Mail - Lilydale Star Mail - 1st March 2022

Tuesday, 1 March, 2022

Lilydale

Petrol prices rise above $2 a litre

Public housing changes welcomed

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Mail

A Star News Group Publication

Permit approved for Mt Ev historical property

Behind the seams with costume designer

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PAGE 10 Phone: 5957 3700 Trades and Classifieds: 1300 666 808

12496493-NG22-21

Sheds served up

By Mikayla van Loon In a combined effort from a number of groups in the Croydon and Montrose area, a donation of five tool sheds were finally carted to fire affected communities in East Gippsland last week.

The project between the Rotary Club of Croydon/Montrose, Swinburne University of Technology Croydon and the East Gippsland Rotary Fire Aid Committee began in early 2020 but it was delayed by two years because of Covid-19.

Former Rotary club member and strategic projects manager at Swinburne Joel Martin said having been holidaying in East Gippsland during the 2019-20 bushfires he saw some of the devastation himself and wanted to help.

“For the people that were just traveling through, it was scary so it must have been petrifying for the people who live there. So I guess we saw the impact of fires firsthand,” he said.

“Working at Swinburne wherever we can, we try to have a social impact and this was just a really beautiful combination of a Rotary club, our students and a lot of smart people in the community connecting and coming together to help solve a problem.”

Over the two years since the fires, 30 vocational education and training (VET) students from Years 11 and 12 worked on building tool sheds to be donated to the region.

East Gippsland Rotary Fire Aid Committee member Peter Sindrey said since the fires, the attention of the Australian people has rightly been on Covid but communities are still struggling.

“Getting a little bit more help now is a little more difficult than it was a couple of years ago when we were in the headlines on the paper every day,” he said.

The recovery and rebuilding of 300 family homes are still underway in East Gippsland, with smaller communities, like Club Terrace, being pushed to the back of the queue.

Continued page 2

Swinburne senior educator Dave Dekort, Croydon/Montrose Rotary member Carol Lawton and president Viv Baum and students Caleb Unwin, Jack Whitty and Nathan Smith celebrated the completion of the two year long project.

Picture: MIKAYLA VAN LOON

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COMMUNITY DIARY World Day of Prayer celebrations The World Day of Prayer is an ecumenical service which takes place each year on the first Friday of March, and has been held continuously in the Mooroolbark area since the 1960s.

Each year in November the local churches join together in planning for the event, and this year Mooroolbark Christian Fellowship will be the host.

Next year’s World Day of Prayer is on Friday 4 March at St Margaret’s Uniting Church, Hull Road, Mooroolbark at 10am, followed by morning tea.

The theme is “I Know the Plans Have for You”, and will focus on the needs and concerns of Countries of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Please join us in Kilsyth as we join together

on the 4 March, with more than three million people in 170 countries and islands around the world to pray for peace and justice.

This year the service of readings prayers and hymns has been prepared by women in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and will be used in churches, large and small, cathedrals, retirement villages, halls and small worship centres around the world.

World Day of Prayer is an international inter-church organisation which enables us to hear the thoughts of women from all parts of the world, their hopes, concerns and prayers.

St James and St Peter’s Anglican Church, 686 Mount Dandenong Road Kilsyth.

View Club meetings Boronia View Club meets on the third Friday of each month (except this year our normal meeting date in April will fall on Good Friday so April’s meeting will be on the fourth Fri-

day.) Normally $27 is charged for lunch but because March is our birthday month with lots of other things happening $30 will be charged.

All monies raised through raffles, stalls etc goes towards our sponsored Learning for Life students through The Smith Family-helping needy children with educational needs.

So, for March Boronia View (Voice, Interests and Education of Women) Club will meet at 11.30am at Eastwood Golf Club, Liverpool Road Kilsyth with lunch being at a cost of $30.

Elia Cannizzo will be the singer/entertainer for the afternoon.

We enjoy the company of ladies of all ages and backgrounds so please come along and you will be warmly welcomed.

Enquiries to Judith on 9764-8602

Clean Up Australia Day event Community rubbish group, No Reason For

Rubbish, is inviting locals to join a Clean Up Australia day event in Lilydale on Sunday 6 March.

Founder Cindy DeLuca hopes locals can attend the clean up which will be held Lilydale Chirnside Park ribbons of green service roads on Shepherds Lane.

The area is known for having high amounts of litter which local members of the group tackle often.

The group formed last year and aims to tackle a rise in rubbish being seen in the Yarra Ranges Shire.

For anyone interested in joining the No Reason For Rubbish group across the Yarra Ranges, they’re encouraged to contact the Facebook page.

Please contact Cindy DeLuca if you’re interested in attending on 0419 002 761, in case the meeting point is changed.

NEWS

Shed donations to help rebuild Gippsland family homes From page 1 “Some of them are being rebuilt now.

Others, they’re waiting for finance to come through or they’re having trouble getting contractors and with a huge demand for bricklayers, plumbers, electricians and carpenters, it’s pretty hard to get qualified contractors around,” Mr Sindrey said.

“So some people still are living in caravans or makeshift properties while the house is rebuilt.”

When the offer from the Croydon/Montrose Rotary Club reached the committee in East Gippsland, Mr Sindrey said they could not refuse the offer for help.

Although students were still learning the important skills of framing, cladding, roofing,

painting, and building floors as part of their curriculum, Mr Martin said it taught them the importance of helping others.

“This is the start of rebuilding some of these towns and these will become a central location for people to access tools, equipment, and reconnect as the rebuild happens,” he said.

“I think our students got a lot out of it too.

Students are going to become tradespeople but I think it’s important for them to have an understanding of contributing to social life and to the community and to help them.”

Current students Nathan Smith, Jack Whitty and Caleb Unwin said it’s nice knowing the work they do can sometimes go towards a good cause.

“Giving to people who need more than you, it’s pretty special,” Jack said.

“We’re so fortunate to have what we have and it’s just really important for us to just give back whether it’s a lot or a little. It’s important for us because it helps them and it helps us and it just grows the community,” Caleb said.

The five sheds were picked up and delivered to East Gippsland on Thursday 24 February and Mr Sindrey said they would be distributed to small towns over the next few weeks and months.

The Rotary Club of Drouin also helped receive donations of power tools to stock each shed so that residents don’t have to worry about buying tools themselves.

It has been one big community effort get-

ting these sheds ready and relocated to where they were needed most, a heartening experience for all involved.

“It gives us a great deal of heart to know that people over that way [in Croydon and Montrose] are thinking of us and wanting to help,” Mr Sindrey said.

“Through this Rotary fire committee, we’ve received enormous offers of help, both financially, time and labor help from all over the state.

“It’s been wonderful to know that in disaster situations such as these Gippsland fires, there were people from all over the place who were prepared to offer their assistance in one way or another, to overcome the need and to meet the requirements of fire victims.”

NO ONE’S UNSINKABLE To all those Unsinkable Guys out there – You might think it’s safe to have a few drinks around water, skip the lifejacket when you’re out on the boat or go for a swim without checking the conditions.

But statistics prove that 4 out of 5 drownings are men.

Just remember that no one’s unsinkable.

UNSINKABLE GUY

RETHINK TAKING RISKS AROUND WATER 12526861-CG09-22

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Tuesday, 1 March, 2022

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NEWS

IN BRIEF Daniel found in Yering

Bowser blow out Global crude oil prices have reached their highest levels since 2014 following the uncertainty over a Russian invasion of Ukraine, which is set to drive petrol prices up around Australia.

Russia is the second-largest exporter of crude oil and refined petrol, as well as the largest exporter of natural gases.

The average price of Australian petrol was $1.70 when the price of oil was $90 USD a barrel. With a 13 per cent increase per barrel expected, its expected petrol will rise to over $2 a litre.

Currently, the average price of petrol in Australia is $1.79, however, a petrol station in Bayswater North was spotted at $2.05 a litre on Thursday 24 February.

Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges residents took to Facebook to have their say about the rising prices.

“We will not be travelling much at these prices. Stay home!” Peter Rice said.

“And we need the reasons, in detail, for these massive increases.”

Kilsyth man, Daniel, who went missing from his care facility on Sunday 20 February was found by police alive and well at the end of last week.

Croydon police confirmed Daniel had been located in Yering after an appeal for public assistance happened on Thursday 24 February.

Parents Julian and Sarah Warren had been concerned for Daniel’s welfare because of his mental health and medical conditions.

Having taken his bike and wetsuit with him, police and his parents had thought he might have travelled to the Yarra River but were grateful to find him safe in Yering.

Bike accident in Mount Evelyn

A Bayswater petrol station was spotted at a massive $2.05 a litre.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says there is a number of reasons for fuel prices to rise, including changes in international benchmark prices, the value of the Australian dollar relative to the US dollar, levels of competition in different areas and pricing decisions by wholesalers retailers.

Pricing from wholesalers has increased with

Picture: SUPPLIED

the increased pressure on international supply lines because of the Covid-19 pandemic and international conflict, leading to the costs being passed onto consumers.

“Saw $2.09 in Warrandyte yesterday.” Ruth Merida said.

“Coles, always the dearest and that one also.” Deborah Milton said.

Dan Murphy’s granted liquor licence

By Mikayla van Loon The decision of granting a liquor licence to Endeavour Drinks Group, the company that owns Dan Murphy’s, was discussed at the 22 February Yarra Ranges Council meeting.

The Group applied for the permit to use the land at Shop 18/518 Mt Dandenong Road, Kilsyth for the sale of packaged liquor.

Although 18 objections were received from the community, councillors approved the motion unanimously.

Valerie Mayer, submitted an objection as a concerned resident and also spoke at the council meeting.

“One of the aims of the council is to ‘address and improve alcohol and drug health of our citizens’ and to me allowing such a massive shop with increased area for the sale of liquor really does go against the aims of the council,” she said.

“There are plenty of liquor shops in the The shop at 18/518 Mt Dandenong Road, Kilsyth has been approved for the sale of liquor by Picture: YARRA RANGES COUNCIL area and I just don’t see why we need in this Dan Murphy’s. area a massive, new, more shop.”

“Initially I thought this was adding an exWith Covid-19 having such an impact on Ms Mayer said even though the Coles many businesses, Mr Waddell said he thinks tra liquor store to the area which it is not. It supermarket that was there previously did it is important to have shops filled and trad- is replacing the one that was associated with have a small section for liquor, she was worthe Coles site,” he said. ried about the variety of alcohol that would ing.

“There’s nothing worse than walking be available in a store three times the size.

“This is something that is permitted unOn behalf of the applicant, Ken Waddell down Chapel Street or Bridge Road and all of der this zoning.” other streets that we know of and having Tospoke, double check that which zone applicayou’re inthe and your date confirming the permit Councillor Sophie Todorov also suption was purely for the licence to sell liquor empty shops,” he said. ported the motion and said it fit within the of and collection, please visit yarraranges.vic.gov.au/ Mr Waddell hopes the Dan Murphy’s not not for any building works. planning scheme and commercial zoning of stormcollection.

“To allay any concerns, if there are any, only brings people to shop there but also to the site. is that the Endeavour Group and Dan Mur- other traders in the complex.

The main section of the building, beMoving the motion, councillor David phy’s are committed to the responsible service of alcohol, so they realise their corporate Eastham said he was initially concerned ing 885.5 square metres of trading area, will responsibility to do that and are very vigilant about how the Dan Murphy’s would align house the Dan Murphy’s, with a smaller section to be leased by another tenant. with the health and wellbeing plan. in the way they approach that,” he said.

Police are appealing for witnesses and dashcam footage of an incident that occurred at the intersection of York Road and Centre Road on 26 February.

At approximately 10.20am an unknown black SUV turned right into Centre Road as a cyclist travelling down the hill approached.

This has resulted in the cyclist braking and been thrown over the vehicle. The rider has received serious injuries in the process.

It is possible the driver of the SUV was unaware of the incident.

If you witnessed the incident or believe you may have been driving the SUV at this time please contact Senior Constable Kirby-Beach at Yarra Ranges Highway Patrol on 9739 2300 or contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Mount Evelyn incident Yarra Ranges CIU detectives are seeking witnesses and dash cam footage for an incident that occurred in Mount Evelyn last week.

The incident happened on Birmingham Road between 6.30am and 7.20am on Monday 21 February involving a dark coloured BMW station wagon.

The BMW sustained extensive damage as a result of the incident.

If you witnessed an incident at that time or have dash cam footage, please contact Senior Constable Thompson at Yarra Ranges CIU on 9739 2401.

Healesville pop up kids vax clinics The State Government kids pop-up vaccination clinics at Healesville Sanctuary which are being held on Saturday and Sundays have been opened up for all children.

Originally, the ‘K-Pop’ vaccination clinics were designated to provide a fun, stress-reduced vaccination experience for vulnerable children.

Now, they have been expanded to all kids aged between five to 11 years old, in a bid to boost vaccination rates in the smallest Victorians.

With current restrictions, primary school children from Grade 3 and above have to wear masks beyond the easing of restrictions on Saturday 26 February.

Covid commander Jeroen Weimar said the K-pop clinics make vaccination a less scary prospect for children.

“It’s creating a safe and enjoyable place,” Mr Weimar said.

The service will offer family members to get their booster shots.

Bookings are required.

Nobody knows their community like you.

We need your help for the creation of a new Housing Strategy for Yarra Ranges.

With predicted population growth, this strategy will help us map out the housing needs for our region into the future, so your input will be crucial to ensuring that the issues that are important to you are covered.

This strategy will help guide our future decision making on the preferred location and type of new housing that’s built, while also factoring in the unique character that each town has to ensure that any new housing is respectful of that.

For more information and to get involved, head to shaping.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/ housing-strategy-review

Scan for more information 1300 368 333 12537557-SG09-22

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Tuesday, 1 March, 2022

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NEWS

Travellers top four

By Renee Wood The Yarra Valley is shining bright on the national stage for tourism offerings, being named as number four in Wotif’s top ten Aussie towns for 2022.

Yarra Ranges Tourism CEO Simon O’Callaghan said it’s a great accolade to receive for the region, especially after a tiring time due to the pandemic.

“The Wotif announcement was a fantastic surprise and I think it vindicates the hard work that our tourism operators do to deliver an excellent visitor experience for those that come here,” Mr O’Callaghan said.

The finalists are generated using the accommodation website’s data by how much user traffic is going towards searches and bookings in the area.

The Wotif list states that the Yarra Valley is ‘full of character and charm’ with plenty on offer less than an hours drive from Melbourne.

Mr O’Callaghan agrees that the proximity to the CBD is helping to promote the area as a must stop visitor hotspot.

“Our accessibility to Melbourne is absolutely one of our strengths, we’re well serviced for a whole breadth of experiences,” he said.

“From our hero world class wine to our nature based experiences across national parks and state forests to our merging cycling culture.

“There’s just a lot for people to be able to connect with nature here, and I think now more than ever, that’s what people are looking for.”

Yarra Valley Lodge was profiled in the announcement linked as a provider for people to stay with.

Kate Cooper from the Lodge said it’s very encouraging for her and the team.

“Off the back of pretty hard couple of years for tourism and hospitality to have this type

The Yarra Valley Lodge has been profiled in the Wotif’s list of top 10 Aussie towns.

Picture: SUPPLIED of accolade within the region and for us to be linked is a great feeling,” Ms Cooper said.

Ms Cooper said the lodge is starting to see booking confidence increase for the year ahead.

“We’re seeing a definite pickup in people traveling over the weekend and people booking events and almost just getting on with their life and events,” she said.

This follows on previous increases in visitation from Melbourne residents and regional Victoria when lockdowns ended.

“To have a region that’s within Victoria that’s not that far from the CBD it just gives that extra encouragement and motivation for people to stick still within Victoria and spend their money here after the last couple of years.”

Operators are anticipating more interstate and international travellers will be visiting as borders open up and major events are also helpful in driving tourists into the area.

“We’ve seen even through things like the Australian Open in January, that the role of

events and dispersing people from major events will continue to be important,” Mr O’Callaghan said.

“The wide ranging tour and transport options that we had pre-Covid will be also another thing that we’re looking forward to getting back to a stage of regular trade.”

Mr O’Callaghan said before the pandemic around 7300 jobs were linked to the visitor economy, which generated $800 million dollars’ worth of expenditure to local businesses.

“That’s a lot of money and when you remove that from the environment, I think a lot of businesses have realised whether they’re absolutely in the game of tourism with what they do.

“Because when we weren’t able to travel further than five kilometres, it was pretty obvious that many businesses were reliant on tourism for their livelihoods.”

It’s hoped more confidence among travellers, borders reopening and accolades like the Wotif top four acknowledgement will all contribute to rejuvenate the sector to previous standards.

“Hopefully it gives our operators a real sense of civic pride that the job they do to give great service and experience is well appreciated by those that come to you,” he said.

The full list of Wotif’s Aussie Town of Year for 2022 is…

1. Launceston, TAS 2. Caloundra, QLD 3. Tamworth, NSW 4. Yarra Valley, VIC 5. Adelaide Hills, SA 6. Bright, VIC 7. Hervey Bay, QLD 8. Halls Gap, VIC 9. Batemans Bay, NSW 10. Busselton, WA

State travel voucher scheme welcomed

By Callum Ludwig With the peak of the Omicron wave hind us, Yarra Ranges tourism, hospitality, and entertainment businesses are excited by the prospect of more returning visitors, particularly with the voucher schemes announced by the Victorian Government earlier last week.

The recently renovated Alpine Hotel in Warburton is one such business, ticking the boxes for accommodation and hospitality rebates with 32 rooms, as well as beautiful food and drinks to enjoy in the beer garden.

Owner Rachael Northwood said the boost the voucher scheme will give Warburton is exciting.

“I think being an hour and a half out of Melbourne, the beautiful Warburton village will be an easy option for customers to have time out of the CBD,” she said.

“With businesses trying to get staff back into offices, I think the timing of these vouchers is perfect because people will want to get a change of scenery and reboot their weekend with nature.”

The voucher schemes cover regional and metropolitan travel, entertainment, and dining experiences, giving visitors a 25 percent rebate back in their pockets.

For travel, $200 vouchers are available for a minimum of a $400 spend.

For entertainment, a 25 percent rebate with a maximum of $125 is up for grabs, and hospitality costs can also get a 25 percent rebate for Monday to Thursday dining, which has a minimum spend of $40 and a maximum of $500.

Yarra Ranges Tourism CEO Simon O’Callaghan said the previous three rounds of the scheme, in late 2020 and early 2021, were extremely popular with visitors and encouraged them to travel and spend in the Yarra Ranges.

“The evidence from the first few rounds is when they do come, they spend a lot more than the value of the voucher minimum,” he said.

“That’s a really positive thing for telling us about the breadth and depth of experiences and accommodation that they’re taking up.”

The regional scheme is in operation from 4 MAIL

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Tuesday, 1 March, 2022

The Alpine Hotel in Warburton is ready to welcome more visitors with the return of the Victorian travel voucher scheme.

Picture: ON FILE Monday to Thursday, to encourage consumers to support suburban and regional businesses.

Mr O’Callaghan said it was really pleasing that the voucher encourages travel on weekdays.

“When you inject incentives into the market, the last thing you want to do is put them into times when we’re already full like long weekends or normal weekends,” he said.

“Anything that builds the confidence of consumers to get back into the habit of travelling is a good thing.”

The Omicron wave caught not only businesses but governments and communities by surprise after two already tough years for the industry.

Mr O’Callaghan said the large number of micro-businesses in the Yarra Ranges left many people unavailable to access government support throughout this time, but he is optimistic for tourism and business in the area.

“Everyone has really hurt as a result of this, being in an industry that was essentially the first impacted and will be the last to re-

cover,” he said.

“Everyone’s seeing things move in the right direction, particularly with international borders reopening, quarantine requirements being wound back. In speaking to many of our operators, they’re seeing some really strong demand into the many months ahead, which is positive.”

Ms Northwood said the Omicron wave was an extremely difficult challenge for the hotel and other businesses in the Yarra Ranges.

“January was a very tough trading month, with patrons being extra cautious and having to self-isolate,” she said.

“We felt somewhat isolated ourselves, to be honest.”

Ms Northwood was very grateful for the tight-knit Warburton and greater Yarra Ranges community who have continued to support them through Covid-19.

“It has been so encouraging. We’ve had a lot of feedback from the local village and the Yarra Valley on what a positive restoration the building has been,” she said.

Volunteer roving expo

By Callum Ludwig Eastern Volunteers are hosting a roving expo throughout the Yarra Valley to promote volunteering, having started in Warburton and Yarra Junction on Wednesday 23 February.

The expo will be visiting towns in the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges over the next six weeks, with visits planned on Wednesdays for Lilydale, Chirnside Park, Healesville, and Belgrave. Each location will hold the expo twice, including another visit to Warburton and Yarra Junction.

Project Officer at Eastern Volunteers Jo Maddock said it is important to revitalise volunteer efforts after the Covid-19 pandemic put a stop to many projects, groups, and organisations.

“Volunteering has kind of taken a backseat over the past few years obviously, because people working from home and a lot of things stopped,” she said.

“We’re just really trying to get the message out there that there’s a variety of different organizations who offer a variety of opportunities out there in the Yarra Ranges.”

Confirmed dates for the expo include Healesville on 9 March 10am to 2pm and 6 April 12pm to 4pm behind The Memo on Maroondah Highway and in Belgrave on 16 March 10am to 1pm and 20 April 1pm to 4pm outside of the Emporium along Burwood Highway.

Times and locations for Lilydale and Chirnside Park are still being organised.

The project, Volunteering Yarra Ranges, has been funded by the Yarra Ranges Council and aims to encourage community engagement with local volunteer organisations, educating residents about the volunteering opportunities available and why they are so important.

Ms Maddock said she thinks now more than ever it’s important to be connected to your community, especially after Covid and the June 2021 storms.

“It’s really important to be connected to your community to make sure that you’re giving back and helping people out that are in need,” she said.

“Just making sure that we’re empowering each other and staying connected. Volunteering is good for that” The project is promoting and supporting a wide variety of volunteer groups, from Church support groups, disability services, emergency relief organisations, and sporting groups.

Ms Maddock believes getting involved in volunteering can also benefit those looking to find their way back into the workforce.

“It’s good to gain confidence, gain experience and gain that knowledge that they need to get back out into the workforce, paid workforce or just to give back to the community if they want to,” she said.

Eastern Volunteers encourage people to volunteer within their means, with any efforts from volunteering one day a week, three days a week or a couple of hours a day going a long way to helping those in need in the community feel supported.

“It makes them feel included by creating an inclusive experience for them. It’s a way to bring the community together to have everyone supporting each other through any hardships,” she said.

“Volunteering definitely makes people overall happier and healthier. Having a good quality of life depends on being connected to people.”

Jo and Harry from Eastern Volunteers at the WaterWheel in Warburton.

Picture: CALLUM LUDWIG mailcommunity.com.au

NEWS

Social housing changes

By Mikayla van Loon Changes to how the Victorian government will supply social housing into the future have been announced, gaining support from local homeless support organisation Anchor.

From July 2024, all newly built developments with three dwellings or more and three or more lot subdivisions will contribute 1.75 per cent of the as-if-complete project value to the Social Housing Growth Fund via a levy.

The fund is expected to raise an average of about $800 million a year to go towards the building of social housing in the state.

Anchor CEO Heidi Tucker said this is great news for organisations in the sector, particularly since social housing has been underfunded in recent years.

“There’s been a huge under-investment right across Australia, really, for many years now, in social and affordable housing so we are sort of starting from a position of a bit of a handicap. This is great news and the sector has taken it very well,” she said.

Ms Tucker said the rental housing market is currently in a dire position, with rent prices doubling in some regional towns, with 46.7 per cent of Victorians receiving Commonwealth rent assistance and 39.5 per cent of people spending more than a third of their income on rent.

The dream of owning a home has become, for many, an unreachable goal as house prices rise but Ms Tucker said the ability to rent is even becoming a challenge for a lot of people.

“We’re now moving to a stage where people can’t even afford to rent. So if you can’t afford to buy and can’t afford rent, what are you supposed to do? The only place you can turn to is social and affordable housing, that is the only place you have to go,” she said, “The wait for public housing is probably about 10 years, so if we can increase year on year the amount of social and community

A new social housing fund has been established by the State government to contribute $800 million to the building of affordable homes each year.

Picture: UNSPLASH housing we can build, it just means you are giving people hope.”

Rental and house prices that had traditionally been low in the Yarra Ranges, particularly in Lilydale, Millgrove and Woori Yallock, Ms Tucker said have increased exponentially, displacing many people from those areas.

“People who rough sleep or people who are without a home are very vulnerable people in the community that come from all walks of life, unlike perhaps, the perception that they’re all a homogeneous group.

“The largest group of people who are homeless are children, and they follow their parents,

mostly their mothers into homelessness.”

Ms Tucker said as one of the largest groups of people experiencing homelessness, women and children could have a lifetime of trauma to deal with but a house could be the first step in healing.

“We’re talking about, yes, the house, that’s really, really important but then it’s the recovery from whatever else has happened,” she said.

“It might be recovering from addiction, it might be recovering from an illness, it could be recovery from family violence, these things take time.”

The current approach to homelessness in

Australia is to provide services first and a house second, which could take up to five years, but Ms Tucker said this investment in social housing will help flip this system.

“In other countries, the Nordic countries like Finland, and the US and Canada, particularly, have this thing called ‘Housing First’,” Ms Tucker said.

“Things like this investment will enable us to give the accommodation first and say ‘here’s your house. Now, let’s help you fix the other things’ instead of the system we have in Australia at the moment where you go through all of these services until you get to your destination.”

ALL - NEW

OUTLANDER Kylie has been teaching young people the art of yoga and how it can help with mental health and wellbeing.

Picture: SUPPLIED

For youth’s mental health

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Kylie said she is loving seeing the young people develop and it is a huge benefit having a safe and welcoming space for them to come to to engage with their health and wellbeing.

As the Hub grows through word of mouth, it hopes to include more activities and events to be inclusive of all young people.

Currently in the works at the Hub are a youth fair, a pride event, Friday night hangouts and the team are in the process of enlisting young people to its Youth Action Group where they can help plan events and activities and have a sense of ownership over the Hub. The consortium of services provides young people aged 12 to 25 with peer support workers, counsellors, one-on-one guidance and mentoring and takes a holistic support approach.

With an open door policy for people to charge phones, have a chat with someone or get a snack, the proven effects of the Youth Hub are already showing through in the positive outcomes it’s having on those who attend regularly.

“I came here with friends, and they always have snacks which is good. It’s just a good place to hang out.

“If you haven’t heard of the Hub it’s ok.

It’s not scary, just come and have fun.”

TEST DRIVE NOW

LILYDALE MITSUBISHI 56-70 Main Street Lilydale T 9735 5800

12525325-JW49-21

The Lilydale Youth Hub has been building up an extensive base of activities for young people since opening fully in November last year.

With a focus on improving the mental health and wellbeing of the young right across the Yarra Ranges, case workers and staff have been thinking of creative ways to interact and support young people.

With yoga sessions, art therapy, animal therapy and a tattoo design workshop all on offer, the variety means there’s something for everyone, even if they have never done it before.

“I was a bit nervous and excited the first time I came to the Hub. Yoga was something different that I hadn’t tried before,” one young person said.

Peer support worker Kylie, who has over eight years experience teaching yoga, teaches the classes and said she focuses on teaching them breathing, positivity, and connection to self.

The mindfulness and wellbeing tools help young people feel relaxed and clear minded after the sessions and is something that can be used in their daily lives.

“I like the Hub because they help with anxiety and depression, but they do it in ways that aren’t boring or intense therapy,” the young person said.

“They help me with what I’ve got going on but I also get to do fun activities too.”

www.lilydalemitsubishi.com.au Tuesday, 1 March, 2022

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MAIL 5

NEWS

Vintage 22 begins

By Renee Wood The 2022 vintage is underway for Yarra Valley grape growers and wine producers, with picking and pressing starting early February.

Lucy Etheridge from Yarrawalla Vineyards has harvested three quarters of their Pinot Noir and Chardonnay varieties and said the crop is down this year due to the weather conditions we’ve experienced over the past 12 months.

Ms Etheridge said a really wet season created an unusually high pressure season in the vineyard.

“We had adverse weather events, while a number of our varieties were flowering, which means our yields get dropped when we don’t have fruit set as a result of that poor flowering,” Ms Etheridge said.

“It’s been a challenging season in that we’ve had a lot of managing the fruit to make sure it stays intact, healthy and well to get us through to the harvest.”

On average Yarrawalla producers up to 400 ton of fruit a year from it’s 100 acre Gruyere vineyard for contracts servicing wineries

based in the Yarra Valley.

Ms Etheridge said having challenging seasons comes with the farming territory as each year produces its own complexities and is grateful the season is ending in excellent ripening conditions.

“Fortunately, we’ve been able to see it over the finish line in good condition, and it’ll be really great quality fruit - just not heaps of it,” she said.

Machine harvesters are being used on the vineyard during the night shift picking programs which start at 11pm, due to cool nights below 21 degrees being prime harvesting time for many grape growers.

“Last night, we picked several bins at midnight and they would have been in a press by 2am.

“The machines are really advanced technology now, they’re actually providing fully de-stemmed fruit which is great, and when your close by to the winery, that’s a really ideal scenario now.”

Ms Etheridge said Yarrawalla hasn’t face staff shortage issues but the agriculture rich

land of the Yarra Valley being placed under metro lockdowns has posed some difficulties.

Accessing contractors and maintenance on machinery has been troublesome this past year, more so than in previous years.

“I think the Yarra Valley is a really interesting one in that we’ve been considered Metro Melbourne through a lot of the pandemic, which has made it very difficult for us to access rural assistance.

“Ultimately as farmers we are operating as rural farmers, but looking at government grants for assistance with labour or shop out with funding for things when you can’t fill gaps has not been available unfortunately.”

All in all, Ms Etheridge is happy vintage has arrived and the nice sunny weather has helped to plump up the fruit and top off the season.

“It’s a great vintage, it’s looking good… It’s small quantities, but excellent quality again, which is great and I think that’s going to be important for the Valley after a tricky couple of Metro lockdown years,” she said.

“It’s nice to have a bit of movement again, with industry feeling vaguely normal with

Yarrawalla Vineyards in Gruyere has picked three quarters of its crop so for as the 2022 vintage continues for many growers and producers.

Picture: SUPPLIED pickers out again in paddocks, machines harvesting and wineries operational. So I think that’s been a nice little morale booster for everyone to see.”

Yields low but quality high

By Renee Wood

Adrian Santolin using a plunger at Santolin Wines.

Picture: GARY SISSONS

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Back to school!

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School students across Victoria made their return to school following summer holidays, while 2021’s preps got their first taste of primary school life. Wurundjeri Elder Aunty Joy Murphy conducted a Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony for Badger Creek Primary School students and staff.

See page 7 for more back to school excitment.

Back to school!

School students across Victoria made their return to school following summer holidays, while 2021’s preps got their first taste of primary school life. Wurundjeri Elder Aunty Joy Murphy

By Jed Lanyon

Centre in the lead up to Christmas. Many locals far and wide were able to keep up their Christmas tradition in getting a family photo with ‘The Real Santa’ who they had grown to love.

The unlikely tandem tallied upwards of $30,000 from their family Christmas photos and then selected four charities to each receive

$8400 to help make the lives of children better.

The four recipients of the funds included: Backpacks 4 Vic Kids, A Better Life For Foster Kids, HeartKids and Chum Creek’s Good Life Farm. The organisations shared how the funds had already been put to good use.

Backpacks 4 Vic Kids CEO and founder Sally Beard told Star Mail the donation came as a “delightful surprise”.

“We’re very, very grateful on behalf of the children, whose lives that it will impact,” she said. “We have absolutely put that money to good use.”

Ms Beard shared that the $8400 donation from Branded is aiding 112 children in need with care packs filled with toiletries, spare changes of clothes, a toy and more.

Continued page 2 12477022-SN06-21

It’s February, but Santa Claus’ gifts keep on coming for several charity organisations who benefited from a partnership between Saint Nick and Seville’s Branded Burger Bar. The burger bar came to the rescue when they partnered with Santa, who had seen his role replaced at Chirnside Park Shopping

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A worthy brand

The beginning of vintage is a pivotal time for wine producers as they start to receive fruit drops from local growers.

Adrian Santolin from Santolin Wines said sparkling based varieties – Pinot and Chardonnay – are the first to be delivered to their Warrandyte South winery.

Mr Santolin said the fruit coming in has been of high quality despite yields being down for the year due to weather events.

“That rainfall certainly put on a lot of disease pressure, so all the growers had to be right on top of their spray programs, and everyone has been, so we haven’t seen too much disease out there - they’re still good quality grapes,” he said.

The varieties most affected are Pinot and Chardonnay – the two the region is known for specialising in.

Mr Santolin expects varieties such as Shiraz and Cabernet will see normal yields for the year.

“We’ll be down in volume this year, we’ll probably be around 30 per cent down in terms of intake. 2021 was a pretty good yielding year, so the universe has got its way of evening things out.”

During vintage, Mr Santolin spends most of his time at the winery, leaving home when it’s dark and returning when the skies a similar shade, with timing very critical during this period.

“Once everything is fermented, stored in tanks and barrels and everything’s locked away then things start to calm down.”

This year Santolin Wines is looking to trial something different, making a premium traditional method sparkling and said some other small experimentations will be made for other varieties.

The majority of the fruit being used will come from Yarra Glen and Dixons Creek and some will be delivered from Gladysdale and Yarra Junction next month.

Several of the Santolin labels are defined by their vineyard’s location, named after where the fruit has been grown to express its unique growing characteristics.

“We want all our wines to express the vineyard that they come from, because you can get the same wine variety, make it the same way from a couple of different vineyards and each batch of wine will taste differently.”

Adrian and his wife Rebecca started Santolin Wines in 2012 and like to let the grapes speak for themselves, creating a conversation with the palette on regions and seasonal conditions.

Mr Santolin said this season has been quite cool with cool nights, which retained a lot of natural acidity in the grapes.

A mild summer without many scorching 40 degree days will also create wines that are ‘delicate and elegant’.

“We’ve had some nice ripening weather now, so they are still going to get ripe enough

Adrian and his wife Rebecca started Santolin Wines in 2012 and will still have the lovely fruit flavours, and wines that should have a little bit of weight and texture about them.”

“If it’s a warm year or cool year the wines taste different. Essentially, we’re trying to make wine but tell the story of the year that they experienced, so it’s like we take you on a little journey in the glass.”

Mr Santolin said their production is based off minimal intervention.

“We try and find growers to work with that produce good fruit, we want to have good relationships with those guys.”

Although, Mr Santolin said small producers are also starting to find it hard to compete for local fruit with an increase in larger companies purchasing wineries, vineyards or signing large contracts.

“The availability of especially Pinot in the Yarra is getting quite tough because a lot of larger businesses are purchasing either vineyards or wineries or securing contracts with a lot of growers.

“So for smaller guys, it is getting a little bit tougher to get some of the fruit that you might have been getting previously.”

Mr Santolin said he hasn’t personally been affected by this and has built good relationships with his growers, while also making connections in his position as chief winemaker at Rob Dolan Wines.

“We’re fortunate for that and its something that gives our business a bit more stability otherwise we probably would find it a lot tougher.” mailcommunity.com.au

NEWS

Deferred permit approved

By Mikayla van Loon Yarra Ranges Council has approved a planning application for a subdivision in Mount Evelyn, after it was deferred late last year.

The property at 14 East Avenue, that has access points from Centre Avenue and South Avenue, will be subdivided into two lots, each over 4000 square metres.

Although properties along the south side of South Avenue are zoned as Green Wedge A, East Avenue is a low density residential area.

Last heard at the 14 December council meeting, councillors debated the appropriateness of building the proposed house in its position due to a history of flooding and the position of a crossover on Centre Avenue which would require the building of a culvert.

David Schmidtke has lived on Centre Avenue for over 25 years and spoke on behalf of the residents and objectors again at the

22 February meeting.

He raised concerns about the narrow road access particularly for emergency vehicles, the bushfire risk to other properties should the house catch on fire and the water run off.

“It just seems bizarre to have that much land and have a house a couple of metres from a boundary,” he said.

“We’re just really struggling to understand the rationale or what would make the planning department even consider access from Centre Avenue.”

The applicant Shelley Starrenburg said working with a consultant, a 10,000 litre static water tank will be installed for the CFA to use in the instance of a fire, hoping to reduce concerns about fire danger.

Mayor Jim Child moved an alternative recommendation to approve the motion on the conditions that a crossover had to be built and signed off by an engineer prior to building, that

no parking would be available to construction workers on Centre Avenue and more specifications on the carriageway and crossover point.

“This is probably one of the more complex planning applications that we’ve dealt with for some time,” Mayor Child said.

With stakeholder consent, including the CFA, traffic engineers and drainage engineers, Mayor Child said councillors could not deviate from this specific application and that it was about this house being built in this location.

Billanook ward councillor Tim Heenan spoke against the recommendation and said he could not understand the need to have the entrance to the house in the proposed location knowing the condition of the roads currently.

“I just feel the sighting of this particular home up there, and I’m certainly not against having the residential property being built, but I feel we could have done much better coming from the South Avenue area,” Cr Heenan said.

Cr David Eastham said although it is the job of a councillor to represent the community, when it comes to planning applications, it is not their role to go against the planning scheme and provisions.

“It’s not a councillors’ role to decide where a family can build their forever home if the council officers who understand the planning scheme and requirements, if they say it is ok that it can be there then it’s not a councillors role to think they can overturn that,” he said.

Cr Eastham also said in relation to the number of safety issues of the narrow roads, he is pleased a civil engineering program will be in place to perhaps make it safer along Centre Avenue.

The proposed five bedroom, three car garage, two living room, single storey dwelling received the necessary votes from all councillors to approve the application. Cr Heenan did not support the approval.

The history of Friedl Gardner’s beautiful property

By Mikayla van Loon A piece of history in Mount Evelyn is soon to be divided but before it does become two properties, it seemed only fitting to look back at it’s past.

Cherrygarth, the property located at 14 East Avenue, was the home of Friedl and Godfrey Gardner from 1959 until it was sold in 2005.

The artist and her academic husband purchased the beautifully landscaped property then known as ‘Wrenloft’ from Mary and Norm Doeg, before renaming the property ‘Cherrygarth’ to mean ‘rosy cheeks’ and ‘garden’.

As a well known figure in the Mount Evelyn community, it wasn’t hard to find someone who knew Freidl.

Friend and fellow environmental warrior Clare Worsnop said Friedl really helped guide her to become the Mount Evelyn Environment Protection and Progress president.

“Friedel was always very community minded. The two of them were but Friedl was the one that I had the most to do with because she just took me under her wing as a little protege that needed to be guided and helped to understand the magic of the world,” Clare said.

Friedl’s father, Victor Rathausky, who came to Australia from Austria in 1912, had a great love and appreciation for the natural world, a trait he passed to his daughter when she was born in 1920.

“She was very interested in the wildlife, she was very interested in the flora of the area, I think probably the flora was her greatest strength rather than fauna, which is probably mine,” Clare said.

“The flora and fauna of Australia was very special to her and the flora and fauna of Mount Evelyn was very, very special.

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“So the property was pretty natural, with natural bush, lots of big eucalypts on it, and lots of beautiful ferns and stuff on the undergrowth.”

Clare said one of Friedl’s aims with the two acre property was to remove all the invasive weeds to support regeneration.

“She always said she wasn’t an absolute purist but she needed to get rid of all the invasive weeds and encouraged and replanted and revegetated, where she could, natural vegetation which would enhance the magical spot.”

One of Friedl’s most prized sections of her garden was the duck pond she created with water lilies, which became home to a new brood of ducklings every year.

Not only did Friedl want to create a garden for her own pleasure but to share and teach others the importance of nature and the need to protect it.

Being born to migrant parents and living through a world war, Friedl knew about hard work and supporting those less fortunate.

She didn’t always have a lot of money in her early adult life.

“When she started doing her paintings, her watercolours, she couldn’t afford all the really good papers she wanted. If she stuffed one up, she would literally soak them in the water in a bath until the colours came out and then she’d dry it and reuse it,” Clare said.

“She respected the fact that a lot of people aren’t fortunate but a bit of caring, nurturing and affection and good attitude can make a big difference in any small way.”

Friedl would often sell postcards of her paintings or host exhibitions to raise money for Amnesty International, mostly with designs inspired by the flora found in her garden.

Mount Evelyn History Group’s Janice Newton was able to secure a diary entry from Friedl’s daughter Margot, describing the beauty of the garden in 1968 - a lasting memory of what was once before.

“Take a walk around the garden with me in your imagination – down the stepping stones past the delicate birch trees and the pink belladonnas which have appeared all around the garden,” it read.

“The perfume of the Bouvardia is worth a short crawl on hands and knees; down the gravel steps past the laundry and then across the grassy stretch and lilac border, right down to the round bed.

“Over the potting yard … the jasmine climbs freely and to reach a bloom amongst the jungle of creepers, blackberries and roses is a real treat – the perfume is really beautiful. Come around past the gully, through the paddocks to the orchard. The rosy apples on the trees are quite tempting – so crisp and juicy.”

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Friedl and Godfrey Gardner’s house was architecturally designed for their property known as Cherrygarth in Mount Evelyn.

Picture: SUPPLIED

“She loved to teach people but in a passive way so that when you go there you see the magic and then she can talk about it and infect you with what you need to know rather than stand up and give you a lecture,” Clare said.

Friedl’s garden became a safe haven for many species including kangaroos, wallabies and the endangered grey goshawks that are no longer found in Mount Evelyn.

Disappointed to not only lose this patch of natural environment for the flora and fauna in Mount Evelyn, Clare said it was also sad to see Friedl’s history disappearing.

The Mount Evelyn History Group have requested the history of Cherrygarth and the Gardner’s be remembered, with the owners of many properties of historical significance celebrating the past with photos and continuing the history in some sort of dedication.

Speaking as a citizen of Mount Evelyn, Paula Herlihy said it’s places like Cherrygarth that create a sense of belonging, family and purpose.

“The more the character of our ‘place’ is lost in ways like the subdivision of Cherrygarth, the less attached we are, the less likely we are to protect it and volunteer to improve it,” Paula said.

“Eventually we incline towards the behaviour of those people we read about who don’t know their neighbours and don’t know if they become ill or even die.

“Our history is part of what attaches us to a place. Every tree, plant and animal lost, every garden destroyed disrupts that link to our ‘place’ or ‘country’.”

Friedl and Godfrey found their home in Mount Evelyn, choosing a place that was not surrounded by ‘suburbs’ and worked hard to protect it.

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Tuesday, 1 March, 2022

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NEWS

Park a home for wildlife

By Renee Wood In 2009 the region was shattered by the devastating Black Saturday bushfires and someone who’s life and legacy was touched dramatically by this event was Tony Woolley from Babbajin Park wildlife shelter.

Tony and Georgina Woolley lost 103 animals when their property in Steels Creek was destroyed, and although time has passed Tony said he’s still suffering from losing so many who were in his care.

“I suffer from depression and anxiety myself because I lost 11 good friends in those 2009 fires and I’ve been going downhill, but this is therapy for me,” Tony said.

Despite the trauma, Tony continues day in day out nursing injured and orphaned wildlife as a way to heal himself and the animals.

But this is all something being done out of the goodness of their own hearts and pockets.

“My Centrelink payments go in one day and it’s not for me, it’s for the animals,” he said.

“My daily outing at the moment is just to go down the street and get fruit and veg, seeds, milks formulas, mealworms.”

Tony’s been caring for animals for 37 years and was based in Steels Creek for more than two decades.

After the fire, John and Louise Ward donated land at the Yarra Valley Estate to re-establish the park and turn the area into a private conservation reserve and wildlife shelter.

“They let me create a paradise for them [the animals], which was just a deer paddock with blackberries, and now look what they’ve got.”

Over a thousand native trees have been planted on the Dixon’s Creek property to create the conservation area.

Some 43 nest boxes are set up throughout and several enclosures are in place within the property to rehabilitate injured animals, with 65 animals currently in care.

It’s hoped donations will help go towards works to fix the large hole in the driveway.

Tony Woolley cares for animals great and small at Babbajin Park in Dixon’s Creek Pictures: RENEE WOOD Babbajin Park is well known by locals, vets and the Healesville Sanctuary who work with Tony to rehabilitate animals.

“I call myself the four Rs – I rescue, raise, rehabilitate and release native wildlife back into the wild.”

Although some furry friends don’t go too far, Tony tells of the many animals that still remain within the area - a wombat under the house, satin bower birds building displays and a Kangaroo named ruby that was rescued when she weighed just grams.

Tony said he’s a proud grandfather when Ruby returns every day to visit with her own joey in her pouch.

But the property does need some work after

the shelter’s driveway off Melba Highway, was destroyed by a dam blowout.

Animal wildlife shelters don’t receive any consistent funding from governments and Babbijin Park is supported by donations.

It’s hoped fundraising will help to support the works.

“Just as much as I can contibute to help out because these guys helped me here since 2009, so that’s my way of saying thank you too.”

Further donations will also go towards continuing Babbajin Park’s legacy providing essential medical aid and food and maintaining the area.

For more information, visit the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BabbajinWP

One year old wombat named Tillie is currently in care before she can be released back into the wild.

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OPINION

Society highlights After two years of uncertainty, Lilydale & District Historical Society is back to normal…… well the Covid version of it.

Our first meeting in February also coincided with the launch of our first new display in two years -Working Together 10 Years of Local Government - which was attended by various members of the community groups that contributed a story and images to the display.

Each had the added responsibility of unveiling their display board.

Now, everyone is welcome to visit our home at the Old Lilydale Court House and learn more about 18 groups from Seville, Coldstream, Lilydale, Montrose and Kilsyth. Each responded to our invitation to be part of the display via their local township group. The display is their stories of working together with the council to support and develop their group. See our hours of opening below.

Also on display is our belated 50th anniversary originally scheduled for 2021. The society’s display traces the stories of some key activities the society has been involved in during its 50-year history. Formed in 1971 to help

Looking

back Sue Thompson

Lilydale and District Historical Society president the Shire of Lillydale celebrate its centenary in 1972, the society continues to work closely with council and the local community on current projects.

Some projects society members are involved in include the Inspiro Art and Sole Project; Lilydale Structure Plan; Lilydale Reserve & Melba Park Committee of Management; Beautification of Main Street; Lilydale Heritage Study and the Yarra Ranges Heritage Network.

Last year heritage groups across the Yarra Ranges elected me as its new Chair to replace the late Phil Garland. The network aims to

work together to promote and preserve the history of the municipality and provide support for each other.

On 16 March the work of these 17 groups will be on display at the launch of the Power and the People 150 Years of Local Government exhibition at the Memo in Healesville. Each group has selected a facility, project, event or service in their area which demonstrates the value of the partnership between council and the local community which turned dreams into reality.

The exhibition wouldn’t have been possible without the partnership of the network and the council which provided the funding for it through its Arts and Heritage Grants for Community program.

Be sure to visit the exhibition which was going to various venues throughout Yarra Ranges for the rest of this year.

Old Lilydale Court House is open Fridays 1 to 4pm and Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays 11am to 4pm or go for more information, go to www.lilydalehistorical.com.au and check out our News & Events page.

CARTOON

An epic fantasy tale of man vs vampire A review of Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff Back in the days when Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight books were trendy, U.S.-based horror writer Stephen King had to launch a comic series called “American Vampire” to shift the focus back to those “stone killers that can’t get enough of that tasty Type-A”: “In the end... it’s all about giving back the teeth that the current ‘sweetie-vamp’ craze has, by and large, stolen from the bloodsuckers. It’s about making them scary again.” If you, too, prefer vampires as cold-blooded midnight hunters waiting to be invited into your house, you will definitely enjoy Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff, our own #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of fantasy and science fiction.

The stunning 736-page illustrated dark fantasy features Gabriel de León as the very last Silversaint, a member of a holy brotherhood dedicated to defending humanity from the vampires, who have been ravaging the realm for nearly three decades.

The whole story takes place in one night, within Gabriel’s prison cell, where he is forced by a vampiric historian named JeanFrançois to tell his life story. The two constantly quarrel, adding much fun and philomailcommunity.com.au

PASSION FOR PROSE WITH CHRISTINE SUN sophical musing to Gabriel’s storytelling.

The “story within a story” offers a glimpse of Gabriel’s inner world, from his miserable childhood as a bastard-born, not knowing his heritage as a half-blood vampire, to his entry to the monastery of San Michon to train as a warrior.

But he is a flawed hero, a highly likeable character who swears as much as he drinks.

He is also an addict, relying on a certain drug (of a rather ambivalent nature) to keep his dark half at bay while making the best use of it.

The story jumps from different parts of Gabriel’s life journey, revealing the hardships and atrocities that shaped him the way he is today. This is a reckless and cynical

protagonist, a breaker of rules with a wicked sense of humour and a formidable perception of justice. Yet it is his loyalty to families and friends that drives his life.

The story is full of blood and gore, heartwrenching horror, and thrilling actions and adventures – perfect for fans of the vampire genre. But it is also filled with “legendary battles and forbidden love, of faith lost and friendships won”, as Kristoff describes it. To paraphrase the author, although the story goes to “very dark places”, there is a strong thread of hope through it.

Particularly noteworthy are the exquisite illustrations by Melbourne-based digital artist Bon Orthwick. Says Kristoff: “I wanted the illustrations to be more than just a gimmick – I wanted them to serve a narrative purpose, and breathe a different kind of life into the story. [Orthwick] captured that idea and the aesthetic of the world perfectly.”

Empire of the Vampire is a detailed survey of vampires, which can be “an object of desire, a power fantasy, an exploration of immortality, a study in morality, or just plain terrifying”. Without doubt, Kristoff has succeeded in making vampires terrifying again.

Matrix trilogy screening

The Healesville Memorial Hall will screen the entire Matrix film series throughout April.

The Memo will screen The Matrix on Saturday April 2, The Matrix Reloaded on Saturday April 9, The Matrix Revolutions on Sunday April 10, and The Matrix Resurrections on Saturday April 23.

The Matrix is an iconic, groundbreaking film series, and I’m thrilled to see these films return to the Yarra Valley next month.

The Matrix (1999) follows Neo (Keanu Reeves), who discovers that his reality is a simulation called the Matrix, which is controlled

by AI overlords known as the Machines. Neo’s nemesis is Agent Smith (the impeccably sinister Hugo Weaving), a Machine program tasked with policing the Matrix against the human Resistance.

Directed by Lana and Lilly Wachowski, The Matrix pioneered dynamic slow-motion effects – now known as “bullet-time” – and popularised cyberpunk, Hong Kong-style fight choreography and philosophical depth in Western blockbusters.

Reloaded is an over-the-top but stylish and compelling thrill-ride, with fantastic action, fun characters and an engaging narrative about control. Revolutions is an epic conclusion about choice, as Neo and the people of Zion, the last free human city, choose to stand against the overwhelming Machine army and the megalomaniacal, ultra-powerful Smith.

Neo and Smith’s subway fight in The Matrix is one of the best fight scenes ever filmed, with a three-act structure that tells a tense story in itself. The chateau swordfight in Reloaded is beautifully-choreographed, and Reloaded’s action has a (mostly) well-integrated note of physical comedy, epitomised by the “Burly Brawl” between Neo and dozens of Smith clones. Neo and Smith’s final fight in Revolutions is like an apocalyptic remake of their subway fight, and the climactic siege on Zion is still a staggering special effects spectacle with grand, even terrifying scale.

Much of the original trilogy was shot in Sydney and features a large number of Australian actors, including Weaving, Farscape actor Paul Goddard as Agent Brown, and Bruce Spence, who has a small but memorable role as the Trainman in Revolutions.

The Matrix Resurrections, directed by just Lana Wachowski, is a divisive and very selfreferential entry in the series, but has touching themes of love, identity and freedom at its core, and sees the characters, cast and director explore the legacy of the Matrix series itself.

One of my fondest memories is of watching the first three Matrix films back-to-back with my father at the Memo in December 2003.

I came in costume, wearing a black cloak I found at a church sale, and with red and blue jellybeans (as a reference to the red and blue pills from the first film) in my pocket.

With these April screenings (which, full disclosure, I helped organise), I’m excited to see the full Matrix series return, nearly twenty years later, to the Memo for old fans and new viewers alike to enjoy.

You can book your tickets through this link: https://www.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/Experience/The-Arts/Cultural-venues/The-MemoHealesville/Upcoming-events-at-The-Memo

The Matrix series will be showing at the Memo in April.

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MAIL 9

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Tuesday, 1 March, 2022

Maria Smedes has been designing an array costumes for the Lilydale Athenaeum Theatre for five Picture: GARY SISSONS years but it’s the Edwardian era she finds the most exciting. 269814

Behind the stage seams

By Mikayla van Loon

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CHIRNSIDE PARK Meadowgate Milk Bar 3 Meadowgate Drive CHIRNSIDE PARK Coles Supermarket 239-241 Maroondah Highway CHIRNSIDE PARK Woolworths Supermarket 239-241 Maroondah Highway CHIRNSIDE PARK 7 - Eleven 242 Maroondah Highway CROYDON NORTH Croydon Hills Milk Bar 158 Nangathan Way CROYDON NORTH Eastfield Milk Bar 11 The Mall KILSYTH Woolworths Supermarket Churinga SC, Russo Place KILSYTH Coles Supermarket 520-526 Mt Dandenong Road KILSYTH Kilsyth Laundrette87 Colchester Road KILSYTH Woolworths Supermarket Canterbury Road Kilsyth KILSYTH TSG Tobacco Churinga Shopping Centre Mt Dandenong Road LILYDALE Lilydale Marketplace SC 33-45 Hutchinson Street LILYDALE Lilydale Village SC 51-59 Anderson Street LILYDALE Coles Supermarket Lilydale Village Castella Street & Maroondah Highway LILYDALE Lilydale Community Centre 7 Hardy Street LILYDALE Eastern Laundries. 2/4 Williams Street East LILYDALE Lilydale Lakeside Conference and Events Centre 1 Jarlo Drive LILYDALE United Petrol Service Station 473 Maroondah Highway LILYDALE Caltex Lilydale 346 Main Street LILYDALE Caltex Woolworths 31 Hutchinson Street LILYDALE BP Service Station 87 Warburton Highway LILYDALE Shell Service Station 469 Maroondah Highway LILYDALE 7 - Eleven Lilydale Cnr Maroondah Highway & Cave Hill Road LILYDALE Coles Express 469 Maroondah Highway LILYDALE Hutch & Co Cafe 251 Main Street LILYDALE Round Bird Can’t Fly 170 Main Street LILYDALE The Lilydale General 110 Beresford Road LILYDALE Yarra Valley Smokery 96 Main Street LILYDALE Bee Seen Cafe 178 Main Street LILYDALE Blue Turtle Cafe 222 Main Street LILYDALE Gracious Grace Castella Street LILYDALE Melba Coffee House 33-45 Hutchinson Street LILYDALE Lilydale Munchies 7/75 Cave Hill Road LILYDALE The Mustard Tree Cafe 3/28 John Street LILYDALE Freda’s Cafe 2 Clarke Street LILYDALE Ray White Real Estate 164 Main Street LILYDALE Stockdale & Leggo Real Estate 281 Main Street LILYDALE Professionals Real Estate 111-113 Main Street LILYDALE Grubs Up 1 Industrial Park Drive LILYDALE Olinda Creek Hotel Maroondah Hwy LILYDALE Crown Hotel Maroondah Hwy LILYDALE Yarra Ranges Council 61 - 65 Anderson Street MONTROSE Montrose Authorised Newsagency 912 Mt Dandenong Road MONTROSE Bell Real Estate 896 Mt Dandenong Tourist Road MONTROSE IGA Supermarket 916 Mt Dandenong Road MOUNT EVELYN Fast Fuel 1 Hereford Road MOUNT EVELYN IGA Supermarket 38- 40 York Road MOUNT EVELYN Post Office 12 Station Street MOUNT EVELYN Authorised Newsagency 1A Wray Crescent MOUNT EVELYN Red Robin Milk Bar 35 Hereford Road MOUNT EVELYN Library 50 Wray Cresent MOUNT EVELYN Milkbar 28 Birmingham Road MOUNT EVELYN York on Lilydale 138 York Road MOOROOLBARK Coles Supermarket 15 Brice Avenue MOOROOLBARK Corner Milk Bar 38 Bellara Dive MOOROOLBARK Fang & Yaoxin Mini Mart 108 Hayrick Lane MOOROOLBARK BP Mooroolbark 103 Cardigan Road MOOROOLBARK Coles Express 2 Cambridge Road MOOROOLBARK Mooroolbark Coin Laundrette28 Manchester Road MOOROOLBARK Professionals Real Estate Brice Avenue MOOROOLBARK L J Hooker Brice Avenue MOOROOLBARK Fletchers Real Estate 1/14 Manchester Road MOOROOLBARK 7-Eleven Manchester Road

Costumes can make or break any on stage performance, as they allow an audience to accept a person as their character.

Designers like Maria Smedes at the Lilydale Athenaeum Theatre don’t often get the recognition they deserve for their contribution to a play, so Star Mail went behind the scenes to take an up close look at her work.

Ms Smedes designed and made at least 30 items for A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, one of the largest array of costumes she’s ever had to make. “[I made some] from scratch and other things have been added to other items. I’ve had to make cloaks, sometimes they’re only small items like waist coats but altogether it would be at least 30 items plus alterations,” she said.

Not only has Ms Smedes had to make costumes, she’s had to be on hand every night to repair broken straps, unstitched hems and fraying jackets.

“The whole play has had a lot of costumes, between 50 to 60 different costume changes.

Most of the girls have all got about five costumes that they’ve got to change and sometimes the one that they have at the beginning, they’ve got to put back on at the end. So it’s very fast moving.”

As a musical based in 1910, Ms Smedes said she had to do quite a bit of research to understand the women’s dresses of the era.

“We have a lot of books and lots of YouTube videos. Thank goodness for YouTube. All your answers are answered on YouTube.

“I also try to look at what other companies have done and what costumes they wore. I then made them similar with the material we had.”

With an abundance of costumes stored in cupboards at the theatre, Ms Smedes said she could choose bits and pieces from previous dresses to help create the vision for these Edwardian costumes.

“Some of those costumes are recycled from our cupboard. They weren’t all new. The pink one, that was about three bridesmaids dresses with a bit of this and a bit of that,” she said.

Receiving a lot of donations of clothing, Ms Smedes said she’s often using the material from bridesmaids dresses to create her designs.

Ms Smedes designed each costume using recycled materials from bridesmaid dresses.

Picture: ALEXANDRA CARTER Boning, beading and lace trims, are just some of the details to be seen up close.

Getting to create an entire era through her costumes and delve into a different world has been Ms Smedes favourite part of this production.

“We can add more frills and details to these.

The next play is set in the 1950s and I can just go to the cupboard and grab out a few dresses.

There’s nothing exciting in that. So to do this sort of thing is much more exciting and interesting.”

Coming from a bridal background, Ms Smedes has also had a fine eye for the intricate details when it comes to dressmaking.

“I did a diploma course at the Gordon Institute of Technology in Geelong, which was a three year diploma course and then two years industry experience working in a bridal shop and then I went into teaching and then back into bridal shops, now I work from home.

“I’m still learning the quick ways of adding things [to costumes]. It’s really a learning game.”

Since starting with the theatre company four or five years ago, Ms Smedes said it has been nice to join a community of people all working towards the one outcome.

“It’s been nice to have something to do and to get involved with the community. I’ve got to meet a lot of lovely people.” mailcommunity.com.au

CIDER FESTIVAL

Napoleone Cider Festival Get your Pomme on at the second annual Australian Cider Festival at the Napoleone Orchard Bar “It’s really an excuse for us to celebrate cider, the industry, our team, right before we kick off harvest season in earnest” said Cameron Gordon, “We’re excited to open our doors for a festival a second time. Last year was a great start, but this year we think we’re ready to party”.

From 10am until last light on Saturday 12 March (peak apple season) the team will be celebrating with food trucks, live music and specialty cider.

Mr Gordon explained how this year they’ve also called on local transport company Boutique Vans to help keep the event accessible.

Boutique Vans have limited tickets for two shuttle services, bringing guests from the city and Lilydale Station over the course of the day.

At last year’s festival, the surprise hit was apple pies from Johnny Ripe of Mornington Peninsula. This year the Johnny Ripe crew will be on site, bringing their vintage van, pie warmer and a mountain of vanilla ice-cream!

Yarra Valley locals Little Yarra Crêperie will be making crêpes to order and Melbourne burger scene stalwarts Beatbox Kitchen will be flipping burgers all afternoon.

Roving musicians the Preston City Jug Band will be performing (think big brass, Dixieland vibes) and Vince Peach from Soul Time fame will be spinning tunes of funk, Motown and Northern.

Peach has been on the air since 1984. “I make people dance... and that’s the sole aim.”

Napoleone’s cider team has crafted a limited release apple cider for the festival - Pomme Rouge, made from estate grown apples, crushed and steeped on shiraz skins, it sings

There will be plenty of cider on offer at the festival.

Enjoy the setting for the festival. with gin botanicals - an aperitivo style cider made for heady summer days.

A door prize is on offer for attendees too.

Crowds are being welcomed back.

The crew will host the winner and up to 10 people for an exclusive party at the Orchard Bar. Valued at $500.

Napoleone Cider is situated at 10 St Hubert’s Road, Coldstream, 9739 0666, Napoleone.com.au

NAPOLEONE ORCHARD BAR CIDER FESTIVAL FROM 10AM UNTIL LAST LIGHT SATURDAY THE 12TH OF MARCH FOOD TRUCKS LIVE MUSIC ia

v s t e

k

tic

SCAN QR CODE FOR REGISTRATION AND ALL THE DETAILS OR NAPOLEONE.COM.AU

e od c qr

LIVE MUSIC MUSIC

mailcommunity.com.au

FOOD

TRUCKS TRUCKS 12534937-JW09-22

Tuesday, 1 March, 2022

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MAIL 11

NEWS

Growing Australia’s finest trees and creating great landscapes is not all we do – We are pretty good at growing a culture of good, honest, decent people too!

The Fleming’s Group of Companies includes Fleming’s Nurseries; operating three production nurseries in the Danenong Ranges, as well as Fleming’s Landscapes; based in Scoresby, which services urban development landscapes as well as private individuals. The unison of these businesses means Fleming’s is one of the most unique horticultural business in Australia today.

National Chin Day has been celebrated with a festival in Croydon where stalls sold tradition Burmese clothing.

Pictures: ANDREW JEFFERY

Celebrating Chin Day

Still owned and very much operated by the Fleming family today, Wes and Paige Fleming are hands on in working with the people that join the Fleming’s family businesses. Their elder children are also in key positions in the business ensuring the 4th generation is nurturing more than 200 employees.

At Fleming’s, we see ourselves as a very fortunate business - there is no downside to working in a company where our values of quality people goes hand-in-glove with producing quality products.

Croydon celebrated National Chin Day over the weekend, with a traditional festival in the Main Street.

Kilsyth resident Andrew Jeffery attended the event on Sunday 20 February and captured the beauty of the traditions with his camera.

Bringing to life the culture of the Burmese people who make up the Union of Burma, the celebrations included a showcase of traditional dancing and music, traditional dress and market stalls of food and delicacies.

Maroondah’s Young Citizen of the Year and Assistant Secretary of the Youth Department at the Australian Chin Community (Eastern Melbourne), Lily Van Sui Cer Kingbawl, explained how important the celebrations are to the Chin community.

“I [was] super excited for the 74th Chin National Day as we couldn’t celebrate it for two years due to the disruption of Covid-19.

I [couldn’t] wait to show our local community the beauty of our Chin cultural dances, traditional dress and many more,” she told Maroondah Council.

Secretary of the Australian Chin Community (Eastern Melbourne) and Chin National Day event coordinator, Kham Cung Lian, was also excited to showcase the broad and rich culture of the Chin community.

Our people are stayers too! We have a long list of people that have been working with us for more than 20 years with some even over 40 years –and we are sure to value those that value us. These last few years have been trying for so many people in Australia, and many people are re-evaluating their work-life balance, so we want to let you know that there are no better career opportunities than those that relate to the growing or creating of plants and landscapes!

We employ a huge range of amazing people from landscape and garden designers, nursery workers, horticulturalists, landscapers, landscape maintenance people, drivers, IT professionals, administration staff, warehouse managers, mechanics and more. You name it – and we probably have the job for you.

12537244-SN09-22

We are always looking for people to join our family in this close knit organisation.

So if you are interested in a career with Fleming’s please call our Senior Recruitment Officer – Call Andy on (03) 9756 6105 or email at jobs@flemings.com.au to find out more about working with Fleming’s.

Fleming’s is Australia’s leading light in horticulture. Not only growing beautiful trees and plants for over 100 years but now designing, building and maintaining amazing domestic and commercial landscapes across Melbourne and Geelong.

We have some exciting roles from entry level in the production nursery or landscaping, truck drivers, maintenance crews, to professional roles in administration and more. A career with Fleming’s is joining a family owned and friendly environment where everyday is making Australia a better place to live.

Call or email ANDY to apply or find out more about a career with Fleming’s.

seek.com.au/Fleming's-Nurseries-jobs seek.com.au/Fleming's-Landscapes-jobs

Head Office Fleming Lane, Monbulk VIC 3793 AUS T 03 9756 6105 E jobs@flemings.com.au flemings.com.au

12 MAIL

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Tuesday, 1 March, 2022

It was a great day out for those of all ages, to celebrate their heritage and culture.

“This special festival brings Chin people together and allows us to share the Chin traditional identity, and promote our unity in diversity as there are more than fifty dialects in the Chin State itself and a very scattered race,” he said.

“We call this our ‘National Day’ to celebrate, preserve and promote our culture and traditions, identity and language. The spirit of this event celebration will positively impact on the community to be more resilient and unify, and also let others understand the diversity of Chin and be proud to call Australia as our home.”

Highland festival returns The Melbourne Highland Games and Celtic Festival is finally making a return after being postponed from October last year.

It will be the first Highland games to be hosted anywhere in Victoria in almost three years, with Covid-19 challenging many traditional Celtic festivals.

When Star Mail spoke to Melbourne Highland Games secretary Alistair McInnes last year, he said the last time Croydon held the festival was in March 2019, a distant memory now.

“We are really looking forward to putting on a spectacular event for our Victorian community that has been so strong but doing it hard during the pandemic,” he said.

Originally known as the Ringwood Highland Games, the Celtic festival has been held annually since 1967, providing a few home comforts to the Scots who live in the Maroondah and Yarra Ranges area.

Mr McInnes said close to 80 per cent of people who attend the games come from outside the Maroondah Council area, drawing people mainly from the Yarra Ranges and Yarra Valley, Box Hill and Blackburn.

Grounds open at 9am and the official opening ceremony will commence at 9:30am.

Then let the Celtic music, dancing and Scottish men women’s heavy games begin.

It will be the first time women have taken part in the heavy games after training for the last two or more years.

“We’ve spent a couple of years developing these young women to give them the

The Melbourne Highland Games and Celtic Festival will be returning to Croydon in March, with the traditional heavy games and much more.

Picture: JOSHUA PLANTE opportunity to practice with the equipment because you can’t just walk into the local athletics club and say ‘can I use the caber please’ because they won’t have one.”

The Festival will also be hosting the Victorian Pipe Band Championships and there will be lots of activities for children with those under 16 years being admitted for free.

Enjoy the Irish, Scottish, Welsh and Morris dancers, as well as Scottish and Celtic delicacies and traders selling Celtic jewellery and clothing.

The closing ceremony will commence at 4pm with prizes, acknowledgements and a mass pipe band march off.

Check out mebournehighlandgames. org.au or the Facebook page for more information. Tickets can be pre-booked via trybooking.com mailcommunity.com.au

MEDICALLY SPEAKING

Quality care brings smiles

By Elle Cecil Yarra Junction Dental Surgery has been proud to provide quality dental care at an affordable cost to locals for almost 30 years.

With a wide range of dental services for the young and old including check ups, cleans, whitening, restorative work, prevention, education, extractions, root canals, crowns and bridges, you will be in the great hands of the five dentists at Yarra Junction Dental Surgery.

Dr Stewart Gin took over the Yarra Junction practice 28 years ago, and was overwhelmed by the warm welcome he received from the community. He has a strong team of staff, with some having been on the team for almost 20 years.

“Dentistry is my passion, and I love my patients. Seeing them grow up and having third and fourth generation patients come in, it feels like they’re my extended family,” says Dr Stewart Gin. “What makes us stand out is the family approach we have - our mantra has always been to treat people as we would like to be treated, so we’ve tried to create a warm and welcoming family environment, rather than a clinical setting.”

Yarra Junction Dental Surgery understands that people may have had traumatic dental experiences in the past, so they take pride in ensuring that people are feeling comfortable, safe and aware of what is happening.

“It’s so rewarding to help people overcome that fear, step by step,” says Dr Gin. The clinic offers bulk billing for children eligible under the Child Dental Benefit Schedule.

Yarra Junction Dental Surgery is located at 1 Hoddle Street, Yarra Junction. For more information, visit yjd.com.au or phone (03) 5967 2202 to book an appointment.

From left to right, Dr Peter Mailin, Dr Helen Cheung, Dr Shehani Emmanuel and Dr Stewart Gin.

ALL MEDICAL NEEDS

Picture: SUPPLIED

DR GIN & ASSOCIATES

Friendly and Professional Family Doctors

HAVE BEEN PROVIDING

DENTAL SERVICES TO THE YARRA VALLEY

FOR OVER 28 YEARS...

OUR SERVICES: Mental Health Skin Cancer Checks Mole mapping PRP Cosmetic Injections Travel Advice

Antenatal & Postnatal Checks Chronic Disease Management Immunisations Mens & Womens Health Childrens Health

The Yarra Junction Dental Surgery would like to welcome a new but experienced dentist to its team Dr Peter Malin B.D.Sc (U.Bris) L.D.S.R.C.S (Eng).

HE JOINS

Dr Malin managed his own successful practice in Lilydale for over 30 years.

• Dr Shehani Emmanuel B.D.Sc (SL), ADC • Dr Helen Cheung B.H.Sc (Dent) M, Dent (Bendigo)

• Dr Stewart Gin B.D.Sc. (Melb) • Dr Nirosha Rajapakse B.D.S.c (Adelaide), MRACDS (GDP)

He briefly considered retirement but soon realized that he just couldn’t put down his drill! (+forceps).

TAKING NEW PATIENTS

NEW PATIENTS WELCOME

Bulk billing GPs | Experienced Doctors | Trusted Advice

Call us today to book an appointment

LILYDALE OPENING

CHIRNSIDE OPENING

Mon-Thurs 8am-8pm Fri 8am-6pm Sat-Sun & Public Holiday 9am-5pm Shop 3, 33-45 Hutchinson St Lilydale Ph: 9739 6111 | Fax: 9739 7577 E: info@lilydalemedical.com

Mon-Fri 8am – 6pm Sat-Sun & Public Holiday 9am-5pm Shop 710, 239-241 Maroondah Highway Chirnside Park Ph: 9726 7777 | Fax: 9726 8889 E: info@chirnsidemedical.com

12537120-SG09-22

Make an online booking powered by: healthengine.com.au 1 Hoddle Street, Yarra Junction Opposite Library – behind Woolworths teeth@yjd.com.au 12534418-JC09-22

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5967 2202 Tuesday, 1 March, 2022

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MAIL 13

PUZZLES SUDOKU

No. 070

To solve a Sudoku puzzle, every number from 1 to 9 must appear in: each of the nine vertical columns, each of the nine horizontal rows and each of the nine 3 x 3 boxes. Remember, no number can occur more than once in any row, column or box.

easy

3

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

6 8 1 1 7 9 3

6 5 9 4 1

ACROSS 6 10 11 12 13 14 15 20 21 25 26 28 29 30 31

1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9 16 17 18 19 22 23 24

27

4

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

No. 070

DOWN

System without private property (9) Tie-on labels (4) Extension (3) Group of islands (11) Outlines (8) Orb (6) Falsehoods (4) Gives (7) From Stockholm, say (7) Sulk (4) Uniform (6) Material for floors (8) Anarchy (11) Qld city, Mount — (3) Masculine (4) Food (9)

1

2 medium

7

QUICK CROSSWORD

Surgeons’ instruments (8) Calms (8) Wattle (6) Made greater (9) Primary (4) Handsome nursery plant (6) Oral (6) Counter (7) Bankrupt (9) Bestowed (7) Definite (8) Still (8) Zigzag (6) Affirmation (6) Art of dwarfing shrubs or trees (6) Book ID (1,1,1,1)

DECODER

No. 070

hard

3 2 6

4 2 5 1

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10 11 12 13

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

3 3 8

M G 16

6 4

15

2

3 LETTERS ADO ADS ARE ECO EGO EMU EYE FOR GAR GOT HOT IDE MBA MIR ODE ONE OUT OVA RAT TEA TIE TOE TVS ZED

26

I O T UNQC S X H V E D 5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

9-LETTER WORD Using the nine letters in the grid, how many words of four letters or more can you list? The centre letter must be included and each letter may only be used once.

No colloquial or foreign words. No capitalised nouns, apostrophes or plural words ending in “s”.

E

I

Today’s Aim: 17 words: Good 25 words: Very good

3 5 9 7 1 4 6 8 2

1 3 8 7 6 2 9 4 5

4 6 7 3 5 9 2 1 8

34 words: Excellent

N

C

M

7 8 4 2 9 6 1 5 3

2 1 3 5 7 4 6 8 9

6 5 9 8 3 1 4 2 7

3 9 1 6 2 5 8 7 4

5 4 6 1 8 7 3 9 2

8 7 2 9 4 3 5 6 1

4 1 8 3 6 2 9 7 5

7 2 6 9 5 8 4 1 3

1 4 3 6 2 7 8 5 9

8 6 2 5 9 3 7 4 1

9 7 5 8 4 1 2 3 6

2 9 7 4 3 5 1 6 8

6 3 4 1 8 9 5 2 7

5 8 1 2 7 6 3 9 4

3 9 7 2 5 1 6 8 4

2 8 5 6 4 9 7 3 1

6 4 1 7 3 8 5 2 9

7 6 9 3 8 5 1 4 2

8 2 3 4 1 6 9 7 5

1 5 4 9 2 7 3 6 8

4 7 2 1 9 3 8 5 6

5 1 6 8 7 2 4 9 3

9 3 8 5 6 4 2 1 7

Puzzles and pagination © Pagemasters | pagemasters.com

O

P G

T

4 LETTERS APSE BIDE CASA FAIR FRED HANS INTO ISPY LOAM ORBS RACE SAIL SARK SKIM

5 LETTERS ABASE ACRES ADORE ADORN AGAPE AGATE ALIAS ALIVE ALLEN ANGEL APPLE AVAIL BRING CASEY CEDAR COCOA CORSE COSTA DRESS ELIDE

No. 070

ELUDE ERRED EVITA FACTS GENII HEARD IBIZA ISSUE LAPUP LEONE LOSER LOTUS MACRO NURSE OMEGA OWNER PANIC PESTS PRIOR RALPH RIVEN

SAUDI SEEDS SIREN SNEAK SOLAR STEPS STUDY SUPER TRUER 6 LETTERS CENTER GERALD METALS SEEMED

7 LETTERS BREAKER LOCATED PUERILE RAUCOUS SUPREMO WARRIOR 8 LETTERS PASSABLE PROCURES SIDESTEP SORCERER

COMPETING, cope, coping, epic, incept, inept, mope, moping, open, opine, optic, opting, pectin, pent, peon, picot, pigeon, pigment, pimento, pine, ping, pint, pinto, pitmen, piton, poem, poet, poetic, point, tempi, tempo, tope, topic, toping

9 2 5 4 1 8 7 3 6

hard

4

medium

3

easy

2

6 3 7

1

4 7 9

2

AWB L K R Z P J F YMG

2 5

1

14

1 9 7 8 8

WORDFIT

04-03-22

William Matthews Funerals FAMILY OWNED AND OPERATED

24 HOUR SERVICE ALL AREAS

9739 6868 45 Cave Hill Rd, Lilydale www.williammatthewsfunerals.com.au 14 MAIL

|

Tuesday, 1 March, 2022

12410397-ACM06-19

mailcommunity.com.au

CHARMING FAMILY HOME ON a made road, in a picturesque and convenient location is this fabulous lifestyle property on a large allotment of over 2 & ¾ acres for your family to enjoy.

The home has the most beautiful feel and has been created for low maintenance living while you get to enjoy the benefits outdoors of this great property.

Providing 2 sizeable bedrooms, a study or 3rd bedroom, a spacious modern bathroom and a large open plan kitchen, meals and living.

Boasting the most glorious views through the picture windows where you could sit and gaze for hours, and at the end of the day bask in a stunning romantic sunset, this open plan design is a treat.

Outdoors you are greeted with striking manicured gardens and entertaining areas where you will appreciate cool nights in front of the fire pit, dine in style on your timber deck and in your private moments, luxuriate in the beautiful outdoor clawfoot bath whilst gazing at the stars.

Your horse is well catered for with several post and rail fenced paddocks, holding yards and the picture perfect stable. The large rear paddocks have been more recently used by little budding motor cyclists, however with a bit of a turn over you could convert this back into extra pasture if desired. There is undercover parking for your float or caravan, underhouse parking and storage and still with plenty of upside should you desire, the property on offer is a brilliant start to that

country lifestyle you have been seeking.

There are just so many aspects of this picturesque property to prize, in addition to the convenience of the local village shops, schools, public transport and the iconic Warburton trail.

A charming and much loved home, ready for its new owners to savor and make their own. ●

HOME ESSENTIALS Address: 75 Allsops Road, LAUNCHING PLACE Description: 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 2 garage Price: $1,050,000 - $1,150,000 Inspect: By appointment Contact: Samantha Price, 0438 795 190, BELL REAL ESTATE, YARRA JUNCTION, 5967 1277

mailcommunity.com.au

com.au

Tuesday, 1 March, 2022

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MAIL PROPERTY GUIDE

15

HOME FOCUS

COUNTRY LIVING WITH ACRES TO ENJOY IF it’s time for a change then come and enjoy the relaxed semi rural lifestyle on this picturesque acreage property of over 4 acres.

The home is spread over 2 levels and is presented to perfection, offering 4 bedrooms all with built-in robes including a walk in robe and ensuite in the main bedroom.

Separate living zones offer the growing family plenty of room with spacious family/ lounge and living areas and a formal dining room perfect for entertaining and ideally situated overlooking the picturesque, colorful gardens and tranquil backdrop.

A stunning kitchen featuring quality bench tops and appliances with ample bench and cupboard space.

Outside the setting is superb and will please the whole family with an inground pool and over 4 acres to explore and enjoy with a nice mix of cleared pasture and scattered trees.

Start the self sustainable lifestyle with an array of established fruit trees and a large veggie patch, established flowering trees and shrubs surround the home and the 2 car garage and workshop/office area offer extra storage for cars and trailers.

A fantastic property offering a great lifestyle and situated in picturesque, peaceful surroundings. ●

HOME ESSENTIALS Address: 195 Wickhams Road, LAUNCHING PLACE Description: 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 garage Price: $1,150,000 - $1,250,000 Inspect: By appointment Contact: David Carroll, 0419 539 320, BELL REAL ESTATE, YARRA JUNCTION, 5967 1277

75 Allsops Rd Launching Place

$1,050,000 - $1,150,000

195 Wickhams Rd Launching Place

A Charming home & over 2 & 3/4 acres

Country Living & Acres of Space

On a made road, in a picturesque location this fabulous lifestyle property on a large allotment of over 2 & 3/4 acres for your family to enjoy. Providing 2 sizeable bedrooms, a study or 3rd bedroom, a spacious modern bathroom and a large open plan kitchen, meals and living. Your horse is well catered for with several post and rail fenced paddocks, holding yards and the picture perfect stable. There is undercover parking for your float or caravan, underhouse parking and storage and still with plenty of upside should you desire, the property on offer is a brilliant start to that country lifestyle you have been seeking. There are just so many aspects of this picturesque property to enjoy.

In a semi rural lifestyle on over 4 acres this home is spread over 2 levels offering 4 bedrooms including a walk in robe and ensuite in the main bedroom. Separate living zones with spacious family/lounge and living areas and a formal dining room perfect for entertaining and ideally situated overlooking the picturesque, colorful gardens and tranquil backdrop. A stunning kitchen featuring quality bench tops and appliances with ample bench and cupboard space.

Outside the setting is superb with an inground pool and over 4 acres with a nice mix of cleared pasture and scattered trees. Established flowering trees and shrubs surround the home and the 2 car garage and workshop/office area offer extra storage for cars and trailers. A great lifestyle situated in picturesque, peaceful surroundings.

Contact: Samantha Price 0438 795 190 Inspection: Saturday 11-11.30am (Photo ID Required)

Contact: David Carroll 0419 539 320 Inspection: Tuesday 5.30 - 6pm (Photo ID Required)

bellrealestate.com.au 16

MAIL PROPERTY GUIDE

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Tuesday, 1 March, 2022

$1,150,000 - $1,250,000

5966 2530

3407 Warburton Hwy, Warburton com.au

5967 1277

2457 Warburton Hwy, Yarra Junction

mailcommunity.com.au

Shop 11, 343-347 Main Street Lilydale, VIC 3140 mailcommunity.com.au

com.au

12493650-AV19-21

Outstanding Service | Exceptional Results Your Local Real Estate Experts

9727 5300 Tuesday, 1 March, 2022

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MAIL PROPERTY GUIDE

17

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SPORT

General Notices V Public Notices and Event

Hocking now Mustang

SPECIAL CHARGE SCHEMES SCHOOL ROAD & VALLEY ROAD, SEVILLE - VICTORIA ROAD (SECTION BETWEEN STATION ROAD TO WALKER ROAD), RAILWAY ROAD & ENGLISH STREET, SEVILLE - STATION ROAD, SEYMOUR STREET & BRITTON ROAD, SEVILLE - ROAD IMPROVEMENT WORKS In accordance with Section 163 of the Local Government Act 1989, notice is hereby given that the Yarra Ranges Shire Council at its meeting of 22 February 2022 has resolved of its intention to declare a special charge for the School Road & Valley Road, Seville - Victoria Road (section between Station Road to Walker Road), Railway Road & English Street, Seville - Station Road, Seymour Street & Britton Road, Seville - road improvement works, for the purpose of defraying the expenses incurred in the provision by Council of road improvements carried out under Sections 8 and 10 of the Local Government Act 2020.

By Mikayla van Loon

The special charge is intended to be declared in respect of those properties shown within the designated area for the special charge schemes as outlined by heavy lines on the plans below, being properties that have abuttal to or gain primary access via, the above listed roads.

A former Essendon footballer has joined the lineup of players at the Mooroolbark Mustangs for the upcoming division one season.

Heath Hocking has returned to his former juniors club after being asked by president Scott Dimitriou if he’d be interested in taking the leap out of retirement.

“I reached out and at the first stage he actually said ‘no look, I’m pretty comfortable in retirement and just happy to be in family life,” Mr Dimitriou said.

“And then called me back two days later and said, ‘mate, I’ve had a really good think about it.

I’ve had a chat with my wife and I’m really keen to come home and start playing at Mooroolbark where it all started for me.”

Mr Dimitriou said it’s fantastic to get local families coming back to the club with their own children and wanting to give back to local footy.

Heading into the season having finished third last year, Mr Dimitriou is confident the addition and experience of Hocking will elevate the club in many ways.

“It’s huge for the footy club on the field and off the field. Having played I think 150 games at Essendon and being in the AFL system, the experience he brings to our young kids and develops them for future years and teaches them is just, you can’t buy that kind of experience.”

An AFL player for 10 years before moving into the VFL and then the James Herd Academy, Mr Dimitriou said Hocking has quite a resume not only as a player but in a coaching role.

Within the first few moments of his first session with the club on Monday 21 February, Mr Dimitriou said the experience was already felt by all.

“We were talking about our structures and our setups with all the young kids and straightaway he goes, ‘oh, why don’t you do this? And I think you could do that better.

“The first session he was there, he was having an impact and helping our coaches and helping our players. I can’t wait to see him have

A copy of the proposal to levy is available for inspection at the Yarra Ranges Council Community Link, 61-65 Anderson Street, Lilydale (enter via Coles carpark) during office hours until 30 March 2022.

Should Council’s Community Links be closed due to COVID-19 restrictions, a copy of the proposal to levy is also available online by searching Council’s website for the Agenda of the 22 February Council meeting.

In accordance with Section 223 of the Local Government Act 1989, any person wishing to make a submission on the proposal must do so in writing to the undersigned by 30 March 2022. Submissions should be addressed to: Public Submission The Chief Executive Officer, Yarra Ranges Shire Council and can either be hand delivered to the mailbox outside 61-65 Anderson Street, Lilydale (entrance via the Coles carpark), emailed to mail@yarraranges.vic.gov.au or posted to PO Box 105, Lilydale, Vic. 3140.

Any person making a submission is entitled to request in the submission that the person wishes to appear in person, or to be represented by a person specified in the submission, at a meeting to be heard in support of that submission.

Any person requesting to appear in person or to be represented by a person specified in his or her submission will be notified of the day, time and place of the meeting of the Council or of a committee determined by the Council to hear submissions.

All submissions will be considered in accordance with Section 223 of the Local Government Act 1989.

Copies of submissions (excluding submitter’s names and addresses) will be made available at the Council meeting when submissions are considered.

It is proposed to declare the special charges at the Council meeting to be held on 26 April 2022, or should this meeting not proceed then the next available meeting, after the consideration of the submissions received.

Former AFL player Heath Hocking has exited retirement to join Mooroolbark Football Club in its division one side for the 2022 season.

Picture: SUPPLIED a full season to be honest.”

Hocking will join another former AFL player in the midfield, with Aaron Mullet also playing for the Mustangs in 2022.

Going into a new season, the addition of two AFL players will help with the loss of some senior players who have moved to different clubs and some who have taken a break after Covid-19.

“So the numbers are a little short but leading into practice matches that will really pick up a bit and we should be okay for two sides,” Mr Dimitriou said.

“I’m confident that we can make the top four and we get an uninterrupted season with Covid and local footy’s back bigger than ever.

“From there if we make the top four anything can happen on the day and hopefully we can play some finals.”

With Mooroolbark, Lilydale, Montrose, East Ringwood, Bayswater and Croydon all in division one this year, Mr Dimitriou said there could be some friendly local rivalry but more so, some big crowds.

“Hopefully we’re on the back end of [Covid] now and we can get some consistency and really build some momentum. It’s going to be a huge division one season.

“Fans just want to come and see really good local footy and this year, there’s going to be a lot of that in division one.”

Lilydale fights for spot

12538437-DL09-22

By Mikayla van Loon

Tammi Rose Chief Executive Officer

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The Lilydale Bowls Club has been holding its own in the premier division despite currently sitting ninth out of ten.

Co-coach and player Josh Sanders said in 90 per cent of the team’s matches, they have been in front up until the halfway mark but can’t seem to hold on to the lead.

“It’s been a fairly hard time. Playing at the most prestigious level, it can be quite challenging,” he said.

“We’re playing against quite a few international bowlers, national bowlers and state level bowlers.”

Although just a few rounds to go in the season, Lilydale still has to play Mentone and Croydon who are sitting eighth and tenth respectively.

These three teams will battle it out in the coming weeks for eighth position to avoid relegation to division one.

“How we’ve gone against each team, I definitely would say we’re a better side than where we’re situated,” Sanders said.

“You look at how many rink wins we’ve had and compared to both Mentone and Croydon, we’ve almost doubled the amount of rink wins that we’ve all had.”

With a few player injuries and personal events happening in some team members’ lives, Sanders said it has made things difficult but the team still prides itself on playing as one.

“We pride ourselves on teamwork, team camaraderie. If you talk to anyone at our club, they love playing with their mates,

they love playing for their mates.

“So I think if we can go into any one of the next few games with that attitude and in any sport, you need a little bit of luck as well as skill.”

With such a focus on camaraderie, Sanders said it’s about the entire club’s success not just the premier team.

“Our other three Saturday pennant sides, two of them are sitting on top, one of them is undefeated and the other team’s sitting fourth guaranteed finals. So as a club, we’re going very well.

“It’s not just about our premier side, it’s about our whole club, and to sit back and see that we’ve got so many other sides ready to play finals in three weeks time is fantastic.”

Sanders said the premier team wants to set an example coming into the last weeks of the season, to hopefully see each of the teams in other divisions move up and potentially win a division flag.

“The main thing is when we lose we just need to get as many points as we can [from rink wins].

“The biggest test for us is this weekend (26 and 27 February), we play against a very strong team in Altona and then we play against a team that we’re fighting for the same position of staying up.

“So if we can get out of this weekend with a couple of wins, or at least winning good points, it’ll set us up for the remainder of the season.”

In the final four rounds, Lilydale will play Mentone, Deer Park, Bundoora RSL and Croydon.

Tuesday, 1 March, 2022

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