of $163,000 especially as these community groups are backed extensively with volunteers.

“These grants provide funds for important community led projects that complement the Community Vision and strategic focus areas of our Council Plan 2021-25,” Mr Stephenson said.

The grant funding was awarded through two streams:

■ Community Strengthening Grants: Up to $10,000

■ Reducing Emissions Grant: Up to $20,000 Strathbogie Council awarded 19 applications to the total of $163,000 excluding GST to these organisations and community groups;

■ Avenel Active Inc. $8665 – multiple projects

■ Tablelands Community Centre Inc.

$10,000 – indigenous artist workshops

■ Euroa Agricultural Society Inc. $10,000

– AV equipment

■ Go Nagambie Inc. $6970 – lighting Kirwans Bridge

■ Avenel Bowling Club Inc. $7691 – aluminium seating

■ Nagambie Soccer Club $10,000 – soccer goals and storage container

■ Strathbogie Sporting and Recreation Club Inc. $5712 – multiple projects

■ Strathbogie Tablelands History Group $3500 – glass display cabinet

■ Strathbogie Tablelands Action Group Inc. $1329 – multiple projects

■ Avenel Golf Club Inc. $3,894 – replace gas ovens with electric ovens

■ Strathbogie Golf Club Inc. $10,000 – diesel motor and pump

■ Longwood Action Group Inc. $10,000 –historical signage

■ Strathbogie Recreation Reserve Committee of Management $5460 – multiple projects Reducing Emissions Applicant/ Organisation Funding allocated

■ Violet Town Action Group Inc. $20,000

– new energy efficient floodlights

■ Nagambie Senior Citizens Inc. $9080 –new energy efficient dishwasher

■ Strathbogie Memorial Hall Inc. $20,000 – solar and battery power system

■ Violet Town Football Netball Club Inc. $8659 – new higher energy rated dishwashers

■ Strathbogie Recreation Reserve Committee of Management $3500 – install energy efficient split system

■ Nagambie Lakes Men’s Shed Inc. $8540–installation of solar panels

“The 13 Community Strengthening Grants provide our communities with funding for projects they have identified to enhance their community. Best of all, these are community-led projects that the Council can support with grants,” Mr Stephenson said.

The Reducing Emissions Grant is a new stream, introduced in 2024-25 in response to the expressed need in the community.

“The six Reducing Emissions Grants support Council’s Climate Change Action Plan and include initiatives such as upgrading to energy-efficient appliances, converting gas to electric appliances, and restoring renewable energy sources and storage,” said a Council representative.

“Quick response grants are available all year round, and more information can be found on the Strathbogie Shire website Community Grants page.”

Code of Conduct

■ Legislation was passed last month to introduce a Model Councillor Code of Conduct for all 79 councils across the state and require professional development training for councillors and mayoral training for mayors and deputy mayors. The changes will be in place following the elections in October.

Local Government Victoria is encouraging all Victorians to have their say on the content for the new code of conduct and mandatory councillor training.

14 new cabins at Lilydale Boost for Mickleham Rd

$525,000 placed by Regional Tourism Investment Fund

■ Holiday makers and cyclists in the Yarra Ranges now have even more places to stay with the addition of 14 new cabins at a popular Lilydale caravan park.

Steve Dimopoulops, Minister for Tourism, ongratulated the owners of the Lilydale Pine Hill Caravan Park for the transformation, which was supported by an investment of $525,000 through the Regional Tourism Investment Fund.

The upgrade includes new accommodation with accessibility and pet friendly options, with eight one bedroom cabins, four two bedroom cabins and two new studios, providing an additional 34 beds to the park to cater for demand in peak periods and weekends.

Cyclists taking advantage of the Yarra Ranges professional-class bike trails will benefit from the newly installed bike racks on the 25 cabin decks across the park, providing better security and easy access to charging facilities for e-bikes.

The caravan park also boasts a new amenities block plus an indoor kitchen and conference room facilities, along with a dog washing facility.

The upgrades are expected to increase the number of days the park will be fully occupied as well as bringing thousands more visitors across the year, boosting the local economy and creating more local jobs.

Lilydale Pine Hill Caravan Park has been operated by the Wescombe family since 2000, and offers something to suit the budget of any holiday maker, with one and two bedroom cabins, powered and unpowered sites for RVs, caravans, campervans and tents.

Tourism is big business in the region, welcoming more than 5.7 million visitors in the year ending March 2024.

“Victorians have always loved camping and caravanning, and Lilydale is the perfect base to explore the beauty of the Yarra Ranges and all it has to offer,” Mr Dimopoulos said.

“We want to make sure people of all budgets and abilities can enjoy staying in caravan parks that have modern, accessible and safe amenities.”

Barriet Shing, Eastern Victoria MLC, said:

“This investment will significantly benefit the Yarra Ranges, which not only enhances our region's tourism appeal but also boosts our local economy and creates jobs for our community."

■ Greenvale motorists will enjoy reduced congestion, improved travel times and more reliable journeys as early as January , with the State Government set to complete major works on Stage 1 of the Mickleham Road Upgrade a full six months ahead of schedule.

The upgrade, originally slated to be completed in mid-2025, will see extra lanes in each direction between Somerton Rd and Dellamore Boulevard, new traffic lights at Aitken College, upgraded intersections at Hillview Rd and Dellamore Boulevard, and a new intersection at Somerton Rd.

Works on the project will now shift towards finishing construction of the southbound lanes, upgrading intersections at Dellamore Boulevard and Hillview Rd and finalising works on the new traffic light intersection at Somerton Rd.

Danny Pearson, Minister for Transport Infrastructure, said: “Locals will enjoy more reliable journeys, improved travel times and reduced congestion as a result of the Mickleham Road Upgrade from as early as January 2025 –six months earlier than scheduled.”

Iwan Walters, Greenvale MLA, said: “We thank the community for its patience as works surge towards completion on Stage 1 of the Mickleham Road Upgrade, which will slash travel times and improve safety for 25,000 drivers each day."

Capital works

■ A capital works program “bigger and better than ever before” has been delivered by Mansfield Council in the 2023-24 financial year, according to a Shire media statement.

The $12.5 million program included 77 projects across Mansfield Shire and reached a completion rate of 96 per cent, the Council claims.

There were 74 projects completed during the 2023-24 financial year. High profile projects included:

■ Heavy Vehicle Alternate Route

■ High Street Car Park

■ Buttercup Road Reconstruction

■ Lords Oval DrainagePr

■ Mt Buller Service Road Upgrade

■ Monkey Gully Road Shared Path

■ Piries-Goughs Bay Road Shared Path

■ Gooleys Bridge Barrier Replacement

The three remaining projects were delayed for “strategic reasons”, the Council representative said.

“For example, upgrades to Lords Reserve toilet facilities were postponed to take advantage of a funding opportunity and will be delivered in 2024-25, while some works on Malcolm Street will be combined with construction works occurring in the new financial year to deliver a more cost effective outcome.”

Sexual assault

■ Seymour Police have charged a man following a series of sexual assault related offences.

Police will allege the man committed multiple offences in the Broadford area between December 2023 and July 2024.

A 38-year-old Broadford man was arrested during a warrant in Broadford as part of an ongoing investigation.

He was charged with grooming for sexual conduct with a child under the age of 16, 63 counts of sexual activity in the presence of a child under the age of 16, threat to commit a sexual offence, stalking and threats to kill.

He was remanded in custody to appear at Shepparton Magistrates’ Court on Monday (July 29).

Yea Golf Club

■ With the fairways having no roll and the weather being unfavourable it made golf a real winter challenge over the past week.

Wednesday (July 24) saw nine men play ‘Pair 22’ with a stableford event. Winners with 365 pts were Steve Rumney (27) and Greg Millard (14) from Alex. Second were Rob O’Halloran (22) and Phil Armstrong (21) with 312 pts. There was no NTP on the 18th and the Club Award went to Phil Armstrong/Graeme Bryant. Individual winner was Steve Rumney with 36 points. Winner of the Ladies Stableford was Penny Britton (33) with 34 points from Sharon Grogan (29) with 32 points.

Saturday (July 27) saw the first round of the 54 hole event with a stableford competition. There were only nine competitors completing the course as rain washed out others (after 10 holes).

Winner of the day with 39 points was Steve Rumney (26) from Jono Ness (20) with 38. Brian Simmons (13) was third with 35 points. There was no NTP on the 18th and Phil Armstrong won the Club Award. Next Saturday sees round two with a par competition.

- Alan Pell

Seven Creeks Plan

■ The draft Seven Creeks Master Plan presented to last week’s Strathbogie Council meeting is now open for broad community consultation and feedback.

“Improving tracks and trails, vegetation management, replacing or upgrading Twomey’s bridge, improving lighting, a nature play space, education and signage are just some of the things identified as priorities in the draft Seven Creeks Masterplan,” said a Strathbogie Council representative., The master plan forms part of the shirewide Play and Open Space Strategy, recently opened for public comment.

Shire Administrator Peter Stephenson said the Council had consulted widely in the community to understand how people currently use the spaces and facilities around the Seven Creeks area and what they would like to see in the future.

“Thank you to everyone who took the time to provide feedback and in particular the Friends of the Sevens group, Euroa Chamber of Commerce, local schools, kindergartens and those who took the survey on the Share Strathbogie engagement hub,” Mr Stephenson said.

“It is clear that the community loves the Seven Creeks area. They are passionate about ensuring this unique environment is protected, maintained and enhanced, while still providing a place for the community and visitors to enjoy.”

Mr Stephenson said the development of an updated Masterplan was the result of a Pitch My Project proposal from the Euroa Community Action Group with $15,000 allocated to this work in the 2022-23 budget.

“This is a great example of community action to progress important local projects,” he said. The final Seven Creeks Masterplan 2024 will be provided for consideration to the incoming Council in December, subject to their priorities.

For more information visit Share Strathbogie engagement platform at share.strathbogie.vic.gov.au/seven-creeksmasterplan or contact Council.

● ● Steve Dimopoulos, State Minister

(Back load Specialist. Conditions apply)

24 HOURS7 DAYS A WEEK

(Scrap bin available)

Where

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■ ALEXANDRA. Alexandra Newsagency. 82-84 Grant St.

Court Lists

Local News

Event cancelled

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■ ALEXANDRA. Corner Hotel.

65 Grant St.

■ ■ ■ ■ THORNTON. Thornton General Store. 1365 TaggertyThornton Rd.

■ ■ WATTLE GLEN. Peppers

■ WARRANDYTE. Warrandyte Newsagency/Post Office. 100 Melbourne Hill Rd.

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■ ■ ALEXANDRA. Endeavour Alexandra (BP). 10 Downey St.

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■ ALEXANDRA. Foodworks. 102 Grant St.

Paddock General Store. 13 Kangaroo Ground-Wattle Glen Rd.

■ ■ ■ ■ WHITTLESEA. Champions IGA Supermarket. 2/16 Church St.

■ WESBURN. Hotel. 2882 Warburton Hwy.

■ WONGA PARK. IGA Xpress. 70 Jumping Creek Rd.

Seymour Magistrates’ Court Criminal Case Listings Wednedsay, July 31 Clifford, Simone Maree Mcgahey, Joanne Mcleish, Jessica Papaevagelou, Efthimia Robbins, Daniel Thursday, August 1

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■ ALEXANDRA. Mount Pleasant Hotel. 90 Grant St.

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■ ALEXANDRA. Nutrien Harcourts. 56 Grant St.

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■ ■ WHITTLESEA. El Azar Milk Bar. 13 Church St.

■ ■ WHITTLESEA. Royal Mail Hotel. 29 Beech St.

■ ■ WOORI YALLOCK. Hillcrest Little Store. 1745 Warburton Hwy.

■ WOORI YALLOCK. Woori Yallock Newsagency. Shop 4,1585 Warburton Hwy.

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■ ■ ALEXANDRA. Shamrock Hotel. 80 Grant St.

■ ■ ALEXANDRA. Simpson’s Fuel (Caltex). 25 Aitken St.

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■ ■ ■ ALEXANDRA. Totally Trout. 42 Downey St.

■ ■ BUXTON. Blue Igloo Roadhouse. 2200 Maroondah Hwy.

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■ BUXTON. Buxton Hotel. 2192 Maroondah Hwy.

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■ BUXTON. Shell Buxton. 2093 Maroondah Hwy.

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■ DIAMOND CREEK. Diamond Creek Newsagency. Shop 62a Main Rd, Diamond Creek Plaza.

■ ■ DOREEN. Doreen General Store. 920 Yan Yean Rd.

■ ■ WHITTLESEA. Whittlesea Bowls Club. 101 Church St.

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■ YARRA GLEN. IGA Supermarket. 1/38 Bell St.

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■ ■ WHITTLESEA. Whittlesea Court House. 74 Church St.

■ ■ WHITTLESEA. Whittlesea NewsXpress. 45 Church St.

■ ■ WOLLERT. Wollert General Store. 491 Epping Rd.

■ ■ YARCK. Buck’s Country Bakehouse. 6585 Maroondah Hwy.

■ ■ YARCK. Giddy Goat Cafe. 6606 Maroondah Hwy.

■ ■ YARCK. Yarck Hotel. Maroondah Hwy.

■ ■ YEA. Amble Inn Cafe. 24 High St.

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■ ■ YARRA GLEN. Yarra Glen Newsagency. 32 Bell St.

■ YARRA JUNCTION. Yarra Junction Newsagency. 2454 Warburton Hwy.

Mitchell Shire Edition

■ BEVERIDGE. Beveridge Post Office. Lot 1 Old Hume Hwy.

■ ■ BROADFORD. Broadford Corner Store. 89 High St.

■ BROADFORD. Broadford Hotel. 100 High St.

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■ ■ EILDON. Foodworks. 18 Main St.

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■ ELTHAM. Eltham Newsagency. 2/963 Main Rd.

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■ ■ YEA. Country Club Hotel. 18 High St.

■ ■ YEA. Endeavour Petroleum (BP). 31 High St.

■ BROADFORD. Broadford Newsagency. 67 High St.

■ BROADFORD. Broadford Post Office. 123 High St.

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■ ■ EPPING. APCO Service Station. Cnr McDonalds Rd and High St.

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■ EPPING. Epping RSL. Harvest Home Rd.

■

■

■

■ YEA. Foodworks. 10 High St.

■ ■ YEA. Giddy Coat Cafe. 94

High St.

■ BROADFORD. Broadford Service Station. 165 High St.

■ ■ ■ ■

■ YEA. Grand Central Hotel. 64

High St.

■ BROADFORD. Commercial Hotel. 31 High St.

Barber, Shane Battye, Liam Bettridge, Anthony Borham, Shane Chandler, Shaun Wayne Clegg, Ricky Dalli, Justin Dastey, Paul James Denyer, Jess Dihm, Daniel Peter Drenovski, Andrew Drenovski, Emily Ruth Duyker, Adrian John Edwards, Nathan Mark Elson, Steven Fraisage Pty Ltd Frik, Reid Gardner, Kimberley Hay, Malaney Hazleden, Dianne Hyatt, Michael Ismail, Deniz Jahan, Mokhtar Johnson, David Jones, Christopher Leigh Kovac, Lennie Lloyd, Steele Mbelonzamba, Dieuveil Mcnally, Sharna Pemberton, Andrew John Petronio, Jamie Robl, Khoner

■ Forecasts of wild weather forced the City of Whittlesea to cancel the official opening of the Whittlesea Public Gardens’ new skate park and urban zone last Saturday (July 27). Wet, windy and cold conditions forecast for Saturday, 27 July meant the Council would not be able to proceed with the skate workshops, basketball clinics and other planned activities.

The official opening will be rescheduled for later in the year.

The community consultation session on the planned upgrade of the Whittlesea Public Gardens off-leash dog park, scheduled to run concurrently with the opening event, also did not go ahead.

Residents can still have their say on the dog park’s plans by going to Council’s Engage page at engage.whittlesea.vic.gov.au or by attending an in-person session on Saturday, August 10 from 9am to 11am at Whittlesea Public Gardens, 158 Barry Rd.

Seniors Forum

■ Keynote speaker Bec Wilson, writer for the ‘Money’ section in The Age, will address Nillumbik Council’s Seniors Housing Forum.

Attendees will learn about ageing in place, housing choices and support available now and in the future.

The free event on Wednesday, August 28, will feature four information sessions from:

■

■

■ ■ FLOWERDALE. Flowerdale Community House. 36 Silver Creek Rd.

■

■ FLOWERDALE. Flowerdale Hotel. 3325 Whittlesea-Yea Rd.

■

■ ■ ■ FLOWERDALE. Hazeldene General Store. 6 Curlings Rd.

■

■ GLENBURN. Glenburn Roadhouse. 3883 Melba Hwy.

■

■ ■ ■ ■ HURSTBRIDGE. Hurstbridge Newsagency. 900 Main Hustbridge Rd.

■ ■ KANGAROO GROUND. Kangaroo Ground General Store. 280 Eltham-Yarra Glen Rd.

■ ■ KINGLAKE. Cafe. WhittleseaKinglake Rd.

■

■ ■ ■ KINGLAKE. Foodworks. 12 Whittlesea-Kinglake Rd.

■ ■ KINGLAKE. Kinglake Pub. 28 Whittlesea-Kinglake Rd.

■

■ ■ ■ KINGLAKE. United Service Station. 2 Glenburn-Kinglake Rd.

■ ■ LAURIMAR. Laurimar Newsagency. 95 Hazel Glen Dr.

■ ■ MANSFIELD. Foodworks. 119 High St.

■

■ MARYSVILLE. Foodworks. 40A Darwin St.

■

■ MERNDA. Mernda Villages Post Office. 50 Mernda Village Dr.

■ ■ MOLESWORTH. Molesworth Store. 4353 Goulburn Valley Hwy.

■ ■ NARBETHONG. Black Spur Inn. 436 Maroondah Hwy.

■

■ NARBETHONG. Black Spur Roadhouse. 264 Maroondah Hwy.

■ ■ PANTON HILL. Panton Hill General Store. 586 Kangaroo Ground-St Andrews Rd.

■

■ ■ YEA. Marmalades. 20 High St.

■ ■ YEA. Mint and Jam. 46 High St.

■ ■ YEA. Nutrien Harcourts. 52

High St.

■ BROADFORD. High Street Bakery. 67A High St.

■ ■ BROADFORD. IGA Supermarket. 65 High St.

■

■ BROADFORD. Stuty’s Bakehouse. 91-93 High St.

■

■

■ ■ YEA. Peppercorn Hotel. 21 Station St.

■ ■ YEA. Provender Bakery. 56 High St.

■ DONNYBROOK. Donnybrook Hotel. 825 Donnybrook Rd.

■ DONNYBROOK. Donnybrook Post Office. 810 Donnybrook Rd.

■ ■ KILMORE. BP. 102 Sydney St.

Sampson, Dean Sheldon, Bradley Grant Simeone, Michael Simmonds, Blake William Simone, Michael Singh, Prabjot Sirianni, Tyler Snowden, Peter John Sondhi, Farzana

■ Nillumbik Council’s Planning Team on changes in small second dwelling (granny flat) legislation and what it means for Nillumbik

■ Seniors Rights Victoria on caring for family, home, assets and money

■ Services Australia on accommodation options, from staying at home to downsizing, retirement villages, granny flats and intergenerational living

■

■ YEA. Rendezvous In Yea. 10

High St.

■

■ ■ ■ YEA. Royal Mail Hotel. 88

High St.

■ KILMORE. Kemp’s Bakery. 65 Sydney St.

■ KILMORE. Kilmore Bakery.

Stavropoulos, John Tabone, Luke Wellington, Caitlin Whiteman, Christian

Witty, David Edgar

Wood, Ryan

■ Nillumbik Council’s Environment Team and Edendale Community Environment Farm on accessibility, low-maintenance gardening, sustainability, and energy options for your home and garden.

■

■ YEA. Yea Bakery. 44 High St.

■ ■ YEA. Yea Newsagency. 74

High St.

■ ■ YEA. Yea Take-Away. 68 High St.

Lilydale and Yarra Valley Express Edition

■ ■ COLDSTREAM. Coldstream Post Office/Newsagency. The Lodge Shopping Centre. 670-672 Maroondah Hwy.

■ ■ CROYDON NORTH. Croydon North Newsagency. 5 Exeter Rd.

■ ■ HEALESVILLE. BP. 66 Maroondah Hwy.

■

■ ■ ■ HEALESVILLE. Coles Express. 123 Maroondah Hwy.

54 Sydney St.

■ KILMORE. Kilmore Newsagency. 41 Sydney St.

■ ■ ■ KILMORE. Red Lion Hotel. 29-31 Sydney St.

■ KILMORE. Royal Oak Hotel. 29-31 Sydney St.

■ KILMORE. United Service Station. 127-145 Powlett St.

■ ■ SEYMOUR. IGA O’Keefe’s. 10/115 Anzac Ave.

■ ■ SEYMOUR. Liberty Seymour. 37-39 Emily St.

■ SEYMOUR. Seymour NewsXpress. 66 Station St.

■ SEYMOUR. Seymour South Post and Lotto. 75 Anzac Ave.

■ ■ SEYMOUR. Prince of Wales Hotel. 48 Emily St.

Friday, August 2

Dickenson, Daniel Robert

Mclauchlan, Daniel John Monaghan, Rhyss

Tennant, Jemma Kate

Tuesday, August 6

Ahmad, Bilal

Bickham, Geoffrey Allen

Coad, Nicole

Creation Homes Vic Pty Ltd

Dandoulis, Michael Dowell, Katie-Lee

Grd Homes Pty Ltd

Millumbik Mayor Cr Ben Ramcharan said the forum had been designed to empower Nillumbik’s seniors to make decisions about their future.

“From downsizing to staying in your current home or retirement village living, there are plenty of options to consider,” Cr Ramcharan said.

“You might also want information about granny flats, affordable and sustainable features in your home, or advice on managing your assets – you’ll find all the information you need at the Nillumbik Seniors Housing Forum,” he said.

■

■

■ PANTON HILL. Panton Hill Hotel. 633 Kangaroo Ground-St Andrews Rd.

■

■ PHEASANT CREEK. Flying Tarts Cafe. 888 WhittleseaKinglake Rd.

■ ■ PHEASANT CREEK. Pheasant Creek Store. 884 Whittlesea-Kinglake Rd.

■ ■ RESEARCH. Research Post Office. 1546 Main Rd.

■ ■ SMITHS GULLY. Smiths Gully General Store. 914 Kangaroo Ground-St Andrews Rd.

■ ■ SOUTH MORANG. Milk Bar.

15 Gorge Rd.

■

■

■

■ ST ANDREWS. St Andrews General Store. 10 Caledonia St.

■ ■ ST ANDREWS. St Andrews Hotel. 79 Burns St.

■ ■ STRATH CREEK. Strath Creek Post Office. 8 Glover Rd.

■

■

■ ■ TAGGERTY. Taggerty General Store. 26 Taggerty-Thornton Rd.

■ ■ THORNTON. 4 Ways Diner.

1369 Taggerty-Thornton Rd.

■ ■ THORNTON. Rubicon Hotel. 1362 Taggerty-Thornton Rd.

■

■

■ ■ HEALESVILLE. Grand Hotel. 270 Maroondah Hwy.

■ ■ HEALESVILLE. Healesville Newsagency. 195 Maroondah Hwy.

■ SEYMOUR. Royal Hotel. 26 Emily St.

■ SEYMOUR. Terminus Hotel. 26 Station St.

■ SEYMOUR. Top Shop. Cnr Anzac Ave and Delatite Rd.

Hall, Michelle Heath, Gareth Kezerle, Robert Konneh, Aalijah Merry, David Morgan, Christopher Daniel Rodger, Bradley Walsh, Justin

Morning tea and lunch will be provided. Information stalls from Seniors Rights Victoria, Housing for the Aged Action Group, and Nillumbik Council’s Aged Care Navigation and Advocacy Officer will be on-site.

The forum will be held on Wednesday, August 28, and will run from 8.45am-4pm at Eltham Community and Reception Centre. Registration is essential.

■

■

■ ■ HEALESVILLE. Tobacco Station/Tatts. Shop 11, Healesville Walk.

■

■ LAUNCHING PLACE. Launching Place General Store. 2200 Warburton Hwy.

■ ■ LAUNCHING PLACE. Home Hotel. 2170 Warburton Hwy.

■ ■ LILYDALE. Lilydale Newsagency. 237 Main St.

■ ■ MILLGROVE. Licensed Grocery. 3043 Warburton Hwy.

■

■

■ ■ MOUNT EVELYN. Mount Evelyn Newsagency. 1A Wray Cres.

■ ■ RINGWOOD. Burnt Bridge Newsagency. 434 Maroondah Hwy.

■ ■ SEVILLE. Wooworths Seville. 568 Warburton Hwy.

■ ■ WANDIN. Wandin Newsagency. 18/2 Union Rd.

■ ■ WARBURTON. Bakery. 3415 Warburton Hwy.

■ ■ WARRANDYTE. Grand Hotel.

140 Yarra St.

■ ■ TALLAROOK. Tallarook General Store. 36 Main Rd.

■ TALLAROOK. Tallarook Hotel. 15 Main Rd.

■ TRAWOOL. Trawool Estate/ Hotel. 8150 Goulburn Valley Hwy.

■ ■ WALLAN. United Service Station. 11-14 High St.

■ ■ WALLAN. Wallan News and Lotto. Shop 6, 55 High St.

■ WALLAN EAST. New Rattlers Inn. Station St.

■ WANDONG. Caltex Star Mart. 3272 Epping-Kilmore Rd.

■ ■ WANDONG. Dundee’s Fish and Cips. 3272 Epping-Kilmore Rd.

■ WANDONG. IGA Supermarket. 3272 Epping-Kilmore Rd.

■ WANDONG. Wandong Post News and Tatts. 3272 EppingKilmore Rd.

■ ■ WANDONG. Kemp’s Wandong Bakery. 372 EppingKilmore Rd.

Warraich Tradings Pty Ltd Woodley, Brendan Allan Mansfield Magistrates’ Court Criminal Case Listings Wednedsay, July 31

Bromilow, Stephen Thursday, August 1

Coll, Peter John

Wednesday, August 7

Register or find out more at nillumbik.vic.gov.au/seniors-housing-forum or call the Council’s Positive Ageing Officer: 0437 676 617.

Better lighting

■ Upgraded lighting at H.R. Uren Recreation Reserve in Thomastown will help boost local soccer participation rates.

City of Whittlesea CEO Craig Lloyd joined with Thomastown MLA Bronwyn Halfpenny on July 18 to officially acknowledge the project's completion.

Funded through a $300,000 grant from Sport and Recreation Victoria, the new LED lights will serve the synthetic pitch on the reserve’s western side.

The works, which commenced in February, saw the old lights demolished and replaced with four 25-metre-high light poles containing 100 lux lights.

■

■

■ ■ WARRANDYTE. Quinton’s Supa IGA Supermarket. 1/402 Warrandyte Rd.

■ WANDONG. Magpie and Stump Hotel. 3313 EppingKilmore Rd.

Barrett, Kenneth Alan Bellingham, Scott Cashmore, Chrstian Will Chater, Aaron Clark, Gordon Gocmen, Alihan Haley, Nicholas Richard Herz, James Adrian Horsburgh, Flynn Patrick Howden, Shane Hussain, Thannun Younis Koala Cherries Pty Ltd Nasse, Cindy Nyine, Win Parsons, Scott Poe, Pue Pewi Pye, Scott Sammut, Rachael Schiehoelter, Peter Adria Smith, William David Smoglian, Julie Stafford, Lachlan Swaney, Jake Ward, Aaron

The old lights utilised obsolete metal halide technology and were not only expensive to maintain but had fallen below the minimum standard required for night matches.

Letter to the Editor

Homelessness

Sir,

This week (August 5-11) is National Homelessness Week. A week where the homelessness crisis that affects our country gets put into the spotlight, and where we get to advocate for those who are the most vulnerable in our community.

As the largest provider of homelessness services in Australia, The Salvation Army wants others to be aware of the key issues facing those experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

We are seeing across the country that social housing waiting lists are growing, the demand for homeless services is skyrocketing and rental prices are increasing by 10 per cent every year. There are also increasing levels of mortgage stress and ‘tent cities’ popping up around the country while there is very cold winter weather.

The Salvation Army is trying to meet the needs of thousands of people experiencing homelessness each month, made more difficult due to a winter of unaffordable housing and a cost-of-living crisis.

We can’t do this alone. Our hope during Homelessness Week this year is to inform and educate the public about the issues surrounding homelessness and to advocate for the most vulnerable in our community as we lobby for more accommodation and support services.

As a major provider of accommodation and financial assistance in Australia, we put clients at the centre of our work. The Salvation Army’s desire is to treat everyone who reaches out to our services with dignity, compassion, and respect.

For more information about The Salvation Army’s work in homelessness, or if you or someone you know needs help, visit https:/ /www.salvationarmy.org.au/need-help/ homelessness-support-services/ homelessness-week/

Dr. Jed Donoghue, National Homelessness General Manager for The Salvation Army

YARRA VALLEY WATER NOMINATED FOR AWARDS

■ Yarra Valley Water has been shortlisted as a finalist in the 2024 Australian Service Excellence Awards. These awards celebrate outstanding customer service across all industries in Australia.

Yarra Valley Water was nominated in the Customer Service Team of the Year category in the prestigious awards, which are run by the Customer Service Institute of Australia.

Managing Director Pat McCafferty said it was an honour to be recognised and paid tribute to the Yarra Valley Water team.

"We couldn’t be prouder of our dedicated people for the work they do every day to make sure our customers have a positive experience.”

According to Yarra Valley Water’s recent customer satisfaction results from March 2024 to May 2024, satisfaction remains consistently high, with a rating of 87 per cent.

Mr McCafferty attributed this success to having a strong organisational culture and shared values.

“Everyone contributes to make this a great place to work - every action, every conversation, every kindness helps to create a constructive culture that makes a positive difference” he said.

Statewide Observer

STATEWIDE

Puppy pledge

■ Guide Dogs Victoria is calling on all students and schools across the state to help raise vital funds for individuals living with low vision or blindness and be in with a chance of naming the newest litter of puppies.

The latest campaign, Puppy Pledge, encourages all students across Victoria to take part in a fundraising competition, giving them seven weeks to raise as much money as possible to take home the winning prize of naming Guide Dogs Victoria’s newest additions.

Students, parents and teachers from any school have until Friday, September 6, to secure the top spot, with second and third prizes also on offer.

"The Puppy Pledge is a fantastic opportunity for students to engage in community service and support individuals with low vision or blindness, while having fun. We are excited to see the creative fundraising ideas that students will come up with and the positive impact they will make" says, CEO of Guide Dogs Victoria, Nicky Long.

An official Award Ceremony will be held at the newly constructed Guide Dogs Victoria's campus in Kew

The top fundraisers will be honored for their outstanding contributions and celebrated for their creativity and dedication to the Puppy Pledge

Lauren Phillips, newly appointed Guide Dogs Victoria Ambassador also expressed her enthusiasm for the campaign: “I am incredibly proud to support this initiative - it's inspiring to see young people come together to make a difference in their community, and I encourage all schools to get involved in raising funds for Guide Dogs Victoria." Guide Dogs Victoria invites all Victorian schools to get involved in this impactful campaign.

“By participating, schools and students can make a significant difference in the lives of those who rely on Guide Dogs for independence and mobility.,” a representative said.

VICTORIA

Melbourne

● ● From left: Farimah Dalir, Adam Oxford, Elisha Brayshaw, Sarah Tregoning, Ann Leermakers, Kristie Douros, Jade Patience, Erin Davey, Maxine Godwin, Damian Spirovski, Jesse Gov.

Yarra Valley Water was nominated alongside other finalists in this category, including leading brands The Holland Insurance Company and

nib Travel. Yarra Valley Water employee, Corali Duncan, has been named as a finalist in the Customer Service Leader of the Year category.

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Local Briefs

Fast track funding

■ Yarra Ranges Council roadside assessments have identified over 3000 trees needing pruning or removal with immediate work underway to address 200 hazardous trees and reduce bushfire risk.

As part of the Preparing Australian Communities funding from the Federal Government, Yarra Ranges Council has launched proactive tree management and clean-up works, aimed at clearing or removing potentially unsafe trees and removing debris while also reducing fuel loads in the region.

“So far, roadside assessments are 50 percent complete in the southern area of the Yarra Ranges with over 1400 trees inspected in and around Belgrave South, Belgrave, Selby, Narre Warren East, Sassafras, Kalorama, Olinda, Ferny Creek , and Upwey,” said a Council representative.

Yarra Ranges Council is conducting a detailed street-by-street review to assess the risk posed by trees and undergrowth weeds.

Yarra Ranges Council Mayor, Cr Sophie Todorov, highlighted that this funding has expedited council tree inspections, helping mitigate the risk of falling trees and branches that could obstruct key access roads.

"The safety of our community is a top priority,” Cr Todorov said.

“The inspections and subsequent works funded by the PAC program have allowed us to address potential hazards swiftly.”

“This proactive approach ensures our roads remain safer and more accessible, particularly in the storm-affected areas.

“Additionally, it has also allowed us to increase the removal of weeds, stumps and fallen trees from key roads, ensuring better access for slashing to lower the fire risk of roadside vegetation,” Cr Todorov said.

Trees on public land that are near important roads and power lines are being targeted including weed species trees, such as Pittosporum, Acacia Elata and Radiata Pine.

Trees within parks and reserves that pose a risk will also be assessed and made safe.

The Proactive Tree Management program is part of the $10 million Preparing Australian Communities Grant Council received in 2023 from the Federal Government.

The PAC program aims to enable communities to better mitigate, avoid, withstand, and recover from the increasing effects of natural hazards due to climate change through activities that build resilience.

Kinglake land move

■ Murrindindi Council was donated farmland at 37 Extons Rd, Kinglake, by an adjoining landholder for the specific purpose of rebuilding the Middle Kinglake School and Early Learning Centre following the 2009 bushfires.

A portion of the land, approximately 1.74 hectares, is surplus to the needs of the Department of Education and Council intends to transfer this surplus land back to the original donor, to be incorporated into the adjoining farming lot.

People may provide written feedback on this proposal. Submissions will be received up until Monday, August 19. All feedback will be considered by Council at the August 28 meeting.

People wishing to address Council on their submission at this meeting should indicate this in their submission.

Studley voted in

■ Murrindindi Council has appointed Alan Studley as an Audit and Risk Committee Independent Member for a three-year term ending June 30, 2027.

A report to Councillors at last week’s Shire meeting recommended the appointment of an external independent member to Council’s Audit and Risk Committee in accordance with the requirements under the Local Government Act.

Flashpoint for F’dale Kinder

■ Murrindindi Shire Council says it is working with the Department of Education to find a new Early Years Manager for the Flowerdale Kindergarten , following the decision by Mitchell Shire Council not to renew the sublease of Flowerdale Kindergarten

“For many years, Mitchell Shire Council has provided critical kindergarten services to the Flowerdale community and surrounds, working alongside Council’s Maternal and Child Health services and operating from Council’s facility at 3377 Whittlesea-Yea Road Flowerdale,” said a Murrindindi Shire Council media statement.

“Mitchell Shire Council’s said decision to withdraw from providing kindergarten services in Flowerdale comes amid “rising demands for Mitchell services in Victoria’s fastest-growing municipality” and significant “administrative workload” increases due to the Victorian State Government’s Best Start, Best Life reform.

“Under these reforms, in 2025, Murrindindi Shire will participate in the first roll out of an expanded kindergarten program from 15 hours per week to 30 hours per week.

“Kindergarten services in Flowerdale have been provided by Mitchell Shire Council since 2004.

“Murrindindi Shire Council does not directly manage or operate kindergartens in the Shire. However, Council has an important role in supporting the adequate provision of these services through building management, workforce support, advocacy and representing local needs.

“The Department of Education will soon be inviting Expressions of Interest from Early Years providers to take over the sub-lease in 2025.

“Council will continue to work closely with the Department and Mitchell Shire Council to secure a new provider and ensure a smooth service transition.”

Murrindindi Council’s Community Wellbeing and Economic Development Portfolio Councillor Sandice McAulay said: “Council recognises and celebrates the wonderful contribution that Mitchell Shire Council has made to the Flowerdale community and thank them for their continued service while a new provider is found.

“Council will continue to advocate for increased capacity and supply of kindergarten and childcare places across our Shire, as we know the difference these services make to families and children.”

“While our advocacy efforts helped secure new facilities in Alexandra and Yea, we know there are a range of challenges facing the sector.

“Early years education is nothing without a strong workforce. Our Early Years

Education Workforce Plan will help us address current and future challenges relating to staff recruitment and retention, skills and training.

“Our recently adopted Kindergarten and Child Care Strategy will also guide our work and our role in supporting service providers and our community and help us manage the increased demand for kindergarten services in the coming years.” Cr McAulay said.

Roadside conservation

■ Cr Karine Haslam told last week’s Murrindindi Council meeting about the consultation taking place until last weekend about the Rural Roadside Conservation Management Plan

The Council was inviting feedback from the community on its updated Rural Roadside Conservation Management Plan and Guidelines.

“The Rural Roadside Conservation Management Plan guides how roadside vegetation is managed across the Shire, and helps Council, the community, and other agencies, understand the conservation value of roadsides, and how to carry out works, or activities on them appropriately.

“These activities include utility works, roadside grazing, firewood collection, slashing, mowing and weed management.

“There are 26 pieces of legislation, that cover Government requirements. The Rural Roadside Conservation Management Plan Guidelines, are designed to help users to understand these requirements.

“Council is seeking community feedback on the Plan, and companion Guidelines, to understand what’s important to local residents, in maintaining and protecting, native vegetation on our rural roadsides.”

4 new Aussies in M’dindi

● ● From left: (from left): Murrindindi Shire Council Acting CEO Michael Chesworth , Eildon MLA Cindy McLeish, conferees Shannon, Anna, Shintu and son Daniel, Jewel, Mayor Cr Damien Gallagher. Chesworth, Eildon MLA Cindy McLeish, Bo Pearson – Alexandra RSL, Mary Pearson –Probus Club of Alexandra President and Sasha Barrow – Murrindindi Shire Citizen of the Year 2020 who were pleased to congratulate the newest Australians.

■ Murrindindi Shire Council celebrated four new Australian citizens on Tuesday last week (July 23) at an official Citizenship Ceremony held at the Alexandra Council Chamber. Shannon, Shintu, Jewel and Anna , have pledged their loyalty to Australia, its people, and its democratic beliefs, and to uphold and obey the laws of Australia and respect the rights and liberties of its people.

In attendance were distinguished guests including Murrindindi Shire Council Mayor Cr Damien Gallagher, Acting CEO Michael

$383,540 account

■ Murrindindi Council’s Public Liability and Professional Indemnity Insurance premium for 2024-25 is $383,540.13 (ex GST).

Authority to pay the account had to be given by Councillors at last week’s Shire meeting, as it was above the authorised limit given to Chief Executive Officer Livia Bonazzi (currently on leave).

Contract approved

■ A total contract amount of $862,990 over a five-year contract period has been approved by Murrindindi Council in favour of North East Air and Mechanical Pty Ltd.

The contract is for an initial period of three years commencing on August 1 and ending on July 31, 2027, with an option for a twoyear extension.

Crs John Walsh and Eric Lording moved for the contract to be approved by Councillors.

A tender process to appoint a contractor for heating and cooling system service, maintenance and repairs for an initial period of three years, subject to satisfactory performance by the contractor, was let.

“The scope of the contract is to service, maintain and repair heating and cooling systems in Council facilities, to comply with current standards and regulations,” said a report to Councillors.

“The service contract supports Council’s mandatory requirements to provide and promote healthy spaces for our occupants and continued economic operation of the mechanical equipment.

“Council recently conducted a public tender for these works which closed on June 4 at 3pm. Two submissions were received at the close of the tender.

“A detailed evaluation was undertaken in line with Council’s Procurement Policy and against the tender evaluation criteria by the Tender Evaluation Committee

“This contract, being a lump sum contract with a schedule of rates for maintenance breakdowns, will not exceed a total spend of $862,990 over the five-year term if all options are exercised.”

McAulay reports

■ Cr Sandice McAulay reported to last week’s Murrindindi Council meeting: “This year’s Winter campaign has commenced across our Discover Dindi channel and with partners such as Lake Mountain and Victoria’s High Country, keep an eye on our social media for the latest posts and explore our Shire this winter.

“Tourism North-East are seeking businesses to be part of the upcoming 2024 Spring / Summer and 2025 Autumn marketing campaign – please reach out to the Economic Development team if you are interested in participating with special offers, deals and packages that visitors can experience in Murrindindi Shire

“Council has partnered with Murrindindi Food and Wine on the Murrindindi Digital Marketing Month – a series of webinars covering a range of topics including Instagram and Facebook, how to market your business for free and website basics. The series is delivered by Jenn Donovan.

“The third business breakfast will be held in Marysville on August 13. This is a great way to connect with local businesses – I look forward to catching up with other businesses myself.

“Again Council is proud to support Murrindindi Food and Wine and the business resilience program.

“The Great Victorian Bike Ride is coming to Murrindindi Shire. The ride will have two overnight stops, Alexandra on Friday November 29 and Marysville on Saturday November 30. To find out more about the opportunities and how to be involved it is free to attend one of the information sessions Tuesday July 30 in Alexandra and Wednesday July 31in Marysville.

“Council extends its warmest congratulations to all the conferees and wishes them all the best in their new journey as Australian citizens,” said a Shire representative.

Murrindindin Council will host one more Citizenship Ceremony in 2024, on October 22.

“There has been excellent engagement on line and in person at our drop in sessions. Council is conscious that people want to engage in different ways – online and face to face and has endeavoured to provide as many opportunities as possible,” Cr McAulay said.

● ● ● ● Cr Sandice McAulay

HUNT FOR MAN AFTER HIT-RUN

■ Police continue to investigate a hit-run in Marshall on July 17.

It is alleged a red Holden Commodore sedan collided with a silver Mazda hatch on Barwarre Rd about 6.15pm.

The driver of the Mazda , a 42-year-old Armstrong Creek woman, was airlifted to hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Police allege the male driver of the Commodore dumped the vehicle and fled on foot.

The male and female passengers of the Commodore , a 34-year-old man and 21-year-old woman from Grovedale, both remained at the scene.

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They were both taken to hospital with minor injuries. Investigators have released an image of a man they wish to speak to in relation to the incident.

They are searching for 23-year-old Jesse Reynolds who is described as 190cm tall, thin build, fair complexion and brown hair.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a report at www.crimestoppers.com.au

Reynolds

Indian Film Fest

■ The 15th annual Indian Film Festival of Melbourne will be presented August 15-25.

Some of the biggest names in Indian cinema are set to attend the festival, with several premieres for audiences to delve into, along with star-studded events and screenings.

This year’s IFFM will screen more than 65 films, including 20 films by female directors, many of which showcase films challenging the status quo with strong and powerful voices, telling confronting stories.

The films feature 26 different languages, some of which are extremely rare and not widely spoken. Audiences can also expect six world premieres.

The IFFM Opening Night will screen the premiere of My Melbourne, directed by four iconic Indian filmmakers - Onir, Rima Das, Imtiaz Ali, and Kabir Khan, and filmed entirely in Melbourne.

All four directors and key cast and crew will attend the Opening Night which is held at Hoyts District Docklands.

Established in 2010 by director Mitu Bhowmick Lange (Mind Blowing Films), the festival consistently strives to program films that provide a robust forum for conversation and that enhance not only India’s rich storytelling tradition, but also looks to challenge people’s notions of India. Festival dates: August 15-25

For program details visit: iffm.com.au

- Cheryl Threadgold

Jurassic World

■ The official, award-winning Jurassic World: The Exhibition is roaring into Melbourne on Friday (Aug. 2), and will run for a limited time.

This stunning experience, at approximately 2700 square metres, immerses audiences of all ages in settings inspired by the globally popular Jurassic World film franchise, from Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment, blending real-world science and education with the very best in high-quality entertainment.

Jurassic World: The Exhibition invites guests to walk through the iconic ‘Jurassic World’ gates, explore richly themed environments, encounter a life-sized Brachiosaurus, Velociraptors, including fan-favourite Blue, and the most fearsome dinosaur of all, the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex Guests will be able to imagine what it would have been like to roam among these breathtaking creatures, and even interact with baby dinosaurs, including ‘Bumpy’ from the popular animated series Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous from Universal Pictures, Amblin Entertainment and DreamWorks Animation, currently streaming on Netflix Jurassic World: The Exhibition has now become one of the fastest selling exhibitions in history since its launch with over eight million tickets sold.

After opening its gates to excited fans in cities around the world including Berlin, Cologne, London, San Diego, Denver, Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, Paris, Madrid, Seoul, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Toronto, Melburnians will finally get their chance to experience this global sensation.

Admission to Jurassic World: The Exhibition starts at $39 for children (ages three and up) and $49 for adults (ages 16 and up). Family and group tickets and special pricing for senior citizens and students are also available.

Jurassic World: The Exhibition will be presented starting Friday (Aug. 2) for a limited time at the newly reimagined 3600 sqm The Fever Exhibition Hall, 62 Dawson Street, Brunswick . Tickets on sale at jurassicworldexhibition.com.au

For further information about Jurassic World: The Exhibition , please visit www.jurassicworldexhibition.com - Contributed

Talk is cheap, gossip is priceless

Carousel concert

■ Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel - A Concert will be presented in Melbourne on September 7 and 8 at the Princess Theatre

Producer Enda Markey has announced that the talented cast joining Anna O’Byrne and Marina Prior in the lavish concert presentation includes West End star Danny Whitehead in the coveted role of Billy Bigelow.

Danny most recently starred in the West End production of The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London’s West End

His previous credits in the UK include the Narrator in Blood Brothers, Enjolras in Les Misérables, as well as Wicked, Sweeney Todd, South Pacific, The Secret Garden and more.

Blake Bowden will play the naïve and adorably shy fisherman Enoch Snow. Blake recently wowed audiences as Brad and Frank’n’Furter in The Rocky Horror Show, Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera and Elder Price in The Book of Mormon.

Helpmann Award winner Kerrie Anne Greenland will play Carrie Pipperidge, Julie’s lively friend and co-worker.

Kerrie’s roles include Ellen in Miss Saigon, Eponine in Les Misérables, and Violet in Side Show, among many others.

The menacing seaman Jigger Craigin will be portrayed by Andy Conaghan (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Les Misérables, Shrek).

Veteran actor Tony Llewellyn-Jones will play the heavenly Starkeeper and Dr Seldon, and former Australian Ballet star Jasmin Durham is Louise

Members of the ensemble include Taao Buchanan, Ben Clark, Andrew Dunne, Dominique Hamilton, Matthew Hearne, Genevieve Kingsford, Conor Neylon, Adele Parkinson, Josh Robson, Greta Sherriff, Alexander Tye, Jasmin Vaughns and Paul Whiteley.

"I’m thrilled to have assembled such an extraordinary group of Australia’s finest theatre stars to bring Rodgers and Hammerstein’s iconic score to life,” said producer Enda Markey. “Carousel holds a special place in the hearts of so many people, and it has been far too long since audiences have had the opportunity to experience it live.

“I am excited to share the experience of seeing these remarkable performers live and to create an unforgettable event that will rekindle the magic of this iconic show.”

Set in a seaside town in Maine, Carousel follows the love story of Billy Bigelow, a handsome but troubled carousel barker, and Julie Jordan, a young mill worker.

This iconic show, receiving a rare staging, has been described by Time magazine as “The Best Musical of the Twentieth Century”.

At the helm of this production of Carousel is Australian conductor of musicals, Guy Simpson, with direction by former associate director of Melbourne Theatre Company, Petra Kalive, and choreography by award-winning Irish choreographer Philip Connaughton.

The costume design is by Renata Beslik, lighting design by Gavan Swift and sound design by Tom Brickhill.

Venue: Princess Theatre, Melbourne

Dates: Saturday, September 7 at 2.30pm and 7.30pm, Sunday, September 8 at 1pm

Price: From $99 (plus booking fee)

49

Bookings: ticketek.com.au or phone 13 28

- Cheryl Threadgold

The Riot

■ The Neils Gaup directed movie, The Riot, is the apt opening screening of the Scandinavian Film Festival in Australia

Were it not for the snow and the lack of sheep, the work’s subject matter is identifiable as working class Australian equivalent to the shearers’ strike of 1891 that led to the formation of the Labor Party.

Struggling against the oppression of corporate mining entities in the town of Sulitjelma, Konrad (Otto Fahlgren) and his fellow miners

Anna

Jeff

revolt against the ruthless mining agent Wennstrom (Simon Berger) and bring about fundamental change now enshrined in Norwegian law.

The film is perhaps more historical than action packed. Konrad, having been sold into servitude as a child – a common practice at the time, is manipulated by Wenstrom to inform on the actions the miners intend to take.

His coming of age story provides the character progression while Wenstrom’s attempt to illegally contrive profit and keep the miners in their place provides the element of intrigue.

What holds are the struggles of the working class trying to eke out a living against corporate greed.

The sparseness of the landscape and the grimy conditions of the mine lend themselves to the dark cinematic tones but also to the documentary black and white photos of the time that end the film which recorded the actual events and conditions of the day.

The miners of the day met on a frozen lake as it was the only space the mining company didn’t own. Whilst romanticised for the film, these events actually occurred.

The festival itself is an opportunity to delve into the best of Nordic cinema with the landscape - and we see the northern lights in The Riot – being only a part of what the geography has to offer. The human story becomes the identifiable connection.

For further details, visit scandinavian filmfestival.com/

- Review by David McLean

ACRA nominees

■ Finalists for the Australian Commercial Radio Awards include: Best On Air Team

■ Carrie & Tommy; Carrie Bickmore, Tommy Little, 3FOX, Melbourne, VIC, SCA, M

■ Fitzy & Wippa with Kate Ritchie; Ryan Fitzgerald, Michael Wipfli, Kate Ritchie, Nova 96.9 Sydney, NSW, NOVA Entertainment M

■ Jase & Lauren, Jason Hawkins Lauren Phillips, Clint Stanaway, Nova 100, Melbourne, VIC, NOVA Entertainment M

■ Jonesy & Amanda; Brendan Jones, Amanda Keller, WSFM, Sydney, NSW, ARN, M

■ The Christian O'Connell Show; Christian O'Connell, Jack Post, Patrina Jones, Gold 104.3, Melbourne, VIC, ARN M

■ The Kyle & Jackie O Show; Kyle Sandilands, Jackie Henderson, KIIS 1065, Sydney, NSW, ARN M Individual Talent of the Year

■ Ben Fordham, 2GB, Sydney, NSW, Nine Radio M

■ Christian O'Connell; Gold 104.3, Melbourne, VIC, ARN M

■ Fifi Box; 3FOX, Melbourne, VIC, SCA M

■ Jackie Henderson; KIIS 1065, Sydney, NSW, ARN M

■ Kate Ritchie; Nova 96.9, Sydney, NSW, NOVA Entertainment M

■ "Ugly" Phil O'Neil; WSFM, Sydney, NSW, ARN M

■ Ray Hadley: 2GB, Sydney, NSW, Nine Radio M

■ Ricki-Lee Coulter; Nova Network, Sydney, NSW, NOVA Entertainment M

■ American drag queen and comedian Bianca Del Rio will be presenting her new stand-up world comedy tour titled Dead Inside in Australia and New Zealand in January and February.

Performing at Melbourne's Comedy Theatre on January 31, Dead Inside will cover politics, pop culture, political correctness, current events, cancel culture and everyday life through the eyes of someone who's “dead inside,” finding humor in everything.

"I'm coming out of my crypt and hitting the road again to remind everyone that I'm still Dead Inside,” Bianca shared. “If you enjoy irreverent humor, like sparkly costumes and are not easily offended … this is the show for you"

Dead Inside follows the success of Bianca’s two most recent comedy tours, Unsanitised, during which she performed to sold out audiences in 99 cities across 27 countries, and It’s Jester Joke, making history as the first drag queen to headline Wembley Arena and Carnegie Hall, selling out both venues.

Performance Details: January 31 at the Comedy Theatre, Melbourne Tickets are now on sale at biancadownunder.com

For further details visit TheBiancaDelRio.com

- Cheryl Threadgold

NICA returns

■ Great news for future circus artists is that Australia's only Bachelor of Circus Arts will return in 2025, thanks to a partnership between NICA and the Australian College of the Arts (Collarts).

Applications for auditions to study in 2025 close on Friday, August 23.

NICA is asking prospective students if they are an athlete, circus artist, gymnast, dancer or a natural performer.

Auditions will be held in September at the National Institute of Circus Arts. NICA is on the lookout for 25 unique individuals to form its first-year cohort - the first intake since 2023.

Apply at www.nica.com.au/ed

- Cheryl Threadgold

Media Flashes

■ After 13 years at the helm, Michael Stutchbury will finish as Editor-in-Chief of The Australian Financial Review on Friday, August 9. He will return to the paper in a writing role as Editor-at-Large next year.

Former Executive Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, James Chessell, will succeed Michael in the role from Monday, August 12. - Telum Australia

● ● Danny Whitehead,

O'Byrne and Marina Prior. Photo:

Busby

Bianca Del Rio.

Photo: Shaun Vadella

Local Theatre Observations

Shows

■ MLOC Productions: Alice by Heart, Until August 3 at the Shirley Burke Theatre, 64 Parkers Rd., Parkdale. Director: Chris Ryan; Choreographer: Molly Whytcross; Vocal Director: Diane O’Hare; Musical Director: Hannah Hunt. Bookings: mloc.org.au

■ The 1812 Theatre: The Sweet Delilah Swim Club (by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, Jamie Wooten), August 1 – 24 at 3 Rose St., Upper Ferntree Gully. Director: Amy Calvert. Bookings: 1812theatre.com.au

■ Melbourne French Theatre: La Surprise De L’Amour (Lovestruck) (by Marivaux) August 6 – 17 at Melbourne French Theatre, La Maison de Maitre, 203-205 Canning St (cnr. Neill St.), Carlton. Director: Donald McManus. Bookings: melbournefrench theatre.org.au/la-surprise-de-lamour/ ■ Williamstown Musical Theatre Company: Alice in Wonderland Jr. August 2 – 11 at Altona Theatre, 115 Civic Pde., Altona. Bookings: wmtc.org.au

■ Beaumaris Theatre: The Bridges of Madison County (by Robert James Waller), August 9 – 24 at 82 Wells Rd., Beaumaris. Director: Colin Armstrong. Bookings: beaumaristheatre.com.au

■ The Mount Players: Family Values (by David Williamson) August 16 – September 1 at the Mountview Theatre, 56 Smith St., Mt Macedon. Director: David Runnalls. Bookings: themountplayers.com

■ Brighton Theatre Company: Admissions (by Joshua Harmon) August 16 – 31 at the Brighton Arts and Cultural Centre, Wilson St., Brighton. Director: Deborah Fabbro. Bookings: brightontheatrecompany.com.au

■ Malvern Theatre Company: Little Women the Musical (Book by Allen Knee, Lyrics by Mindi Dickstein, Music by Jason Howland) August 23 – September 7 at 29 Burke Rd., Malvern East. Director: Alan Burrows; Musical Director: Adam Bianco; Choreographer: Susan Lewis. Bookings: 1300 131 552.s

■ Warrandyte Theatre Company: Things

I Know to be True (by Andrew Bovell) August 23 – September 7 at Warrandyte Mechanics’ Institute, 180 Yarra St., Warrandyte. Director: Kellie Tweeddale. Bookings: trybooking.com/CQZXF

■ Strathmore Theatrical Arts Group (STAG): Hand to God (by Robert Askins) August 29 – September 7 at Strathmore Community Theatre, Loeman St., Strathmore. Director: Brian Edmond. Bookings: stagtheatre.org

■ Synchronicity: A Vintage Death (by Geoff Collishaw, based on the novel by Colin King), August 30 – September 7 at The Engine Room, 58 View St., Bendigo. Director: Geoff Collishaw and Tania Maxwell). Bookings: synchronicity.org.au

■ MOARTZ Inc: MOARTZ 25th Anniversary, One-Act Play Gala Weekend (Joanna Murray-Smith/Melinda Chapman), August 23 – 25 at Monash Hall, Reserve St., Yallourn North. Directors: Annette O’Shea/Mike Pullar. Admission: $30/$25. Bookings: moartz.com

■ Mordialloc Theatre Company: Minnie and Liraz (by Lally Katz) August 30 – September 8 at the Shirley Burke Theatre, 64 Parkers Rd., Parkdale. Director: Barbara Crawford. Bookings: mordialloctheatre. com.au

■ Theatrical: A Chorus Line, September 2 – 22 at the National Theatre, Carlisle St., St Kilda. Director: Tahra Cameron; Choreographer: Louise Panagiotidis; Musical Director: Gabriel Taburet. Bookings: theatrical.com.au Nova Music Theatre: Brigadoon September 13 – 22 at The Round, Nunawading. Bookings: novamusictheatre.com.au

■ Eltham Little Theatre: Veronica’s Room (by Ira Levin) September 6 – 21 at the Eltham Performing Arts Centre, 1603 Main Rd., Research. Director: Drew Mason. Bookings: 0411 713 095.

■ Lilydale Athenaeum Theatre: Clue on Stage, September 5 – 21 at the Lilydale Athenaeum Theatre, Castella St., Lilydale. Director: Katie-Jane Amey. Bookings: lilydaleatc.com - Cheryl Threadgold

A CHORUS LINE

■ Following sell out shows and standing ovations for recent productions of The Sound of Music and The Boy From Oz , not-for-profit musical theatre company Theatrical will stage the iconic and universally acclaimed musical, A Chorus Line at The National Theatre Melbourne from September 7-22.

The original production of A Chorus Line was an unprecedented box office and critical hit. It went on to win nine Tony Awards, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1976.

A Chorus Line has gone on to earn a cherished spot in the hearts of theatre enthusiasts globally. Melbourne audiences will experience the pure delight of A Chorus Line when an international cast and company come together to stage a new production at the historic 783-seat National Theatre Melbourne

With tickets starting at just $50 for preview performances, seats are being snapped up fast via theatrical.com.au

“This show has everything - incredibly iconic dance numbers, stunning music and a beautiful, honest story that captures the spirit and tension of a Broadway chorus audition,” says director Tahra Cannon.

“We explore the inner lives and bittersweet ambitions of highly trained, dedicated dancers, as they put themselves on the line for a role,”

A WAAPA Musical Theatre graduate, Tahra is making her musical theatre directorial debut in Theatrical’s A Chorus Line, having captivated audiences as the Musical Director for the company’s 2023 production American Idiot.

Theatrical’s production will showcase an exceptional cast with performers and company members from Japan, Paris and the United States.

Known for his incredible voice, Julian Dods (La Boheme, The Magic Flute) was selected from the National Boys Choir to perform in the iconic 2009 Qantas commercial ‘I Still Call Australia Home’ and went on to perform multiple roles with Opera Australia.

In A Chorus Line, Julian will show off his powerful performance skills as Zach , the Director who puts the dancers through their gruelling audition process.

Teresa Giansiracusa (Romeo and Juliet, Mr Burns, In The Heights) feels like she’s landed the perfect role in Diana , resonating with the character on many levels.

“She’s an unapologetic performer and I think that’s what draws people towards her. I also relate to the pride she has about her migrant background, wearing it like a badge of honour,” says Teresa.

Making their Australian musical debut is American Oscar Waters IV (Cinderella, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Mamma Mia!). Words Oscar lives re doing… and try again.”

Marking his third stage role this year, former electrician and audio engineer turned performer Thomas Boyd (The Little Mermaid, Avenue Q, Legally Blonde, Rock of Ages) will play the role of Gregory Gardner.

Also joining the cast is 21-year-old rising star Lyla Digrazia (Freaky Friday, Xanadu Jr, Grease, The Wizard of Oz), who was nominated for a Music Theatre Guild Award for her role as Ellie Blake in Freaky Friday by Theatrical.

Choreographer Louise Panagiotidis will honour the iconic choreography while updating it for today.

“I want to pay homage to the iconic original choreography by Michael Bennet and Bob Avian, while also incorporating an individual approach that suits our unique cast and this 21st century audience.”

Featuring a memorable score by Marvin Hamlisch, with favourite numbers such as What I Did for Love, One and I Hope I Get It, this timeless exploration of strength, resilience and determination is sure to enchant audiences.

- Contributed

Sisters In Crime

■ Sisters in Crime Australia has announced its shortlist for its 24th Davitt Awards for the best crime and mystery books –seven adult novels, four non-fiction books, two YA adult novels, four children’s novels.

Four of the adult novels are debut works. All 37 debut books are also under consideration for the Debut Award

Judges’ coordinator, Ruth Wykes, said that having 19 books on the shortlist wasn’t all that disproportionate given that there are 153 books are in contention overall.

“It’s been a Herculean task for the six judges – so many fabulous books have missed the cut. Australian women’s crime writing is riding a huge wave that has left our shores and is now sweeping around the world,” Wykes said.

Adult novels (7)

Bronwyn Hall, The Chasm (HQ Fiction)

Amanda Hampson, The Tea Ladies (Penguin Random House)

Christine Keighery, The Half Brother (Ultimo Press) Debut

Suzie Miller, Prima Facie (Pan Macmillan Australia) Debut

Marija Pericic, Exquisite Corpse (Ultimo Press)

Darcy Tindale, The Fall Between (Penguin Random House) Debut

Monica Vuu, When One of Us Hurts (Pan Macmillan Australia) Debut Non-fiction (4)

Ahona Guha, Reclaim: Understanding complex trauma and those who abuse (Scribe Publications) Debut

Rebecca Hazel, The Schoolgirl, her Teacher and his Wife (Penguin Random House)

Christine Kenneally, Ghosts of the Orphanage (Hachette Australia)

Nicole Madigan, Obsession (Pantera Press) Debut

Young Adult novels (2)

Amy Doak, Eleanor Jones Is Not a Murderer (Penguin Random House) Debut

Ellie Marney, Some Shall Break (Allen & Unwin)

Children’s novels (4)

Lucinda Gifford, The Wolves of Greycoat Hall (Walker Books)

Kelli Anne Hawkins, Copycat (HarperCollins Australia)

Alison Tait, The First Summer of Callie McGee (Scholastic Australia)

Anna Zobel, This Camp Is Doomed: A Dennith Grange misadventure (Penguin Random House)

■ Australia is fortunate to have so many novelists who choose the wide brown land as the backdrop for their stories.

Popular author Fiona McArthur has just released her latest book, Back to Birdsville, set in that tiny town of 100 people that is home to the legendary annual Birdsville races.

When midwife and emergency nurse Phoebe fled Birdsville as a teenager, escaping family drama, she thought she had left for good.

But returning home as an adult for a family wedding means it’s time to retrace her way along those dusty roads and face her past.

There’s also potential for a romance with a skinny kid from her past who is now an interesting man who attracts her.

But before she can investigate the possibility of a relationship, Phoebe must unravel some secrets from the past in order to face the future.

McArthur’s novels tend to focus on the resilience of small outback communities, and the support that women give each other.

As her earlier life was spent as a rural midwife, she knows the profession inside out, which gives her books a great sense of authenticity.

Apart from describing the incredible landscapes of outback Australia, her characters are drawn from across the generations, reflecting the reality of community life.

These days McArthur lives on a farm in northern New South Wales with her husband, and writes award-winning books, both novels and non-fiction books about midwifery.

Back to Birdsville is published by Penguin Random House – more information is available at penguinrandomhouse.com.au Julie Houghton

Auditions

■ Brighton Theatre Company: The Kitchen Sink (by Tom Wells) August 4 at 2.00pm; August 5 at 7.30pm at Brighton Arts and Cultural Centre, Wilson St., Brighton. Director: Keith Hutton. Audition enquiries and bookings: 0430 032 332 or keithhutton55@ gmail.com

■ Frankston Theatre Group: Play On! (by Rick Abbot) August 4 at 2.00pm; August 5 at 7.30pm at ‘The Shed’, Overport Rd., Frankston South. Director: Robert Lister. Audition bookings and enquiries: robertlister087@gmail.com

■ Mordialloc Theatre Company: Home I’m Darling (by Laura Wade) August 11 at 2pm; August 13 at 7pm at Unit 8/ 417-419 Warrigal Rd., Cheltenham. Director: Susan Rundle. Audition enquiries: theatre@psrundle.com

■ Essendon Theatre Company: Drinking Habits (by Tom Smith) August 18, 25 at 4pm; August 24 at 10am at Bradshaw St. Community Hall, Bradshaw St., West Essendon (enter via Buckley St.) Director: Bethany Simmons. Audition info and bookings: essendontheatrecompany.com.au

■ Heidelberg Theatre Company: An Ideal Husband (by Oscar Wilde), August 18 and 19 at 7.00pm at 36 Turnham Ave., Rosanna. Director: Tim Scott. Audition bookings: timascott56@gmail.com

■ Beaumaris Theatre: Arsenic and Old Lace (by Joseph Kesselring) September 1 and 2 at Beaumaris Theatre, 82 Wells Rd., Beaumaris. Director: Peter Newling. Further details and audition bookings: beaumaristheatre.com.au/auditions - Cheryl Threadgold

● ● ● ● ● Julian Dods will play Zach, the Director in A Chorus Line.

Photo: Nicole Cleary.

Curator for FUSE Festival

■ City of Darebin’s FUSE Festival announces the appointment of Allara Briggs Pattison as Curator-in-Residence for Ganbu Gulin , which launches the City of Darebin's multiarts festival FUSE Spring 2024, taking place September 14 -22 .

Ganbu Gulin , meaning “One Mob” in Woi-Wurrung language, is a co-created event with Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation

On Saturday September 14, this annual inclusive celebration welcomes all Darebin citizens, existing and new, to Wurundjeri WoiWurrung Country with a Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony.

Allara brings a thematic curated offering of live music, visual art, panel talk and community participatory workshops.

This free event is an invitation to all community members to acknowledge, respect and learn from Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung the Traditional Owners, and celebrate First Nations artists.

Allara is a powerful Yorta Yorta winyarr. She is a storyteller, composer, director, producer, musician, and sound designer. With humour and integrity, Allara uses the double-bass and sound samples from Country to weave textures for healing in her work “I am Sovereign, I am Free”. Allara's innovative music speaks to Blak justice and sovereignty.

In appreciation of NAIDOC week, Allara reflects on how she views her role and Ganbu Gulin’s purpose in relation to this year’s NAIDOC theme of ‘Keep the Fire Burning’.

"Blak, loud and proud, we let those sparks fly through our songs and ceremony to light a cool burn, slowly but steadily cleaning out old colonial formats to make space for justice for our people, waters, lands and kin, as well as standing in solidarity and power with all oppressed peoples across the world. Together with Wurundjeri, on Woi-Wurrung Country.”

As part of the festival, Darebin offers FUSE@Large, an open-access program that provides opportunities for local artists and creatives to activate Darebin in unexpected, delightful ways.

FUSE@Large welcomes anyone and everyone putting on an event in Darebin to participate and is a chance for artists and community members to test, experiment and try out ideas in front of a local audience.

FUSE works to remove as many barriers as possible to highlight community and presents an opportunity to make invaluable local, creative, and professional connections. It is a way to develop new material, push the boundaries of art, or find a new audience for an already established piece.

Registrations are now open for City of Darebin community members to showcase their art.

Additionally, nominations are now open for the Darebin Community

Awards, which recognise individuals and groups that have made an outstanding contribution to the Darebin community.

The Darebin Community Awards will be awarded in nine categories: Citizen of the Year, Young Citizen of the Year, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Leader of the Year, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Emerging Young Community Leader of the Year, Community Group of the Year, Sustainability Award either awarded for an individual or Community Group, Lifetime Achievement Award, CALD Elder Community Leader of the Year and CALD Emerging Community Leader of the Year.

FUSE is the City of Darebin's multiarts festival—providing a platform for local artists, designers and performers to transform our amazing city into a dynamic hub of creativity.

FUSE allows artists and audiences alike to enjoy Darebin’s streets, parks, venues, theatres, galleries and public spaces as transformative zones—infused with the power of art, culture, and creativity.

FUSE Festival September 14-22 www.fusedarebin.com.au

- Cheryl Threadgold

Alter State

■ Arts Centre Melbourne and Arts Access Victoria have announced the 2024 program for Melbourne’s Disability-led arts initiative Alter State, taking place across the city from October 2-13.

The initiative is a major arts and disability event engaging artists and audiences across Australia and New Zealand

Alter State features more than 100 Deaf and Disabled artists performing and participating in performances, events and talks in-person and online across 10 venues over 12 days.

Alter State 2024?Creative Lead Jodee Mundy , a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults) and disabled artist, said this year’s theme Disabled Futures: a glimpse of what’s to come provided exciting opportunities to interrogate what it means to be a Disabled or Deaf artist in Australia right now and what could be done to create a more equitable future.

“Alter State’s ambition is to alter the current state of the arts and culture we are producing and consuming. For too long we have seen on our stages, books and screens, stories created and facilitated by people who have no direct lived experience or connection with Deaf and Disabled people,’’ said Mundy

The Alter State 2024 program features performance, contemporary art, film, workshops, a two-day symposium and two parties. It is accessible, intersectional and relaxed “with radical care at its heart” featuring Auslan interpreting, live captions, audio de-

scription, mobility access and quiet spaces at the events.

Supported by Creative Australia, this year for the first time the program includes an Alter State First Nations Deaf and Disabled Arts Program curated by Arts Access Victoria’s incoming CEO and artist Joshua Pether.

Alter State begins on October 2 under the guidance of Aunty Di Kerr, Wurundjeri Traditional Owner and Alter State’s inaugural Elder in Residence, with a First Nations Deaf and Disabled Yarning Circle, inviting all those with lived experience to gather, exchange, yarn about art, culture, ceremony and Disability.

The official Welcome to Country takes place on the Arts Centre Melbourne forecourt to honour connection to Country and for healing to Deaf and Disability communities who are now and have historically been segregated from the arts and society at large.

Audiences can attend The Manifesto, Arts Access Victoria’s installation open on the forecourt throughout the festival to share their hopes towards a collective manifest for the future.

Venue: Arts Centre Melbourne

Dates: October 2 - 13

For full program details visit artscentremelbourne.com.au - Cheryl Threadgold

Tina

■ The critically acclaimed smash hit Tina - The Tina Turner Musical opens at the Princess Theatre, Melbourne in September and producers have announced a new release of tickets on sale at www.tinathemusical. com.au

Tina - The Tina Turner Musical is currently playing to packed houses and rave reviews in Brisbane after hugely successful seasons in Adelaide, Perth and Sydney, where it had a record-breaking nine-month run and sold more than 300,000 tickets.

Previews for the award-winning musical commence on September 21 at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre

Produced by Paul Dainty AO/TEG DAINTY in special collaboration with Stage Entertainment, Tali Pelman and the late Tina Turner, the musical reveals a comeback story like no other, of a woman who dared to defy the bounds of her age, gender and race to become the global Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Tina - The Tina Turner Musical is a celebration of resilience and an inspiration of triumph over adversity. It features 23 hit songs including, Simply The Best, What’s Love Got To Do With It, Nutbush City Limits” and “Proud Mary”, this smash hit musical has received 37 prestigious award nominations including Best Musical (Tony Awards) and Best New Musical (Olivier Awards).

- Kerry O’Brien

Handling The Undead

■ (MA). 98 minutes. Available to buy on selected digital platforms July 31.

Sombre and thoughtful, this latest entry in the zombie sub-genre is a beautifully crafted, well-acted and absorbing drama/horror, and should be enjoyed by viewers who don’t normally watch this kind of movie.

Comparisons will be made to previous examinations on this particular premise, such as Akihiko Shiota’s Yomigaeri (2002), Robin Campillo’s They Came Back (2004), its 2012 TV series spin-off The Returned, and the British TV series In The Flesh, but Handling The Undead stands tall in its own right.

The film begins its eerie journey with an unexplained event, a sudden electromagnetic surge that briefly upsets nature and technology. Whatever was the source of this happening, the result is that the dead start returning to life, shocking some, but affecting others in a far deeper matter.

The story centres on three in particular; grandfather Mahler (Bjorn Sundquist), who digs up his resurrected young grandson, bringing him home to his still grieving mother Anna (Renate Reinsve), who is at-first horrified, then happy to see her son again; Elisabet (Olga Damani) also returns from her coffin, arriving back at the home of her partner Tora (Bente Borsum), who is similarly surprised, but grateful to have her back; lastly we see Eva (Bahar Pars) come back after dying unexpectedly, unsettling her husband David (Anders Danielsen Lie), and has to explain the situation to his two children.

These returned loved ones, however, start to display disturbing behaviour, leading the living down a heartbreaking path.

Those wanting fast-paced zombie thrills and gore will not find it here. This is an affecting, measured look at emotional trauma, where people have been unable to let go, or deal with, the loss of a loved one, and have allowed that grief to consume them, putting themselves in kind of a zombie state.

Performances are all nicely lowkey, never trying to easily push audience buttons through melodramatic histrionics.

The script is co-written by John Ajvide Lindqvist, whose 2005 book this is based on.

It is an intelligent adaptation, and makes for a strong companion piece to the other big screen adaptations of his work, the impressive Let The Right One In (2008) and Border (2018).

Special mention must also go to cinematographer Pal Ulvik Rokseth and composer Peter Raeburn, who help keep the mood growingly oppressive and melancholy.

Co-writer Thea Hvistendahl makes her feature directorial debut, and she handles the difficult material with confidence and care.

She has been criticised for pacing the film far too slowly, but for me, it is wonderfully executed, allowing what is happening on screen to gradually get under your skin, and make you consider about what you would do in comparably sad circumstances.

Handling The Undead does require patience, but that patience is rewarded, delivering a mournful drama that happens to have horror elements.

I can’t wait to see what director Hvistendahl does next. If you like this, I recommend tracking down Eskil Vogt’s 2021 Norwegian film The Innocents, a compelling, disturbing look at children who discover they have super powers (and a terrific subversion of the glut of superhero movies that we’ve been bombarded with over the years).

RATING - ****

Border

■ (MA). 110 minutes. Now available on DVD.

Based on the novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist (Let The Right One In and the current Handling The Undead), Border is a strange concoction indeed, again using fantastical elements to deconstruct and subvert social mores and beliefs, while centring on a relationship between two lonely, misunderstood outcasts.

Eva Melander is terrific as Tina, a disfigured woman who works as a customs officer, able to detect offenders merely by smell.

Feeling ostracised due to society’s outlook on what is deemed normal, her life is turned upside when she meets Vore (Eero Milonoff) , who appears to have similar abilities, and seems to know more about Tina’s origins than he initially lets on.

Writer/director Ali Abbasi , whose under-rated 2016 debut film Shelley also dealt with family and loneliness, taps into Lindqvist’s surreal but affecting spirit extremely well, and delivers one of the most unique on-screen romances you will ever see.

RATING - ****

- Aaron Rourke

Broome Beach Resort welcomes all guests to this relaxing retreat, situated at Cable Beach in the magnificent Western Australian coastal town of Broome.

Within a short leisurely stroll to the iconic Cable Beach, Day Spas, restaurants, cafes and bars, Broome Beach Resort is the ideal 4½ star family resort.

Set amongst lush, tropical gardens, each of our fully selfcatering, air-conditioned 1, 2 or 3 bedroom apartments are well appointed and feature full kitchen and laundry facilities, a spacious open plan dining and living area, a private verandah and free WIFI and FOXTEL. Free off-street parking is also available for in-house guests' vehicles.

FOR SALE

•Long-term agreements

•Close to everything Broome has to offer

•Set amongst tropical landscaping

•Body Corporate salary of over $129k

•Well-appointed two-bed, one-bath unit with large office and storeroom on the one title. Available for $560,000

•Located in one of Western Australia’s most sought after destinations

•Property inspections are by appointment only

Curator for FUSE Festival

■ City of Darebin’s FUSE Festival announces the appointment of Allara Briggs Pattison as Curator-in-Residence for Ganbu Gulin , which launches the City of Darebin's multiarts festival FUSE Spring 2024, taking place September 14 -22 .

Ganbu Gulin , meaning “One Mob” in Woi-Wurrung language, is a co-created event with Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation

On Saturday September 14, this annual inclusive celebration welcomes all Darebin citizens, existing and new, to Wurundjeri WoiWurrung Country with a Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony.

Allara brings a thematic curated offering of live music, visual art, panel talk and community participatory workshops.

This free event is an invitation to all community members to acknowledge, respect and learn from Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung the Traditional Owners, and celebrate First Nations artists.

Allara is a powerful Yorta Yorta winyarr. She is a storyteller, composer, director, producer, musician, and sound designer. With humour and integrity, Allara uses the double-bass and sound samples from Country to weave textures for healing in her work “I am Sovereign, I am Free”. Allara's innovative music speaks to Blak justice and sovereignty.

In appreciation of NAIDOC week, Allara reflects on how she views her role and Ganbu Gulin’s purpose in relation to this year’s NAIDOC theme of ‘Keep the Fire Burning’.

"Blak, loud and proud, we let those sparks fly through our songs and ceremony to light a cool burn, slowly but steadily cleaning out old colonial formats to make space for justice for our people, waters, lands and kin, as well as standing in solidarity and power with all oppressed peoples across the world. Together with Wurundjeri, on Woi-Wurrung Country.”

As part of the festival, Darebin offers FUSE@Large, an open-access program that provides opportunities for local artists and creatives to activate Darebin in unexpected, delightful ways.

FUSE@Large welcomes anyone and everyone putting on an event in Darebin to participate and is a chance for artists and community members to test, experiment and try out ideas in front of a local audience.

FUSE works to remove as many barriers as possible to highlight community and presents an opportunity to make invaluable local, creative, and professional connections. It is a way to develop new material, push the boundaries of art, or find a new audience for an already established piece.

Registrations are now open for City of Darebin community members to showcase their art.

Additionally, nominations are now open for the Darebin Community

Awards, which recognise individuals and groups that have made an outstanding contribution to the Darebin community.

The Darebin Community Awards will be awarded in nine categories: Citizen of the Year, Young Citizen of the Year, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Leader of the Year, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Emerging Young Community Leader of the Year, Community Group of the Year, Sustainability Award either awarded for an individual or Community Group, Lifetime Achievement Award, CALD Elder Community Leader of the Year and CALD Emerging Community Leader of the Year.

FUSE is the City of Darebin's multiarts festival—providing a platform for local artists, designers and performers to transform our amazing city into a dynamic hub of creativity.

FUSE allows artists and audiences alike to enjoy Darebin’s streets, parks, venues, theatres, galleries and public spaces as transformative zones—infused with the power of art, culture, and creativity.

FUSE Festival September 14-22 www.fusedarebin.com.au

- Cheryl Threadgold

Alter State

■ Arts Centre Melbourne and Arts Access Victoria have announced the 2024 program for Melbourne’s Disability-led arts initiative Alter State, taking place across the city from October 2-13.

The initiative is a major arts and disability event engaging artists and audiences across Australia and New Zealand

Alter State features more than 100 Deaf and Disabled artists performing and participating in performances, events and talks in-person and online across 10 venues over 12 days.

Alter State 2024?Creative Lead Jodee Mundy , a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults) and disabled artist, said this year’s theme Disabled Futures: a glimpse of what’s to come provided exciting opportunities to interrogate what it means to be a Disabled or Deaf artist in Australia right now and what could be done to create a more equitable future.

“Alter State’s ambition is to alter the current state of the arts and culture we are producing and consuming. For too long we have seen on our stages, books and screens, stories created and facilitated by people who have no direct lived experience or connection with Deaf and Disabled people,’’ said Mundy

The Alter State 2024 program features performance, contemporary art, film, workshops, a two-day symposium and two parties. It is accessible, intersectional and relaxed “with radical care at its heart” featuring Auslan interpreting, live captions, audio de-

scription, mobility access and quiet spaces at the events.

Supported by Creative Australia, this year for the first time the program includes an Alter State First Nations Deaf and Disabled Arts Program curated by Arts Access Victoria’s incoming CEO and artist Joshua Pether.

Alter State begins on October 2 under the guidance of Aunty Di Kerr, Wurundjeri Traditional Owner and Alter State’s inaugural Elder in Residence, with a First Nations Deaf and Disabled Yarning Circle, inviting all those with lived experience to gather, exchange, yarn about art, culture, ceremony and Disability.

The official Welcome to Country takes place on the Arts Centre Melbourne forecourt to honour connection to Country and for healing to Deaf and Disability communities who are now and have historically been segregated from the arts and society at large.

Audiences can attend The Manifesto, Arts Access Victoria’s installation open on the forecourt throughout the festival to share their hopes towards a collective manifest for the future.

Venue: Arts Centre Melbourne

Dates: October 2 - 13

For full program details visit artscentremelbourne.com.au - Cheryl Threadgold

Tina

■ The critically acclaimed smash hit Tina - The Tina Turner Musical opens at the Princess Theatre, Melbourne in September and producers have announced a new release of tickets on sale at www.tinathemusical. com.au

Tina - The Tina Turner Musical is currently playing to packed houses and rave reviews in Brisbane after hugely successful seasons in Adelaide, Perth and Sydney, where it had a record-breaking nine-month run and sold more than 300,000 tickets.

Previews for the award-winning musical commence on September 21 at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre

Produced by Paul Dainty AO/TEG DAINTY in special collaboration with Stage Entertainment, Tali Pelman and the late Tina Turner, the musical reveals a comeback story like no other, of a woman who dared to defy the bounds of her age, gender and race to become the global Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Tina - The Tina Turner Musical is a celebration of resilience and an inspiration of triumph over adversity. It features 23 hit songs including, Simply The Best, What’s Love Got To Do With It, Nutbush City Limits” and “Proud Mary”, this smash hit musical has received 37 prestigious award nominations including Best Musical (Tony Awards) and Best New Musical (Olivier Awards).

- Kerry O’Brien

Handling The Undead

■ (MA). 98 minutes. Available to buy on selected digital platforms July 31.

Sombre and thoughtful, this latest entry in the zombie sub-genre is a beautifully crafted, well-acted and absorbing drama/horror, and should be enjoyed by viewers who don’t normally watch this kind of movie.

Comparisons will be made to previous examinations on this particular premise, such as Akihiko Shiota’s Yomigaeri (2002), Robin Campillo’s They Came Back (2004), its 2012 TV series spin-off The Returned, and the British TV series In The Flesh, but Handling The Undead stands tall in its own right.

The film begins its eerie journey with an unexplained event, a sudden electromagnetic surge that briefly upsets nature and technology. Whatever was the source of this happening, the result is that the dead start returning to life, shocking some, but affecting others in a far deeper matter.

The story centres on three in particular; grandfather Mahler (Bjorn Sundquist), who digs up his resurrected young grandson, bringing him home to his still grieving mother Anna (Renate Reinsve), who is at-first horrified, then happy to see her son again; Elisabet (Olga Damani) also returns from her coffin, arriving back at the home of her partner Tora (Bente Borsum), who is similarly surprised, but grateful to have her back; lastly we see Eva (Bahar Pars) come back after dying unexpectedly, unsettling her husband David (Anders Danielsen Lie), and has to explain the situation to his two children.

These returned loved ones, however, start to display disturbing behaviour, leading the living down a heartbreaking path.

Those wanting fast-paced zombie thrills and gore will not find it here. This is an affecting, measured look at emotional trauma, where people have been unable to let go, or deal with, the loss of a loved one, and have allowed that grief to consume them, putting themselves in kind of a zombie state.

Performances are all nicely lowkey, never trying to easily push audience buttons through melodramatic histrionics.

The script is co-written by John Ajvide Lindqvist, whose 2005 book this is based on.

It is an intelligent adaptation, and makes for a strong companion piece to the other big screen adaptations of his work, the impressive Let The Right One In (2008) and Border (2018).

Special mention must also go to cinematographer Pal Ulvik Rokseth and composer Peter Raeburn, who help keep the mood growingly oppressive and melancholy.

Co-writer Thea Hvistendahl makes her feature directorial debut, and she handles the difficult material with confidence and care.

She has been criticised for pacing the film far too slowly, but for me, it is wonderfully executed, allowing what is happening on screen to gradually get under your skin, and make you consider about what you would do in comparably sad circumstances.

Handling The Undead does require patience, but that patience is rewarded, delivering a mournful drama that happens to have horror elements.

I can’t wait to see what director Hvistendahl does next. If you like this, I recommend tracking down Eskil Vogt’s 2021 Norwegian film The Innocents, a compelling, disturbing look at children who discover they have super powers (and a terrific subversion of the glut of superhero movies that we’ve been bombarded with over the years).

RATING - ****

Border

■ (MA). 110 minutes. Now available on DVD.

Based on the novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist (Let The Right One In and the current Handling The Undead), Border is a strange concoction indeed, again using fantastical elements to deconstruct and subvert social mores and beliefs, while centring on a relationship between two lonely, misunderstood outcasts.

Eva Melander is terrific as Tina, a disfigured woman who works as a customs officer, able to detect offenders merely by smell.

Feeling ostracised due to society’s outlook on what is deemed normal, her life is turned upside when she meets Vore (Eero Milonoff) , who appears to have similar abilities, and seems to know more about Tina’s origins than he initially lets on.

Writer/director Ali Abbasi , whose under-rated 2016 debut film Shelley also dealt with family and loneliness, taps into Lindqvist’s surreal but affecting spirit extremely well, and delivers one of the most unique on-screen romances you will ever see.

RATING - ****

- Aaron Rourke

Across

1. Blizzard

6. Wattle tree

11. Villain

15. Dried grass piles

20. Exclamation of pain

21. Genuine thing, the real ...

22. Numerous

23. Underground molten rock

25. Relaxation art (1'2,3)

26. Coral organisms

27. Dinners or lunches

29. Venice canal boat

32. Singer, ... Diamond

34. Famous British school

36. Type of spanner

39. Condemns to hell

41. Harnessed (oxen)

43. Rubs with emery

46. ... of Troy

48. Beneath

49. Dad

51. Hooter

52. Co-venture

55. Coarse file

56. Acorn bearers

59. Kills

61. Sit for portrait

62. Once again

63. Screw

64. Ripens

67. Halfway through pregnancy

68. Fortified wine

70. Culmination

71. Actress, ... Loren

72. Nag

73. Naked

74. Renovate (ship)

75. Rose-shaped award

77. Stop! (nautical)

78. Survives

79. Style

82. Mob

86. Jelly/sponge dessert

87. Eye lustfully

89. Belief in the supernatural

92. Pond plant

94. Capture

96. News

98. Floating log platform

100. Live coal

101. Computer input

103. Princess Royal

105. Resided

106. Press

108. Burn

111. Commoner

112. Very lazy (4,4)

114. Amaze

116. Spy, ... Hari

119. Bullets

120. German WWII fascist

121. Anticipated touchdown (1,1,1)

123. Freezes, ... over

124. As far as (2,2)

125. Omits (6,3)

126. New York borough

127. Blackberry shrub

130. The masses, ... polloi

131. Dawn to dusk

135. Alternate, every ...

138. Calf-length skirt

139. US astronaut, ... Shepard

141. Acute remorse

144. Unchanged, the ...

146. Cheerio!

147. Unfasten

148. Male swan

149. Young sheep

150. Uncle Sam (1,1,1)

151. Type of saxophone

152. Print with raised design

153. Taj Mahal city

155. Closing

157. Part of eye

158. Method

160. Braid

161. More ancient

162. Up to the time of

163. Overly cute

165. Less frequent

166. Snake, ... constrictor

167. Rowing aid

Across Down Down

168. Guitar sound

169. Servant 171. Accessory 172. Female title

175. In vain, to no ... 176. Light sleeps 179. Arid US state 180. Schoolgirl

182. Prison 184. Opens door to (4,2) 185. Balmy

186. Crooner, ... King Cole 188. Quiet 189. Pod vegetable 190. Dull 191. Snow-runner 193. Betting chances 194. Jogs 196. Match before final 197. Unreliable

198. Revolving tray, lazy ... 200. Modesty

205. AFL great, ... Barassi

207. Angrily 210. Impetuous

211. Concealing

212. Stupefy

213. Trading centre

214. Banned pesticide (1,1,1)

216. Irish sweater style

218. Actual

219. Ellipse

220. Repaints (vehicle)

224. Moodier

227. Depend

229. Space flight organisation

230. Tethers

231. Latin American dance

232. Nipple

233. Aware of

235. Prophetic signs

237. Go up

239. Printing error

241. Type of orange

244. Child's toy (2-2)

246. Pet's neck band (3,6)

249. Please reply (1,1,1,1)

252. Stingier

254. Former English cricket captain, ... Hussain

256. Outrageous

258. Arrange

259. Fuss, song & ...

260. Introducing in stages, ... in

263. Rest on knees

264. Outcome

265. Rot (of leather)

267. Paltry

270. Niece & ...

271. Avoided

272. Entertainer

273. Additional items

274. Welsh vegetables

277. Witnessed

279. Carpenter's spike

281. More rational

284. Hurry

286. Sum owed

288. Absorbed

292. Whisky ingredient

294. Kiss & cuddle

295. Fire remains

298. Smallest

300. Nominated

301. Mention, ... to 303. Monastery superior

306. Decorative shrub pot

308. Encounter

309. Concludes

311. Pink-eyed rabbits

314. Last Greek letter

315. Ketchup, ... sauce

316. Powerful

317. Fruit mash

318. After that

319. Deserve

320. Mafia, ... Nostra

321. Treats with drugs

322. Rewrite on keyboard

323. Unhappier

324. Muscle toning therapists

1. Cosy

2. Furnace

3. Polynesian island group

4. Heart or lung

5. Complain

6. Movement

7. Blackboard marker

8. Drumming insects

9. Amongst

10. Fuel energy rating

11. Go around

12. Playful water mammal

13. Propel

14. Christian festival

15. Sacred song

16. Long (for)

17. Try out (food)

18. Cudgel

19. Obscene material

24. Charity offerings

28. Youths

30. Milky gem

31. June 6, 1944 (1-3)

33. Eagle nests

35. Equal (2,1,3)

37. Raven

38. Deer

40. Yelling

42. Geological division

44. Positive electrodes

45. Least moist

47. Fencing blades

48. Great disturbance

49. Prepared mentally, ... up

50. Sports ground buildings

53. Wed again

54. Impedes

57. Rescued by plane

58. Examines closely

60. Brighter

63. Temper fit

65. Hatchets

66. Settee

68. Cry weakly

69. Corrode

76. Outstanding

79. Fellows

80. Not anybody (2-3)

81. Lodge firmly

83. Boundary

84. Media tycoon, press ...

85. Pixie

88. Disadvantage

90. Team

91. Tiny amount

93. Skin irritation

95. Paradise garden

97. Flourish of trumpets

99. Friends star, Jennifer ...

100. Periods

102. Degrade

104. Kinder

107. From Italy's capital

109. Rectify

110. Arabian prince

111. Ode

113. Glancing

115. Summer footwear

117. Cousin's mother

118. Nuclear explosive, ... bomb

121. Morally sound

122. Friendly

127. Chest

128. Gave weapons to 129. Childbirth contractions (6,5)

132. In unison (3,8)

133. Relative by marriage (2-3)

134. Call up (feelings)

135. Vigilant

136. Magician's cry (3,6)

137. Idealists

138. Rissoles

140. Of course

141. Document summaries

142. Blameless

143. Tent cover 145. Corrected (text)

151. Former IOC president, Juan .. Samaranch

154. Wanders

156. Fragrance

159. Reproductive cells

164. Sixth sense (1,1,1)

169. Imitative performer

170. Wood surface design

173. Hoped (to)

174. Versus 177. South American mountains

178. Effeminate

181. Facility

183. Commissioned soldier

187. Random

192. Hopping marsupials

195. Office workers

199. Usefulness

201. Chooses

202. Weather feature, El ...

203. Milan opera house, La ...

204. Bright signal light

206. Seductress, ... fatale

207. Map

208. Nimble

209. Executive jet

213. Car race city, Le ...

215. Small plums

217. Advertising sign

221. Jetties

222. Incidental comment

223. Complacent

224. Soccer net

225. Policy reversal (1-4)

226. Courtyard

228. Ambassadors' residences

234. Loud-hailer

236. Hypodermic syringes

238. Charged particle

240. Enquire intrusively

242. Showy flowers

243. Poetic name for Ireland, ... Isle

245. Apple groves

247. Parentless kids

248. Boost

250. Blood feud

251. Mesh

253. Rodents

255. Copied

257. Former Italian money unit

258. Fix

261. Respiratory ailment

262. Shoe lining

265. Rounded stone

266. Brainwaves

268. Put up with

269. The Queen's third son

275. Sitcom, My Name Is ...

276. Ruler, Genghis ...

278. Tidal river mouth

280. Carbonated

282. Opposed to

283. Resound

285. Throat-clearing noise

287. Wobble

289. Wage

290. Polluted

291. Assumes (attitude)

292. Guru

293. Ready, willing & ...

296. Impassive person

297. Upright

299. Make reparation

302. Wooden barrier

304. Farm sheds

305. Overly fat

306. Prudish

307. Elderly

308. Rugs

310. Luncheon meat

312. Bobs head

313. Timber cutters

Town

Folk Festival

■ Castlemaine will host the annual Town Folk Festival on November 16.

A long list of local and international acts will take the stage at a number of venues around the town for this ticketed event.

More info at https://townfolkfestival. com/

Hot August Night

■ The Alex Mathews Duo will rock the night at Clayton RSL on August 3. Hot August Night promises an evening of music from all genres guaranteed to keep the dance floor full, says Alex Tickets $10. More info: 0417 204 410.

Am I Crazy?

■ Melbourne singer songwriter Rhiannon has released a new single. Am I Crazy is an exploration of how certain habits and tendencies can not only hold you back but also drive you forward.

It’s been an eight year journey, says Rhiannon, and a bit of a revelation in that it doesn’t matter whether it’s the right song, production or right time, I just need to get my music out there.

More info at https://www.facebook.com/ rhipavlovski/ - Rob Foenander

ROMEO AND JULIE AT RED STITCH

■ Gary Owen once again tackles social deprivation in his play, Romeo and Julie, riffing on what become two class-crossed lovers.

Julie (Shontane Farmer) carries the hopes of her working class parents, Kath (Claudia Greenstone) and Col (Justin Hosking) Academically successful, she has the opportunity to break the social shackles and study at Cambridge but, as a headstrong 18-yearold, her sexual awakening could well undermine the chance before her.

On an even lower social rung, Romy (Damon Baudin), an illiterate teenager, is caring for the daughter he fathered during a one night stand.

Owen highlights the lack of agency afforded those on welfare perfectly illustrated by Romy’s alcoholic mother, Barb (Belinda McClory), who encourages her son to simply hand his daughter to social services.

Julie, now pregnant to Romy, still has an element of agency that, whilst a difficult choice to make, means she can still have a better future.

Their love and futures are at risk regardless of the decision she makes.

Farmer captures the impetuous Julie well as she butts heads with Hosking’s portrayal of a blunt and frustrated father.

Greenstone finds the balance between discipline and advice in her

role as stepmother. The humour of McClory’s characterisation highlights the realism of hopelessness.

Baudin has the greatest challenge trying to convey the instinctive awareness of the sacrifice his character must make as a victim of the social system whilst being the least experienced and educated.

There is a cleverness in the set (Sophie Woodward) as the walls actually close in conveying the limits associated with class though the actual moving of the set did delay the action a little.

There is perhaps greater nuance to be found through Kamarra BellWykes’ direction to accentuate the class divide – the thoughtlessness even of those one rung apart that maintains division.

For all that, the inequity that Owen identifies resonates within those societies that consider themselves to be first world leaders when it comes to social justice and opportunity.

Performance Season: Until August 18

Venue: Red Stitch Actors Theatre, Rear 2 Chapel St., East St Kilda

Bookings: redstitch.net

- Review by David McLean

Observations with Matt Bissett-Johnson

Observations with Matt Bissett-Johnson

● ● Pictured: Damon Baudin (Romy) and Shontane Farmer (Julie) in Romeo and Julie.

Photo: Jodie Hutchinson

WEEKEND’S LOCAL FOOTBALL MATCH RESULTS

Amateurs

■ Premier Men’s. Collegians v Old Xaverians, cancelled. Old Brighton 9.18 (72) d Fitzroy 5.7 (37). Old Melburnians 6.12 (48) drew with St Kevins 6.12 (48). St Bernards 15.8 (98) d University Blacks 9.9 (63). Old Scotch 9.7 (61) d University Blues 5.9 (39). Old Xaverians 9.8 (62) d Collegians 6.15 (51).

■ Premier Men’s Reserves. Collegians v Old Xaverians, canmcelled. Old brighton 14.15 (99) d Fitzroy 1.9 (15). St Kevins 8.9 (57) d Old Melburnians 6.8 (44). St Bernards 9.7 (61) d University Blacks 3.10 (28). Old Scotch 4.8 (32) d University Blues 4.7 (31).

■ Premier Thirds. Old Xaverians 21.20 (146) d Old brighton 2.7 (19). Old Scotch 10.10 (70) d St Kevins 7.11 (53). St Bernards v Fitzroy. Old Trinity 6.9 (45) d Uni Blues 3.5 (23).

■ Premier Under 19. Old Brighton 13.18 (96) d Beaumaris 2.7 (19). Uni Blues 6.10 (46) d Williamstown CYMS 3.5 (23). De La Salle v Old Xaverians. St Kevins 9.12 (66) d Old Scotch 7.11 (53). St Bedes/Mentone 6.12 (48) d Caulfield Grammarians 5.10 (40).

■ Premier B Men’s. Old Camberwell 8.8 (56) d Beaumaris 2.12 (24). Old Geelong 12.15 (87) d Caulfield Grammarians 5.8 (38). De La Salle 14.14 (98) d Old Trinity 8.9 (57). Williamstown CYMS 9.8 (62) d Old Haileybury 9.8 (62). Old Ivanhoe 18.8 (116) d St Bedes/ Mentone Tigers 7.11 (53).

■ Premier B Men’s Reserves. Old Camberwell 14.8 (92) d Beaumaris 5.7 (37). Old Geelong 10.9 (69) d Caulfield Grammarians 8.11 (59). Old Trinity 4.12 (36) d De La Salle 3.10 (28). Williamstown CYMS 11.11 (77) d Old Haileybury 4.2 (26). Old Ivanhoe 8.7 (55) d St Bedes/Mentone Tigers 5.8 (38).

■ Premier C Men’s. Glen Eira/Old McKinnon 12.17 (89) d PEGS 7.13 (55). Hampton Rovers 12.12 (84) d Monash Blues 4.8 (32). Parkdale Vultures 16.11 (107) d Oakleigh 9.6 (60). Old Carey 10.9 (69) d Mazenod 4.7 (31). AJAX 10.16 (76) d Marcellin 0.12 (12).

■ Premier C Men’s Reserves. Glen Eira/ Old McKinnon 16.23 (119) d PEGS 1.4 (10). Hampton Rovers 12.13 (85) d Monash Blues 0.5 (5). Parkdale Vultures 15.16 (106) d Oakleigh 2.5 (17). Old Carey 6.4 (40) d Mazenod 2.7 (19). AJAX 6.9 (45) d Marcellin 2.5 (17).

■ Division 1. Ormond 9.16 (70) d West Brunswick 5.6 (36). Old Peninsula 16.20 (116) d Therry Penola 0.7 (7). Prahran 10.10 (70) d Preston Bullants 4.1 (25). Parkside 8.13 (61) d Kew 6.6 (42). UHS-VU 8.16 (64) d Old Yarra 7.7 (49).

■ Division 1 Reserves. Old Perninsula 10.11 (71) d Therry Penola 4.3 (27). West Brunswick 11.9 (75) d Ormond 8.5 (53). Prahran 13.19 (97) d Preston Bullants 1.7 (13). Parkside 8.5 (53) d Kew 6.4 (40). UHS-VU 7.9 (51) d old Yarra Cobras 3.8 (26).

■ Division 1 Thirds. Old Geelong 10.9 (69) d Williamstown CYMS 8.11 (59). Fitzroy 17.16 (118) d University Blacks 3.3 (21). Collegians v St Kevins. Bye: AJAX, Old Xaverians.

■ Division 1 Under 19. Hampton Rovers 19.9 (123) d Glen Eira/Old McKinnon 9.13 (67). Old Carey 18.6 (114) d Old Xaverianws 5.7 (37). Fitzroy 7.13 (55) d St Bernards 5.7 (37). Old Haileybury 16.15 (111) d Old Melburnians 3.9 (27).

■ Division 2. St Marys Salesian 5.9 (39) d South Melbourne Districts 5.3 (33). Whitefriars 7.10 (52) d MHSOB 4.9 (33). Hawthorn 16.13 (109) d Elsternwick 6.9 (45). Aquinas 10.9 (69) d Wattle Park 9.10 (64). Brunswick 10.4 (64) d Bulleen Templestowe 6.9 (45).

■ Division 2 Reserves. St Marys Salesian 7.5 (47) d South Melbourne Districts 4.6 (30). MHSOB 6.5 (41) d Whitefriars 4.3 (27). Elsternwick 9.13 (67) d Hawthorn 9.13 (67). Wattle Park 11.7 (73) d Aquinas 6.8 (44). Brunswick 35.12 (222) d Bulleen Templestowe 2.5 (17).

■ Division 2 Thirds North. Old Camberwell 8.7 (55) d Kew 5.9 (39). Old Xaverians d Richmond Central, by forfeit. Masala 10.8 968) d Marcellin 6.8 (44). Old Carey 11.6 (72)d Parkside 3.5 (23).

■ Division 2 Thirds South. AJAX d Glen Eira/Old McKinnon, by forfeit. Mentone Tigers d Williamstown CYMS, by forfeit. Old brighton 11.19 (85) d Hampton Rovers 1.3 (9). De La Salle 18.18 (126) d Old Scotch 1.1 (7).

■ Division 2 Under 19. Parkdale Vultures 22.24 (156) d University Blacks 2.4 (16). Old trinity 18.18 (126) de St Bedes/Mentone 9.11 (65). Old Camberwell 4.8 (32) d Oakleigh 2.12 (24). University Blues 12.13 (85) d Old Ivanhoe 3.5 (23). Parkside 8.11 959) d St Kevins 3.3 (21).

■ Division 3. Albert Park 20.11 (131) d Chadstone 6.10 946). Swinburne University 9.11 (65) d La Trobe University 7.8 (50). St Johns 17.15 (117) d Eley Park 4.1 (25). Power House 7.10 (52) d North Brunswick 3.5 (23). Richmond Central 15.13 (103) d Box Hill North 5.8 (38). Canterbury: Bye.

■ Division 3 Reserves. Albert Park 17.15 (117) d Chadstone 8.5 (53). Swinburne University 7.7 (49) d La Trobe 3.7 (25). St Johns 33.17 (215) d Eley Park 1.2 (8). Power House 3.14 (32) d North Brunswick 1.5 (11). Richmond Central 7.15 (57) d Box Hill North 4.5 (29). Canterbury: Bye.

■ Division 3 Men’s North. Whitefriars 15.25 (115) d Marcellin 4.10 (34). Canterbury 10.6 (66) d Old Yarra Cobras 4.3 (27). UHS-VU v Swinburne. MHSOB 8.11 (59) d Hawthorn 9.4 (58). Old Ivanhoe d Box Hill North, by forfeit. Old Xaverians 18.7 (115) d West Brunswick 4.2 (26).

■ Division 3 Men’s South. Parkdale 13.6 (84) d Elsternwick 6.7 (43). St Marys sALESIAN 15.14 9104) d Monash Blues 5.5 (35). Ormond 13.13 (91) d Wattle Park 7.11 (59). Mazenod 39.21 (255) d Masala 0.2 (2). Oakleigh v South Melbourne.

■ Division 3 Under 19. Collegians 7.15 (57) d Ormond 5.5 (35). St Bernards 18.14 (122) d PEGS 3.4 (22). Kew 10.17 (77) d Mazenod 5.5 (35). Preston 7.14 (56) d Monash Blues 2.6 (18).

■ Division 4. Williamstown CYMS 5.12 (42) d De La Salle 5.10 (40). Glen Eira/Old McKinnon 16.17 (113) d Old Xaverians 11.12 (78). Bulleen Templestowe 11.6 (72) d St Kevins 9.11 (65). Caulfield Grammarians 6.8 ()44) d Therry Penola 4.7 (31). St Marys salesian 21.26 (152) d MHSOB 4.4 (28). Beaumaris: Bye.

Eastern

■ Premier Division Seniors. Balwyn 14.11 (95) d Berwick 3.5 (23). South Croydon 9.10 (64) d Rowville 7.4 (46). Vermont 11.8 (74) d Doncaster East 9.7 (61).

■ Premier Reserves. Balwyn 17.15 (117) d Berwick 0.1 (1). Rowvcille 1.10 (16 d South Croydon 1.2 (8). Doncaster East 3.2 (20) d Vermont 1.10 (16).

■ Premier Under 19.5. Vermont 11.10 (76) d Doncaster East 3.3 (21). Berwick v Balwyn, by forfeit. Rowville: Bye.

■ Division 1 Seniors. Mitcham 10.10 (70) d Doncaster 5.6 (36). Montrose 7.14 (56) d Bayswater 2.4 (16). South Belgrave 14.8 (92) d Mooroolbark 4.5 (29). Park Orchards 6.12 (48) d Beaconsfield 6.11 (47). North Ringwood 10.4 (64) d Wantirna South 5.8 (44).

■ Division 1 Reserves. Mitcham 18.16 (124) d Doncaster 1.3 (9). Montrose 6.6 (42)

d Bayswater 2.3 (15). South Belgrave 28.13 (181) d Mooroolbark 0.2 (2). Beaconsfield 6.5 (41) d Park Orchards 2.10 (22). North Ringwood 11.14 (80) d Wantirna South 7.4 (46).

■ Division 1 Under 19.5. Mitcham 8.5 (53) d Surrey Park 7.3 (45). Park Orchards 12.9 (81) d Beaconsfield 10.5 (65). Montrose 13.10 (88) d Bayswater 7.6 (48). South Belgrave 12.7 (79) d Mooroolbark 3.4 (22). Wantirna South 6.5 (41) d North Ringwood 5.9 (39).

■ Division 2 Seniors. Boronia 5.6 (36) d Croydon 2.9 (21). East Burwood 10.7 (67) d The Basin 2.2 (14). Heathmont 9.10 (64) d Mulgrave 5.15 (45). Ringwood 7.5 (47) d Lilydale 4.12 (36). Templestowe 12.5 (77) d Waverley Blues 4.7 (37).

■ Division 2 Reserves. Boronia 4.5 (29) drew with Croydon 4.5 (29). East Burwood 5.9 (39) d The Basin 3.5 (29). Mulgrave 8.11

(59) d Heathmont 2.3 (15). Lilydale 6.4 (40) d Ringwood 5.5 (35). Templestowe 3.10 (28) d Waverley Blues 2.7 (19).

■ Division 2 Under 19.5. Waverley Blues 9.7 (61) d Croydon 8.10 (58). The Basin 10.13 (73) d East Burwood 6.4 (40). Mulgrave 23.11 (149) d Heathmont 5.3 (33). Lilydale: Bye.

■ Division 3 Seniors. Donvale 11.8 (74) d Upper Ferntree Gully 2.9 (21). Ferntree Gully 4.7 (31) d Coldstream 3.8 (26). Knox 14.12 (96) d Oakleigh District 8.14 (62). Surrey Park 10.15 (75) d Fairpark 4.8 (32). Silvan 11.8 (74) d Warrandyte 4.4 (28).

■ Division 3 Reserves. Upper Ferntree Gully 6.1 (37) d Donvale 1.8 (14). Coldstream 5.7 (37) d Ferntree Gully 2.3 (15). Knox 9.4 (58) d Oakleigh District 7.6 (48). Surrey Park 7.11 (53) d Fairpark 4.2 (26). Silvan 5.5 (35) d Warrandyte 4.8 (32).

■ Division 3 Under 19.5. Upper Ferntree Gully 8.11 (59) d Donvale 3.8 (26). Ferntree Gully 27.21 (183) d Coldstream 1.0 (6). Surrey Park 5.4 (34) d Warrandyte 2.5 (17).

Fairpark: Bye.

■ Division 4 Seniors. Croydon North MLOC 8.8 (56) d Forest Hill 5.10 (40). Chirnside Park 10.10 (70) d Whitehorse Pioneers 3.6 (24). Scoresby 14.9 (93) d Kilsyth 3.0 (18).

Nunawading: Bye.

■ Division 4 Reserves. Croydon North MLOC 10.5 (65) d Forest Hill 1.5 (11). Whitehorse Pioneers 4.7 (31) d Chirnside Park 3.3 (21). Scoresby 11.10 976) de Kilsyth 2.2 (14).

Nunawading: Bye.

■ Division 4 Under 19.5. Ferntree Gully/ South Croydon d Berwick, by forfeit. South Belgrave 9.12 (66) d Wantirna South 5.8 (38). Chrinside Park 7.10 (52) d Blackburn 3.7 (25). Kilsyth 11.13 (79) d Scoresby 3.5 (23).

Mitcham: Bye.

Essendon

■ Premier Division. Airport West 16.11 (107) d Avondale Heights 7.9 (51). Essendon Doutta Stgarfs 121.11 (77) d Aberfeldoe 9.10 (64). Keilor 9.13 (67) d Strathmore 9.11 (65). Deer Park 12.9 (81) d East Keilor 9.16 (70). Pascoe Vale 13.9 (87) d Greenvale 1.9 (15).

■ Premier Reserves. Airport West 15.10 (100) d Avondale Heights 2.3 (15). Aberfeldie 4.11 (35) d Essendon Doutta Stars 3.10 (28). Keilor 12.2 (74) d Strathmore 6.4 (40). East Keilor 12.18 (90) d Deer Park 4.2 (26). Greenvale 8.8 (56) d Pascoe Vale 5.3 (33).

■ Premier Division Under 18.5. Avondale Heights 12.20 992) d Airport West 0.0 (0). Aberfeldie 8.3 (51) d Maribyrnong Park 6.4 (40). Strathmore 12.7 (79) d Keilor 3.4 (22). Pascoe vale 9.12 (66) d Greenvale 3.5 (23).

East Keilor: Bye.

■ Division 1 Seniors. West Coburg 17.13 (115) d Rupertswood 8.7 (55). Moonee Valley 11.8 974) d Craigieburn 7.9 (51). Hillside 11.23 (89) d Tullamarine 10.5 (65). Oak Park 18.7 (115) d Keilor Park 6.5 (41). Maribyrnong Park 24.12 (156) d Roxburgh Park 3.8 (26). St Albans: Bye.

■ Division 1 Reserves. West Coburh 28.19 (187) d Rupertswood 1.2 (8). Moonee Valley 6.15 (51) d Craigieburn 0.4 (4). Hillside drew with Tullamarine. Oak Park 10.4 (64) d Keilor Park 3.4 (22). Maribyrnong Park 8.14 (62) d Roxburgh Park 4.1 (25). St Albans: Bye.

■ Division 1 Thirds. Greenvale d Glenroy, by disqualification. Strathmore d Oak Park, by forfeit. Keilopr 12.8 (80) d Aberfeldie 1.1 (7). Hillside 11.5 (71) d Maribyrnong Park 0.1 (1).

■ Division 1 Under 18.5. Essendon Doutta Stars 12.3 (75) d Oak Park 0.0 (0). Moonee Valley 7.6 (48) d Craigieburnm 3.4 (22). Coburg Districts 6.7 (43) d St Albans 5.5 (35). Hillside 4.6 (30) d Tullamarine 2.8 (20).

■ Division 2 Seniors. Taylors Lakes 13.8 (86) d Northern Saints 3.6 (24). Hadfield 9.8 (62) d Coburg Districts 7.8 (50). Glenroy 7.8 (50) d Sunbury Kangaroos 6.12 (48). Burnside Heights 13.9 (87) d East Sunbury 0.0 (0). Westmeadow: Bye.

■ Division 2 Reserves. Northern Saints 6.10 (46) d Taylors Lakes 5.0 (30). Coburg Districts 7.14 (56) d Hadfield 5.6 (36). Sunbury Kangaroos 7.4 (46) d Glenroy 5.7

(37). Burnside Heights d East Sunbury, by forfeit. Westmeadows: Bye.

■ Division 2 Thirds. Avondale Heights 5.3 (33) d Hillside 4.8 (32). Sunbury Kangaroos 8.11 (59) d Northern Saints 6.7 (43). Taylors Lakes 15.14 (104) d Roxburgh Park 1.3 (9). St Albans 8.8 (56) d Airport West 4.6 (30). ■ Division 2 Under 18.5. Keilopr 7.10 (52) d Aberfeldie 2.5 (17). Hadfield 15.12 (102) d Strathmore 3.4 (22). Glenroy 11.12 (78) d Sunbury Kangaroos 7.9 (51). Northern Saints 8.11 (59) d Taylors Lakes/Moonee Valley 7.5 (47). Burnside Heights 7.9 (51) d East Sunbury 3.4 (22). Maribyrnong Park: Bye.

Morn. Peninsula

■ Division 1 Seniors. Dromana 18.16 (124) d Sorrento 1.3 (9). Frankston Bombers 11.12 (78) d Mornington 6.13 (49). Red Hill 4.9 (33) d Langwarrin 3.7 (25). Mt Eliza 7.8 (50) d Rosebud 4.8 (32). Frankston YCW 15.13 (103) d Pines 6.3 (39).

■ Division 1 Reserves. Dromana 11.4 (70) d Sorrento 6.6 (42). Frankston Bombers 10.11 (71) d Mornington 8.10 (58). Red Hill 7.3 (45) d Langwarrin 4.9 (33). Mt Eliza 6.11 (47) d Rosebud 1.1 (7). Frankston YCW 4.8 (32) d Pines 1.3 (9).

■ Division 1 Under 19. Dromana d Sorremto, by forfeit. Langwarrin 9.11 (65) d Red Hill 4.6 (3). Mt Eliza 17.10 (112) d Rosebud 1.1 (7). Frankston YCW 14.14 (98) d 1.5 (11). Mornington: Bye. ■ Division 2 Seniors. Pearcedale 9.8 (62) d Bonbeach 0.5 (5). Chelsea 13.17 (95) d Rye 6.9 (45). Crib Point 13.9 (87) fd Hastings 3.9 (27). Edithvale-Aspendale 10.8 (68) d Devon Meadows 5.7 (37). Seaford 10.11 (71) d karingal 8.6 (54). Somerville 4.16 (40) d Tyabb 5.6 (36).

■ Division 2 Reserves. Pearcedale 4.8 (32) d Bonbeach 2.3 (15). Chelsea 13.5 (83) d Rye 3.5 (23). Crib Point 11.19 985) d Hastings 2.6 (18). Edithvale-Aspendale 14.7 (91) d Devon Meadows 5.2 (32). Seaford 7.12 (54) d Karingal 3.3 (21). Somerville 9.6 (60) d Tyabb 5.7 (37).

■ Division 2 Under 19. Bonbeach 10.13 (73) d Pearcedale 3.7 (25). Rye 6.4 (40) d Crib Point 5.9 (398). Edithvale-Aspendale 9.10 (64) d Devon Meadows 5.4 (34). Seaford 9.12 (66) d Karingal 3.5 (23). Somerville d Tyabb. by forfeit.

Northern

■ Division 2 Seniors. Laurimar 10.9 (69) d Northcote Park 6.8 (44). Diamond Creek 10.11 (71) d Watsonia 2.7 (19). South Moramng 12.8 (80) d St Mary’s 6.8 (44). Whittlesea 8.10 (58) d Panton Hill 5.4 (34). Lower Plenty 8.12 (60) d Thomastown 4.8 (32).

■ Division 2 Reserves. Laurimar 16.16 (112) d Northcote Park 2.3 (15). Diamond Creek 12.12 (84) d Watsonia 2.6 (18). Whittlesea 11.11 (77) d Panton Hill 4.2 (26). South Morang 10.8 (68) d St Mary’s 7.5 (47). Thomastown 11.8 (74) d Lower Plenty 5.10 (40).

■ Division 2 Under 19.5. South Morang 19.13 (127) d Laurimar 5.4 (34). St Mary’s 14.15 (99) d Hurstbridge 6.4 (40). Whittlesea 9.12 (66) d West Preston-Lakeside 6.6 (42). Lower Plenty 13.11 (89) d Thomastown 6.8 (44).

■ Division 3 Seniors. Mernda 8.14 (62) d Kiilmore 7.2 (44). Epping 12.15 (87) d Heidelberg West 5.8 (38). Old Paradioans 13.17 (95) d Lalor 3.6 (24). Fitzroy Stars 18.19 (127) d Reservoir 4.8 (32). Ivanhoe 10.13 (73) d Kinglake 9.4 (58). Old Eltham Collegians: Bye.

■ Division 3 Reserves. Heidelberg West 8.9 (57) d Ep;ping 4.10 (34). Ivanhoe 16.12 (108) d Kinglake 3.6 (24). Old Paradians 17.15 (117) d Lalor 3.3 (21). Kilmore 4.7 (31) d Mernda 3.6 (24). Fitzroy Stars 17.15 (117) d Reservoir 4.2 (26). Old Eltham Collegians: Bye.

■ Division 3 Under 19.5. Macleod 19.11 (125) d Bundoora 2.6 (18). Banyule 12.13 (85) d Mernda 4.7 (31). Diamond Creek 12.9 (81) d Old Paradians 3.5 (23). Greensborough 22.24 (156) d Panton Hill 2.2 (14).

SCORES FROM WEEKEND MATCHES

Outer East

■ Premier Division Seniors. Monbulk 13.9 (87) d Olinda Ferny Creek 1.7 (13). Upwey Tecoma 15.21 (111) d Berwick Springs 4.1 (25). Gembrook Cockatoo 8.11 (59) d Mt Evelyn 2.8 (20).

■ Premier Division Reserves. Monbulk 6.10 (46) d Olinda Ferny Creek 3.6 (24). Upwey Tecoma 18.17 (125) d Berwick Springs 0.0 (0). Gembrook Cockatopo 4.6 (30) d Mt Evelyn 1.9 (15).

■ Division 1 Seniors. Healesville 12.10 (82) d Yarra Glen 0.0 (0). Seville 31.21 (207) d Yarra Junction 0.0 (0). Belgrave 11.11 (77) d Alexandra 10.10 (70). Warburton Millgrove 5.10 (40) d Yea 3.7 (25). Powelltown: Bye.

■ Division 1 Reserves. Healesville 17.25 (127) d Yarra Glen 0.0 (0). Seville 17.13 (115)

d Yarra Junction 0.1 (1). Belgrave 12.16 (88)

d Alexandra 0.1 (1). Warburton Millgrove 15.6 (96) d Yea 2.5 (17). Powelltown: Bye.

■ Under 19 Boys. Upwey Tecoma 11.19 (85) d Wandin 5.1 (31). Woori Yallock 19.24 (138) d Seville 1.2 (8). Healesville 9.12 (66) d Olinda Ferny Creek 5.2 (32).

■ Women’s Division 1 Seniors. Healesville 5.1 (31) d Pakenham 3.5 (23). Olinda Ferny Creek 3.9 (27) d Belgrave 0.0 (0). Upwey Tecoma 3.10 (28) d Berwick Springs 2.2 (14).

■ Women’s Division 2 Seniors. Officer 6.7 (43) d Emerald 2.1 (13). Monbulk 5.4 (34) d Warburton Wesburn 2.11 (23). Seville 6.3 (39) d Thornton Eildon 3.5 (23). Woori Yallock 4.8 (32) d Wandin 4.4 (28).

Southern

■ Division 1 Open Grade. Carrum Patterson Lakes 9.9 963) d Springvale Districts 6.6 (42). Cheltenham 10.9 (69) d Skye 5.9 (39). Dingley d Lyndhurst, by forfeit. Highett 10.8 (68) d Heatherhill 5.5 (35).

■ Division 2 Seniors. Hampton Park 14.7 (91) d Caulfield Bears 8.16 (64). Doveton Doves 19.16 (130) d Endeavour Hills 2.8 (20). Murrumbeena 7.8 (50) d East Malvern 4.2 (26). Highett 13.15 (93) d Keysborough 6.7 (43). St Kilda City 16.17 (113) d Skye 5.7 (37).

■ Division 2 Reserves. Hampton Park 7.4 (46) d Caulfield Bears 5.5 (35). Doveton Doves 4.4 (28) d Endeavour Hills 3.9 (27). Murrumbeena 9.10 (64) d East Malvern 5.3 (33). Highett 7.11 (53) d Keysborough 4.7 (31).

■ Division 2 Open Grade. Hallam v Keysborough. LKyndhurst 8.14 (62) d Black Rock 2.4 (16). Murrumbeena 19.15 (129) d Lyndale 3.2 (20). Endeavour Hills: Bye.

■ Division 2 Under 19. Heatherton v Chelsea Heights. Lyndhurst 10.12 (72) d Carrum Patterson Lakes 6.9 945). Narre South Saints 16.15 (111) d Ashwood 4.3 (27).

■ Division 3 Seniors. Heatherton 16.11 (107) d Black Rock 10.7 (67). Frankston Dolphins 15.22 (112) d Carrum Patterson Lakes 2.2 (14). South Mornington 16.16 (112) d Lyndhurst 5.4 (34). Ashwood 10.9 (69) d Narre South Saints 8.14 (62).

■ Division 3 Reserves. Heatherton 7.5 (47) d Black Rock 4.10 (34). Frankston Dolphins 12.7 979) d Carrum Patterson Lakes 3.4 (22). South Mornington 5.13 (43) d Lyndhurst 4.4 (28). Ashwood 9.14 (68) d Narre South Saints 4.5 (29).

■ Division 4 Seniors. Hallam 8.7 (55) d South Yarra 4.7 (31). Moorabbin Kangaroos 15.6 (96) d Clayton 10.13 (73). Doveton Eagles 9.8 (62) d Dandenong West 7.8 (50). Hampton 6.8 (44) d Lyndale 3.4 (22).

■ Division 4 Reserves. Hallam 15.16 (106) d South Yarra 3.5 (23). Moorabbin Kangaroos 10.5 (65) d Clayton 6.7 (43). Dandenong West 12.17 (89) d Doveton Eagles 3,.4 (22). Lyndale 6.10 (46) d Hampton 4.4 (28).

Western

■ Division 1 Seniors. Altona 5.10 (40) d Werribee Districts 3.11 (29). Spotswood 8.15 (63) d Point Cook 4.5 (29). Yarraville Seddon Eagles 9.15 (69) d Parkside 9.4 (58). Hoppers Crossing 12.12 (84) d Poinmt Cook 12.6 (78). Caroline Springs: Bye.

■ Division 1 Reserves. Werribee Districts 6.,6 (42) d Altona 3.1 (19). Spotswood 8.12 (60) d Point Cook 3.3 (21). Parkside v Yarraville Seddon Eagles. Hoppers Crossing 8.15 (63) d Point Cook Centrals 2.7 (19).

■ Division 1 Under 18. Spotswood 10.14 (74) d Caroline Springs 8.7 (55). Point Cook 7.9 (51) d Hoppers Crossing 3.7 (25). ewport 6.5 (41) d Werribee Districts 4.8 (32). Yarraville Seddon Eagles 15.12 (102) D aLTONA 7.11 (53).

■ Division 2 Seniors. Albion 9.12 (66) d Sunshine 4.5 (29). Tarneit 15.12 (102) d North sunshine 4,.14 (38). Newport 9.14 (68) d Braybrook 1.4 (10). Sunshine Heights 12.11 (83) d Western Rams 11.8 (74). Albanvale 16.9 (105) d Laverton 6.12 (48). West Footscray 12.7 (79) d Suns 11.11 (77). Wyndhamvale 13.13 (91) d North Footscray 6.4 (40).

■ Division 2 Reserves. Sunshine 6.9 (45) d Albion 2.6 (18). Tarneit 9.11 (65) d North Sunshine 2.3 (15). Newport 14.12 (96) d Braybrook 3.6 (23). Sunshine Heights 8.11 (59) d Western Rams 4.5 (29).Albanvale v Laverton. Suns 13.11 (89) d West Footscray 1.3 (9). Wyndhamvale 19.12 (126) d North Footscray 0.2 (2).

■ Division 2 Under 18. Point Cook Centrals 11.9 975) d Yarraville Seddon Eagles 5.15 (45). Point Cook 10.22 (82) d Caroline Springs 0.3 (3). West Footscray 14.7 (91) d Sunshine Kangaroos 7.8 (50). Werribee Districts: Bye.

Country League Goulburn Valley

■ Seniors. Kyabram 23.9 (147) d Shepparton United 3.4 (22). Rochester 19.18 (132) d Tatura 3.7 (25). Echuca 16.12 (108) d Euroa 5.5 (35). Benalla 11.5 (71) d Mansfield 9.12 (66). Mooroopna 10.13 (73) d Shepparton Swans 8.9 (57). Shepparton 11.18 (84) d Seymour 6.9 (45).

■ Reserves. Kyabram 24.11 (155) d Shepparton United 2.6 (18). Rochester 9.15 (69) d Tatura 3.2 (20). Echuca 10.6 (66) d Euroa 7.6 (48). Benalla 13.14 (92) d Mansfield 4.4 (28). Shepparton 9.15 (69) d Mooroopna 4.2 (26). Seymour 7.9 (51) d Shepparton 5.3 (33).

■ Under 18. Kyabram 13.16 (94) d Shepparton United 3.2 (20). Rochester 27.18 (180) d Tatura 3.4 (22). Echuca 18.5 (113) d Euroa 4.2 (26). Mansfield 12.6 (78) d Benalla 9.4 (58). Shepparton Swans 7.11 (53) d Mooroopna 6.8 (44). Seymour 8.8 (56) d Shepparton 8.7 (55).

Kyabram District

■ Seniors. Avenel 9.6 (60) d Dookie United 6.7 (43). Girgarre 25.11 (161) d Undera 3.3 (21). Lancaster 11.15 (81) d Tallygaroopna 9.3 (57). Stanhope 12.6 (78) d Longwood 6.12 (48). Shepparton East 19.20 (134) d Merrigum 4.2 (26). Murchison-Toolamba 23.15 (153) d Rushworth 4.5 (29). Nagambie 28.14 (182) d Violet Town 2.6 (18).

■ Reserves. Avenel 23.15 (153) d Dookie United 2.4 (16). Girgarre 15,14 (104) d Undera 3.2 (20). Lancaster 11.11 (77) d Tallygaroopna 3.2 (20). Stanhope 27.14 (176) d Longwood 1.0 (6). Sheppartonm East 13.19 (97) d Merrigum 1,.3 (9). Murchison-Toolamba 24.18 (162) d Rushworth 0.0 (0). Nagambie 19.8 (122) d Violet Town 11.2 (68).

■ Under 18. Lancaster 9.7 (61) d Tallygaroopna 5.9 (39). Longwood 8.10 (58) d Stanhope 8.7 (55). Shepparton East 12.9 (81) d Undera 6.1 (37). Nagambie 10.16 (76) d Violet Town 5.4 (34). Murchison-Toolamba: Bye.

Riddell District

■ Seniors. Kyneton 8.5 (53) d Diggers Rest 4.10 (34). Macedon 8.7 (55) d Lancefield 6.2 (38). Riddell 13.12 (90) d Melton Centrals 3.3 (21). Romsey 7.10 (52) d Woodend-Hesket 4.3 (27). Wallan: Bye.

■ Reserves. Diggers Rest 8.9 (57) d Kyneton 2.1 (13). Lancefield 4.9 (33) d Macedon 1.5 (11). Riddell 12.17 (89) d Melton Centrals 2.1 (13). Romsey 12.16 (88) d Woodend-Hesket 1.0 (6). Wallan: Bye.

■ Under 19.5. Gisborne Giants 7.6 (48) d Wallan 6.7 (43). Romsey 10.9 (69) d Riddell 4.10 934). Kyneton 7.6 (48) d Diggers Rest 6.4 (40). Macedon 6.6 (42) d Lancefiled 1.5 (11).

Ballarat

■ Seniors. North Ballarat 17.14 (116) d Bacchus Marsh 5.9 (39). Ballarat 13.12 (90) d Lake Wendouree 9.4 (58). Darley 7.10 (52) d Sebastopol 6.11 (47). Melton 22.13 (145) d Melton South 1.5 (11). Bye: East Point, Redan, Sunbury.

■ Reserves. North Ballarat 8.8 (56) d Bacchus Marsh 6.5 (41). Lake Wendouree 9.11 (65) d Ballarat 9.6 (60). Sebastopol 14.12 (96) d Darley 3.4 (22). Melton 20.16 (136) d Melton South 2.2 (14). Bye: East Point, Redan, Sunbury.

■ Under 19. Bacchus Marsh 11.14 (80) d North Ballarat 1.5 (11). Lake Wendouree 8.12 (60) d Ballarat 5.5 (35). Sebastopol 10.13 (73) d Darley 4.4 (28). Melton 13.9 (87) d Melton South 1.5 (11). Bye: East Point, redan, Sunbury.

Geelong District

■ Seniors. Belmont 9.7 (61) d Anakie 9.5 (59). Bannockburn 11.14 (80) d North Geelong 9.17 (71). Winchelsea 12.19 (91) d Werribee Centrals 8.9 (57). East Geelong 13.21 (99) d Corio 6.5 (41). Thomson 14.14 (98) d Inverleigh 8.8 (56). GW Giants v Bell Post Hill.

■ Reserves. Belmont 6.10 (46) d Anakie 3.6 (24). Bannockburn 9.12 (66) d North Geelong 8.7 (55). Winchelsea 8.7 (55) d Werribee Centrals 6.9 (45). East Geelong 13.9 (87) d Corio 1.9 (15). Thomson 6.12 (48) d Inverleigh 5.9 (39). GW Giants v Bell Post Hill.

Barwon

■ Seniors. St Mary’s 12.9 981) d Geelong West Giants 7.13 (55). Grovedale 16.11 (107) d Lara 9.11 (65). Bell Park 21.14 (140) d North Shire 8.5 (53). St Joseph’s 9.11 (65) d South Barwon 8.7 (55). St Albans 9.3 (57) d Newton & Chilwell 5.17 (47). Colac v Leopold.

■ Reserves. St Mary’s 20.19 (139) d Geelong West Giants 0.5 (5). Grovedale 17.14 (116) d Lara 1.21 (7). Bell Park 31.21 (207) d North Shore 1.0 (6). South Barwon 15.10 (100) d St Joseph’s 4.6 (30). Newtown & Chilwell 14.14 (98) d St Albans 2.4 (16). Colac v Leopold.

■ Bellarine Seniors. Modewarre 12.12 (84) d Barwon Heads 7.8 (50). Drysdale 19.15 (129) d Geelong Amateur 6.6 (42). Newcomb 13.13 (91) d Ocean Grove 7.9 (51). Torquay 20.13 (133) d Queenscliff 4.5 (29). Anglesea 13.20 (98) d Portarlington 8.4 (52).

■ Bellarine Reserves. Barwon Heads 6.14 (50) d Modewarre 6.7 (43). Geelong Amateur 8.12 (60) d Drysdale 4.10 (34). Ocean Grove 11.5 (71) d Newcomb 5.7 (37). Torquay 13.8 (86) d Queenscliff 4.10 (34). Anglesea 8.13 (61) d Portarlington 5.12 (42).

West Gippsland

■ Seniors. Kilcunda Bass 9.8 (62) d Koo Wee Rup 4.6 (30). Phillip Island 10.17 (77) d Warragul Industrials 4.5 (29). Tooradin-Dalmore 8.6 (54) d Nar Nar Goon 4.7 (31). Dalyston 15.19 (109) d Bunyip 1.3 (9). Cora Lynn 8.5 (53) d Inverloch-Kongwak 3.4 (22). Korumburra-Bena 7.4 (46) d Garfield 3.13 (31).

Central Highlands

■ Seniors. Daylesford 16.7 (103) d Waubra 4.7 (31). Skipton 8.10 (58) d Bungaree 6.11 (47). Creswick 8.8 (56) d Clunes 7.,8 (50). Newlyn 10.9 (69) d Carngham Linton 7.8 (50). Sprinbank 9.14 (68) d Beaufort 4.3 (27). Gordon 12.11 (83) d Hepburn 7.10 (52). Dunnstown 10.12 (72)_ d Ballan 4.7 (31). Rokewood Cordinhap 9.14 (68) d Learmonth 5.5 (35). Buninyong: Bye. ■ Reserves. Daylesford 11.8 (74) d Waubra 2.0 (12). Bungaree 9.10 (64) d Skipton 5.3 (33). Clunes 4.8 (32) d Creswick 2.1 (13). Carngham 7.9 (51) d Newlyn 4.10 934).

Springbank 17.8 (110) d Beaufort 1.1 (7).

Gordon 13.5 (83) d Hepburn 3.5 (23). Ballan 15.9 (99) d Dunnstown 3.5 (23). okewood Corindhap 7.12 (54) d Learmonth 1.5 (11).

Buninyong: Bye.

Kerry Kulkens

ARIES: (March 21- April 20)

Lucky Colour: Peach

Lucky Day: Monday

Racing Numbers: 3.2.6.5. Lotto Numbers: 3.12.26.24.40.44. Anything practical will work well, but some of your emotional aspects could be a little off-colour. Taking it easy will be the best thing, as getting uptight will not help.

TAURUS: (April 21- May 20)

Lucky Colour: Green

Lucky Day: Wednesday Racing Numbers: 5.6.2.5. Lotto Numbers: 5.12.23.36.39.8. It will be best to avoid arguments in the long run. Telling secrets to people you don’t know is not very smart and could cause trouble later on.

GEMINI: (May 21- June 21)

Lucky Colour: Yellow

Lucky Day: Friday Racing Numbers: 2.3.5.6. Lotto Numbers: 2.13.25.40.5.44. It is a somewhat uneasy period. You will have to spend some money, but ensure it is necessary. Do not waste your hard-earned cash. Problems on the domestic scene are developing.

CANCER: (June 22- July 22)

Lucky Colour: Lilac

Lucky Day: Monday Racing Numbers: 2.3.6.2. Lotto Numbers: 2.13.5.19.7.22. It's not the right time to push your ideas forward. You could lose the support you need. If travel is on your mind, it could also develop into a romantic affair.

LEO: (July 23- August 22)

Lucky Colour: Blue

Lucky Day: Wednesday Racing Numbers: 5.6.2.3 Lotto Numbers: 2.13.26.24.40.11. Problems in your home area could spill over to the working environment. It is best to keep calm and keep your temper under control. Any decisions should be made based on facts rather than hearsay.

VIRGO: (August 23- September 23)

Lucky Colour: Cream Lucky Day: Tuesday Racing Numbers: 2.3.2.1. Lotto Numbers: 2.13.26.36.34.40. Many will be making long-term commitments during this period, which will be very romantic for some. Do not let other people interfere in your affairs; make your own decisions when you know all the facts.

LIBRA: (September 24- October 23)

Lucky Colour: Silver Lucky Day: Saturday Racing Numbers: 5.6.2.3. Lotto Numbers: 5.12.26.36.30.22. Do not spoil your plans or chances by being irritable to people who are in a position to help you advance. Inevitable changes should be accepted, and try to make the best of them.

SCORPIO: (October 24- November 22)

Lucky Colour: Blue Lucky Day: Sunday Racing Numbers: 2.3.5.2. Lotto Numbers: 2.13.25.40.6.20. This should be one of the best periods for you in a long time. Whatever you are after should now eventuate, and your love life should also be pleasing and rewarding.

SAGITTARIUS: (November 23- December 20)

Lucky Colour: Pink

Lucky Day: Sunday Racing Numbers: 5.6.9.8. Lotto Numbers: 5.12.26.36.37.44. This could be a period of reviving old love affairs and meeting up with old flames. However, you could be heading for something new and exciting with some new friends.

CAPRICORN: (December 21- January 19)

Lucky Colour: Yellow

Lucky Day: Tuesday Racing Numbers: 4.6.2.1. Lotto Numbers: 4.12.15.26.34.44. Make sure there are no misunderstandings during this period. Communications could get fouled up otherwise. Stay out of other people’s problems, as your interference will be of no help at all.

AQUARIUS: (January 20- February 19)

Lucky Colour: Peach

Lucky Day: Monday Racing Numbers: 1.3.2.5. Lotto Numbers: 1.12.15.24.40.22. This is a period for family celebrations and meeting up with long-lost relatives. You could be called away suddenly, so it's best to keep your plans flexible for the time being. Some luck in a game of chance is indicated.

PISCES: (February 20- March 20)

Lucky Colour: Green

Lucky Day: Monday

Racing Numbers: 5.6.9.3.

Lotto Numbers: 5.12.26.36.30.11. You will receive some benefits from jobs done in the past and some credit for your efforts. Someone close will need your help again, and this will benefit you at a later stage.

Local History

There will be no war: MP, 1939

■ “The statute of Queen Alexandra was unrveiled on Friday afternoon last, in the presence of a large gathering of residents and the child ren attending the school,” noted a local press report on August 4, 1939.

“The statue has been erected in the small park created by the C.W.A. on portion of the Library block.

“Cr. W. A. Murray, Shire Presi dent, opened the proceedings, and said the statue had been received on permanent loan from the Trustees of the National Gallery Mr. Elliott was instrumental in having it sent to Alexandra.

“Thanks were due to the committee of the local Library for permission to place the statue on their land, and he would also like to mention the assistance given by the local branch of the C.W.A

“Later on the C.W.A. hoped to erect a building to serve as a baby health centre.

“Cr. Murray then asked Mr. Elliott to unveil the statue.

“Mr. R. D. Elliott said be was very pleased to be present. He thought the action of the Trustees indicated a wider outlook, and showed that the National Gallery was a national institution - not a Melbourne one.

“There was no fitter site for the statue than Alexandra. It was "lent" to Alexandra, and would never be returned.

“The statue, the work of Charles Summers, was a permanent monument" of that artist's work.

“He was born in 1825, and as a boy received 1/ a week for scaring crows fiom the field.

“Later on be attended the Royal Academy School . He arrived in Melbourne in 1853.

“When at Tarnagulla goldfields he saw an advertisement for modellers at Parliament House, and disposed of his claim (the purchasers of which afterwards struck a patch that netted £20,000.)

“He modelled figures in the Legislative Council Chamber, and was responsibte for the statue of Burke and Wills . He went to Rome , and died in 1878.

“Continuing his remarks, Mr. Elliott said: The life of an English King (or Queen) is one of complete devotion to duty and personal sacrifice.

“More than a man in position and less than a man in human liberty. Monarch and servant in one. Trustee of the rich heritage of the past and guarantor of the immeasurable future.

“Above the law, yet the assurance that. justice will be done. The ruler of the people, the slave of the people, and the embodiment of the people's immortality.

“One holiday time when the royal family were all at Sandringham, the late King George V (son of the Queen) was checking up on church attendance and found that his three elder sonas.were missing.

“Sending for Sir Louis Greig, the King banged the table with his fist and roared, "I'll take no excuses as long as I am the King and their father, these young rascals have

“Fear can do much mischief. It is an active force for harm. Have no fear of war in the Far East. Have no fear of war in Europe. The war that can be lost is the one of nerves which has for its battle cry the oolish bleating of "it's coming in September."

“Kill the bogey; don't believe it ; develop our own industries - develop Australia

“Mr. Elliott then unveiled the statue, which had been covered with the National flag. He also intimated that he would pay for the cutting in of the lettering on the base of the statue.

“The Hon. E. J. Mackrell said he was delighted to be present at the unveiling of the monument by Mr Elliott, whom he hoped would be a Senator again.

“He was not so optimistic as Mr. Elliott in regard to the war rumblings, but sincerely hoped there would be no war.

“They must, however, buckle on the armour, and endeavour to be prepared.

“Mr. Mackrell then spoke of the various forms of government in the world, and the great freedom enjoyed under the British flag.

“Mr. C. R. Long was the next speaker. He said: I esteem it a great privilege to be present and to speak at this ceremony to-day. I should be thankful; it is a unique experience.

“Just think of it. To be on this spot

where we are standing before there were any houses in sight, and to be so circumstanced as to be able to return and find around me a prosperous community and a thriving town.

“I was driven in a waggonette with my father, mother, and a sister along a bullock dray track, which led from the Josephine cutting to the Recreation Reserve, crossed the creek, came down this side of it, turned into Grant Street, and then went In the direction of Thornton, at a time when there was not a house to be seen from the vehicle.

“That was in the sumnmer of 1865 - 74 years ago. Gold was discovered in the neighborhood in une of the next year - '66, and a township speedily came into being.

“Most of the houses were placed along the bullock-dray track. Gold was being got in plenty, both from quartz and from alluvial.

“The Government decided, therefore, to have a town and parish surveyed.

“John Downey, surveying in the district, was given the work to do. Most of the town was laid out in January, 1867, commencing from about where we are now.

“The Shire Hall is on Allotment 1 of Section 1.

Naming of Alexandra

■ Reference to certain documents and plans in the Land Office, Mel bourne, has brought to light some facts concerning the naming of Alexandra, which have more than ordinary interest at this time, when a statue of Queen Alexandra is about to be unveiled in Perkins Street,” said a 1939 press report.

“A. McGregor and S. Don discovered gold in quartz, on the bullock dray track from Thornton to Yea, not far from McKenzie's homestead, in June, 1866.

“As they were first discoveries of a goldfield (there being no mining between their find and Yea at that time), they received a reward-to each £75.

damned well got to go to church every Sunday morning."

“In regard to the international situation to-day lt must be remembered that Britain is strong, and Germany knows it.

“Therefore, in spite of all the massing of troops, the fiery speeches and the rattling of the sabre, and because of the strength of Britain, there will be no war.

“But there is one very great danger - the war of nerves. The campaign is become intense all the time.

“It is being conducted from Berlin , with Goebbels in command. Tientsin is part of the campaign. Goebbels' army extends beyond the frontiers of Germany to international financiers who spread rumours to the stock markets of the world, so that confidence is de stroyed. Nor does it stop there.

“There are the unpaid, unwitting agents here in Australia, Melbourne (even Alexandra ) who spread the news to their fellow townspeople that the war is coming in September.

“Goebells and Hitler believe that by rumours, alarms and excursions they can create such a state of nerves that to end the intolerable strain we shall give the Nazis what they want.

“Denounce the prophets of war! Criticise the people who go about saying war is inevitable. They are enemies of the public.

“They spread unemployment, driving many out ofwork. They breed in every classof the community anxiety and fear.

“They named their claim "Eglinton," which was that of a run and homestead (occupied by Henry Johnson, on the Yea side of McKenzie's Mount Pleasant run), and also of a creek (now Johnson's Creek.)

“Other claims were soon being worked from McGregor's and Don's claim in the direction of the U.T. Creek and there were alluvial diggings along that creek forseveral miles.

THE NAMING

“The track ran along what is now Grant Street till it came within a few yards of the U.T. Creek, where it turned up the stream and led to a crossing place near the junction of the present Webster and Perkins Streets

“There was a chock-and-log fence (the boundary at one time between the Mount Pleasant and the Eglinton runs) along the bank of the creek.

“In this fence stood a gateway (painted red), through which the track passed not many yards from the turn. The track became, after crossing the creek, almost a straight line to the neighbourhood of the present Josephine cutting (so named after Henry Johnson's sister).

“There was a rush in the second half of 1866 to the Red Gate diggings (that name, contracted to ‘Redgate' for the field, appearing for the first time in "Bradshaw's Guide" in May, 1867.)

“Richard Vining erected a small building in the vicinity of the turn of the track from Grant Street up the creek, and other buildings rapidly followed.

“There upon John Downey was instructed to survey a town and a parish. The Shire Hall at the junction of the present Grant and Perkins Streets is on allotment I of section 1.

“The title-page of Downey's Field Book, No. 1, runs thus: " John Downey's Field Notes. Survey of the Township of Eglinton on the U.T. Creek, Upper Goulburn River, Surveyed by John Downey, Government Contract Surveyor, Jan.,1867.'

“His finished plan, with the title, "Township of Eglinton, Upper Goulburn River, County of Anglesey,'' was dated February,1867.

“A proclamation in the Government Gazette in the following month (March) begins : "Sale of Crown Lands in fee simple at Alexandra, on the 5th April, 1867.'"

“This shows that the name had been changed. Downey's plan has now a slip with the word "Alexandra'' on it gummed over "Eglinton."

“The new name was that of a Danish princess, the "Rose of Denmark," who, about four years earlier (the exact date being March 7, 1863), had married the Prince of Wales (afterwards Edward VII).” - July 28, 1939

● ● The sculpture of Princess Alexandra was unveiled in 1939

“Downey named the town "Eglinton" after Henry Johnson's "run," which had been called that after a town in Scotland by Archibald Thom , who had occupied it in the late forties, before he went to Eildon

“Most of the streets were named by Downey after prominent pioneers of the town, Grant Street was in honor of the head of the Lands Department, J. Macpherson Grant, a great land legislator, and the other chief street after Downey himself.

“In the Melbourne office, however, a slip with "Alexandra" on it was gummed over Downey's "Eglinton."

“Princess Alexandra, of Denmark, became the wife of Edward Prince of Wales, afterwards Edward VII

“She had been married to him for about four years when her name was bestowed upon the town and the parish.

“She was an exceeding ly handsome woman and amicable. She was therefore much liked, and the change of the name of the town was a graceful act, and a wise one.

“We who are interested in the town should be grateful to the Trustees of the National Gallery in Melbourne, of which body Mr. R.D. Elliott is Treasurer, for such an attractive and valuable gift.

“Mr. Long concluded his remarks with an earnest request that the statue should never be defaced or damaged in any way.

“Mr. H. Buxton (Headmaster.of the School) called for three cheers, and under his direction the children sang God Save the King

“(Mr. Long brought with him a copy of Mr. Downey's original plan and handed it to the Shire Secretary for safe keeping.)

★

Robert Charles Dunlop Elliott unveiled the statue at Alexandra in 1939.

Elliott (1884-1950) had well and truly established himself in business, political and cultural circles.

Elliott was born in Kyneton, and (at right) is proudly costumed in the dress of his mother’s ScottishInverness – forebears. His grocer father was from Northumberland, England.

Elliott had only the slightest formal education, but was a natural entrepreneur, and by 1911 had established himself as a successful business agent.

Local History

Summers created sculpture

■ The Princess Alexandra Statue, located in the Jack Shiel Gardens, is the work of English sculptor Charles Summers (1825-1878).

The Princess Alexandra Statue is made of white Italian marble, and was completed in Rome as part of a commission for Sir William J. Clarke (1831 – 1897) in 1876.

Sir William commissioned him to sculpt four large statues in marble of Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, and the then Prince and Princess of Wales (later Edward VII and Queen Alexandra) for presentation to the Melbourne art gallery. These were completed in 1878.

Soon afterwards Charles Summers while on his way to England was taken seriously ill, and died after an operation for acute goitre in Paris

The Princess Alexandra Statue was his last sculpture.

Originally located in the grounds of the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne, the statue was relocated to Alexandra in 1939 where it was installed in the gardens where she is surrounded by beds of roses, her favourite flower.

In 1994 the statue was unveiled under a new colonnade, which was financed under the Centennial Awards.

Charles Summers was a regular exhibitor at Royal Academy exhibitions; more than 40 of his works were shown between 1849 and 1876.

He was a competent sculptor who also created the figures on the ceiling of the council chamber of Melbourne’s Parliament House, a frieze of putti on the old Bank of New South Wales building (now located at Melbourne University) and the recumbent figure of Lady Macleay in Surrey

It is the memorial to the explorers Burke and Wills on the corner of Collins and Swanston St s in Melbourne’s heart for which he is best known.

‘Alix’ married Albert Edward

■ Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; December 1, 1844 – November 20, 1925) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Empress of India as the wife of King-Emperor Edward VII

She was one of five sisters (two of whom would also became Queens of Norway and Russia).

Her family had been relatively obscure until 1852, when her father, Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, was chosen with the consent of the great powers to succeed his distant cousin, Frederick VII, to the Danish throne.

At the age of 16, she was chosen as the future wife of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, the heir apparent of Queen Victoria

She was described as “a beautiful and slender lady with perfect complexion and lovely mannerisms as befitting a queen”.

They married 18 months later in 1863, the same year her father became king of Denmark as Christian IX and her brother was appointed to the vacant Greek throne as George I

She was Princess of Wales from 1863 to 1901, the longest anyone has ever held that title, and became generally popular; her style of dress and bearing were copied by fashion-conscious women.

Largely excluded from wielding any political power, she unsuccessfully attempted to sway the opinion of British ministers and her husband's family to favour Greek and Danish interests. Her public duties were restricted to uncontroversial involvement in charitable work.

On the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, Albert Edward became king-emperor as Edward VII, with Alexandra as queen-empress.

She held the status until Edward's death in 1910. She greatly distrusted her nephew, German Emperor Wilhelm II, and supported her son during World War I, in which Britain and its allies fought Germany

She died of a heart attack just before her 80th birthday in 1925 and was buried in an elaborate tomb next to her husband in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle

■ Footnote: Alexandra’s own Masonic Lodge, which meets at the Temple at the corner of Webster and Nihil Sts., carries the name ‘Albert Edward’.

Edward VII (Albert Edward; November 9, 1841 – May 6, 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from January 22, 1901 until his death in 1910.

The eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Edward was related to royalty throughout Europe. Before his accession to the throne, he served as heir apparent and held the title of Prince of Wales for longer than any of his predecessors.

During the long reign of his mother, he was largely excluded from political power, and came to personify the fashionable, leisured elite. He travelled throughout Britain performing ceremonial public duties, and represented Britain on visits abroad.

His tours of North America in 1860 and the Indian subcontinent in 1875 were popular successes, but despite public approval his reputation as a playboy prince soured his relationship with his mother.

As king, Edward played a role in the modernisation of the British Home Fleet and the reorganisation of the British Army after the Second Boer War

He re-instituted traditional ceremonies as public displays and broadened the range of people with whom royalty socialised.

He fostered good relations between Britain and other European countries, especially France, for which he was popularly called "Peacemaker", but his relationship with his nephew, Kaiser Wilhelm II, was poor.

The Edwardian era, which covered Edward's reign and was named after him, coincided with the start of a new century and heralded significant changes in technology and society.

He married Theodore Fink’s daughter, Hilda, in 1913, and their marriage was highly successful, with Hilda becoming very active in her husband’s political, cultural and business ambitions.

In 1924 he commenced his connection with Mildura by buying into the Sunraysia Daily.

He was elected a Senator for Victoria in 1929, serving until 1935.

‘R. D.’ was a passionate art collector, playing an important role in Melbourne’s cultural life, and was a trustee of the Public Library, Museums and National Gallery of Victoria

Tall, good-looking, ambitious and immensely energetic, by 1924 Elliott was directing or owning companies dealing in roofing materials, millinery, seeds, stationery, insurance and civil construction, including bridge-building and hydro-electric schemes.

He became chairman of the Civil Engineering Construction Company, responsible for the construction of the Sugarloaf-Rubicon Hydro-Electric Scheme (the Sugarloaf Powerhouse was at Eildon Weir).

● ● ● Princess Alexandra

● ● ● ● R.D. Elliott

Local History

Yea Bowls Club dates to 1898

■ The first reference to the Yea Bowls Club that we can locate in newspaper files is in 1898.

“A meeting of the Yea Bowling Club will be held on Saturday evening, and of the Yea Athletic Club on Tuesday evening. Full attendances at both are desired,” noted The Yea Chronicle on November 10, 1898.

That same issue noted that the Yea Shire Council received a letter from the Yea Bowling Club “applying to the council for a piece of land 150 x 100 feet opposite the Post Office, facing High and Station Streets for a site for a bowling green, and requesting council to fence in same, cost of which would amount to £18”.

“Cr. Ryan said he considered this was a matter worthy of support. To his own knowledge bowling greens in other towns had received the support of the;local bodies and quoted as an instance how the Seymour Council had fenced in piece of a road for a similar purpose.

“The public of Yea had subscribed £50, and the club was prepared to spend £70 or £80 in improving the ground.

“Cr. Dunn asked if the public would be blocked from the ground.

“Cr. Ryan said there would be no charge for admisalon, and in fact the public could see much from the outside. .

“Cr Scale said it would be necessary to apply to the Public Works Department as the laud asked for was a portion of the road.

“Cr.Ryan moved that the secretary be instructed to apply to the Lands Department for the piece of land in question and that the council donate £18 towards erecting a fence round same;

“Cr. Olney seconded the motion which was carried.

“At a later stage in the council meeting Cr. Ryan brought forward a resolution that the sum of £18 donated by the council towards erecting the fence should come out of the 'general revenue'of the shire.

“He considered that all the ridings should contribute for this purpose.

“Cr. Olney seconded the resolution.

“The motion on being put was carried, Crs Dunn, Draper O'Callaghan voting against.”

Within three months, the land had been secured, according to a February 9, 1899, report.

“The committee of the Yea Bowling Club met at Ryan’s Hotel on

Saturday evening. Present: Messrs. Taite (in chair), McCann, Ryan, Dobson, Clark and Sharland.

“In view of the desired site having been secured, and the council havcing gained assistance towards fencing same, it was decided to call tenders for fencing with a view to submitting same to next council meeting for approval, also to at once call up the entrance fee of £1 1s. from

intending members, the payment of annual subscription of £1 1s. to remain in abeyance until required. The meeting then adjourned.”

Yea Bowling Club Secretary H. McCann placed an advertisement calling for tenders to erect picket fencing on the Yea Bowling Green.

By May 1899, Jack Dunlop had been unanimously appointed honorary engineer to the Yea Bowling Club

in conjunc tion with Mr. Sharland.

E. McKay (2items only) .......20 0 0 James McAsey won the tender.

A parcel of seeds was gifted from Mr. Fraser, of South Melbou rne, through his friend Mr. James Drysdale, " Mussgrove," Yea Cr. Olney undertook to sow the seeds and tend young plants until ready. for placing round the green..

The entrance fee of a guinea (£1 1s.) each was received mid-year from W. Knox, M.L.C.; C. Tyson; J.C. Sanders; J. Taite; E.H. Dobson; E. Rule; H. McCane; D. Olney; J. Quinlan; E.S. Purcell; D. Ryan; J.D. Hamilton; S. Wall; J. Wild; and half a guinea from Messrs. M.K. McKenzie, M.L.A.; J. Campbell, M.L.C.; and Jas. Balfour, M.L.C.

An early view of land opposite the Yea Post Office which became the Bowls Club area

view of the Yea Bowls Club land from the War Memorial.

CRACKERJACK FIELD FOR MAKYBE DIVA STAKES

■ Top class mare Pride of Jenni has been made favourite for the Makybe Diva Stakes on 1600 metres at Flemington in September.

In the past 12 months she has taken all before her, especially her sensational win the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick on April 13.

As mentioned many times, the run was out of this world, after they jumped her rider, Declan Bates decided to take her to the front of the 2000 metre race on a soft 5 track, and from there on in it was all over.

She led clearly throughout, and at the turn she was still about six lengths in front and won by just over that margin.

The runner-up Via Sistina is smart, but she was the only one that got anywhere near Pride Of Jenni.

Via Sistina is on the second line of the Neds market here and rightly so.

Back on March 23, she beat some smart stayers to win the Ranvet Stakes over 2000 metres at Rosehill, beating Place Du Carousel, another smart stayer and Buckeroo

Then she ran a big race when second to Pride of Jenni, in the Queen Elizabeth. She will stay as long as your mother-in-law.

Another smart type who always gives of his best for the Hayes team, Mr Brightside is partowned by a number of Richmond footballers.

He came from a fair way back in the Queensland Elizabeth Stakes to run a good third, behind Pride of Jenni.

Another that is top class and has come in for heavy support every time she steps out.

That’s Fan Girl, now with Chris Waller, she is one of the best mares racing in Australia, always puts in.

Back on March 2, she ran a good race second up to Think It Over in the VerryElleegant Stakes over 1600 metres and Randwick

She may need the run, but Waller will make sure she is ready to fire.

On the next line is the top mare Atishu, who ran a good second to Zougotcha, at Randwick on April 13.

Prepared by Chris Waller, she always tries hard and could be in this.

The next runner, Amelia’s Jewel, has been a little up and down in recent runs after a mishap at Caulfield earlier in the year.

That day she was put off by the sound of music in the background whilst in the mounting yard at Caulfield, and in my opinion she hasn’t been at her best.

Ted Ryan

Now with leading Queensland trainer, Annabel Neasham, things could come good, I am sure that Annabel will pin-point the problem.

One to watch for sure.

The Victoria Derby winner, Riff Rocket, another of Waller runners, is first-class and will be right in this for sure, he is one of the best going around.

Don’t leave him out of your multis.

The Ciaron Maher trained galloper, Another Wil, had a crack at the Doncaster back in April, but was found wanting in the big classy field.

Prior to that had won five of his seven starts and is a good type.

I suggest you keep following him, he will pick up a good race.

The Chris Waller trained former international, Buckeroo, is battling to win a race, but is clashing with the rest of the top echelon.

Back on April 13, it wasn’t a bad run when fifth behind Pride of Jennie in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, where the mare bolted in blitzing a top-class field.

It was an improved effort and his trainer felt it wasn’t a bad run.

Another of the Waller Team who goes alright is Joliestar, who won the Arrowfield three-yearold sprint over 1200 metres back on April 13.

She is consistent having won three of her six starts, yet to miss a place.

One of the most disappointing runners competing at present is the former New Zealand top horse, Kovalica

He has failed to fire over varying distances, but on his day he is first-class.

He ran an improved race when fifth in the Epsom Handicap on June 15.

The remaining two to go around, Osipenko and Pericles, can fire on their day, but not here in my book.

Valley good news

■ Moonee Valley has extended its partnership with Saratoga in 2024.

The New York Racing Association and Moonee Valley have extended their partnership for this year, announcing the winner of the Grade`1 US$600,000, Saratoga Derby Invitational, to be run on Saturday August 3 at Saratoga Racecourse will receive an invitation to the Group One AUD $5million Ladbrokes Cox Plate. Winning connections of this year’s Saratoga Derby, which was established in 2019, and is contested over 1900 metres, will be afforded an automatic berth into this year’s Cox Plate, with generous subsidies for transportation and accommodation on offer.

In 2021, Joseph O’Brien, the well-known Irish trainer, became the first trainer, to achieve the historic double with globetrotting superstar, State of Rest, who won the Saratoga Derby before venturing to Melbourne to win the Latrobes Cox Plate , defeating subsequent winner, Anamoe, by a short half head.

State of Rest later returned to Europe and won the Group One Prix at Ganay in France, and the Group One Prince of Wales Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Thus accomplishing the remarkable feat of winning four Group-One races in four different countries, before retiring to Stud at Newgate Farm, where he still resides.

Top mare bows out

■ Another champion sprinting mare, In Secret, has been retired through a leg injury. One of the best sprinting mares to race in the present, she raced against the best and beat some of the best.

The top-class mare was found to suffering from a suspensory ligament injury to her right foreleg

She will now move to the broodmare barn for her connections.

Throughout her career under James Cummings, she won the Newmarket Handicap and the Coolmore Stakes amongst her many winners.

It was only recently that another top sprint mare, Espiona, was retired for stud duties. She too, was among the best sprinters in the land.

● ● Chris Waller. Racing Photos.

● ● Amelia’s Jewel. Racing Photos.

Railway History with Lance Adams Forgotten stations of the local line

■ When the Tallarook-Yea line opened in 1883 the intermediate locations were 5 mile gatehouse, Trawool , 9 mile gate house, Kerrisdale and Homewood

Later, after the opening of the line an additional station, Wrights Siding (later renamed Granite) was added to service a granite quarry (supplying granite stone to the monumental trade).

This location was about 3 km on the down side of Trawool

Over its existence, Granite had two separate stations.

The first one situated on the Up side of the line on the Up end of Falls Creek (recently renamed Trawool Creek) and a later replacement station which was situated on the down side of the line, at the down end of the Falls Creek bridge.

Both platform structures were of wooden construction and just what date the replacement station was brought into use I don't know.

At right is an early photo from circa 1920 of a Tallarook-Yea hauled by a DD class loco on a mixed train standing at the second Granite platform.

This station ceased to exist from the 1950s.

This location situated right at the bottom of the steepest pull on the line (the Granite bank) was spoken about often, by 1950's local enginemen as being a particularly difficult, slippery climb when coming from a standing start on a frosty morning.

This station had long been removed when I came on to the line firing in the 1960s.

Not much remains at this location now, although an earthen mound of dirt, exists on the Up side of the former line near Trawool Creek

This had nothing to do with the Granite station site, and its origins are unknown to me at present.

Another station that did not survive the 87 years on the Mansfield extension was Balham

This location just past the Tunnel was originally a construction siding for the line when it was being built in the late 1880s/early 1890s.

A large homestead in the area was Balham which utilised this siding almost exclusively.

In the early 1890s, the Balham Homestead made application to the Railways Department for the spartan amenities at this location to be upgraded to a full station.

The railway department stated that if the station was to be upgraded, the ‘Balha’" homestead would have to bear the expense and not the railway department.

A stand off took place and the siding and site were consequently removed.

When I first came on the line some 70 years after Balham was removed, the previous layout and wooden platform face were clearly visible.

This area was severely ravaged in the bushfires of January1969, and precious little now remains. A walk around the area today would still turn up some archaeological gems.

● ● DD541 at Granite

● ● ● ● ● Trawool Station, circa 1910

● Area where the Balham platform and goods shed once stood

■ Police are appealing for public assistance to help locate missing Ascot Vale man Peter

The 46-year-old was last seen leaving his address on Maribyrnong Rd about 1.15pm on Saturday (July 27).

He is described as being Caucasian in appearance, approximately 165cms tall with a shaved head.

Police and family have concerns for Peter’s welfare due to a medical condition, and his disappearance being out of character.

Police have released an image of Peter in the hope that someone can provide information on his current whereabouts.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is urged to contact Moonee Ponds Police Station on 9373 5200.

MOONEE VALLEY

Monitors extended

■ The appointment of municipal monitors at Moonee Valley Council has been for a further seven months.

Monitors Prue Digby and Phillip Carruthers were initially appointed to act as monitors for a six-month period, from January 29 to July 29. Their appointment has now been extended until February 28.

The report notes that while the Council has made progress in improving its governance practices, work is still required to support good governance while IBAC investigations are ongoing and to ensure stability during the October elections.

In response to this advice, Local Government Minister Melissa Horne has extended the appointment of both monitors.

Municipal monitors are appointed to councils to advise on necessary governance improvements and report back to the Minister, under the Local Government Act.

“During their extension, the monitors will support the council to improve its councillor induction program and strengthen relationships between councillors,” said a State Government representative.

“They will also work with the council to support its processes and practices relating to CEO recruitment and employment.

Ms Horne said: “I thank Ms Digby and Mr Carruthers for their ongoing work as monitors to Moonee Valley City Council. They will continue to support the council in the lead up to and following the council elections in October.”

CARDINIA Musos in residence

■ Cardinia Council has announced the selected artists for its Music Residencies Program.

The 2024 Cardinia Shire Music Residencies program aims to support emerging musicians by providing vital industry knowledge and experience to advance their individual careers.

The selected artists were chosen from a collection of diverse applicants, representing a variety of genres and high-quality musicianship.

They are Jon Colins, Miranda Eno and Sage Kelly

AGGRAVATED BURGLARY: DEMANDS UPON PRIEST

■ Northern Grampians Crime Investigation Unit detectives are investigating an aggravated burglary in Ararat

“It is understood an unknown male offender gained entry to a parish on Barkley St about 11pm on Wednesday, July 17,” a Police representative said.

Investigators have been told the male gained access through a bedroom window, before he woke up a priest who was asleep inside the residence.

The male demanded money from the priest and fled the scene with approximately $1000 from the parish safe.

The priest was not physically injured.

Investigators have released images and vision of a male they believe may be able to assist with their enquiries.

He is described as being of slim to medium build, and was wearing a dark hooded jumper and pants.

YINNAR

Cycle death

■ Police are investigating a fatal motorcycle crash in Yinnar on Monday afternoon last week (July 22).

It is understood the rider lost control and was subsequently ejected from their bike on Jumbuk Rd about 2.45pm.

The male rider died at the scene. The investigation into the crash is ongoing.

COHUNA

Arson arrest

■ Detectives from Taskforce Lunar have charged a second man following an alleged arson attack at a tobacco store in Cohuna earlier this month.

A 44-year-old Broadmeadows man was charged with two counts of criminal damage by fire and three counts of theft of motor vehicle.

He was remanded to appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on July 22.

The charges follow an incident on Sunday, July 7, when a car was allegedly driven into a King George St business in Cohuna around 3am before it was set alight.

Nobody was inside the premises at the time but the building was completely destroyed and the incident had significant impact on neighbouring businesses not related to the one targeted.

DANDENONGS

Puffing

Billy fun

■ Visitors to the iconic Puffing Billy railway can once again enjoy the century-old tradition of sitting on the sills on open-side carriages for the full length of the railway journey for the first time since 2018.

Steve Dimopoulos, Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events, joined Tim North, Chair of the Puffing Billy Railway Board, at the railway’s Lakeside Visitor Centre in

WARRNAMBOOL

Bicycle crash

■ A cyclist has died following a crash in Warrnambool on July 21.

It is believed that a rider came off their bicycle near the corner of Dooley St and St James Crescent about 10.40am.

The 63-year-old Warrnambool man was treated for serious injuries but has died in hospital.

An investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash remains ongoing.

SALE

Seen Charles?

Statewide Observer

Emerald to announce the return of the full iconic experience.

More than 400,000 visitors enjoy the preserved heritage steam railway every year, and the return of leg dangling from Belgrave to Gembrook has been made possible by the Satte Government’s $1.4 million upgrade to both the Gembrook Station and Menzies Creek Station.

The project has restored the Gembrook station’s facade back to its original glory – celebrating its rich heritage dating back to the town’s initial settlement in 1873.

These works follow the 2021 opening of the Lakeside Visitor Centre, backed by a $12.7 million investment from the State Government, which won the prestigious global award for Best New International Architecture at the 2022 International Architecture Awards.

Puffing Billy Railway has been part of Victoria’s railway history for 123 years, with generations of families making the journey through the Dandenong Ranges at the much-loved attraction.

“Puffing Billy has been one of the most beloved experiences for Victorians and international visitors for more than one hundred years, and now visitors can enjoy the excitement of sitting on the sills for the full length of the journey,” Mr Dimopoulos said.

Monbulk MLA Daniela De Martino said: “We are proud to continue supporting Puffing Billy which provides many jobs and greatly contributes to the local economy across the Dandenong Ranges and Yarra Valley.”

Mr North said: “We're thrilled to announce the return of leg dangling to the Lakeside to Gembrook section of Puffing Billy Railway. This beloved tradition is back, allowing our passengers to experience the full charm of the Puffing Billy journey.”

GREATER GEELONG

Big Build

■ The newest residential construction project in Geelong is now complete.

Harriet Shing, Minister for Housing, visited Belmont to unveil the 26-home social housing development, which was built under the landmark $5.3 billion Big Housing Build

The new one and two-bedroom homes will be modern and energy efficient.

This development – a partnership between Homes Victoria and Housing Choices Australia – will house people on the Victorian Housing Register, including those at risk of or experiencing homelessness, aged and disability pensioners, and women and children escaping family violence.

The homes are close to the Barwon River walking track, public transport, local schools, and shops, giving renters access to the services they need.

In City of Greater Geelong, more than $200 million has been invested through the Big Housing Build and other social housing programs to build 563 new homes, 341 of which have already been completed.

“We’re also providing a further 4000 new, energy efficient social homes through programs such as the Public Housing Renewal Program,” a Government representative said.

● Charles of

■ Police are appealing for public assistance as they search for missing Sale man Charles

The 55-year-old was last seen i n Raymond St about 12 Noon on July 22.

Police and family have concerns for his welfare due to a medical condition that requires daily medication, as well as his disappearance being out of character.

He is described as Caucasian, approximately 175cm tall, with a medium build, light brown short hair, and blue eyes.

Charles was last seen wearing blue tracksuit pants and a T-shirt.

He may be travelling on foot or using public transport in the Sale area.

Investigators have released an image of Charles in the hope that someone can provide information on his current whereabouts.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is urged to contact Sale Police Station on 5142 2200.

GEELONG

Servos robbed

■ Geelong Crime Investigation Unit detectives charged a man following an alleged armed robbery at a Grovedale service station and two other servos within three hours in the Geelong area.

Police have been told a man allegedly armed with a rock entered a service station on Shannon Avenue in Newtown just before 1pm last Tuesday (July 23) and stole cash.

It is alleged the same offender, armed with a gardening spade then entered a service station on the Bellarine Highway in Newcomb just before 2pm and Torquay Rd in Grovedale about 2.20pm and stole cash.

A 26-year-old Bellbrae man was charged with three counts of armed robbery and two counts of theft.

He was remanded to appear at Geelong Magistrates’ Court.

HOTSPUR

Truck fatality

■ Police are investigating a fatal truck crash in Hotspur on Tuesday morning last week (July 23).

It is understood the truck was travelling on Portland-Casterton Rd when it veered from the road and crashed into a tree about 6.15am.

The male driver died at the scene.

The investigation into the crash is ongoing.

Anyone who witnessed the incident, has CCTV, dashcam footage or any other information that could assist police is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au

Melbourne

● ● Police want to speak with a male offender.

● ● Peter of Ascot Vale

Sale

Classifieds 9489 2222

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ANTIQUE DRESSING TYABLE with round mirror. 3 drawers. GC. $100. Seymour. 0422 294 977. V-Z

BARBECUE. Gas. Five burner. New ignition assembly wheels. Gas tank full. VGC. $150. Pascoe Vale. 0419 138 356. V-Z

BEDROOM SUITE. Rosewood headboard. Dressing table with large mirror. Two bedside tables with drawers. GC. $100. North Dandenong. 9795 0982. V-Z

BOAT. Savage. Kestrel 12’ tinny. Trailer. 15hp Johnson outboard. VGC. $2600. Alexandra. 0419 329 264. V-Z

FIREWOOD. Dry. Bring trailer and chain saw. Afternoons. Free. Rye. 5985 7509. V-Z

FOOTWEAR, Diana Ferrari navy woven leather, size 9. Worn once. Paid $130, sell $60. Ferntree Gully. 0407 533 560. V-Z

GENERATOR. 2200w injector 2-stroke. 91 octane fuel. Two power outlets. Used. Clean condition. $105. Doreen. 9717 3465 V-Z

GUITAR. Electric. Solid burgundy colour. Monterey make, with case and amp. GC. $200. Seymour. 0422 204 977. V-Z

HEATING OIL for domestic heating. Free. Tank approx. half full, would also be free. Ashburton. 9885 2203. V-Z

KEYBOARD STAND. Roland. Adjustable. As new. $100 ONO. Cheltenham. 0438 533 123. V-Z

LETTERBOXES. Large, new with key lock. $15. Mill Park. 9436 8935. V-Z

LP RECORDS, collectors items, organ memories, 4 records in box. Wonderful World Wonderful Music, 9 records in box. All Readers Digest. As new. $50 and $70. Frankston. 0427 953 330. V-Z

MATTRESSES. King Single and Two classic advance medium mattresses. Unused and unopened in original packaging. Selling due to change in size required. 203cm x 107cm x 24cm. Buyer to organise pick-up. As new. $200 each ONO. Cash only. Heidelberg. 0423 081 508. V-Z

MERCEDES BENZ. 2002. Vito 108 van. Colour: white. Diesel fuel. One owner, van and seats. Serviced regularly, paperwork available. 233,000 km. Reg. no. RWK-902. GC. $5500. Doncaster East. 0449 757 367. V-Z

MOBILITY WALKER. $20. Mill Park. 9436 8935. V-Z

MOBILITY WHEEL

CHAIR. Shop Rider Brand. Purchased 2023. Model U18w12. Metallic redtrim two tone grey. As new. $2000. Bellfield. 9499 5896. V-Z

OZ PIG Traveller. Used twice. Comes with carry bag, heaps of ready cut firewood, fire lighters. Heavy duty grate and 4.5 quart camp oven. Still in box. VGC. $340. Montmorency. 0483 881 609. V-Z

PHONE. Black bakerlite. 50s era. Working. GC. $80. Greensborough. 0406 939 273. V-Z

SOFA BED. Zagato Licorice 2.5 seat,. Bonus includes full size foam extra mattress. As new.$400. Mt Eliza. 0412 830 241. V-Z

TYRE CHANGING KIT (amnual) for standard tyre sizes. Little used. Comes with instruction manual. GC. $115. Doreen. 9717 3465. V-Z

WALKER with basket. VGC. $45. Mornington. 0409 511 389. V-Z

WATER TANKS. 1000 litres. 2 x $100 ea. Trailer, L2m x W1.4m. Higher side rails and mounted winch, GC. $200 ONO. Seville. 0425 850 971. V-Z

I,Arunya residentof SouthYarra, Vic,3141advise thatmyname haschangedto ArunyaBansal forallbusiness, personal purposes.

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Carmina Patricia Trani©, of Pascoe Vale South, Victoria State, is not a voluntarily transactor in commerce, and is the irrefutable Holder in Due Course of all associated Copyright Protected Trade Names since unrebutted lawful reconveyance to the Land and Soil jurisdiction of Terra Australis, commonly known as The Commonwealth of Australia, Public Record Number RPP44 63900 05100 30953 87603, Proclamation Date 29th February 2024; severing Usufruct Subjugation ties with the Australia Corporation in its entirety. The occupying corporate government of Australia and its affiliates are instructed to immediately cease and desist any further infringement upon these copyright protected Financial Instruments and cease and desist misaddressing Carmina Patricia Trani© in fraudulent debased Dog-Latin; Glossa.

Public Notice of Praecipe, Tacit Acceptance and Reconveyance

Ella Danchenko©, of Pascoe Vale South, Victoria State, is not a voluntarily transactor in commerce, and is the irrefutable Holder in Due Course of all associated Copyright Protected Trade Names since unrebutted lawful reconveyance to the Land and Soil jurisdiction of Terra Australis, commonly known as The Commonwealth of Australia, Public Record Number RPP44 63900 05100 30902 13600, Proclamation Date 29th February 2024; severing Usufruct Subjugation ties with the Australia Corporation in its entirety. The occupying corporate government of Australia and its affiliates are instructed to immediately cease and desist any further infringement upon these copyright protected Financial Instruments and cease and desist misaddressing Ella Danchenko© in fraudulent debased Dog-Latin; Glossa.

Notice of

Praecipe,

Tacit Acceptance and Reconveyance

Mark Stefan Osswald© of Belmont, Victoria, is not a voluntary transactor in commerce, and is the irrefutable Holder in Due Course of my properties and all associated copyright protected Trade Names since unrebutted lawful Reconveyance to the Land and Soil jurisdiction of Terra Australis also known as the Commonwealth of Australia Public Recording Number RPP44 63800 09400 44102 66601, Proclamation date 18th March 2024, MARK OSSWALD, M.S. OSSWALD, MS OSSWALD, OSSWALD Mark, MARK Osswald, MARK S OSSWALD, Mark Osswald, Mark Stefan OSSWALD, Mark Stefan Osswald, MARK S OSSWALD, MARK S. OSSWALD, Mark S Osswald, Mark S. Osswald, OSSWALD MARK STEFAN, OSSWALD Mark Stefan, MARK STEFAN OSSWALD, Mark, MARK, Mark S, Mark S., OSSWALD MARK, M.O., MO, MSO, M.S.O., MARK OSSWALD, OSSWALD MARK STEPHEN, MARK STEPHEN OSSWALD, MARK S OSSWALD, MARK S. OSSWALD, M.S. OSSWALD, MS OSSWALD, OSSWALD MARK, OSSWALD Mark Stephen, OSSWALD Mark , MARK Osswald, MARK S Osswald, Mark Stephen OSSWALD, Mark Osswald, Mark Stephen Osswald, Mark S Osswald, Mark S. Osswald, Mark S, Mark S., M.O., MO, MSO, M.S.O., OSSWALD MARK STEPHEN, MARK S. OSSWALD, MARK STEPHEN OSSWALD, and Dr. Plastic, DR. PLASTIC, mark@drplastic.com.au, drplastictm, www.drplastic.com.au, mark_osswald, thus severing usufruct subjugation ties with the occupying corporate government of Australia in its entirety. Immediately cease and desist any further infringement upon these copyright protected financial instruments and cease and desist misaddressing Mark Stefan Osswald© in fraudulent debased Dog-Latin, GLOSSA

info@chris-tv.com.au

Whether

or the North-East

The Local Paper’s giant Regional Edition covers Mansfield, Mitchell, Murrindindi, Nillumbik (rural), Strathbogie, Whittlesea (rural), Yarra Ranges.

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