Mail - Lilydale Star Mail - 2nd August 2022

Tuesday, 2 August, 2022

Lilydale

Mail

Step forward for heritage overlay request

Community groups raise homelessness awareness

Apiarists concerned of mite affecting bees

Finishing touches on Mt Evelyn gardens

PAGE 5

PAGE 7

PAGE 10

PAGE 11

A Star News Group Publication

Phone: 5957 3700 Trades and Classifieds: 1300 666 808

12496493-NG22-21

Farewell Archie Archie Roach, musician, storyteller and a voice for Aboriginal people, has died aged 66 surrounded by family and friends at Warrnambool Base Hospital.

Having battled lung cancer for many years, performing with the assistance of an oxygen tube, Roach’s health had deteriorated.

The Gunditjmara (Kirrae Whurrong/Djab Wurrung), Bundjalung Senior Elder was born in Mooroopna but spent time with his foster parents, Alex and Dulcie Cox, living in both Mount Evelyn and Mooroolbark.

In an interview with Star News last May, in the lead up to his memoir tour Tell Me Why, Roach spoke of his early years growing up in the eastern suburbs.

Regularly making holiday trips to Mount Evelyn, Roach described his foster father’s house as a ‘shack’ “nestled among gum trees.

There was a fish filled creek nearby that I’d throw a line into. I loved that Mt Evelyn place.”

Eventually moving to the shack when times got tough financially, Roach said “while in Mt Evelyn, Mum and Dad Cox’s health declined even further. We were there a year before moving to nearby Mooroolbark.”

As a teenager, Roach enrolled at Lilydale High School, a place where he had fond memories of his friendships.

“Although there were limits to the social standing of a ’black bastard’ in high school, I had great friends at my new school Lilydale High, friends I really cared about.

“There was a Dutch kid named Hank, an independent soul who refused to compete in anything and spoke with a creamy accent, a girl with cerebral palsy who had callipers on her legs, and another slight, very smart boy who we called The Brain.

“It was only with these friends that I would stand up for myself. I couldn’t bear seeing these good kids disappear into themselves after a barrage of insults and cackles.”

In 1970 while in class at Lilydale High, Roach received a letter from his sister Myrtle informing him his biological mother, Nellie, had died.

It was this letter that sent him on a journey to find the truth about his origins and life as an Aboriginal man, leading to some of his most poignant and well-known songs like Took The Children Away.

Archie Roach will be remembered for his unwavering desire to share the stories of Aboriginal people, his iconic voice and his musical capabilities.

Roach was meant to perform in Healesville on Saturday 6 August.

Birmingham Primary School Prep students Matilda, Sasha, Eden, Thomas and Eden find comfort in Cooper’s company.

Picture: MIKAYLA VAN LOON

Furry and friendly therapy Birmingham Primary School in Mount Evelyn has introduced a therapy dog to one of the Prep classrooms this year, seeing major wellbeing benefits from labrador, Cooper’s, presence.

Prep teacher Samantha Hanks has noticed quite significant behavioural changes in both her students and some from older year levels who have been somewhat unwill-

ing to return to school after the pandemic.

Working three days a week, Cooper has been welcomed as one of the staff members, being involved in the school photographs at the beginning of the year.

To read Cooper’s full story and how he is improving student wellbeing, turn to page 8

William Matthews Funerals FAMILY OWNED AND OPERATED

9739 6868

We฀buy฀copper,฀฀brass,฀aluminium,฀etc . . .

We฀Buy฀Steel

45 Cave Hill Rd, Lilydale

Tel:฀9736฀2853฀•฀Clancy฀Road,฀Mt฀Evelyn฀3796

www.williammatthewsfunerals.com.au

www.evelynrecycling.com.au

12450347-LB23-20

24 HOUR SERVICE ALL AREAS

12488431-SN20-21

21836

21844

21462

21464

21472

+ FREE AGPOWER PACK

MORE INFO

(03) 9739 5006 465 MAROONDAH HWY, LILYDALE 3140

WWW.AGPOWER.COM.AU

12560899-MS31-22

Battery & Walk Power Mowers

SHOE SALE EVERY PAIR OF BOOTS AND SHOES REDUCED RIEKER DJANGO & JULIETTE ZIERA ARCOPEDICO ROCKPORT ECCO REMONTE CABELLO SLIPPERS

ALL DJANGO & JULIETTE BOOTS were $220 $200 $190 $170 ALL STYLES ALL COLOURS ALL SIZES

HOT PRICE $89 GREENWOOD’S SHOES 85 Main Street Croydon 9723 3217

10 DAYS EVERYTHING REDUCED NO HOLDS NO LAY BY ONLY 2 MAIL

|

Tuesday, 2 August, 2022

12560920-LB31-22

Monday - Friday 9.00 - 5.00 Saturday 9.00 - 3.00 FAMOUS BRANDS GREAT PRICES BE QUICK

mailcommunity.com.au

NEWS

IN BRIEF Donation bin fire

Costs creeping up

Lilydale fire brigade, alongside members from Mount Evelyn CFA, responded to a fire at the Hardy Street entrance of Lilydale Market Place.

In the early hours of Saturday morning, crews arrived at 5.25am to find four charity bins totally involved and severely damaged by fire.

Firefighters used a quick cut saw to force entry and extinguish the fire using a 38mm hose line with two firefighters in breathing apparatus.

Mount Evelyn members also had to be redirected to a small scrub fire in the car park near the Lilydale Bowls Club.

Both fires are being treated as suspicious.

CFA notified police.

In addition to the fires, the bus shelter on the corner of Castella and Main Street, as well as an abandoned store front were also vandalised.

If anyone has dash-cam footage, please notify the Lilydale Police Station on 9739 2300 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

By Parker McKenzie

Croydon deceased person Police will prepare a report for the Coroner after the death of a man in Croydon this afternoon.

Emergency services were called after a man was located deceased at a house on Maroondah Highway around 2.15pm.

The death is not being treated as suspicious.

Road safety plea 52 per cent of respondents to the survey reported increased insurance premiums after the June 2021 storm weather event.

Picture: ON FILE of climate change.

By 2050, the vast majority of houses in the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges will be at risk of being uninsurable according to the Climate Council’s climate risk map.

Chief Fire Officer for Forest Fire Management Victoria Chris Hardman told the Star Mail in February 2022 that the Dandenong Ranges are “genuinely and clearly one of the most bushfire prone areas anywhere in the world.”

“Over the last 30 years, we’ve seen more

than 20% of the spring rain-reduced in Victoria, 20% less spring rain than we had in the 1970s, which is a lot. We quite often rely on the spring rain to reduce that early season bushfire risk, so that’s a year-on-year 20% reduction,” he said.

“We’ve also had a 40% increase in what we call very high fire danger days, which in those days where bushfires are more likely to cause harm. If you have a bushfire on a cold day, it’s less likely to cause harm than on a hot and dry day.”

Police hunt for Yarra Glen petrol thief

where it’s needed most Please donate now 1 3 S A LV O S S A LV O S . O R G . A U 12544221-AI14-22

mailcommunity.com.au

ADVERTISEMENT

William Matthews Funerals

PROUDLY AUSTRALIAN OWNED & INDEPENDENT

244 Maroondah Hwy, Healesville, 3777 General Enquiries Tel: 5957 3700 Email: enquiries@mailcommunity.com.au Distribution Enquiries Tel: 1300 654 910 Advertising Group Advertising Manager – Tracey Aitken Email: advertising@mailcommunity.com.au Editorial Editor – Renee Wood Email: editor@mailcommunity.com.au Classifieds Advertising Phone: 1300 666 808 Email: sales@networkclassifieds.com.au Deadlines: Display Advertising: 4PM Wednesday Trades: 4PM Thursday Classifieds: 4PM Friday Sports Results: 9AM Monday Managing Director: Paul Thomas

CFA crews were called to a donation bin fire over the weekend.

Picture: LILYDALE CFA

45 Cave Hill Rd, Lilydale 24 HOUR SERVICE - ALL AREAS Large Chapel Pre Paid Funerals Available

The Star Mail is published by Paul Thomas for Star News Group Pty Ltd ABN 98 238 557 339. All material is copyright to Star News Group Pty Ltd. All significant errors will be corrected as soon as possible. Distribution numbers, areas and coverage are estimates only. For terms and conditions please visit www.mailcommunity.com.au Print Post Number PP33445700014.

12474992-LB50-20

In times of crisis, you can give

Yarra Glen police are looking for the man photographed.

12521584-BL46-21

Yarra Glen Police are looking for a man who’s believed to be involved in an incident of petrol and number plate theft.

Police has issued a photo of the man in question and are seeking the public’s assistance to help identify them and the vehicle.

The registered NSW number plates of EGL27Z were taken from a Yarraview Street, Yarra Glen property between 2 and 5 June.

Further on 5 June, the plates were attached to a Black Holden Commordore which was driven to the Caltex/Ampol service station on Bell Street.

Around 6.46am that morning, the vehicle was involved in the theft of $135 of premium ULP Petrol.

If you know the person or vehicle depicted below please contact Leading Senior Constable DAVIES at the Yarra Glen Police Station on 9730 1296 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000

Victoria Police released a road safety plea in the lead up to the weekend of 30 and 31 July after a horror spate of road fatalities the previous week.

Five lives were tragically lost on Victorian roads last weekend including a man in Healesville.

Two motorcyclists were killed in separate collisions on Friday evening in Docklands and Cranbourne North, and a further three drivers were involved in fatal single-vehicle collisions between Friday night and Sunday afternoon in Burwood and Congupna.

“We really need people to heed the warnings and think about what you’re doing when you take to the road or get behind the wheel,” Acting Assistant Commissioner Road Policing Justin Goldsmith said.

The five fatalities bring the number of lives lost on Victorian roads to 142, which is 17 higher than the same time last year and higher than the five-year average of 132.

Speed and distraction have been identified as key contributing factors in fatal collisions, with police urging motorists to slow down and remain alert to help protect themselves and other road users from ending up in a collision.

“It sounds so simple, but slowing down, remaining alert and being considerate of other road users could really be the difference between saving your life, or someone else’s,” Mr Goldsmith said.

12541412-HC12-22

The recently released results of a third pandemic and storm survey by Yarra Ranges Council have revealed 52 per cent of respondents saw their insurance premium increase after the June 2021 storm weather event.

Yarra Ranges Council Mayor Jim Child said the effects of the storm weather event are still being felt by residents.

“For those worried about insurance premiums, rest assured that we’ve been actively advocating with the Insurance Council of Australia on behalf of the local community to get insurers to extend temporary housing allowances and another insurance consultation event is expected to take place in the near future,” he said.

In January, the Insurance Council of Australia held virtual video or phone consultations with residents after the weather event caused more than 32,000 insurance claims to be lodged in the state of Victoria, with an estimated cost of $281 million.

92 per cent of people living in the Yarra Ranges have their home insured, while 72 per cent of those who don’t have insurance are living in rentals and therefore don’t require a policy.

The remaining respondents without insurance reported they didn’t hold an insurance policy on their home because of the significant increase in cost or the significantly reduced coverage of their policy.

The storm weather event isn’t the only factor contributing to rising insurance costs or the risk of areas becoming uninsurable.

According to research published by the Climate Council in May 2022, In areas like Belgrave, Sherbrooke, Sassafras and Olinda 100 per cent of properties will be at risk of becoming uninsurable by 2030 because of the risk

Before you decide call Bill, Narelle, or Melanie Matthews & Micah

9739 6868 www.williammatthewsfunerals.com.au FAMILY OWNED AND OPERATED

N.F.D.A Member

216 Commercial Road, Morwell VIC 3840 P: (03) 5134 8000 E: harriet.shing@parliament.vic.gov.au harrietshingmp @ShingvWorld Authorised by H Shing, 216 Commercial Rd, Morwell. Funded from Parliamentary budget.

Tuesday, 2 August, 2022

|

MAIL 3

NEWS

Bonus open

By Tyler Wright The State Government has added $205 million to the Victorian Government’s $250 power saving bonus program due to high demand from the state’s households.

Thousands of applications for the Victorian Government’s $250 bonus have already been made throughout the Yarra Ranges since 1 July, with one million households state-wide taking advantage of the initiative by visiting the Victorian Energy Compare website to weigh up energy provider offers.

Mums of the Hills founder and Sassafras resident Belinda Young said many local families have looked into the bonus payments and are researching alternative energy providers.

“Mums play a major role in running the household and so it is no surprise that many have looked into the current program,” Ms Young said.

“I’m aware that many local households have taken advantage of the power saving program, however issues with the website crashing have prevented others from doing so.”

According to Victorian Government user data, seven out of every 10 users saved an average of $330 by switching energy offers over the past 12 months.

All Yarra Ranges households are encouraged to make use of the $250 bonus, with many homes still not taking up the opportunity.

Since 1 July, Mooroolbark residents are leading the charge with 3500 households applying for the bonus, followed by Lilydale on 2685.

Kilsyth is trailing closely reaching 2019 applications, with the urban suburb of Chirnside Park on 1721 and foothills suburb Mount Evelyn on 1286 .

Montrose hasn’t quite made it to one thousand applications yet, sitting at 980.

The Power Saving Bonus is available until

The price of vegetables increased by 7.7 per cent in Melbourne during the three months from March to June 2022.

Picture: ON FILE

A further $205 million has been added to the Victorian Government’s Power Saving Bonus which began on 1 July.

30 June 2023, with no caps on the number of households that can receive the once-off payment.

“We know Victorian families are doing it tough, so we’re topping up the $250 Power Saving Bonus program to make sure no one misses out,” Minister for Energy Lily D’Ambrosio said.

Other programs helping households and businesses to slash energy bills include Victorian Energy Upgrades, which provides upfront incentives for low-cost-to-free energy efficient products, and Solar Victoria, which offers households and businesses discounted solar panels, batteries and efficient heating and cooling.

To apply for some relief off your energy bill, visit the Victorian Energy Compare website at https://compare.energy.vic.gov.au/

Cost of living still hitting the hip pockets of locals

By Parker McKenzie Residents in the Dandenong Ranges and the Yarra Valley saw the cost of living continue to rise in the past three months, with increases in prices of vegetables, fuel and housing all contributing to the largest annual rise of the Consumer Price Index “since the introduction of the goods and services tax” in 2000.

According to new CPI data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, household inflation rose by 1.8 per cent in the three-month period from March to June 2022.

The ABS’s Head of Prices Statistics Michelle Marquardt said the rise followed a 2.1 per cent increase in the previous quarter.

“The CPI’s automotive fuel series

reached a record level for the fourth consecutive quarter. Fuel prices rose strongly over May and June, following a fall in April due to the fuel excise cut,” she said.

“Annual price inflation for new dwellings was the strongest recorded since the series commenced in 1999.”

According to the data, fuel prices rose for the eighth consecutive quarter by 4.7 per cent in Melbourne and the price of vegetables increased by 7.7 per cent.

Shortages of building supplies, labour, high freight costs and high construction activity were the main contributing factors to rising prices for newly built dwellings according to the ABS, with Melbourne seeing a 6.9 per cent rise.

The cost of renting in Melbourne rose only slightly by 0.2 per cent.

Advertisement

12559960-HC31-22

4 MAIL

|

Tuesday, 2 August, 2022

mailcommunity.com.au

COUNCIL NEWS

Poyner’s Shops are located at 245-247 Main Street Lilydale next door to the former Hutchinson Store, now known as Hutch Pictures: STEWART CHAMBERS & Co. 289699

The Crown Hotel has been submitted to the planning minister to receive heritage overlay protection. 289699

Step forward for heritage Many locations across Lilydale, whether buildings or tree lined streets, hold significant historical importance, giving the area character and connection to its legacy.

Yarra Ranges Councillors have recognised this importance by moving forward with an amendment to the heritage overlays in the town. While Lilydale and District Historical Society (LDHS) president Sue Thompson was disappointed by the missed inclusion of the former Poyner’s Shops located at 245-247 Main Street, she congratulated the council for its appreciation of Lilydale’s heritage.

“These amendments are a huge step forward for Lilydale and our most historic buildings along Lilydale Main Street will at last have heritage protection,” she said.

“Nothing could have happened without your dedicated council staff who have undertaken the huge task of developing this overlay, which is no small challenge.”

Believing however, that it was an oversight by the council and heritage consultant that the Poyner’s Shops were not included in the report, Ms Thompson spoke mostly to this item.

While rejected based on structural grounds, due to alterations of the facade and internal, Ms Thompson said heritage protection applies to more than just the physical appearance.

“Heritage listing is more than just physical buildings, just as important is the social and cultural values of the building,” she said.

Ms Thompson said Poyner’s Shops were the benchmark for the rest of the shops built along Main Street, as well as the only twostorey terrace style buildings in Lilydale. The story connected to the Poyner Shops, including the handcrafted bricks that were also used to build other local buildings like the current Yarra Ranges Regional Museum, all adds to the significance Ms Thompson said. Councillor Fiona McAllister raised the question for executive staff member Amanda Kern regarding the implications of wanting to include the Poyner Shops into the current application.

“We would need to have a new recommendation from our heritage consultant to reassess the property and it would delay the planning scheme amendment to undertake that work,” Ms Kern said.

In order not to delay the amendment ap-

Hotel deemed significant

By Mikayla van Loon The White Dog Hotel has been included as part of Yarra Ranges Council’s planning scheme amendment aiming to receive more protections for heritage buildings in Lilydale.

The heritage overlays of the much-loved hotel has been a contentious issue in Lilydale for many years, with key campaigners like Friends of the White Dog Hotel administrator Rob Hall working tirelessly to achieve a better outcome for the former pub and its usage.

Although no specific changes will be made to the heritage protections currently placed on the building, the council has sought to update the somewhat ‘outdated’ statement of significance.

These types of statements respond to the questions: ‘What is significant?; ‘How is it significant?’ and ‘Why is it significant?’

A physical analysis and suggestions for conservation measures can also be included in the report.

Yarra Ranges Council has confirmed some of the conservation measures it has suggested include the restoration of original elements of the building to their original condition in order to restore the late-Victorian era facade, as well as the replacement of original elements that have been damaged.

While no further details could be provided about the statement and its updated contents, the council said once the planning minister has approved the new planning scheme amendment, the documents will be exhibited for a month, open for community consultation and feedback.

Mr Hall said it was a bit disappointing the White Dog Hotel was not even mentioned during the council meeting on Tuesday 26 July.

“We don’t know what those changes are. I was kind of hoping for a bit more openness about what they had planned but maybe they didn’t want to let the cat out of the bag when it comes to the White Dog,” he said. mailcommunity.com.au

plication, even though councillors were concerned about the 245-247 Main Street shops not being included, the recommendation to request heritage overlays from the planning minister was carried unanimously by all councillors. Cr Tim Heenan moved the motion to forward the application to the State government, saying he was “very happy and very proud to put forward the recommendation.”

“It is particularly important that we do this work because of course time is moving on and substantial development will come to Lilydale in the future and we need to protect the historical significance,” he said.

Seconding the motion, Cr Richard Higgins said while he supports the investigation into the Poyner buildings gaining heritage overlays, he didn’t want to harm the submission of the other overlays but said he hopes the council will revisit the shops and their significance. Cr McAllister said even though she would vote in support of the recommendation, she did want to voice her concerns around the oversight.

“There are so many reasons that we apply heritage overlays and the built form is absolutely a key element to it but it is protecting

and ensuring the stories of the place and the place that we live in and love are passed on for generations,” she said.

“When I hear of stories like the Poyner Shops, where there have been changes made to them but in terms of the story of Lilydale and also the look and feel of the village that is Lilydale in the Main Street, with the terraced facades, it worries me profoundly that we’re not providing sufficient protection.

“I do feel greatly uncomfortable that we’re missing the opportunity to protect the story of a place and a family and a time and a contribution…I want to reassure [members of the LDHS] that the conversation will continue quickly.”

Some of the buildings the council has requested both permanent and interim heritage overlays for include the Olinda Hotel, the Crown Hotel, the former Hutchinson’s Store, now Hutch & Co, Lilydale Primary School and Lilydale Heritage Railway Station Goods Shed.

The White Dog Hotel has also been identified as needing updates to the Statements of Significance under the Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme.

ALL - NEW

OUTLANDER

Yarra Ranges Council has made suggestions for the conservation of the pub relating to the facade and late-Victorian era elements.

198600

TEST DRIVE NOW The White Dog Hotel is a pillar in the Lilydale community and Yarra Ranges Council has just submitted an updated statement of significance to the State government for Picture: ROB CAREW consideration. 198600 “Supposedly the White Dog will have increased protection due to the changes, whatever they are. “[Councillor] Tim Heenan has been a great advocate when it comes to the heritage changes and he seems to be happy with whatever they have done.”

For Mr Hall, any changes to the protections or the statement he said have to be “better than the ‘protection’ it’s getting currently.”

LILYDALE MITSUBISHI 56-70 Main Street Lilydale T 9735 5800

12525325-JW49-21

By Mikayla van Loon

www.lilydalemitsubishi.com.au Tuesday, 2 August, 2022

|

MAIL 5

NEWS

Groups to unite for grant

By Mikayla van Loon Homelessness and other support services from across the Yarra Ranges are considering applying for a newly released State government grant program aiming to provide food relief.

Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers Colin Brooks announced last week the $1.25 million pop-up food relief markets trial program in response to the rising cost of living.

“We are ensuring our communities can provide nourishing meals for their families – because no Victorian should worry about having enough to eat,” he said.

“With this assistance, food relief organisations across the state will be able to continue their important work getting food on the tables of those most in need in our community.”

Lilydale’s Mustard Tree Op Shop opera-

tions manager Lisa Vincent said having been in discussion with other service providers in the area, a cohort of organisations are thinking about applying for the grants.

“It’s doable and we’re pretty well set up here. All we would have to do is find the dates and we could utilise the car park in the evenings and get the volunteers to do it.

“But at the same time, it’s a matter of finding the time now to commit to that planning stage, to be able to get that off the ground.

“So I think the way the shire have marketed it is good because it’s a collaboration and they say, ‘why don’t you all get together and form a committee and we’ll do one for the region’, which I think could really work and someone will lead it and we’ll be able to get on board and support their idea.”

Organisations can apply for grants that will support them to provide food tailored to local cultural preferences across metropolitan Melbourne.

The program includes grants for small projects – up to $25,000 to run a minimum of four markets over a two-month period – and large projects – up to $85,000 for groups of organisations to run a minimum of 10 markets in partnership over six-months.

The grants can be used by organisations to cover operating costs and food supplies.

Applications opened on 20 July and will close on 17 August.

Email the Food Relief team Foodrelief.

Team@dhhs.vic.gov.au for more information or visit https://www.vic.gov.au/pop-food-relief-market-grants

The State government has opened a new grant program for pop up food relief markets.

Picture: UNSPLASH

Healesville Sanctuary takes precautions against FMD

By Renee Wood Healesville Sanctuary is taking precautions to lower the risk of Foot and Mouth Disease entering the facility and harming wildlife that call it home.

As the outbreak continues in Indonesia, the governing body of the sanctuary, Zoos Victoria, has implemented staff practices and released visitors recommendations.

A Zoos Victoria spokesperson said they are exercising caution to ensure animal safety.

“Over the past week, Zoos Victoria’s veterinarians have liaised with biosecurity officers from state and federal government and ZAA to consider the animal health risks associated with the current outbreak of FMD in Indonesia,” they said.

“We are exercising an abundance of caution, to ensure the animals in our care remain as safe as possible.”

At the Sanctuary, contact between people and animals has been paused to reduce the risk of people walking through animal habitats.

This includes the halting of the Kangaroo encounter, and refunds for encounter purchases are being issued for bookings between now and Sunday 7 August.

Although Kangaroo’s are the only closure currently at the sanctuary, there are further closures for Melbourne Zoo and Werribee Zoo including for Giraffes and Elephants.

All animal keepers and staff are also following new procedures to ensure soil from

outside the zoo isn’t brought into animal habitats.

Zoo members and visitors who’ve recently been to Indonesia are being urged to wait at least 48 hours since they touched down in Australia before visiting one of the facilities.

Zoos Victoria is also asking those who live with livestock, excluding horses, to delay their visit until more details and advice has been provided.

“Any further information about the disease can be directed to the Department of Agriculture or Chief Veterinarian Office,” the spokesperson said.

Healesville Sanctuary is taking precautions against FMD. Picture: ZOOS VICTORIA

USE OUR

FREE RESPIRATORY

CLINICS FOR TREATMENT IF

Go to coronavirus.vic.gov.au/winter 12559978-LB31-22

YOU’RE ELIGIBLE

We can keep ourselves, our family and friends well this winter, by using our free respiratory clinics for more help or support if you have symptoms.

Authorised and published by the Victorian Government, 1 Treasury Place, Melbourne.

6 MAIL

|

Tuesday, 2 August, 2022

mailcommunity.com.au

HOMELESSNESS WEEK

More locals at risk

By Mikayla van Loon It’s the topic on everyone’s lips at the moment as the cost of living and rising rental prices continue to increase but it may just be the trigger in causing someone to become homeless.

Homelessness organisations in the Yarra Ranges, like Holy Fools, are concerned the cost of food, heating and petrol are pushing people to the brink this winter.

“We’re starting to hear that there’s more people at risk of homelessness now than ever due to mortgage stress or mental stress,” Holy Fools CEO Neal Taylor said.

“The cost of living is so high at the moment, it’s affecting a lot of people and there’s a real danger that we’re going to start to see more and more people, particularly families, hitting homelessness.”

Already starting to receive calls about where people can find food relief centres, Mr Taylor said people are now turning to food handouts and other meal services to survive.

“There’s a real need at the moment for additional help, especially where food is concerned for families.”

Mr Taylor said not only are free meal services available in the Yarra Ranges, projects like the community cupboard in Montrose and other Food is Free pantries have provided relief when people have needed essential items.

A return to seeing rough sleepers particularly in Lilydale but certainly elsewhere around the shire, has also become prevalent after the pandemic hotel accommodation ceased.

“We’ve seen more and more people and we were hearing of more and more people who are sleeping in the area,” Mr Taylor said.

“The idea that when the motels closed, that people found homes is not quite true because there does seem to be a bit more of an influx of people who are sleeping rough not only in the suburban areas but also the rural areas around the Yarra Ranges.”

Often, however, Mr Taylor said those who are sleeping rough choose locations off the beaten track to stay fairly hidden.

Lilydale Police station commander Mel Woods said police haven’t seen much of a

By Mikayla van Loon

Homelessness in the Yarra Ranges is seeing a shift with more people seeking food relief in the shire than ever before.

Picture: ON FILE spike in people sleeping rough and generally know who might be homeless in the area.

“With the cooler months, they also tend to come to our attention more quickly because they choose locations that may be warmer or closer to the city centre,” she said.

Victoria Police has a number of resources and organisations that officers can refer people to should they be needing help, whether that be for mental health, family violence or any other health and wellbeing concern.

Wanting to build a community friendly and approachable support system within the police, Ms Woods said she hopes people will engage with members and should anyone have concerns about someone’s safety or wellbeing, to contact Lilydale Police Station.

“Then we can send a unit out and it might take a couple of times of us checking on someone for them to trust us but we want to build that rapport with people,” she said.

“From there we can link people in with the right services to get them the support they need and essentially get them off the streets because we don’t want to see anyone sleeping rough.”

Mr Taylor said sometimes the simplest action of saying ‘hello’ to someone who may be going through a challenging time or sleeping rough can change everything.

“One of the biggest issues with being homeless is that you become forgotten and maybe society starts to ignore you. So anyone that can say ‘hello’, that’s a huge step forward,” he said.

While remaining cautious is always best, Mr Taylor said a hello may turn into a conversation, which may turn into buying someone a coffee and eventually that could lead to this person receiving some help.

“What we’re coming across now is there are a lot of people who aren’t aware of the help that is available and I guess that’s what we need to do, is start educating people that there is help available not only for the homeless but also if you’re struggling.”

Services available in the Lilydale include: Holy Fools: 1300 133 889, info@holyfools.org.au Anchor: 8761 9040, info@anchor.org.au CIS Yarra Ranges: 9735 1311, info@cisyarraranges.org.au The Mustard Tree: 9735 3500 Lilydale Police Station: 9739 2300

Food donations make all the difference

By Mikayla van Loon Access to food is a basic human right and services like The Mustard Tree Op Shop and Cafe’s foodbank are ensuring people from across the region eat well in times of crisis.

Operating Monday to Friday by appointment, the foodbank currently sees an average of 90 people a month, representing just themselves or an entire family.

In June, staff members saw a 25 per cent increase in the number of Emergency Food Relief appointments in comparison to May and were expecting similar numbers for July.

Op Shop operations manager Lisa Vincent said working alongside other organisations in the Yarra Ranges, often services will refer clients to each other to ensure they are getting the support they need.

“Every month there’s always a few regulars and a mix of new people because we’ve got the Lilydale Corrections so we provide assistance to people newly out of prison that need a little starter pack,” she said.

“There’s a few agencies in the area and we do refer back and forth a little bit. Some more focused on housing and some more focused on community engagement and some food.

So we all try to help each other out.”

Ms Vincent said during the pandemic lockdowns, the need for food seemed to decrease somewhat with people supported by the government but since that ended there have been different demographics of people presenting to the foodbank.

“Now that aid is slowing down and getting restructured, things are perhaps picking up a little bit and definitely with the rising cost of food that will have an impact.

“What’s been difficult for us is supply.

Sometimes we haven’t been able to get the things that we would normally be able to provide. So that’s been a challenge or something that we’ve noticed specific to now.” mailcommunity.com.au

How you can get involved

Husband and wife, Keith and Joyce Bailey, volunteer at The Mustard Tree Foodbank, just two of 80 volunteers from across the ministry.

Picture: MIKAYLA VAN LOON An emergency food relief service like this one, run as an extension of the Lilydale Baptist Church, Ms Vincint said is a critical part of each community, particularly when homelessness remains somewhat invisible.

“People find themselves, through no fault of their own, it might be a domestic violence situation, it might be a change in a loss of job but people find themselves in that position where they’re just unable,” she said.

“The perception of it might be that they are just homeless or struggling with mental illness or generally not able to cope but some of the people that come in here you just you wouldn’t even know [are struggling].”

Homelessness has been an issue in the Yarra Ranges Shire for quite a while now and Ms Vincent said mental health issues and drug addiction issues all feed into that growing need.

Being at the end of the train line and on “the cusp of city and country,” Ms Vincent said the foodbank services quite a large area, reach-

ing people who travel from the regional parts of the shire by public transport because the smaller towns perhaps can’t facilitate such a large relief centre.

In addition to food relief, Ms Vincent said The Mustard Tree hosts two free community meals each week and offers free haircuts once a month to the community in need, alongside shower facilities at the ministry office.

Thursday dinner – Foodstop free community dinner hosted by Discovery Church 6pm to 8pm.

Friday Lunch – Community Table hosted by Lilydale Baptist Church 12pm to 2pm First Monday (monthly) – free haircuts form Gail of Purple Mist Salon 12pm to 2pm Daily Foodbank service including a shower – Monday to Friday 10am to 2pm by appointment 9735 3500.

The Op Shop, Cafe and Foodbank can be found at 3/28 John St, Lilydale.

· · · · ·

National Homelessness Week kicked off on Monday, with local organisations hosting events to raise awareness about homelessness in the Yarra Ranges.

Holy Fools CEO Neal Taylor said while many events had been planned throughout the week of 1 to 7 August, some have had to be cancelled due to rising Covid infections.

“It’s been a journey because we had a whole bunch of things planned and we’ve just had to cancel stacks of them and make a few other changes because of Covid,” he said.

“We really can’t guarantee everyone’s safety…so we didn’t feel like it was appropriate.”

Nevertheless, Mr Taylor said the launch event would continue online with a live stream at 3pm on Monday 1 August, which could later be replayed should people miss the stream.

“The more the merrier of people who want to join in on Monday, just to hear from all of our local practitioners and people who are working with homelessness in the Yarra Ranges,” Mr Taylor said.

“So that’ll be the chance to listen to the speakers on Monday. It’d be good to just have people tune in and hear what they have to say and maybe learn a bit about what’s actually happening.”

Aiming to spread the message on homelessness, Mr Taylor said four banners will be positioned around the shire to make people aware of the week.

Alongside the normal Street Angels lunch that occurs every Wednesday, Mr Taylor said CIS Yarra Ranges will be providing a morning tea at its head office on Main Street.

“They’re having morning tea [from 10am] and then we’re going to do a sausage sizzle, which will be open to anyone.

“We’re going to move Street Angels over to CIS and hopefully that will get people talking about what’s going on.”

Mr Taylor said this year’s Homelessness Week theme of ‘To end homelessness we need a plan’ couldn’t be more timely for Holy Fools.

“It’s actually fitting in really well with Holy Fools. We have been working on revamping what our mission statement is, and our mission is now ‘to end homelessness in the Yarra Ranges by 2030’ in conjunction with our community and colleagues.”

To achieve this, Mr Taylor said there are two key things that need to happen: the first, a survey of all the organisations and services working in the homelessness sector and the second, a count of all the people sleeping rough. “[We need a] survey of all of the agencies to see what they actually do as far as homelessness is concerned and try to find out if there’s any gaps in the areas, any overabundance of services in areas or if there’s anything missing, “Then next year, we’re looking at doing a street count, trying to get more of an accurate picture of how many people are rough sleeping in the Yarra Ranges because at the moment we need the really hard, tangible, quantifiable data before we can actually start planning properly.

“So we love the idea that in homelessness, you need a plan and that’s part of our first step is to try and get the playing field worked out.”

To view the launch event, visit the Yarra Ranges Homelessness Week Facebook page.

Tuesday, 2 August, 2022

|

MAIL 7

NEWS

Cooper the star pup pupil

By Mikayla van Loon Students at Mount Evelyn’s Birmingham Primary School have been enjoying the company of a furry companion this year, with teachers seeing a big difference in mood and ability to learn.

Cooper, the black labrador therapy dog, is the much loved pet of Prep teacher Samantha Hanks who has always had an interest in the healing power of animals particularly for young people.

It wasn’t until she herself went through a traumatic experience with Cooper that she truly saw how soothing a dog’s presence can be.

“I got him in June, July of 2019 and then in December that year, we were stuck in the Mallacoota bushfires,” she said “That experience made me see just how amazing he was, he was such a good support for me during that whole experience.”

Waiting 19 hours on the water while the fire tore through the town of Mallacoota, Miss Hanks and Cooper finally boarded a HMAS vessel three days later to start the 36 hour journey home.

“It was very traumatic but we made it and he was so amazing.”

Having already been training with Cooper at Coldstream’s Animal Aid for two years, Miss Hanks said when she decided to enrol him into therapy dog training with Lead the Way Institute, a lot of what they had already done was covered in the course.

“We didn’t have to do much more work with the new institute because he already knew all the knowledge from the previous two years and it was quite an easy transition over,” she said.

“Now, with Rhonda at Animal Aid, we still train with her once a month just for fun because we really love it there but then we train fortnightly through Lead the Way for consistency.”

Although Cooper did random days or sessions with students last year, this is his first official year working at the school, where he does three days a week.

“It just makes the students feel comfortable, makes them feel safe and it’s really helped. I’ve got a lot of kids with separation anxiety but Cooper has been such a big support,” Miss Hanks said.

“He offers a lot of emotional support. Like if kids need time out, they can go sit with him

Samantha Hanks’ students Eden, Thomas, Eden and Evie love having Cooper in the classroom three days a week.

Pictures: MIKAYLA VAN LOON

Cooper is a friendly companion for Eden as she does her maths work. or they take him for a walk and just re-regulate themselves.” Miss Hanks said research has proven therapy dogs lower stress levels and reduce anxiety among children.

This is because of the increase in the happy hormone, oxytocin, in the brain and this chemical reaction allows students to feel more relaxed, comfortable, safe and overall more ready to learn in the classroom environment, supporting their emotional and mental wellbeing.

Therapy dogs are trained to handle all en-

Cooper, the black Labrador, has trained for three years to be ready to sit in a classroom with the Prep students.

For Eden and Thomas, Cooper is just another friend to spend time with.

vironments, loud noises and being around various people, with regular training sessions to ensure their behaviour does not change in a heated situation.

“He’s very calm and that’s what the training does. It teaches them to be calm in any environment.”

While Cooper is set up in Miss Hanks’ classroom, she said some students from Grade 5 who have been refusing to come to school spend time with him, something that has made a huge difference in their desire to

come to school.

“If kids are upset they just enjoy that time with him. They read books to him, they talk to him. He’s like a friend.

“He’s accessible to the whole school based on need. We’re hoping moving forward that we can incorporate him a little bit more throughout the whole school.

“There’s lots of research that says, spending 20 minutes with a therapy dog changes a child’s wellbeing so much. So hopefully we can start doing what they call ‘doggy dates’.”

Helping carers find empowerment in their own lives

By Mikayla van Loon Caring for someone with autism can be an overwhelming and sometimes exhausting task but often people in this position are unaware of the supports available to them.

That’s why Different Journeys executive officer Mel Spencer has established the ‘Carers Cuppa’ sessions at Lilydale’s Box Hill Institute cafe to help carers connect in with the right services.

Not only are these meet and greet sessions about linking people with support, with both Box Hill Institute and Jobs Victoria on board, Ms Spencer wants to encourage carers to get back into education or the workforce.

“It’s about reframing and changing opportunities for carers to get back into the workforce or education should they wish,” she said.

“That’s where this partnership becomes really good because no one can do it alone.

We are all carers that have walked the journey so we understand. We also often give carers permission for the first time to receive help.”

Ms Spencer said it can be a common misconception that carers are able to do only that, care for others, but when made aware of what is available to them, it can reignite their own passions.

“It’s all about empowerment of the carer.

It’s actually about giving the carer back some choice and control for themselves.

“Because we’re often too busy, we’re busy focusing on the person we’re caring for, 8 MAIL

|

Tuesday, 2 August, 2022

Different Journeys peer support worker Merrin sits with a client at the Carers Cuppa session on Thursday 28 July.

Picture: MIKAYLA VAN LOON not actually ourselves.

“So it’s working out what is it you would like to do? What’s your dream? How do you learn for that? And that can be really liberating but it can be scary.”

In just the second session on Thursday 28 July, Different Journeys was able to help two people begin the path to finding their own purpose in life.

“I’ve realised that I can get someone to

speak for me or get someone to advocate for me which I had no idea about,” one carer said.

“I just thought the onus is on the carer, the onus is on you and that is what gets overwhelming and makes you just sit there and not go out and look for anything.

“I’ve found that the more people you meet and speak with, the more clarity you have over everything, people give you ideas. It’s invaluable really.”

Getting carers back into the workforce is something Ms Spencer said has come as a big push from the State government, to ensure carers will be able to support themselves come retirement.

“If you look at the data, when it comes time for retirement age, carers that haven’t been able to work suddenly have no money because there’s no superannuation. So they really rely on [the government] and they’re living on the poverty line,” she said.

Members from Jobs Victoria and Box Hill’s Jobs and Skills team can help someone simply write a resume and reframe their experience as a carer for the workforce or link them into courses in their desired field.

Come once or come weekly for a free coffee and discuss what a journey back to work or education may look like with Different Journeys peer support workers.

The Carers Cuppa sessions are running every Thursday morning at the Point of View Cafe at Box Hill Institute’s Lilydale Lakeside Campus from 9.30am to 11am until December. mailcommunity.com.au

NEWS

Maiden speech for Violi

By Parker McKenzie Casey MP Aaron Violi used his first speech in Parliament on Tuesday 26 July to commend the community spirit of the region after the June 2021 storm weather event while calling for stronger educational outcomes and opportunities.

Mr Violi, who was elected to replace Tony Smith at the May 21 federal election, said Casey has been his family’s home since 1953 and his presence in parliament is an example of the extraordinary democracy in Australia.

“Antonino and Grazia Violi and their six children travelled halfway around the world, leaving behind their family and the safety of the known in search of a better life in Australia,” he said.

“They settled in the small country town of Silvan and established a farm to support their family. I often reflect on my grandparent’s story and try to imagine the courage and sacrifice it would have taken to make that journey and the hardships that they endured.”

He said his education at Lilydale Mercy College provided him with the opportunity to attend university and a pathway to starting a career in business in the Yarra Valley.

“Governments over the last 20 years have invested billions in education, while results have been going backwards. This is unacceptable not only on the societal level but most importantly at the individual level,” he said.

“A robust education system focused on educational outcomes and opportunities is the foundation of our society and the individual. It needs to be the priority of government policy on education.”

Mr Violi said a defining moment in his life was on 7 February 2009 during the Black Saturday bushfires.

“It was the moment I went from a carefree young man living like I would live forever to understanding that the most precious gifts we have are life and time,” he said.

Casey MP gave his first speech in parliament on Tuesday 26 July.

“The difference between Rachel and I being here today and being victims 174 and 175 was a matter of seconds and meters. Our story of Black Saturday is a story thousands of people who survived that day would understand.”

He said the community spirit built after one of the darkest days in the communities’ history was called upon again during the June 2021 storm weather event.

“While we were fortunate that no lives were lost, the storms destroyed many homes that have still not been rebuilt and left residents without power and communications for weeks

and months,” he said.

“The recovery from the storms continues and I stand with our community as we rebuild.”

Mr Violi said he wanted to be a voice for small businesses in parliament and highlighted the need to ensure legislation supports them and the digital economy. He said a strong and secure economy isn’t just delivering a balanced budget or economic growth, but it allows the government to invest in childcare, health, education, defence, aged care and other services that support all Australians.

Picture: PARLIAMENT OF AUSTRALIA He thanked his family, campaign team and the previous member Mr Smith.

“At this point, I want to acknowledge and thank the most important people in my life, my wife Rachel and my children Lewis and Georgie,” he said.

Mr Violi said he hopes when his time representing the people of Casey ends, he will be remembered as a member who stayed connected to and delivered for his community.

“Waste no more time talking about what a good politician should do, just be one.” Mr Violi finished.

Community’s voice unheard in peri-regional advocacy

By Renee Wood Concerns have been raised over Yarra Ranges Council’s lack of community consultation regarding the advocacy of becoming periregional.

Star Mail first reported in March on council’s desire to become peri-regional, uniting with Mornington Peninsula Shire to publish a report to support the reclassification.

However, it was only voted on by Councillors for an official response to the reclassification push being advocated for to the State Government in July.

During this time no community consultation has been conducted, raising concerns for residents.

Healesville resident and past councillor Jeanette McRae submitted questions to councillors before it was voted on at the ordinary council meeting highlighting the lack of community engagement.

Ms McRae said she doesn’t have a firm opinion on the reclassifications but the unknown of what it may mean for future planning is concerning.

“In what way was it done holistically?

Councillors who have said that at this stage it may create more funding opportunities, but down the track, it may lead to some better more appropriate planning outcomes - so what does that mean?” Ms McRae said.

“Is this just the first step in what could be incremental changes? I don’t know and that’s the whole point, I don’t know, the community doesn’t know - we should know.”

Ms McRae believes above all community should have been engaged with.

“The council has a community engagement policy and it outlines different layers of what consultation means - so is it just to inform at one end or whether it’s actually being active participants in the whole decision making process - none of that happened,” she said. mailcommunity.com.au

The advocacy for becoming peri-regional has concerns some residents with a lack of community consultation.

Picture: ON FILE The fact that the report was also submitted to the State Government prior to the councillors having voted on the advocacy has also raised concerns.

Cr Child stated in the meeting that the report had already been submitted and a letter was written to the state government alongside Mornington Peninsula Shire.

“Who made that decision that the advocacy would be for peri-regional status and it’s obviously happened before the official position was determined by council,” Ms McRae said.

“My background is in community development, it’s always been community at the centre and you need to be informed by com-

munity so that you can make those decisions, and how can you be making decisions when you haven’t bothered to find out what the community thinks?”

Council CEO Tammi Rose assured that becoming peri-regional would mean council, local businesses and community services would have broader access to funding programs and wouldn’t take away the metropolitan status as such.

“In its most simplest form, this status would better reflect that the municipality of Yarra Ranges comprises both metropolitan and regional communities and should have access to government programs and supports that acknowledge this,” Ms Rose said.

“A peri-regional status wouldn’t change Yarra Ranges’ metropolitan classification, and does not require any formal reclassification or rezoning, so there would be no direct impact on community, or on strategic land use planning.”

Ms Rose said as it’s an operational matter and council will continue to keep community informed of council’s advocacy direction and share openly the evidence that underpins it.

“This aligns with our Community Engagement Policy, and requirements of the Local Government Act, when there is no direct impact on community as result of a Council decision,” she said.

“The operational nature of this advocacy effort also means we were able to share the report with the Victorian Government prior to Council formally endorsing its position.

By opening the conversation with the state, we hope to gain access to the funding opportunities that our regional areas need as soon as possible.”

Ms Rose said council’s advocacy for periregional aligns to elements of the Council Plan, in particular its Community Vision and Values, which were developed through indepth engagement with the community.

“It also aligns with the input and feedback we’ve had through informal engagement touchpoints with community members and local businesses on this issue, including the Rural Advisory Committee and Business Leaders Roundtable,” she said.

The Business Leaders Roundtable group has representatives from the manufacturing, retail, agriculture, tourism, construction, education, employment, health and professional services industries and was established last year to provide technical advice, knowledge and support on issues impacting local businesses.

“Council’s decision to pursue advocacy for peri-regional status presents no change to Yarra Ranges’ formal classification or to Council’s strategic direction.”

Tuesday, 2 August, 2022

|

MAIL 9

NEWS

Mite a worry for apiarists

By Mikayla van Loon Beekeepers across Victoria have been issued a warning about a fast spreading and destructive parasite, not only with the potential to change beekeeping habits but the growth of fresh produce.

Bob’s Beekeeping Supplies director Bronwyn Woods said the Varroa Mite was first discovered in Australia on the New South Wales coast on 22 June.

“We’ve had a few incursions that we’ve been able to stop in the past but this means our biggest incursion and it started in Newcastle,” she said.

Varroa Mites lay one male and between two to 16 female eggs in each cell, meaning numbers can spread and escalate quickly.

The Watsons Creek beekeeper recently volunteered to participate in the Varroa Mite containment efforts in Newcastle, coordinated by the Department of Primary Industries and the Rural Fire Service.

“We would go out to addresses during the daytime and we would do surveillance checks and once we’d finished at one address, we would go to the next address,” Ms Woods said.

“The surveillance checks were really based on where other mites had been found and so they were trying to map how far it may have spread.”

Covered head to toe in protective gear, including suits, gloves and veils, Ms Woods said everything had to be sprayed down with alcohol to enter and leave a site.

Having helped during the recovery of the Black Saturday Bushfires, Ms Woods said the response felt very similar and “it was basically all hands on deck, there was the same level of management and layers of complexities but without the flames.”

Varroa Mite is a small reddish brown external parasite of the honey bee, located in most

The operation was jointly led by the Department of Primary Industries and the Rural Fire Service.

Beekeeper Bronwyn Woods went to New South Wales to assist with containing the Varroa Mite outbreak.

Pictures: SUPPLIED

A group of volunteer beekeepers from all over Australia, including four from Victoria went to Newcastle help crews.

of the major beekeeping producers in the world, that can kill any hive if left untreated.

“It’s massively concerning. It’s devastating,” Ms Woods said.

“In Australia every third bite we have in our diets can be attributed to the honeybee. So, as soon as we have something that impacts our honeybees, it impacts our whole agricultural system.”

Already an incursion of the mite has been located at a blueberry farm in New South Wales, causing widespread concern for surrounding growers of macadamias and raspberries who can no longer have beehives on their farms.

“In the Sunraysia area in Victoria, we’re

looking at massive crop impacts on all our stone fruits. And the almond industry will not have enough hives to satisfy the requirements to create almond crops this year.

“They’re 10s of 1000s of beehives short in Victoria, to carry out the scale of the pollination that they need each year and so it impacts beekeepers but it also impacts our agricultural industry.

“It also flows onto impacting us day to day, because that flow on will be huge. There will be huge increases in our fruit and veggies that we buy from the shop, are just not going to be there.”

Alongside the lack of produce, Ms Woods said already the mental health of many bee-

Rare sighting of Yellow Bellied Gliders in Mt Ev

Subscribe to any of the

Star Mail Digital Editions for

By Thomas Hennessy and Clare Worsnop

FREE Tuesday, 2 February, 2021

Mail New Aussies welcomed

Sanders relives rally

Brown’s AFLW debut

PAGE 3

PAGE 8

SPORT

Tuesday, 2 February, 2021

Mail New Aussies welcomed

Sanders relives rally

Brown’s AFLW debut

PAGE 3

PAGE 8

SPORT

A Star News Group Publication

PROPERTY GUIDE Phone: 5957 3700 Trades and Classifieds: 1300 666 808 12477081-JW03-21

PROPERTY GUIDE Phone: 5957 3700 Trades and Classifieds: 1300 666 808

Back to school!

12477081-JW03-21

A Star News Group Publication

Mail

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

Or visit mailcommunity.com.au/subscribe 10 MAIL

|

Tuesday, 2 August, 2022

12481673-SN07-21

A worthy brand

Scan this QR code to subscribe

keepers and farmers has been impacted, particularly in New South Wales where they have experienced fires and floods within the last two years on top of a pandemic.

Ms Woods said one advantage of never having much issue with the Varroa Mite in the past means Australia can look at how other countries have managed outbreaks and incursions.

But one of the only ways to control the pest is by using chemicals within the hive, something Ms Woods said here in Australia beekeepers have never had to do, priding themselves on the more natural methods for beekeeping.

“This one is a management scenario. So once we have it as a country, we will manage it probably really similarly around the country, even if our areas don’t have it.

“It’s more thinking about the life cycle of the pest. So there will be times where it has an opportunity to breed quickly and other times that are slower and then the way we manage our brood in our beehive will be impacted.

“The impact will be potentially less bees at some time of the year when we want to be out foraging and the repercussion of that will be a lower ability for our hives to collect nectar and therefore, as beekeepers, a lower ability to have a higher yield.”

As part of a bee club with fellow beekeepers from the Yarra Ranges, Ms Woods said most people are feeling apprehensive about Varroa Mite.

“People are really worried about the ramifications of having to go from using no chemicals at the moment…to having to learn a whole new way to manage bee hives because of one particular mite.

“It can be quite overwhelming. So apprehensive and overwhelming would probably be the right words.”

Beekeepers or farmers looking for advice or who are looking for information on the Varroa Mite can contact the Exotic Plant Pest Hotline on 1800 084 881.

Along the course of Olinda Creek you can find many unique species such as the Platypus, Superb Lyrebird and Red-browed Finch however few are as unique and special as the Yellow Bellied Glider.

Recently spotted in Mount Evelyn’s wildlife reserve were two Yellow Bellied Gliders, an exciting discovery after years of attempting to do just that.

Since 2019 these animals have been monitored closely by members of the Mount Evelyn Environment Protection and Progress Association (MEEPPA), a duty absorbed by the citizen science project; Mount Evelyn Wildlife Watch (MEWW) in 2020.

Over the last two years the gliders have been a regular frustration for MEWW members, while their unmistakable calls are heard on nearly every survey (which when possible occur two or three times a fortnight) visual sightings are few and far between.

Footage has recently been recorded by long-time MEEPPA member and founder of MEWW, Thomas Hennessy, of two Yellow Bellied Gliders, believed to be a mated pair, in the Mount Evelyn Recreation Reserve on Tramway Road.

The species is classified as ‘near threatened’ in Victoria but this is a subject of much debate in the scientific community as the species lost a huge proportion of suitable habitat in eastern Victoria in the aftermath of the 2019-2020 ‘Black Summer’ Bushfires.

In Mount Evelyn the Yellow-Bellied Glider is a recent arrival despite historical records the species was confirmed to have returned to the area in 2017 after a 50 year absence.

It is believed this is due to the huge efforts of MEEPPA in conjunction with Melbourne Water and Yarra Ranges Council to rehabilitate and revegetate the area with native vegetation species native to this area.

Two Yellow Bellied Gliders, believed to be a mating pair, were caught on camera at the Mount Evelyn Recreation Reserve.

Pictures: SUPPLIED Named for its striking underside, the Yellow Bellied Glider is a large species of possum about the size of a rabbit and with its specialised membrane stretching from its wrists to its ankles can make long glides over 50m through its forest home.

Yellow Bellied Gliders feed on the nectar and sap of various eucalypt trees. They bite into the trunk of their preferred eucalyptus, wait for the sap to run and then lap it up with their long pink tongues. When feeding they are easy to observe as they are intent on feeding and do not appear to be spooked easily.

Yellow Bellied Gliders require large hollows of old Eucalypts in which they live in communal groups. It is therefore important to protect these old trees for the survival of these amazing and special animals.

The preservation and protection of these amazing creatures is dependent on the ongoing monitoring, and revegetation of their preferred nesting and feed trees for their survival.

If you wish to assist MEWW in their wildlife surveying efforts you can contact the MEEPPA facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/meeppa mailcommunity.com.au

NEWS

It’s time to sit and reflect

By Mikayla van Loon After many years of back and forth, Mount Evelyn’s memorial gardens have welcomed the arrival of two new bench seats commemorating the military service of Australian men and women.

Mount Evelyn RSL members Betty Crittenden and Roger Boness have been working tirelessly on the project and have seen their vision come to life with the custom made seats finally installed.

“We thought it would be a good idea to enhance our memorial garden,” Mr Boness said.

“So we came up with a plan and we made an approach to the Shire. There wasn’t a lot of support initially and we kept looking at different ways of where we could actually place the seats. Eventually the Shire started to see the merit in our project.”

Ms Crittenden began working on the beautification of what was originally just a block of land many years ago.

“I wanted this garden to be something for the community. It was a vacant block and years ago, I suggested ‘Why don’t we have a garden for the RSL’,” she said.

“I saw these [seats] and thought that’s just what we need to make it different from a few other little parks around.

“It’s just the conclusion of a project that we started with the garden and I think this puts the finishing touch on it.”

Going from what Mr Boness described as “an unkempt, wind blown park” to the Mount Evelyn Community Memorial Park is something he believes makes the local community proud.

The response from the community, particularly on social media, has suggested just that, with comments streaming in about the appreciation for Ms Crittenden and Mr Boness’ efforts.

“The seats look beautiful, how lucky is Mount Evelyn to have them. Thank you Roger and Betty for your hard work, our town loves this garden,” one commenter said.

“Lost for words at the beauty and poignant message of love and the diligence getting these done has required. Thank you Betty and Roger for your courage to fight,” another person wrote.

“Thank you Betty and Roger for all the work you’ve done over many years towards our beautiful Memorial Garden. These seats are just wonderful,” RSL president Matthew Crymble commented.

As a member of the Mount Evelyn RSL for over 40 years, Ms Crittenden’s impact on the

Mount Evelyn RSL members Betty Crittenden and Wendy McGowan enjoying the newly installed bench seats at the Memorial Gardens. 291708 Pictures: STEWART CHAMBERS

Ms Crittenden and Roger Boness have been working on this project together for many years and were pleased to see it brought to life. 291708 town and the sub-branch itself has been profound.

“To say I am proud of [these seats] is an understatement,” she said.

“It has been my pleasure to be involved with the Mount Evelyn RSL for over 40 years, along with many members past and present.

A lot of hard work has enabled us to achieve good vibes with our local community.

“Our aim is to help service people who need it, while always thinking of those who served in many wars to allow us all to enjoy this wonderful country.”

Ms Crittenden said she hopes the bench seats will become a talking point for families and “it gives people an opportunity to tell their children what the garden represents.”

Positioned facing the memorial, Mr Boness said at first he and Ms Crittenden had been

The new seats are a tribute to the Anzacs, featuring the words ‘Lest We Forget’ and ‘Remember them’. 291708 working with the council to place them within the boundary of the memorial itself but decided it would all be too cramped.

Instead they now sit as a feature along the path that connects Mount Evelyn main strip of shops to the traffic lights just before the Birmingham Road playground.

“This is where all of the speeches and everything are made on Anzac Day. So it’s all worked out terrifically,” Mr Boness said.

Funding pledge announced for Coldstream pavilion

By Renee Wood The Liberals have announced a $1 million funding pledge to go towards the redevelopment of Coldstream’s Halley Supply Reserve sports pavilion if elected in November.

Evelyn MP Bridget Vallence made the announcement at the Halley Supply Reserve on Saturday 30 August as the Coldstream Cougars senior side ran on to the oval.

Coldstream Football and Netball Club President Ryan Kerr was thrilled to hear of the support.

“I’m a bit speechless, I wasn’t expecting that,” Mr Kerr said.

“We’ve got women playing now, we’ve got more junior teams, so we definitely need an upgrade of at least the change rooms so it’s just going to be fantastic.”

The funding pledge would go to a portion of the costs, with the clubs and Yarra Ranges Council to also put forward funds due to the building being council owned.

The clubs using the reserve include Coldstream Football & Netball Club, Coldstream Junior Football Club, Coldstream Cricket Club, and the Yarra Valley Darts Association.

Mr Kerr said CFNC has already started fundraising adding $30,000 to the kitty this year.

The building is no longer fit for purpose as mailcommunity.com.au

CFNC President Ryan Kerr, Evelyn MP Bridget Vallence, CFNC Secretary Sam Glassborow and Reserves Captain Ash Rankin.

Picture: RENEE WOOD

MP Bridget Vallence making the announcement at the footy oval.

each group which uses the facilities continue to grow and include more female participation.

The area is also seeing a growth spurt, with a housing development currently underway.

“It’s gonna be fantastic, we’ve got fitness people that come down here outside the rooms, we’ve got the fire brigade, we’ve got new housing developments going on in our area and so it’s gonna be huge,” Mr Kerr said.

There’s hope the reserve would become a hub allowing social events to occur in the

grassroots sport which is at the heart of local communities.

“This announcement is part of my plan to get Coldstream moving and revitalise this wonderful community,” Ms Vallence said.

“The mighty Cougars and Crocs deserve a modern, fit-for-purpose facility that will allow women, men, boys and girls to all compete equally, and offer a great way for locals to come together, exercise and have fun.”

The State Government was contacted for comment.

space as well as growing further participation among the sporting clubs.

Mr Kerr said they aspire to build a second story and renovate the change rooms, gym floor home and away rooms.

“If we can add a second story that could be our social rooms, a bar, an outdoor deck and some windows, so cold days everyone can still sit up and watch football, that’s something we’d be looking for but we’ll just see how it plays out.”

Ms Vallence said the Liberals are backing

Tuesday, 2 August, 2022

|

MAIL 11

NEWS

Plants will grow to all sizes to produce a layered garden.

25 plants were each donated to the Lilydale and Mount Evelyn school campuses for students to plant.

Battling the sometimes rocky ground, students worked to beautify an area of the campus that had been over grown with weeds.

Students enjoy planting

By Mikayla van Loon Students from both Cire Community School campuses in Lilydale and Mount Evelyn took to beautifying each school’s grounds by getting involved in National Tree Day on Friday 29 July.

With donations generously given from Yarra Valley and Croydon Toyota, Candlebark Community Nursery, Karwarra Australian Plant Garden and Nursery and Bunnings, students were decked out with all the equipment needed to begin planting.

Assistant principal Bradley Turner said it was a great initiative to get students outside, enjoy the sunshine and experience a different way of learning about horticulture and biodiversity.

“We were wanting to give students the opportunity to do some hands-on learning and work with biodiversity and get a sense of some of our native plants,” he said.

“But also it was a great opportunity to connect with something in the local community, connect with local businesses and be involved in something bigger than just what’s happening here on campus.”

For middle years students Logan and Kobi, it was an opportunity to leave their mark on the school.

“I made a garden in the corner. So that will grow and look nice. It will be pretty interesting to come back later when it’s all grown and see what it looks like,” Kobi said.

“I feel like it’s going to make the school look nicer with all the other trees and plants,” Logan said.

Mr Turner said for students to have that personal connection to the school itself was a wonderful outcome for the day.

“One of the things I really appreciate about an opportunity like this is the students hav-

Students and staff came to check out the makeover of the small stretch of garden bed that was being planted.

Students at Cire Community School’s Lilydale campus were interested to learn from teachers about the best way to plant seedlings for National Tree Day. Pictures: MIKAYLA VAN LOON

Karen from Bayswater Bunnings was on hand to answer questions and help with the planting.

Representatives from Bayswater and Lilydale Bunnings, Karen and Emily, were on hand to help with any planting questions students had and helped with education around planting practices.

Mr Turner said although taking part in Planet Ark’s National Tree Planting day was about

joining with the 3000 other schools that participate each year, it also builds connections between students and teachers, while touching on important parts of the curriculum.

It was the first National Tree Day Kobi, Logan and Mr Turner had taken part in, all of them saying it was fun to do something different.

ing the chance to contribute to the look of the school so it’s not a team that comes up with this plan and makes it happen, it gets students involved as well.”

In total 50 plants were donated for the two campuses to use, along with plant protectors, soil and mulch.

Riley grateful for public speaking and leadership skills “I needed a confidence boost to speak in a job interview,” explained Riley Vondrejc from Mooroolbark.

That’s why he decided to join a local Toastmasters Club at the end of 2020, to learn public speaking and leadership skills.

“When I first joined Toastmasters, I enjoyed listening to the different speeches. It took me a while to be able to have enough confidence to join in and speak in front of others,” Riley said.

“My first speaking role was to answer a Round Robin question. This is a question to the whole group where everyone has an opportunity to answer in a few sentences. It helped me think on my feet,” he reflected.

From there, Riley worked towards delivering his first official short speech.

“I spoke about who I am and what I have accomplished during my schooling and volunteering. I was nervous, relieved and then felt proud after receiving positive feedback from the group.

“My second speech was about my mentor and his life growing up once he found out he was going to be blind. His story inspired me to keep going and step out of my comfort zone. Best of all, he barracks for Collingwood, 12 MAIL

|

Tuesday, 2 August, 2022

Riley is a LMC Toastmasters member who’s benefiting from joining the club. Pictures: SUPPLIED

Riley loves to play the drums and also treated his Toastmasters club to an impromptu online solo.

just like me!”

Riley is now preparing his third speech about the different styles and modes of communication.

“I can now memorise more of my speech,” Riley commented when asked about his personal growth.

Riley’s confidence has been further boosted by the positive club atmosphere.

“Everyone in my Toastmasters Club has been very supportive and friendly. They’re always giving me encouraging feedback. These

ened up our meeting and was an example of how our meetings combine learning, skill development and fun.”

If you would like to improve your public speaking skills, Riley’s best advice is to take time to practise your prepared speeches.

“A Toastmasters Club can improve your public speaking skills, vocabulary and confidence, if you are willing to have a go”, concludes Riley.

LMC Toastmasters: https://facebook.com/ lmctoastmasters

comments have helped me to improve the way I write my speeches as well as present them.

“I also enjoy hearing what other people in the group speak about and are interested in.

For example, one member talked about her year living in Japan.”

Riley also fondly recalls one of his more unusual contributions to his Toastmasters Club when they were meeting online.

“During our supper break, I entertained the group with a drum solo! It certainly liv-

mailcommunity.com.au

NEWS

Back Luke, Larelle, Bryan, Joanne, Rachel and Jemma Front Kira and Kimberley

DENTAL HEALTH WEEK Meadowgate Dental has been providing care to Yarra Valley residents for over 25 years, with a wide range of comprehensive treatments available.

Become a local leader

By Callum Ludwig Yarra Ranges Council is making a push to recruit new community members to their Health and Wellbeing (HWAC) and Disability (DAC) Advisory Committees, with the HWAC being completely revised.

The HWAC has been in operation since 2017 and helped advise Yarra Ranges Council on their 2021-25 Health and Wellbeing Plan, and the DAC has been in action since 2013.

Councillor Richard Higgins, who was the Chair of the HWAC from 2017 to 2020, said in the July 26 Council meeting that this item is a strengthening of the 2021-25 Health and Wellbeing Plan.

“The historical committee that has been in place have done an absolutely fantastic job, they are totally committed and professional in what they have done. The reason for this motion is they have actually established there is a bit of a lack of community members,” he said.

“The current committee consists predominantly of healthcare professionals, and they have done a fantastic job, but we need to get our community involved and set up a community-led Health and Wellbeing Committee, assisted by those professionals who will be around in a Professional Network” The newly-revised Committee will include the Executive Officer of Health and Wellbeing, additional Council officers, and up to twelve community representatives, together with Councillor Sophie Todorov who will be retained from her previous involvement in the original Committee, which she has chaired since 2020.

Councillor Andrew Fullagar spoke to the motion as well, having been on the original Committee as a Hills community representative before his election this year.

“This panel has an important job in bringing outside voices to Council’s Health and Wellbeing policy, and what we are doing here is changing the structure so we have more community input,” he said.

“They will help to monitor the achievements of the Health and Wellbeing Plan and it’s objectives. I now encourage community members to come forward and volunteer, it’s really rewarding, I got a lot of value out of being on the Committee for a number of years, the experience and knowledge I got out of it was invaluable.”

No councillors spoke against the motion and it was carried unanimously.

The DAC’s members serve a four-year term and there are new opportunities for the 20222026 term.

Councillor Len Cox OAM said he was privileged to be a part of the DAC for the 8 years since its inception. mailcommunity.com.au

“It’s been a great experience for me and the people on this Committee. It is comprised of people with a disability, people who are carers of people with a disability and people who are in the business of caring for people with a disability,” he said.

“There’s a lot of experience in this Committee from all different angles and they are there to help Council make decisions to help people with disabilities. I think this Committee has been a terrific success, they’ve given Council some good advice and Council has certainly picked up a lot of that advice and ran with it in various different programs.”

A special thank you has been addressed to June Smith and Cliff West who have completed two consecutive four-year terms on the DAC. Cr Cox said the people on the DAC have been real stars in giving advice on people with disabilities and the problems associated with them.

“I don’t know who will want to run for another four years and I don’t know who else will put their hand up but I’m really looking forward to forming the new Committee and going on to the future and working with them to give Council all the help they need on issues with disabilities,” he said.

“June Smith and Cliff West have been extremely helpful, both people with a disability and they are very knowledgeable and it’s been a great pleasure to work with them.”

A balanced representation of people with disability, unpaid carers and service providers will be attempted to be achieved among the new members, but no person can serve more than two consecutive terms. Applications will be shortlisted and interviewed by a panel including a person with lived experience of disability and the Council’s Disability Inclusion Officer.

Cr Higgins spoke to the motion and said this Committee is one of the most essential committees Yarra Ranges Council has.

“These people’s insight into the disability issues in our projects throughout Council from the urban areas to the rural areas, and every time they come up with something that makes our projects better or reinforces that we are travelling in the right direction with our disability protocols,” he said.

“Without them, I’m sure we’d be missing many things that need to be fixed or rectified, they are just invaluable. Thank you to June and Cliff for the fantastic contributions to this Committee, I hope they have fun with a little bit of a rest and I’m sure they will be in the background somewhere giving us their thoughts on little bits and pieces because that’s the type of people they are.”

No councillors spoke against the motion and it was carried unanimously.

Dr Luke Emery enjoys all facets of dentistry and is a familiar face to many after working at Meadowgate since 1991 and being a part owner since 1994, and then took full ownership in 2013.

The team has been rounded out with three associate dentists, Dr. Rachel Sim, Dr Linda Sheu and Dr Bryan Sim who all have over 10 years of experience each. They have a calm and gentle nature and are passionate about explaining and helping patients achieve the best

The team also knows it can be an anxious time for people in the dentist chair and nitrous oxide (happy gas) is available to ease their stress.

All members of the community are welcomed and people who are in a wheelchair will have support, with the ability to hoist patients into the dental chair with a ceiling hoist if required.

Health insurance, The Child Dental Benefit Scheme and the Veteran Affairs Scheme claims are all accessible through Meadowgate and treatment payment plans are on offer to assist family budgets.

Come and visit the team at Meadowgate Dental with ample off street parking and wheelchair access.

For all enquires please call (03) 9727 2808 or visit 23 Meadowgate Drive Chirnside Park.

Mon-Wed-Thurs 8.30am-5pm Tues 8.30am-7pm-Fri 8.30am-4pm

Dental Care For The Whole Family Family Focused Practice for over 25 years Welcomes New Patients For all your General Dental Health For the month of August, mention this ad to get a special price 40% off for new patients, exam and x-rays $93 normally $155 20% off exam and cleans for existing patients $148 normally $185 Ask about our free orthodontic consultation Come meet our team

Bryan

Rachel

12558420-AV31-22

Yarra Ranges Council is seeking community members to join their Health and Wellbeing and Disability Advisory Committees.

Picture: ON FILE

The team prides itself on offering an extensive list of services to cater for all dental needs, including treatments for general dental, periodontal (gum disease therapy), endodontic (root canal therapy), orthodontics, cosmetic, extractions, crown and bridges, implants and dentures.

possible outcome for their oral health needs.

Linda

23 Meadowgate Drive Chirnside Park • 9727 2808 Tuesday, 2 August, 2022

|

MAIL 13

MEDICALLY SPEAKING

Put your feet in our hands Morecrofts have been looking after locals’ feet for about 50 years, so with that many feet plodding, hopping, skipping, tripping, jogging or just walking, they must know something about feet.

Principal podiatrist Dr Bill Mackieson and his team of podiatrists can offer you expert assessment and treatment to overcome your sore feet.

Whether you have: Ingrown toenails requiring nail surgery Diabetes that needs ongoing foot care and assessment Children’s walking problems such as toe walking, heel pain (Sever’s), in toe, out toe, knee pain (Osgood Schlatter’s) Planar Fasciitis, flat feet, metatarsal, heel, knee, muscular tightness Sports injuries, shin splints, foot pain Orthotic therapy Pathological conditions such as Tinea, fungal nails, plantar warts.

Nails, corns, callus, dry and cracked heels, requiring treatment.

Cold feet, chilblains, Raynaud’s Morecrofts should be able to help you You may ask what is a Podiatrist?

Podiatrists are a highly trained health professional specialising in conditions of our feet.

A Doctor of Podiatry has spent approximately five years at university studying the human body, specialising in conditions of the feet.

The course of study includes Podiatric Medicine, physics, clinical training, foot and nail surgery, bio-mechanics, sports medicine, pediatrics, gerontology, and medical sciences such as anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, microbiology, pathology, pharmacology and neurology.

So, with this knowledge, plus years of prac-

· · · · · · · · · ·

Dr Bill Mackieson looks forward to seeing you at Morecrofts Podiatry. 284999 tice, podiatrists at Morecrofts can offer you some of the very best of diagnostic and practical treatment available.

As a team they have the extra advantage of

Meet our Team of Podiatrists

Dr Bill

Dr George

Dr Chris

Principal Podiatrist

Very experienced, confident, and capable senior Podiatrist

Experienced Podiatrist

Currently advancing his knowledge for prescribing scheduled medicines.

Active in sports himself with an excellent knowledge and skills of Podiatry

Always high in demand

Has dry Needling post graduate qualifications

Affiliate member Australasian College Podiatric Surgeons Clinical Supervisor Latrobe University Specialise in Ingrown Toenail surgeries

Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS

working to even further enhance the knowledge and treatment sometimes necessary to provide you of that very best of care.

For further information refer to their web-

site: www.morecrofts.com.au “Do not put up with foot pain” Contact Morecrofts’ Admin staff Kelly or Mel for an appointment 9735 1273.

PROVIDING ALL GENERAL DENTAL & EMERGENCY SERVICES

Foot Health Advisor

Your Local Dentist in Lilydale.

Check up, Clean, 2 X-rays Dr David

Dr Rebecca

Dr Ben

Experienced Podiatrist

Very confident and capable senior podiatrist with 15 years’ experience in all aspects of Podiatry

Studied Applied Science then a Master of Podiatry degree, experienced Podiatrist specialising in aged care services

General Podiatry and home visit service

Providing footcare to Lilydale and the local community for over 50 Years • Ingrown Toenails • Heel Pain • Corns and Callus • Plus more Open Mon - Fri 9am - 5.30pm • Thurs 9am - 7.30pm 8-10 Castella Street, Lilydale • Tel: 9735 1273 Email: morecroftspodiatry@hotmail.com Website: www.morecrofts.com.au 12557921-JW31-22

14 MAIL

|

Tuesday, 2 August, 2022

$175.00 Please call for appointment

9737 6453 Shop 43 Lilydale Market Place Hutchison Street Lilydale “Next Door to Lowes” 12557464-SN31-22

mailcommunity.com.au

MEDICALLY SPEAKING

Assisting sleep sufferers Is snoring becoming a problem? Do you wake during the night? Or maybe you’re just feeling tired and irritable?

If so, it’s probably worth having a chat with one of the skilled CPAP Network consultants, and ask about our Bulk-Billed Home Sleep Studies to check whether you might have Sleep Apnoea.

The helpful CPAP Network team at Lilydale consists of Andrea, Hannah and Adrian, and they are always available for information and advice about Sleep Apnoea and the various treatment options available. As CPAP Network is completely independent, it is not biased towards any particular brand. You can be assured the team’s primary aim is to ensure patients achieve successful CPAP therapy.

Andrea, the Lilydale CPAP Network manager, explains, “Sleep Apnoea occurs when the walls of the throat come together during sleep, blocking off the upper airway. Breathing stops for a period of time (generally between 10 seconds and even up to one minute) until the brain registers the lack of breathing or a drop in oxygen levels and sends a small wakeup call. The sleeper rouses slightly, opens the upper airway, typically snorts and gasps, then drifts back to sleep almost immediately.”

Andrea adds, “In most cases, the person suffering from sleep apnoea doesn’t even realise they are waking up. This pattern can repeat itself hundreds of times every night, causing fragmented sleep.”

“This leaves the person feeling unrefreshed in the morning, with excessive daytime sleepiness, poor daytime concentration and work performance, and fatigue.”

People with significant sleep apnoea have an increased risk of motor vehicle accidents, high blood pressure and Type 2 Diabetes, and may have an increased risk of heart at-

Andrea, the Lilydale CPAP Network manager. 290395 tack, stroke and dementia. Sleep Apnoea is extremely common, with most people completely unaware they have this condition.

Adrian, the CPAP Network group manager adds, “It’s estimated that around 20 percent of the population snores at night. During sleep, the muscles of the soft palate and uvula (the structures found in the back of the throat) tend to relax and vibrate when the person breathes.”

“This happens both when breathing through the nose or the open mouth. This relaxed tissue vibrates as air moves back and forth across it, making the characteristic snoring noise.”

Adrian explains, “Although there are a num-

Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS ber of options available, the most effective treatment available is a mask worn at night that prevents the throat from collapsing by applying an increased air pressure to the collapsible segment of the throat.”

“This is called “continuous positive airway pressure” or “CPAP”. The key to this treatment is finding a mask and machine that match the needs of a given individual with sleep apnoea.

CPAP therapy is considered the “Gold Standard” in treating sleep apnoea, and the CPAP Network team are equipped to help.”

Another treatment CPAP Network can assist with is the use of a mouthguard (or oral appliance or mandibular advancement splint).

CPAP Network is based at 283 Main St, Lilydale VIC 3140. 290395 Mouthguards work by holding the jaw forward during sleep, thereby maintaining an open airway while sleeping. When properly fitted, they can be effective for mild to moderate sleep apnoea.

All CPAP Network outlets stock a full range of CPAP pumps, masks and accessories, and can assist with expert fitting and support to ensure the success of CPAP therapy.

Feel free to visit one of our CPAP Network Clinics for a chat, or complete an online screening questionnaire. These questionnaires take no more than a few minutes to answer, and provide a useful guide to determine a course of action. Why not take the test now?

PHYSIOTHERAPY REMEDIAL MASSAGE CLINICAL CLASSES REFORMER PILATES

10 %

OFF

LIMITED TIME OFFER

THE ENTIRE

CPAP RANGE

As specialists in sleep apnoea, we know how beneficial CPAP therapy can be in improving the quality of your sleep and helping you lead a healthier and more active life.

We make CPAP therapy easier ...

equipment from leading manufacturers; including F&P Healthcare, ResMed and Philips Expert CPAP equipment fitting and set-up services 30-day CPAP Treatment Trial Program Ongoing CPAP therapy support programs CPAP Network Lilydale A: 283 Main Street, Lilydale P: 9739 4174

Belgrave Community Pharmacy A: 1639 Burwood Hwy, Belgrave 3160 P: 03 9754 2001

1300 27 27 63 | www.cpapnetwork.com.au mailcommunity.com.au

12559198-JW31-22

Advice from qualified independent CPAP specialists Extensive range of competitively priced CPAP SPORTS PHYSIOTHERAPY BACK/NECK PAIN HEADACHES & TMD POST OPERATIVE REHAB

WOMEN’S & MEN’S HEALTH CLINICAL PILATES & EXERCISE REMEDIAL MASSAGE RUNNING INJURIES KNEE & HIP OSTEOARTHRITIS

CONTACT US OLINDA

MOUNT EVELYN

1542 Mount Dandenong Tourist Rd 3788 P: (03) 9751 0400 hello@formandpractice.com.au

19-23 Hereford Rd 3796 P: (03) 9736 2565

BOOK YOUR NEXT APPOINTMENT ONLINE www.formandpractice.com.au/book-online Tuesday, 2 August, 2022

12561048-AV31-22

|

MAIL 15

NEWS

Help find cure for Sienna

By Callum Ludwig A fundraising event for a beautiful young girl suffering from a rare neurological disease is set to be hosted in Wandin North.

2-year-old Sienna Rose was diagnosed with Syndromic Microphthalmia 12 (MCOPS12), a degenerative disease affecting only about 40 children in the world, after doctors originally suspected cerebral palsy or a global developmental delay.

Sienna’s mum Annina Flint said her and her husband were able to tell there was something not quite right early.

“We were referred to the Royal Children’s Hospital clinic due to Sienna having developmental delays, low muscle tone and distinctive facial features. Sienna was diagnosed on May 3 2022, through a genetic test called whole exome sequencing (WES) caused by a variant in her RARB gene,” she said.

“We were told there were only 7 or 8 children with this condition, so they had no information to share with us and have searched Facebook and all over the internet to find other people and more information, as well as doing regular physio, hydrotherapy, speech and occupational therapy.”

Funding is needed to research a cure for the disease, as without a cure Sienna’s symptoms will continue to get worse. Common symptoms are severe (progressive) movement disorders, intellectual disorders, microphthalmia (small eyes with vision often affected) with other malformations are also common.

Ms Flint said it has been extremely difficult hearing that their baby girl could start to deteriorate and to have no idea when.

“Sienna can crawl, but is unable to stand or walk unsupported. She can sit unsupported for a short time, but doesn’t have great control in her trunk and has specialised seating, walking frame, potty etc. Sienna had feeding problems, didn’t meet milestones, low b12 and iron

Smiley Sienna!

Sienna Rose has been diagnosed with rare degenerative neurological disorder MCOPS12.

Pictures: SUPPLIED

Sienna walking with the assistance of a frame.

and is behind in speech, fine motor skills and gross motor skills,” she said.

“Sienna is such a beautiful, determined and amazing little girl, so I feel incredibly lucky to be her mum. She is cheeky, funny and just lights up the world and if we can get enough money in time, our beautiful girl will be able to only go forwards, rather than backwards.”

The fundraising event is being hosted in the Wandin Public Hall on Thursday 13 September. It is a Zumba-style dance fitness class by instructor Teena Hartrup from 7.30pm to 8.30pm for a $5 or $10 entry fee that will go towards Sienna’s fundraising.

The event is hosted by MishMash Charity Events, run by Ms Flint’s sisters Ilona Gallow and Natasha Barberio.

Ms Gallow said Sienna is the centre of their extended family.

“She is a really happy girl, always smiling, always laughing. When the family gets together, she’s a little shining star, she’s very cheeky and everyone is obsessed with her,” she said.

“She’s my niece and my sister is everything to me, there are three of us girls and we’re very close, and would do absolutely anything for them and their kids. Seeing my sister hurt is really hard for all of us.”

Sienna’s GoFundMe page, started on 12 July, has already raised $4500 of their $100,000 goal.

Ms Gallow said putting this event together is the bare minimum they could do to support Sienna.

“We are all really good at this type of thing, and have little kids of our own at home and aren’t working full time, so we’re able to put a little bit more time into it, which is really advantageous. We’re just lucky that we’re in a good position at the moment that we’ll be able to do that,” she said.

“We’ve got a few more events in the works as well, and we want to put together as much money as we can because the hard part about this is it is only affecting a small amount of people so its hard to shine a light on it. The event will be a bit of fitness and a bit of fun.

Teena has been running classes for a few years and has a pretty good following.”

To find out more about Sienna, her condition and how to follow and support, see the below links: To Donate: www.gofundme.com/f/donateto-help-cure-sienna Instagram page: instagram.com/acureforsi enna?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= Facebook: www.facebook.com/acureforsienna Event page: fb.me/e/3HqF0MjMV For further information on MCOPS12: www. rarbmutation.org Ms Flint said she hopes that by getting enough money to continue the beginning it can cure kids with MCOPS12.

“They could have normal lifespans and stop the degeneration, I want other people living with rare neurological diseases to see what can be achieved,” she said.

“I also want them to see how amazing and caring the community can be, people do care, we don’t have to do it alone.

· · · · ·

Need local staff?

Then give us the job...

Star Mail

Need local staff?

Then give us the job... we will advertise it in our employment section and attract local staff

12544966-DL15-22

16 MAIL

|

Tuesday, 2 August, 2022

mailcommunity.com.au

A TOUCH OF CLASS PRIVATELY set back and hidden away, is this beautiful home which has been completely refinished and with nothing left to do except enjoy and soak up the breathtaking Yarra Valley views overlooking the Healesville Racecourse and beyond.

The light, bright and modern home comprises a stunning modern kitchen which is central to the home and perfect for entertaining friends and family with wide doors opening out straight to the decked area and overlooking the swimming pool.

Spacious living areas are set on either side of the kitchen, perfectly positioned to capture all the stunning views and with a cosy solid fuel heater and air conditioning assuring your comfort year-round.

Comprising a large master bedroom with full ensuite, double built in robes & reading nook, 2 further bedrooms each with built in robes and a stunning central bathroom with luxe egg-shape freestanding bathtub.

All set with a minutes drive to the township of Healesville on a large 1476m2 allotment with beautifully landscaped gardens and ample parking and space for

the whole family.

Is this your full time residence or weekend getaway? You decide! Contact Mark for your private appointment or attend one of our schedule open homes.

For sale by Open Negotiation, an online flexible terms auction system and is open to all qualified buyers allowing for flexible terms (pending Vendor approval). ●

HOME ESSENTIALS Address: 71 Healesville-Yarra Glen Road, HEALESVILLE Description: 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 garage Inspect: By appointment Auction: For Sale via Online Auction Contact: Mark Gunther, 0448 623 030, mark@markgunther.com.au, MARK GUNTHER FIRST NATIONAL, 189 MAROONDAH HWY, HEALESVILLE, 596

SUBURBAN, COUNTRY & LIFESTYLE PROPERTIES ACROSS THE REGION mailcommunity.com.au

com.au

Tuesday, 2 August, 2022

|

MAIL PROPERTY GUIDE

17

HOME FOCUS

WALK TO TOWN AND LOW MAINTENANCE THIS well-appointed over 55’s unit is on a lovely flat, maintainable allotment of 236m2 and has plenty of ‘added extras’ sure to impress the most fastidious buyer. High ceilings throughout, open plan living/dining/ kitchen, spacious rooms and a fabulous location where you can walk into Gembrook Township, stop for a chat and maybe a coffee, and enjoy community living in this picturesque town.

Featuring: 2 spacious bedrooms, both with built-in robes.

Central bathroom - ensuite effect from the main bedroom.

2 Toilets Contemporary kitchen with wall oven, hotplates, and dishwasher.

Fabulous storage throughout.

Open plan living and dining.

Gas ducted heating and split system.

Single garage with internal access and 2nd car space on title.

Undercover entertaining.

Flat, fenced allotment with side access.

Quick access by foot to the supermarket, cafes, parks, churches and much more! ●

· · · · · · · · · · ·

HOME ESSENTIALS Address: 13/13 Vista Court, GEMBROOK Description: 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 2 garage Price: $480,000 - $525,000 Contact: Emily Hudson 0418 570 474, RANGES FIRST NATIONAL, 9754 6111

3 Cairncroft Avenue, Launching Place

$890,000 - $960,000

33 Old Warburton Rd, Warburton

Big Family Living with Space and Convenience

Sun filled home and Mountain views

Boasting large family living this neat home is ideal for the extended and the growing family, offering 3 bedrooms and an ensuite and walk in robe in the main bedroom plus an optional 4th bedroom/study/office. Ample space with a separate main living lounge/family area, spacious well equipped kitchen with a separate meals/dining area.

Outside offers loads of space, set on just over 2200sqm with beautiful gardens. 2 separate garages and a garden shed plus the added bonus of a separate dependent unit with convenient separate access. A very well presented property and ideally positioned just a short stroll to public transport, schools and shops it’s the ideal family property.

This welcoming home has something for everyone, enjoy the warmth of a cosy yet spacious open plan lounge, with adjacent dining. A well-appointed modern kitchen with plenty of usable bench space and modern tones will impress the cooks in the family. There are 2 sun filled bedrooms both with built in robes and both enjoying a lovely outlook. The master has the bonus of an ensuite and sliding doors that open onto the back decking. Outside is stunning with loved and cared for landscaped gardens, the al fresco dining area has the best seats in town as you can sit take in the stunning mountain views. There’s a lock up garage, workshop, 2 car carport, concrete driveway. LaLa falls and the Yarra state forest are just a short stroll from the property.

Contact: David Carroll 0419 539 320 Inspection: Saturday 11-11.30am (Photo ID Required)

Contact: Rebecca Doolan 0401 832 068 Inspection: Saturday 12 -12.30pm (Photo ID Required)

bellrealestate.com.au 18

MAIL PROPERTY GUIDE

|

Tuesday, 2 August, 2022

$650,000 - $690,000

5966 2530

3407 Warburton Hwy, Warburton com.au

5967 1277

2457 Warburton Hwy, Yarra Junction

mailcommunity.com.au

Ranges INVESTMENT OppORTUNITY

YOUR OWN TREE CHANGE

gEMBROOk 13/13 VISTA COURT LOW MAINTENANCE, PRIvATE & WALk TO TOWN

$480,000-$525,000 2A 1B 2C

This well-appointed over 55’s unit is on a lovely flat allotment of 236sqm and has plenty of extras that are sure to impress the most fastidious buyer. Features include high ceilings, open plan living/dining/kitchen, two spacious bedrooms with BIR’s, central/ensuite effect bathroom, 2 WC’s, ample storage throughout, GDH & S/S, single garage with internal access & second car space, undercover entertaining, flat, fenced allotment with side access. Quick stroll to the bus stop, IGA, shops, cafes, restaurants, parks and more!

Emily Hudson 0418 570 474

BELgRAvE 25 BELLBIRD STREET THE PERFECT MODERN FAMILY HOME

BELgRAvE SOUTH 168 BELGRAVE HALLAM RD PARkS, RECREATION RESERvES & SHOPS NEARBY

grant Skipsey 0418 528 102

$780,000 - $858,000 4A 2B 2C

COCkATOO 5 SpRINGS STREET SPACIOUS CHARACTER FILLED HOME

$945,000 - $995,000 5A 2B 6C 1E

From humble beginnings built in 1927 this home has been transformed over the years into a stunning character-filled residence with reclaimed bespoke fittings throughout but also brimming with modern conveniences. Set on just over ½ an acre of park-like grounds with mature trees & established gardens, this property has much to offer and includes a study, wood combustion stove, GDH, sash windows, French doors, high ceilings, loft storage area with a hidden staircase, carport & a 4 car garage with a heavy-duty concrete floor.

grant Skipsey 0418 528 102

mailcommunity.com.au

4A 3B 4C

1/2 ACRE & EXCELLENT GARAGING

Set within walking distance to the highly renowned Belgrave South primary School, you’ll find a renovated home with an abundance of space. Features a modern kitchen & casual meals area that opens to a generous lounge, good sized bedrooms, a sparkling bathroom ideally placed for a growing family, covered entertaining area overlooking the spa pool, cubby house and a fully fenced near LEVEL yard. Double carport, extra parking space & additional shedding/workshop. Wellington Rd and City access is nearby.

rangesfn.com.au

$795,000-$874,500

Now is the time to enjoy the true delights of living in the Dandenong Ranges and yet have all the space and convenience to work from home. Treetop views, parks & lakes are all just a short stroll from this fully renovated home. Featuring several living/entertaining options, rumpus with a bar, stunning kitchen, 4th bedroom/guest suite/home office with ensuite & WIR, wood fired combustion heater, GDH, S/S, fully fenced & landscaped 1000 sqm lot with a paved fire pit, SECOND driveway and a remote double 8 x 5.3m garage.

Mick Dolphin 0429 684 522

TIME TO UpSIZE YOUR FAMILY HOME?

9754 6111

We put you first

Mick Dolphin 0429 684 522

“We Put You First” com.au

Emily Hudson 0418 570 474

1 Bayview Rd, Belgrave Shop 2, 24 McBride Street, Cockatoo Tuesday, 2 August, 2022

|

MAIL PROPERTY GUIDE

19

HOME FOCUS

DESIGNER HOME IN DESIRABLE POCKET WITH designer finishes and a desirable 5,726sqm (approx.) woodland garden within walking distance of Main Road amenities, this property offers a retreat-like feel in the right location.

Set atop a sweeping drive for privacy and saturated with meticulously updated features, this home is the ideal tree-change for growing families. The split-level layout is framed by open and covered decking ensuring this is an exceptional home in every season.

The main level introduces the sweeping vaulted ceilings, extensive windows for abundant natural light, and lush tree canopy views at every turn. The brilliant new open plan kitchen with induction cooktop, stainless steel oven, stone benchtops, and handcrafted tiles enjoys an expansive feel from a seamless connection with the dining area. On the lower level, the family room with polished timber floors and a warm wood fire is a relaxed and refined space to unwind.

For a surplus of space, the home cinema with vaulted ceilings and ample storage is a spectacular inclusion while the upper level lounge with private balcony will inspire with its outlooks of the natural surrounds.

For complete comfort, there are also 4 beautiful bedrooms on offer, including the exceptional main bedroom with walkin robe and enviable ensuite. The home office/5th bedroom is a value-add inclusion and the family bath with terrazzo and tumbled subway tiles, matte black tapware, rain shower, freestanding soaker tub, and separate powder room is luxurious enough to line the pages of a design magazine.

With featured extras including gas ducted heating, air conditioning unit, double carport, garden shed, and impressive outdoor entertaining areas, this magnificently finished move-in ready home is an investment in livability and location.

Inspection will impress. · Picturesque woodland style 5,726sqm (approx.) property with sweeping drive · Impressively updated kitchen with stone benchtops and quality appliances · Family room, home cinema, and lounge with balcony with treetop views · Beautiful bedrooms including main with enviable ensuite and walk-in robe ●

HOME ESSENTIALS Address: 10 Tavistock Road, MONBULK Description: 5 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 garage Price: $1,050,000-$1,140,000 Inspect: By appointment Contact: Brad Conder 0422 639 115, CHANDLER & CO REAL ESTATE, 97546888 20

MAIL PROPERTY GUIDE

|

Tuesday, 2 August, 2022

com.au

mailcommunity.com.au

Real Estate you can trust!

We ’ r e h e r e t o h e l p FOR SALE

10 Tavistock Road, MONBULK

$1,050,000-$1,140,000

DESIGNER HOME IN DESIRABLE POCKET

5A 2B 2C

FOR SALE

$780,000 - $840,000

6 Finchley Court, ENDEAVOUR HILLS

3A 2B 2C

MODERNIST STYLE HOME WITH A CREATIVE TWIST

With designer finishes and a desirable 5,726sqm (approx.) woodland garden within walking distance of Main Road amenities, this property offers a retreat-like feel in the right location.

Set atop a sweeping drive for privacy and saturated with meticulously updated features, this home is the ideal tree-change for growing families. The split-level layout is framed by open and covered decking ensuring this is an exceptional home in every season.

Architecturally inspired, featuring stunning cathedral ceilings and internal brick feature walls, this gorgeous three bedroom home is filled with creativity and soul. With a modernist exterior, the home has been tastefully designed to capture a floorplan that flows naturally and effortlessly for family living, allowing for three spacious bedrooms, two bathrooms and dual living zones.

Brad Conder

Glenn Chandler

M 0422 639 115 | E brad@chandlerandco.com.au

M 0418 410 689 | E glenn@chandlerandco.com.au

FOR SALE

$900,000 - $990,000

22 Kooringal Road, UPWEY

AN ABSOLUTE DELIGHT WITH ART DECO ACCENTS

4A 2B 1C

If this wonderful home’s walls could talk it would regale tales of enduring comfort in exceptional art deco style for nearly a century. Upon arrival, stop to soak up the landscaped gardens from the north-facing verandah with leafy hillside outlooks. From here, the interior opens into the lounge with wood fire, ornate ceiling panel, and picturesque window seat for curling up with a good book. At the heart of the home is the open plan living area and chefs’ kitchen with reclaimed timber benchtops, St George cooker, and butlers’ pantry with servery window to the gorgeous deck and garden. With the bonus of an upstairs retreat, this idyllic lifestyle property will be the backdrop for a new generation of family memories.

Suzie Brannelly M 0490 506 910 | E suzie@chandlerandco.com.au

9754 6888 1689 Burwood Highway, Belgrave VIC 3160 www.chandlerandco.com.au of fice@chandlerandco.com.au mailcommunity.com.au

com.au

Tuesday, 2 August, 2022

|

MAIL PROPERTY GUIDE

21

HOME FOCUS

NEAR NEW FAMILY HOME IF you’re looking for a new family home, (still under Builder’s Warranty) with a low maintenance yard where you can walk to and from local cafes, restaurants, the primary school, childcare, playgrounds, and public transport, then this is the one!

Internally the home boasts an open plan split level design with wide passages that lead to a large, open plan family room, dining room and kitchen. There is plenty of natural light and filtered views through the double-glazed windows throughout which ensure energy efficiency and peaceful days and nights. The master bedroom is situated to the rear of the house, with walk through robe and generous ensuite, which includes a his and hers vanity and large double shower. The other 3 good sized bedrooms all have built in robes and along with the main bathroom are zoned at the other end of the home, so the kids and parents have their own space.

The kitchen is a modern masterpiece with stainless steel appliances, stone bench tops, walk in pantry and breakfast bar.

Other features of the home include double remote garage, mains gas ducted heating, a split system for cooling, theatre/rumpus room, kid’s retreat at their end of the home and the open plan family room features sensational stacking doors which make the undercover outdoor entertaining area part of the home living space.

Out the back is a nicely landscaped, low maintenance, fully fenced back yard with plenty of room for the children and the fur family to play complete with a stylish chicken coop.

With everything you could ever want and things you didn’t even know you needed, this will be your forever home - so don’t wait! ●

HOME ESSENTIALS Address: 9 Gembrook Launching Place Road, GEMBROOK Description: 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 garage Inspect: By appointment Price: $940,000 - $990,000 Contact: Samantha Scott 0438 680 032, BELL REAL ESTATE, EMERALD, 5968 6222 22

MAIL PROPERTY GUIDE

|

Tuesday, 2 August, 2022

com.au

mailcommunity.com.au

172 Spillers Road, Macclesfield

Expressions of Interest

28-30 Main Street, Gembrook

Stunning Lifestyle Property on 10+ Acres

$1,400,000 - $1,500,000

Sub-Division Opportunity!

On 10 acres+ this home has 6 bedrooms with built-in robes & a family bathroom, a master wing with walk-in robe and ensuite, 4 living zones, a lounge with a wood fireplace, formal dining room, open plan family zone & rumpus roomthis home has it all. Made for entertaining, this home has a games room set next to the solar-heated, indoor, salt-waterchlorinated swimming pool with attached spa, & adjacent bathroom. The kitchen has stainless steel appliances & large pantry. Features include gas ducted heating, NOBO heating, 2 split systems, evaporative cooling, & ducted vacuum.

Outside is 2 entertaining areas, a hut, 7 paddocks with horse shelters, electric fencing, a grass arena, & 3 dams, 1 is springfed & stocked with trout.

Set on an acre and a half, this property has a 2-lot subdivision almost completed, but there is an amazing opportunity now to expand the subdivision into multiple lots (STCA). Contact the agent to explore the details further. This 4-bedroom home has a lounge room with a fireplace and a master wing with walk-in robe, dressing room, ensuite, and plush carpets. The kitchen has butcher block countertops, contemporary tiles, large stove with gas cooktop, a breakfast bar and island, stainless steel appliances, and walk-in pantry. The kitchen is open plan to the dining room and has a perfect view of the pool and deck area for entertaining. Upstairs is viewing space that would be perfect for an office or observatory.

Outside there is an above-ground pool, a 6x12mtr shed with concrete floor & power. There is a 2nd accommodation perfect for aging parents or in-laws.

Contact: Samantha Scott 0438 680 032

Contact: Richard Birtchnell 0438 747 357

14 Bayview Road, Emerald

$850,000 - $920,000

329 Ure Road, Gembrook

Asking $900,000

Great Home with Scenic Views

Beautifully Kept 2 Acres with Views!

Don’t miss this character-filled, 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 2 garage home close to the Main Street of Emerald and with stunning views across the Dandenong Ranges. Inside there is an open plan kitchen/living/dining area that leads to a beautiful sun room with 180degree views. The hardwood kitchen has electric cooking, concealed double-draw dishwasher, and plenty of storage perfect for family living.

The huge lounge room has a gas log fire, plush carpets, and great views. The bedrooms are spacious with built-in robes, and plush carpets and the master has an ensuite. Outside there is under-house storage, gorgeous established gardens, veggie beds, a pond, paved pathways to meander in, and scenic views from the deck. Add your own style to this great home to make it your own hideaway in the hills.

Just a few minutes out of Gembrook and privately located with no close neighbours, this original 1940s home sits proudly on 2 clear, sunny acres with amazing views. The home consists of 3 bedrooms, a bathroom with a separate toilet, and a spacious living area with a toasty wood heater that opens onto the country kitchen. Outside there are two carports, one off the house and one off the shed, a workshop/storage shed, a 7.2 x 6m shed with concrete floor and power, and an additional outdoor room to relax. Add to this ample tank water and a beautiful clear, flat acre with mature gardens and a dam. An excellent opportunity not to be missed!

Contact: Samantha Scott 0438 680 032 {queue.Rep2FirstName} {queue.Rep2LastName} {queue.Rep2Mobile}

Contact: Aaron Day 0407 365 994

5968 6222

bellrealestate.com.au mailcommunity.com.au

311-313 Main St, Emerald

com.au

Tuesday, 2 August, 2022

|

MAIL PROPERTY GUIDE

23

PUZZLES

4 1 8 2

3 5 8

8 2

1

9

5

6

7

8

9

10 11 12 13

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

2

W S

3 4

B N R U Y L Z HQO TWS 20

21

22

23

24

25

26

2

3

4

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”.

O

R

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

4 9 6 3 5 1 2 7 8

9 4 6 5 7 3 8 1 2

1 5 3 8 2 6 9 7 4

34 words: Excellent

E

R

A

4 9 5 6 8 1 3 2 7

6 1 2 7 3 4 5 8 9

3 8 7 2 9 5 1 4 6

8 6 4 9 1 2 7 3 5

5 3 1 4 6 7 2 9 8

7 2 9 3 5 8 4 6 1

1 2 7 9 4 8 3 6 5

8 3 5 6 2 7 1 9 4

6 4 9 1 7 3 5 8 2

7 5 2 8 9 4 6 1 3

3 1 8 2 6 5 9 4 7

9 7 4 5 1 2 8 3 6

2 8 1 7 3 6 4 5 9

5 6 3 4 8 9 7 2 1

9 8 7 3 5 6 1 4 2

3 1 2 4 9 7 6 5 8

4 6 5 8 1 2 9 7 3

1 9 3 2 4 8 7 6 5

8 2 6 5 7 9 4 3 1

5 7 4 1 6 3 8 2 9

2 3 9 7 8 4 5 1 6

7 5 8 6 2 1 3 9 4

6 4 1 9 3 5 2 8 7

Puzzles and pagination © Pagemasters | pagemasters.com

T

V D

E

4 LETTERS CEDE CRAM DIGS DOES EPIC FOUL GNAW GYMS LEST MARE MESH RISE VEIL YEWS

5 LETTERS ADORE ALLOW APTLY AREN’T ARMED AROSE AURAS AVERT BASTE BLAZE CHOPS CIRCA CRUDE DEATH DENTS EAVES ELECT EPOCH ERECT ETHOS

advert, aver, averred, avert, averted, devote, dove, drove, drover, evade, ever, ovate, over, overate, overeat, overrate, OVERRATED, overt, OVERTRADE, rave, raved, raver, reave, revert, roved, rover, trove, trover, veer, veto, vetoed, vote, voted, voter

2 7 8 1 4 9 6 5 3

hard

1

medium

19

easy

18

3 1 9 6

17

2 8

16

6 6 5 7

4

15

7

3

14

9

2

XMV E G I F J K A P D C

8 7

FALSE FARES GRASS GROSS GUILE HAIRS LEDGE LOOSE LUPIN MALTS MANGE METRO NORTH RESTS ROBOT RODEO RUINS SHEDS SHOOS SIREN SLEET

7 LETTERS DESCENT LIGHTLY OBTAINS OUTLAID PENSIVE PIRANHA

SPECK STOLE STRAW STYLE TREAD URGES VISED YARDS YOUTH

8 LETTERS DELICATE POLLSTER RESIDUAL STROLLED

6 LETTERS ENTREE ESKIES LESSER REEFED

$ 6 6

hard

6 3 ( & .

3

$ 8 5 $ 6

6 1

% / $ = (

8 4

* 1 $ 2: ' ( 5 8 6 , ( 1 ( 6

2 7 7

2 % 7 $ , 1 6

2

1

2 , /

6 9 7

$ / / 2:

0 ( 7 5 2

3

< 2 8 7 +

2

3 LETTERS ALE ASS AVO CHI ERA GAL GOT HOP IDS IRE LEE LYE MYS ODE OIL RAM ROD ROE SAD SEC SEE TIN TRY ZAC

No. 092

* 5 2 6 6

3 1 4

WORDFIT

5 $ 6 6 2 5 7 + ' 2 5 ( 6 $ ' < ( : 6 $ 5 * ( 6 ' 8 $ / 6 , 9 ( / ( ( / ( 6 7 < ( ) ( ' $ / ( , 5 ( 1 5 ( & 7 ( 6 7 6

8 8 1

No. 092

7 / 5 ( < 6 6 ( 5

9 1

7

DECODER

3 6 2 7 / < / / 6 ( 7 ( 5 ( 3 ' 2 , & * + 6 0 * ( 2 6 7 +

8

24

3 , 5 $ 1 + $

9 4

19 20 22 25 26 27 28

13 14 15 17 18 21 23

Christmas visitor (5) Metallic element (9) Middle East republic (5) Warrior (7) Train (7) Superfluous (9) Of sound (5) Disruptions of normal function (9) Arch (9) Compile (9) Establish (9) Country in Horn of Africa (7) Feeling (7) Cad (5) Glossy fabric (5) Squares (5)

& + 5 2 $ 3 0 9 & ( 5 , 8 / ' ( ' ( / , & $ 7 (

medium

14 16

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

& + $ , 5 0 ( '

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

DOWN

Graceful birds (5) Astonished (9) Impartial (7) News (7) Liveliness (9) More agreeable (5) Digitally generated imagery (acronym) (3) Reciprocal (11) Reminding one of something (11) Computer abbreviation (3) Appropriate (5) Illicitly distilled liquor (9) Rare (7) Thrust oneself in (7) Asthenopia (9) Desiderata (5)

7 ( , 1 1 7 5 , ( ' ( 6 ) / $ 2 / 2 6 6 ( ( & * ( $ ' / (

easy

ACROSS 1 4 9 10 11 12 13

No. 092

5 2 ' ( 2

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.

QUICK CROSSWORD

$ 9 ( 5 7

No. 092

0 $ / 7 6

SUDOKU

05-08-22

William Matthews Funerals FAMILY OWNED AND OPERATED

24 HOUR SERVICE ALL AREAS

9739 6868 45 Cave Hill Rd, Lilydale www.williammatthewsfunerals.com.au 24 MAIL

|

Tuesday, 2 August, 2022

12410397-ACM06-19

mailcommunity.com.au

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Travel to Japan via exhibit

By Renee Wood In Japanese culture, tea ceremonies are a way that people create bonds with one another, conducted in a ritualistic and ceremonial way to promote inner peace and wellbeing empowerment.

It’s a tradition of focus for YAVA Gallery’s latest exhibit from master potter Alistiar Whyte and Sumi-e, Japanese ink painter Junko Azukawa hoping the audience can experience Japanese culture through the showcase.

Tojiki & Sumi-e exhibit launched on Thursday 28 July and highlights Whyte and Azukawa’s connection to eastern culture and how Japanese tradition takes form through their crafts.

Many pieces of Whyte’s pottery are on display, including descriptions on how the pieces are used in tea ceremonies and daily life.

His work is inspired by his time living and learning while studying in Japan for five years.

“Tea ceremony is all about collaboration and peace and harmony and Sumi-e is part of tea ceremony anyway because there’s usually a hanging scroll within a tea house so that’s why I’ve incorporated it,” Whyte said.

“It’s also a traditional part of Japanese culture and to be able to invite a couple of other really high class potter’s to actually help glaze a few bowls I thought was a really good thing too.”

This includes master potter Ted Secombe and ceramic artist Koji Hoashi who collaborated by glazing pieces for the show.

Azukawa also switched mediums for the first time working on 3D, decorating three pieces of pottery for the show.

“That was a new challenge, I thought it would be actually the same, but it was different working with brush on porcelain,” Azukawa said.

“Actually the ink was quite powdery, I couldn’t use like a bleeding effect so that was a big challenge for me to work with but Alistair introduced me to so many different tools and medium and colours... that was another new world.”

Azukawa’s works in the exhibit were mostly

Alistair Whyte’s pottery on display also has descriptions of how the pieces are used during traditional tea ceremonies.

Alistair Whyte and Junko Azukawa have collaborated for YAVA Gallery’s latest exhibit.

Pictures: RENEE WOOD created through lockdown, saying that’s when she was able to step away from traditional Japanese objects.

“I had more time to paint and I started working on Australian subject actually, some gum tree and Australian birds, and so I used to practice more Japanese traditional subject but lockdown made be explore new things,” she said.

As her talents stretch across the canvas, it’s the fluidity and blends that are pleasing to the eye.

This is something Azukawa will be teaching on 7 and 28 August for the introduction to Sumi-e Ink Drawing workshop.

“To get the clean brush marks you have to become brush yourself as one, to become one with your tools.

“The more you practice and the more you experience it, you don’t think, you express yourself without thinking, without planning without without thinking.”

Junko Azukawa’s work being admired at the launch.

Another workshop will also be held on Sunday 7 August where you can learn all about Japanese Tea ceremony - Chado, the way of tea with Chado Urasenke Tankokai Melbourne Association.

The exhibit runs until 21 August at the YAVA Gallery.

Junko worked on three pieces of pottery by Alistair.

An expedition into the world of sound at Tarrawarra

By Renee Wood Everything has a unique sound identity, whether that is through the way we talk, an animals growl or even objects like a car driving past.

Sound is one of our five senses but it’s something that you might not often see explored through an artistic lens.

It’s something that artist Sonia Leber and David Chesworth are inspired by with the pair using sound as a tool for exploration and discovery within a new exhibit at Tarrawarra Museum of Art. Where Lakes Once Had Water showcases sound through sculpture, video and audio mediums, while another exhibit, Rhythms of the Earth, is showing alongside it which is re-stimulating pieces from the museum’s collection.

Where Lakes Once Had Water is a feature two-screen 28 minute sound and video work that was produced from the artists joining a data collection journey with environmental scientists.

In 2018 and 2019, Leber and Chesworth joined the scientists who were investigating changes in the climate, landscape and ecology in the Northern Territory and as they were collecting data on the landscape – they were collecting the sound and vision from what was unfolding.

The exploration took them to the lands and waters of the Mudburra, Marlinja, Jingili, Elliot, Jawoyn and Larrakia communities in the Northern Territory, through environments which were both arid and green.

The artwork was also the inaugural art commission of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodimailcommunity.com.au

Where Lakes Once Had Water installation view. 291503

David Chesworth and Sonia Leber with their work Sound Before Sound 1: One and Three Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS Scores. 291503 versity and Heritage (CABAH) and was commissioned in association with Bundanon.

We often read or discuss data, however the video shows the audience what data looks and sounds like, as viewers listen to the soundtrack created by the gathering of data.

A lot of the sounds are derived from the electromagnetic spectrum which are captured by electronic tools and devices back in the laboratory.

While the sounds from physical collection, such as drilling into the earth or setting up microscopic slides, take on the form of their own instrument.

“I think people are playing the surface, seems like that they’re prodding it, digging into it - like literally playing it like an instru-

ment or seeing what it gives up. So, there’s a human restlessness about prodding the Earth,” Chesworth said.

A second series, Sound Before Sound, is also on display, highlighting an assortment of sound ‘archivists’ through a piano score card, the collection of sounds at the Powerhouse Museum and the lyrebird, an absorber of sounds in its own right.

“It’s like this human desire that we want to understand the world. We have our inner selves that we know and know we’ve got this fascination with wanting to understand everything that’s beyond us,” Chesworth said.

“Artists frame the world in a particular way to show aspects of it that people might not consider.”

The sound works provide an experiential and sonic atmosphere for the museum collection’s exhibit, which features pieces that give insight into the earth’s restlessness and different ways artists have interpreted the climate and environment around them.

Waanyi Artist Judy Watson paintings also support Leber and Chesworth’s works which are a collection of pieces that were created in 2016 that depict aerial shots of local mountains in the Yarra Ranges.

Curator Victoria Lynn said the idea of archives and collection is the undertone of both exhibits.

“They’re interested in the archive, the idea of collecting, so the lyrebird collects sound, the Powerhouse Museum collects sounds of objects, the scientists collect soil samples and then the museum collect,” Ms Lynn said.

“So in a way putting the shows together, it was much about collecting and why we collect and the purpose of collecting as it is about relating to the landscape.”

Both exhibits open Saturday 20 July at Tarrawarra Museum of Art. Tuesday, 2 August, 2022

|

MAIL 25

OPINION

Behind the name Recently a visitor to the Old Lilydale Court House commented on how he loved reading Sandy Ross’ publication What’s Behind the Name? The history of 50 street names of Lilydale.

It reminded me of how difficult it is now to get a park, street or place named as there are so many protocols and organisations which have to be consulted – not just the local council.

In 1892, our councillors had no such restraints. With the growth of towns throughout Lillydale Shire, the time came when the road to Mr Jones house was no longer appropriate, particularly if he had died or moved on.

Council’s solution was to appoint a subcommittee to look at the issue and report back to the council meeting of Saturday, December 17, 1892. The committee’s recommendations were that the south-western riding (Ringwood, Croydon, Mooroolbark and the Dandenongs) should use the names of United Kingdom cities; Eastern Riding (Wandin, Seville and Silvan) the names of foreign cities and the Northwestern Riding (Lilydale, Coldstream, Yering and Gruyere) use Christian names.

It was agreed the councillors should be given the list of roads and the proposed names as they could perhaps improve on them. Cr John Kerr argued if the name was a respectable one it should remain. However if it was unnamed

Looking

back Sue Thompson

Lilydale and District Historical Society president or had a ridiculous name, he said it should have a new name.

Wanting to think about it, councillors deferred the item to the next meeting where each riding reported on progress being made.

A month is a long time in local politics and the councillors had a change of heart. Eastern Riding’s Cr Smith demonstrated how confusing naming roads after foreign cities would be: “Supposing a man was travelling on the main road at Seville and wished to get to South Wandin. He would certainly be perplexed if, after making inquiries, he was told to go on to Constantinople, and then turn to the right and go to Sebastapool, and then to the left to St Petersburg, and then to Timbuctoo. Turn sharp to the right and you will come to the school.

That is South Wandin. Or, again, a man comes

to a junction of three roads and spies a fingerpost. He expects to get information from this, and approaches it and sees – To Potsdam, to Amsterdam, to Rotterdam. In fact the man sees so many dams that he gets away as quickly as possible.” (Lilydale Express February 3,1893) Instead, Cr Smith believed it would be better to use the names of pioneers of the district and if there were not enough, then use the names of the best men of the colony.

The council agreed and referred the matter back to the sub-committee and agreed that the councillors of each riding draw up a list of names.

By March 1893, real progress had been made with the Eastern Riding industriously naming its roads, many after the district’s pioneers.

North-western Riding was slow to act but it also named many of its roads after local pioneers. South-western Riding preferred English cities so today we have Colchester, Hull and Sheffield roads to name but a few.

If anyone would like to buy a copy of What’s Behind a Name? call into the Old Lilydale Court House, 61 Castella Street, order it on-line from our shop at lilydalehistorical.com.au. Cost $7 plus postage. For more information about our society, email us at info@lilydalehistorical or call Sue Thompson on 0475 219 884.

CARTOON

Fine but not best

Bigbug Starring Elsa Zylberstein, Stephane De Groodt and François Levantal Rated MA15+ 3/5 Bigbug is a silly and sweet but overlong science fiction comedy by French auteur Jean-Pierre Jeunet.

In 2050, a computerised home and its robot housekeepers lock their owner Alice (Elsa Zylberstein) and her friends inside during an AI uprising.

The visuals have a vibrant retrofuturistic quality (the CGI is somewhat poor, but this adds to the charm). The human characters have enjoyable friction and sexual tension, but the robot housekeepers’ efforts to understand and protect them – through humour, philosophy and affection – form the film’s intriguing, endearing heart.

Claude Perron plays the earnest, glitching maid Monique with gusto, and François Levantal is genuinely intimidating as the stern, grinning face of the AI revolution (and his design evokes both Robocop and Yul Brynner’s gunslinger android in the 1973 Westworld film).

Unfortunately, Bigbug’s appeal is stretched thin; not everyone will tolerate nearly two hours of bickering suburbanites and will-they, won’t-they dynamics, nor the sitcommy vibe.

The plot is also patchy: there is rarely a sense of danger beyond the AI’s embarrassing punishments, two divorced characters get back together in an undeveloped and unearned reunion, and the AI is defeated by two Deus Ex Machinas (resolutions that come out of nowhere), which stretches credibility even for a goofy comedy. I also can’t tell if the film is too randy – using a deactivated air conditioner to contrive the characters out of their clothes – or typically French.

Bigbug is a horny, corny and decently enjoyable sci-fi comedy available for streaming on Netflix, but I would recommend Jeunet’s Amelie, The City of Lost Children, the underrated Alien Resurrection and especially his pitch-black postapocalyptic comedy Delicatessen over this.

- Seth Lukas Hynes

Highlights for the upcoming Melbourne Writers Festival The Melbourne Writers Festival will take place on September 8-11. The theme this year is “ambition”, showcasing “a thrilling exploration of ambition – denied, thwarted and achieved”.

The event features more than 270 of the world’s most exciting storytellers, with 75 free and paid sessions hosted by State Library Victoria.

There is a 20% discount for those early birds who book their tickets before August 8 (some exclusions apply).

The following are some highlights from this year’s program. Readers are encouraged to find further details on the official website (https://mwf.com.au/).

For biography lovers, the new book Bob Hawke: Demons and Destiny will be revealed, and two renowned biographers will explain the art, ethics and remarkable subjects of their craft. Several memoirs will also be introduced, including but not limited to The Boy in the Dress, Growing Up in Country Australia, After the Tampa, and Unknown: A refugee’s story.

26 MAIL

|

Tuesday, 2 August, 2022

PASSION FOR PROSE WITH CHRISTINE SUN On science, Dr Norman Swan will present his new book So You Want to Live Younger Longer? Various sessions will highlight the ancient science, sophisticated astronomical expertise and incredible feats of innovation achieved by Australia’s First Peoples. Another focus is on some of the surprising experiments that have shaped our world and its future.

Specifically on climate change, the new book Crimes Against Nature will be intro-

duced, and several acclaimed authors will shed light on their exploration of fear, loss and hope in climate fiction. Meanwhile, there will be dialogues on climate fatalism vs denialism, and on the power of the people – the struggles, successes and ambitions of collective action.

Regarding the media, there will be discussions on the future of ABC, the ethics and politics of public debate, the values underpinning news coverage, the challenges facing press freedom and investigative journalism, how to report trauma and elevate the voices of those affected by conflict and tragedy, and how to prevent the proliferation of fake news and disinformation.

Particularly notable are three sessions on international affairs, with Ukrainian ambassador Vasyl Myroshnychenko addressing how Russia’s invasion of his country is reshaping the world, New Yorker writer Joshua Yaffa discussing “Truth, Ambition and Compromise in Putin’s Russia”, and Hong Kong journalist Lou-

isa Lim and Chinese novelist Murong Xuecun presenting “Dispatches from Hong Kong and Wuhan”.

The Festival will feature a diverse range of First Nation writers and writers of colour, with discussions on indigenous feminism, the challenges of living in and between different worlds, the complications of race, language and political upheaval, how to forge new paths in predominantly white professions, and all that is and could exist in different versions of Australia.

And, finally, to celebrate the writing and reading of fiction, there will be author talks and workshops on all sorts of topics and themes.

With the 2022 Miles Franklin-winner Jennifer Down speaking at the Opening Night and Robert Dessoix, recent recipient of the Australian Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature, addressing the Closing Night, the Melbourne Writers Festival is surely a splendid event. This reviewer will see you there. mailcommunity.com.au

Covid slips under radar I have been writing on various topics for a few months now, and the Covid continuum has somehow slipped under my radar.

I’m not saying I have been complacent, with shocking figures coming at me each day on numbers hospitalized and those who have died.

I rarely do this but I am going hard this time against the injustice done to the helpless in our community – Isn’t that what would be expected from a Chaplain?

When I wrote this article I was quoting from an arbitrary date of the 15th of this month which show figures that are staggering. They have got worse to the date of this publication with no reversal in sight.

Political parties of whatever persuasion and of state and federal governments just seem to be throwing the hot rock around from one to another, with an aim to reduce the individual or party pain and the work involved.

In Victoria on the 15th over a 24 hour period, the stats read; 749 in hospital, 31in ICU, 17 deaths, and total deaths this year to the 15th – 4,148.

And yet, there is much common talk around town that ‘it is not as bad as what people say’, and ‘how can you trust what we are told in the media anyway’.

The trouble with that thinking is that it has held back the getting of the third and the fourth jabs.

This then retards the potential for what is called ‘herd’ immunity, Did we challenge the stats of road deaths at their highest of 2888 in 1986? Too right we did.

I hear you saying. “But there are more cars on the road now since 1986. However the road death toll has reduced each year from 1986 until my stats ran out in 2019 @ 1,194.

Unless your family is directly affected, who is ‘crying out’ or ‘marching in the streets’ over this Covid death atrocity?

And as I pointed out in a past article, ‘that number of deaths deeply affects family members and close friends’. So to even attribute 10 (at a very low estimate) of those to each one

Focal Point

Graeme Dawson

who has died, we have 41,480 people grieving deeply over each precious family member lost this year alone.

The dangers at the moment are the most contagious Omicron variants, BA.4 & BA.5, which means it is so important to follow medical advice and get your fourth jab – the booster.

Professorial advice is that the next wave/ variant to hit us will peak mid next month.

In my experience many families fall apart or lose their structure when a parent dies, and to further reflect on this phenomenon, relationships break down through various pressures in coping. Two hundred thousand have filed for divorce in the last two years.

I have also spoken before about the greater number of deaths coming from a more elderly demographic. That then requires special attention and support for that group.

I am privileged to be able to join in on gatherings at the Wandin Senior Citizens Centre, where great support is given to those very people.

Many come by courtesy bus if they don’t drive – other more local folk use their walkers and a small number still drive their own cars.

At eleven am on Thursday mornings around fifty meet for an hour of Bingo, followed by a lovely two course hot meal followed by the option for the ladies to play cards and the men to play pool or carpet bowls.

It is well organized and as I see it, it is just what the doctor would have ordered. ‘Belonging is vital’.

Many Blessings, Graeme Dawson, Chaplain to Community

Performance to watch across the Yarra Ranges Lilydale Athenaeum Theatre presents Cosi It’s 1971 and outside on the streets, Australia is protesting the war in Vietnam. But inside a burned-out theatre, the resident patients of a mental asylum are listening to Mozart, learning their lines and occasionally skipping their medication.

Louis Nowra’s renowned Australian comedy finds light in the darkness and challenges our perceptions about love, madness, and humanity. A darkly funny and deeply moving ensemble piece, Cosi celebrates theatre and its power to transform lives.

Season: 18 August - 3 September Bookings: Monday, Tuesday and Friday 10am – 2pm on 9735 1777.

Burrinja Arts Upwey brings musical wonders The Planets – Inventi/ensemble Come on a journey to outer space with the Inventi Ensemble in this groundbreaking new arrangement of Holt’s The Planets

by Glynn Davie, the ensemble takes this work to a whole new level through this virtuosic for just five players. In addition, this work is partnered by a new composition, From Inner Space by Australian composer Johannes Luebbers commissioned for this project.

· ·

mailcommunity.com.au

Kemp’s curtain call · Season: Saturday 27 August at 1.30pm. · Venue: Burrinja Theatre.

Peaceful Piano with Nat Bartsch and Luke Howard Luke Howard and Nat Bartsch are at the forefront of the growing neoclassical piano movement in Australia. Drawing from classical electronic, film, minimalism and jazz influences, their beautiful music has had a powerful impact on people from all walks of life, connecting with audiences worldwide and being streamed online over 50 million times!

For this special double bill tour, Luke and Nat will each perform a set of their music, joining forces at the end for a special collaboration that blurs the lines of composition and improvisation, acoustic and electronic.

Season: Sunday 28 August at 3pm.

Venue: Burrinja Theatre

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 Kilsyth News & Lotto 520 - 528 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

12539754-AV11-22

OPINION

· ·

Tuesday, 2 August, 2022

|

MAIL 27

networkclassifieds.com.au Trades & Services V Deadline

V Handy Persons

Placing your classified advert is so easy...

SJC HOME MAINTENANCE ‘Your Local’ Qualified Tradesman House & Property Maintenance No job too small Quality work at a great price, Fully insured

Phone: 1300 666 808

(1.5% credit card processing fee applies.)

Hot Winter Specials Ask about our discounted ongoing advertising rates and how choosing more newspapers gives your advertising more impact and saves you money...

Pensioner Discounts • Brivis Gas Ducted Heaters • Daikin & Rinnai Splits • Installs - Service - Repairs • Duct inspections & Repairs

฀ ฀฀ ฀ ฀ ฀

฀ ฀

฀ ฀ ฀

Call Steve 0417 192 009 Call or visit us online! networkclassifieds.com.au

V Carpenters

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.

Carpenter

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

*BO 3PCFSUT

0408 538 121

It is proposed to declare this special charge at the Council meeting to be held on 27 September 2022, or should this meeting not proceed then the next available meeting, after the consideration of the submissions received.

TERMITE CONTROL SPECIALIST

rangerpestcontrol.com.au Free termite quotes - Family owned business ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀

c 1FSHPMBT t %FDLT t "MM $BSQFOUSZ 8PSL t t 0WFS :FBST &YQFSJFODF t

Persons making a written submission to Council are advised that details of their submission (excluding submitter’s names and addresses) will be included a Report to Council at the meeting held when their submissions are considered.

V Electricians

J.L. Hutt Electrical

section of Network Classifieds.

฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀

Find local work in the

Employment section of Network Classifieds.

฀

24 HOUR SERVICE ฀ ฀

฀ ฀

฀ ฀

฀

฀

฀

฀ ฀ ฀ ฀

฀ ฀

฀

฀

฀

฀ ฀

฀

฀

฀

฀

Call for a free quote

0488 097 005

Rebedding & pointing Skylight resealing Written guarantee

12462305-LB39-20

The Re-Roof Man

฀ ฀

฀

฀ ฀

Call Chris 0412 099 142 23 years in roofing leaks

12438941-CG04-20

12560613-HC31-22

฀ ฀

Leak detection & repair Valleys replaced Pensioner discount

All types of Roofs

฀ ฀ ฀

฀ ฀ ฀ ฀

Jason 1300 644 698

฀

฀ ฀ ฀

฀

฀ ฀ ฀

฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀

฀

฀ ฀

฀

฀ ฀

Paul 0418 570 231

V Guttering

Lic. 25035

Need your gutters cleaned?

Call today to

* Safety Trained & Fully Insured organise a FREE * Wet/Dry VACUUM cleaning no-obligation * Professional & Friendly Service quote.

12550881-AI21-22

Real Estate

฀ ฀

V Roofing

section of Network Classifieds.

www.yarraranges.vic.gov.au

฀

฀ Insured

General Classifieds Buy, Rent & Sell in the

www.fairbairns.com.au

V Pest Control 12345326-PB14-17

฀

Email: roadsforcommunity@yarraranges.vic.gov.au Post: Yarra Ranges Council, PO Box 105, Lilydale, Vic 3140 Hand Deliver: At any of Council’s Community Links

9870 7059

REC 17042 PIC 38148 AU 06212

Small Job Specialist

Please address submission to: Public Submission – Special Charge Scheme

12541588-SN12-22

V Builders & Building Services

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 by 31 August 2022 as follows:

networkclassifieds.com.au

V Heating

VISA/MASTERCARD/EFTPOS/BANK TRANSFER

12493755-SN19-21

A copy of the proposal to levy is available for inspection at the Yarra Ranges Council Community Links, 15 Anderson Street, Lilydale and 21 Main Street, Monbulk during office hours until 31 August 2022.

Tammi Rose Chief Executive Officer

www.sjchomemaintenance.com.au

We accept payment by:

Deadline for all classifications is 4pm Friday.

Plans of the designated areas, showing properties involved in these special charge schemes, can be viewed online by searching Council’s website for the Agenda of the 26 July 2022 Council meeting.

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.

Call Mick 0424 414 495

(include your name, address and phone number)

0400 877 774 1300 654 253

1129931-RC16-14

The special charge is intended to be declared in respect of those properties having abuttal to or gaining primary access via, the above listed roads.

Email: sales@networkclassifieds.com.au

12358958-PB30-17

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 26 July 2022 has resolved of its intention to declare a special charge for the Alfred Street & John Street, Wandin North – Tainton Street & Railway Parade, Wandin North and Cedar Court, Burns Way, Loch Avenue, Harvest Close & Mayview Drive, Monbulk 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.

Call our helpful classified team between 8:30am-5pm Mon-Fri for FREE advice!

C1084033-JO31-13

SPECIAL CHARGE SCHEMES ROAD IMPROVEMENT WORKS

12402861-RA44-18

Want to place an ad but not sure where to start?

V Public Notices and Event

12456635-CG32-20

General Notices

paulnobes@live.com.au

Local professionals in our

Trades & Services section of Network Classifieds.

guttervac.com.au

12454729-SG29-20

28 MAIL

|

Tuesday, 2 August, 2022

mailcommunity.com.au

NEWS

CEO Natalie Sullivan, Board Chair Judith Woodland, Minister for Corrections Sonya Kilkenny and Labor candidate for Northern Victoria James McWhinney.

Picture: SUPPLIED

Minister for Corrections Sonya Kilkenny being shown through the facility.

Boost for rehab support Victorians struggling with addiction will benefit from bigger and better support housing to help them break the cycle of re-offending and get their lives back on track – which means a safer community for everyone.

Minister for Corrections, Youth Justice and Victim Support Sonya Kilkenny opened the refurbished Eastern Access Community Health (EACH) facility in Healesville today, which includes an additional 12-bed residence made up of accessible single and double rooms.

Ms Kilkenny said a safe and stable home is vital when it comes to assisting people to get their lives back on track.

“We know addiction can be difficult to break free from, but the important support provided at these facilities help to stop the cy-

cle, meaning less offending, fewer victims and a safer Victoria for all,” she said.

The Andrews Labor Government invested more than $2.5 million in the refurbishment - to better support people struggling with addiction to live independently and build themselves a better life.

The funding has also delivered a new community building featuring a large dining hall and outdoor space, meeting spaces, counselling rooms, and offices which will support rehabilitation and access to therapeutic services.

Run and managed by EACH, the facility focuses on its alcohol and other drugs (AOD) residential rehabilitation program and provides a therapeutic drug and alcohol treat-

ment program within an environment that is supervised 24-hours per day by a range of multidisciplinary health services staff.

Residents are able to access drug and alcohol counselling, as well as other local EACH services, including financial and mental health counselling, disability support and therapies such as exercise physiology, yoga and mindfulness mediation.

Minister for Housing Danny Pearson said many of us will have known someone who has struggled with addiction.

“The dedicated team from EACH provides at-risk Victorians with around-the-clock care and a range of support services to support their needs and help them build brighter futures,” he said.

AND REMOVED • WOODCHIPPING AND STUMPGRINDING • QUALIFIED ARBORIST FREE • PROMPT RELIABLE SERVICE QUOTES • EXCELLENT RATES

12499475-CG25-21

DIN TREE SERVICE WA•N TREES PRUNED, LOPPED, FELLED

ADVERTISERS in this section are qualified practitioners and offer nonsexual services.

ADVERTISE with us and get better results ฀

฀ ฀ ฀

฀

DAWSONS

฀

฀ ฀ ฀

฀ ฀ ฀

฀ ฀ ฀ ฀

฀ ฀

฀

฀ ฀

฀

฀

฀

฀

฀

TREE SERVICES

V

Pets & Services

Anyone advertising a puppy, dog, kitten or cat in Victoria for sale or re-homing will need a source number from the Pet Exchange Register and a microchip identification number.

It is now an offence to advertise unless the source number and microchip identification number is included in the advertisement or notice.

For further information, call 136 186 or visit animalwelfare.vic.gov.au

section of Network Classifieds.

mailcommunity.com.au

Motoring V

Positions Vacant

• Animal handling • Petting Zoo • Micro-business • Fish tank maintenance $25 p/h equiv.

Please note these are supported jobs and internships offered to young Victorians with neurodiverse barriers.

Neurodiverse and intellectual disability applicants encouraged to apply at: www.neurodiversity.org.au/careers Or phone (03) 5261 4172 Neurodiversity Victoria

12481756-DL07-21

Find your Local Specialist in our

General Notices

The Victorian Equal Opportunity Act 1995 makes it unlawful for an advertiser to show any intention to discriminate on the basis of sex, pregnancy, race, age, marital status, political or religious belief or physical features, disability, lawful sexual activity/sexual orientation, HIV/AIDS status or on the basis of being associated with a person with one of the above characteristics, unless covered by an exception under the Act. As Network Classifieds could be legally liable if an unlawful advertisement is printed, Network Classifieds will not accept advertisements that appear to break the law. For more information about discrimination in advertising, contact your legal advisers or the Equal Opportunity Commission.

Caravans & Trailers

SUPPORTED JOBS and sponsored internships in:

☎ 9720 5111

www.transformedtreeservices.com.au

DISCRIMINATION IN ADVERTISING IS UNLAWFUL

ADVERTISERS PLEASE NOTE

Employment V

• No Fuss • No Mess • No Stress

Call the team today 0421 574 444

CALL 1300 666 808

Call Matt 0407 322 469

12496966-LB23-21

• LARGE TREE SPECIALISTS • HEDGE TRIMMING EXPERTS • STUMP GRINDING • MULCH AVAILABLE • CONSULTING ARBORIST

CALL US ON 0458 735 250

Massage Therapists

Cut & Catch Tree Services

0473 326 333 $20 MILLION INSURANCE

V

Tree Lopping/Surgery

V 30 YEARS’ EXPERIENCE

Employment

Buy & Sell in the

Motoring section of Network Classifieds.

Professional Services section of Network Classifieds.

12557528-NG28-22

Tree Lopping/Surgery

FULLY INSURED

12543759-AI14-22

V

General Classifieds

12423634-SN31-19

Trades & Services

Maroondah Addictions Recovery Program (MARP) merged its services with EACH in 2014 and together they provide affordable, safe and secure accommodation for people with complex needs who are at risk of contact with the justice system. It offers them support through a variety of wrap around services.

The funding is part of the Labor Government’s Building Maintenance Stimulus Package, which has dedicated almost $500 million since 2020 to build and upgrade community and public housing.

This is all part of the Building Works package, made possible in partnership with the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing.

EVERNEW CARAVAN E series 2003 full off road model. Reg no: P85832.

Tandem axle, front checker-plate stone protection, body 17ft, o/all 22ft, ATM rating 2070. Q /S grand bed with i/s mattress, large combo toilet/shower recess, TV with wind-up antenna, gas cooktop, oven, microwave, radio, 3 way high set fridge, Electrolux ceilling mounted air conditioner, gas/electric hot water unit, large awning & Tebbs annex, Trailmate hydraulic jack, factory fitted solar system with deep cycle battery, twin long range water tanks, twin gas bottles and jerry cans front mounted, twin spare wheels, rear bumper mounted, all tyres as new. Health reasons force this sale. Fully equipped for travel. $28,500. Phone 0419 206 410. Alexandra.

Want to place an ad but not sure where to start?

Call our helpful classified team between 8:30am-5pm Mon-Fri for FREE advice!

Call or visit us online! networkclassifieds.com.au

Tuesday, 2 August, 2022

|

MAIL 29

SPORT

Lots of fight on the pitch

By Peter Stephenson On Sunday morning, a blustery wind and a heavy pitch saw Women’s State 3 East’s most significant match of the season.

Banyule City, still to drop a point, are long odds-on for the title. Below them, Clifton Hill were second, and Barkers were third, three points behind them. Barkers needed to win to have a realistic chance of overhauling their opponents.

Forward Lisa Walsh began the game playing deeper than usual, with Barkers relying on the pacy enthusiasm of Charlotte McCullough and the experience and guile of Amy D’Ortenzio up-front. Barkers had almost all of the territory early on, playing with the wind behind them. Their best chance of the game was to be their first.

On six minutes, Walsh delivered a corner from the left to the near post. The ball ricocheted around before heading for Peta Richardson, who was almost on the Hillmen’s goalline. However, it came at her too quickly, and the ball deflected off her to safety.

Three minutes later, Hillmen’s best player, Zoe Markopoulos, broke from midfield. However, Walsh is so fast that she caught her and shut her down superbly. Three minutes later, Hillmen chipped the ball out to the right wing to Gabriella Panagopoulos. She hit a low ball into the near post, but Barkers keeper Ashleigh Fraraccio gathered comfortably. Barkers responded on 17 minutes with a long shot from Richardson which the Hillmen’s keeper initially fumbled, and collected at the second attempt.

Clifton Hill were now coming into the game more, and on the half-hour, a quick break led to a ball out to the right and a shot which went wide. Hillmen kept up the pressure with a goalbound shot, but Anjali Lobo was wellplaced to block.

Ten minutes before the break, Barkers won a free-kick on the left. Jordyn Clausen floated

The Barkerettes went into the match against Clifton Hill of the back of a stellar win against Malvern City. the ball into the box and McCullough managed a slight touch to send the ball wide.

At the end of the half, Hillmen tested Barkers twice. First they raided down the left wing, the ball was laid back and the shot was saved.

Then another ball in from the left led to a shot being blocked. Half-time 0-0. Barkers began well but Clifton Hill put Barkers under pressure as the half continued.

As the second half began, Clifton Hill, with the wind at their backs, tried their luck from distance a couple of times. The first once saw Fraraccio parry then gather, and the second went wide. Barkers came back through Isabella Vorpasso, who tried to release D’Ortenzio, but as usual she was closely marked and could not break free. Then Clifton Hill broke down the left, but Barkers were saved by a great tackle from Lobo.

The most crucial action of the game came on the hour mark. Clifton Hill attacked and found their striker in on goal with only the keeper to beat. As she shot, the ball seemed destined for the far corner of the net, but Fraraccio dived and blocked the shot, then saved the follow-up as well, injuring herself in the process.

Barkers’ best chance of the half came six minutes later, when Coad found D’Ortenzio near the right byline. She shot from a tight angle, forcing the keeper to save at her near post.

The last 10 minutes saw Clifton Hill put Barkers under siege and winning a number of corners. Two minutes from time, a long, high shot from Clifton Hill had Barkers’ hearts in their mouths, but Fraraccio was not going to be beaten today. She beat the ball away before gathering, and the sides had shared the points.

Picture: EASTERN SUBURBS FOOTBALL

Full-time: Clifton Hill 0-0 Mooroolbark.

This was a gritty display from Barkers, in difficult conditions, against a strong opponent. It should be noted that, Banyule aside, Clifton Hill have won every other game, but against Barkers they have a loss and a draw. Unfortunately for Barkers, though, this result almost certainly means Clifton Hill will get second.

With three games left, Barkers are three points adrift and have a tougher run home.

On Saturday night, the Barkers’ men’s side, in second place, travelled to ninth-placed Heatherton United. However, the reserves game was forfeited by Heatherton due to their having insufficient players. Then the senior game was called off by the referee due to an unplayable pitch. The senior game will be rescheduled to next week’s catch-up round, with the venue yet to be decided.

No wins for Lilydale up against local rivals Montrose

By Callum ‘Articles’ Ludwig A hotly-anticipated clash between local rivals Lilydale and Montrose took place in Round 16, as the Falcons made the short trip to the home of the Demons.

The Lilydale U19.5s kicked off the day with an early 8.50am start to make room for the Senior Women’s game to follow, and looked to be still asleep, with a disappointing 17.12, 114 to 0.3, 3 defeat.

In a grudge match like this one, the Dales were left dispirited by the performance and will vow to rectify their form in the final two matches of the season before heading into a finals series.

Returning from Covid, key defender Astin Bucci’s frustrations resulted in a first-quarter yellow card and reflected the game as Lilydale struggled to get past Montrose’s surge football and land a blow of their own on the scoreboard.

The ever-consistent Zac ‘Chicken Schnitty’ Carolan was a scarce positive on the day for the Dales, as his work in the midfield gave Lilydale most of their forward entries but a few too many uncharacteristically down days from multiple players led to a result few in blue and gold will be keen to see again.

Austin ‘Oz’ White can also be commended, not necessarily for his performance on the field, but off it as he faced the embarrassment of his teammates ‘helping’ him support his better half in her own game which followed.

The U19.5s will be turning out in droves at training this week and are committed to ALL players in the side staying for dinner after Thursday night training.

Despite the big loss, the U19.5s are still fifth on the ladder and are guaranteed a finals place as other results fell their way.

The Reserves were up next for Lilydale after the Women’s game and went down in 30 MAIL

|

Tuesday, 2 August, 2022

Lilydale’s 100-gamer Mitchell ‘DeFran’ De Franceschi celebrates a goal earlier in the season.

Picture: SUPPLIED a commendable loss to the second-placed Montrose side 10.15, 75 to 4.7, 31.

Notably, the battle in the midfield was very competitive as both sides saw plenty of football.

While Ethan ‘Pony’ Filliponi saw beston-ground honours head his way as he held down the fort down back, Trent ‘Chunk’ Davison, Matthew ‘Dip’ Di Pietrantonio and young Kyan ‘Poodle’ Ellis were influential in providing opportunities for Jarrod ‘Jazz’ Thompson and Cam ‘Fridge’ Oude-Meilink deep in the forward line, rounding out the best players.

Chunk almost had the supporting U19.5s

players lose their minds with an outrageous attempt on goal from the bottom right pocket of the slanted Montrose ground, keeping the ball in play with one hand before throwing it on the left boot before it just drifted across the face.

Jazz, Fridge, Chunk and Jordan ‘Tubes’ Trollope were the Dales goalkickers on the day.

The Reserves remain ninth on the ladder.

The Seniors were out to repeat the trick against Montrose from earlier in the season to celebrate the 100th game of everyone’s favourite Naughty European, Mitchell ‘DeFran’ De Franceschi. Unfortunately, it was not to

be as Montrose came away with the win, the final scores reading 13.11, 89 to 8.8, 56.

While the result wasn’t ideal, it was through no fault of DeFran, who was Lilydale’s best in his milestone match, followed

by Jesse ‘Burgers’ Ebert, Douglas ‘Marleys’ Wootton, Liam ‘Jeffa’ Jeffs, Marc Massarotti and Harry ‘TikToks’ Mitchell.

TikToks’, in only his third Senior match impressed again with another two goals, matched by small forward compatriot Macauley ‘Bags’ Beckwith. Single goalkickers were Oscar ‘Big O’ Aliotta, Jordan ‘Jaws’ Jaworski, Isaac ‘Thumb-Thumb’ Biasuzzo and DeFran.

Rumours of an unofficial, previously unheard-of and definitely not made up petition, for goals in the 1’s to count as five goals towards the tally of a player who has played more than 9 games in the Reserves in the competition’s goalkicking count could rightly see TikToks soar towards the top of the goalkicking charts in the 2’s to make up for the bags of goals he would’ve kicked had his services not been required at Senior level.

Lilydale officials are not expected to table this to the EFL at any given point in time, ever, but we can dream.

The Seniors are ninth on the ladder.

Next week, Lilydale takes on Wantirna South in the Falcon’s last home game of the season, which will also celebrate Past Players Day and the draw of the Future Fund raffle, where for a $50 ticket, entrants receive a guaranteed 1 hour of free beverages at the clubrooms from 7pm and are in with a chance to win one of five prizes up to $3000.

More details can be found on the club’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/LilydaleFootballNetballClub.

Be sure to reference Callum Ludwig if you decide to enter the raffle so your loyal scribe looks like a really great and proactive member of the club. mailcommunity.com.au

SPORT

Seville basketball players would like to see a court installed in their town.

Picture: UNSPLASH

Push for local courts

By Micah Edmeades

The Seville Women’s side after their win over Thornton-Eildon.

Picture: SUPPLIED

That final fever

By Callum Ludwig With a thrilling 27 to 22 elimination final win over Thornton-Eildon, the Seville Senior Women’s side’s first-ever final series got off to a great start.

The Outer East Women’s Football Finals Series got underway on Sunday 31 July, with the competition is split in a conference style, where the nine competing sides played each other in a home-and-away season before splitting into their conferences come finals time.

Seville is in Conference Two. Coach Geordie Scott said he and the team are excited and nervous heading deeper into the finals.

“It’s been a very good development year and we will see what happens,” he said.

“The girls by the end of this will have 15 to 25 games under their belt, so we are starting to get some experience around.”

There are four sides in Conference Two with Seville: Belgrave, Monbulk and Thornton-Eil-

don. Belgrave and Monbulk faced each other as the highest-placed Conference Two sides on the overall ladder, and Seville defeated Thornton-Eildon at 1.30pm in Healesville.

Mr Scott said his side’s strengths lie in their fitness.

“Overall, we are generally a fit side. That’ll be the thing that helps us out at Healesville, we should be able to run out the game,” he said.

“If we can keep running all day and Thornton can’t, that might get us over the line. We’ve been pretty even with them this year, we’ve won one and they won one, so it’ll be a good contest.”

As the winner, Seville will face Monbulk before the winner of that game faces the Belgrave in the Grand Final.

Mr Scott said the side had just hoped to get a win this year.

“We’ve achieved that so anything else has been a bonus, and we are happy to have been a part of it,” he said.

“We are a developing side, while some like

Belgrave have been playing for seven or eight years, and it’s only our first.”

Seville formed a conjoined side with Woori Yallock in the cut-short 2021 season, before becoming a standalone team in 2022.

Mr Scott said having a full season for the side this year has been massive.

“I think mentally this year has been a real release for the players, a lot of the women work casual or part-time jobs and lockdown bit them in the backside financially, while this year has given them some real freedom,” he said.

“It was a lot easier this year, even though we got hit with the Covid stick a couple of weeks ago and couldn’t field a side, as everyone has.

Everybody has battled for it this year, and the sun will rise again tomorrow win, lose or draw, I’ll still be very proud of them.”

Madi Ward might well be Seville’s X-Factor in the finals, having featured in their best players seven times this season and having kicked seven goals, each the most of any Seville player.

Dogs come out on top against the Hawks

By Nick Adam It was third vs fifth at The Kennel on Saturday and Wandin came out firing from the first bounce and ended up coming away with a 16.14, 110 to 6.10, 46 win.

Consistent pressure from Wandin at the contest allowed the Dogs half-back line to control the game, with the forwards reaping the rewards.

Despite the result, Monbulk has had a great year thus far and will be looking to ensure they get a chance to reverse the result in the finals.

Wandin’s best were Chayce Black, John Ladner, Tom Merlino, Daniel Bailey, Patty Bruzzese and Harrison van Duuren.

Goalkickers on the day were Merlino with 4, Clinton Johnson and Patrick Hodgett with 3, Brodie Atkins, Harrison Byrne, Joshua Chamberlain, Brendan Foley, van Duuren and Bruzzese with 1.

Other results: Wandin Reserves defeated Monbulk Reserves 4.13, 37 to 1.4, 10.

Wandin’s best were Jarrod Rowe, Jarrad Glenn, Aaron Mandl, Rhys Deray, Hunter Coghlan and Zachary Drysdale.

Goalkickers were Aaron Mandl with 2 and Riley Dawson-Muir and Jackson Byrne with 1.

· · ·

mailcommunity.com.au

Wandin’s Footballers picked up strong wins at home against Monbulk.

Netball: Wandin 17Blue were defeated by Seville 17Blue 11 to 57. Wandin’s best were Abby Akers, Hannah Andrews and Alyssa Ohi. Alyssa Ohi shot 6 goals and Ava Upton 5.

Wandin D Grade had a bye.

Wandin C Grade defeated Monbulk 34 to 13.

Wandin’s best were Liana Baker, Rhiannon Parker and Issy Smith. Issy Smith shot 25 goals and Bianca Zoric 9.

· · ·

Picture: ON FILE

· Wandin B Grade was defeated by Monbulk

·

38 to 43. Wandin’s best were Madi Rouget, Holly McInerney and Taiysha Wallis. Kailah Meager shot 17 goals, Cassidy Iedema 16 and Taiysha Wallis 5.

Wandin A Grade was defeated by Monbulk 47 to 55. Wandin’s best were Charlotte Sparkes, Kiara Smith and Brittany Tait. Lauren Spinks shot 26 goals and Yasmine O’Brien 21.

Seville basketball players are hoping council will consider adding a local court to the town with many finding themselves driving to other towns to play.

Seville does possess a water play park and a recreation reserve however, residents would like to see further improvements to support more sports.

In 2020, the Yarra Ranges council announced several new features to be added to the Seville Recreation Reserve, but little has been done in two pandemic riddled years.

One of the obvious needs is a basketball court with local resident Cooper, who has been playing basketball for nearly 7 years, making the journey to Kilsyth to casually shoot at a court.

“It’s 15-20 minutes away from my house,” he explained.

“I can’t even walk down to a basketball court if I just want to shoot hoops.”

A basketball court at the Seville Recreation Reserve would be logical considering the reserve’s other facilities and its location near the main township.

With fuel prices going through the roof and the price of casual shooting at local courts going up, inconvenience is at an all time high.

“I could just walk down and it would be much easier,” Cooper said.

Director Environment and Infrastructure, Mark Varmalis said council is keeping in constant close contact with local sporting clubs and has made inroads into the Seville Recreation Reserve Master Plan, developed in March 2020.

“Unfortunately the development of that plan coincided with the beginning of the pandemic, however despite this and the storm impacts from last year, we’ve managed to get some of these projects either completed or underway,” Mr Varmalis said.

This year, council has installed a new netball court with LED lighting at the Reserve, new stalls and wash areas for the Pony Club, while the redevelopment of the number one oval is also currently underway and is due for completion in April next year.

“This is in addition to works completed in 2019, such as new netball changerooms and toilets in the water play area and an upgrade of the tennis facilities, which included a new synthetic surface, LED lighting, fencing and landscaping,” he said.

“The financial impacts of the pandemic and storm have no doubt restricted our ability to deliver some of the other projects as quickly as we’d like, but we’ll continue to make progress with the Master Plan and push for funding from relevant state and federal government programs when they arise to assist.”

Tuesday, 2 August, 2022

|

MAIL 31

12560896-MS31-22

32 MAIL

|

Tuesday, 2 August, 2022

mailcommunity.com.au