Mail - Lilydale Star Mail - 5th December 2023

Tuesday, 5 December, 2023

Lilydale

Mail

Casey ‘abolished’ on the table

Saying no to family violence for 16 Days

LTAG heats up for summer events

See real estate liftout inside

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PROPERTY GUIDE

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Local hero

Mount Evelyn’s Suzie Ratcliffe was named Humanitarian of the Year by the Fred Hollows Foundation for Leave A Light On.

Picture: SUPPLIED

Mount Evelyn’s Suzie Ratcliffe began Leave A Light On eight years ago to spread awareness and offer support to the families of long term missing persons in this country.

Last week she was honoured with the Fred Award for Humanitarian of the Year for incredible efforts to share and find answers on the disappearances of a number of people.

As someone who has been impacted herself by the loss of a loved one, Suzie knows the pain and feelings of helplessness that come when years go by without answers.

It was this that sparked the decision to start her not-for-profit.

To read more about her story, turn to page 6

Bring back pool Residents of Kilsyth have taken up their own action to reinstate a pool in the local area after Yarra Ranges Council voted to decommission the decades-old pool in October.

Calling on the council to rebuild the Kilsyth pool by way of a petition, it has so far reached over 400 signatures, with a six month run period to garner as much support as possible.

Angered by the quick action of the council to vote through a motion without any consultation with the community, lead petitioner Janis

Floyd said “they’ve taken it away now and we want it back now“.

The petition asks for a 50 metre pool, as well as a 25 metre for exercise, alongside rehabilitation offerings at a better standard than what was there.

Ms Floyd said with all the land at the Hawthory Road site, giving the basics now so children can continue learning to swim and the elderly have exercise classes, could be expanded in the future to provide the gym, cafe, childcare

and wellness centres people expect from aquatic facilities.

Yarra Ranges Councillor Len Cox also expressed his dismay at the demolition of the pool, calling it “a great shame“ for the suburbs of Mooroolbark, Kilsyth, Montrose, Mount Evelyn and Chirnside Park.

“It was so inconsiderate for the majority of people living in Kilsyth, Mooroolbark, even parts of Lilydale and even over to Mount Evelyn, it was so thoughtless,” he said.

The decommissioning of the Kilsyth Centenary Pool was approved at the Tuesday 24 October council meeting and had structurally been demolished by the end of that same week, causing the stir among community members to begin the petition.

“When they made that decision on the Tuesday, within three days the [dome] was gone,“ Ms Floyd said.

To read the full story, turn to page 3

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NEWS

Police work to monitor the scene and dissipate disruptive onlookers.

Picture: CALLUM LUDWIG

Emergency services crews tune in for the briefing.

Picture: CALLUM LUDWIG

Training for rescue success

By Callum Ludwig Local emergency services came together to train a crucial cog in their critical response efforts on Tuesday 28 November.

Ensuring clear communication was the key focus of CFA, Victoria Police and Ambulance Victoria (AV) personnel in a road-rescue training session held at the Wandin East Recreation Reserve.

Captain of the Wandin Fire Brigade, which has a specialist road rescue team, Darryn Goss said that given the amount of jobs that the agencies do together, the session was brought about to make sure that they could work together, understand each other’s needs and requirements and to positively impact the community when they’re in their time of need.

“This is hopefully going to be the first of many interagency exercises that we undertake, we’re always getting new responders in the area and you don’t see motor vehicle accidents or road crash rescue every day so it’s a unique skill set and a unique outcome,” he said.

“Being exposed to the hustle and bustle and the noise that happens at an incident, it helps you understand what you need to do to have better outcomes.”

Multiple scenarios were set up throughout the reserve including a car rollover and a collision with a tree, with Wandin Fire Brigade members and friends also playing the part of patients or disruptive onlookers.

Clinical Support Officer at Ambulance Victoria Peter Godwin from their side of things, they need their guys to understand that the brigade and police are in charge of the rescue and the scene.

“They need to know who is in charge of each individual unit so that they can then liaise with them when required about what we need versus what is actually able to happen at the time,” he said.

“Without that communication, you can end up with a bit of a dog’s breakfast where people want things done but don’t speak to the right people from the right service to ascertain who actually can do it or if it is achievable.”

Planning between the agencies to bring the session together had been ongoing for about a year and there’s hope to continue the practice annually.

Senior Sergeant at Lilydale Police Station Mark Knight said they tell their people to take away something from the night that resonates with them.

“Even if it’s just one thing they’ve learnt, when we go into the line of fire, that’s where it’ll come out and they’ll know they can bring that to the table,” he said.

Acting Senior Sergeant Jo Konomas said there’s a lot of experience within each agency and even more when you get into discussions at the scene so it’s important to hear everyone’s viewpoints.

“It’s about drawing on that experience from everyone else and being prepared to challenge each other as an agency and put our heads together to come up with the best result,” she said.

Arriving to a road crash rescue incident is challenging even for the most well-prepared emergency services personnel and there are a number of ways witnesses or those involved in the accident can make the process as easy as possible.

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Tuesday, 5 December, 2023

CFA rescue crews work to rescue a patient.

All involved.

If you witness an accident, make yourself and/or your vehicle safe and call Triple Zero immediately (000). Remain near the scene and if you can but safely away from the crash as you may be required to make a statement to police. Do not attempt to remonstrate with or interrupt emergency services on the scene, but you can speak to police if they approach you or ask to take a statement.

If you cannot remain near the scene, provide your details to police if appropriate or make a statement at your local police station or via the Police Assistance line on 131 444 as soon as you can.

If you are in an accident, check yourself for any serious injuries and for hazards in the vehicle before trying to leave it to assist any other

Picture: DARRYN GOSS

Picture: DARRYN GOSS

CFA crews arrive to begin rescue procedures.

Picture: CALLUM LUDWIG

persons involved and call triple Zero (000) if someone hasn’t already.

Drivers involved in an accident are legally required to exchange details with any other driver or the owner of any property that is damaged before leaving the scene, whether somebody is hurt or not.

If police attend, they will usually test drivers involved for alcohol or other drugs and it is a serious offence to refuse this test.

If possible, write down everything you can remember about the incident, including the time, date and location where the accident happened, names and contact details of any witnesses, an estimation of the speed you were travelling at and weather conditions.

Wandin Fire Brigade 4th Lieutenant and Rescue Controller Phillip Smith said road rescue a true team response from all agencies and everyone has a role to play.

“From our point of view, it’s pretty clear on fires or community safety incidents or medical incidents who’s in charge but a crash can involve everything from rescue to fire suppression, patient care, traffic management and potentially criminal investigation,” he said.

“Running scenarios like this are really key to not only practice the practicalities of going through a scene and the scenarios that we’re going to do, but also in just getting to know the faces of these guys and girls that have come out to play tonight and will be the ones we see on the scene.” mailcommunity.com.au

NEWS

IN BRIEF Croydon assault arrest

Petitioners got creative, with no public pool, a shell pool ‘the only pool in Kilsyth’.

Demolition of the dome began just days after Yarra Ranges Council made the decision to decommission the asset.

‘Rebuild pool’ calls

By Mikayla van Loon Outraged and shocked is how some Kilsyth residents described their reaction to the permanent closure of the Kilsyth Centenary Pool last month.

Now taking action into their own hands, a newly formed group has started a petition to rebuild a pool on the same Hawthory Road site.

Lead petitioner Janis Floyd was “shocked with the suddenness” of the decision by Yarra Ranges Council and the immediacy of removing the infamous dome.

“That decision within the [aquatic] strategy was pushed forward to a council meeting and ruled upon before people even got to read the strategy itself,” she said.

“The second thing was that when they made that decision on the Tuesday, within three days the [dome] was gone.”

Walling Ward councillor Len Cox also expressed his outrage at the lack of consultation, telling Star Mail he was “disappointed that decision was made”.

“They brought out the aquatic program for the future and they’re getting a response from the public but the main part of that aquatic future was Kilsyth Pool,” he said.

“That was the one part they don’t want the public to give any information on, they don’t want to hear from the public.”

Calling it an “inconsistency” with the council’s overall consultation process, Cr Cox said the “council made a very bad mistake”.

Having been part of the council in the 1980s when the dome infrastructure was constructed, Cr Cox said he was well aware “the pool itself has been going downhill” but it was an important asset to the community.

“It’s been terrific for the public and even up until they [temporarily] closed it six months ago, it still was getting over 100,000 visits a year, which is only marginally less than what the other two indoor pools get,” he said.

Garnering over 450 signatures in a week on the petition, both online and in physical form at the Kilsyth Festival, Ms Floyd said all it asks is for the council to essentially rebuild what existed at the site.

“We want them now to build an upgraded aquatic facility on the pool site and basically, we want to replace the dome with a solid structure, rebuild the 50 metre pool and a dedicated 25 metre pool for people to do their exercise,” she said.

“The petition doesn’t ask to build new gymnasiums, childcare facilities, wellness facilities, cafes, however, in the future, they can because there’s a lot of land there.”

Maroondah Crime Investigation Unit detectives charged a 29-year-old man after a woman was allegedly assaulted in Croydon last week.

It is alleged a 23-year-old Croydon woman was walking along Alfrick Road when she was approached from behind and grabbed by an unknown man just before 7.30am.

Police were called and arrested the man a short time later.

The Croydon woman was assessed by paramedics on scene.

A Croydon man has been charged with kidnapping, false imprisonment, possess controlled weapon and other assault related offences.

He has been remanded to appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 19 February.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or crimestoppersvic.com.au

Fire danger period

Residents Chris Dowling and Janis Floyd are leading the petition to rebuild the Kilsyth Centenary Pool.

Pictures: SUPPLIED

The fire danger period will be enforced for residents of the Yarra Ranges, Maroondah and Knox from mid-December.

CFA has announced fire restrictions for the three Local Government Areas (LGAs) beginning 1am on Monday 18 December.

Once the fire danger period has begun, fires cannot be lit in open air without a permit from CFA or a municipal fire prevention officer.

Fire danger periods are based on local conditions and take into account fuel moisture, fuel loads, weather and rainfall.

Residents are encouraged to burn off any garden waste they wish to prior to 18 December and when doing so to register their burnoff online at firepermits.vic.gov.au, by calling 1800 668 511 or by filling out a Burn Off Notification Form and emailing it to burnoffs@esta. vic.gov.au If you have any green waste to dispose of once the Fire Danger Period is in place, please do so by placing it in your FOGO bin.

The fire danger period for the three LGAs is expected to end on 1 May 2024.

Lilydale thefts Demolition saw workers and excavators pull down the structure.

The former iconic dome was removed.

The estimated cost of rebuilding the Kilsyth Pool to a safe standard was said to be $6 million by built environment and infrastructure director Hjalmar Philipp at the Tuesday 24 October council meeting.

“That facility could be built at a relatively low cost in a short timeframe,” Ms Floyd said.

“The council might say, ‘yes, we’ll do it. It’s a 40 year plan’. We want it now and that can’t be emphasised enough. They’ve taken it away now and we want it back now. So we want it prioritised above the Monbulk’s and above the Lilydale’s.

“Because we’re in the urban area, these are the people that use it.”

Cr Cox said the $6 million price tag on rebuilding the pool was “cheap by comparison” to the $90 million proposal for a new aquatics centre in Lilydale.

“That’s the only pool they’ve got. It’s a great shame. For that $6 million, that would have kept that population going for the next 10 or 12 years, until eventually we could build a new one that’s planned to be built at Lilydale but nobody knows where it’s going,” he said.

“It was so inconsiderate for the majority of people living in Kilsyth, Mooroolbark, even parts of Lilydale and even over to Mount Evelyn, it was so thoughtless.”

Around half of the total Yarra Ranges population resides in the urban parts of the shire and will now have to travel to the Yarra Centre in Yarra Junction, Monbulk Aquatic Centre, Croydon Aquahub or Ringwood’s Aquanation.

The petition also encourages the council to invest in clean energy usage and to work towards getting the pool to be carbon neutral.

“If you’ve got something carbon neutral, it can be cash flow positive,” Ms Floyd said.

Planning to leave the petition running for six months, Ms Floyd said the aim was to get 10,000 signatures in that time.

“We want to beat the 150 Cambridge Road petition and we want to get it in a short timeframe,” Ms Floyd said.

Find the petition by going to petitions.net/ build_an_upgraded_modern_aquatic_facility_on_the_kilsyth_centenary_pool_site_in_vic

Yarra Ranges Detectives are seeking information about a series of thefts from motor vehicles in the Mangans Road, Lilydale area overnight on 5-6 November.

Police are seeking the identity of a male captured on CCTV allegedly trying car doors in the area on the night of the offences.

If you have any information regarding the identity of the male, or any other information about the offences, please contact Yarra Ranges Crime Investigation Unit on 9739 2401, or alternatively make an anonymous report at Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online at crimestoppersvic.com.au

Police believe the man identified could help in relation to thefts along Mangans Road.

Picture: VICTORIA POLICE

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Tuesday, 5 December, 2023

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NEWS

Safer Places

Current MPs will hold their role until the next federal election, with one less seat up for grabs in the House of Representatives when the nation next Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS goes to vote. 377037

Labor wants Casey electorate dumped

By Tyler Wright The Federal Labor government has put forward a plan to abolish the electorate of Casey, pushing neighbouring electorates into Upwey, Tecoma, Lilydale, Warburton and the Dandenongs.

The redistribution of federal electoral boundaries, which has occurred due to a decline in the state’s relative population compared to other states, will reduce Victoria’s representation from 39 seats to 38.

This means in the next election, there will be 150 members of the House of Representatives, down one from the current 151 seats.

In its suggestion published on Monday 27 November, the Labor Party has proposed the seat of Casey - which encompasses all towns in the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges except Gembrook and parts of Cockatoo-Emerald, which sit in the neighbouring electorate of La Trobe- be the one abolished.

The proposal will see the electorate of Aston - which currently lies exclusively in the Knox municipality - creep up into Upwey and Tecoma.

The seat of McEwen will expand to the Upper Yarra areas of Warburton, Wandin and Seville and across to Olinda, Mount Dandenong, Belgrave, Selby and Casey’s share of EmeraldCockatoo while shedding its share of Mitchell Shire.

On the other hand, the Liberal Party of Australia, who did not submit their official plan by deadline, has put forward the idea to abolish the electorate of Maribyrnong in inner Metropolitan Melbourne and creating a new seat called Peacock named after the first woman elected to the Victorian Parliament, Lady Millie Peacock.

Peacock would replace the seat of Melbourne and move the electorate north, taking in Richmond and Collingwood.

With Casey abolished, the Menzies electorate would need to move east under Labor’s plan, collecting the adjoining suburbs of Chirnside and Mooroolbark.

Deakin would also become anchored on Maroondah Highway and Canterbury Road, the two key links between metropolitan Melbourne through to the Yarra Valley.

Lilydale and Montrose, which sit at the end of these two roads, would then lie in the Deakin electorate, with Kooyong set to expand.

Casey MP Aaron Violi said the most disappointing thing about Labor’s proposal is the 4 MAIL

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Tuesday, 5 December, 2023

show of “complete disregard and lack of understanding“ about the community.

“To think that a township like Warburton or Seville or Belgrave has anything in common with a community like Mill Park or Doreen just shows a lack of understanding about the special and unique community that is the Yarra Valley, the Dandenong Ranges and the beautiful area that is made up of Casey,“ Mr Violi said.

According to the ABC’s Chief Election Analyst Antony Green, based on past redistribution timelines the process of drawing new boundaries should be completed by early July 2024, in time for use at the next election.

Mr Violi said he isn’t thinking about the possibility of running as a candidate in the seats of Deakin, Aston or McEwen to stay in the House of Representatives if Casey is abolished.

“The reality is it’s a political submission by the ALP; history says that the AEC [Australian Electoral Commission] as an independent organisation, while they look at submissions, they’ll make their own decisions, so I’m not thinking about that,“ Mr Violi said.

“I’m focused on making sure that I spend every day being a strong voice for the residents of Casey, and making sure that our issues are heard in Canberra.

“I’ll continue to make sure people understand that we are a special and unique community and we map very closely or almost identically the Shire of Yarra Ranges for a reason.“ Mr Violi said the political parties and independents make submissions with their own political interests in mind.

“I do take it as a little bit of a compliment that the Labor Party feel that they weren’t able to beat me at the last election and they’ve decided to try and abolish the seat, but that’s the politics of it.

“We’re a unique community; the Upper Yarra, Yarra Valley and the Dandenong Ranges, suburban areas of Lilydale, Mooroolbark, Chirnside Park and Kilsyth and Mount Evelyn.

“It’s a connected community whether it’s sporting clubs like the footy or the RDCA [cricket], there’s so many areas that are connected and a lot of our farmers live in our suburban areas and travel out to the farms to their wineries or to the tourism businesses that they work in, so to think that our community has anything in common with Mill Park or Doreen is just quite disrespectful to our community.

“The politics of it is understandable but dis-

appointing that [Labor] have such disregard for our community.“ Multiple submissions have suggested the electorate name of Casey, a nod to Richard Casey who served as Governor-General of Australia for four years between 1965 and 1969, be changed to Barak; referencing Aboriginal leader William Barak who advocated for an Aboriginal settlement that came to be known as Coranderrk near Healesville in 1863.

Mr Violi said constituents have raised the idea of a name change to a local Indigenous person of influence.

“Richard Casey is a distinguished Australian who achieved a lot and the name was well deserved, so I would be very happy and very comfortable if it remained at the seat of Casey, but I can certainly understand and have some agreement with supporting a name change to an Indigenous name, particularly William Barak, or to recognise the Wandin family,“ he said.

“It was raised in some of the submissions that there is sometimes some confusion between the federal seat of Casey and the City of Casey as a local government area, so I can understand those.

“For me, whether the seat is called Casey or whether it’s called something else, the most important thing is that we have since 1977 had a seat that has been centred on Lilydale and the surrounding suburbs and the surrounding areas like the Yarra Valley and the Upper Yarra, and we need to continue to have that because it is a unique community that’s been recognised for over 50 years.“ Members of the House of Representatives elected at the 2022 federal election, and in federal by-elections since that time, will continue to represent their respective electoral divisions until the next federal election, the AEC has confirmed.

The public has until 6pm AEDT on Friday 8 December 2023 to lodge written comments on the suggestions.

The Redistribution Committee will then review all ideas, suggestions, and comments, and release the proposed division names and boundaries in early to mid 2024.

People can submit a suggestion online by visiting the VIC redistribution page at aec. gov.au/Electorates/Redistributions/2023/vic, posting to the Redistribution Committee for Victoria, Australian Electoral Commission, Locked Bag 4007, Canberra ACT 2601 or via fax at 02 6215 9970.

Yarra Ranges Council confirmed the status of Neighbourhood Safer Places – Places of Last Resort within the municipality at the council meeting on 28 November.

The report to the council shows that all Neighbourhood Safer Places – Places of Last Resort meet CFA safety guidelines and will be open for the community during the 2023/2024 fire season.

This includes all 18 Neighbourhood Safer Places – Places of Last Resort, and three Community Fire Refuges commissioned by Emergency Management Victoria.

Yarra Ranges Council Deputy Mayor, David Eastham emphasised the importance of maintaining these 18 sites.

“Yarra Ranges Council is committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of its community through proactive bushfire preparedness measures. The designated Neighbourhood Safer Places – Places of Last Resort play a crucial role in providing a last resort for residents during emergency situations,” Cr Eastham said.

“Confirming the status of these Bushfire Shelter options isn’t just a formality; it’s a message to our community that we’re ready, we’re watching, and we’re keeping our residents safe and giving them an accessible place to turn to when the fire danger is high.”

Updated signage has been installed to improve accessibility and was commended by the CFA as an innovative addition to the Yarra Ranges Neighbourhood Safer Places – Places of Last Resort sites.

Residents and visitors are reminded that Neighbourhood Safer Places – Places of Last Resort are areas of last resort during a bushfire emergency, they can be used when all other options in your bushfire survival plan can’t be put into action safely.

They are areas of open space such as ovals or built-up areas that are away from bushland.

Scroll down for a full list of locations in the Yarra Ranges or click visit the Community Fire Refuge & Neighbourhood Safer Places site for a map view, which can be found here: yarraranges. vic.gov.au/Environment/Emergencies/ Preparing-for-an-emergency/Community-Fire-Refuge-Neighbourhood-SaferPlaces Lilydale Recreation Reserve, Lilydale Lillydale Lake, Lilydale Yarra Hills Secondary College, Mount Evelyn Halley Supple Recreation Reserve Oval, Coldstream Wandin North Recreation Reserve Oval. Wandin North Yarra Glen Racing Club. Yarra Glen Monbulk Recreation Reserve Oval, Monbulk Woori Yallock Recreation Reserve Oval, Woori Yallock Upwey Recreation Reserve, Upwey Alexanders Car Park, Belgrave Belgrave Recreation Oval, Belgrave Dandenong Ranges Community Cultural Centre Burrinja Car Park, Upwey RACV Healesville Country Club Underground Car Park, Healesville, Dixons Creek Recreation Reserve Oval Area, Dixons Creek Queens Park, Healesville Yarra Junction Recreation Reserve Oval, Yarra Junction Millgrove Recreation Reserve, Millgrove Warburton Recreation Reserve, Warburton Council works collaboratively with Victoria Police, and the Country Fire Authority (CFA) in ensuring these sites are maintained and suitable for community use.

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mailcommunity.com.au

NEWS

Call to leave Deakin as is

By Mikayla van Loon With the federal electoral boundaries set to change in Victoria as at the next election, there’s been a push in one local government area to keep the boundaries the same.

Maroondah City Council and the Maroondah Business Group (MBG), in the federal electorate of Deakin, put forward submissions to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) to remain within this boundary.

Requesting the AEC to understand the importance of a geographical area like Maroondah to be represented by one member of parliament, MBG chair Jenny Newman submitted a suggestion on behalf of the group’s traders.

“Our organisation represents businesses in Maroondah City Council and surrounds, we have a vested interest in ensuring the most streamlined representation and advocacy. This is best achieved when we are able to advocate to a single member of parliament and one council,” Ms Newman told Star Mail.

“Matters like local planning, infrastructure and grants often gather a great deal of attention from Federal MPs, their advocacy can be the difference between a project going ahead or not. Familiarity with a local MP helps provide a clear direction for the local area.”

MBG represents business across the two major trading centres of Ringwood and Croydon, as well as extending to Croydon North, Wonga Park, Warranwood, Park Orchards and Heathmont.

“Our vision is to unite the 9000 businesses in Maroondah through a shared purpose of business growth, promotion and sustainability,” the MBG submission reads.

Maroondah City Council put forward a similar submission, saying “Deakin currently meets and is projected to meet, the division elector threshold requirements both now and moving forward” “Maroondah City Council is of the view that

Business groups and Maroondah Council have made a push to keep Deakin as is. as a guiding principle, the Australian Electoral Commission should ensure that communities of interest are not split, and portions of the community are not disadvantaged through dislocation from natural/geographic/population centres of attraction.

“Council notes that the municipal City of Maroondah is fully enclosed within the current Deakin division, including the major activity centres of Ringwood and Croydon. This division enables the single federal representative for all constituents within the Maroondah community.”

Both entities commended the AEC on unit-

ing the municipality under the one electoral boundary over the course of redistribution in 2018 and 2021.

“The AEC has worked well to unite Maroondah City Council into a single electorate over the past two redistributions. This has resulted in better representation for local businesses,” Ms Newman said.

“MBG and in the past Ringwood and Croydon Chambers have submitted our views which we believe has contributed to better electoral boundaries for our area.”

Under the proposal, the abolishment of Casey would see the Deakin electorate ex-

Picture: AEC pand to cover other major centres like Lilydale, Mooroolbark and Kilsyth.

MBG also made the suggestion that should Deakin grow its current borders, to encapsulate the townships of Wonga Park and/or Park Orchards because of the connections already established by physical linkages like Warrandyte State Park and Mullum Mullum Creek.

Maroondah City Council and Manningham Council were the only two to make submissions in the state, with 63 suggestions submitted in total to the AEC. Yarra Ranges Council is said to be discussing its position on the redistribution, including the potential abolishment of Casey.

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Tuesday, 5 December, 2023

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MAIL 5

NEWS

Humanitarian of the year

By Mikayla Van Loon What began as a way to memorialise the unsolved disappearance of her sister has grown to be a nationwide missing persons register, garnering the recognition of the Fred Hollows Foundation.

Leave A Light On founder and Mount Evelyn resident Suzie Ratcliffe was announced as Humanitarian of the Year at the Fred Awards on Monday 27 November.

“It’s quite overwhelming. To be nominated firstly, was a really humbling experience and then to be voted as top three, that in itself was amazing. In my eyes that was a win for me,” Suzie said.

“But to hear my name called, as the winner of the Fred award, I was in shock.”

Being honoured in the same light as someone like Fred Hollows, who Suzie said was just “a fabulous, generous, kind hearted gentleman…is amazing”.

“It just helps us raise that awareness. It’s vitally needed to be on that same sort of platform to reach more people. That’s our ultimate goal,” she said.

“It means we’re raising so much more awareness and reaching so many more people out there in their communities, which is so important and prevalent in trying to raise awareness of long term missing persons.”

Suzie’s sister Joanne Ratcliffe is the face and name of one of Australia’s most well-known, unresolved missing persons cases.

It was 50 years ago this August that Joanne, 11, and four-year-old Kirste Gordon disappeared from Adelaide oval during a football match.

The suspected abduction and murder has perplexed investigators for years on end without any answers.

In 2015, just over 40 years since Joanne’s disappearance, Suzie decided to do anything she could to help other families going through the pain of missing a family member.

“As the years went on my sister’s case wasn’t spoken about as much and it’s one of the greatest fears of all families of a missing person that their missing loved one will be forgotten.

“That’s how we were feeling, that time was slipping by and people pass away, allegiances crumble. We were given a million dollar award in 2014 for my sister’s case and it got me in contact with a few other families that didn’t have a reward.

“After listening to their story and hearing about how they got very little, if any publicity regarding their case, it made me realise we were lucky, for want of a better word in the fact that my sister’s case garnered quite a lot of media attention, especially in South Australia.

“And there were so many other families that didn’t have that publicity, that didn’t get that media and that didn’t raise that awareness. I just thought I can use our negative to be able to create a positive.”

Having wanted to do something to memorialise her sister for quite a long time, Suzie realised she could go “bigger and better than that, we could not just encapsulate Jo but all the missing persons here in Australia”.

Hosting an event in October encouraging people to leave a light on “in memory of missing persons and to raise hope that their families won’t be forgotten” it has now grown to a 40,000 strong community on Facebook.

“It’s only fitting we called it Leave A Light On because after my sister disappeared, mum and dad would leave the front porch light on in the hope that if she ever came home, she’d see that light shining bright and know we would be waiting for her,” Suzie said.

Using her connections with other missing persons organisations and groups, as well as being shared the stories from families themselves, Leave A Light On aims to raise awareness around the disappearances of people, while commemorating the milestones.

“Over the years we’ve been in contact with quite a lot of families and family members, we’ve been able to help instigate rewards for a number of families.

“Just recently we were able to help raise money for Jessica Small’s family to be able to replace the memorial tributes that had been vandalised.

“It might not seem like much for some but for a family member seeing a memorial they have dedicated to their mission person then be vandalised and treated so poorly, it’s really heartbreaking.”

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Suzie Ratcliffe was presented the Humanitarian of the Year at the Fred Awards on Monday 27 November.

For others it’s a phone call or text to Suzie that’s needed, just to know that the person on the other end understands the pain of not knowing what happened to their loved one.

“We’ve been able to connect a number of families with other like minded families that are going through the same and it gives them a point of contact to speak with other families because it’s hard for friends and people who haven’t had to go through it personally.

“They don’t understand that 20, 30, 40, even 50 years later, you’re still not moving on. But it’s something you can’t move on from, it’s just like you’re living in limbo.

“For the family to be able to connect with others who know exactly what they’re feeling, the whole myriad of emotions, because it’s anguish and grief, it’s anger and frustration, there’s so many different emotions rolled into it.”

Supporting other families has been healing for Suzie but Joanne’s disappearance still takes its toll on her.

“It has had a major impact on my life, not knowing what happened to Jo. I was born 14 months after Jo disappeared so I didn’t ever actually get to meet her personally but I’ve grown up knowing all about her through my family.

“So it’s still incredibly painful. At times I think about her or speak about her at anniversaries and special occasions.

“Because I lost my mom in 2019 and my dad and my brother passed away in 2020 and those times made it that much harder because they passed without knowing what happened to Joanne and being able to bring her home and bury her.”

But living by her mum’s motto of “putting one foot in front of the other” Suzie continues to find the strength to help others.

Still to this day, however, the cases of missing children, the elderly and people from Aboriginal communities have the biggest impact on her.

“Aboriginal cases do not get the publicity and the awareness that a lot of other cases do and I really feel for their family.

“It makes me angry that they’re not given that same sort of consideration that other missing persons do.”

Growing her platform to ensure everyone gets the recognition they deserve is at the top of Suzie’s to do list, aiming for over 170,000 followers on Facebook.

“I’d love to be able to reach that because the more people we reach the better chance of someone having information on one of our

Pictures: SUPPLIED

NSW Governor Margaret Beazley and Dennis Wilson with Fred Award winner Suzie Ratcliffe from Leave A Light On. long term missing persons and ultimately, possibly answers for a family.”

Establishing a specific counselling service for families of missing people, setting up support groups, as well as advocating for specialised missing person units in each state and territory are also things on Suzie’s radar to improve outcomes for families.

“We also need more support from the government and from local governments as well regarding missing persons search teams, search dogs…the quicker you get to searching for someone, the better chance you have of locating them.”

But aside from that, it’s about changing the

stigma around what a missing person looks like.

“Raising awareness that missing persons can affect anyone. It doesn’t matter their age, race, religion, ethnicity, they’re all as important as the next person that goes missing, “It doesn’t matter whether it’s a young 25-year-old socialite female or an 89-year-old man who has dementia. We really need to embrace all of these missing persons and to help families look for answers.”

When it comes to 21 October next year, Suzie said show support and leave a light on for all missing persons and their families across Australia. mailcommunity.com.au

NEWS

Access to abortion easier Access for women to terminate their pregnancy will be made much easier and safer in the east with abortion services now operating out of Eastern Health Box Hill.

North-Eastern Metropolitan Region MP Sonja Terpstra joined Health Minister MaryAnne Thomas at Eastern Health on Friday 24 November to mark the start of new surgical termination services.

Improved access to the surgical termination of pregnancy procedure (also known as STOP) means for many women, travel to inner city Melbourne to access care is no longer required, with services made available closer to home.

“Accessing abortion care at these additional health services means more women can get critical healthcare and support closer to home, for a less stressful experience and an easier recovery close to friends and family,” Ms Terpstra said.

Undertaking any medical procedure can be a stressful experience, and with improved access across Melbourne, more women will be able to access this critical healthcare option at their local hospital – ensuring they are closer to the support of friends and family, while also reducing the cost and time of travel.

This month marks eight years since the Labor Government passed critical legislation to introduce safe access zones around abortion providers, ensuring all Victorian women can access lawful medical services safely and privately, and free from unnecessary harassment and intimidation.

This year, Victoria also marks the 15th anniversary since the decriminalisation of abortion – the introduction of Abortion Law Reform Act in 2008 – ensuring women accessing the procedure were protected by the law.

Improving access to abortion services is just one part of the Labor Government’s record investment in women’s health – with more than

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“It has been 15 years since abortion was decriminalised in Victoria, meaning thousands of women have been able to make the best choice for themselves,” Ms Thomas said.

“We are proud to continue expanding these safe and accessible abortion services to all women across the state.”

This includes an additional nine sexual and

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NEWS

Councillor Johanna Skelton and representatives of the Yarra Ranges Council team held an orange banner against gendered based violence.

The team from Eastern Health say no to family violence.

Say no to family violence Hundreds of people gather and walked on Monday 4 December in show of support against family violence.

Representatives from organisations and community members joined Boorndawan Willam Aboriginal Healing Centre (BWHC) in their event in an aim to raise awareness around gendered violence.

“It’s for 16 Days of Activism against gendered violence towards women. Each year it’s the same theme but it comes with a new statement. So this statement is we ’say no to violence against women and girls’,“ Steve from Mission Australia said.

Donning orange and carrying banners the crowd yelled back, ’say no to family violence’ and clapped when powerful, personal statements on the BWHC banner like ’I will not be like the violent example I grew up with’ were read aloud.

“During our men’s group, we had a bit of a yarn about what it means to continue to keep the place safe in our home, in our own life. Being mindful of the environment we’re creating, in our words, in our deeds, and even in our thoughts that can plague us,“ Steve said.

The event was a partnership between Ngwala Willumbong Aboriginal Corporation, Victorian Aboriginal Childcare Agency (VACCA), Mullum Mullum Indigenous Gathering Place, Mission Australia, Women’s Health East and EACH’s Aboriginal health team, with greater support from Victoria Police, Access Health and Community and Yarra Ranges Council.

Walking away from violence heals the hurt.

The simple message of ‘free to live’ was carried by members of the public.

Access Health and Community team members Michael, Anna, Yoshe and Beth joined the walk.

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Pictures: MIKAYLA VAN LOON

Hundreds walked in solidarity for women and girls who have experienced violence.

Steve from Mission Australia helped conduct a Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony.

The cleansing smoke washed over people. mailcommunity.com.au

NEWS

Sitting amongst the flowers, women shared stories and ideas on how to change the way forward for women and girls.

Pictures: MIKAYLA VAN LOON

Talking can bring change

By Mikayla Van Loon Changing the dialogue around family violence begins with even the smallest of group discussions.

On Friday 1 December a group of women joined Japara House at the Garden of Contemplation for lunch as part of the 16 Days of Activism campaign.

Organised by Mieke Alexander, she said while the figures show a slight decline in deaths, the data doesn’t mention those that are just injured or mentally traumatised by violence at home.

“The data shows it’s improving because of all the people’s consciousness of it. But still, as of November 17, 49 women have been killed as a result of violence. 28 were life partners or intimate partners,” she said.

Aiming to gather people in the community to share, discuss and work towards a better future in a safe space like the garden, Mieke said whether it’s offering a regular support group or a children’s play day, community solutions to supporting everyone on each side of violence is important.

Having worked as a teacher for a number of years and seeing the impact of family violence particularly on children, Mieke said it is important to acknowledge them in the discussion too.

“My worry has been as a teacher…So many children I knew had terrible, terrible violence in their family, and were completely unrecognised,” she said.

“The difference is, if you’re a wife, you’ll tell your girlfriend your husband is treating you badly. If you’re a child, who was treated quite badly, and they wouldn’t tell you anything.”

While a small group of just six people, the women there were brave enough to share their own personal stories, finding solace in the community and feeling supported by others mailcommunity.com.au

with similar experiences.

Encouraging to see this group of women, Japara’s community engagement coordinator Christie Humble said despite that, men also need to join the conversation to continue on the trajectory of improvement in this space.

One of the women who attended also said seeing her daughter becoming the “fierce” woman she is at just 23, she feels “gender equality is going to be a bit of a key to all of this to empowering young girls”.

From discussions of the failing court system to the role of coercive control, financial control and the ongoing stigma that says violence against women is ‘their fault’ came up in the conversation.

Getting a large response to the event on social media, Mieke said it shows that people care and want to share in the change but are maybe unable to give their time.

Christie said that’s why it’s important for those who do have the means to do what they can, within their own limits and capabilities.

“It takes people who are at a stage in life where they can start to think about what can we actively do, how we can actively contribute to an answer, but not all of us are going to be at that stage in our lives,” she said.

“Particularly with the pressures of the cost of living and everything else that is put on families, the increase in separations over Covid and an increase in domestic violence over Covid.

“Expecting people to be at a stage in life where they can contribute to the changes is unrealistic. That’s why it is important to have people who are at a stage to raise their voices to contribute.”

Hoping to make the lunch an annual event, between Japara and Mieke, they hope to provide support to all who may experience family violence in the community.

The garden was the perfect backdrop to the conversation.

You are invited to Warburton’s

Massed Peoples Choir

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WHEN: SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2023 Musical Worship Service at 11.00 am The Massed People’s Choir and Orchestra at 3.30 pm Some Favourite Hymns and Carols WHERE: ŋ CHURCH, 3490 WARBURTON HWY

Free lunch provided!

The Massed People’s Choir and Orchestra will be led again

by Warburton’s very own Nyarne Darko.

Registration and inquiries: Please phone Christian on 0498 082 740 for more information.

We ask for registrations if you are intending to join us for the free lunch (to assist with the catering) 12652073-AI48-23

A gathering of women at the Garden of Contemplation led to some wonderful discussions.

or if you wish to sit in the bass, tenor, soprano or alto sections of the audience choir (to help us arrange seating).

General audience choir seating does not need to be registered.

How do you become part of the orchestra? Phone Nyarne on 0410 641 192.

Children who are serious music students are most welcome to join the orchestra.

Tuesday, 5 December, 2023

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MAIL 9

NEWS

Asphalt for accessibility

The nature strip tree at 8 Kingswood Drive was deemed inappropriate and will be removed.

Picture: ON FILE

Risky tree will go

By Mikayla Van Loon After a battle of almost 13 years to remove a tree from their property, a Chirnside Park family has yet again received the support of councillors despite a recommendation to keep the tree in place.

A plea from the Stewart family, who live on Kingswood Drive, to remove a single River She Oak from the front nature strip because of the “dangerous” needle debris was heard at the Yarra Ranges Council meeting on Tuesday 28 November.

“We have no footpaths in our street and residents of course have to walk on the road or the very unstable nature strip this tree creates under foot,” homeowner Courtney Stewart said.

“I personally have had to assist a number of residents who have slipped on the debris it creates. This tree is dangerous…The debris it creates, the risk that it creates outweighs the benefit that it holds.”

Having attended a council meeting in July to speak about the personal and physical impact the debris from this tree has had, Ms Stewart’s father-in-law Byron Stewart spoke about his injury.

“In January this year, I slipped and fell on

the debris, the needles, this tree continually drops,” Mr Stewart said.

“The injury was substantial, I’m still having ongoing treatment, I was lucky enough not to strike my head on the gutter. When I fell down I injured my left lower leg and knee.”

The initial recommendation from the council officer team was to leave the tree after an arboriculturalist found no reason for the tree to be removed.

Mr Stewart said, however, the report made no mention of risk reduction or the potential hazard this tree causes.

“From a risk hazard point of view that seems to have been missed in this process and I’m unable to find it in the planning report tabled tonight,” he said.

Not against the planting of new trees of a different variety, Ms Stewart said “we want our area and the environment to be taken care of”.

Councillor Richard Higgins moved an alternative motion to get a planning permit to remove the tree and replace the existing with two middle and/or upper storey trees within three months of the tree and stump removal.

“It’s not a case of we hate the tree and we just don’t want it. They’ve actually given us a situation where there’s this display of risk with people, multiple people have been injured

through a slipping of the pine needles,” he said.

“We have to now get a planning permit to do so. And that’s what this motion is doing, getting that planning permit, so we can continue on the goodwill that we gave the residents of this area about this tree last time.”

Swinging her vote after hearing the increased street sweeping didn’t work, Cr Johanna Skelton said she would be supporting the removal to get closer to the goal of increasing the tree canopy.

“This is a chance to put some more appropriate trees in there that will be beloved by the residents, hopefully, and the other people in the street as well,” she said.

Cr Jim Child also spoke to the motion and said it “highlights again a deficiency we’ve got and it’s time we actually reviewed the [tree] policy”.

“These trees were planted a long time ago.

If you go through the urban areas at the moment [they] are littered with trees that aren’t appropriate,” Cr Higgins added.

“We’ve got to start thinking about replacing or fixing some of these things up.”

Councillors supported that process by voting to remove the Kingswood Drive tree.

Yarra Ranges Council has taken a significant step to enhance accessibility in Mount Evelyn, by asphalting the public toilet car park area on Wray Crescent next to the adjoining youth shed.

Council completed asphalting of the parking area in late October, addressing concerns about the accessibility of the previous gravel surface and improving the connectivity of the toilet facilities with the adjoining Youth Shed, a space regularly utilised by the Mount Evelyn Community House and Reading Room.

Yarra Ranges Billanook Ward Councillor, Tim Heenan, said Council responded quickly following concerns raised from the Pathways for Carers walking group that operates from the Community House and Reading Room.

“We heard the concerns about the gravel surface, and we wanted to act quickly to make sure everyone in our community can access public facilities comfortably,” he said.

“This asphalting was an important and practical step towards creating a more inclusive environment, and our goal is to create spaces that are accessible and accommodating for everyone.”

The Pathways for Carers initiative provides caregivers of individuals with disabilities or mental illness an opportunity to participate in group walks and stay informed about news, services, and support available to them.

Tamlyn Dunn, a wheelchair user and participant in the Pathways for Carers group, said she raised her concerns with the council and was impressed by the quick turnaround.

“The gravel surface posed significant challenges for me and others as well as those parents with prams,” Tamlyn said.

“The new asphalt is a game-changer, allowing me to navigate the area without struggle and making a tremendous difference in my daily life. I appreciate the Council’s proactive efforts to enhance accessibility in Mount Evelyn for everyone.”

The new asphalting works in Mount Evelyn has improved accessibility and connectivity.

Picture: YARRA RANGES COUNCIL

Roadside blackberry weed control to commence soon Yarra Ranges Council is urging the community to not pick or eat blackberries while it sprays them during their growth period (between now and April), to limit the spread of the noxious weed.

Council, private landholders and other agencies are required to target and limit the spread of blackberries under the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994.

Council has a small window of opportunity to treat the weed to get the best results, with the plant then being dormant for the rest of the year during cooler months.

The spray that’s used is heavily-diluted, with no scientific evidence showing an impact to animals that eat the berries.

Despite this, Council still urges the community to not consume the berries just to be safe.

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Tuesday, 5 December, 2023

Blackberries are recognised as a Weed of National Significance (WoNS) in Australia due to its high degree of invasiveness, its aggressive spread, and its economic and environmental impacts.

Blackberries can threaten agricultural and natural ecosystems by dominating other crops in its vicinity as well as natural vegetation.

Council’s priority is to treat the blackberries before they fruit from January-March, however, some spraying occasionally needs to take place while the weed does fruit, due to rapid growth in the region.

Advisory signs are in place at sites of spraying, and for any queries, community members can call Council’s Bushland Team on 1300 368 333.

Don’t eat blackberries during spraying season.

Picture: ON FILE mailcommunity.com.au

NEWS

Police strike for pay deal

By William Ton, AAP Thousands of police and protective service officers will go on strike after protracted negotiations over pay and conditions with Victoria Police broke down.

The union and the police force have been locked in a five month negotiation over a new enterprise agreement with a four per cent pay rise and better working conditions, such as nine hour shifts central to workers’ demands.

The previous agreement was struck in 2019 and is set to expire on Thursday.

Up to 18,000 officers across Victoria will undertake 19 simultaneous bans from 7am on Sunday after their requests could not be met, Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt said on Tuesday.

“This is action we’re being driven to by failure by the government to deal properly and respectfully with its police and protective service officers,” he said.

As part of the actions, members could place indefinite bans on working beyond ordinary rostered hours without claiming overtime.

Police will slow drivers down in locations near speed cameras with the aim of reducing government revenue from fines.

“If you hit the bottom line of my members pay pockets, we will hit yours and you’ll see that from Sunday,” Mr Gatt said.

Officers will engage in a public campaign with messages of members’ concerns scrawled on police cars, boats, trucks and helicopters parked in the vicinity of government premises.

Government officials will also stop receiving briefings and reports under the action.

Mr Gatt brushed away the constraints of a three per cent pay rise under the state’s wage cap policy, calling on Premier Jacinta Allan and Police Minister Anthony Carbines to come to the bargaining table to resolve the issue.

“Here you have a situation where you’re trying to engage in enterprise bargaining with an

Victoria Police will take industrial action after pay and conditions negotiations were not met by the State government. 245950 employer who are passing you notes under the table from the Victorian Government,” he said.

“That’s not fair. That’s not reasonable. And that’s not respectful.

“It’s time to get involved, and it’s time to help us sort this issue out.”

Ms Allan indicated the government would not intervene to break the deadlock.

“My expectation is that those charged with

the responsibility of the negotiations get the job done,” she said on Tuesday.

“That they work these issues through at the negotiating table and see that these issues are resolved.”

Despite the strikes, the union maintains there is no risk to public safety.

“You’ll see more of our members. They’ll be more visible than ever before, and we’ll prob-

Picture: ON FILE

ably replicate what you should see each and every day in Victoria,” Mr Gatt said.

Victoria Police remain confident of reaching an agreement with the union as they continue to negotiate in good faith, a spokeswoman said.

“The community can be assured frontline policing services will continue to be provided when industrial action commences,” she said.

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Tuesday, 5 December, 2023

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MAIL 11

NEWS

Christmas for Holy Fools

By Gabriella Vukman Where Christmas day can pose a significant struggle for some, the Holy Fools organisation tackles this issue, providing an event and support on Christmas day.

Commencing at 12pm on December 25, for the ninth year in a row, Holy Fools is hosting a Christmas lunch, open to anyone in need for some socialisation, food and Christmas Spirit.

Run in conjunction with organisations such as Tasty As and the Coldstream Brewery along with donations, volunteers and good will, this Christmas lunch will take place at the St Patrick’s community Hall in Lilydale.

Hampers are also provided and handed out at the Lunch on Christmas day.

Founder and CEO of Holy Fools Inc Neal Taylor said, “The lunch is open to anyone but we really encourage those who are going to be isolated, who have got no family and we specifically invite the homeless to it.”

Initially run by the vineyard church before they lost their building, the need for support during Christmas time was recognised and taken on board by Holy Fools who continued the Christmas day lunch tradition.

Mr Taylor said, “we have lots of good healthy food and Santa comes with presents for the kids.”

“We play a trivia game. Then there’s some amazing desserts and then everyone gets a hamper before they leave, “Mr Taylor said.

“Those Christmas hampers also go to not only those who attend the Christmas lunch but also to a bunch of eight other different organisations.”

Having taken place on Christmas eve for the past three years due to COVID, Mr Taylor thought it would be good to go back to the original Christmas day event this year.

Each year volunteers are required to set up, serve and pack down the Christmas lunch.

Registration and a working with children’s check are required in order to volunteer. Check the Holy fools website below for more details.

Mr Taylor said, “we are going to be setting up on Christmas eve from about 5 until 7pm.”

“We go in there, set the tables up, decorate the place, get the food ready in the kitchen and then basically Christmas day most people can celebrate with their families and we rock up at about ten o’clock and get ready for all our guests to arrive,” Neal said.

Donations for the hampers that are handed out on Christmas day are greatly appreciated

A Christmas Lunch with Holy Fools inc. and can be dropped off at the Holy Fools arc, located in the undercover car park at Chirnside Park Shopping Centre or dispersed among the purple bins situated in the Lilydale area.

Hamper donations are accepted anywhere from now until December 15. Guidance on what to donate can be found on the Holy Fools website.

Mr Taylor said, “we realise that the period of time between Christmas and new years tends to be when a number of agencies are closed down.

“We’re closed down for that period of time as well and so the Christmas hampers are designed to meet some of the needs of people but there’s also some joy in there too,” Mr Taylor said.

“We try and make it as festive as possible with lollies and even Christmas pudding but also nutritionally suitable for that week.”

This year, the aim is to hand out 300 hampers as has been achieved in previous years.

“We share these hampers with other organisations. We share them with as many groups as we can because we know that the need is just so great and a number of other organisa-

Pictures: HOLY FOOLS INC tions just don’t have the resources to do this,” Mr Taylor said.

Seeing as organised and packed into special boxes, it is important that donations are suitable and can fit.

“Some materials are also way too huge to go in the box.”

The Christmas lunch hosts around 130 guests from the local community with others coming from far and wide to be a part of the event whether it is for support or company on Christmas day.

Mr Taylor said, “we get people who are just there for the food but there are also a lot of people who are just there for the company.”

“One lady even commented to us that she woke up on Christmas and was going to do some gardening work just to while away the day and she realised that she really needed to be with someone. She knew about our lunch, came and had a ball, meeting other people, eating good food and having a laugh.”

“And said that the day was much brighter than what she originally planned,” Mr Taylor said.

“We hear that story a lot where people who

just come looking for a bit of that festive spirit.”

For more information on volunteering and in general visit the Holy Fools inc website at: https://www.holyfools.org.au/get-involved/volunteer/

Lilydale Township Action Group brings summer events

By Mikayla van Loon The Lilydale Township Action Group (LTAG) is looking ahead to a busy summer period with lots of events planned free for the community to enjoy.

Coming up first is the Carols in the Park on Saturday 16 December with a special lineup of singers and a visit from Santa on the fire truck.

To be hosted at Melba Park from 6pm to 8pm, LTAG secretary Sharyn Manning said “weather permitting, we’ll screen The Grinch after the carols” as part of the outdoor cinema.

Should the weather be “wet and windy” the showing of this Christmas favourite will be pushed to 22 December.

Not to worry, rain, hail or shine, Sharyn said “the carols won’t be cancelled” and can be guaranteed to go ahead despite the weather.

Following the festive spirit, LTAG will put on five Fun and Film events in Melba Park, all being well weather wise.

The current scheduled dates are for Friday 29 December, Saturday 6 January, Saturday 13 January, Saturday 20 January and Saturday 27 January.

“We will post each date a few weeks in advance with the details of the movie we are showing, so watch our Facebook page closely, as events are subject to cancellation or reschedule due to unsuitable weather conditions,” Sharyn said.

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Tuesday, 5 December, 2023

The Fun and Films outdoor cinema has returned to Melba Park for summer, with six sessions scheduled for December and January.

Picture: ON FILE Then come the break of the new year, the LTAG committee and volunteers will be working on the final touches for a new event called Big Day at the Lake - a free community music festival.

Sharyn said she had always wanted to hold a music event in Lilydale but knew “Melba Park wasn’t big enough”.

“We received funding from the Lilydale Revilatisation Board and we’ve never done anything at Lillydale Lake before,” she said.

“Yarra Ranges Council has always loved that we’ve done things in the park because it helps activate it but we wanted to do

something bigger.”

With musicians like Anthony Gerace and Fiction Cover Band already on the line up for the Saturday 4 February, Sharyn said it will be a great show of local talent throughout the afternoon.

In an aim to make Big Day more accessible, Sharyn said LTAG will be trialling a new element by “providing a quiet place particularly for people who are neurodiverse”.

A tent will be filled with bean bags and games or activities for children and adults to use for a long time or short if they need a break from the loudness of the music.

“It would usually be that if people or children didn’t like loud music, you just wouldn’t go to the event but then that prevents the rest of the family or group from going too,” Sharyn said.

“We’re going to give it a go. We’re not sure if it will be used or sought after but it’s somewhere people can go if they need.”

At each of these events, food by way of snacks or a barbecue will be provided for free, with water and soft drinks usually always available too.

“We always apply for funding for food because families are struggling enough as it is.

“I have had families come up to me and say they wouldn’t have been able to come if it wasn’t for the free food because the cost would have stopped them.”

With great responses and feedback from the community, Sharyn said “all our film nights have been fantastic” and “people come once and just keep coming back”.

Although the first time putting on carols and a larger music event, like the one in February, Sharyn said it brings life to the town over the holidays.

“A few years ago the holiday period would have been dead, with not much happening at all,” she said.

Keep an eye on the Lilydale Township Action Group Facebook page or to volunteer at one of the events, contact ltag3140@gmail. com mailcommunity.com.au

NEWS

House brings Nic freedom

By Mikayla van Loon

Nic Palich has found freedom now living in his own house in Lilydale.

Picture: SUPPLIED

The Anderson Street houses were completed in September last year.

Picture: MIKAYLA VAN LOON

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The probability for people with a disability accessing purpose-built housing in Australia is unfortunately quite low, meaning the reality of moving out of home is usually not something people consider.

That was the mentality Nic Palich, 24, had until he found the Melba Support Services collaboration with Community Housing Limited (CHL) which built 15 specialist disability accommodation (SDA) townhouses in Lilydale.

“It wasn’t actually something that we were even looking at. Mum honestly thought I was going to live at home and probably end up owning the house when she and dad have passed,” he said.

By chance, Nic’s mum went to a conference and heard from a representative of Melba Support Services. Two to three months later, Nic had secured a house of his own in Lilydale.

Knowing how lucky he was to get a house so quickly, with 28,000 Australians with a disability currently living in inappropriate accommodations, Nic said he doesn’t take it for granted. “[Some people are] still looking after multiple years. I’ve heard that a lot,” he said.

“I really wasn’t looking that much but when we started looking, thankfully I found the right people and was able to go straight in and push it forward.

“This year, it’s all just fallen into place and I feel very lucky for that because I’m sure a lot of people don’t have this happen.”

Nic was able to move into his two-bedroom townhouse in January this year, making it the first time he has lived on his own.

“It’s very different. I’ve had to do a lot more.

It’s definitely been worth it,” Nic said.

Moving out also forced Nic, in a positive way, to get his driver’s licence, which has enabled him to get around more easily, especially to his work in The Basin.

Having previously had to rely on his parents or public transport and be on his parent’s time frame, Nic said if he had to describe his new living arrangements “in one word, it would be freedom”.

Although his disability hasn’t prevented him from achieving, Nic is now thriving living on his own.

“I have ADHD and autism, so it’s not a really hard to live with disability, like some others. I am fairly medicated, if I wasn’t on my medication I’d be a lot more heightened.

“Since moving out, and all that, it’s definitely been a lot more relaxing.”

Adding to the achievements of this year, Nic also started his own photography business where he’s already done birthdays and special events.

A community has also started to form at the Anderson Street complex, with Nic making a number of friends, where he’s able to enjoy the company of his neighbours.

“We have a little common area and I’m the only one that’s pretty much attached to the common area without going outside.

“That’s really good for me because I’m very chatty and I just chill down there half the day and if I don’t have anything to do, I’ll go down there and chat to people.”

MAIL 13

Price range $350,000 to $590,000

Discover retirement living with

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Roseville Retirement Living is a vibrant and well-established community in Doncaster East set amongst 13 acres of beautifully landscaped gardens, walking paths and greenery. Conveniently situated near shops, transport and amenities, residents enjoy a low-maintenance and social lifestyle, participating in activities such as bowls on the green, arts and crafts, exercise classes, themed lunches and day trips to Yarra Valley.

With spacious 2 bedroom villas as well as studio and 2 bedroom apartments with services offering a more supported lifestyle, and 24/7 emergency call system, enjoy peace of mind in retirement.

Take the first step and call 13 28 36 or visit aveo.com.au/roseville to book your discovery tour today.

*Prices of available stock current as at 13 October 2023. The entry payment and any other amounts payable depend on any available contract option you select. A regular general service fee will be payable and you may have to pay a departure fee when you leave the village. Furnishings not included. Services, facilities and activities vary between communities, and are subject to change.

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Tuesday, 5 December, 2023

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110 King Street, Doncaster East

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SENIORS LIVING

Food services is just one of the extras provided at Roseville to ensure residents are cared for in the best possible way.

Pictures: SUPPLIED

Stroll through Roseville’s peaceful and beautifully maintained gardens.

Extra support in retirement Peace of mind in retirement is knowing you have a little extra support around if you need it, so you can continue living independently for as long as possible.

Roseville Retirement Living by Aveo in Doncaster East provides residents an enviable, lowmaintenance lifestyle with spacious villas, or apartments with services such as meals and housekeeping, and a range of amenities and social activities on offer.

The vibrant community is perfectly located close to shops, cafes, restaurants, hospitals and

public transport, including a bus stop at the village entrance. The community bus also takes residents on shopping trips and outings.

Community Manager, Bert Morano, says residents appreciate having support around them, and facilities on their doorstep. There’s also a 24/7 emergency call system for added peace of mind.

“Many of us would relish in the lifestyle a retirement village offers at any stage in life, and it’s no different at Roseville,” Mr Morano said.

“Retirement living is all about choice. Here, residents can choose to cook at home, or enjoy delicious chef prepared meals with like-minded neighbours in the dining room. They can be as involved in activities as much or a little as they like, and friends and family are always welcome to visit.

“With some of the domestic chores taken care of, there’s more time to do the things you enjoy – like coffee with friends, arts and crafts, card games, exercise classes or reading a book.

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“Our friendly team can also provide guidance on how to access government funding for Home Care Services suited to individually-assessed needs.”

Set amongst beautifully landscaped gardens, Roseville Retirement Living is located at 110 King Street, Doncaster East. To inspect some of the modern apartments now selling, and see if it’s a place you or a loved one would like to call home, book your discovery tour on 13 28 36 or visit aveo.com.au/roseville

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MAIL 15

SENIORS LIVING

Tranquillity at Tudor Village Nestled amid the tranquil landscape of Lilydale, Tudor Village, is a haven of tranquillity and inspiration.

Here, in this charming community, residents like Ruth, a passionate egg artist, and her husband Christopher, have found a place to nurture her creativity and embrace a life filled with joy and purpose since moving in in 2019.

We are delighted to have her and many other residents of interesting career backgrounds.

Ruth’s journey into the captivating world of egg art began when a patient introduced her to this unique craft during her nursing days.

Since then, she has immersed herself in this traditional art form, transforming humble eggs into mesmerising masterpieces.

Her creations, adorned with intricate designs and sparkling rhinestones, have captivated audiences at various exhibitions, including the prestigious Royal Melbourne and Lilydale shows.

Ruth joined the Victorian Guild of Egg Decorators, where she collaborates with fellow enthusiasts and hones her artistry.

Her passion for egg art is a testament to the vibrant spirit that thrives within the village, a place where creativity is encouraged and celebrated.

Discover Tudor Village Tudor Village is more than just a place to reside; it’s a community that fosters a sense of belonging and encourages residents to pursue their passions. Here, you’ll discover a wealth of opportunities to connect with like-minded individuals, engage in stimulating activities, and embrace a life filled with purpose and fulfilment.

Imagine strolling through the village’s serene gardens, where manicured lawns and vibrant blooms provide a tranquil escape from

Ruth is a passionate egg artist and has been able to nurture her creativity thanks to Tudor Village.

Tudor Village offers an incredible lifestyle for its residents.

surely afternoons at the village cinema, where you can catch the latest film releases or enjoy classic favourites.

Book Your Tour Today and Discover the Magic of Tudor Village If you’re seeking a place to call home where perhaps your creativity can flourish or you just want that next supportive community, look no

further than Tudor Village. Here, you’ll find a community that embraces individuality, values connection, and celebrates the pursuit of passions.

Embark on your journey of discovery and experience the enchantment of Tudor Village.

Book your tour today and discover a place where dreams are nurtured and a life of fulfilment awaits.

the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Picture yourself joining fellow residents at the community centre, where a variety of events and activities await, from lively social gatherings to enriching educational workshops.

Envision yourself indulging in the village’s many amenities, including a heated indoor pool, a competition-size bowling green, and a well-stocked library. Imagine spending lei-

Tudor Village: Find your haven of tranquility and timeless elegance, where monthly fees won’t strain your budget.

To discover Tudor Village, call 1800 133 711 to arrange a village tour.

520 Maroondah Hwy, Lilydale www.tudorvillage.com.au 12654487-AP49-23

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50 YEARS OF BLOOMS

50 years of garden wonder In the heart of Mt Evelyn, where nature meets inspiration, stands a haven for plant enthusiasts and home decorators alike – the Mt Evelyn Garden Centre. Under the dedicated leadership of Steven Touzel, our manager, they proudly celebrate five decades of excellence, passion, and a commitment to transforming dreams into reality.

A Wonderland of Christmas magic Step into the garden sanctuary, and you’ll be greeted by a wonderland of quality Christmasinspired gifts and decorator lines. At Mt Evelyn Garden Centre, they don’t just offer products; they provide an experience. From everyday home and giftware to a stunning array of indoor and outdoor plants, seedlings, pots, and expert customer advice – their offerings cater to every green thumb and home decorator’s delight.

Passionate selection, genuine joy What sets them apart is a dedication to excellence. Every plant and product at Mt Evelyn Garden Centre is handpicked by the passionate buying team. they take immense pride in the joy their efforts bring to customers. Whether it’s a simple, thoughtfully chosen gift or a complete garden makeover, they are committed to delivering satisfaction and smiles.

Celebrating Christmas in full bloom As the holiday season unfolds, Mt Evelyn Garden Centre transforms into a Christmas wonderland.

The vibrant colours and endless options on offer are designed to brighten homes and make gift-giving a delightful experience. The locally grown Hydrangea, Citrus, screening plants, and a rich selection of fruit trees and vegetable seedlings are perfect for holiday gardening projects.

The evolution of Mt Evelyn Garden Centre The greatest achievement in the last five years

Steven and Claire have something on offer for everyone’s taste.

Claire and Steven are happy to celebrate 50 years. has been the transformation of Mt Evelyn Garden Centre into a new and enchanting space.

From the introduction of their charming Tram, now serving as the base for our cafe, to the creation of a network of access paths and a beautifully laid-out display showroom – every detail is carefully curated within the rustic Mt Evelyn environment.

Your dreams, their guidance At Mt Evelyn Garden Centre, they’re not just a store; they’re your partners in realising your garden and home dreams. Bring in your pictures, share your visions, and let them guide you through the journey of turning them into reality. They thrive on the satisfaction of their customers, and are here to make sure your experi-

ence with us is nothing short of extraordinary.

Visit today Discover the magic at 126 York Road, Mt Evelyn.

Reach out at Info@mtevelyngardencentre.com. au or call 9736 1162.

They’re open seven days a week from 8.30am to 5pm, ready to welcome you into the world of Mt Evelyn Garden Centre.

It’s Christmas at

Mt Evelyn Garden Centre We are full of all Wonderful Festive Christmas Decorations, Features & Gifts!

Poinsettia Norfolk Island Christmas Trees Herb Planter Plants in Baskets Bird Feeders & More Gift Vouchers available online at mtevelyngardencentre.com.au or instore

126 York Road Mount Evelyn

9736 1162 12571810-KG49-23

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Tuesday, 5 December, 2023

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MAIL 17

NEWS

Dix crucial in India rescue

By Tyler Wright A Monbulk man is being lauded for his efforts helping save 41 workers in India after the tunnel they were working in collapsed on 12 November.

Arnold Dix, president of the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association, spent 14 days trying to rescue the men, none of whom were injured, after a landslide in the Himalayas caused a section of the 4.5-kilometre tunnel to collapse.

“It’s obviously a bit of a miracle, so I was just over the moon, and in fact, I wanted to video it, but I was so overwhelmed by the whole emotion that I forgot,“ Dix told the Star Mail.

“To see 41 men emerge from what what on most views would have been a tomb, without a drop of blood, no one hurt at all, It’s just fantastic.

“I thought I was in a movie... It was like ’oh, this is so fantastic’.“ Dix, a professor of engineering, said he was contacted by the Indian government while on another operation in Europe to help in the rescue.

“Since the war in Ukraine we’re busy building connections between Asia and Europe, but with a southern route,“ he said.

“I was giving some advice on that southern route as an alternative to coming through Russia, so it was part of the alternative to the Silk Road options; we’re trying to build several parallel connections between Asia and Europe to give some resilience to the international economy.“ In India, Dix was inside what he called the ’red zone’; the area the team thought could collapse at any moment.

“I’m one of the principal advisors on the whole thing, but I’m a little different because the Monbulk boy in me tells me I’ve got to work as well, so I’m actually in the field,“ Dix said.

“There was also a huge cavity where the avalanche had happened. You’ve got to imagine that the mountain had hollowed out and there was a 40-metre tall cave that had formed above where the collapse had occurred, and that was collapsing.

“I’m right in where the avalanche has happened... I have to put my hands on the walls and listen really carefully to hear what the mountain’s doing, because usually before a collapse, you’ll hear a bit of cracking sound as the rocks start to give way.“ He said there was no obvious way of rescuing the trapped men - who were carried out of the tunnel on stretchers on Tuesday 28 November, more than six hours after rescuers broke through the debris in the tunnel in Uttarakhand state.

Pulled out on wheeled stretchers through a 90cm wide steel pipe, the entire process was completed in about an hour.

Dix said he did not consider the rescue a success until he had seen the 41 men out of the tunnel, describing the scene as a house with doors which are hidden and the people inside invisible.

“We thought that there might be a door at the front which is actually the one we ended up getting but the front door basically involves mining our way through and getting them out through the front door,“ he said.

“We also really importantly got a little window open which was the little pipe that we could fire the food down, so that was really good and that gave us a bit of time.

“There was a back method where we would come in the other end of the tunnel and then burrow with a small tunnel and come in the back of where they were.

“That was an option but my assessment was it was too dangerous because the tunnel itself at the back I thought was also prone to collapse. Then there was the side option which was getting a tunnel boring machine and launching it from the side and then coming across a bit like Thunderbirds.”

In the end, crews performed pipe jacking; hand mining inside a 800 mm, 60-metre long home made metal pipe through wreckage and “millions of tonnes of rock,“ Dix said.

“We had all those options on the table but we were constantly balancing the risk of catastrophic collapse killing the people inside and us, so that would have been a bad news day in Monbulk if I hadn’t come home, because I wouldn’t have been able to go to the op shop 18 MAIL

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Tuesday, 5 December, 2023

Arnold Dix (right), from Monbulk, helped build a strategy to rescue 41 Indian men from a collapsed tunnel in the Himalayas.

A chance meeting with some of the rescued miners and their families at the airport flying to Dehli.

Pictures: AP

Dix celebrating the day after the rescue with a group of SDRF emergency rescue team by climbing the mountain and paying respects to the local god for good fortune.

Pictures: SUPPLIED

A landslide in the Himalayas caused a section of the 4.5-kilometre tunnel to collapse and began a 17-day rescue operation.

Engineers Colonel Prakshit and Colonel Joshi with Dix in their army camp tent around a kerosene heater.

Rescued miners celebrating after their release.

and get all the big blokes’ clothes to wear,“ Dix said.

Despite reporting some health issues after living in marginal conditions, eating dubious food and feeling worse for wear, Dix - the self proclaimed “worst flower grower in Monbulk“ is preparing to return home to the Dandenong Ranges.

“I’ve got some big plans. I’ve got to fix the fence around the chickens because the fox got in, I’ve got to do the lawns because they’ve got long and my wife’s got hayfever,“ he said.

“I know the gutters are clean because sum-

mer’s coming and we’ve got to get all our water tanks full. These are my three major priorities when I get home.“ Dix said he loves living in Monbulk because of the “quirky“ nature of the town, moving to the area at a young age.

“I’ve worked all around the world but I always go home to Monbulk to my little Monbulkian farm,“ he said.

“I do serious stuff and hang out in Monbulk in my neoprene gum boots, so that’s part of the lovely work-life balance that I have.

“I actually drove trucks for Nishiki Nursery,

because I couldn’t go to work, and they’re really nice and I spray weeds for people because I like it, I like helping people out.“ For Dix, the rescue was a triumph of good people doing good things in a time of adversity.

“Everyone’s so nice, and we all worked so well together, and we basically did the impossible.

“I might have annoyed everybody because I went playing with my emergency friends up the mountain. I missed my chopper and my phone wouldn’t work because I was at the top of the Himalayas.“ mailcommunity.com.au

MEDICALLY SPEAKING

Dedicated to hearing care As Natural Hearing commemorates its 12th anniversary, it is a significant milestone that highlights the clinic’s longstanding commitment to providing unparalleled hearing care services.

Owned and led by Vinay Kumar, a dedicated practitioner with over 33 years of experience, nationally and internationally, Natural Hearing has become synonymous with excellence in hearing healthcare.

At the heart of Natural Hearing’s success lies a deep commitment to patient care and service delivery. The clinic specialises in offering the most advanced hearing devices, custommade to meet individual needs. From assistive listening devices with personalised amplification to TV devices connecting seamlessly with hearing aids, Natural Hearing ensures a comprehensive range of solutions.

Natural Hearing goes well beyond just providing hearing aids.

Their comprehensive services include wax management and cleaning through a quick and easy suction method. The clinic conducts thorough hearing tests and offers management options.

For those dealing with tinnitus, Natural Hearing provides personalised assessment and management plans.

Furthermore, the clinic caters to the specific needs of swimmers, musicians, and individuals seeking noise protection with specialised earplugs.

The distinguishing factors that set Natural Hearing apart from others in the field are their exceptional service delivery, personalised treatment plans, and the incorporation of the latest hearing aid technology. The clinic is proud to have dedicated audiologists and audiometrists, Vinay Kumar, David Chow and Aparna Kumar who ensure individualised care.

Natural Hearing’s Manuela and Vinay. 375008 Natural Hearing also stands out by offering personalised tinnitus assessments and management, along with hearing assessments tailored for children aged five and above.

To celebrate this 12-year milestone, Natural Hearing is offering a choice of four fantastic offers - until 29 December, 2023: Free standard charger: Receive a complimentary standard charger with the purchase of rechargeable hearing aids (valued at $395).

Free TV listening device: Enjoy a complimentary TV listening device compatible with hearing aids. (valued $375).

Six months of free batteries: Get six months

· · ·

Pictures: STEWART CHAMBERS of free battery supplies with the purchase of non-rechargeable hearing devices. (valued $195).

18 per cent discount on advanced or premium hearing aids: An 18 per cent discount on either advanced or premium hearing aids.

Natural Hearing takes pride in its achievements, particularly in assisting individuals with a diverse range of hearing, tinnitus, and dizziness concerns. The clinic has achieved high levels of client satisfaction through personalised care and problem-solving. Notably, Natural Hearing has been instrumental in providing hearing assessments for pediatric clients in the Yarra Valley.

·

Vinay with a patient. 375008 Being a preferred service provider in the Yarra Valley community, Natural Hearing excels in professional expertise and offers a wide range of independent hearing solutions. The clinic is not owned by any hearing aid manufacturer, ensuring unbiased and tailored recommendations.

It’s crucial to note that Natural Hearing is not just a retail space for hearing aids. It operates as a clinical and diagnostic hearing clinic.

This distinction means they not only sell hearing aids but also perform diagnostic testing for medical referrals and their management.

Visit Natural Hearing today for top-notch hearing care services.

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Tuesday, 5 December, 2023

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MAIL 19

NEWS

Spotto detects distraction

Hannah Zinnack, 21, shares her story of caring for her mum throughout her teens and the impact in also had on her.

Pictures: SUPPLIED

Living Stories help

By Mikayla van Loon Whether it was breaking down stigma, sharing an unknown but widespread problem or about changing outcomes, the Living Stories project gave voice to six people with lived mental health experiences.

Two of those people were Ray Cooper and Hannah Zinnack, both with incredibly different stories but ones as powerful as each other.

Ray was born into a rather poor family in England in 1944.

As a four-year-old boy he developed a stutter, something that would live with him for the next 30 years.

“I know the nervousness, the tension, which makes a stammer worse and worse. The key is, you’ve got to understand what caused the stammer in the first place,” he said.

“No child is born with a stammer. Any child in the first few years, they never stammer, something causes it and usually it’s something that’s affected them in their life.”

Having “always been held back in going for a job, I was more ambitious than the jobs I got, but my stammer limited me”, when he came to his 30s, Ray decided to seek help.

“A person who stammers is normally very withdrawn because they force themselves into that situation,” Ray said.

“Talking about my childhood, I understood everything I’d been through. I’d been beaten with a stick quite often. I’d have been shouted out, our family was poor and you’re just frightened of talking.

“You go into a little box and it’s not until you open that box and get out of that mode, then you feel better.”

After seeking help from a psychiatrist, Ray went on to find a position as a team leader, managing up to 100 staff at a time, something he never would have been able to do with his stutter.

With an estimated one per cent of the population having a stutter, Ray said if his story and advice helps just one person, he has done his duty as someone who lived through it.

“I hope that people who stammer come out and ask for help. There’s no one remedy that suits all but I just feel what I’ve been through.

I had a bad stammer, the turning point in my life was just my own realisation,” he said.

“I’m hoping out of this story, something helps someone. Even one person, one person in the whole thing has been worth it, it doesn’t have to be dozens. One person, I can help, I’d be happy.”

Hannah is on the other end of the spectrum, as a young person who has both grown up with a parent with mental illness and having been through her own journey, she wanted to break down the barriers about children be20 MAIL

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Tuesday, 5 December, 2023

Ray Cooper grew up with a stutter and now doesn’t want others to have to go through the same. ing carers for their parents.

“The young carers space has definitely grown over the last few years but it’s always been a focus on someone that cares for parents who had a physical disability,” she said.

“It was really hard for people to grasp the idea that there is actually the caring that’s involved for someone that has mental illness.”

Attracted by the flexibility of the project and being able to tell her story in any format she liked, Hannah said she felt the freedom to present it in a way that suited her.

Finding the whole experience challenging but also rewarding and cathartic, Hannah said “it’s almost a step in recovery to be able to surround yourself with other people that have similar experiences or be able to share something”.

“I work in mental health and I make art about mental health. I do all this stuff but I think it’s a form of being able to understand my own experience and then help others to do that as well.”

Like Roy, Hannah said even if her story can help just one person or start a conversation, that’s all she aims for with this project.

“What I wanted to get out of this is to be able to have someone feel more comfortable in their experience but also to make change

within a system that I know has, unfortunately, failed a lot of people.

“And to be able to help clinicians who maybe we’re trained in an era where lived experience wasn’t considered, and for them to be able to see the impact that lived experience has and be able to then implement that into their own practice.”

Hannah said it was refreshing to see this project come about from a collaboration between Yarra Ranges Council, Eastern Health and Inspiro, particularly in her local community.

“It was really refreshing to see the council offer this as a project and I hope other councils do as well because I saw the impact it had on the other participants and how I felt to be like, ‘Oh, actually, my community recognises that this is a thing’.

“Because sometimes you only see these things when they are trending in the city. So having it come out this way was quite nice to see and just being able to work with the other participants in the project and make those connections as well.”

The Living Stories projects and each participant’s story can be found by visiting yarraranges.vic.gov.au/Community/Health-andWellbeing/The-Living-Stories-Project

Police have spotted more than 80 motorists using their mobile phones while driving during a recent road policing operation across Melbourne.

Operation Spotto, conducted by State Highway Patrol, saw police targeting distraction-related offences, particularly the use of mobile phones and devices whilst driving, as well as seatbelt noncompliance.

Road Policing Assistant Commissioner Glenn Weir said they’re seeing distraction contributing to far too many fatal and serious injury collisions this year.

“Yet in two days we’ve caught 86 people using their phones and devices while driving. The most frustrating part is, when our members are speaking with offenders, they’re all well aware that what they’re doing is wrong,” he said.

“Driving should not be secondary to using a mobile phone or device – it requires your complete attention.

Over two days, police detected a total 131 offences, with 86 of those relating to drivers being caught using mobile phones or devices behind the wheel.

Other offences detected included 10 disobey traffic signs/signals, eight cyclist offences, four seatbelt offences, three speeding offences, three motorcyclist offences and one for unlicenced driving.

One driver was caught drug driving, with police conducting 11 roadside drug tests and 76 preliminary breath tests during the operation.

Ass Commr Weir said they need people to make better choices when behind the wheel.

“You don’t want your distracted driving to be what causes another serious injury or fatal collision. We’ve seen far too much of that this year already,” he said.

“We’ll continue to conduct operations like Spotto to ensure those that disregard the rules and use their device while driving are penalised – we make no apologies for this.”

With distraction one of the leading contributing factors in fatal and serious injury collisions this year, police are warning motorists that they’ll be conducting further covert operations to detect distraction-related offending.

The penalty for using a mobile phone or device while driving is $577 and four demerit points.

New road rules were introduced earlier this year that regulates the use of portable, mountable, wearable, and inbuilt devices while driving a vehicle or riding a motorcycle, which now includes looking at, touching or having a device resting on your body.

Operation Spotto targeted motorists using their mobile phones while driving.

Picture: ON FILE mailcommunity.com.au

NEWS

Students have talent for art

By Dongyun Kwon Healesville High School students showcased their artwork at the Lilydale and Yarra Valley Show for the first time.

Fifteen students entered the show with their watercolour, acrylic, woodwork, needle felting and basket weaving artwork.

Healesville High School had its own art show ‘Art Factory’ in October, and the Lilydale and Yarra Valley Show gave them another opportunity to showcase their work to wider audiences.

Healesville High School visual art and design teacher Richelle Hoogenraad said she was very excited for the students.

“It’s important that they have a wider audience to present their artwork and it also validates that their artwork is really good,” she said.

“This year we did arts and crafts and we are going to build up for all different categories next year including photography,” she said.

Students made their artwork during school hours.

To make the ceramics, they used the handbuilding method of a double pinch pot vessel.

“They let the clay dry out and underglaze before it goes for the first firing,” Ms Hoogenraad said.

“They put the glaze on and it goes in for their second firing.”

Students used wool roving and a dry needle for needle felting.

“They poked the wool until it felts and then they sculpt that wool into a little creature,” Ms Hoogenraad said.

“Students also did a monochromatic acrylic painting and two of our students entered their portraits in for that as well.”

Different colours of ribbons were given to the first, second and third place winners for each category; blue for first place, red for sec-

From left: Students Ivor Kingwill, Abby Galt, Lyndsay Mackenzie and Noah Wandin with teacher Richelle Hoogenraad. ond place and green for third place.

Certificates were given to the rest of the participants as encouragement.

Healesville High School Year 9 student Lyndsay Mackenzie said she won two ribbons, a blue ribbon for her duck and a red ribbon for her basket.

“I made my duck to give to my niece and a basket,” she said.

“I had to make a felted animal as an assignment so I chose a duck because I thought it might be the easiest thing, and it turned out super cute and I love it.

“Although it took ages to do, my friends and

I were just enjoying our time.”

Mackenzie said she learnt a lot through the whole process.

“I learnt that pretty much all art should be celebrated, even if it’s not the personal best like my basket, it could still win some awards,” she said.

“I also learnt that even if something feels incomplete to me it doesn’t mean that it’s not worth it.

“I wanted to make my basket a bigger one, but I ran out of things and ended up making a small basket, but now it’s like a coaster that I can put stuff on including my duck.”

Picture: DONGYUN KWON

Year 7 student Abby Galt made a sculpture of her dog ’Dusty’ and won a blue ribbon.

She said she learnt the importance of persistence without giving up.

Year 7 student Ivor Kingwilll made a wombat and won an encouragement certificate.

“It was quite difficult to get all sorts right and I was not sure what I was doing,” Kingwill said.

“But, it just all came together in the end.”

Year 7 student Noah Wandin received an encouragement certificate for her pig pot sculpture.

Local author wins two awards for two different stories

By Dongyun Kwon A Healesville resident won two awards at the Scarlet Stiletto on Saturday 25 November.

The Scarlet Stiletto Awards is a national competition for Australian women writers with crime and mystery short stories featuring a strong female protagonist.

As it celebrated its 30th anniversary, over 4,500 stories were entered into entry.

Local author Sandra Thom-Jones won the Sun Bookshop and Fremantle Press, which is overall third place in the competition, for her story ‘The Safehouse’.

‘The Safehouse’ is a story about an organisation that provides rescue and support services for women fleeing domestic violence.

It’s based on the idea of women supporting each other and there’s a twist in the tale about how they support each other.

Ms Thom-Jones said she got inspiration for the story from the stories of domestic violence she heard about “I had a friend who was going through a pretty horrible experience,” she said.

“I feel like there’s something that I can do to help.

“I saw some joke that people used to do on Facebook many years ago and I wonder if I could do a twist on that and actually make it into a mystery story.”

Thom-Jones received the Liz Navratil Award for the story with the Best Disabled Protagonist for the character ‘Professor Alex Macario’ in her story ‘The Motif in the Motives’ ‘The Motif in the Motives’ is a mystery story set on a university campus.

The protagonist ‘Alex Macario’ is an autistic professor who finds her colleagues a little bit confusing and hard to understand.

When something happens in the story, she looks for a pattern in what’s happening.

Ms Thom-Jones said as an autistic person, she liked writing stories with autistic characters because she could relate to them, which made it easier for her to write.

“When I see these stories, autistic characmailcommunity.com.au

Healesville resident Sandra Thom-Jones (middle) won two awards at the Scarlet Stiletto.

Thom-Jones with her first book ‘Growing into Autism’. ters are often just minor characters.

“There should be more stories with autistic characters, doing all kinds of different things living normal lives.”

As a former researcher, senior administrator and professor who worked for public health and autism research at universities for 25 years, Ms Thom-Jones said the character ‘Prof Alex Macario’ was based on herself.

“She [Prof Alex Macario] likes working at the university, interacting with her colleagues, working with her students, but she does sometimes find the environment just a little bit overwhelming, bright, loud and too

Pictures: SUPPLIED

much happening,” she said.

After a long career as a researcher having written over 200 academic journals, ThomJones decided to write a book explaining what it’s like to be an autistic adult.

“I was diagnosed late like a lot of adults, I got my autism diagnosis after my children did,” Ms Thom-Jones said.

“I was talking to my psychologist about how I really wanted a non-academic book that I could read, explaining what it’s like in real life to be an autistic adult and I couldn’t find one.

“He said you should write that book,

you’re the right person to write the book because you are an autistic adult who raised two autistic adults, and you’ve got 20 years of research, So, I wrote ‘Growing into Autism’.”

Thom-Jones currently is planning to run creative writing workshops for autistic children and adults in 2024. She was recently awarded funding through the 2024 Yarra Ranges Council Grants for Community.

Ms Thom-Jones said lots of evidence in the research proved that autistic people are much more creative and differently creative to non-autistic people.

“The problem is that a lot of us struggle at school with creative writing because when we’re sitting in a class at school, we’re told to write a story and follow these rules, we’ll write a story, but it’ll go in a different direction, which wasn’t what teachers expected.”

“My grant is specifically to support autistic children and adults in just exploring their creative writing, so the idea is that we’ll be running some workshops covering some writing tips and some guidance, writing brief pieces in the session to share their creative writing with each other and providing feedback to each other.

“The output will be a published booklet of their stories so that they can see themselves in print.”

Tuesday, 5 December, 2023

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MAIL 21

OPINION

Reach out to care From my

desk

Kemp’s

Federal Member for Casey Just like that we find ourselves in the last month of 2023.

The past 12 months have brought their share of challenges. I understand the difficulties many residents are facing with the rising cost of living.

It’s been just 18 months since Anthony Albanese and Labor were elected. In that time, electricity is up 18 per cent, gas is up 28 per cent, interest rates have risen 12 times and Australians are still waiting for their promised $275 reduction in power bills.

I have been advocating in Parliament for the government to do more to ease your costof-living and will continue doing so.

We are stronger when we work together.

This Christmas in particular, I urge you to reach out to your friends, family, loved ones and neighbours.

A simple conversation, a shared meal and a small gesture of kindness can make the world of difference.

Despite the challenges faced by many this year, our community spirit here in the Yarra Ranges has continued to shine.

We had a great win late last month. The Al-

End of year drama is here! curtain call

A community forum was held to discuss the Killara Road and Maroondah Highway intersection.

Picture: SUPPLIED banese Labor Government was considering scrapping the funds secured by the former Liberal Government for the Maroondah Highway and Killara Road upgrade in Coldstream. However, our strong community campaign resulted in the funding being saved for our community.

This wouldn’t have been possible without the 1000-plus people who signed my petition, who came to our community meetings and who advocated for the funds to be kept in Coldstream.

This vital safety upgrade will benefit residents of Coldstream, Gruyere, Yering, Yarra Glen, Healesville, Seville and the wider Yarra Valley.

With the funds saved, it is now time the Victorian Labor Government delivered this project for our community.

Over the past few months, it’s been wonderful to see that strong sense of community on display at the Kallista Revival Festival - which I

was proud to support through a $18,500 grant to re-establish the market – as well as the Mt Evelyn Street Party, Lilydale and Yarra Valley Show, Kilsyth Festival and the Lilydale Street Fair.

These events wouldn’t be possible without the dedicated volunteers and community groups that work tirelessly to bring them to life and that’s why I’m really looking forward to recognising many locals at my upcoming Volunteer & Community Awards on December 9.

Lastly, I wanted to let you know that my office has recently moved. You can now find me at 110 Main Street, Lilydale, or alternatively, I can still be reached on (03) 9727 0799 or at Aaron.Violi.MP@aph.gov.au Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

CARTOON

Who can believe that the end of 2023 is already upon us? …! Well the end of year drama concert is here too.

PARENTS: Please check your emails for all the pertinent dates and info for the coming weeks.

Any inquiries please contact the Box Office Wed.-Frid. 10am – 4pm 9754 8723.

Season: Wednesday December 13 at 5pm. Venue: Burrinja Theatre.

The next production at Burrinja Theatre is in February 2024.

The Black Sorrows in Concert Join Joe Camilleri and The Black sorrows for a very special afternoon.

Joe Camilleri has been at the forefront of the Australian music scene for decades as the leader of Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons and The Black Sorrows, and as writer of radio anthems Hit & Run, Shape I’m In, Chained to the Wheel, Harley and Rose and Never Let Me go.| The Black Sorrows are celebrating ‘The Black Sorrows’. Live from The Shangri-La, an incredible live recording that captures that spark that defines The Black Sorrows. In Joe’s words “Live from the Shangri-La gives you a sense of how far the Sorrows have come, of how we’re always moving forward as a band.

It’s never about the past. Although we are always celebrating where we have been, we are constantly finding a new and fresh pathway… for the beyond.

Season: Sunday February 11 at 4pm.

Venue:” Burrinja theatre.

Gemco Community theatre Gemco Youth End of Year Shows. 2023.

Season: December 9 at 2pm and December 10 at 2pm.

Gemco family are invited to stay on after the Sunday Youth show for the Christmas part, please bring a plate to share.

There will be wine, beer and soft drinks available. The party will start once the Youth Plays are packed away.

There will be snippets from the year showing in the theatre and a short talk from president Evie Housham about the year that was, and the year to come.

Season: Sunday December 10 from 4pm to 7pm.

Godzilla Minus One is outstanding new monster film Godzilla Minus One Starring Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe and Hidetaka Yoshioka Rated M 5/5 Godzilla Minus One is an outstanding new film for the undisputed King of the Monsters.

Weakened after World War 2, post-war Japan must deal with a new threat – the monster Godzilla.

Where the original 1954 Godzilla was an anti-nuclear allegory and a stark horror film, Godzilla Minus One is both a potent, moving anti-war allegory and a thrilling disaster-action movie.

22 MAIL

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Tuesday, 5 December, 2023

Koichi (Ryunosuke Kamiki), the former pilot protagonist, leads a superbly-paced, often heartbreaking narrative about grief, survivor

guilt, PTSD and how war cheapens human life. With the trauma of the war and Godzilla’s onslaught inextricably linked, Koichi is torn between hope with his partner Noriko (Minami Hamabe) and adopted daughter Akiko (Sae Nagatani) and a fatalistic need to avenge his comrades and end the war for himself.

The anti-war themes are prominent without being heavy-handed, and Minus One knows how to have fun, with Hidetaka Yoshioka as an egghead scientist type, Yuki Yamada as a plucky young man desperate to prove himself and a weird (but logical) plan to defeat Godzilla, while keeping the tension and dread high.

Featuring mind blowing destruction and a

clear sense of scale and human victims, the action sequences hold a terrifying grandeur, and Godzilla is scarier, more agile and expressive than ever. Hollywood should take notes from director Takashi Yamazaki: Minus One looks amazing and cost the equivalent of $15 million, which is pocket-change for American blockbusters.

Masterfully balancing pathos, terror, sensitivity and nuanced characters with jawdropping monster action and effects, Godzilla Minus One is one of the greatest kaiju (giant monster) movies ever made, and is playing in select Victorian cinemas.

- Seth Lukas Hynes mailcommunity.com.au

NEWS

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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 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!

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

A worthy brand

By Jed Lanyon 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

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

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Balloons

by Sylvia Plath Since Christmas they have lived with us, Guileless and clear, Oval soul-animals, Taking up half the space, Moving and rubbing on the silk Invisible air drifts, Giving a shriek and pop When attacked, then scooting to rest, barely trembling.

Yellow cathead, blue fish--Such queer moons we live with Instead of dead furniture!

Straw mats, white walls And these traveling Globes of thin air, red, green, Delighting The heart like wishes or free Peacocks blessing Old ground with a feather Beaten in starry metals.

Your small Brother is making His balloon squeak like a cat.

Seeming to see A funny pink world he might eat on the other side of it, He bites, Then sits Back, fat jug Contemplating a world clear as water.

A red Shred in his little fist.

Christmas has undoubtedly value in taking part in rituals that bring people together around shared practices and values as social bonds between people are reaffirmed.

Picture: ON FILE

12477022-SN06-21

own at Christmas.

At Christmas little children sing and merry bells jingle, The cold winter air makes our hands and faces tingle And happy families go to church and cheerily they mingle And the whole business is unbelievably dreadful, if you’re single.

Tensions develop in families over the need to accommodate conflicting wishes.

The absence of family members is felt as more and more choose to travel and not be home for Xmas.

The stress of buying meaningful gifts for family, teachers, friends, work colleagues, neighbours.

The notion of expensive gift giving is a modern phenomenon and driven by retail interests.

There are many who can still remember when gift giving was modest.

Food can be a battleground as well.

The move away from traditional fare to food that’s more suited to our climate seems a sensible thing to do.

And the many different dietary requirements whether real or affected can add to the stress.

But a shared table is a wonderful thing, whether it’s traditionally formal, a barbeque or a picnic on the beach.

Without a doubt the celebration of Christmas is evolving into a less formal event and more in tune with our lifestyle, climate and beliefs. In a multicultural Australia we should include all faiths to join the universal values so eloquently articulated by philanthropist/ author Steve Maraboli: ‘Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, forgive the guilty, welcome the unwanted, care for the ill, love your enemies, and do unto others as you would have done unto you.’

Then we would have reclaimed Christmas as a unifying festival of goodwill serving all of our diverse community, not just the retail sector.

12477081-JW03-21

Christmas is the festival that engenders much fervour and more expectations than it often delivers.

Then why is it when fewer and fewer of us uphold the religious significance of Christmas are we still so committed to this festival?

Would it not be better to cancel it and avoid the stress, cost and fatigue?

It may surprise you that Christmas was once cancelled in 1645 when the English Parliament, presided over by Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans abolished Christmas outright, along with Easter; reinstated and officially celebrated again after the return of the monarchy in 1660 Dickens in his novella A Christmas Carol (1843) through the character of the once curmudgeon Scrooge showed the importance of generosity, kindness and compassion towards those less fortunate.

In fact through his writings Dickens promoted the importance of celebrating Christmas, however, playwright and Nobel Laureate, George Bernard Shaw famously warned against the excesses of Christmas, describing it as a carnival of mendacity, gluttony and drunkenness “forced upon a reluctant and disgusted nation by the shopkeepers and the press….’ And John Lennon once famously asked, ‘And so this is Christmas and what have you done?’

His song Happy Xmas (War is over) written in the aftermath of the Vietnam War carries a message of peace and reflection. Were he still alive today his words would be resonating with us all.

This iconic song carries a profound message that goes beyond the usual merriment associated with the holiday season.

On the other hand, Tim Minchin’s Wine in the Sun is a foil to all the northern hemisphere references to snow and holly.

He is honest that he still likes Christmas despite its seeming irrelevance.

And his stance is probably shared by many.

He captures the ambivalence so many of us feel towards Christmas.

And yes, I have all of the usual objections To consumerism, the commercialisation of an ancient religion To the westernisation of a dead Palestinian Press-ganged into selling Playstations and beer But I still really like it.

And that’s the point, despite that for many, like Minchin, the religious significance is no longer present, there is still a belief that a festival, however, irrelevant in a predominantly secular society and exploited by commercial interests, is nevertheless needed in an increasingly fragmented society.

Minchin looks forward to the positive aspects of Christmas: I’ll be seeing my dad My brother and sisters, my gran and my mum They’ll be drinking white wine in the sun I’ll be seeing my dad There is undoubtedly value in taking part in rituals that bring people together around shared practices and values as social bonds between people are reaffirmed. A unifying experience brings out feelings of belonging. Even the difficult parent/sibling, annoying neighbour are tolerated and accepted at Christmas.

The fact that Christmas is celebrated in countries where Christianity is only a minority religion, affirms this. In Japan, Christmas is celebrated exuberantly with decorations, gift giving and the rather strange substitution of KFC for the traditional turkey.

As the world shrinks it contributes to the global nature of Christmas celebrations.

But it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of preparations, gift buying and partying to forget that for many it may be a difficult time and a different experience: the homeless, the elderly, those doing it tough, For them this is not a festival to celebrate.

Homelessness is after all part of the Christmas story as Joseph and Mary found no vacancies at the inns and had to make do with a stable. Sound familiar?

Wendy Cope in her very short poem captures the loneliness of someone one on their

Scan this QR code to subscribe Or visit mailcommunity.com.au/subscribe Tuesday, 5 December, 2023

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MAIL 23

NEWS

Where to pick up your FREE Star Mail (While stocks last)

We are looking for outlets...

Have copies of the Lilydale Star Mail or Mount Evelyn Star Mail in your business as a service to the community. We are actively looking for businesses with high traffic flows to carry FREE newspapers for the public. Contact us on 5957 3700 if you can help!

Or, get your FREE Digital Editions, News Updates, Breaking News and competitions delivered to your email inbox.

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Tuesday, 5 December, 2023

YAVA is a hub for creatives to showcase their work.

YAVA in Healesville has received a state government grant to continue the creative work of artists in the region.

Pictures: ON FILE

YAVA boost for creatives 12652340-FC48-23

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 Caltex Safeway 239-241 Maroondah Highway CHIRNSIDE PARK EG Fuelco Service Station Chirnside Park Shopping Ctr Little Chipping Drive, 241 Maroondah Highway CHIRNSIDE PARK 7 - Eleven 242 Maroondah Highway CROYDON NORTH Croydon Hills Milk Bar 158 Nangathan Way CROYDON NORTH Eastfield Milk Bar 11 The Mall KILSYTH Woolworths Supermarket Churinga SC, Russo Place KILSYTH Coles Supermarket 520-526 Mt Dandenong Road KILSYTH Woolworths Supermarket Canterbury Road Kilsyth LILYDALE Lilydale Marketplace SC 33-45 Hutchinson Street LILYDALE Lilydale Village SC 51-59 Anderson Street LILYDALE Woolworths Supermarket Marketplace, 33 Hutchinson Street LILYDALE Coles Supermarket Lilydale Village Castella Street & Maroondah Highway LILYDALE Lilydale Community Centre 7 Hardy Street 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 Point of View Cafe Lilydale Lakeside - Jarlo Drive LILYDALE Freda's Cafe 2 Clarke Street LILYDALE Barry Plant Real Estate 88 Main Street LILYDALE Ray White Real Estate 164 Main Street LILYDALE Hello Harry 245 Main Street LILYDALE Noel Jones Real Estate 281 Main Street LILYDALE Professionals Real Estate 111-113 Main Street LILYDALE Grubs Up 1 Industrial Park Drive LILYDALE Mc Donalds Restaurant Maroondah Highway 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 IGA Supermarket Mt Dandenong Road MONTROSE Bell Real Estate 896 Mt Dandenong Tourist 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 Robyn Milk Bar 35 Hereford Road MOUNT EVELYN Library 50 Wray Cresent MOUNT EVELYN Milkbar 28 Birmingham Road MONTROSE IGA Supermarket 916 Mt Dandenong Road MOOROOLBARK Coles Supermarket 15 Brice Avenue MOOROOLBARK Bendigo Bank Unit 19/66 - 74 Brice Ave 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 Professionals Real Estate Brice Avenue MOOROOLBARK L J Hooker Brice Avenue MOOROOLBARK Fletchers Real Estate 1/14 Manchester Road MOOROOLBARK Mc Donalds Restaurant Manchester Road MOOROOLBARK 7-Eleven Manchester Road MOUNT EVELYN York on Lilydale 138 York Road WANDIN NORTH Wandin Newsagency Shop 2 /18 Union Road

Creatives in the Yarra Valley are set to come together at the local gallery and creative hub for years to come, with upgraded infrastructure and equipment supporting new opportunities for the long-running gallery to grow, thanks to support from the Labor Government.

Creative Industries minister Colin Brooks announced a $55,000 grant on Saturday 2 December for not-for-profit, volunteer-based arts organisation Yarra Valley Arts which runs the creative venue and meeting place, YAVA Gallery & Arts Hub. “Creative spaces like this can have great social, cultural and economic benefits for a region, its people and creative industries. We’re proud to invest in this exciting new chapter for Yarra Valley Arts and help ensure creative work is more accessible for everybody to enjoy,” he said.

The Labor Government is delivering on this promise it made to Victorians at last year’s election and the grant will provide upgrades to the façade of the building, new retail facilities to showcase the work of YAVA artists, equipment upgrades, and a revamped multi-purpose space for workshops, classes and more.

It will also support the organisation to host

a series of creative activities for community members, professional development sessions for local creatives, and dedicated training and skills building opportunities for volunteers – attracting more visitors and expanding its audiences.

The funding will help Yarra Valley Arts strengthen its connections with artists and boost its revenue streams through new retail and programming offerings.

“YAVA Gallery & Arts Hub is a much-loved part of our creative and cultural life here in the Yarra Valley. We’re thrilled to support this valued asset, backing the incredible artists and volunteers who contribute so much to our community,” Northern Victoria MP Jaclyn Symes said.

This project aligns with the Government’s Creative State 2025, the creative industries strategy, which includes a focus on ensuring Victorians in regional areas have access to quality creative experiences and opportunities to pursue creative careers.

Yarra Valley Arts has been supporting local artists for over 30 years.

For more information on the YAVA Gallery & Arts Hub, visit yava.org.au mailcommunity.com.au

PROPERTY

TAKE A BREATH AND ESCAPE WITH THE FAMILY mailcommunity.com.au

Tuesday, 5 December, 2023

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MAIL PROPERTY GUIDE

25

PROPERTY OF THE WEEK

TAKE A BREATH AND ESCAPE WITH THE FAMILY NESTLED into 5 acres of privacy and tranquillity, this delightful home will give you space, ease of living and somewhere to wake up and breath in the fresh valley air. The gorgeous and expansive layout has enough room for large families, and for the relatives and friends to all enjoy with you.

Comprising of 4 huge bedrooms plus a study, the Master provides a modern ensuite and walk in robe, and all other bedrooms offer built-in robes and close access to the beautiful family bathroom. Complete with a luxurious bath enjoying uninterrupted views of your garden, the main bathroom also has a walk-in shower and stone topped vanity.

Three separate living zones allow large families to enjoy some privacy from each other if required, and rooms to party and entertain when the opportunity arises.

The front lounge is the epitome of an entertainer’s dream, with a bar, room for the pool table and couches, and proudly showcased through glass sliding doors, you will enjoy beautiful views beyond your 8 seater spa, creatively nestled into your expansive deck.

The large deck encompasses two sides of the house, and an enormous undercover outdoor living zone becomes the hero for Christmas dinners and outdoor gatherings with the barbecue and wood fired pizza oven.

The home is serviced by gas hydronic ducted heating, wood heaters and split systems.

The timber kitchen in the heart of the home offers an abundance of cupboards and bench space, gas cooking and dishwasher, and with an adjacent dining area, dinner time is a breeze.

Further living zones provide a snuggly winter haven in front of a crackling wood fire or a large rumpus room at the far end of the house where you can have your gym equipment or turn into a massive theatre room! There are just so many options with this functional layout.

The bonuses of this property are far and wide with the further additions of a large 4 car carport adjoining the home, a shed/workshop, a 2nd double carport, and fabulous lock up 2 room studio which would be an ideal work from home space, or perfect to turn into weekend accommodation (STCA) where lucky guests can enjoy your beautiful gardens, picturesque dam and wander through natural bushland on this expansive 5 acre haven.

In the very tightly held haven of Don Valley, this amazing home will leave you wanting for nothing ●

HOME ESSENTIALS Address: 35 Ferngully Road, DON VALLEY Description: 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 6 garage Price: $1,100,000 - $1,200,000 Inspect: By appointment Contact: Samantha Price 0438 795 190, BELL REAL ESTATE - YARRA JUNCTION, 5967 1277 26

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HOME FOCUS

FAMILY LIVING ON QUARTER ACRE THIS two-storey home offers a perfect blend of comfort, functionality, and aesthetics, making it an ideal setting for family life and entertaining guests. The emphasis on outdoor/indoor living with the fantastic screened in deck incorporating outdoor ‘kitchen’ with barbecue and custom cabinetry, a big TV screen zone and even a separate viewing area to enjoy those perfect sunsets.

The connection between indoors and out is seamless and the layout of the residence offers three separate interior living areas, one being open plan kitchen, equipped with modern appliances and ample storage, which caters to the practical needs of daily living with the dining area adjoining. There are 4 bedrooms, the main with full ensuite and walk-in robe. The main bathroom has a soaking tub (with a view), and the 4th bedroom is downstairs and is ideal if you need a space to work from home.

The home is accessed by a sealed driveway, with a single remote garage, is positioned on just over ¼ acre of established gardens and is just minutes to Emerald township, shops, schools, sporting clubs, restaurants and much more. ●

HOME ESSENTIALS Address: 50 Beaconsfield-Emerald Road, EMERALD Description: 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1 garage Price: $980,000 - $1,078,000 Inspect: By appointment Contact: Erin Davies 0493 136 937 and Mick Dolphin 0429 684 522, RANGES FIRST NATIONAL, 9754 6111 mailcommunity.com.au

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HOME FOCUS

MODERN AND STYLISH EQUINE PROPERTY WHAT a fantastic opportunity! Rarely do you find a home of this quality paired with a usable nearly 5 acres of land carefully designed to maximize grazing potential and ease of care for your horses or four legged friends.

The home is located less than 5 minutes to Gembrook township, and is surrounded by farming properties offering beautiful vistas.

The expansive 5 bedroom, 2 bathroom family home is wrapped with a welcoming front verandah and has a grand entry. There is a formal loungeroom & a master bedroom with a large walk in wardrobe and ensuite.

Conveniently located near the master bedroom is a further bedroom with ceiling fan and built in robes. The home with its high ceilings, double glazed large windows, and reverse cycle air conditioning is a delight to explore.

Flow through to the central open plan kitchen/dining/lounge area to discover the hub of the home that is flooded with natural light, and offers a wood fire heater, and kitchen with a large walk in pantry.

The kitchen also has a 900mm gas stove/ oven, stainless steel appliances including dishwasher and Caesarstone benchtops.

At the other end of the home, there is a lovely laundry with it’s own external access, a study/office area, and then three further bedrooms, all with ceiling fans and built-in wardrobes. These bedrooms are serviced by the family bathroom complete with bath and shower. There is also a handy separate toilet.

Externally the acreage is divided into 5 fully fenced paddocks, fenced with either electric fencing or mesh fencing. These paddocks are connected through a central laneway which allows for ease of care by having one central hay station & water station. The main gateways are reinforced with Geohex. There is plenty of parking available making it easy to store you float for short trips out to the nearby riding trails or to the local horse riding clubs such as Gembrook Adult Riding Club & Cockatoo Pony Club.

His property has it all so don’t miss out call to arrange a private inspection today.

Please note: All property details shown are correct at time of publishing. Some properties may have been sold in the preceding 24 hours and we recommend that you confirm open for inspection times with the listing agent direct or the listing office. ●

HOME ESSENTIALS Address: 100 Gembrook Tonimbuk Road, GEMBROOK Description: 5 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms Price: $1,300,000 - $1,420,000 Inspect: By appointment Contact: Aaron Day 0407 365 994 or Bethany Day 0438 844 968, BELL REAL ESTATE, EMERALD 28

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P 5968 6222 311-313 Main Street Emerald

23 Williamson Road, Gembrook

$900,000 - $990,000

100 Gembrook-Tonimbuk Road, Gembrook

$1,300,000 - $1,420,000

Fully Renovated & Private Home on Over ½ an Acre!

Stylish Equine Property on approx. 5 acres!

Step inside to discover the master bedroom with a woodfire, WIR, ceiling fan, split system AC & ensuite with double shower. Continue along the hall to discover 3 further bedrooms with BIRs, serviced by a family bathroom & separate toilet. There is an open plan loungeroom & kitchen with a built in gas fireplace. Then the kitchen offers a large island with Belling stove top, floating rangehood, granite stone benchtops, walk in pantry, built-in plumbed fridge, double-glazed windows & 2 sets of bifold-doors opening out to the rear timber entertaining deck. There is a pond amongst the established garden beds, fruit trees, & two covered vegetable gardens all with irrigation. There is also a chicken coop, multiple sheds, single lock up garage with concrete floor, & power/lighting. There are dual water tanks, mains water, circular driveway & solar panels with inverters.

The expansive 5 bedroom, 2 bathroom home has a formal loungeroom & a master bedroom with a large WIR & ensuite. Near the master bedroom is a further bedroom with ceiling fan & BIRs. The home has high ceilings, double glazed large windows, & reverse cycle AC. The central open plan kitchen/ dining/lounge area is flooded with natural light, & offers a wood fire heater, & kitchen with a large walk in pantry. The kitchen has a 900mm gas stove/oven, & SS appliances including dishwasher & Caesar stone benchtops. There is a laundry with it’s own external access, a study/office area, & then 3 further bedrooms, all with ceiling fans & BIRs. These bedrooms are serviced by the family bathroom & separate toilet. Externally the acreage is divided into 5 fully fenced paddocks. This home utilizes gas bottles, tank water, has 4kW solar with 18 solar panels, & mains electricity.

Aaron Day M 0407 365 994

Samantha Scott M 0438 680 032

Aaron Day M 0407 365 994

4

17 Belgrave-Gembrook Road, Cockatoo

A

2

Brennan Mileto M 0422 996 451

B 1 C

$740,000 - $799,000

5

52 Patons Road, Macclesfield

A

2

B

C

$1,750,000 - $1,900,000

Character Mud Brick Home & Shed on approx. 1/3 acre!

Stylishly Renovated Home with Equine Infrastructure on Nearly 20 acres!

This picturesque north facing, sun filled, 3-bedroom mud-brick home on over 1/3 of an acre has polished floorboards & raked ceilings throughout, which add to the character along with the colonial windows & toasty new wood fire. There is also a split system AC for year round comfort. The kitchen is spacious and has SS appliances, gas stovetop, & a curved island. The master bedroom is king size with walk through robe + ensuite, & a huge walk-in robe/dressing room. The remaining bedrooms have plush carpets & stand-alone robes. Add to this a large modern laundry which leads to the main bathroom & offers external access to the large, flat rear yard. Outside there is new landscaping, new drainage & storm water, new sewer connection, new roof & gutters, as well as a double garage with workshop space, concrete floor & power.

Featuring a 40m*20m sand menage, day yards, electric fenced paddocks, hot wash, tack room, float storage, hay shed, a 3-bay barn, cross-country course, mains water & a comfortable 4-bedroom, 2 bathroom, ‘Hamptons’ style home with views & zoned heating & cooling. The home has 2 lounge areas, a dining area & entertaining deck. The master bedroom has a walk-through robe, ceiling fan & ensuite. The open plan kitchen/dining/living area has a wood fire & a 900mm gas stove & an electric oven, & the laundry has a drying cupboard. There are 3 further bedrooms with BIRs & a family bathroom. The stock yards have loading ramps, there are 5 paddocks with water, day yards, tack room, feed shed, hot wash bay, hay storage & machinery storage. There is a permanent creek, a Spring fed dam, a chicken run, an all-weather gravel driveway, & lock up garage.

Samantha Scott M 0438 680 032

Samantha Scott M 0438 680 032

3

A

2

B 2 C

4

A

2

B 8 C

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HOME FOCUS

TRADIES DREAM WORKSHOP – PRIVATE RETREAT OUTDOOR entertaining will be a dream from the huge deck offering privacy and a backdrop of 3,015 sqm approx. of mature gardens and magical woodlands. Plus, ample parking by the double carport and double garage workshop would suit any tradie.

Step inside to a spacious open plan living with the must-have cosy wood fire, polished floorboards and walls of glass for treetop views and to let the sunshine in. Update kitchen with large pantry, stainless steel cooking, engineered stone bench tops and dishwasher.

With dual living zones, one would make an ideal home office /workstation, for those that like to work from home.

Three bright bedrooms, built-in robes and a modern bathroom.

The home has just been restumped with provision to reinstate rooms under for potential rumpus, fourth bedroom, bathroom etc. great potential here.

Other features include ducted gas heating, split system cooling and for the tradie a massive workshop and double carport.

A second road frontage to Carramar Crescent. Time to enjoy the hills tradition of the iconic Puffing Billy chugging past in the reserve opposite is bound to put a smile on your face when you call this house your home. ●

HOME ESSENTIALS Address: 25-27 Colombo Road, BELGRAVE Description: 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 2 garage Price: On application Inspect: By appointment Contact: Grant Skipsey 0418 528 102, RANGES FIRST NATIONAL, 9754 6111 30

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ranges cHArAcTEr AND coNVENIENcE

UPWEY 4-6 THE AVENUE ENTER VIA 5 KOOKABURRA dELL

We put you first

SUNSETS AND VIEWS

$945,000 - $990,000 4A 2B 6C

character-filled home that effortlessly combines charm, functionality and unbeatable convenience to Upwey. The home features detailed ceilings & cornices, GDH, generous master with ensuite, large picture windows, impressive 25m x 35m shed with a 14-foot-high door, 3-phase power & a mezzanine area, a second garage, carport and the standout feature of this property is its dual access, offering unparalleled options for residents. The private garden surrounding the home offers tranquillity and a connection to nature.

Jan Brewster 0409 558 805

EMERALd 50 BEAcoNSfIElD-EmErAlD roAD FAMILY LIVING ON ¼ ACRE & CLOSE TO TOWN

Mick dolphin 0429 684 522

6 GlorIoUS AcrES

TrADIES DrEAm WorKSHoP

AVONSLEIGH 18B mArGArET roAD $1,300,000-$1,430,000 CHARMING RESIdENCE WITH STUNNING GARdENS 4A 1B 5C

BELGRAVE 25-27 colomBo roAD PRIVATE HILLS RETREAT

Mick dolphin 0429 684 522

9754 6111

rangesfn.com.au mailcommunity.com.au

Erin davies 0493 136 937

4A 2B 1C

This two-storey home offers a perfect blend of comfort, functionality & aesthetics with emphasis on outdoor/indoor living. Unique features includes a screened in deck incorporating an outdoor ‘kitchen’ with BBQ & custom cabinetry. The residence offers three separate living areas, a big TV screen zone, a viewing area to enjoy the perfect sunsets, a soaking tub and the downstairs 4th bedroom is ideal for working from home.

Enjoy the established gardens, sealed driveway and a single remote garage with a view.

Erin davies 0493 136 937

This wonderful 1950’s built 6-acre (mainly flat) property is offered for sale for the first time.

The gardens are glorious, bursting with summer colours and the residence offers french door access onto the covered patio, spacious timber kitchen, light-filled living with stone accented fireplace, hardwood floors, grand-sized bathroom, a second shower ‘room,’ Wc, large laundry, covered entertaining area with open fireplace, 4 paddocks, an old tennis court, woodshed, stable, garage, workshop, covered store and another shed.

$980,000 - $1,078,000

$799,000 3A 1B 2C

outdoor entertaining will be a dream from the huge deck offering privacy & a backdrop of approximately 3,015 sqm. of mature gardens and woodlands. featuring spacious open plan living, wood fire, ducted gas heating, split system cooling, polished floor boards, walls of glass windows, updated kitchen and dual living zones, and for the tradie a mASSIVE workshop and double carport. The home has just been restumped with provision to reinstate rooms underneath. There is also a second road frontage to carramar crescent.

Grant Skipsey 0418 528 102

‘We Put You first’

1660 Burwood Highway, Belgrave Shop 2/24 McBride St, Cockatoo Tuesday, 5 December, 2023

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HOME FOCUS

FAMILY HOME IN A QUIET COURT LOCATION THIS home is sure to impress, a super modern Porter Davis built home has had much thought and consideration to the floorplan and setup to cater for every family members needs.

There’s nothing left to do here except unpack and unwind. Thoughtfully laid out, the family-friendly configuration boasts a master bedroom featuring a walk-in robe and a sleek, full ensuite. Three additional spacious bedrooms, all equipped with builtin robes, are conveniently positioned near the family bathroom.

Open plan kitchen complete with modern appliances and plenty of bench space, adjacent to the culinary haven lies the casual dining area, seamlessly connected to a lounge boasting a warm, inviting log fire. For comfort, there’s gas ducted heating and an additional split system ensuring

year-round comfort.

Stepping outside reveals an impressive oversized alfresco space, perfect for entertaining guests amidst a fully fenced backyard - an ideal setting for summer barbecues and festive gatherings with ample space for kids and pets to roam.

A double garage with internal access and an additional huge 6m x 10m garage, mezzanine, concrete floor, power connected, 3 roller doors and good access from the front to back yard with clear driveway which can also provide additional parking.

Situated in a quiet area at the end of Evergreen Place a family home with a super large shed that offers super modern conveniences in a semi-rural environment and all within a few minutes to schools, shops and public transport. ●

HOME ESSENTIALS Address: 8 Evergreen Place, YARRA JUNCTION Description: 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 6 garage Price: $780,000 - $830,000 Inspect: By appointment Contact: Rebecca Doolan 0401 832 068, BELL REAL ESTATE - YARRA JUNCTION, 5967 1277

WARBURTON OPPORTUNITY WITH TWO TITLES A SUPER large block over 1600sqm, an existing home plus a second title set amongst majestic Mountain Ash trees and nature at its finest.

The dwelling itself needs some love so make sure you bring your drill and paint brush! Comprising of 3 bedrooms this log cabin complete with cozy open fire is just begging you to bring it back to its glory and make it shine again!

With 2 street frontages, the comfort of modern services, the Aqueduct trail only

around the corner, Warburton township only minutes drive away and abundance of recreational options including, hiking, mountain bike riding, fishing, kayaking, rafting and don’t forget the iconic Yarra River and Rail Trail this extremely rare opportunity won’t last long! Warburton is soon going to be hosting the mountain bike hub with significant investment being made in the area by both state and federal government, call now and be a part of the exciting future of Warburton. ●

HOME ESSENTIALS Address: 10 York Street, WARBURTON Description: 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom Price: $655,000 -$705,000 Inspect: By appointment Contact: Leah Bannerman 0448 924 266 or Rebecca Doolan on 0401 832 068, BELL REAL ESTATE - YARRA JUNCTION, 5967 1277 32

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P 5966 2530

3407 Warburton Highway, Warburton

13 Carter Street, Launching Place

$810,000 - $890,000

P 5967 1277

2457 Warburton Highway, Yarra Junction

4 Bellbird Avenue, Launching Place

$680,000-$730,000

Great size block, unbeatable location, 4 bedrooms - 3 bathrooms!

Big on space, value and convenience

This well maintained four-bedroom home boasts three bathrooms and two living areas! Positioned within 50 meters of the local school, it offers a spacious combined lounge and dining area, a rumpus room with sliding doors that open onto a secluded deck, a well-appointed kitchen with lots of bench space, and 3 bathrooms. Entertaining will be a breeze for the weekend chef with a super large deck equipped with a built-in barbecue and outdoor kitchen cabinets. The property sits on an approximately half-acre nearly flat block, convenient car access to the backyard, through a garage and featuring a further 3 car garage with roller door, plus 2 carports providing abundant storage and many parking options for all the family vehicles.

Boasting great space inside and out this spacious family home is the ideal place to live and relax in the picturesque semi rural surrounds. Offering 3 bedrooms all with built in robes and sitting on a huge block of approx. 1440sqm giving the whole family, kids and pets loads of space to spread out and enjoy. Spacious family/living areas plus a good size kitchen with ample bench and cupboard room to delight the chef in the family. Entertain and enjoy the outdoors this summer with a huge covered entertaining area overlooking the expansive back yard with established gardens, filtered mountain views and a lock up garage completes the ideal family property.

A super home in a great location conveniently positioned just a short stroll to shops, schools and transport and with loads of space for everyone to enjoy.

Leah Bannerman M 0448 924 266 Inspection: Sat 2 -2.30pm

7 Anthony Grove, Woori Yallock

4

A

3

B 6 C

$550,000-$600,000

David Carroll M 0419 539 320 Inspection: Sat 10.30-11.00am

3

Woori Yallock

A

1

B 2 C

$530,000-$560,000

Views, Glorious Views!

2 Blocks of Vacant Land with Space and Convenience

This 3-bedroom home enjoys the most glorious panoramic view across the valley.

Located just a few minutes’ walk to one of the premium picturesque stretches of the Warburton Trail as well as all the local shops, schools and public transport. Great value buying in this property that boasts a full length deck to the front to enjoy the northerly view as well as a large deck at the rear for entertaining. Inside you’ll find a renovated bathroom, living room with sliding door to the front deck and a conveniently located kitchen and meals area with easy access to the rear entertaining zone. 2 of the 3 bedrooms enjoy sliding doors to the front deck, so you can lie in bed at night, with the doors open and enjoy the breeze and the stars above. This home has so much wow to offer and would be a wonderful starter for first home buyers! Get into the market now!

Rare and hard to find in this size and location, two superb allotments one just under 1/2 an acre ( 1950sq.m) and one just over ½ an acre ( 2129sq.m) offering loads of room and space to spread out and build the ideal family home ( subject to council approval) Conveniently located close by public transport and a short drive to local school, the walking trail and Woori Yallock’s popular shopping hub with an array of great variety shops, cafe’s and eateries it’s a great spot to be, super blocks of land with plenty of space for the whole family to enjoy.

Samantha Price M 0438 795 190 Inspection: Sat 9.00-9.30am

3

A

1

B

David Carroll M 0419 539 320 Inspection:

By Appointment

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HOME FOCUS

LUXURIOUS HOME IN THE HEART OF BELGRAVE SIMPLY collect the keys and move straight in to this magnificently refurbished residence within easy reach of Belgrave township.

Finished to perfection and designed for indoor-outdoor living, this property showcases how to do a renovation right.

Encircling this home is fresh new landscaping that features a sealed drive with plenty of off-street parking, Basalt rock walls, Tuscan pathways, native plants, custom shade sail, and a firepit area with rustic log seating.

The interior is a dedication to pairing style with substance, with modern upgrades including 5-star ducted heating, new split system heating/cooling unit, feature skylights, insulation, plumbing and electrical upgrades, all topped under a new Colorbond roof.

This inviting tri-level residence begins in the open plan dining area and kitchen with commercial quality vinyl plank flooring, shaker cabinets, tumbled subway tiles, Blanco oven, gas cooktop, and Fisher & Paykel dishwasher. Two spacious bedrooms with woolen carpet and a beautiful bathroom with soaking tub, floating vanity with stone benchtop, rain shower, and modern matte black tapware complete this impressive level.

On the central lounge level, a beautiful

Travertine tile accent wall frames the Illusion gas log fire while double-glazed bifold doors extend this living space out to the deck with treetop views. For comfort, the sun-filled bedroom on this floor features a Walk-in robe and immaculate rain shower ensuite.

Completing this comfortable home and providing incredible adaptability for growing families is the ground floor that boasts a cosy family room leading out to the second deck plus a second ensuite bedroom that is ideal for multi-generational living, guest accommodation, or the perfect teenage retreat.

Central to bus and train transport, soughtafter schools, pristine parkland, and thriving village life, this is the perfect place to make yourself at home. Plan your viewing today. · Completely renovated 1,226sqm (approx.) property central to amenities · Landscaped garden with sealed drive and ample off-street parking · Open plan dining area and kitchen with sunny skylights and quality appliances · Central level lounge with gas log fire and double-glazed bifold doors to the deck · Lower level family room with external access to the second deck and firepit area · Bedrooms and bathrooms on each level including dual ensuite bedrooms ●

HOME ESSENTIALS Address: 54 Kaola Street, BELGRAVE Description: 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 2 garage Price: $795,000 - $870,000 Inspect: By appointment Contact: Suzie Brannelly 0490 506 910 or Rachel Eastwood 0401 117 761, CHANDLER & CO REAL ESTATE 34

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Real Estate you can trust!

We ’ r e h e r e t o h e l p FOR SALE

44 Best Street, BELGRAVE

$1,000,000 - $1,100,000

A COMPLETE LIFESTYLE PACKAGE IN PRIME POSITION

4A2B2C

FOR SALE

$880,000 - $950,000

10 Banool Road, SELBY FAMILY HOME WITH SPECTACULAR TREETOP VIEWS

4A2B4C

Nestled peacefully in this perfect position is a rare offering that is ideal for families who seek a beautifully balanced lifestyle. Set in a tightly held enclave that is highly regarded for being within walking distance of Belgrave Outdoor Pool, Birdsland Reserve, and the conveniences of Belgrave township including Belgrave Station, this 846sqm (approx.) property is the complete package.

This peaceful property within easy reach of Belgrave township is packed with style, space, and versatility. Ideal for large families and those who love to entertain, this 1,846sqm (approx.) property offers a lifestyle second-to-none.

Suzie Brannelly

Brad Conder

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

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

Rachel Eastwood

Daniel Steen

M 0401 117 761 | E rachel!chandlerandco.com.au

M 0434 979 142 | E daniel@chandlerandco.com.au

FOR SALE

13 Walter Street, TECOMA

$1,195,000 - $1,295,000

SPACIOUS & STYLISH HOME STEPS FROM TECOMA TOWNSHIP

4A2B1C

This exciting offering in the heart of Tecoma is calling buyers who refuse to settle for anything less than the best. Encapsulating the elements required for an exceptional Hills lifestyle including impressive comfort, idyllic gardens, and an exclusive location only steps from Tecoma village’s schools, train station, bus transport, shopping, and cafes, this property confirms you can have it all.

FOR SALE

468 Mt Dandenong Tourist Road, OLINDA

$1,600,000 - $1,760,000 5A4B2C

HISTORIC “HATHAWAY”

Featured in Home Beautiful magazine in 1928 and held by the same family for nearly 50 years, historic “Hathaway” is a testament to timeless architecture paired with the warmth of a family home. A joy to behold set on 6,865sqm (approx.) of lush landscape framed by Copper beech trees, this residence will capture imaginations of architectural enthusiasts searching for their forever property.

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

Daniel Steen

Suzie Brannelly

M 0434 979 142 | E daniel@chandlerandco.com.au

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

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PUZZLES No. 162

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

easy

1

6

8 5 2

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

8

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

QUICK CROSSWORD 7 8 9 15

ACROSS Church officer (6) Wages (8) Poem (5) Criticism (7) Impeached US president (5) Teachers (9) Darling (8) Excellent (6) Astronomical cloud (6) Female server (8) With healing properties (9) In addition (5) Launched weapon (7) Luxury (5) Box (8) Finish (6)

1 4 10 11 12 13 14 16 17 19 23 25 27 28 29 30

17 18 20 21 22 24 26

No. 162

Present to someone new (9) Meet requirements (7) Land measure (imp) (4) Independent official who investigates citizens’ complaints (9) Wandering from place to place (7) Destructive insects (7) Surgery chamber (7) Break into pieces (7) Motor (6) Untruths (4) Subject (5)

DOWN Vast Sudanese grasslands (7) Copy (5) South-West Pacific region (7) Metal body protection (6) Mean (7)

1 2 3 5 6

DECODER

No. 162

hard

3

4

5

6

8

10 11 12 13

S

B

17

18

19

20

21

22

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24

25

26

1

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

Today’s Aim: 19 words: Good 29 words: Very good

U

E

A

B

H

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

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

O

S

T

bash, bath, bathe, bathes, bathos, baths, BOATHOUSE, booth, bosh, both, bush, ethos, haste, hate, hates, haute, heat, heats, hoes, hoot, hoots, hose, host, house, HOUSEBOAT, oath, shea, shoat, shoe, shoo, shoot, shot, shout, shut, sooth, soothe, south, those, thou, thus

3 6 9 7 1 5 8 4 2 8 7 1 2 4 3 6 9 5 4 2 5 6 8 9 3 7 1 2 3 7 1 5 8 9 6 4 9 1 6 3 2 4 5 8 7 5 4 8 9 6 7 1 2 3 7 8 2 5 9 1 4 3 6 1 9 3 4 7 6 2 5 8 6 5 4 8 3 2 7 1 9 Puzzles and pagination © Pagemasters | pagemasters.com

9

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

40 words: Excellent

hard

7

16

medium

2

15

easy

1

3 LETTERS APE ARE AWE CAD CUT DAD EKE ERA EVE FIT FOR ICE ILK ITS LIE MET NEE NIT PAL PET SET TAN TOE

14

6

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

D VMP K T F OH Z Q J X

9 5 7

2

G R E I C A NWU Y L S B

6 7

WORDFIT

4 LETTERS APED EELS EVIL EYES HIRE HOUR PAID POND RANT RENT SARI SEWS SPAS TOES TUNE 5 LETTERS ABATE ACORN ALARM

No. 162

6 7 $ 0 3

ALTER ALTOS APART ARENA AROSE ATONE CANAL CRANE CRATE DOILY EATEN EDGES FRETS GENIE HALER ISSUE LODGE MANIA NESTS OASES OVERS PARSE PEDAL

PEEPS PURER RADIO RASPS REAPS RENEW SCARF SEATS SELLS SHAFT SLEDS SLEET SNIDE SNOOP STAMP TABOO THERE TWIRL USUAL VIRAL 6 LETTERS ELECTS

LLAMAS PREFAB TOMCAT

TATTOOED TRESTLES

7 LETTERS ABSTAIN COOPING DESPAIR OUTSIDE RUNNIER SECULAR

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MAIL 37

SPORT

Best view is as an umpire

By Callum Ludwig Umpires are wanted to join the ranks of the Ringwood and District Cricket Association (RDCA) and help keep community cricket well-officiated.

Clubs from across the Outer East call the RDCA home from Powelltown to Ringwood, Boronia to Warranwood and Heathomt to Healesville interested umpires from across the region are welcome to get involved.

President of the RDCA’s Umpires Association (RDCAUA) Jordan Russell said the best thing about being an umpire in the RDCA is having the best seat in the house to watch some of local talent in the area.

“It is very important for the league to have a strong umpires base because without the umpires it would be harder for the teams and clubs as they would have to umpire themselves,” he said.

“It is critical to have an association that really supports the umpire panel. It’s a really tough job made tougher without support from association management.”

All new umpires will be required to complete a community cricket umpiring certificate online at cricket.com.au, with other options to apply to umpire junior cricket, representative cricket (for more experienced umpires) or get reaccredited every four years.

Mr Russell said the RDCAUA meetings once

a month at Jubilee Park in Ringwood where they conduct face-to-face training.

“Match commitments are for most Saturday afternoons by meeting your partner at the ground to start your day. such as setting up the stumps, checking the ground, tossing the coin, meeting the two captains and ideally, we would like people who have a car and can drive as not all games are located with bus and train lines close by,” he said.

A basic understanding and knowledge of the laws of the game will hold any new umpires in good stead as they learn the ropes through experience with their colleagues around them, including being paired with an experienced umpire for the first few matches until they find their feet.

Mr Russell said this season they have former international umpire John Ward in their ranks while their umpires advisor also currently umpires Victorian Premier Cricket.

“Not too many competitions would have a former CA umpire coach who will assist them with their development,” he said.

“The knowledge that both of these gentlemen have is immense and they are always willing to help and assist not just new umpires but also the older ones who have been umpiring for years.”

Anyone interested in joining the RDCAUA can do so by contacting Mr Russell at J_BRussell@outlook.com or 0413 357 444.

Become a cricket umpire in the RDCA.

Picture: UNSPLASH

Lilydale Croquet Club plays on with social events Despite not being able to play in the summer shield croquet tournament this year, Lilydale Croquet Club makes the most of their social and club competitions.

Recently, Kerri McCracken became the singles club champion for her skilled game.

Star Mail photographer Stewart Chambers headed down to the club on Thursday 30 November to see some of the social players in action.

Singles club champion Kerri McCracken having a social game on Thursday. 376853

Graham Rhodes. 376853 38 MAIL

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Tuesday, 5 December, 2023

New croquet member Wayne Pelling. 376853

Pictures: STEWART CHAMBERS

Craig McCracken lines up a shot. 376853 mailcommunity.com.au

SPORT

Athletes on the big stage

By Jamie Strudley Another big week for Yarra Ranges Athletics with our athletes spread far and wide, records being broken and our athletes on the big stage at Zatopek.

The week’s competitions started with the opening round of HVC for the summer. The series is specifically for sprinters (High Velocity Club). Liam Russell travelled to Lakeside Stadium to continue his chase for PB’s coming away with a Club Record 60m of 7.87 seconds and a 53.15 second 400m effort.

Next up was our senior team competing in round six of the AVSL season. Some outstanding individual and relay performances from the night including a win for Mitch Mullens in heat one of the 60m and 15 new club records.

Results from the night are: Women 60m: Ashleigh Rooke 08.48 (-2.1) (Record Open & U20); Kayla Paton 08.60 (-0.2) (Record U16); Shani Bullard 08.73 (-0.4); Georgia Boundy 08.76 (-0.4); Emily Fiedler 08.98 (Record U14); Taryn Bourke 08.99; Erica Purcell 10.25 (-1.7); 600m: Kristina Nackovski 1:45.97 (Record Open & U16); Rori Jones 1:51.49 (Record U20); Mia Strudley 1:52.41; Taryn Bourke 1:53.12; Ashleigh Rooke 1:56.19; Erica Purcell 2:26.11; Mile: Mia Strudley 5:47.39; Rori Jones 5:55.19; 2000m Walk: Carolyn Rosenbrock 11:10.9h (Record Open & 40+); Emilie Garside 12:51.4h; 2x100m: (Taryn Bourke, Ashleigh Rooke) 27.60 (record Open); (Kayla Paton, Emily Fiedler) 27.70 (Record U16); High Jump: Shani Bullard 1.33m; Long Jump: Ashleigh Rooke 4.30m; Shani Bullard 4.23m; Emily Fiedler 4.12m (Record U14); Kayla Paton 4.05m; Erica Purcell 3.20m; Sharon Cook 2.16m Shot Put: Hayley Wilkins 8.61m; Ashleigh Rooke 7.96m; Anne-Marie Ebbels 6.82m; Sharon Cook 6.53m; Shani Bullard 6.40m; Men 60m: Mitchell Mullens 07.26 (-1.4) (Record Open); Liam Russell 08.02 (-1.6); 600m: Liam Russell 1:30.46; Mitchell Pointon 1:37.56 (Record U16); Hamish De Wit 1:39.59;

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Yarra Ranges Athletics little athletes competed in the club team competition, with the mustangs taking home the trophy.

· Mile: Mitchell Pointon 5:03.65; (Mitchell Mullens, Liam Russell) · 2x100m: 22.66 (Record Open); (Mitchell Pointon, Ash Almond) 26.36;

· High Jump: Ash Almond 1.43m; Jump: Liam Russell 5.49m; Ash Almond · Long 4.53m; Put: Ash Almond 8.24m; Mitchell Mul· Shot lens 7.64m; Saturday afternoon saw the Little Athletics competition continue, this week the eagerly awaited “Combined Events” round. A round where athletes compete in five preselected events with every performance generating points. Athletes with the highest points total from all events are awarded medals. Competition was friendly but fierce as athletes continued their quest for PB’s. Results in next week’s report. Mustangs were awarded the Club Champions trophy after a hard fought team championship round the previous weekend.

Saturday night was a new version of a traditional night of distance running at Lakeside Stadium. The annual Zatopek meet was held this year with the support of On. A bridge over the track for spectators to stand on the infield, a 30m tent spanning all lanes for athletes to run through on the back straight, DJ pumping out sounds all night and some of Australia’s very best athletes on show made for a fantastic evening. Yarra Ranges Athletics got to support two club members during the evening.

Zoe Clarke showed she is returning to form with an excellent seventh place in the Sarah Jamieson U16 Mile, while Harry Norman ran in the main event, the Zatopek 10,000 race finishing a solid 20th in what was also the Australian 10000m Championships.

Good luck to Brigette Rice and Bradley McMeeken who are competing at the Australian All Schools Track and Field Championships in Perth next weekend. The seniors have a weekend off, perhaps to enjoy some home track ac-

Picture: SUPPLIED

tion watching the Little Athletics competition on Saturday morning from 8.30am.

Training for six-12yo continues on Tuesdays from 4pm. Seniors training (13yo plus) is on Tuesday and Thursday from 5.30pm at Morrison Reserve. Check the socials and website for more details and sessions available with our throws and jumps coaches. Yarra Ranges Athletics welcomes and encourages all athletes of any age or ability.

If you, or someone you know, wants to join in the fun of track and field registration is now open. Go to lavic.com.au or athsvic.org.au or email info@yarrarangesathletics.org.au for information about events and registration.

For information on training, how to join or trial, photos, results and updated news, visit the website at yarrarangesathletics.org. au or check us out on Facebook. Run, Jump, Throw…too easy!

Strong round for Lilydale

By Joanna Campe Round 8 results for Lilydale Tennis Club in the Eastern Region Tennis Competition.

Junior Open Doubles (JOD10) Lilydale v Mooroolbark Heights No match for the JOD10 team due to the away venue being washed out due to rain.

The team will be keen to get back on the court next week!

Result: WASHOUT Junior Open Singles Doubles (JOSD4) Lilydale v Mt Evelyn After round 7 Lilydale was sitting in second place on the ladder.

Lilydale was represented by Adam Paladino, Rishabh Chowdhury, Josh Jamieson and Alex Paladino.

Lilydale played away this week against Mt Evelyn. Lilydale were too strong and won the day 7 sets to 1 – winning 46 games to 20.

Result: 3-6, 0-6, 1-6, 0-6, 0-6, 5-7, 4-6, 6-3 Open Rubbers 19 (OR19) Lilydale Blue v Lilydale Green This week it was the two Lilydale teams going head-to-head.

Lilydale Blue was represented by Alex Jerin

and Adam Johnson. Lilydale Green was represented by David Halkidis and Noah Burow.

In a very competitive match, it was Lilydale Green that eventually won the day 5 sets to 1 – winning 27 games to 16.

Result: 7-5, 6-0, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, 1-0 (super tiebreak) Open Rubbers 25 (OR25) v Mooroolbark Heights Green After round 7 Lilydale was sitting in second place on the ladder.

Lilydale was represented by Levi Daly and Tim Bassett.

Lilydale played at home this week against fourth place Mooroolbark Green. In a very close and exciting match, it was Mooroolbark that came away with the win 3 sets to 2 – winning 19 games to 17.

Result: 3-6, 0-6, 2-6, 6-1, 6-0 Lilydale Tennis club welcomes all players of any age and ability. For information on how to join Lilydale Tennis Club please visit play.tennis.com.au/lilydaletennisclub.

For all coaching enquiries (Juniors and Adults) please contact Andrew at Pro Touch Tennis Academy ptta.com.au/contact

JOSD4 players Adam Paladino, Rishabh Chowdhury, Josh Jamieson and Alex Paladino.

Picture: SUPPLIED mailcommunity.com.au

Plenty of events are coming up for local horse lovers.

Picture: SUPPLIED

Horse Talk on dressage

By Anita Prowse Coming up in the Valley we have Shirley Heights Equestrian Centre in Gladysdale hosting their Midweek Unofficial EA Dressage Summer Series, 6 December, 17 January and 14 February.

Entries are open at Event Secretary.

Huge raffle with great prizes, please get down and support local even if you’re not riding.

The Donkey Festival will be a great day out for all to come and see, at Wesburn Park on 21 January 2024, you can contact “The Donkey Shop” for more information.

Upper Yarra Pony Club will be holding the annual Australia Day Freshmans on January 26 2024 at Wesburn Park, come on down for a fun day, canteen running with special Australia Day treats. Entries on the day with a first height of 45cms starting at 10am.

In other news, there are reports of a new surface on the Yarra Rail Trail between Killara Rd and Woori Yallock being incredibly hard, so please take care in that area, and let the Council know this surface is not suitable for an inclusive use trail. Hopefully, this can be rectified without any injuries being incurred.

Tuesday, 5 December, 2023

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Multi-year Award Winner Best Farm Machinery Dealer LARGE BUSINESS

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