Otway life spring15

connecting communities across the ranges spring 2015 issue 8

INSIDE

Lavers Hill • Events, Arts & Books • Around the Neighbourhood Houses

Otway living and visiting Winchelsea Y es HW Princ

ay Rd e O tw

Cap

Birregurra

Colac

Geelong Melbourne

Deans Marsh

Anglesea

Barongarook Aireys Inlet

Barwon Downs Ro

Forrest

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ea Gr

Wye River

Beech Forest Princetown

Kennett River

Lavers Hill Skenes Creek Apollo Bay Hordern Vale

Cape Otway

ad

Lorne Oc ea n

Gellibrand

Creatures Great and Small A journey to the heart of the Otway ranges is full of surprises as Spring encourages new growth and new arrivals. The warmer weather invites you to explore the many trails and walks through magnificent countryside and dense rainforest. No matter your age, the joy of being outdoors in nature at it’s most abundant is hard to beat.

Bring a friend and share the experiences the Otways offer.

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Editor’s Note

Spring 2015 edition

Spring…. just the word itself evokes hope and optimism. At this time of the year we celebrate the warming of the earth and the springing forth of new life. This issue we also celebrate people who may be said to be in the ‘Autumn’ of their lives and explore the many ways to a healthy, happy older age. The best age is the age you are now. We also take a closer look at Lavers Hill, perched on the highest point of the Great Ocean Road, it is a natural gateway to the hills, valleys and the alluring shipwreck coast. Each season we endeavour to bring you thoughtful and interesting reading on the history, geography, flora and fauna of the Otway Ranges, as well as news and information from our communities. If you enjoy what we have to offer, please support us by taking out a subscription.

And any ideas, articles and sharing of photos are always welcome!

Contributers: Ami Hillege, Suzanne Frydman, Nettie Hulme, Neal Drinnan, Merrill O’Donnell, Stephen Brooks, Lisa Jarvis.

The Team

Contents

Editor Nettie Hulme Design Gillian Brew Published September 2015

by Forrest & District Neighbourhood House 14 Grant Street Forrest Victoria 3236 P 03 5236 6591 E otwaylifemagazine@gmail.com F www.facebook.com/otwaylifemagazine B otwaylifemagazine.wordpress.com T twitter.com/otwaylifemag View Online issuu.com/otwaylife.magazine Next issue (Summer) deadline 30 October 2015 Otway Life Magazine acknowledges the Aboriginal Traditional Owners of Victoria - including its parks and reserves. Through their cultural traditions, Aboriginal people maintain their connection to their ancestral lands and waters.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this magazine and the advertisements supplied do not necessarily represent those of Forrest & District Neighbourhood House.

Printed by: Arthur Reed on 100% recycled stock Cover Image, Alpaca Cria by Gillian Brew

Positive Ageing Ambassador, Lyn Foster.

See liftout pages 19-22

Lavers Hill Profile ���������������������������� 4-7 History Note ������������������������������ 8-10 Cape Otway Lighthouse women leading the way �� 11 Park Notes Melba Gully ��������������������� 12-13 Threatened Bandicoots in the Otways ������������ 14 Otway Basin �������������������������������� 15 Park Notes Triplet Falls ���������������������� 16-17 Health and Wellbeing - Stories for Living Well ����� 18 Positive Ageing liftout ���������������������� 19-22 Do you recognise this poem? ������������������ 23 CO2CRC ��������������������������������� 24-25 Alpacas in the Otways ����������������������� 26-7 Arts Possum Skin Cloak at COPACC ���������������� 28 COPACC - Dylan Thomas ��������������������� 29 Vale Ian Schram Photographer ���������������� 30 Benefits of Choir ��������������������������� 31 Books & Writing ��������������������������� 32-33 The Good Life ������������������������������ 34 Around the Houses �������������������������� 36 Community Calendar ������������������������ 39

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Lavers Hill Lavers Hill is situated on the Great Ocean Road between Port Campbell and Apollo Bay, but on the inland section of the road, north-west of Cape Otway, and at the junction of the roads to Cobden and Colac. Lavers Hill and environs census population in 2006 was 208. It was combined with Beech Forest in 2011.

The small commercial centre of the town caters well for tourists, featuring a number of cafes, a bakery, a pub with a bistro, and a couple of information centres. The landmark wood sculpture at the junction of the Great Ocean Road and Colac Road is the “Drift”, which is a tribute to the marine environment, prehistoric skeletal finds, shipwrecks and the agricultural machinery of the area, designed by artist James Catell.

Lavers Hill is an area noted for scenic beauty. Perched at the highest point on the Great Ocean Road, views can be enjoyed of the rolling hills and timbered forests of the Otway Ranges. Lavers Hill is a handy base for exploring the natural attractions of the area, including the Triplet Falls, Hopetoun Falls and Beauchamp Falls. The Great Otway National Park surrounds much of Lavers Hill, with the Melba Gully section, located just south of the town centre, consisting of rainforests located in one of Victoria’s wettest locations, with night visitors being able to view glow worms on trails through the forests. Around a 20 minute drive north-east of Lavers Hills is the Otway Fly - an elevated tree top walk through an exquisitely beautiful beech myrtle forest, featuring a 45 metre high lookout tower.

Some attractive beaches can be found within an easy drive from Lavers Hill. Twelve kilometres south of Lavers Hill is the remote surfing spot of Johanna Beach. Glenaire, further east along the coast, is noted for good fishing and is popular with surfers, with scenic views available from the car park lookout above Castle Cove.

Lavers Hill was named after two settlers from Gippsland called Stephen and Frank Laver. The first saw mill was opened in 1900 and so was the church next to the college. Old families from as far back as the 1880s still reside near Lavers Hill, for example the Speight, Hampshire and Farrell families. Development of Lavers Hill happened quickly and depended on logging and agriculture for income. A bank was opened in 1906 and the community hall, a cheese factory, butcher shop and hotel followed. The community hall was literally blown over in 1930 and rebuilt in 1933. The hotel was burnt down in 1919 and again in 1930. As the timber industry declined so too did businesses such as the cheese factory and butcher.

Otway Life Magazine Spring 2015

Lavers Hill Feature

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Photos: Gillian Brew

DRIFT: Lavers Hill Icon Positioned at the highest point on the Great Ocean Road in 2002, artist James Cattell has created a sculpture to embody the region’s ancient history.

The five metre high piece is an abstract design with a pivoting copper form at the top of the carved timber shaft. The copper section will revolve in the oft present Lavers Hill wind. The project was originally conceived by the Otway Ridge Festival Committee and the Lavers Hill and District Progress Association and its development has been overseen by Otway Country to Coast Tourism Association members, with support by Council.

James constructed the sculpture using copper and timber to “evoke the marine environment, prehistoric skeletal finds, shipwrecks and the agricultural machinery of the area”.

The project was made possible through commitment by the local community in partnership with the State Government which committed $6,800 through State and Regional Development and the Colac Otway Shire who provided further funding and in kind assistance for the project.

Crowes Buffer Stop The stop south-west of Lavers Hill was pivotal in the development of Otways’ timber and agriculture industries until the 1950s.

The original railway was open from Colac to Beech Forest in 1902 and in 1911 it was extended along the

ridge from Beech Forest to Crowes. The Crowes end of the line closed in the 1950s when roads to the southern areas of the Otways were developed and the train’s use was void. The Puffing Billy Preservation Society and the Otway Scenic Circle Association oversaw the stop’s restoration in 1994.

Businesses in town Lavers Hill is the only intersection and the highest point on the Great Ocean Road. The township offers visitors a range of services including cafes and the roadhouse, licensed bistros and a range of accommodation, visitor information, petrol, rest stops and picnic areas. Lavers Hill Post Office opened around 1902. Named Yatzies, it is currently owned by the Yates family.

The School The Lavers Hill school was opened in 1910 as a rented room in the cheese factory. Another school was built near the church in 1911. In 1953, Johanna and Lavers Hill schools were consolidated. At one point, Lavers Hill school had 500 kids attending. Today it has around 100 students from Beech Forest, Ferguson, Gellibrand, Lower Gellibrand, Johanna and Hordernvale. The community celebrated the school centenary on 2 April 2011.

The Community Hall The town hall, opened in 1933 is still in use by locals for CERT meetings, badminton matches, progress meetings and other community activities, and is the home of the Lavers Hill Community House.

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Glow Show Lantern Parade Photos: Gillian Brew

The

The Otway Light

Otway Light

Issue 19

26 June 2015

“The Otway Light School and Community Newspaper began in 1979 as a combined Lavers Hill School and Community project.

Thirty five years later it is still a valued part of the community. Produced weekly in school terms by volunteers, it keeps locals informed about local events and history, and is a forum for student work.

South West TAFE at Lavers Hill In 2014 the Lavers Hill Community House and South West TAFE offered a 2 year part time Certificate 3 course in Visual Arts Textiles at Lavers Hill K-12 College. It began with 10 students, and in 2015 there are 12 students travelling from Timboon, Colac and Apollo Bay to take advantage of this opportunity.

As part of the course a 10 week collaborative project with some of the Years 3 – 8 students culminated in a magical Glow Show Lantern Parade at Melba Gully, followed by the unveiling of a felt sculpture the students had made. About 200 felt pods were stitched to a background to hang in the school foyer and gallery. It’s worth a look.

A felted “Glow Worm Environment” sculpture Created by Years 3–8 and the TAFE Cert 3 Visual Arts Textiles students.

Otway Life Magazine Spring 2015

Sue Ferrari is the inspiring art teacher.

Lavers Hill Feature

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Informal portrait of 233 Corporal (Cpl) Alwynne Stanley Bowker, 8th Light Horse Regiment, of Camperdown, Vic. A farmer prior to enlistment, Cpl Bowker embarked from Melbourne on HMAT Star of Victoria on 25th February 1915. He was killed in action on 7th August 1915 during the charge at The Nek, Gallipoli and is commemorated on the Lone Pine Memorial. His cousin 236 Sergeant (Sgt) William Charles Bowker of the 13th Battalion was also killed on the Gallipoli Peninsula.

Source: Australian War Memorial Australian soldiers running uphill at Gallipoli in December 1915. Source: Imperial War Museum

The First World War in the Otways A hundred years ago, over a period of four years, the Otways lost over forty young men. They came from an area from Princetown to Hordern Vale, from Gellibrand to the sea. They were lost on the battlefields of Gallipoli, Belgium and France. Nathaniel Quick didn’t get that far.

He died during training in Geelong.

Many were the sons of our early settlers -Henry Bellchambers, Frederick Grove, Ernest Hall, Francis McCrickard, Samuel McInnes, Cyril Marriner, Ernest Minchinton, Hugh Cameron, Stephen Raper and brothers, Arthur & Leslie Scouller. Alwynne Bowker, Robert Collyer, William Pettett and Ernest Ware were farmers or worked on farms. George Houston was a butcher, Stanley Tullock a carpenter, James Hogan and Ernest Smith were both Carlisle River school teachers, Richard Kelly a timber worker and Augustus Fisk was an engine driver. We can find no records for W N Brookes and H L Millington though their names appear on the Beech Forest memorial. Most soldiers enlisted as labourers. They included John Bowen, Vincent Cahill,

Thomas Dolan, Emmanuel Forbes, James Gemmell, James Hutchison, Harry Lindsay, Edward Minton, James Neighbour, Patrick O’Sullivan, Victor Quinn and Edward Ross. They would have worked on farms, on the railway, in the timber industry. These were the young, fit men – the future of the Otways.

The number of soldiers who did return numbered many hundreds. They also came from all walks of life including Lavers Hill jeweller, John Delaney. Many of these returned home still suffering from their wartime injuries and illnesses; some never really recovered.

Many didn’t actually return to the Otways, preferring an easier life in the larger towns – could you blame them after the experiences they’d had?

The loss of energy from the younger set had a serious effect on the 0tways with reduced development, farms not thriving, businesses stagnating and even the train had less patronage. It was many years till this situation was turned around as a new generation of young people grew up.

Otway Districts Historical Society.

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Websters of Beechwood Written by Stephen Brooks & Merrill O’Donnell of the Colac & District Family History Group.

When Robert Bakewell Webster sailed to Victoria on the Iberia in 1884, he was the second generation of his family to have made the trip. Robert’s father, John Hearne Webster, had migrated to Victoria in 1848 and, after his marriage to Euphemia Stewart and the birth of four daughters, the family decided to return to England to live. Robert was born in 1865 in Reading, Berkshire, the tenth child of John and Euphemia.

Before settling at Lavers Hill, Robert lived in various places, including some time in New Zealand.

Meanwhile, in 1891 Stephen and Robert Laver and a party from Loch in Gippsland had travelled to the Otways to take up land. They endured harsh conditions while clearing 150 acres of land and decided to forfeit the blocks and return to Gippsland, which seemed to have better prospects. The name Lavers Hill was, however, given to the area after these early pioneers.

In 1893, along with several other colonists, Robert Webster selected land near Lavers Hill. Robert is believed to have said that “any land that can grow trees that big has to be good.” He established his property ‘Beechwood’, and hand built a home constructed with split timber dressed with a draw-knife. Soft-wood windows and roofing material were carted from Colac in a wagon drawn by a team of bullocks he had bought.

In 1900, Robert married Ada Bowker from Princetown, an experienced horsewoman and daughter of one of the earliest residents of Victoria. The wedding was “a Otway Life Magazine Spring 2015

great occasion” and in a later interview, Robert said “People danced until daybreak those times, there were no motor cars with good lights then and the roads were terrible. They could not start for home until daylight, so they kept dancing.”

Robert and Ada had six children; three sons and three daughters. Life was demanding for Ada, raising a family, keeping house and helping on the farm, including milking the cows. Every Monday was washing day, and the copper would be lit, sheets boiled then blued and wrung out by hand.

Although the early years were difficult, Robert always believed in the potential of the Lavers Hill district. Roads were non-existent or impassable in winter and Beech Forest, where the railway terminated, was 21 kilometres from Lavers Hill, regularly a four day round trip with a bullock wagon.

Supplies were brought in from Port Campbell, 56 kilometres away on an unformed track that followed the top of the ridges.

Even though the land was rich and could sustain abundant agricultural crops, it was often impossible to get the produce to market, with farms being virtually isolated after heavy rain. Robert later said in a newspaper interview that the dairy cow was their means to a livelihood. He believed, “but for the cheese making, none of us could have remained as we had no other source of income.”

History Note

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Webster Family 1918 Back – Stewart, Maud, Christopher, Effie and John (Jack) Front – Ada, Mary, Robert (Bob)

Robert Webster and Ada Bowker’s wedding day 27 June1900

1930 Stewart mowing hay (oats and rye) Bob standing

Beechwood house front paddock full of oxeye daisies that came in grass seed from England.

In 1908, a half-time school opened in Lavers Hill and twenty-seven children were enrolled. The town had a store, a blacksmith, a butcher shop, a hotel, a post office, sale-yards, a cheese factory and Charles Trew had established a popular boarding house called ’Cavan House’.

Images courtesy of private collections

Devastating bushfires, rabbits and bracken took their toll and several of the original settlers left the area, yet through all of the ups and downs, the Webster family remained at Lavers Hill and continued farming. When the eldest son Stewart married Frances Hughes in 1938, a new generation took over ‘Beechwood’ and, in the late 1940s, Robert and Ada were able to retire to Port Fairy.

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The wedding of Frances Hughes to Stewart Webster. Mr & Mrs Hughes behind the bride and at the the back of the photo, Robert and Ada Webster.

(Frances and Stewart Webster were the next generation to take over the property that Robert and Ada established in Lavers Hill)

Bush Nurse Frances Hughes on her Arab in front of Bush Nursing cottage 1931

The young bush nurse Frances Hughes 1931

Frances had worked in Lavers Hill for a short time as a Bush Nurse after having completed her training at Melbourne hospitals in 1932.

She was transferred to a drier climate for health reasons, and was working in Underbool in the Mallee when Stewart proposed.

Following their marriage, Frances used her bush nursing skills to provide voluntary medical care to the community. At times the kitchen resembled a doctor’s surgery, with one accident victim being treated, while another sick or injured person waited to be tended to. The children were diplomatically given chores, such as retrieving hairs from the horse’s tail for stitching wounds, to divert their attention from some of the graphic treatments Frances had to administer.

Stewart became the ‘ambulance’ driver, ferrying serious patients to Colac in the back of their 1932 Vauxhall while Frances offered comfort and care. The 65 kilometre drive would take two hours over rough roads with landslides or flooding, causing detours and further delay. In 1974, Frances Webster was awarded an MBE for her nursing service to the community.

Frances Webster MBE centre , Sir Rohan Delecombe greeting Elizabeth Whitehead 1974

Robert Webster died in Colac in 1957 after almost a lifetime of determination to make Lavers Hill the agricultural success he believed it could be. Ada died in Colac in 1960 and they are buried together in the Colac cemetery.

We would like to thank the Otway Districts Historical Society and the Webster Family for their assistance in researching this article.

Otway Life Magazine Spring 2015

Cape Otway Light Station

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Leading Light for Women in Management

Pictured L-R: Tourism Great Ocean Road director Jenny Bowker, Lightstation assistant manager Heather Peillon, Character of the Cape Renée Grbavac, and new Lightstation manager Trish Goodlet.

With calls echoing around the Australian business world for more women in senior management positions and as company directors, Cape Otway Lightstation appears to be a leading light.

Tourism Great Ocean Road, the company behind the management of the heritage precinct, is headed by director Jenny Bowker, who has just installed Apollo Bay’s Trish Goodlet as manager, and Chapple Vale’s Heather Peillon as assistant manager. Mrs Bowker said although she was a great supporter of gender diversity in business she had appointed both candidates based on their work histories in tourism and their vision for the heritage precinct.

“My premise about gender is that women that have the talent will rise to it,” Mrs Bowker said.

“I appointed Trish because she was the most appropriate person for the job and we first worked together in the mid nineties when I was president of the Great Ocean Road Tourism Association when we had our first community-led visitor information centre in Apollo Bay.” Mrs Goodlet, who began working in tourism as an Apollo Bay high school student, has a degree in tourism management and has worked in a number of resorts, managed the Apollo Bay Visitor Information Centre and was Otways Tourism executive officer.

Ms Peillon has worked at the Otway Fly and managed

both the Colac and Apollo Bay visitor information centres.

Mrs Goodlet has big plans for the Lightstation.

“I do like challenge and change and I am really interested in growing our core products, developing Great Ocean Walk packages, and improving the café which has been renamed the Lightkeeper’s Kitchen,” Mrs Goodlet said.

She plans to attract more Great Ocean Walkers to spend the night at the iconic lightstation, and is developing take away meal packages to refuel long distance hikers.

Colac Otway and Corangamite shire residents are also in her focus.

“We offer free admission to locals so when they have friends and family visiting the region they can make the most of the free entry and bring them down here to see the Lightstation and stop off for an Otway Burger or a high tea.”

Mrs Goodlet has plans to grow the events calendar at the Lightstation and will also develop a corporate teambuilding programme.

The Lightstation celebrated International Lighthouse Weekend on August 15 and 16 with pony rides, whale watching, yesteryear games, kids’ art activities, a ghost tour and three course dinner with Irish music, plus a bush tucker cooking display and more.

For details www.lightstation.com or call 5237 9240

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Melba Gully Melba Gully

ppaa rr kk nn o o tt ee ss

Great Otway National Park Great Otway National Park

Visitor Guide Visitor Guide Known as the Jewel of the Otways, this is one of the wettest places in Victoria with an annual rainfall Known as the Jewel of the Otways, this is one of the wettest places in Victoria with an annual rainfall of over 2000mm. The gully has prolific plant growth and is a dense rainforest of Myrtle Beech, of over 2000mm. The gully has prolific plant growth and is a dense rainforest of Myrtle Beech, Blackwood and Tree‐ferns, with an understorey of low ferns and mosses.

Blackwood and Tree‐ferns, with an understorey of low ferns and mosses.

Spot-tailed Spot-tailed Quoll Quoll

Experience the magic, imagine the past and walk into

Experience magic, imagine the past and walk into an ancientthe world an ancient world

Rainforests

Rainforests

Melba Gully introduces you to Victoria’s cool

Melba Gully introduces you to Victoria’s cool temperate rainforest which has evolved over millions temperate rainforest which has evolved over millions of years. of years.

The Myrtle Beech are survivors from an ancient

The Myrtle Beech are survivors from an ancient wetter climate and were once common in the gullies wetter climate and were once common in the gullies of the Otway Ranges. They are closely related to beech trees in Tasmania’s rainforests, reminding us of the Otway Ranges. They are closely related to of the original landlink with the island. beech trees in Tasmania’s rainforests, reminding us of the original landlink with the island.

Rainforests all over the world are home to more than

half of all species.

Rainforests all over the world are home to more than half of all species.

Enjoying the park

Enjoying the park

Madsen's Track Nature Walk

This 35 minute loop walk is an adventure into a Madsen's Track Nature Walk world of ancient, mossy trees and cool fern gullies.

This 35 minute loop walk is an adventure into a Start at the picnic area and follow the information world of ancient, mossy trees and cool fern gullies. signs along the track and listen for the soothing

Start at the picnic area and follow the information sound of Anne’s cascades. signs along the track and listen for the soothing Rest at the site of the Big Tree; a huge old Otway sound of Anne’s cascades.

Messmate, which has fallen and started recycling

Rest at the site of the Big Tree; a huge old Otway back into the forest floor sustaining new life and Messmate, which has fallen and started recycling growth. back into the forest floor sustaining new life and Please stay on the walking track to prevent damage growth. to the sensitive environment.

Please stay on the walking track to prevent damage Good walking shoes are recommended as the track is to the sensitive environment. steep in places.

Good walking shoes are recommended as the track is steep in places.

Birds and animals Melba Gully is home to a range of shy and nocturnal animals including possums, Swamp wallabies, Spot ‐ Birds and animals tailed quolls and native bush rats.

Melba Gully is home to a range of shy and nocturnal Many birds thrive in the rainforest including the animals including possums, Swamp wallabies, Spot ‐ Australian Ground Thrush, Suberb Fairy ‐ wrens, tailed quolls and native bush rats.

Yellow Robins, Grey Shrike‐thrushes and Rufous Yellow Robins, Grey Shrike‐thrushes and Rufous Fantails.

Fantails.

Perhaps the most unusual inhabitants are the glow Perhaps the most unusual inhabitants are the glow worms, which can be seen at night along the walking worms, which can be seen at night along the walking tracks. Please do not touch them. tracks. Please do not touch them.

The carnivorous Otway Black Snail (Victaphanta The carnivorous Otway Black Snail (Victaphanta compacta) is endemic to the region and can be seen compacta) is endemic to the region and can be seen along the track during wet weather.

along the track during wet weather.

Picnic tables, a gas barbecue and toilets are Picnic tables, a gas barbecue and toilets are provided. Camping is not permitted.

provided. Camping is not permitted.

Steam, sawdust and sightseers

Steam, sawdust and sightseers

Settlers began clearing the forest in the 1880s.

Settlers began clearing the forest in the 1880s.

Transport was a major problem and a narrow gauge Transport was a major problem and a narrow gauge railway was built from Colac to Beech Forest in 1902 railway was built from Colac to Beech Forest in 1902 and then to Crowes in 1911.

and then to Crowes in 1911.

Sawmills were established in the forest and timber tramways were built to carry logs and timber to the Sawmills were established in the forest and timber railway line. There were two sawmills and a tramway tramways were built to carry logs and timber to the in Melba Gully. railway line. There were two sawmills and a tramway in Melba Gully.

Mrs Jessie Fry named the area "Melba Gully" (after Australia's famous singer Dame Nellie Melba) in Mrs Jessie Fry named the area "Melba Gully" (after 1921. The picnic area is on the site of Mrs Fry’s Australia's famous singer Dame Nellie Melba) in tearooms.

1921. The picnic area is on the site of Mrs Fry’s

Through the 1930s and 1940s Melba Gully was a tearooms. popular picnic and lunch spot for bus tourists.

Through the 1930s and 1940s Melba Gully was a Business came to an end in 1948 when a bus length popular picnic and lunch spot for bus tourists. limit was imposed on Otway roads.

Business came to an end in 1948 when a bus length

The property was sold in 1958 to Mr and Mrs Axel limit was imposed on Otway roads.

Madsen, who generously offered it to the Victorian The property was sold in 1958 to Mr and Mrs Axel Conservation Trust in 1975. The Trust later Madsen, who generously offered it to the Victorian transferred it to the Crown to be managed by Parks Conservation Trust in 1975. The Trust later Victoria and donated further parcels of land in 2003.

transferred it to the Crown to be managed by Parks

Caring for Country Victoria and donated further parcels of land in 2003.

Through their rich and diverse culture, Indigenous Caring for Country Australians have been intrinsically connected to Country for tens of thousands of years.

Through their rich and diverse culture, Indigenous

Australians have been intrinsically connected to The spiritual and physical connections of the Gadubanud people are still celebrated today.

Country for tens of thousands of years.

Parks Victoria recognises this connection and The spiritual and physical connections of the acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Aboriginal Gadubanud people are still celebrated today. communities of these areas.

Parks Victoria recognises this connection and September 2013 acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Aboriginal Printed on Australian‐made 100% recycled paper communities of these areas.

Many birds thrive in the rainforest including the Australian Ground Thrush, Suberb Fairy ‐ wrens, For more information call the Parks Victoria Information Centre on 13 1963

or visit our website at www.parks.vic.gov.au For more information call the Parks Victoria Information Centre on 13 1963 or visit our website at www.parks.vic.gov.au

September 2013 Printed on Australian‐made 100% recycled paper

Environment

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Photo Credit: Gillian Brew

Melba Gully

Melba Gully The lush rainforest gully is home to many shy and mysterious creatures. If you have a keen eye and venture out at night you may just spot the twinkle of distant city lights or stars come to earth in the dark corners and overhangs lining the paths.

Glow worms The glow worm isn’t a worm at all, but the larvae or maggot of fly-like insects called fungus gnats.

Glow worms are common in damp, dark places, and in Melba Gully are often found on soil banks with overhanging ledges. In the wetter parts of the Otway Ranges like Melba Gully, colonies of these glowing larvae put on a light show, a visual spectacular best appreciated at night.

Ï

The end of the abdomen is luminous. The light is emitted from tiny tubes (malpighian tubules) which open into the gut of the larvae and are visible through transparent skin at the end of the body (the last segment of the abdomen.)

The light will “go out” if the glow worm is disturbed, for example by noise or direct torchlight, so please tread quietly, and don’t touch!

The larvae produce threads of silk they attach sticky beads or droplets to, giving them a necklace apprearance. Up to 5cm long these threads trap tiny insects on which the glow worms feed.

Melba Gully is 1.5km off the Great Ocean Road, 3km west of Lavers Hill. The access road is suitable for conventional vehicles. Melways Ref. 526 H10P

Otways Accommodation

The Otways There simply is no better place on earth ...and simply no better way to find where to stay, what to do and how to get there

www.otwaysaccommodation.com.au

otway businesses - contact us to be part of the buzz

14 Environment

Threatened Bandicoots surviving in the Otways Rare and threatened Southern Brown Bandicoots and Long-nosed Bandicoots have been recorded by remote cameras in the Great Otway National Park. The exciting discovery was made by the Friends of Eastern Otways who do regular monitoring work in the park each month.

The group set up the cameras at Urquhart Bluff near Aireys Inlet after bandicoot prints had been observed on the foreshore dunes. The Friends Group was rewarded last month when camera results proved that the rare Southern Brown Bandicoot and the Long-nosed Bandicoot were sharing the same habitat. The Southern Brown Bandicoot is listed as ‘Endangered’ under the Federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act and as ‘Threatened’ in Victoria.

Margaret MacDonald, honorary secretary of the Friends of Eastern Otways, said that the volunteer group was excited to know that these two species of bandicoot are happily using the same habitat.

“We are really thrilled to share this good news and hope that the small mammals will remain in the area and increase in numbers. The bandicoots were recorded on separate occasions during the afternoon and after dark.

This is a great reminder of the wonderful habitat that the Great Otway National Park provides for native animals, including rare and threatened species,” she said.

Parks Victoria ranger Cathy Longmore, said volunteers from the Friends Group do a huge amount of work to help care for and improve the park and its natural environment.

Photo from “Mammals of Australia”, Vol. I Plate 11 Part of the 3 Volumes by John Gould, F.R.S. 1863

“The Friends monitoring work complements the ongoing small mammal monitoring program and research that Parks Victoria conducts in the park. The results will be added into the Victorian Biodiversity Atlas and really help to build our knowledge of which species are present and their locations,” said Ms Longmore.

“It makes a huge difference to have volunteers such as the Friends of Eastern Otways who really care about the area and are actively helping to manage the park,” she said.

The Friends of Eastern Otways are a local group of people who share an interest in the natural environment. They are involved in a variety of environmental projects within the Great Otway National Park, including threatened flora and fauna monitoring, environmental weed removal, indigenous plantings and activities to raise community awareness about the park and environment.

“It’s fantastic that Parks Victoria and community organisations including the Conservation Ecology Centre and Friends of the Eastern Otways are regularly recording images of medium sized mammals such as the longnosed bandicoot right now. In a time when many of our most critically threatened mammals are succumbing to threatening processes such as predation from cats and foxes, it’s great to know that the Otways is still a bastion for some of these important species.“ Dr Jack Pascoe, Conservation & Research Manager, Conservation Ecology Centre.

REF: http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/about-us/news/threatened-bandicootssurviving-in-the-otways

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Ph 0431 121 514 Otway Life Magazine Spring 2015

www.relaxcommunications.com.au

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The Otway Basin The Otway Basin is located in a half rift or graben, which was formed when Australia and Antarctica separated. It stretches from South Australia (S.A) into Victoria.

The Otway Basin extends along the Southern Margin across Victoria and South Australia. The basin contains a number of gas discoveries and some small

oil discoveries. In Victoria, substantial gas reserves (approximately 2 trillion cubic feet) have been discovered over the last 15 years offshore, along with a number of smaller fields onshore. Several new significant offshore gas fields have been brought onstream since 2005 and others are currently under development.

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Triplet Falls Triplet Falls Great Otway National Park Great Otway National Park

Walk Guide Walk Guide Triplet Falls is one of the most spectacular and enchanting waterfalls in the Great Otway National Triplet Falls is one of the most spectacular and enchanting waterfalls in the Great Otway National Park. Nestled amongst the ancient forests of Mountain Ash and Myrtle Beech, you will discover Park. Nestled amongst the ancient forests of Mountain Ash and Myrtle Beech, you will discover three distinct and impressive cascades flowing through shady rainforests and glades of mossy tree three distinct and impressive cascades flowing through shady rainforests and glades of mossy tree ferns. ferns.

Listen for the

Listen for the soft, musical soft, songmusical of the song of the scrub-wren scrub-wren busy hunting busy hunting around the around the forest floor. forest floor.

Triplet Falls Walk

Triplet Falls Walk

Distance: 2km Time: 1hr loop

Distance: 2km Time: 1hr loop

Steep steps – unsuitable for people with limited mobility.

Steep steps – unsuitable for people with limited mobility.

Enjoy the history and story of this rainforest, as told by the signs that lead you around the walk.

Enjoy the history and story of this rainforest, as told by the signs that lead you around the walk.

Look for the giant Mountain Ash trees along the way. Some of these trees are estimated to be over Look for the giant Mountain Ash trees along the 200 years old and have generated from a seed the way. Some of these trees are estimated to be over size of a grain of sand.

200 years old and have generated from a seed the Listen for the falls as you walk through the ancient size of a grain of sand. forest on a series of elevated walkways. Platforms

Listen for the falls as you walk through the ancient provide you with spectacular views of Triplet Falls’ forest on a series of elevated walkways. Platforms lower and upper cascades. provide you with spectacular views of Triplet Falls’ Youngs Creek flows to the falls from Weeaproinah, lower and upper cascades. which has the state’s highest average annual Youngs Creek flows to the falls from Weeaproinah, rainfall of almost two metres. The falls are even which has the state’s highest average annual more spectacular after rain.

rainfall of almost two metres. The falls are even Stay on the path while looking for the different more spectacular after rain. mosses and fungi growing on the forest floor. They play an important role in maintaining this Stay on the path while looking for the different rainforest. mosses and fungi growing on the forest floor. They play an important role in maintaining this rainforest.

Little Aire Walk

Distance: 4.5km Time: 2hr return

Little Aire Walk

This walk leads off the Triplet Falls track and passes through spectacular rainforest along an old Distance: 4.5km Time: 2hr return

logging winch line. View the falls from an eight This walk leads off the Triplet Falls track and metre platform.

Rich in history Rich in history The completion of the Colac‐Beech Forest‐Crowes The completion of the Colac‐Beech Forest‐Crowes railway opened up the rugged and remote west railway opened up the rugged and remote west Otways to logging operations in 1902. The Otways to logging operations in 1902. The surrounding area was once home to Knott’s No 1 surrounding area was once home to Knott’s No 1 sawmill. Relics of this era are evident along the walk.

sawmill. Relics of this era are evident along the walk.

Built in 1908 by Melbourne timber merchant, G.W. Built in 1908 by Melbourne timber merchant, G.W. Knott, this mill was one of the most productive in Knott, this mill was one of the most productive in the area. He later sold the mill to the War Service the area. He later sold the mill to the War Service Homes Commission in 1920.

Homes Commission in 1920.

The mill processed over 3,600 tons of centuries old The mill processed over 3,600 tons of centuries old Mountain Ash per year, producing timber for the Mountain Ash per year, producing timber for the homes of servicemen returning from World War homes of servicemen returning from World War One.

One. As you stand amongst the forest and sawmill relics, it is hard to imagine the industry that was sustained As you stand amongst the forest and sawmill relics, in this area for more than 20 years. it is hard to imagine the industry that was sustained in this area for more than 20 years.

Caring for Country

Caring for Country Through their rich culture, Aboriginal people have been intrinsically connected to Country for tens of Through their rich culture, Aboriginal people have thousand of years. Parks Victoria recognises this been intrinsically connected to Country for tens of connection and acknowledges the Traditional thousand of years. Parks Victoria recognises this Owners and Aboriginal Communities of these areas. connection and acknowledges the Traditional

All historical and cultural remains in parks are Owners and Aboriginal Communities of these areas. protected by law and must not be disturbed or All historical and cultural remains in parks are removed.

protected by law and must not be disturbed or removed.

Old Beechy Rail Trail

Early last century a narrow gauge railway was

Old Beechy Rail Trail constructed from Colac to Beech Forest and later Early last century a narrow gauge railway was extended to Crowes (2.5km west of Lavers Hill).

constructed from Colac to Beech Forest and later You can enjoy the heritage of this mountain railway, extended to Crowes (2.5km west of Lavers Hill). as it is now a trail for walkers and cyclists on the section linking Colac and Beech Forest.

You can enjoy the heritage of this mountain railway, as it is now a trail for walkers and cyclists on the How to get there section linking Colac and Beech Forest.

Triplet Falls is 200km from Melbourne via Colac and How to get there Gellibrand, or 70km from Apollo Bay. Follow the signs from the Beech Forest ‐ Lavers Hill Road, the Triplet Falls is 200km from Melbourne via Colac and falls are 3km past the Otway Fly.

Gellibrand, or 70km from Apollo Bay. Follow the signs from the Beech Forest ‐ Lavers Hill Road, the falls are 3km past the Otway Fly.

passes through spectacular rainforest along an old logging winch line. View the falls from an eight metre platform.

For more information call the Parks Victoria Information Centre on 13 1963 or visit our website at www.parks.vic.gov.au

For more information call the Parks Victoria Information Centre on 13 1963 or visit our website at www.parks.vic.gov.au

Environment

17

Melba Gully

Triplet Falls

Photo Credit: Michael Barnett

When you visit look around for evidence of logging, an industry sustained here many years ago. Watch for grooves in trees, stumps and relics at the Knotts No 1 Mill site.

Although platypus sightings are rare, keep an eye out for this curious creature. Best time is dusk through to dawn when they come out of their burrows to feed.

Be safe, be prepared

- Wear sturdy footwear, a hat and sunscreen - Always carry drinking water - Keep to defined walking tracks and resist temptation to take short cuts - Photo opportunities exist along the walk, please do not leave the track as this causes damage to vegetation

- Avoid bushwalking on days of high fire danger or Total Fire Ban - Disabled access is to first viewing platform only

Be fire ready and stay safe Many parks and forests are located in high fire risk areas. On days of forecast Code Red Fire Danger this park will be closed for public safety. If you are already in the park you should leave the night before or early in the morning for your own safety.

Closure signs will be erected and rangers will patrol when possible, however you may not receive a personal warning that the park is closed so check the latest conditions by calling 13 1963 or visit www.parks.vic.gov.au

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18 Health & Wellbeing

Stories for Living Well “Positive ageing is a term used to describe the process of maintaining a positive attitude, feeling good about yourself, keeping fit and healthy, and engaging fully in life as you age” (The Australian Psychological Society).

Some might be ageing wonderfully and find no need for definitions. For the rest of us, social concepts such as this can spark us to use it or lose it – our minds, bodies, and our dreams.

Genuinely holding positive attitudes requires bravely sitting with shadows. We keep fit and healthy to the best of our changing abilities. We engage fully in life and that includes facing up to all the inevitable losses.

Living well requires resilience.

There are many creative ways to express positive ageing in this region. The astonishing physical environment of the Otways is a great backdrop; nature constantly changing and adapting, as we must, to survive and thrive. Thriving requires connectedness to others, perhaps symbolised in the slight hand-raised wave at the wheel when neighbours and strangers pass each other on country roads.

All around us are incredible stories of living with bravery and gusto. They include bushfire survival, rebuilding and moving across different locations. Many can share incredible birthing stories.

Otway Life Magazine Spring 2015

Going off or sending others to war, some never to return. Saying “goodbye” to what are sometimes lifelong partnership and friendships of sixty plus years, or cherishing memories of relationships cut short by time.

Research has shown it is often connection and relationship to others that support longevity. Longevity entails being confronted by losses. Recognition and sharing of these moments are poignant but often difficult. There is a recent world-wide phenomenon called Death Cafes, where people come together to talk about loss and “make the most of their finite lives” (deathcafe.com).

On social media people are expressing things they need to and finding support through public, closed and secret spaces and groups. At different times we crave comforting, healing and finding ways to live with our losses, and in doing so, connect to others and the deeper parts of ourselves.

On the fifth anniversary of her son’s passing, a friend recently told me that for her it is not getting easier; time has not healed. Positive ageing involves sharing our unique stories. This takes courage. Let’s here in the Otways remember to make these spaces for ourselves and others. Don’t forget to wave.

By Suzanne Frydman www.relaxcommunications.com.au

POSIE IVE

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2A

AGEIN

THE AGE TO BE... valued • involved • productive • active • consumer wise • cared for

2B

Seniors Week POSI IVE AGEIN 4 -11 October 2015 For more information about events and activities please contact Council’s Older Persons & Ability Support Services on  T: 5232 9420

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The 50+ Plan

Council has developed a 50+ Plan as a long-term approach to support the ageing population by assisting and empowering residents aged 50 years and over. The plan covers all residents over 50, from healthy older people, through to those who require assistance to remain healthy, independent and part of the community, and to 4 those who require residential care.

Mayor Frank Buchanan said the plan would assist Council to enable older people to take an active part in society and to enjoy an independent and good quality of life.

“As a Council, we want to make sure we create age-friendly communities so that older people have the ability to continue playing an active role in society,” he said.

The 50+ Plan will be implemented in three phases over 10 years, with the first phase between 2015 and 2017 to develop a comprehensive understanding of the ageing community’s needs and implement strategies to meet these needs.

POSITIVE AGEING

Tony Grogan, Gellibrand Ambassador

“This will be achieved through further engagement with older people and service providers as well as setting up an older person’s advisory group to guide Council on issues and challenges facing older people and influence change at a decision making level. “This will comprise a number of Council’s Positive Ageing Ambassadors who have been an integral part of collecting and acting on older people’s thoughts and needs through various projects around the shire,” Cr Buchanan said.

P sitive Ageing

The 50+ Plan will focus on important issues for older people including older people being Design by Gillian Brew > 04 connected with their communities, staying active and healthy, services required for the vulnerable, suitable accommodation, and feeling safe and secure. In developing the Plan many have asked “Why 50, it’s too young?” In answer to this question, it is recognised internationally that the actions people take in their 50s can contribute significantly in positive and negative ways to how well they live as they age.

The Colac Otway Positive Ageing Ambassador Program

“If a community is age friendly for older people it is age friendly for everyone” Jan Healey, Barongarook Ambassador

The Colac Otway Shire recruited 12 Positive Ageing Ambassadors from small towns and communities to talk with their friends and community members about what makes life good and what would make life better…

The Ambassadors are as diverse in their experiences, skills and stories as the communities and landscapes of the Colac Otway Shire.

…whilst I’ve always enjoyed working with people, and workshop experiences, it was good to be able to use the skills I’ve had in the past and in a different way, to work with the community. It’s helped me, as I wanted to reconnect with groups, certainly broaden my understanding of what’s actually happening in the town, both Beeac and Cressy, and I would hope that through this process I have become a better resource for the community.

Jenny Lang, Beeac/Cressy Ambassador

What does a Positive Ageing Ambassador do?

Positive Ageing Ambassadors advocate the priorities of local older people and communities to local and state government.

Positive Ageing Ambassadors consult with individuals and groups; develop partnerships in the community and initiate and action projects which will increase the ‘age friendliness’ of the local community.

The Colac Otway Positive Ageing Ambassador Project utilised the Guide to Global Age Friendly Cities as a basis for the project planning, development and community consultation processes.

This guide sets out to tackle ageing as a societal concern and outlines strategies in eight subject areas: • Outdoor spaces and buildings • Transportation • Housing • Social participation • Respect and social inclusion • Civic participation and employment • Communication and information • Community support and health services

Positive Ageing Ambassadors Age Friendly Communities REPORT SNAPSHOT Key themes emerging across all communities: • Seating / Pathways / Lighting • Transport • Social and Community Connections • Information • Succession planning in community organisations • Links and networks between community and service providers • Managing change in small rural communities • Assistance with Independent Living

Betty Harris Colac

Lyn Foster

“Having the Positive Ageing Ambassador Program gives Council the opportunity to talk to people, we have the opportunity to have a forum, a conversation around how our central business district can be developed, how paths can be planned, how seats, how concerts, how events, how programs can be developed with people at the centre of decision making. Instead of Council making decisions at the start, people are there from day one working through the issues, working through a common understanding of what the needs are and looking at a common direction of how to get to a great outcome”.

Greg Fletcher Manager Community Services, Colac Otway Shire

Jenny Lang Beeac/Cressy

Jeff Speirs Forrest

Tony Grogan Gellibrand

“There were a range of things that kept coming up from lighting to footpaths but seating was the thing that kept coming up. A lot of older people walk into town and need somewhere to sit along the way. I felt after walking the streets and talking to people about what they needed; that a lack of seating at both ends of the main street was something that I could help with. I am happy that people can see that I have listened to them and got something done to help make life better” Betty Harris Colac Ambassador LOGO DESIGN - Positive Ageing - Colac Images kindly supplied by Colac Ambassador Murray Howard-Brooks

For more information or to join in Positive Ageing Projects and Activities contact The Positive Ageing Ambassadors at Community Hub Inc. on 5231 2822 2A

POSIE IVE AGEIN

Aged Care Services in Colac Otway My Age Care

Home Care Packages

Age care service providers within Colac Otway are moving into the future in partnership with the Commonwealth’s My Aged Care initiative. In Victoria, for the short term, you can contact your Home and Community Care assessment service team and service provider agencies direct or alternatively contact My Aged Care.

Details are provided at http://www.myagedcare.gov.au/help-home These agencies can provide you with information on aged care for yourself, a family member, a friend or someone you’re caring for. Call the My Aged Care contact centre on 1800 200 422.

Council’s Older Persons and Ability Support Services (OPASS) have a number of Home Care Packages for people with higher needs.

OPASS staff will work in partnership with you to identify your goals and needs. The assigned Care Manager will also work with you to co-design the best ways to deliver care and services so you can live a more active and independent life.

Services within Colac Otway continue to provide Home and Community Care (HACC) support for people to remain living independently in their own home. This can be in the form of domestic care and personal to help with daily tasks for older people who can no longer manage on their own. Respite services, meals and property support services may also be provided depending on each person’s level of needs.

For example, you or a family member might need help with home maintenance or modifications, such as changing light bulbs or hand rails. You might also need minor aids and equipment, like a walking frame, to help you get around your home safely and easily. You might need help with tasks like showering and dressing or preparing meals or having meals on wheels delivered to your home. Age care services are designed with the aim of meeting your changing needs as you get older or your health or ability fails. For more information about My Aged Care or are if you are requiring a service, please do not hesitate to contact the:

These packages provide for a much higher level of services than the standard HACC services.

These include: Personal services – such as help with showering or bathing, dressing and mobility.

Support services – such as help with washing and ironing, house cleaning, gardening, basic home maintenance, home modifications related to your care needs, and transport to help you do shopping, doctor’s visits or attendance ar social activities.

Clinical care – such as nursing and other health support including physiotherapy (exercise, mobility, strength and balance), services of a dietician (nutrition assessment, food and nutrition advice, dietary changes) and hearing and vision services.

For more information please contact: Council’s Older Persons & Ability Support Services on T: 5232 9420

Council’s Older Persons and Ability Support Services on T: 5232 9420 OR Otway Health and Community Service T: 5237 8500 for services in Apollo Bay, Skenes Creek, Lavers Hill, Forrest and Beech Forest.

LOGO DESIGN - Positive Ageing - Colac Ot

2A

POSIE IVE AGEIN

23

Do you recognize this poem?

A 1996 survey BBC identified it as the UK’s most popular post-war poem, beating Dylan Thomas’ “Do Not Go Gentle Into that Good Night.” It’s called “Warning” and was written by Jenny Joseph (1932- ) at age 29.

Jenny Joseph’s “ When I Am An Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple”

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.

And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells And run my stick along the public railings And make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain And pick flowers in other people’s gardens And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat And eat three pounds of sausages at a go Or only bread and pickle for a week And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry And pay our rent and not swear in the street And set a good example for the children.

We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?

So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

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The CO2CRC Otway Project Australia’s first demonstration of geological carbon storage An innovative, world-leading project is underway in south-western Victoria to demonstrate a technology that can make deep cuts to Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The CO2CRC Otway Project is the country’s first demonstration of the deep geological storage of carbon dioxide, the most common manmade greenhouse gas, as part of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology.

The project is of global significance. It involves leading Australian and international researchers working as part of CO2CRC to develop and implement a rigorous monitoring and verification program that complements the demonstration of subsurface storage. The project is also leading the way in defining regulatory requirements for Australian carbon capture and storage projects.

Lessons learned from the project are being adopted by other CCS projects arond the world.

The Concept Carbon capture and storage (CCS) cannot solve the greenhouse gas problem alone. A portfolio of responses, including energy efficiency, renewable energy, the use of less carbon-intensive fuels and CCS, will ALL be needed to make the necessary cuts in greenhouse gas emission.

Otway Life Magazine Spring 2015

Despite our best efforts, the world will be using fossil fuels for many years to come. The great benefit of CCS is that large quantities of carbon dioxide that would otherwise enter the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels can be safely and permanently stored deep underground. No other technology allows deep reductions in carbon dioxide emissions while we continue to use fossil fuels and much of the existing energy infrastructure. In fact the International Energy Agency has reported the CCS could be responsible for as much as 19 percent of global reduction efforts required.

Record of Success • Stage 1 of the Otway Project injected, stored and monitored over 65,000 tonnes of carbon dioxiderich gas; • Stage 2 of the project has developed the world’s first single well test for storage site assessment; • The project includes on outstanding monitoring program, which international and national scientists believe to be one of the most comprehensive of its type in the world; • The project has made major contributions to international knowledge of how to plan, conduct and monitor a CCS project; and • The project has provided insights into the community consultation process of CCS projects.

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Carbon capture and storage (CCS) Capture Solvents: CO2 is absorbed in a liquid. It is removed in concentrated form by changing the temperature or pressure of the liquid.

Copy Adsorbents: The CO2 is captured by a porous solid material and separated in concentrated form through pressure or temperature changes.

Membranes: CO2 can selectively pass through gas separation membranes to be extracted from the flue gas.

Membrane/solvent: A membrane separates flue gas from liquid solvent. CO2 is absorbed by the solvent via pores in the membrane.

Low temperature — cryogenics: Flue gas under high pressure is cooled to sub-zero temperatures so only CO2 condenses and is then separated.

Low temperature — hydrates: Chilled water is passed through cooling flue gas. Given the right temperature and pressure, CO2 and water freeze together to form ice-like crystals with the CO2 trapped inside (hydrates). The hydrates are removed and the CO2 released by heating the hydrates.

Storage Characteristics of suitable storage sites: • Deep underground rock formations with good permeability (to allow fluid flow) and porosity (fluid storage space in the rock) • Cap rock and/or faults or folds to trap the CO2.

CO2 is injected under pressure as a supercritical fluid, which takes up less space and diffuses well in storage rocks.

Injection sites are monitored for: subsurface migration of CO2; injection well integrity; and environmental impact.

Geosequestration or carbon capture and storage (CCS), involves capturing carbon dioxide that would otherwise be emitted to the atmosphere, compressing it, transporting it to a suitable site, and injecting it into deep geological formations where it will be trapped

for thousands or millions of years.

Geosequestration enables the combustion of fossil fuels, such as in the generation of electricity or for industrial processes, without significant emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

CCS can also be used to capture carbon dioxide emitted from a range of other industrial processes such as the manufacture of cement and some fertilisers, in purifying natural gas, and in conversion of gas or coal to liquids.

26

Alpacas in the Otways From lifestyle to in style

In many respects the Otways is the ideal place to develop an agricultural business designed to keep people warm. Our high rainfall and ‘serious’ winters seem to encourage the production of warm scarves, jumpers and hats. Most sheep do not do well here, but on many properties in the region alpacas have proved to be an attractive and useful alternative.

Alpacas have also proved invaluable for sheep farmers to reduce lamb losses to foxes, and for many of those making the lifestyle change to small acreages in the Otways. They are relatively low maintenance, small enough to be manageable, and as a bonus are very attractive animals. In addition alpacas are much lighter on the landscape than heavier, hooved livestock.

It began around 15 years ago with a few alpacas on a small property at Marengo, just out of Apollo Bay. Back then Lauris and Andrew Jephcott thought long and hard about making the most of their small alpaca herd.

“We didn’t have the capital to quickly develop a good stud breeding business, and our fleece is generally not superfine, so in conjunction with friends we decided that knitting yarns may be the way to go. We were able to use our fibre to produce a few yarns for hand knitting which were soft, light and warm”, said Lauris. The ‘knitalpaca’ brand was born. Now a group of local growers known as the Otways Alpaca Mob works together to breed, manage and shear around 350 alpacas in the Otway Ranges. These animals provide fleece in a range of natural colours, from white to jet black, which are used to produce yarns for hand knitting.

In 2008 the Jephcotts moved to Ferguson, near Beech Forest, to provide more land for a growing herd, and other breeders became involved. The alpacas are run on properties throughout this area from Marengo to Wyelangta and Ferguson, and fleece of all colours and both alpaca breeds (suri and huacaya) is skirted and sorted at the Jephcotts’ Ferguson property, then sent to a specialist Australian processing mill.

Otway Life Magazine Spring 2015

Lauris has worked closely with the mill for more than 10 years to develop a range of knitting yarns in the natural colours of alpaca. Creams, browns, greys and black alpaca yarns can be produced without dyes, and blends of natural colours have yielded subtle tweeds and flecked effects. Alpaca is one of the very few natural fibres which can display a true black without any dyes, and the Otways black yarns are always in demand.

Alpacas in the Otways 27

Colours other than natural ones are created by skilfully blending other natural fibres, such as merino, into the mix.

www.knitalpaca.com.au

“The people at the mill are very good at what they do.

We have a strong working relationship which is both practical and creative and that produces some lovely, unique yarns”, said Lauris. The group is now moving toward a positive future developing a wider range of unique luxury yarns, all grown in Australia. The Otways Alpaca Mob continues to expand and develop new life in the region.

“It’s unusual in the textile industry for a product to be conceived, designed, grown and entirely produced in Australia. That is what we do and we’re very proud of that.”

For more information contact Lauris Jephcott 0417 399 565 Email: info@knitalpaca.com.au

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28

oak Gadubanud and Gulidjan elder Ron Arnold loaned his precious possum skin cloak to COPACC for CrossXpollinatioN – the festival of textile and fibre art.

Ron performed a Welcome to Country for the cast and crew of Head Full of Love prior to the 2pm performance on Saturday, July 25, and said he was pleased to have the opportunity to help share the stories and heritage of the region’s traditional owners.

“I’m really honoured,” Ron said.

“I like the idea of the cloak being seen with the beanies and I look forward to welcoming my travelling cousins from up north – because we’re all part of the same bloodline.”

Ron was one of a number of indigenous artists who worked on the cloak which is made from 36 possum pelts and is inscribed with firestick burnings depicting the stories of his people’s connections with their traditional lands. The cloak was commissioned for the opening of the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games and Ron wore it at the opening ceremony.

The images inside the cloak detail initiation sites, maps, ochre quarries, stone tool quarries, meeting places, hunting grounds, and sites of special significance.

“If you were a blackfella, you could read this like a map,” says Ron, who lives on country in Apollo Bay. “Gulidjan country is around Lake Colac and into the hills to the north, and Gadubanud country stretches east and west of here and down to the Coast.

“These burnings show trading paths and show our coastal connections with our cousins in the mountain ranges and to the coast, they show sites of archaeological and cultural significance.”

Ron will never forget the experience of making the cloak, or wearing it at the Games.

“When I put it on it’s fairly magic. It’s a very overwhelming feeling,” said Ron, whose greatgreat-great grandfather was King Co Co Coinee “the head of the Gulidjan and King of the Warriors”.

Otway Life Magazine Spring 2015

Carmen

2015

29 The Other Film Festial

Flak

Dylan Thomas Return Journey

Flak

Thursday 3 September 8pm

Tuesday 17 November 2:30pm & 8pm

Heralded by critics worldwide as a ‘lyrical tour de force’, this is your chance to experience Bob Kingdom’s electrifying performance as he brings Dylan Thomas’ last lecture to life in Anthony Hopkins’s celebrated directorial debut. On tour from the UK!

Based on his two best-selling books, Flak and Fly, wellknown writer and performer Michael Veitch takes on the roles of five real men who flew in World War Two. Their stories are amazing.

Sponsored by Cape Otway Lightstation.

Natalie Weir’s Carmen Sweet

The Other Film Festival

Friday 23 Oct 8pm, Saturday 24 October 2:30pm

Tuesday 1 December 7:30pm

Spend the night with the definitive seductress of stage as she weaves her deliciously wicked wiles through one of Expressions Dance Company’s most loved productions. An iconic tale of Spanish heat and gypsy passion.

New cinema by, with and about people with a disability.

An artistically vibrant, accessible, international film festival. Suitable for 15+ Sponsored by Colac Otway Shire Rural Access and Colac Cleaning Services

Tickets for the 2015 Colac Herald Theatre Season are available at the box office

11am-8pm daily T: 5232 2077 www.copacc.com.au 95-97 Gellibrand Street, Colac. Administration: 5232 9418

THE critically-acclaimed one-man show Dylan Thomas: Return Journey is playing at Colac Otway Performing Arts & Cultural Centre on Thursday, September 3.

More than 80,000 people worldwide have enjoyed Dylan Thomas: Return Journey, including sellout seasons at London’s Lyric Hammersmith, Off Broadway, Edinburgh and the British Library.

Return Journey

Heralded by critics as a “lyrical tour de force” , this is a chance for Otways audiences to experience Bob Kingdom’s “electrifying performance” (New York Times) as he brings Dylan Thomas’ last lecture tour to life in Hollywood great Anthony Hopkins’ celebrated directorial debut.

Playing a man who wrestled with the psychological conflict between creative

talent and self-destructive impulse, Bob Kingdom’s remarkable portrayal of his bardic countryman is tangibly heartfelt and authentic.

Dylan Thomas was born in Wales in 1914 and died in New York in 1953 at the age of 39. Towards the end of his life he toured America performing his works before sell-out audiences across the country.

Blending the stories and the poetry with incisive commentary on the nature of performing and the American touring circuit, the audience is taken through Wales past and present.

Oscar-winner Anthony Hopkins’ subtle direction brings both performer and audience together in appreciation of the beauty, the humour, the passion and the wit of this writer.

One of the flagship events to celebrate the centenary of Dylan Thomas, this show is on tour from the UK. Tickets are available at the box office on 5232 2077.

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Vale Ian Schram Images captured by the late Mr Ian Schram will be featured in the Colac Otway Positive Ageing Ambassadors Photography Exhibition and Competition being held during Seniors Week in October at COPACC. His community has described him as: a legend of Deans Marsh, that he was in fact Deans Marsh and Deans Marsh was him, that he is the last of the generation who really knew the area, its history and its

Otway Life Magazine Spring 2015

residents. He has also been described as a community person who dedicated his life to others.

A true, lifelong friend and a true gentleman, who had a great sense of humour and loved stirring and teasing.

He treated people with kindness and respect; he was a man of the land and a ‘good bloke’.

Schrammy was an avid photographer and a keen historian.

For Positive Ageing photographic competition entry form or further information please contact Colac Otway Shire Customer Assist on 5232 9400 or Community Hub Inc on 5231 2822

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Benefits of Choir

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Marsh (OMM) The numbers of people involved in choirs throughout Australia has increased dramatically over the past decade and is possibly the fastest growing and largest sector within the music community.

“Choir illustrates how the collaborative nature of singing together can create something extraordinary.

It’s informal and there’s always a comfortable feeling of safety in numbers. The sense of being involved in something bigger than ourselves, which both validates and challenges each of us, is what keeps people coming back” says OMM Musical Director Louise Brown.

Established in March 2012, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Marsh (OMM) has currently more than 300 members. “Our goal is to engage whole towns in musical performance that both inspires and rewards.

Each project has the ability to link individuals, Community Groups and even whole towns. Our aim is also to provide a platform to showcase local talent and create some good old-fashioned entertainment”.

Photo Credit: Renee Wigley

So far OMM has performed 14 shows with a further three events planned, including a project featuring Colac’s Refugees in March next year.

In the beginning, OMM was primarily a Children’s Choir which then led to an adult version being offered with the help of a Federal Grant through Festivals Australia in 2012. Currently, the team is working with seniors from all across the Colac Otway Shire in preparation for a Performance booked at COPACC during Seniors Week. The beauty of projects such as this is its ability to link people of all ages…thus uniting individuals in the pursuit of a common, creative goal.

Upcoming projects include ‘Rock Across the Ages” during Seniors Week at COPACC on Wed 7th Oct and Birregurra Fest. on Sun 11th October.

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C E L E B R AT I N G

32 Books & Writing

Heartland

by Gill Neale

They stopped the train from running, where it used to run each day.

It would bring the goods and papers and it took the cream away.

The families of the railway workers had to pack and go - the tennis team and footy side did not survive the blow and when they’d gone, one shop closed down, and folk were full of dread.

“This place is slowly dying,” some old time locals said.

Then word was sent from parliament to farmers all around, “Get Big or Out!” - and neighbours bought their neighbour’s piece of ground.

The cockies who had sold their cows moved north to find some sun.

Enrolments at the school went down, and teachers cut to one.

The baker could no longer make his needful daily bread, so closed. “The town is dying fast,” the old time locals said.

Still, desperate times bred desperate deeds. The townsfolk rose to fight.

With plans and groups and strategies they set the town to right.

They organized committees and they changed the local face, So that tourists started swooping on this little rustic place.

With very few exceptions, locals showed esprit de corps “We’ll stop this town from dying and we’ll make it live once more.”

They resurrected old-world crafts for visitors from town, The baker fired the wood stove up and pulled the new one down.

And city people flocked to see the ways of long ago So what was once a style of life became a daily show.

Then tourists needed bed, and board, and souvenirs to buy.

“We’ve made this district live again - this town will never die!”

And step by step the town fought back as tourist numbers grew.

Old tricks and trades were cast aside as folk learnt something new.

Then galleries and tea shops were the order of the day, and cash came in to rest, where cash had not been used to stay.

But when they ‘dozed the pub, to build a bistro there instead, “You can kiss this place goodnight,” groaned some, “the bloody town is dead!”

Otway Life Magazine Spring 2015

Published in: Warm Winter Words Book 2: Otway Writers – Apollo Bay Arts community project Funded by the Colac Otway Shire and the Regional Arts Fund Otway Writers includes contributions from 42 writers of all ages. Otway Writers books are available from Galapagos Bookshop, the Newsagency and Visitor Information Centre, Apollo Bay or from Jane on 03 5237 6335.

Otway Book Review

Book Review

33

By Neal Drinnan from Cow Lick Bookshop Colac

For the Pleasure of the People:

A History of 150 years of the Colac Botanic Gardens.

By Helen Paatsch $30

Whether the Colac Botanical Gardens were established as a result of inter-town rivalry, wanting to keep up with other Western District towns such as Hamilton and Warrnambool, or the influence of botanists such as von Mueller or Bunce we cannot say with certainty.

What we can say is that the Colac Botanic Gardens, with huge plant diversity, magnificent sweeping lawns and situated on an incomparable site overlooking Lake Colac, is a treasured part of our heritage.

Thus opens Helen Paatsch’s extensive and colourful history of Colac’s botanical master-stroke. The sumptuous treasure passers- through don’t get to witness from the Princes Highway. From the grainy photo of the marshy bog -land that was appropriated for the site in1865 to the vibrant herbaceous splendours that make up the garden now, this generously illustrated history offers a delightful, nostalgic and often haunting journey through one of Victoria’s finest regional Botanic Gardens.

With the help of the Friends of the Botanical garden and a foreword by Professor Tim Entwistle, Helen Paatsh has woven together a history of the gardens that is in many ways a history of the town’s own finer aspirations and a volume that admirably pays tribute to the garden’s sesquicentenary.

The Archipelago of Souls By Gregory Day $32.99 Picador Gregory Day has sung and written his way into the Dreaming of the Otways over the past two decades. His poetry, music and journalism serenade the region’s majesty with a rare clarity of soul and fresh gusts of unexpected humour . Day’s earlier novels have always echoed with local resonance, now with Archipelago of Souls, his fourth novel he moves the scene off-shore a little to the wide open yet often claustrophobic terrain of King Island. To a place where a traumatised WWII soldier might just be able to escape the memories of combat on the Isle of Crete, ‘an island as far away from King Island as you could get.’

King Island has a history of housing returned soldiers after both World Wars and Day explores the ideas of reluctant war heroism and post- traumatic stress in an era when the later term had not even been coined as a condition. The two islands at opposite ends of the earth come to represent an old world and a new one.

The result is a revelation about a chapter of WWII that is not widely discussed or chronicled, the horrors of dual occupation as faced by the Cretan residents and the light and dark aspects of human capriciousness. Can love survive in a morally devastated world? Certainly literature does and this volume offers a vibrant and colourful new chapter on some hidden aspects of Australia’s wartime character.

BOOKSHOP

WHERE TOWN

ME

ETS

COUNT

RY

T 03 5232 1072 E sales@cowlick.com.au A 86 Murray Street, Colac www.cowlick.com.au

Hey Diddle Diddle

34

The Good Life

by Ami Hillege

Now that spring is here, we wait in anticipation for an event that has occurred each year since we came to this little farm in the Otways. It’s swarming season. The bees are on the move.

It is at this time of the year, if we’re lucky to be home, we experience a swarm. It happens so quickly, that ten minutes later you are non the wiser that ten thousand bees had just exited a hive, drifted around in a big black cloud then found purchase on the branch of an apple tree, about ten meters from the hive. The bees swarm when the hive becomes too populated and a new queen is crowned. There is no place for two queens, so one gathers her supporters and they find a new hive.

From that one hive we began with, we now have five.

We like to impress people with the stats of our place.

We have 4 cows, 22 chickens, 1 rooster, 2 ducks, 1 drake and approximately 100,000 (yes, that’s one hundred thousand!) bees, approximately 20,000 to a hive.

All through winter the bees have been fed and kept warm. The more comfortable they are, the less honey they consume through the cold, rainy months. Opening a hive full of honey in summer is a highlight in our year.

The single hive we inherited when we arrived, taught us many lessons in the art of bee keeping. Protective clothing that resembles a nuclear hazard outfit needed to be purchased, as well as the smoker and tools to manage the hive, Before we even lifted the lid of the super, a small fortune was spent!

The first time Frans opened the hive we stood a decent distance from the hive, cameras in hand. This was a defining event in our lives as new ‘farmers’. Perhaps we were a little too close as a few irritated bees headed straight our way and stung everyone in the audience, including the poor dog! More smoke! That was the clue.

After that first time, we stayed right away and I leave the beekeeper in the family to take care of his livestock.

Imagine our excitement when we harvested 10kgs of honey that first summer. It was a sticky affair as we slipped the protective layers of wax from the dripping frames with a hot knife and strained the honey into big pots. The sweet aroma of honey permeated our clothes as we bottled jar after jar. In our naivety we assumed that each year the bees would give us the same bounty, but Mother Nature had other ideas. A very hot summer resulted in no honey for nearly two years. We looked back at our first harvest and berated ourselves for giving away our entire stock to family and friends.

In preparation for this swarming season, new hives have been purchased and constructed. Capturing a swarm is exciting, especially with the promise of more honey to come.

However, aside from the bonus of harvesting fragrant golden honey, we value the bees for the work they do.

They perform the amazing task of pollinating our edible garden. Seeing them crawl over the pollen in an apple blossom, or finding a few bees buried deep in the folds of a rose is something we cannot afford to lose. And so as small as these creatures may be, we work hard to give them the best opportunity for survival. We don’t spray any of our produce with any chemicals, as this would be a certain death sentence to them. I plant drifts of flowers each year, especially flowers and shrubs with purple or mauve blossoms. They are drawn to the sweet fragrances of lavender, rosemary and alyssum.

The bees welcome the new sunny mornings by flying into the sun then navigating their way to the nectar filled spring blossoms.

A new season begins and we look forward to a bountiful harvest.

Follow Otway Fields on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram www.otwayfields.com

OTWAY FIELDS GROW  EAT  REST

 Newly renovated cabin overlooking the Otways  Gourmet basket featuring organically grown farm & local produce

 Close to Great Ocean Road & Birregurra YOUR ESCAPE TO THE COUNTRY

www.otwayfields.com Tel 0418 757 028 Otway Life Magazine Spring 2015

Around the Houses Spring 35 35 Marrar Woorn Neighbourhood Centre 6 Pengilley Ave, Apollo Bay. Open Monday - Friday 9am-5pm Phone Rhiannon 5237 8590 Email: rcox@swarh.vic.gov.au

RSA This course covers all areas relating to the serving of alcohol in and around licensed premises and is essential if you plan to work in the hospitality industry. Participants receive a recognized certificate in RSA from Liquor Licensing Victoria.

Wednesday 02 September 2015 Marrar Woorn 6 Pengilley Ave Apollo Bay 6.00pm-10.00pm @ $70.00 per person

First Aid & CPR Apply First Aid course is the minimum require-ment for workplace first aid. The First Aid unit provides you with the skills and knowledge re-quired to provide first aid response, life support, management of casualty(s), the incident and other First Aiders until emergency qualified help arrives at the scene of the accident.

Tuesday 08 September 2015 Marrar Woorn 6 Pengilley Ave Apollo Bay First Aid: 9am-5pm @ $110.00 per person CPR: 9.00am-1.00pm @ $60.00 per person

Food Safety This nationally accredited course covers correct storage temperatures; dealing with danger foods; personal hygiene for staff; cleaning food preparation areas; prevention measures in the kitchen and pest control.

Wednesday 09 September 2015 Marrar Woorn 6 Pengilley Ave Apollo Bay 9.00am-12.00pm @ $70.00 per person

TO BOOK : Phone 5237 8500 Email rcox@swarh.vic.gov.au : In person @ Otway Health reception 4 Pengilley Ave, Apollo Bay

REGULAR ACTIVITIES book your place for Term 4 FULL BODY WORKOUT Vigorous low impact, full body workout.

High repetition with light weights and lots of mat work. Stretch yourself to the limits and feel your body change. An intense workout that engages every part of your body and strengthens your core, combined with stretching sessions to lengthen your muscles. THE RESULTS ARE INCREDIBLE! All equipment supplied Advanced Monday &/or Thursday 5.30pm-7.00pm Beginners Wednesday 5.30pm-7.00pm

ZUMBA FOR KIDS Incorporating elements of hip hop, reggae, merenge and more, Kaz will teach your children to Zumba through dance, games and musical world journeys.

7-12 year olds Monday 3.20pm-4.15pm 4-6 year olds Wednesday 3.30pm-4.15pm

OKI DO YOGA Stretch into the new term with Oki Do Yoga.

Playful, not too earnest style of yoga.

Beginners welcome Monday 6.00pm-7.15pm

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Around the Houses Spring Find us on Facebook

Colac Neighbourhood House 23 Miller Street, Colac Vic 3250 Phone: 5232 5368 Email: brimmer@cah.vic.gov.au Opening Hours Monday to Thursday 9am-4pm and Friday 9am-1pm

REGULAR ACTIVITES Just ring for details or to book a place. Everyone is Welcome!

MONDAY Women on the Move Breast and Ovarian Cancer Support Story Wall Committee Monday Art Palliative Care Volunteers Men’s Social Group English Language classes Cert 1V in Business Ipad Training TUESDAY Pathways Healthy Lifestyle Tuesday Painters Childbirth and Parenting Cancer Support Group Diversitat Women’s Group Otway Sustainability WEDNESDAY Wednesday Arts Colac Otway Ratepayers Australian Plants Society Raphael Centre Tinnitus Support

THURSDAY Tax Help Gardening Group Craft and Quilting Meditation Playgroup FRIDAY Playgroup Community Dinners Epilepsy Support Walking Group Community Lunch

ALSO...

Community Garden Free computer and internet access, Wifi Printing, copying and laminating service Form filling assistance Sewing machines Registered kitchen Disability Friendly Ipads made easy Cake Decorators Food Swap

SATURDAY Cake Decorating Cert 1V in Community Services Spring is coming and the garden is blooming!

COLAC COMMUNITY

MEALS EVENINGS

Reserve your place by contacting Andrew Edgar Phone: 5232 5176 Email: aedgar@cah.vic.gov.au

Enjoy a FREE hot meal the last Friday of the month at the Colac Neighbourhood house

Meals served between 5:30 - 7pm 23 Miller St Colac

Futures Cafe

Thanks to GMHBA, Futures Café, Otway Fresh Pasta and our wonderful volunteers who are the backbone of our Neighbourhood House Otway Life Magazine Spring 2015

Around the Houses Spring 37 Laver’s Hill & District Community House Laver’s Hill Hall Great Ocean Road Phone Julia on: 0417 948 522 Email: jmalcolm@swarh.vic.gov.au Open Monday 10am-4pm

Yoga Tuesdays 9.30-11am $12

Lavers Hill Hall. Contact Catherine on 0447 275 509

Ukulele Group

CFA Shed Mondays from 7.30pm Contact Pam after 7pm on 5237 9235

Lavers Hill Food Swap 3rd Monday of every month 1:30pm at The Shoppe The food swap is 12 months old and has been very successful. We are looking at how to grow it in it’s 2nd year. Perhaps swapping other non-food items?

The Southern Otways Food Co-op is also interested in supporting a Lavers Hill branch to help locals access quality, organic dry foods at reasonable prices.

Interested? Please let us know.

Food SWAPs

Gellibrand Community House Rex Norman Reserve Colac Lavers Hill Road Phone Julia on: 5235 8348 Email: jmalcolm@swarh.vic.gov.au Open Tuesdays 9:30am - 4pm

Nov

7

Handmade Paper

Experienced and respected papermaker and teacher, Tim Spencer, will show you how to make your own quality paper cards & envelopes from recycled paper. So good you can use it in your printer! A light lunch and all materials & equipment are provided and Tim’s handmade papermaking kits will be available for sale.

Costs $40 or $30 concession.

Garden Group 2nd and last Wednesday of every month 9am Behind the Tourist Park at the rockeries.

New helpers are very welcome. BYO tools, gloves, etc.

Call Andrew at COS Works on 5232 9470.

Yoga

Wednesdays 6:30pm $12/session.

Gellibrand Hall Contact Catherine on 0447 275 509

Cards Group

2nd & 4th Tuesday of each month 1-5pm Rex Norman Park An informal group for people who enjoy playing 500 & Crazy Eights. Free, friendly and welcoming, beginners are encouraged to come along - the existing members would be happy to teach you.

However if you are looking for a challenge, Chess, Scrabble and Monopoly are also available.

Duration 1-11/2 hours

Walking Group

Thursday mornings 9am Rex Norman Park Duration 1-11/2 hours Find us on Facebook

eig ict N hbour

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Forrest &

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38 Section Around the Houses Spring Forrest & District Neighbourhood House

Find us on Facebook

14 Grant Street, Forrest 3236 Phone: Gillian 5236 6591 Email: forrest.nh@gmail.com Open Mon, Wed, Thurs10-6pm

Regular events First Monday of the month BINGO (1-3pm) Light afternoon tea provided.

Cost $5 for 2 books.

Tuesday COS Exercise and Weights class 11-12pm For all ages and abilities. Stay on for a light social lunch. $3 or $6 with lunch Wednesday Tai Chi 6.30-8pm with Seona Gunn $10/8conc Hoy (card game like Bingo) 1-3pm 2nd Wed of the month Cost $5 Thursday Gentle Exercise Class 10-11am.

Followed by morning tea. Cost $2 Mind Games 11am-12noon. Cost $2 Community Lunch 12.30-2pm Cost $6 First Friday of the Month Youth Group 5.30 - 7pm.

Every Friday Cert IV / Diploma Visual Art 10am-5pm.

Last Sunday of every month Music Jam and Pizza afternoon from 3pm Join in or just sit back and enjoy the vibe.

Pizza available to purchase.

COMING UP Meditation Workshop Saturday 12th September 2015 10am-3pm Explore the theory and application of meditation practices for improved health, personal reflection and creative application in daily life.

Cost: $40, light lunch provided Tutor - Suzanne Frydman, Relax Communications

Bush Toys Workshop Saturday 20th September 10am-3pm Discover your creative, sculptural side, as you hand build with straw to create a colourful animal.

This simple method of wrapping wool around straw to make a bush toy has been passed on by traditional Indigenous fibre artist Bronwyn Razem from the Gunditjmara tribe. Children under 12 must be supervised by an adult.

Cost: $20 Supervised kids 5-12 years $5 light lunch available $5 Tutor -Caroline Hawkins

Random Weave Basketry Friday 16th October 10am-3pm Create a randomly woven basket using locally found plants and vines.

This style of weaving brings out our innate ability in using our hands to shape a natural form with plant fibres.

Cost: $20 light lunch available $5 Tutor -Caroline Hawkins

Township Garage Sale - Sun Nov 1

Otway Life Magazine Spring 2015

Community Calendar

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