Mail - Upper Yarra Star Mail - 12th March 2024

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A golden opportunity

By Callum Ludwig

The Golden Opportunity Shop has been run by the Anglican Parish of Wandin, Seville and Mount Evelyn and a dedicated team of volunteers but its future looks uncertain.

Committee Member of the Golden Opportunity Shop Glenda Fraser they are having to give up the shop due to the aging church congregation.

“The number of people that can donate time to work in the op shop is just reducing and reducing, my husband and I work a lot behind the scenes, doing the things that nobody else can do, because we’re fairly able-bodied but the big crunch has come because we’re moving out of the area and there’s just nobody to take over the job that we do,” she said.

Story page 9

Possum power

By Dongyun Kwon

The federal and state governments are hoping to save an endangered species by partnering with a local zoo and group.

The Leadbeater’s possum is one of the most threatened marsupials on the planet and was thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered in 1961 in a forest near Marysville.

It was proclaimed the state faunal emblem of Victoria, alongside the Helmeted Honeyeater, in 1971.

Federal environment and water minister

Tanya Plibersek announced the launch of the Leadbeater’s Possum Recovery Plan at Healesville Sanctuary on Tuesday 5 March.

“Today’s a really exciting day and a day that many Victorian environmentalists have been waiting for and working towards for many

years,” she said.

“Leadbeater’s possum is a critically endangered species and a faunal emblem of Victoria which has been under enormous pressure for many years because of logging but also because of the shocking fires that Victoria has experienced and climate change.

“This is a species really being brought back from the brink of extinction using science conservation and many volunteer hours with sup-

port from both the Commonwealth and Victorian Governments.“

The Leadbeater’s Possum Draft Recovery Plan was originally released by the Federal environment department in 2016 and hasn’t been taken into action for a long time.

Friends of Leadbeater’s Possum president Steve Meacher said he has been waiting for eight years.

Full story page 6

Golden Opportunity Shop Volunteers Denise, Cynthia and Jacqui. 393597

Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS

Calls to report illegal firearms

By Mikayla van Loon

With thousands of firearms still estimated to be held illegally, Victoria Police and Crime Stoppers are calling on people to speak up to help remove these weapons from the community.

For more regional and farmland areas like those in the Yarra Ranges, Crime Stoppers chief executive officer Stella Smith said even ensuring registered firearms are secured is important.

“We know that farming communities are targeted because there’s a likelihood that there will be guns on a property,” she said.

“So they are a target for criminals. The risk is if the firearms are not secured properly, that a criminal will take them and use them to do harm in the community or to commit further crimes.”

Ms Smith said the risk not only lies with the potential harm to people that could be caused if a property is targeted for a firearm but the link that firearm carries.

“If they take that firearm and use it to commit a crime, and it’s traced back to you, then you’re now answerable to the police,” she said.

Ownership of a gun requires the careful storing of the firearm and its parts under the

firearms licensing and registration legislation, with the easiest way to do so being a gun safe.

Ms Smith said one thing she did also want to make clear “if it’s unregistered, it’s illegal”.

“Any unregistered firearm is an illegal firearm. You can be charged for holding it or you will be likely to be charged for holding onto it.

“The permanent national amnesty was introduced in July 2021. So there is the option to surrender unregistered or in some cases unwanted firearms, so they may be registered to the person who doesn’t want them anymore.”

The amnesty allows someone to surrender a firearm and/or its parts to the police or a licensed firearms dealer without prosecution and no questions asked of the person’s identity.

Should someone wish to surrender a gun, Ms Smith said it is always a good idea to call police ahead of doing so “because the last thing we want is anybody approaching a police station or driving around with a gun”.

It is estimated that 200,000 illegal firearms are still present in the community.

Last year, over 5000 firearm related incidents occurred according to the Crime Statistics Agency.

Crime Stoppers took over 1800 reports relating to the concern of firearms which were

shared with Victoria Police to investigate further.

“We often receive reports at Crime Stoppers where the person isn’t 100 per cent sure, they’ve got a sense that something isn’t right.

“And that’s okay. That’s what we’re here for. We’re here for the community. So if you have information, I’d encourage you to come forward and report it to Crime Stoppers.”

The most recent joint campaign from both Crime Stoppers and police asks the community to ‘say something before it’s too late’.

Having seized more than 1,500 illegal firearms from criminals in 2023, Victoria Police Detective Superintendent Jason Kelly said any and all reports about suspected illegal activity makes a difference in keeping the community safe.

“We understand the community’s concern when it comes to gun-related violence, and we are taking strong action to target those responsible and prevent further harm,” he said.

Making a report to Crime Stoppers is anonymous either via the website or calling 1800 333 000.

“This is not about who you are. We’re really after the information about where that gun is located,” Ms Smith said.

IN BRIEF

Comsol wall chargers recalled

Five different wall chargers produced by Comsol Pty Ltd and sold at Officeworks have been recalled due to their potential to break.

The wall plug of any of the affected chargers can break off the main body of the charger exposing the internal wires, creating a risk of serious injury or death from an electric shock or electrocution.

The affected products are the: Comsol 4 Port USBWall Charger with USB-C 24WWhite, Comsol 4 Port USB Wall Charger 4.5A, Comsol 65W 3 Port USB-A/USB-C Laptop GaN Wall Charger, Comsol 20W Dual Port USB Wall Charger, Keji USB dual port wall charger 2.4A and the Comsol 20W USB -C Wall Charger.

Consumers should stop using the charger immediately and should return the charger to their nearest Officeworks store to receive a refund.

For more information, consumers can visit an Officeworks store or contact Officeworks on 1300 633 423 or www.officeworks.com.au

Over 7000 BMWs recalled

7168 BMW 520i, 740i, i5, i7, iX1, X1, X5, X6, X7, XM cars made between 2022 and 2023 have been recalled due to an issue with the braking system.

Due to a manufacturing defect, signal interference may occur within the electronics of the brake system. If this occurs, a higher pedal force may be required for braking.

The anti-lock braking system and dynamic stability control will not be available.

If this occurred, drivers would be alerted by the brake warning light in the instrument cluster and a message will appear on the central display.

The vehicle remains controllable; however, a higher pedal force may be required for braking and in certain conditions, braking distance may be extended.

A reduction in braking performance could increase the risk of an accident resulting in injury to the vehicle occupants, pedestrians, and other road users.

If a warning message is displayed on the central display, drivers should follow the instructions provided and promptly contact their nearest BMW Dealer.

Owners of affected vehicles will receive written communication from BMW Australia.

When the necessary parts are available, all vehicle owners will be asked to bring their vehicle to a BMW dealership to have the electronic brake system controller replaced at no cost.

Hillcrest CFA warn of discarding cigarettes

On Wednesday 6 March, the Hillcrest fire brigade responded to a small fire suspected to have been ignited by a cigarette

Thankfully, a traveller was able to extinguish it with a fire extinguisher just before the crews arrival to stop the spread.

The brigade wants to remind the community that not only is this behavior illegal, but it also poses serious risks. On the right day, with the right conditions, such incidents could have catastrophic consequences.

Offenders caught carelessly starting a fire during the Fire Danger Period can be fined more than $23,000 and given two years’ imprisonment, a sentence which can be doubled on Total Fire Ban days.

VictoriaPoliceSuperintendentJasonKellywithCrimeStoppersVictoriarepresentativeCatherinePalermo.

Picture:SUPPLIED

THE WHAT DAY IS IT BIT

Victoria’s bathing experiences are a short trip from home, but light years from the real world. Don’t be alarmed by that strange feeling – that’s just your stress melting away.

Unwind at revitalising places like Alba Thermal Springs & Spa.

VISITVICTORIA.COM

Turning people away from accessing essential legal support has become the reality for community legal services in the outer east as funding hasn’t kept pace with demand.

After a decade of minimal funding increases, community legal services are urging the Federal Government to make some significant changes in the upcoming budget.

Eastern Community Legal Centre (ECLC) chief executive officer Michael Smith said funding has always been a struggle for community legal services but recent years have proved the most challenging.

“The funding Eastern Community Legal Centre is getting from the Federal Government hasn’t really changed in about 10 years,” he said.

“We’re not really getting indexation and nothing’s matched the growth in the issues we’re seeing from the community.”

Community Legal Centres Australia has put forward a minimum of a $124 million increase to current funding in its 2024 budget submission, a figure Mr Smith said he believes would accommodate the growing demand of services.

“We would have hoped that our funding from the Federal Government would double. We’re only getting about $600,000 from their federal money.

“So we’d hope they would double the money for our core work. It wouldn’t be a lot of money for them but it’ll be a huge change for us.”

The shortfall impact has meant ECLC has had to turn away hundreds, if not thousands,

Eastern Community Legal Centre’s chief executive officer Michael Smith is urging the Federal Government to increase funding in the budget for CLCs. Picture: ON FILE

of people every year due to a lack of staff capacity.

“We’ve just got huge demand across our services. A lot of our work is in family violence. We’re helping women in particular, who are desperate for assistance with legal help for things like intervention orders, sometimes family law and children’s issues,” Mr Smith said.

“We’re helping people with infringements and local law issues, people with employment issues and a whole range of other things too but we’re having to turn people away because we haven’t got capacity with our staff.”

Last year, Mr Smith said some contract staff

members had to be put off, yet again reducing the ability to help provide legal support to those who need it.

“It’s stressful for the team and it’s stressful for the clients who we really want to help. We have a fantastic intake team that takes the call, tries to prioritise which clients should get the help from our staff and which clients might be referred somewhere else.

“So when they have to tell people we can’t give them an appointment with a lawyer that they really need because we haven’t got the capacity, that’s pretty tough.”

Mr Smith said an example of the funding models needing to be more flexible and adaptable has been post the 2021 storms that hit the Yarra Ranges and the most recent storm event this year.

“When the storms happened in 2021, we did eventually get some funding to provide some more support around the storm’s work and that funding ran for two years so it has just run out.

“The staff we had with the extra money for that storm response in the Dandenong Ranges, their funding has just finished. We will be able to adapt to respond with the limited resources we have but if the demand is large, it’s going to be hard to meet that.

“It does show that the funding models need to adapt to have more flexibility and agility because if a big event happens, you can’t wait months for the government to get its act together before you put the extra resources on the ground.

“So we’ll always respond straight away but it is hard when your funding is not very flexible.”

The demand post the February storms has

been “fairly limited so far” for ECLC but Mr Smith said sometimes it does take time for people to understand the legal needs they may have, especially when it comes to insurance.

While ECLC hasn’t experienced this yet, Mr Smith said other organisations and people on the ground have heard of many cases of family violence post storms as well, meaning more people may inquire about legal help.

“We know from previous experience with the storms in theYarra Ranges about two years ago, that’s an issue and even back to the bushfires of 2009,” he said.

“We know when these major disasters happen, it affects families in lots of complex ways and things like family violence can get a lot worse in those situations, too.

“Sadly, about 80 per cent of our staff’s work is related to family violence but it does continue to rise when these things happen.”

Pushing for increased funding, Mr Smith said, is not only about the immediacy of helping people now but in the long term as more and more people seek support.

“This is really, really urgent, and we need to make the community aware of how important this is.

“I think people often aren’t aware of what their community legal centres are doing and then also, they don’t recognise their need for legal help until they really need it.”

The National Legal Assistance Partnership (NLAP) review currently sits with the Attorney General in the lead up to the May budget and the adoption of a new NLAP in June 2025.

Anyone requiring legal assistance for storm recovery can find information here, eclc.org. au/wp-content/uploads/Disaster-RecoveryLegal-Help.pdf

More than $20,000 on the way to support relief service

By Dongyun Kwon

Healesville Inter-Church Community Care Inc (HICCI) became one of the recipients of the Federal Government funding program.

The Victorian Government has announced that Emergency Relief and Food Relief providers in Melbourne’s east will share in more than $14.4 million in 2023-24 in funding to help meet increased demand for services.

The funding boost will allow local Emergency Relief and Food Relief providers to provide an increase in access to essential items, such as vouchers, food, and clothing. It will help respond to Australians in need, particularly after natural disasters and recent severe weather events.

Federal social services minister Amanda Rishworth said the Federal Government re-

alised the need for action to support Australians.

“Emergency Relief and Food Relief providers can be a lifeline to those in need and there must be an adequate supply of frontline support services during these challeng-

ing times,” she said.

“We remain dedicated to safeguarding the well-being of every Australian, and this funding will make a meaningful difference to the lives of those seeking support through Emergency and Food Relief services.”

HICCI will receive a $20,939 grant as part of this funding program.

HICCI emergency relief manager Sheree Laumen said the fund would boost the Emergency Relief program that HICCI has been providing for the community for over 30 years.

“The primary focus of our Emergency Relief program is to help people with food, we have staple food items here that people can help themselves with and we provide food vouchers for our local Coles,” she said.

“Anyone who’s struggling in our catchment area is welcome to come in, we also can

help people who are having trouble with paying power bills or other bills.

“We will not change our program but the fund will help increase the quality of our service as clients now need a lot more assistance because of the high cost of living.”

HICCI’s services are based on donations and volunteers from the community.

“We have a great community here that helps us with donations of food and money,” Ms Laumen said.

“They’re all gratefully received because the government funding doesn’t cover the whole program.”

HICCI is calling for more volunteers for its Transport Assistance service.

For more information, please visit HICCI’s website, www.hicci.org.au/volunteer

HICCI NEWS

HICCI’s Emergency Relief

program.

By Mikayla van Loon

Flying in to second place

By Mikayla van Loon

Four female pilots from Lilydale Flying School have been awarded second place for an internationally recognised flight challenge which they completed in December 2022.

Completing the British based Dawn to Dusk competition where they flew around Australia in a day, Amanda Deed, Gail Collins, Theresa MacDonald and Jessica Phillips came second from 15 to receive the Coventry Trophy.

The team also received medals for flying the longest distance, reaching 1905 nautical miles, or 3500 kilometres; the longest distance to be flown in the competition since 1992.

Travelling the distance to attend the award ceremony held at the Royal Air Force Club in London’s Piccadilly on 8 February, it was a night to remember for the group.

“We somewhat knew we’d get the long distance one because Australia is so much bigger than the UK,” Theresa said.

“And then they read out [the entries] in ascending order from number 15 and it got to number three so we thought either we got disqualified or we came one, two or three.”

As only one of two Australian entries in the challenge, with a woman in Queensland submitting an entry that saw her follow humpback whales off the east coast, Theresa said “we’re going to promote it now to try and get more Australians [involved]”.

The team that won was a father-daughter duo who flew around Ireland but Theresa said the extent of the challenges people completed was quite amazing.

“There was quite a vast variation. One of them had followed where the dambusters had dropped the bombs in the war and gone over to Europe,” she said.

“Another one had gone into every airfield in Kent. So there was quite a variety of submissions.”

Theresa said another interesting submission came from a married couple who decided to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary by flying in the shape of a heart and stopping for lunch where they first met.

“It has to be quite unique and I’ve already got two ideas.”

The diversity of the flights wasn’t the only clear thing in the room, with Theresa saying at least 40 per cent of the participants were female.

“I think we were the only all women’s team but there were certainly members from the British Women Pilots’ Association there. We got a great cheer from them when we came

down to the podium.”

That figure, Theresa said, was incredible considering the still slow uptake of female pilots.

“Only six per cent of pilots are women which is still so small. It was about five per cent when I started and it still hasn’t really shifted that much.

“I just feel like young girls need to see more of these things out there, if they don’t see it they don’t think they can do it.”

While things are improving particularly in the Royal Australian Air Force with more support for women, Theresa said doubt often stems from school.

As young female pilots Jessica and Amanda are excelling, proving the capabilities of women in this male dominated industry.

Theresa said she hopes to complete more of the Dawn to Dusk challenges in the coming years, with plans already underway.

“Possibly for the longer one I’m thinking of I’ll go back to the same group but there’s another woman in Coldstream who first told me about this about 15 years ago.

“So she sowed the seed way back then and she’d like to do something so we’re going to do something betweenVictoria and South Australia and she’s already started her research.”

New era for Leadbeater’s possum as plan launched

By Dongyun Kwon

The Federal and State governments want to save an endangered species in Victoria by partnering with a local zoo and group.

Federal environment and water minister Tanya Plibersek announced the launch of the Leadbeater’s Possum Recovery Plan at Healesville Sanctuary on Tuesday 5 March.

The Leadbeater’s possum is one of the most threatened marsupials on the planet and was thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered in 1961 in a forest near Marysville.

It was proclaimed the state faunal emblem of Victoria, alongside the Helmeted Honeyeater, in 1971.

Ms Plibersek said she was very excited to announce the recovery plan for Leadbeater’s possum to boost its long-term survival.

“Today’s a really exciting day and a day that many Victorian environmentalists have been waiting for and working towards for many years,” she said.

“Leadbeater’s possum is a critically endangered species and a faunal emblem of Victoria which has been under enormous pressure for many years because of logging but also because of the shocking fires that Victoria has experienced and climate change.

“This is a species really being brought back from the brink of extinction using science conservation and many volunteer hours with support from both the Commonwealth and Victorian Governments.”

There are two distinct genetic groups of this elusive possum, which are rarely seen by humans and known as forest fairies due to the way the tiny creatures leap between trees.

Highland Leadbeater’s possums live in montane forests in the Victorian Central Highlands, while Lowland Leadbeater’s possums are isolated to a single remnant of floodplain forest and paperbark thickets in Yellingbo Nature Conservation Area.

ZoosVictoria senior ecologist Dr Dan Harley said the recovery plan would set out the three priority actions required for both lowland and highland populations.

“The first is around habitat protection and restoration. Provision of large areas of high quality habitat is essential for the persistence and recovery of population,” he said.

“We have some legacies from the past bushfires and logging which means old trees are scarce throughout much of the highland landscape where this possum is found.

“We’ve got a program now to provide nest boxes and artificially created hollows using chainsaws. That increases the den availability for the possums and helps them through this period where old trees are scarce.”

The second action is the conservation breeding program at Healesville Sanctuary which is largely focused on how the team recovers the genetically unique lowland population.

The remnant lowland population shows significant impacts of inbreeding resulting in shorter lifetime survival and decreased reproduction.

“There are fewer than 40 individuals remaining in that population and it’s one of

Victoria’s most threatening mammals,” Dr Harley said.

“Conservation breeding is to restore lost genetics and address inbreeding depression.”

The last strategy is setting these populations up for the future in response to climate change and increasing bushfire risk.

“That is about looking at the landscapes and the wet forest estates and working out where the climate refugees are, where are those spaces that will be more buffered from warming temperatures and more sheltered from bushfires,” Dr Harley said,

“And we will work out strategies for how we can translocate possums into those places to protect them in the future.”

The Leadbeater’s Possum Draft Recovery Plan was originally released by the Federal environment department in 2016 and hasn’t been taken into action for a long time.

Friends of Leadbeater’s Possum president Steve Meacher said he has been waiting for eight years.

“This has been a long journey with several delays on the way and I am looking forward to a new era in the conservation of Leadbeater’s possum,” he said.

“In 2015, Leadbeater’s possum was listed as critically endangered from endangered and since then, we’ve been working on revising the recovery plan which is the plan that sets out the parameters for the survival of the animal into the future.

“We hope the new plan is going to lead the certainty for the future of this important species.”

The new recovery plan was made in partnership with the Victorian Government in consultation with species experts, industry, conservation organisations and First Nations people.

“Today is a very exciting day because it is a step forward with the Commonwealth Government and the Victorian Government committing to work together for the recovery of this adorable species,” Ms Plibersek said.

“I’m delighted to announce a $360,000 contribution from the Commonwealth Government towards those conservation efforts.”

The Victorian State Government has attributed $2 million to the Faunal Emblems Program between 2023 and 2025 for targeted recovery actions for Leadbeater’s Possums and Helmeted Honeyeaters.

Since 2018, $6 million has been dedicated to improving the future of both species.

Victorian environment minister Steve Dimopoulos said the launch of the Leadbeater’s Possum Recovery Plan is a testament to the state’s collective dedication to ensuring the possum’s survival and the conservation of its natural heritage, marking a critical step towards protecting Victoria’s iconic possum species.

“Together with the Federal Government, we share in a commitment to protect the Leadbeater’s Possum and the conservation of its precious environment, laying the foundation for a sustainable future for Victoria’s biodiversity more broadly,” he said.

Minister Tanya Plibersek met a Leadbeater’s possum joey having first health check.

Picture: ZOOS VICTORIA

Master of the Honourable Company of Air Pilots Jonathan Legat presented Amanda Deed, Theresa MacDonald, Jessica Phillips and Gail Collins with their second place award. Picture: SUPPLIED

Cenotaph upgrade on track

By Callum Ludwig

Cenotaph is set for an upgrade which will fill in the blanks in some of the township’s war history.

The Rotary Club of Wandin was successful in applying for funding from the Department of Veteran’s Affairs ‘Saluting Their Service’ Commemorative Grants Program, with $6000 provided to install a new stone plinth and seven more bronze plaques with the names of more service people from Wandin.

Rotarian Gavan McIntyre said it’s quite a big project that’s been in planning for the past 18 months.

“We decided to take up the mantle but the plaques themselves are about $6000, and then we’ve got to do the stone plinth which has to be installed with a crane,” he said.

“The funding is $6000 from the (Department of) Veterans Affairs, $2000 from Rotary and $2000 from the Wandin Silvan Field Days committee who decided to put some money in, they have in the past helped with community projects and decided it was a worthy project.”

The project is anticipated to be unveiled during the annual Anzac Day mid-morning service held at the Wandin Cenotaph.

Mr McIntyre said he thinks the project is very important and will help people to continue to remember and preserve the service of these people.

“I think this generation, the young ones in particular, they’re all really on top of it and they’re interested in it and they’ll keep the whole thing rolling which is great because I think it had a bit of a flat spot years ago,” he said.

“You’d go to some memorial services and there wouldn’t be many people here, but now you go to one like our last Anzac Day one and there were 400 plus people there, which is pretty good for a little town like Wandin.”

The missing names and details set to be incorporated into the Cenotaph space were compiled by Anthony McAleer OAM and Chris Manders, who set about gathering information of the Wandin residents missing from the memorial, as well as more details about those featured, following the centenary of World War One.

Mr McAleer said the tradition 100 years ago

when a lot of memorials were created was to only include the surname and the initial of the person.

Now 100 years ago everybody knew who those people on the memorial were, but 100 years later it’s hard to get any details and it’s harder to connect with these people on a personal level,” he said.

“What we’ve done now is include their full name, their rank, the unit they served with, the years that they served and whether they served in the Navy or as part of the nursing service or with the AIF (Australian Imperial Force) or a particular branch of the AIF like the artillery

and for those who died while on active service, it’s got things like the date that they died and the cemetery where they’re buried.”

A similar updating project was carried out at the Montrose War Memorial, while the newer Seville War Memorial was also designed to include more detail than memorials historically would have.

Mr McAleer said he thinks people gain a better understanding of the local service and sacrifice with the added detail.

“We’ve been lucky that a lot of further information has been provided by things like the

National Archives and such so it was certainly easier to track down and there was a variety of reasons these names could have been left off, like for example, they were living in Wandinthen they moved to New South Wales and enlisted there,” he said.

“It’s not surprising that so many were missed but I think it’s good for us all these generations later to recognise and pay tribute to them by giving more detail and certainly personalising a lot more and allowing people to make that connection with the names of those who served and sacrificed.”

Anzac Day deadline for Seville War Memorial access

By Callum Ludwig

The Seville War Memorial is set to be made accessible just in time for this year’s Anzac Day dawn service.

With support from the Community Bank of Wandin/Seville, the two damaged panels will be removed over the coming weeks alongside the temporary fencing and further plans to replace them are underway,

Despite only two panels set to be standing at the memorial for the foreseeable future, Chair of the SevilleWar Memorial Committee Anthony McAleer said they’ll still have two important stories up there for the community to focus on during the Anzac Day service.

“The dawn services have been getting increasingly bigger each year, we were building on that momentum but didn’t want to have the situation like we did on Remembrance Day where the memorial that we worked so hard for was closed off with no access to it,” he said.

“Our message to the community is to come along and support the service, we’ve certainly put a lot of work into getting a war memorial done for this community and certainly are extremely appreciative of the Bendigo Bank and their support to enable the memorial to be opened enough for Anzac Day for our Dawn Service.”

The SevilleWar Memorial has been fenced off since mid-September 2023 after a vandalism attack left the panels featuring Private Bruce Bethune and Victoria Cross recipient George Ingram shattered.

Chairman of the Community Bank of Wandin/Seville Ray Barrett said while they are happy to support the first stage of replac-

ing the panels, it’s very sad that it got to this stage.

“It is vastly disappointing that these people in the community don’t respect what’s there, so that’s why we wanted to step in and take the two panels down so Anthony can run the dawn service,” he said.

Branch Manager Jackie Butler said she thinks the service is really important for the community.

“It’s built year on year and it was important the residents got something in their own community so they didn’t have to go anywhere else,” she said.

The vandalism incident at the Seville War Memorial has not been an isolated attack in the Yarra Ranges; the Montrose War Memorial was graffitied on the morning of Remembrance Day in 2023 and the Hookey Park War Memorial in Mooroolbark previously had a plaque stolen back in 2016.

Mr McAleer said they want the memorials can overcome the incidents and be restored to their former glory and they don’t want to have mindless vandals to be the ones to destroy that for the community.

“Since we had the memorial unveiled, the Seville community has certainly embraced it but there’s even people coming from outside

of the district to come and see the memorial,” he said. “Number one, because it recognises a person of national significance in the fact that George Ingram was the last Australian Victoria Cross recipient for World War One, but also because it’s quite unique, the whole project was all about creating a public work of art as well as having a a memorial that would educate people,”

“It’s become an icon for Seville.”

Mr McAleer, Lilydale RSL President Bill Dobson and Mt Evelyn RSL President Matt Crymble have been in discussions with Evelyn MP Bridget Vallence to advocate for greater penalties for the vandalism of war memorials, with Ms Vallence having brought up the concern in parliament and told the Star Mail in January this year that it is one of her goals for the year ahead.

President of the Seville Township Group Graeme Black said they hope to increase the security of the memorial when it is restored.

“It’s our hope that by perhaps Remembrance Day we may have the complete restoration,” he said.

“The other thing is that we’re imminently expecting CCTV cameras which will capture this area and the along the highway, these have all been passed and funded by the Federal Government and so we expect that to happen fairly soon.”

On 31 January 2019, $440,000 in funding from the Department of Home Affairs was allocated towards the Yarra Ranges Safety Camera Network following an election promise from former Casey MP Tony Smith set to bring a network of CCTV cameras to Seville, Warburton, Montrose, Monbulk and Millgrove.

L-R: Community Bank Wandin Seville Director Kim Parry, Chairman Ray Barrett, Branch Manager Jackie Butler, President of Seville Township Group Graeme Black and Chair of the Seville War Memorial Committee Anthony McAleer OAM.

Picture: CALLUM LUDWIG

The Wandin

The Wandin Cenotaph is set to receive an upgrade.

Picture: ON FILE

Financial squeeze on cafe

By Callum Ludwig

The Koha Community Cafe is calling on its supporters for donations to help ensure its Thursday community meals and Friday food packages can continue.

Whether or not attendees have been able to make a small donation when they receive their meal on a Thursday night or not, the Koha Community Cafe has been serving them for 14 years.

President of the Koha Community Cafe Suyin Chan said they rely heavily on receiving donations at the cafe.

“While we have a partnership with Yarra Ranges Council, it only goes so far. We continue to apply for other funding to meet our needs, but it’s a very difficult climate financially and there is a lot of competition for funding,” she said.

“Funds raised will go towards keeping us operational. We have bills to pay such as utilities, and need to buy food each week. We are run by volunteers with only the chef being paid each week to make the meals, being such a huge job to make food for potentially 100 meals on the night.”

A reduction in the amount of useable rescue food, rising cost of utility bills and repairs or replacements for broken down equipment have all contributed to the current squeeze on the cafe.

Vice President and Secretary of the Koha Community Cafe Alexandra Barton-Johnson said there are plenty of ways for people to help out.

“We hope to increase our income by hosting catering events that anyone can request, increased assistance with donations of food partnerships or donations with businesses or organisations could help us with our running costs,” she said.

“Bring your friends along to put a small do-

nation in and if you do come for dinner and you don’t have time to volunteer officially, you can help us out by cleaning up after yourselves, wiping the tables or helping us sweep the floor so that we can get out of there earlier as all of our current volunteers are at capacity.”

The Koha Community Cafe space can be found at 25A Dammans Road, Warburton and is open for use outside of the cafe’s hours, with craft and theatre groups among those who already use it.

Ms Chan said they truly are grateful that community members support the cafe to keep going. “They are what make Koha special and allow for a welcoming inclusive place to go.

Our volunteers are the lifeblood of the cafe, and we couldn’t do any of this without them,” she said.

“We feel we play an important part in the community being able to offer a weekly meal for a donation, or even if people can’t afford to donate.We have a number of regulars who rely on us being here each week.We also play a part in being a place for social connection where everyone is welcome and can feel comfortable joining in,”

“For some, it can get them out of their social isolation, for others it’s meeting people weekly and catching up over a meal, including their children. Our excess meals and produce on

Friday mornings is welcomed by many who don’t like to come out at night, but can still access meals during the day.”

Nothing goes to waste even after Friday mornings, with meals delivered up the highway to Redwood Centre soup kitchen for those who need them.

Anyone interested in donating or finding out more can visit the ‘Koha Community Cafe’ Facebook page, while the cafe committee are also working on a GoFundMe page and including a ‘Donate’ button on the website. Koha Community Cafe is a registered charity, so any donations over $2 are tax deductible.

SupporttheKohaCommunityCafetodeliveritsweeklymealsorevenhirethespaceforyourownuse. Picture:ONFILE

Op shop ready to roll again

By Dongyun Kwon

After about one and a half months of waiting, Coldstream Op Shop has reopened with new owners.

Angela Jones and Rebecca Carter, who were regular customers of the previous Coldstream Op Shop, took over the shop and reopened the business on Monday 4 March.

Ms Jones said she walked into the shop one day and asked John and Rae (previous owners) why they were closing the op shop.

“I mentioned to Rae and John that Rebecca and I had talked about opening up an op shop one day,” she said

“But it was like a hypothetical one day long in the future.

“Because Rae and John knew me and what we’re about, they said‘Well, if you take over the business, then you could have all the stock and fittings’.”

Ms Carter said the first week went well.

“We’re really welcomed by the community,” she said.

“The customers were very grateful that it didn’t close down and disappeared completely.

“They’ve really welcomed the changes because we’ve done a lot of cleaning and made it a little bit more spacious but they also loved that it hasn’t changed too much.”

The profits will go towards supportingYarra Ranges Women’s Network which is a support group for local women that has been run by Ms Carter for a couple of years.

“We were struggling with funding and hav-

ing to go through the grant process which is complex, stressful and has to be done every year,” Ms Jones said.

“So we talked about opening an op shop one day that would fund the service that Rebecca has started, but we just didn’t expect it to be this soon.”

Ms Carter has a social work background and Ms Jones has a counseling background.

They want to reintegrate women back into the community through volunteering or being part of workshops at the op shop.

“After Covid, women have become very isolated and we’re trying to be the change that we hope to see in the Valley and create a place where women can find themselves again, particularly after traumatic experiences,” Ms Jones said.

The current owners want the shop to be the same as the previous one.

“We want it to be cheap, friendly and a community hub which is what Rae and John created,” Ms Jones said.

“We want to carry their legacy.”

Coldstream Op Shop is now calling for volunteers.

“They could do anything they want from an hour to five hours shifts. They don’t have to do customer service, they can be at the back if they want,” Ms Jones said.

The op shop is now operated between 10am and 3pm from Monday to Friday, but the owners are planning to open on Saturday with shorter hours.

“We’re hoping to do it from 10am to 1pm on Saturday as well,” Ms Carter said.

Wandin North Golden Opportunity Shop faces closure

By Callum Ludwig

A much-loved op shop in the Upper Yarra is seeking someone to give it a new lease on life and prevent it from a sad closure.

The Golden Opportunity Shop was first opened in Seville in 2009 before relocating to Wandin North in 2014, has been run by the Anglican Parish of Wandin, Seville and Mount Evelyn and operated by volunteers from in and out of the church community.

Committee member of the Golden Opportunity Shop Glenda Fraser has said they have managed to give back locally and further afield through running the shop.

“Our main aim of the shop was to connect with the community and to give back to the community, a small part of our takings goes back to the church just to help with special projects in the church but the majority of the money goes to community groups,” she said.

“We’ve built up pretty strong relationships with local schools, scouts and guides, the CFA and different welfare groups in the valley, like LinC, Benwerren, the Mustard Tree and Anglicare,”

“We’ve also always tried to do a national fund and in the last few years, because of flooding, because of drought, you name it, we’ve had it all over the country, we’ve distributed quite a bit of money to CWAs (Country Women’s Associations) in Queensland, NSW andVictoria to help with relief and even sent some funds internationally as well.”

Initially based on the site of the current Woolworths in Seville, the shop was forced to move when the site was bought but the shop wasn’t held back, with the next few years seeing their volunteer force more than quadruple and recognition be given for their efforts, including receiving the Rotary Club of Wandin’s Community Service Award in 2017.

Ms Fraser said they are having to give up the shop due to the aging church congregation.

“Churches are facing a real decline, and it’s difficult to get younger people into churches now, so we’re having a bit of a battle at our church to maintain numbers and of course, our populations are getting older and older,” she said.

“The number of people that can donate time to work in the op shop is just reducing and reducing, my husband and I work a lot behind the scenes, doing the things that nobody else can do, because we’re fairly ablebodied but the big crunch has come because

we’re moving out of the area and there’s just nobody to take over the job that we do,”

“So it’s coming to a not very nice finale at the moment, where we are facing the closure of the shop. I’ve reached out to so many different groups but they are getting out of running op shops, so we just keep coming up against brick walls.”

Without a new owner, the Golden Opportunity Shop is set to shut on Friday 26 April.

Ms Fraser said the op shop is all set up and ready to go for anyone who might want to take it on.

“We’ve got a very dedicated clientele who come from near and far, not just local areas and we pride ourselves on running a pretty good shop, but we get good feedback about it, I was working there on Saturday and I had a lady come in and as she was at the counter making a purchase she told me how much she loved it,” she said.

“She was just so full of praise for it and I almost cried and couldn’t bring myself to tell her we were going to have to close,”

“We’ve been really well supported by lots of people from the community because the shop is part of their life, they’ve built relationships with the other volunteers and it’s now almost part of their social structure.”

Ms Fraser encouraged anyone interested in continuing on the life of the Golden Opportunity Shop to contact her at 0433 554 949.

The shop faces closure by the end of April without new ownership.

L-R: Volunteers Denise, Cynthia and Jacqui at the Golden Opportunity Shop in Wandin North. 393597

Pictures: STEWART CHAMBERS

Cynthia and Jacqui show off some of what’s on offer at the Golden Opportunity Shop. 393597

Rebecca Carter and Angela Jones (L-R).

Picture: DONGYUN KWON

Cleaning up Badger Creek

By Dongyun Kwon

volunteers cleaned up Badger Creek revegetation sites on Sunday 3 March as Clean Up Australia Day is the first Sunday of March every year.

Healesville Environment Watch Inc (HEWI) has been involved with Clean Up Australia Day for many years choosing different sites around the Healesville area depending on the need each year.

HEWI secretary Karen Garth said seven volunteers from different local groups participated in the clean-up event.

“We had volunteers representing HEWI, Mt Toolebewong and District Landcare, Healesville Rotary, Badger Creek Community and Healesville Scouts as well as local MP Cindy McLeish,” she said.

“We collected 2 bags of rubbish, one of recycling, an old mattress protector, a rubber ball and a broken garden ornament and pulled out a lot of Calystegia weed which was smothering our revegetation.”

The volunteers started setting up around

9.30am, had a cuppa break for about 20 minutes and did the cleaning until about 12.15pm.

Ms Garth said she was very pleased with the event.

“It’s always a friendly activity where people from different groups mingle and learn about each other’s group,” she said.

“We all felt great because we could find some hidden litters and pull the weeds off from smothering our vegetation so that we could protect our local platypus and other water creatures along waterways in Badger Creek.”

Ms Garth and other volunteers were horrified by the amount of dog faeces on the streets and the grass.

“We’d like to request that people walking their dogs take bags with them to pick up their dogs’ poo,” she said.

“It’s unpleasant for other people to step in, particularly in the playground areas where children run around.

“With the next rain, those faeces will raise the pollution level of our local creek, go into Yarra River and end up in Port Phillip Bay.”

Rubbish no match for Gladysdale Primary School

On Monday 4 March, Gladysdale Primary School walked to the Ernst Lloyd Reserve to pick up rubbish for Clean Up Australia Day. Staff and students picked up rubbish along the nature strip on their way to and from the reserve and cleaned up the reserve once they arrived.

They continued to pick up rubbish on the nature strip in front of the school and within the school grounds and in total managed to

pick up 2.4kg of rubbish, saving it from ending up in the environment or littering the local area.

Students also made sure that all litter collected was sorted into general rubbish and recycling to be put into the appropriate bin.

Galysdale Primary School is very proud of the effort that everyone contributed and the school and the reserve look amazing.

Gladysdale Primary School students contributed to the clean-up effort at their school and the nearly Ernst Lloyd Reserve.

Lewis managed to pick up plenty of plastic.

Local

Seven volunteers from different local groups participated in the clean-up event.

Pictures: SUPPLIED Collected litter.

Calystegia weed.

Boosting our native food

By Dongyun Kwon

Around 70 native foods business practitioners attended the inaugural First Nations Native Food Blockchain Workshop in Healesville to learn about new options to track and sell native foods through blockchain.

The workshop was delivered by the RMIT Blockchain Innovation Hub and Digital3 Group in partnership with AgricultureVictoria and the Federation ofVictorianTraditional Owners Corporation (FVTOC) on 21 and 22 February.

Agriculture Vitoria senior project officer Samuel Nolan said Djakitjuk Djanga Community of Practice wanted to explore the potential use for blockchain technology to support outcomes through Victorian traditional owners and Aboriginal businesses in the industry.

“Ultimately, Agriculture Victoria wants the Victorian Aboriginal community to think about the possibilities for blockchain technology and how that can support them in the native food industry,” he said.

“TheworkshopwasheldattheRACVHealesville Country Club and Resort because Healesville is central for everyone across the State because the attendees were based from all around Victoria.”

RMIT Blockchain Innovation Hub learning director and associate professor Stuart Thomas said the idea of the workshop was to convey some of the RMIT’s ideas and perspectives about blockchain, particularly as an emerging form of useful economic and technical infrastructure.

“The blockchain allows emerging businesses to think about new and culturally appropriate ways of doing the things that they need to do in development,” he said.

“Also, our point of view from RMIT is to get together with those people who are leaders in the community and also leaders in the native foods and botanical business to inform what their concerns are, what their operating conditions are and where they’d like to see native foods businesses go for the broader economic, self-determination of the Aboriginal community.”

Over the two days, the workshop explored the potential for blockchain technology to support positive outcomes for Victorian Aboriginal native food businesses.

The workshop also focused on ways in which blockchain can support and uphold Indigenous Cultural Intellectual Property rights for Victorian Traditional Owners.

Assoc Prof Thomas said blockchain technology could achieve two important things in terms of managing information.

“Blockchain is a new way of managing information that is capable of operating in a much

more decentralised framework which gives all people engaging with it, but a lot more agency and control over the information that they hold.

“The other thing that is very important for the native food industry is for assurance of quality information about provenance and origin information about the product to ensure the integrity of the supply chain and the validity of the producers as they bring products to market so it can provide tractable and traceable information about the product for consumers.

“Consumers can see all the processing, packaging and other supply chain elements.”

Gunaikurnai Land And Waters Aboriginal Corporation (GLAWAC) economic development manager Rodney Short attended the workshop with Kevin Murray who is a head chef of a bushfoods cafe at Kalimna and Sam Monks who is a bushfoods project officer at Wulgunda Narloo Learning Place.

All three of them work for GLAWAC.

GLAWAC is the prescribed body corporate

for the Gunaikurnai people and claim area providing joint management of 14 parks and reserves withinVictoria.

It has a membership of more than 600 traditional owners, all of whom have proven their ancestral links to one of 25 apical ancestors registered in the Native Title Consent Determination.

Mr Short said he hadn’t known what the blockchain was before he attended the workshop.

“I certainly have a better understanding now of what the blockchain is through the workshop,” he said.

“In the past, there were some situations where the organisation that was promoting the products in a cultural way with cultural names and places was not actually an Aboriginal organisation.

“It [the workshop] was really about bringing the Aboriginal communities together in Victoria and looking at a way of using blockchains as a way that we can protect the cultural properties of bushfoods in the future.”

Mr Short said the workshop was a great opportunity for traditional owner groups to network with one another.

“What we are interested in doing is continuing to work with Ag Vic and with the federation to look at the potential of us developing our own blockchain as a traditional owner group of Victoria in the future,” he said.

“Personally, I feel like there’ll be more discussions around it over the next 12 months.

“Past that time, we might look at starting a blockchain for traditional owners to safeguard the intellectual property of bushfoods.”

Mr Nolan said Agriculture Victoria would keep supporting the native food industry.

“We have a number of initiatives that have been developed in partnership with Victorian traditional owners,” he said.

“We have provided funding and support for the implementation of the Native Food and Botanicals Strategy.

“We also have Aboriginal Landholder Information Service program and we are looking at more opportunities.”

Register to dispose of harsh chemicals in Lilydale

Community members will once again have the opportunity to clean out unwanted household chemicals from their sheds, cupboards and kitchen sinks by safely disposing of them at the upcoming Detox Your Home event in Lilydale.

Taking place on Saturday 6 April, Residents are required to register to drop off their chemicals at the Yarra Ranges Council Depot, located at 103-105 Nelson Road, Lilydale.

Running for more than 27 years, Sustainability Victoria’s Detox your Home events are a free and convenient service for residents to safely dispose of unwanted household chemicals.

Common products such as weedkiller, pesticides, cleaning chemicals, cosmetics, and cooking oil are all materials harmful to the environment and should not be placed in kerbside bins or poured down sinks.

Each Detox your Home event collects around four tonnes of hazardous chemicals, keeping them out of landfill and waterways and making homes safer.

Common chemicals collected at Detox your Home events include:

· Fuels and flammable liquids – turpentine,

methylated spirits, petrol, kerosene, diesel, paint thinners.

· Garden – herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers, pool chemicals, poisons.

· Household – cleaners, bleach, ammonia, oven cleaner, solvents, cooking oil, cosmetics, fire extinguishers.

· Car – wax, transmission fluid, body filler, brake fluid.

Detox your Home events are staffed by expert chemists who identify and sort the chemicals for safe transport back to a licensed facility in Melbourne where they are processed for reuse or safe disposal. Chemicals collected are processed and recovered or recycled wherever possible.

With community safety in mind, Detox your Home events are now drive-through and contactless, supported by a CovidSafe plan. Registrations are essential.

For more information on Detox Your Home, visit sustainability.vic.gov.au/detoxyourhome

Prepare to detox your home and dispose of household chemicals correctly with an event in Lilydale in early April. Picture: UNSPLASH

L-R: Sam Monks,Rodney Short and Kevin Murray.

First Nations Native Food Blockchain Workshop in Healesville. Pictures: SUPPLIED

Fun event for a good cause

By Dongyun Kwon

A family fun event will be held at the Dixons Creek Recreational Reserve to raise funds for cancer research.

Family Fun Fundraiser is an event which is organised to support the Cancer Council’s annual fundraising event The March Charge.

Cancer Council Victoria head of individual and community giving Natalie Gibbs said The March Charge is an online, month-long personal challenge that provides an opportunity for everyone to get healthy and contribute to raising funds for life-saving cancer research.

“Participants can walk, run, move solo or with friends or family anywhere and anytime during March,” she said.

“By taking part in it, you’ll be reducing your cancer risk, promoting physical activity and helping raise vital funds for cancer research, prevention, and support services.

“Participants can charge as individual or join other chargers and compete as a team by setting a kilometre goal and fundraising for Cancer Council.”

Cancer Council runs The March Charge not only to raise vital funds for cancer research but also to encourage people to be more active.

Ms Gibbs said one in three cancers could be prevented and being physically active is an important way to reduce cancer risk.

“The recommended amount of moderate physical activity per week for general health is 2.5 to 5 hours. This could be brisk walking, swimming, playing sports or dancing.

“Being physically active can help reduce the risk of bowel cancer, breast cancer after menopause and endometrial cancer, however, 55 per cent of adults are not sufficiently active.

“The March Charge is also a fun fitness challenge that has an enormous impact on how cancer is researched and treated. We’re calling it the charge effect and by joining us this March, people quickly learn what it feels like when a whole community rallies to support people affected by cancer.”

Sharon Chandler participated in The March Charge last year and wants to make it a bigger event this year.

She walked over 300km and raised over $1800 thanks to the help from the local community.

Ms Chandler said she wanted to make a family event so that everyone could have fun together.

“My son got diagnosed with leukemia, my dad had prostate cancer and my sister-in-law passed away from cancer last year,” she said.

“As much as the person who’s going through cancer, the family also suffers and I just wanted to make an event that people could donate for them but also get a bit of fun.

“All walking is on me over the whole month of March, but the event is helping for the fundraiser.”

There will be children’s activities, market stalls and bidding for silent auctions will close at midday followed by a $10 main raffle drawing with 12 prizes donated by local businesses at 1pm.

There will also be the hourly raffle which will cost $5 for two tickets and the hourly raffle winner will be able to choose a prize on the table.

Yarra Glen Towing will sponsor the barbecue and drinks at the event.

Showbags will be prepared as a gift for the first 100 children.

Besides the Family Fun Fundraiser, Ms Chandler has a kilometre goal.

“I’ve dropped my target to 150km this year because I’m doing the fundraiser and I’m also studying,” Ms Chandler said.

“I’ve set up $1000 as a target for the fundraiser.”

Cancer Council’s goal for this year’s The March Charge is to raise $1.97 million nationally and the fund will be used to support Cancer Council’s life-saving cancer research, prevention programs and support services for people affected by cancer, at every part of their experience.

“Anyone can get involved and there’s still time,” Ms Gibbs said.

“Set yourself a goal, get fit and fundraise.”

For more information about The March Charge, visit Cancer Council’s website, www. themarchcharge.com.au

Victoria Road reconstruction to get underway

Stage two reconstruction works of Victoria RoadYering are set to get underway shortly.

With traffic volumes along Victoria Road significantly increasing over the years, combined with increased rainfall, parts of the road pavement had begun to deteriorate.

This road reconstruction will ultimately see the road pavement rehabilitated and strengthened between Coldstream West Road to the driveway of property number 193 along Victoria Road Yering. Ryrie Ward councillor Fiona McAllister said having Victoria Road reconstructed was an important step in improving the safety of motorists in the area.

“Victoria Road is a main thoroughfare for locals and visitors, particularly those heading to and from Lilydale, so it’s been due for rehabilitation works for some time,” Cr McAllister said.

“With the stage one works having been

completed last year, to have the next stage of these works finished just before the Easter long weekend will be a great result for locals

and travellers to the area.”

“We just ask for your patience during the construction phase and to plan ahead if you

are travelling through the area.”

Works are scheduled to commence on Wednesday 13 March and are expected to be completed by Thursday 28 March, with both day and evening works to be undertaken during this time.

During construction, this section of Victoria Road will be closed to through traffic and will only be accessible by local residents, business and visitors who require access to properties in the vicinity of the works. Stage one of the works took place between Macintyre Lane Yering to Davidson Drive Coldstream and was completed in April 2023.

This project is part of the council’s 20232024 Capital Expenditure Program.

For more information on these works including a map of the impacted area, visit yarraranges.vic.gov.au/Development/Council-projects-works/Victoria-Road-Yering Stage-2-Road-Reconstruction-Works.

Victoria Road Yering will be reconstructed ready for the Easter long weekend. Picture: ON FILE

Ms Chandler raised over $1800 and walked over 300km through last year’s The March Charge.

Pictures: SUPPLIED

Sharon Chandler.

New programs launched

St Brigid’s seeks to provide children with the best kind of education possible, one that fosters a formation of the whole person that is deeply and enduringly humanising. With the gospel values - faith, hope and love as our guide, students learn how to follow in Christ’s footsteps.

In 2024, staff and students are learning together in the implementation of two new programs - Rock and Water, and TCL (Teachers as co-learners of Language). TCL involves actively learning new words, and knowing how to put them together for the purpose of communicating.

At St Brigid’s we understand that learners need to hear and use new words a lot before they retain them – up to 40 times. Italian is taught daily through short 15 minute Italian language-focused sessions that involve multimodal exposure and repetition, which allows students to anchor their new language in depth and to transfer knowledge to long-term memory through interweaving and recycling across contexts.

All teachers and students are co-learners of the Italian language and are supported by; a proficient speaking Language Assistant who supports the learning journey, and access to structured language resources to ensure the successful implementation of TCL. The TCL program also allows students to make explicit Literacy connections between their L1 (first language) and L2 (additional language). In participating in this innovative program, students demonstrate an increase in language acquisition and retention, higher levels of student engagement and confidence, and success in producing the target language spontaneously.

Rock and Water is an evidence-based program which is implemented in all Year 3 to 6

classes, teaching the students how to build self-awareness, social skills, self-control, and team building skills. It is proven to increase self-confidence, self-respect and self-reflection. These two new programs at St Brigid’s in 2024 add significant value to student learning and well-being programs.

Parents who choose St Brigid’s for their children’s educational journey report that one of the things that sets St Brigid’s School apart from others is the focus on the whole school community - the common good, solidarity and social justice.

Enrolments for Prep 2025 are now being ac-

cepted with applications accepted by date and classes capped at 25 students. Mrs Tess Dwyer (St Brigid’ss Principal) and some of our student leaders conduct personalised tours by appointment - please contact the office to book via the details below.

The gospel values underpin the education experience provided by St Brigid’s Primary School.

Picture: ON FILE

Creative writing embraced

By Callum Ludwig

Upper Yarra Secondary College (UYSC) students have embraced a new program enhancing their creative writing skills, born in the local community and run by local writers.

The Empublishment Project (EP) has been an eight-month deep dive into creative writing and publishing held from Term Three of 2023 through to Term One of 2024 at UYSC with the goal of publishing their very own book.

Director and key facilitator of The Empublishment Project Phoebe Rose Lines said it was originally planned as a 12-week creative writing course.

“Through the natural evolution of the pilot project delivery, it evolved into an eight month deep-dive for a group of Yarra Valley young people of diverse experience, identity and backgrounds; exploring identity, belonging and connection to place,” she said.

“The EP was developed to chart the entire creative process: from healthy creative practices and story inception, through to skills in narrative planning, creative writing techniques, editing and the self-publishing industry.”

Ms Lines is a youth worker and writer from the Upper Yarra who was inspired by similar successful programs like First Story in the UK and was successful in applying for funding from Yarra Ranges Council’s Grants for Community, Upper Yarra Community Enterprise, the Yarra Ranges Youth FReeZA program and UYSC to trial the Empublishment Project.

Ms Lines has also been supported by Auspicious Arts Projects, Your Library Yarra Junction and local photographer Kate Baker and hopes to receive more funding to run the program again and extend it nationally.

Ms Lines said the EP is ultimately about resilience and cultivating a deep sense of one’s own worth and it hopes to support young people to develop skills to navigate a swiftly changing world.

“Through creative process, group work and

mentoring, students build a strong sense of connection and belonging to their community and their group, being part of something meaningful and powerful - capable of changemaking in the world,” she said.

“They also gain confidence in their own capacity - to bring a project from inception through to completion and the artefact of their published book will remain something to be proud of always.”

Professional writers from the Upper Yarra and Victoria have run workshops and sessions throughout the program; Dr MayaWard taught Co-Becoming deep ecology writing practice, local storyteller Cora Zon taught Zine making workshops, young adult literature author Alison Evans taught the art of the short story, locally based re-wilding expert and non-fiction author Claire Dunn taught the mechanics of creative writing, and Upper Yarra resident Lindy Schneider - author, editor and creative writing facilitator - presented an editing and

self-publishing workshop.

Ms Lines said over the past eight months these amazing young people have explored the entire creative process.

“From healthy creative practice and different writing techniques including stream of consciousness and deep ecology writing, cobecoming practices based in indigenous ways of being, zine making, short story writing, Hero’s and Heroine’s Journey narrative archetypes, and mechanics of creative writing, plotting and dialogue,” she said.

“We’ve also explored the editing process, from rewriting, to copy and structural editing, along with the importance of alpha and beta readers and the self-publishing process (including graphic design and author photography),”

“To finish the program we have taken the final weeks of Term 1 2024 to cover professional writing (radio interview preparation, article and speech writing) and event management

101 as the young people organise their book launch for their book.”

A book launch event for the student’s book ‘Vignette: A Collection of Short Stories by Young Writers of the Yarra Valley’ will be held on Saturday 23 March at the Warburton Arts Centre.

Ms Lines said it had been profoundly moving to see how deep the young people have dived into the creative process.

“Upper Yarra Secondary College has a highly open-minded and innovative Principal, team and executives who are committed to delivering leading-edge programs and supporting leadership opportunities for their students,” she said.

“We’ve been so lucky to be embraced by UYSC and their truly amazing students (alongside one extraordinary homeschool student who has joined us for the entire program) - all of whom have flourished in this extended program.”

Messy play the best way to start the day for students

By Callum Ludwig

Don Valley Primary School is looking to address the lack of preschool activities in the area in the most messy but fun way possible.

On top of the regular playgroup, Don Valley Primary School held a Messy Play event on Thursday 7 March, with over 50 interested preschoolers, parents and guardians attending.

Teacher Kelly Corrie said it’s their sixth or seventh messy play event and it’s always a big hit.

“The playgroup’s been running for nearly 15 years and Kate (Weston) and I have been doing activities like this for probably the past eight years, Kate also does a gymnastic session on a Friday morning and we’ve done other sports sessions,” she said.

“We’re both staff members but we’re also both parents here, our children go here, it’s good to see so many new little faces coming through the school because people don’t even know we’re here, it’s a little hidden gem.”

Stations were spread out in the school yard ready to go, including slime, sand, cloured spaghetti, paint, mud and water; all the mucky things that parents don’t want to make a mess at home.

Ms Corrie said holding the event at the

school allows the kids to be let loose without parents having to worry about the mess.

“A lot of these children are Covid babies

and they lacked that social interaction to begin with so by providing this, it gets people out in the community, it gets them to support

local schools, but also it gets them to meet other parents and other families,” she said.

“The playgroup has had a big impact on mother’s mental health too, in my opinion, just getting out of the house, chatting with a group of people that all know what you’re going through and know all know the hardships that you go through whether you are a first-time parent or a second or third-time parent,”

“It’s also a really good transition program, we do have a lot of kids that are in Prep and Grade 1 this year that have done the playgroup program with me, and it helps them be more aware of the school and more used to the surroundings, so the transition into Prep isn’t as daunting.”

The slime, jelly and spaghetti were particular favourites among the kids in attendance.

Parent and School Council representative Shannon said it’s great for the little ones to come and get to be part of the school.

“It is family-friendly and it’s great for little kids, my boy’s got a few little issues so he’s just excelled,” she said.

“It’s great for him, he gets to meet some other kids because he only goes to kinder one day a week, so he gets time to play and get to know some of the other kids who will hopefully one day come to the school with him.”

L-R: Nathaniel and William played with the dinosaurs in the sand.L-R: Year 6 leaders Caleb, Mason, Gabby and Ella helped out, while not missing out on the fun themselves.

Doug enjoyed finding handfuls of jelly in his favourite colour; green. Pictures: CALLUM LUDWIG

Darcy was surprised to see the multicoloured spaghetti.

Students have been empowered in their creative writing through ‘The Empublishment Project’. Phoebe Rose Lines. Pictures: KATE BAKER

Peace and connection key

The Yarra Valley Living Centre invites the community to join in a day of celebration and connection at its upcoming Open Day on Sunday 24 March 2024.

This free event promises a delightful blend of activities and stalls designed to bring people together and foster a sense of harmony.

Under the theme ‘Peace in the Valley’, attendees can expect a wide array of engaging experiences from 10am to 2pm. Activities include forest bathing, face painting, drumming circles, eco-art, meditation for all ages and much more. Families are welcome to partake in activities such as horse encounters, Bollywood dancing, and an Aboriginal yarning circle.

The event isn’t just about fun and games. Guests will have the opportunity to engage with insightful talks by renowned speakers such as Dr. Sanjay Rhagav on Neuroscience and Meditation, Dr. Peter Johnson on Lifestyle Medicine, Maureen Chen on The Balance of Love and Power, and Anthony Chiminello on How the Diet of Your Mind Can Destroy Your Health. These discussions aim to inspire healthier, more sustainable lifestyles for all members of the community.

And of course, no community event is complete without delicious food! Indulge in culinary delights from Find A Penny, Willows and Brew coffee van, OMG Donuts, and Sustainative’s bush foods. Plus, all proceeds from Find A Penny’s catering will support those in need.

Cap off the day with a mesmerizing openair Peace Concert from 2pm to 4pm, featuring enchanting performances by harpist Michael Johnson, African drummer Kofi Kunkpe, and local artists.

“We’re excited to welcome the community to our Open Day,” Peace Concert host Andy Travis said.

“It’s an opportunity to come together, enjoy each other’s company, and explore ways to promote peace and connection in our lives.”

Don’t miss out on this enriching and uplifting event! Bring your friends, family, and a picnic blanket, and let’s celebrate peace, connection, and co-creation together at Yarra Val-

ley Living Centre. Coordinator Maureen Chen said the Yarra Valley Living Centre (formerly run by the Gawler Foundation) is staffed by volunteer meditators.

“It’s located on 40 acres of kangaroo grassland, native forest and gardens. The centre

offers a range of programs focused on health, healing, wellbeing, and spirituality for life,” she said.

“The centre’s mission is to help people live happier, healthier, and more fulfilling lives, becoming agents of inspiration in their everyday world.”

A yarning circle will gather on the Open Day.

Anna to make her mark

After a successful 2023, not-for-profit Business and Traders advocacy group, Warburton Valley CEDA (WVCEDA) is pleased to announce the appointment of new president Anna Tehan.

Ms Tehan joined the committee in 2023 and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in project and stakeholder management that will help WVCEDA consolidate its strengths and meet the needs of members in 2024 and beyond.

Ms Tehan is a passionate supporter of our region and committed to developing partnerships and connections that help build business confidence and prosperity.

The volunteer-based group, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary this year, has more than 100 local members. The new 2024 committee, which boasts nine active local business owners within theWarburtonValley, has representatives from hospitality, retail, manufacturing, outdoor adventure, tourism and accommodation, wellbeing, professional services and tradespeople.

“Our focus is on business-to-business communication and support for our members, and I look forward to working with our local businesses,” Ms Tehan said.

“There are many opportunities for collabo-

rations that we can help facilitate. Our members know their needs are being actively represented to key stakeholders.”

Much of WVCEDA’s work goes on behind the scenes, and they are regularly called on by local, state and federal government agencies, stakeholders and interest groups to provide input and feedback.

“We are proud of the connections we have fostered. Successful leadership is passionate, empathetic, balanced, and outcome focused. Anna is a terrific addition to the committee, and we look forward to her input,” outgoing president Cleo Silva said.

“Our region is rich in natural beauty, and we are a welcoming and inclusive destination. Our aim is to support the growth and awareness of all businesses along theWarburtonValley corridor,” Ms Tehan said.

“Our approach is to connect business and community – together we are stronger.”

WVCEDA is successful in providing a series of networking forums for new and interested members and will be offering a Wellbeing Business Expo inWarburton in May 2024 (date tbc).

New members are welcome. All enquiries to: Info@warburtonvalley.org

Over 50s encouraged to get active at the library

By Callum Ludwig Eastern Health, Inspiro Health, Yarra

Ranges Council and Belgravia Leisure have partnered together to bring informative sessions on activating living to a pair of local libraries.

The sessions are for local residents aged 50 and above to help promote all aspects of healthy living and aging, including some new ideas for getting active.

Health Promotion Officer of Community Health at Eastern Health Casey Dykes said it’s extremely important for people across their lifespan to integrate activity and movement into their daily lives.

“We’ll be talking about barriers to active living and how to address them, how to improve balance and reduce the risk of falls and giving tips and tricks for how to incorporate movement into every day,” she said.

“We’ll also be having a demonstration from Belgravia Leisure staff of a low-impact seated activity where people can try a new activity in a comfortable and supported environment, with no pressure,”

“We’ll then be finishing the session off with some light refreshments where people will have an opportunity to chat to others as well as ask questions to Yarra Ranges Council Service Navigation Officers, as well as Eastern Health, Community Health staff about the services on offer for the local community.”

Tai Chi will be the activity of choice at Yarra Junction Library while Chair Pilates will be demonstrated at the Healesville Library. Each library will host three sessions:

Yarra Junction Library:

· 9-11am, Tuesday 12 March

· 1-3pm, Thursday 14 March

· 5-7pm, Thursday 14 March

· Healesville Library:

· 9-11am, Monday 18 March

· 1-3pm, Monday 18 March

· 5-7pm, Tuesday 19 March

Ms Dykes said they developed the content for the sessions thanks to the generous feedback of the community when they asked what they’d like to learn about when thinking about active living.

“The feedback told us that people want to try new activities, they want to improve their balance and reduce the risk of falls and they need activities to be available to them at free or low cost, at a time that suits them and activities with a social aspect,” she said.

“We then built the session around this by providing information about improving balance, exploring the benefits of active living and giving free and easily implemented tips and tricks to increase activity levels.”

Active wear is not required for the activity component of the session and attendees are encouraged to just wear whatever they feel comfortable in.

Ms Dykes said in over 50s the benefits of active living are plentiful and can make a big difference in people’s lives as they age.

“These benefits include but aren’t limited to increased self-perceived wellbeing and feeling of connection, reduced risk of falls, improved sleep and stimulated appetite. It’s never too late to add movement into your life and it can be modified to suit many needs,” she said.

“It can act as a protective factor to health and wellbeing and contribute to improving all aspects of health including social, emotional and mental health,”

“We hope that the people who come along leave the session feeling confident and empowered to begin, increase or maintain movement and activity in their day-to-day life. We feel that everyone who comes to the session will benefit whether that be from the active living information, social connection or opportunity to ask questions about services available in the area.”

Over 50’s can register for a Yarra Junction session at this link www.trybooking.com/ CPEPA or by contacting Yarra Junction Library. Registration for the Healesville sessions can be done at this link www.trybooking.com/CPEPE or by contacting the Healesville Library. Alternatively, anyone can contact Casey at Casey. Dykes@easternhealth.org.au

‘Pawsome’ event helps homeless animals

By Dongyun Kwon

A fun event for dog lovers is returning to Yarra Valley to challenge dogs through obstacle courses.

Animal Aid will host Adventure Dog 2024 at Wandin Park Estate in Gruyere from 9.30am to 4pm on Sunday 7 April.

Animal Aid digital media coordinator Jessica Walley said the event first started in 2018 aiming at a stronger connection between humans and dogs.

“Animal Aid wanted to make a fun event that helps create the bond between humans and dogs stronger,” she said.

“Since it’s grown over the years, it’s now our biggest fundraiser.”

Adventure Dog 2024 is aiming to raise a $100,000 fund to support Animal Aid’s welfare mission for about 6000 homeless animals it has in its shelter with providing them with desexing, re-homing and vet checks.

Animal Aid CEO Mark Menze said every registration, every cheer and every dollar raised will bring them closer to their $100,000 goal.

“This is more than a target. It’s a lifeline for countless animals in need of care and a forever home,” he said.

Participants and their four-legged friends will run through the diverse obstacle courses with jelly, mud, coloured chalk, balls and foam pits.

Renee Smart participated in last year’s Adventure Dog with her 2-year-old Border Collie Allie.

She said she had a lot of fun last year and is looking forward to this year’s Adventure Dog.

“Last year, I found it on Facebook and thought it would be really fun to get wet and muddy with my dog,” she said.

“We had so much fun last year and I’m still in touch with some participants I met during the event. It was a good bonding experience between me and my dog Allie, and also other people.”

“I already signed up [for Adventure Dog 2024] within 24 hours after it came online.”

For more information, registration or to sponsor a participant, please visit adventure-dog-2024.raisely.com

WVCEDA’s new president Anna Tehan.

Picture: SUPPLIED

The Healesville Library will be hosting some of the informative sessions. Picture: ON FILE

Renee Smart and Allie are ready to get wet and muddy. Pictures: DONGYUN KWON

Renee Smart and Allie.

The world is watching our Facebook fight!

An open letter to Prime MinisterAnthonyAlbanese

Dear Prime Minister, Your first response to Facebook brazenly announcing they’ll stop paying for our news that they use to make a fortune from was…perfect!

“That’s not the Australian way,” you said.

Exactly. Australians hate bullies. Australians fight for a fair go. And this battle is not just a fight for a fair go here - the whole world is watching.

Meta, the trillion dollar tech giant that owns Facebook has built an empire out of content they don’t own. They don’t produce anything. They ‘share’ the great work of others and keep the cash.

The Australian government was the first in the world to call out this scandal, and in 2021 the News Media Bargaining Code forced them to finally pay for news content.

But not anymore.

Meta is betting that if they bully the Australian government, they win the world.

PM, this is a fight for the future of news and democracy. This is fight against fake news and a fight for a fair go for all journalists who hold the powerful to account, all around the world.

Let’s make sure Australia shows Facebook what a fair go is. The world is watching.

Yours sincerely,

Andrew Schreyer President Country Press Australia

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Dive into sisters’ journey

By Dongyun Kwon

Local author and artist Lucy Hawkins had a book launch event inviting local students at Your Library Healesville.

The book launch event went successfully with about 150 Grade 5 and 6 students from Healesville Primary School and St Brigid’s Catholic Primary School, including Hawkins’ daughter who goes to St Brigid’s Catholic Primary School.

Hawkins said her book The Salvager’s Quest is about the journey of two Healesville girls to another planet.

“Two sisters from Healesville found another planet called Planet Beatrice and were embroiled in an exciting quest to save endangered animals on the Earth,” she said.

“[The idea was come up with while] I was watching on the news with the massive bushfires of December 2019 and January 2020 and saw many people were losing their homes and billions of animals were dying due to the bushfires.

“I was pregnant with my second daughter and doing lots of bush walks and I was questioning what kind of world I was bringing them into because the pandemic was about to come to our shores, that’s why I decided to write this book.”

The book launch event was run by Your Library Healesville.

Your Library children’s services officer Rose Herring said she wanted to create a big event in the library that could bring local schools together and would be educational, inspirational, fun and free for schools when she began her role as children’s services officer in late 2022.

“In 2023, I collaborated with Kristen Darrell and organised our first schools’ event with 3 schools and over 270 students,” she said.

“The event was such a success and I decided to try to have a school’s event every year.

“So,inOctoberlastyearwhenLucyHawkins approached me about her new book The Salvagers Quest, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to run another big event with schools.”

All copies of The Salvagers Quest were borrowed on the day at the library and more have been reserved.

“The students loved that the book was written with characters that were from their hometown of Healesville and it was great to be able to support local schools and promote local authors,” Herring said.

After the author’s talk, the library team ran a 35-minute creative writing workshop session where all students from both schools worked together as a group to create character profiles.

Herring said all students participated in the session, sharing their ideas for what their characters look like, their personalities, strengths, weaknesses and superpowers.

“We put the answers to a vote and the most popular answers became the base for the character profile, we used large flip charts to write

up the answers so the students could see their ideas, and we sent the profiles to the schools after the event so they could get writing at school,” she said.

“The exercise was hilarious fun, it gave the kids an opportunity to get involved and hopefully inspired to go home or back to school with ideas for stories of their own.

“Kids spent so much time on screens these days and it was wonderful to see them using their imaginations to create wondrous worlds and characters.”

Hawkins said she got inspired by the students.

“They were so wonderful, interested and respectful and they listened and asked questions, they were really on the ball and had amazing perspectives and were so knowledgeable,” she said.

“They were so creative and their ideas were incredible and I hope they were inspired to keep writing if they’ve got a story in them.”

Hawkins takes after her dad who was a journalist and author.

She worked at Cosmopolitan Magazine and The London Paper in the UK as well as newspapers and magazines around the world.

“Working at Cosmopolitan Magazine was an incredible experience at such a young age, but I realised fashion wasn’t really what I was interested in doing,” Hawkins said.

“I left the magazine and I got a job at a film production company and then worked my way up through production to become an art director.”

When Hawkins became 29, she left London and started her journey around the world.

She went to Mexico to teach English and went to Bermuda next.

“I wrote some articles for the newspaper and wrote a play for the theatre [in Bermuda] and then I went to Argentina and I got a job in an extreme sports and wine magazine,” Hawkins said.

“Then I came to Spain where I was a journalist for a few magazines and got a job as a radio presenter and worked for an English language radio station.”

Hawkins now lives in Healesville with her husband and two daughters and is into painting.

“I was so inspired by all the nature around us, so I painted a series of Australian native birds and animals,” she said.

“Now I make my paintings into greeting cards, print on fabric and tea towels and a few shops sell my things.”

Hawkins collaborated with local artist Clare James for the illustration of the book cover.

“I wanted the two girls of the book to be based on my daughters but they were only babies at the time, so I had to imagine what they might look like when they were nine and 12,” she said.

“I drew the girls and the ship, then Clare with her incredible watercolour skills painted it so beautifully.”

Given how popular it seems to be becoming, the author has decided to make it a series of six books.

‘Dream big and work hard for the dream’ is advice to the young generation that the author, who has had lots of experiences all over the world, would like to give.

“If there is something that you want to do with your life, dream big and make it realistic,” Hawkins said.

“We don’t need approval or a million likes to validate ourselves. If it’s something that you love doing, just do it and watch your journey improve.”

Traditional and abstract art blend at upcoming exhibit

By Callum Ludwig

An opportunity to meet an Upper Yarra artist over a glass of wine is coming up, with any and all are welcome to come for a chat and to see some of his latest works.

Through the YAVA gallery, Woori Yallock resident Jerry Osadczuk will be at Steels Gate Wines in Dixons Creek from 6pm on Thursday 14 March for a launch of a small exhibition of his work.

Mr Osadczuk said the exhibition is a mixture of things he has been working on, with about eight paintings to be on display.

“It is a mixture of abstract and traditional landscape pieces and the inspiration is from western and central Australia, the colours in the paintings are going towards that area,” he said.

“I worked in Kalgoorlie for a while, so that’s mainly where I liked the colours of the ochres

and things like that.”

Mr Osadczuk has a background in Sumie, a form of Japanese ink painting and printmaking which is what inspired him to create the landscape works he does.

“It’s all to do with the wrist action, a lot of people make the mistake of holding the brush like a pen and they think they’re going to draw with it but you’ve got to hold it and you have to have a really limp wrist,” he said.

“It sounds ridiculous but that’s how you get the flow of the thing, almost waving your wrist around to get that flow going, though you still have to know what you’re doing.”

Mr Osadczuk has also twice been a finalist in the Cliftons Art Prize, which invites entries from Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore and is awarded for the best works of painting, drawing or photography.

Ms Osadczuk said he does most of his

paintings while on the floor.

“The only time I put my paintings on an easel is when I finish them off, such as if I want to use a few different colours or fill a part in that I thought should be filled in,” he said.

“I don’t actually have a lot of ideas about where I’m going until I see what’s happening once the colours go into each other, because a lot of the time it’s hit and miss and you don’t feel a hundred per cent what’s going to happen because paint’s still wet,”

“That’s why I don’t often and don’t like to do commissions, because I’m not going to do a carbon copy of what you saw.”

Tickets to come to the launch are free but attendees must RSVP prior in order to book their place at yava.org.au/yava-openings/ launch-jerry-osadczuk-at-steels-gate-wines. Canapes are available upon arrival and any drinks are at restaurant prices.

Jerry Osadczuk will be at Steels Gate Wines and happy to chat about his work on Thursday 14 March at 6pm. Picture: ON FILE

Lucy Hawkins with her book and paintings.

Picture: DONGYUN KWON

The Salvager’s Quest is about the journey of two Healesville girls to another planet.

Picture: SUPPLIED

The book launch event went successfully with about 150 Grade 5 and 6 students from Healesville Primary School and St Brigid’s Catholic Primary School, including Hawkins’ daughter who goes to St Brigid’s Catholic Primary School. Picture: SUPPLIED

Come for a movie

By Callum Ludwig

The Mont De Lancey Historic Homestead is hosting another family-friendly event, welcoming movie lovers young and old to come along.

In a throwback to the glory days of drivein and outdoor cinemas, Mont De Lancey is opening up the gates for the first of what is hopefullymanyCinemainthePaddockevents.

Mont De Lancey Historic Homestead Administrator Deb Duncan said she and her husband went to a similar experience just before Christmas, really loved it and thought it would make a great addition to what is offered at Mont de Lancey.

“We’ve got a perfect place for it in the paddock, which is where a lot of our school tours happen so some of the younger ones would already know about it, and so we decided to do a family-friendly movie,” she said.

“There’ll be games for the kids to play, there’ll be a paddock candy bar, there’ll be hot food and drinks available and it should be a fantastic night.”

The first movie set for screening is ‘The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part’, following the second adventure of hero Emmett following the invasion of Duplo aliens.

Ms Duncan said the benefit of an outdoor screening is that even if kids get a little bit antsy, they can still run around and play.

“It means the families can be a little more relaxed which is certainly what we experienced and if you throw in a good jacket you can keep warm or bring a chair or blanket to sit on,” she said.

“We would like to see it as a permanent fixture, so it’s something that families and community could look forward to on a semi-regular basis, maybe a couple of times a year.”

The first Cinema in the Paddock event will be held on Saturday 23 March starting from

6pm, with the movie to start at sunset, expected to be 8pm at this time of year.

Mont De Lancey also extended a big thanks

be purchased at montdelancey.

to the Community Bank of Wandin-Seville for being the sponsor of the event. Tickets can

org.au/event/cinema-2024-03-23/ including an option to upgrade for a charcuterie grazing box.

Mont De Lancey Historic Homestead is holding a Cinema in the Paddock event.

Picture: ON FILE

Market marks 20 years

By Dongyun Kwon

The Healesville Organic Farmers Market will be celebrating its 20th birthday on Saturday 16 March.

The market started at the Railway Station Precinct as a joint venture between Permaculture Yarra Valley and the Yarra Valley Tourist Railway on 13 March 2004 aimed to provide local chemical-free and fresh produce on a weekly basis through a regular outlet for local small-scale growers.

Healesville Organic Farmers Market cofounder Graeme George said the market was established with the motto ‘Think global, eat local: keep your dollars in theYarraValley’.

“A lot of environmentalists have been talking about thinking globally and acting locally to overcome the problems of globalisation,” he said.

“We didn’t want to follow the pattern of farmers markets aroundVictoria on a monthly basis because people who wanted to buy fresh food had to travel to a different place every weekend.

“We are one of the first farmers markets to be operating on a weekly basis which went really successfully.”

Mr George was engaged in teaching permaculture and was a committee member of Permaculture Yarra Valley at the time, so he could be in part of the market’s establishment process.

“I trained people in permaculture and organic growing methods and I could see the need for an outlet for them to sell their produce,” he said.

The market operated at the Railway Station Precinct for eight years before moving to its present location at Coronation Park in 2012.

Over the years, the market has stayed focused on its original purpose and has attracted many locals who are concerned for their own

health and the health of the planet as well as being supportive of local enterprises.

In 2016, the market stallholders incorporated as an independent not-for-profit association.

“We’ve got stalls selling a wide range of seasonal fruit and vegetables, honey, free range eggs, baked goods, flowers, plants, seeds, lo-

cally roasted coffee and locally produced cheeses and beverages,” Mr George said.

“Also specialized mushrooms. Gourmet mushrooms are very popular.”

The market has always had a social side with like-minded locals catching up every Saturday morning for a chat with friends and stallholders.

To celebrate the 20th birthday of Healesville Organic Farmers Market, there will be fresh coffee, treats, live music and kids activities in addition to the regular stalls from 8.30am to 12pm on the day.

“We’d like all those people who’ve been to our market in the past to come along and say hello and see how successful it has become,” Mr George said.

Healesville Organic Farmers Market is a weekly basis market held every Saturday.

Picture: SUPPLIED

Connecting the community

By Tanya Steele

Community, art, fun and food on were on show for all last weekend, with the Healesville and Yarra Valley community coming together to celebrate what they are about.

Healesville hosted it’s first ‘Connecting Community’ festival at The Memo on Sunday 10 March with an all day event that had just a little bit of everything for everyone.

Organiser Catherine Nolan said it was ‘a wonderful day of bringing people from all walks of life together’.

“From the very old to the very young, sharing stories, weaving, learning about our environment, singing, dancing, sharing food and truly connecting with community,” she said.

The programme included a Poets’ Breakfast, and Tall Tales, Welcome to Country, line dancing, a ukulele concert, kids’ activities and zine making, community stalls, basket weaving, Irish dancing, a stilt walker, Writers & Rhythm original acoustic music, and, Soulsville, a one hour gospel-style concert with choir, band and soloists.

Despite the expected forecasted high temperatures, the curious public were able to peruse the stalls and sit in for the variety of entertainment on offer, greeted in the foyer by Amelia the Magnificent.

The Poet’s Breakfast andTallTales kicked off

the proceedings - The Tall Tale theme was ‘The Butcher, The Bakers & The Undertaker’ with Eric Duff, Lyn and Neville Johnson and Robbie Heritage sharing their stories with the community.

Badger Creek Primary School students performed music as did the U3A Healesville ukulele group and later Sharni Steel performed a Wayapa demonstration.

Zine making kept hands busy upstairs, blossoming artists and scientists alike could get their face painted, investigate the waterways with HEWI or talk rubbish with the No Reason for Rubbish group.

Healesville Uniting Church put on a free barbeque lunch with free drinks provided by the Healesville SES Unit.

The Healesville CWA later provided a beautiful afternoon tea as the afternoonWriters and Rhythm entertainment commenced.

RyrieWard Cr Fiona McAllister attended the event and opened the festival at midday and said it was a wonderful day, with so much laughter.

“The sharing of stories, wonderful music, poetry and just being together as a community. Another special event brought to life by so many and supported by Council through a community recovery committee grant,” she said.

“I hope it becomes an annual event!”

Amelia the Magnificent greeting people near the door.

Pictures: TANYA STEELE

Judy, Louise and Robbie having an afternoon cuppa.

U3A performed some line dancing upstairs and were joined soon after by the VIDA Irish Dancers.

The Memo Foyer got packed with people from Healesville and beyond enjoying the event.

Memo staff member Belinda with Zine maker Cora Zon enjoying the day.

Karen from HEWI showing a local Michael about the tiny critters that can be found in the local waterways.

Trent, Jen and young Audrey had a great time at the event.

Ethne with some of the beautiful painting that was seen on kids and adults alike.

Hot weather didn’t deter the public from investigating the festival.

From Left: U3A Linda and Glenda.

Elsie having a lolly after her performance with VIDA.

By Maria Millers

In the 18th century one of the pastimes was to pay a visit to a mental institution to view the incarcerated inmates, like a human zoo. Institutions like Bethlam, Royal Hospital or Bedlam as it was known, encouraged this practice, initially as a source of revenue.

Eventually, as more understanding and better treatment of the mentally ill evolved, this practice was discontinued.

It is tempting to draw a parallel between that early form of voyeuristic entertainment and the reality show phenomenon that is Married at First Sight (MAFS) but of course for those taking part in this so called ‘social experiment’ it is a personal choice to participate.

But although there is no suggestion of mental illness among the participants, there nevertheless appears to be vulnerability.

Last Friday was International Women’s Day, a day to reflect on the achievements of women, its theme ‘to inspire inclusion’ and encourage everyone to recognize the unique perspectives and contributions of women from all walks of life.

Federal government announced that from next year superannuation would be included in paid parental leave as a step towards gender equality for women.

But the media coverage was muted and there was little public discussion.

Instead, on Sunday night, millions of Australians watched Nine’s Married at First Sight the program that has been dominating all ratings across the board, season after season.

The format is to bring together couples that have never met before but have been paired by a panel of experts (a sexologist, two relationship counsellors) as being compatible, put them through a sham wedding and then let the cameras roll as they respond to the many manipulations engineered by producers and the experts.

The success rate of resulting long lasting

COMMUNITY DIARY

MAIL SNIPPETS

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE HILLS

Final Rotary Club of Wandin Car Show of the season

The Rotary Club of Wandin’s final Custom Car and Bike show for the season is coming up on Wednesday 20 March.

All are welcome along and enjoy the collection of 1985 and earlier Show Cars and a varied selection of motorbikes at the Wandin East

WOORILLA WORDS

relationships is very low while the emotional readjustments after the show ends have been often painful and damaging.

This program has faint echoes of traditional match making, which is still practiced in some cultures and even today in Australia there is a demand for matchmakers among some ethnic groups as the current program on SBS shows.

While most believe arranged marriages to be coercive the program shows that approached ethically and with cultural sensitivity there can be happy endings. In the case of MAFS, carefully called ‘an experiment,’ the overriding aim is for high ratings to lure sponsors.

The two most pertinent questions are: why are we still watching? And why are there people still wanting to participate?

The first may be related to my opening remarks we are still drawn in by the voyeuristic prurient need to peek behind closed doors.

Maybe in a society where the village well no longer exists to share in the gossip of the day this now serves instead.

And, of course, we all like to revel in the discomfort of others or as the Germans call it, Shadenfreude: the getting of pleasure from someone else’s misfortune as we watch a hapless participant getting drunk or finding herself/himself seen in a less than flattering light.

A Nine spokesperson defended the show

Recreation Reserve from 4pm to 8.30pm.

Thanks were given to the event sponsors and the car enthusiasts who have helped Rotary raise money for The Royal Children’s Hospital and local community projects.

Over the last seven years, the Rotary Club of Wandin has given the Royal Children’s Hospital over $100,000.

The car shows are great family events, with ample free parking, live music, a variety of food vans, soft drinks and a bar.

The Rotary Club of Wandin enjoys support from the Wandin CFA, Wandin Cricket Club, Upper Yarra Rotary and many individual supporters.

Entry for show cars and motorbikes is $10 while for spectators the entry fee is $2 to walkin.

For motorbike entrants, please have no patches or colours.

These shows are no BYO. All drivers of show cars and spectators leave the facility and car

and its year in year out popularity because ‘it continues to become part of the cultural conversation that captures the Zeitgeist.’

Have we then become a harsher, shallower, angrier, more divided society where the traditional means of finding love are no longer there?

Marriage has certainly undergone change, many choosing to forego the formality of marriage and choose to live as partners.

But there are still many who regard the coming of two people together as one as a sacrament and undoubtedly would find MAFS sham weddings as deeply offensive.

It is too easy to make value judgments about those who participate or to slot them into a particular demographic, but it is obvious that there are certain shared characteristics, both in the men and women: certain body types prevail, cosmetic enhancements seem obvious in most, as is the universal prevalence of being ‘inked up’.

Tattoos , both visible and hidden abound.

But why after so many painful experiences and the difficulties in picking up their lives post MAFS, do so many still apply to be part of this experiment?

Producer Tara McWilliams admitted: ‘It’s a bit of a mystery, in some ways, as to why people are so open and honest on such a public platform, but we’re very grateful they are.’

Surely, the participants must be aware that they are being exploited and are ready to accept it.

But are they all aware of the manipulation the obvious distorting the truth to suit the narrative.

The deliberate setting up of potential conflicts in alcohol fuelled dinner parties and other settings.

Then clever editing can result in something totally different to what was intended.

We also live in a culture where there is a craving for public validation, the seeking of ‘fifteen

park in a safe and orderly manner please.

All enquiries are to be directed to: wandincustomcar@gmail.com.

Animal Aid’s feline F3 vaccines restocked

Animal Aid is thrilled to announce that it now has a stock of feline F3 vaccines available.

After navigating a nationwide shortage, Animal Aid is overjoyed to replenish the supplies and ensure that every feline friend in the community stays healthy and protected.

Book your appointment and secure your pet’s spot for this vital immunisation.

If you’ve recently welcomed a cat into your home or missed a dose du ring the shortage, Animal Aid is here to help.

Call theVet Clinic at (03) 8756 1300 ext. 3 for more help.

The nearest Animal Aid shelter is located at 35 Killara Road, Coldstream.

minutes of fame’ which promotes the cult of instant and mostly undeserved celebrity status. One should question the ethics behind the selection process, how the participants are chosen.

One mustn’t forget that programs like MAFS draw huge advertising revenue while at the same time have much lower costs than those who produce drama.

Participants in reality shows are more cost effective than actors and writers.

As well these shows allow the networks to comply with the required 55 per cent Australian content between 6am and midnight on primary channels.

Ultimately we must question the ethics behind MAFS and indeed other reality programs and their obligation to safeguard the welfare of participants from being humiliated just to create a conflict for the titilation of viewers.

Perhaps we should also ask ourselves how different are we from those who visited Bedlam for entertainment back in the 18th century.

Let’s leave the last words on marriage to Shakespeare.

Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare

“Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments. Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove:

O no! it is an ever-fixed mark

That looks on tempests and is never shaken; It is the star to every wandering bark, Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.

Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks

Within his bending sickle’s compass come:

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,

But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

If this be error and upon me proved, I never writ, nor no man ever loved.”

WHYLD returns with Autumn minimarket

The Autumn Harvest minimarket is coming up on Saturday March 16 from 12pm to 3pm at the Don Valley Hall.

The WHYLD stall will feature fresh local produce and handmade goods from the Yarra Valley Red Cross, a barbeque put on by the Don Valley Primary School and coffee, tea and cold drinks on the day.

There will be a door prize drawn every hour with a $10 voucher to spend at the market as the prize.

Free children’s kids activities and entertainment will be provided on the day and attendees are encouraged to browse or borrow books from the Street Library.

Proceeds from the day will support events in the future and plastic bags are discouraged, so please BYO bag or basket.

Remembering Empire Day

In a newspaper article during Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, among many other titles she was described as The Head of the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth, formerly the British Empire, consists of more than 30 countries with an historical attachment to Britain.

Heads of government meet periodically in capital cities of member states and every four years the countries compete in The Commonwealth Games.

In the past, celebrations of Empire Day were a special occasion. Most Australians would probably find it difficult, and perhaps rather quint, to understandthefervourfortheEmpireandenthusiasmwithwhichitwascelebratedfordecadeson the 24 May each year, QueenVictoria’s birthday.

At the beginning of the 20th century Australians were overwhelmingly of Anglo Celtic heritage.Britainwasthemothercountry;evenpeople

Looking back

Bryn Jones

Healesville and District Historical Society president

borninAustraliaoftenreferredtoBritainashome. So munch of the world atlases were coloured red of the British Empire. Monarchy was at the apex and its symbol. Britain had the most powerful navy in the world, it was the world’s foremost trading nation; there was much to be proud of as part of this great Empire.

Heroes were eulogised in books and maga-

A ‘wicked’ performance

Wicked looks at what happened in the Land of Oz … but from a different angle.

Long before Dorothy arrives, there is an other young woman, born with emerald, green skin, who is smart, fiery, misunder stood and possession an extraordinary tal ent. When she meets a bubbly blonde who is exceptionally popular, their initial rivalry turns in the unlikeliest friendship… until the world decides to call one “good” and the other one “wicked”.

Woman born with emerald, green skin, who is smart, fiery, misunderstood and possessing an extraordinary talent.

When she meets a bubbly blonde who is exceptionally popular, their initial rivalry turns into the unlikeliest of friendships until the world calls one “good” and the other one “wicked”.

Appearing at the Regent Theatre Collins St. Melbourne the production is outstanding. Above the stage there is a giant bat which moves about when required.

A busy stage set with various scenes at rear and stairs etc on each side.

The cast was brilliant. Sheridan Adams was Elphaba the green witch.

The good witch, Glinda, was given an excellent performance as the bubbly blonde by Courtney Monsmna.

Robyn Nevin was Madame Morrible giving a great interpretation of her role.

Kemp’s curtain call

The Wizard of Oz was played by Simon Burke who captured the essence of the character with smoothness and excellence.

The balance of the cast caught the finer points of such a musical giving the first night audience “a wonderful evening.

BurrinjaTheatre

A Litle Bit of Blue – LittleWing Puppets. A detective story, told with Puppetry, where you help solve the case.

A Little Bit of Blue is an interactive detective sow for families, told with puppetry.

As well as helping to unravel a mystery, the audience will learn about the extraordinary habits of the Australian Bowerbird and why they are fascinated by the colour blue.

The story begins with a strange disappearance from Mrs Mavis Hooley;s home.

Little things go missing clothes, pegs, teacup, a ball of wool.

Season: Wednesday April 10 at 11am in the Lyre room.

Solaris, starring Sandler

Spaceman

Starring Adam Sandler, Paul Dano and Carey Mulligan

Rated M 4/5

Based on the Czech novel Spaceman in Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfar, Spaceman is an atmospheric, deeply touching science fiction drama.

On a lonely mission to study a mysterious cloud in deep space, cosmonaut Jakub Prochazka (Adam Sandler) befriends a spiderlike alien being who he names Hanuš (Paul Dano).

With its sombre tone, ambient score and themes of introspection in space, Spaceman is reminiscent of Andrei Tarkovsky’s remarkable 1972 film Solaris.

Spaceman’s dialogue has a grounded eloquence found in novels translated properly to film.

Sandler delivers a solid dramatic performance of weary concern and dedication, and Dano has an otherworldly soothing presence as the voice of Hanuš (though, needless to say, this film is not for arachnophobes).

Jakub’s ship is full of authentic, often retrofuturistic detail, and the first act amusingly suggests that when an anomaly like Hanuš appears to you alone and far from home, all you can do is cope and move on.

Spaceman is slow, tender and meditative,

and the Chopra space cloud is a pretty framing-device for Jakub’s personal journey.

The ever-elegant Carey Mulligan plays Jakub’s estranged wife Lenka, and the flashbacks of their relationship are vibrant and surreal but tinged with melancholy.

Through Jakub and Hanuš’s touching bond, Jakub steadily discards his selfishness and comes to value the life he neglected back home.

Jakub’s traumatic past, including his Communist Party informant father, feels a little underdeveloped, and the cinematography is a mixed bag. Plenty of the shots are beautiful, but some are very poorly-framed, with the characters awkwardly out of view.

Spaceman is streaming on Netflix, and in 2024’s biggest cinematic miracle so far, this Adam Sandler movie co-starring a giant spider made me cry.

- Seth Lukas Hynes

zines that extolled patriotism, bravery and duty and which were distributed throughout the British world.

Sport in particular reinforced the message to the far-flung outposts of the Empire and Australians isolated and alone in Asia, were as far as can be flung! Not surprisingly, then, Australians celebrated Empire Day as enthusiastically as any others in the British Empire.

In Healesville, as in many other small country towns, Empire Day was one of the highlights of the year. Although details differed over a long period, the general pattern of the day remained much the same; addresses by local dignitaries to the schools, lunch in one of the town’s halls.

Sports in Queens Park, entertainment at the hall followed by dancing until midnight for the adults after the children had gone off to bed.

In 1928 for example, after the usual appropriate address by the Shire President, a sumptuous

CARTOON

dinner was held in the Memorial Hall, after which adjournment was made to Queens Park where games were played. Later everyone returned to the hall to see Robinson Crusoe on the screen. In the evening, a fancy dress dance was held and the children completed a most enjoyable and entertaining day at 10 o’clock.

A dance for adults continued until closed to midnight. In later years Boss Christie, dressed as John Bull and carrying a big union Jack looked verygrandheledtheprocessiononhisfinehorse.

The Healesville Brass Band marches and all kinds of dressed up characters and vehicles followed, as well as the assembled school children Empire Day continued until 1960 when it was reported by the more politically correct and appropriate Commonwealth Day. Now, different parts of the Commonwealth remember it at different times of the year, Australian choosing the second week in March to do so.

Top choices for readers

By Christine Yunn-Yu Sun

Established in 1996, Your Library (formerly Eastern Regional Libraries) is a co-operative of three outer eastern metropolitan councils; Knox, Maroondah andYarra Ranges.

According to Your Library’s website, the coop’s 13 branch libraries and three community reading rooms serve a population of 435,000 residents across the three municipalities.

Data fromYour Library Annual Report shows that, in the year 2022-23, a total of 1,263,008 library visits and nearly 3,178,788 checkouts were made, including loans and renewals.

The digital domain remained strong, accounting for 28.6 percent of Your Library’s total checkouts.

Also in 2022-23, Your Library had 293,529 members, including 23,329 new members, an increase of 52 per cent from the previous year.

The co-op’s branch libraries and reading rooms offered 134,589 PC sessions, with the number of WiFi users reaching 306,061, a whopping 249 per cent from the previous year!

Each year, Your Library collects information about the books that are most borrowed. Its Reader’s Choice program is designed to find out what its members enjoy reading from the long list of books published in the previous year.

On February 14, Library Lover’s Day, the most popular book in 2023, as voted byYour Library’s members, was revealed to be Lessons in Chemistry by American author Bonnie Garmus.

Interestingly, the book won the second place in the previous year. (For your reference, the book was defeated in 2022 by Australian/ Tasmanian author Hannah Gadsby’s Ten Steps to Nanette: A Memoir Situation, described by British actress Emma Thompson as a “hilarious, touching, and sometimes tragic book”. The memoir was borrowed a massive 561 times by Your Library members in that year.)

When asked why they loved Lessons in Chemistry, one voter praised: “A true depiction of life for a single mother & working woman in

PASSION FOR PROSE WITH CHRISTINE SUN

the 1950’s. Well written and touched on relatable themes such as inequity, loneliness, and courage. Relevant for so many individuals.” Another voter described the book as “quirky, humorous and such a good read”.

If you, too, are a fan of this “page-turning, funny, poignant” book, here comes the great news. On Tuesday 21 May, Garmus will be discussing her captivating debut novel at Melbourne Town Hall.

As introduced by The Wheeler Centre: “At her only Melbourne event on her first Australian tour, Garmus [will sit down] with host Astrid Edwards to discuss her breakthrough novel, which has since been adapted into a major TV series starring Brie Larson.”

“Together, they’ll explore her funny and feisty heroine, the surprising fan phenomenon of Six-Thirty the dog, and how the novel’s historical setting sheds light on the truths of today.”

Meanwhile, another popular title in Your Library’s 2023 Readers’ Choice collection is FourthWing, the first title in the Empyrean fantasy series by American author Rebecca Yarros. During her first visit to Australia, Yarros will be speaking about FourthWing and its sequel Iron Flame at Melbourne Town Hall on Tuesday 25 June.

Those readers interested in attending these two events can find more information on The Wheeler Centre’s website.

PUZZLES

No.

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.

ACROSS

1 Philosopher, Rene – (9)

6 Ukraine city (4)

10 Indian Ocean country, – Lanka (3)

11 Extreme conservatism or rightism in politics (11)

12 Brings to life (8)

13 Urging, – on (6)

14 Greeting (Ital) (4)

15 Forbidden by law (7)

20 Order (7)

21 Prefix meaning 1 billionth (4)

25 French male name (6)

26 Disparage (8)

28 Disenchant (11)

29 Suitable (3)

30 Directs (4)

31 Banishment (9)

DOWN

1 Send out (6)

2 Curved sword (8)

3 Antenna (6)

4 Journeyed (9)

5 Location (4)

7 Roma is its capital (6)

8 Journey (6)

9 HitchhikersGuide author, – Adams (7)

16 Fanatic (9)

17 List of employees (7)

18 Seasoned smoked beef (8)

19 Impetus (8)

22 Eight-legged animal (6)

23 Time of the year (6)

24 Austrian capital (6)

27 Car (4)

DECODER WORDFIT

9-LETTER WORD

No. 176

15

PROPERTY

COUNTRY LIFESTYLE WITH SPECTACULAR VIEWS

STYLISH AND CENTRAL APARTMENT LIVING

WHETHER you are a first time homebuyer or an investor searching for the ideal enhancement of your property portfolio, this unit ticks the boxes of a brilliant investment. Offering an easy-care apartment lifestyle in prime position only steps from Boronia Junction shopping and cafe precinct and the convenience of Boronia Station, this is where liveability and lifestyle are matched to

perfection.

The open concept layout of this unit boasts an enriched sense of roominess and direct access to your own private balcony. Seamless flooring lines the lounge, dining area, and stylish kitchen with sleek cabinetry, stainless steel appliances, and timeless subway tiles. The cleverly concealed European laundry keeps the aesthetic smooth and streamline.

Comfortable accommodation is provided by 2 generously proportioned bedrooms with built-in robes and quality carpet. The modern bathroom boasts an oversize shower, the split system heating/cooling units ensure comfort year-round, and the garage parking and storage are appreciated bonus spaces.

Ready to impress, the property requires prompt inspection. Plan your viewing today.

· Perfect position steps from Boronia Junc-

tion and Boronia Station

· Contemporary apartment with garage parking and storage

· Open plan living with seamless floors and private balcony access

· Wrap-around kitchen with sleek cabinets and quality appliances

· 2 bright bedrooms with built-in robes, an oversize shower bathroom, and a space-saving European laundry for convenience. ●

•

FAMILY LIVING ON OVER HALF AN ACRE

SPANNING over multiple levels, this spacious, ‘pretty as a picture’ home offers a well designed floorplan that will appeal to families of any size. Set on a beautiful and useable half an acre, the property boasts gorgeous, mature gardens and extended flat lawns where children can play and maybe even the adults can join in on a game of bocce or backyard cricket.

There are four bedrooms, the master suite on its own level with updated ensuite, two others with easy access to the main bathroom and the fourth bedroom making an ideal teenagers retreat or home office set up with its own entry.

Two living zones can be found at either end of the home: one being a relaxed TV / lounge area, the other an oversized family room and dining area that is truly special in every way. Bursting with country charm, the kitchen has plenty of bench space, walk

in pantry and room for your large fridge – A small detail that is not always easy to find in older homes!

Timber floorboard, unique bluestone walls and heightened ceilings are just some of the details that make this property so special, leaving you with the feeling that this house is more than just another ordinary home.

A combination of split system heating/ cooling and dual gas log fireplaces work together extremely well to create a cosy and comfortable environment no matter what the weather and on those warmer days, step out onto the large under cover decking and enjoy dinner with family and friends as you take in the peaceful surrounds of your very own property.

Not often will you see a property so perfect for family living – An inspection is an absolute must. ●

Address: 30

7/1ChandlerRoad,BORONIA

SharynChandler

2 A 1 B 1 C

$370,000 -$410,000 STYLISHANDCENTRALAPARTMENTLIVING

Whetheryouarea firsttimehomebuyeroraninvestorsearchingfortheidealenhancement ofyourpropertyportfolio,thisunittickstheboxesof abrilliantinvestment.Offeringaneasycare apartmentlifestyleinprimepositiononlystepsfromBoroniaJunctionshoppingand caféprecinctandtheconvenienceofBoroniaStation,thisiswhereliveabilityandlifestyle arematchedtoperfection.

RachelEastwood

M 0401117761| E rachel@chandlerandco.com.au

Magnificent“Lugano”boasts

bustling restaurantandentertainmentprecinct,thissplendidpropertyblendsprestigeandpositiontoperfection.

SuzieBrannelly

M 0490506910| E suzie@chandlerandco.com.au

97546888

RachelEastwood

M 0401117761| E rachel@chandlerandco.com.au

1689BurwoodHighway,BelgraveVIC3160 www.chandlerandco.com.au office@chandlerandco.com.au

$600,000-$660,000

masterwithdirectaccesstothespaciousmainbathroom,ensure bothstyleandfunctionality.Thisresidencecomescompletewith afrontdeckanda secureprivate yardattherear.Additionalfeaturesencompassa singlecarport,gasductedheating,and asizable storageshedattherear.Convenientlylocated,thishomeinvitesyoutoexperiencetheperfect blendofmodernlivingandnaturalbeauty.Completewiththedreamtenantswholovethishomeas theirown,youhavethesecurityofa 12monthlease(orlongerifdesired).

37CairncroftAvenue,LaunchingPlace$880,000-$930,000

Familyliving,CountryLifestylewithSpectacularViews

Thespectacularviewsarejustthestartofthisbeautifulproperty.Situatedon alargeblockofapprox. 2400sqmandboasting4 bedroomsallwithbuiltinrobesplusanensuiteandwalkinrobeinthe mainbedroom.Spaciousmainliving/loungewithseparatefamily/diningareasideallypositioned toshowcasethesensationaleverchangingYarraValleyviews.Thekitchenwillimpresswithquality fixturesandappliances,including abutlerspantry.Stepoutsideandbeimpressedwitha covered entertainingareaanddecking -theperfectspottoadmiretheoutdoorsandpicturesqueValley viewsallyearround.Establishedgardens,lockupgarage/workshopanda picturesqueterraced gardensgivesthekidsandpetsloadsofspacetoexploreandenjoy.Convenientlylocatedcloseto localshops,schools,andtheWarburtontrail,it’s awonderfulplacetocallhome.

DavidCarroll M 0419539320

Inspection:

29BadenPowellDrive,Healesville $780,000-$840,000

SpaciousFamilyHaven- Supersizedhomeonjustunder1500sqm

Thisremarkablefamilyhomeofferssomethingforeveryone,boastingfivebedroomsincludinga masterwithwalk-inrobeandensuite,alongwitha familybathroomandthreelivingareas.The centrallylocatedkitchenprovidesamplebenchandcupboardspace,overlookinga sizable rumpusroomandadjacentdiningarea.Theopenplanlivingzonesarebothpracticalandinviting, equippedwithtwowoodfiresandmainsgasductedheating.Additionally,there’s aseparatesitting areaoffthediningroomanda spaciousfamilyroomthatleadsouttoa vastundercoveroutdoor space.Thepropertyalsoofferstheconvenienceofdualaccess,ampleoffstreetparking,including spaceforlargervehicles,underhousestorage,and asubstantialgarage/workshopwithpowerand aconcretefloor.Witha myriadoffeatures,thishomeisa mustsee.

RebeccaDoolan M 0401832068

4DukeStreet,YarraJunction $680,000 -$730,000

SubstantialFamilySpaceina QuietSetting

Thisexceptionalpropertyissituatedona quietstreet,boastinga spaciousflatblockspanningover 800sqmandofferingbeautifulmountainviews.Theapprox.7x14garagecomescompletewitha concreteslab,power,andtwosizablerollerdoors.Additionally,there’s adoublecarport,makingit ahavenforcarenthusiasts.Thewell-maintainedhomeismoveinready,featuringa practicallayout, aspaciousopenplanfamilyanddiningareaequippedwitha splitsystemforheatingandcooling, anda kitchenfittedwithmodernappliances.Extendingthelivingspaceis areardeckingarea andthelow-maintenancebackyard.Inside,therearea totalofthreebedrooms,withthemaster boasting awalk-inrobe,andallroomswithcomfortablecarpets.Convenientlypositioned,the propertyisjust ashortstrollfromtownamenities.Callnow!

RebeccaDoolan

M 0401832068

Inspection: ByAppointment

FAMILY HOME AND SEPARATE UNIT

‘NESTLED in the serene beauty of Cockatoo, this property sits on just over 1/3 of a flat acre and offers the perfect blend of comfort, convenience, and space for your family.

With a total of 4 Bedrooms, 3 Bathrooms and 3 living spaces, this property would suit growing or large families of all ages.

The Main Residence comprises of:

· 3 bedrooms, the main zoned for privacy, featuring a full ensuite and walk-in robe

· 2 further bedrooms are serviced by a spacious bathroom with a large bathtub and separate shower

· Spacious front living room enjoys the morning sun and contains a wood fire

· Separate family room with gas heater and large AC opens onto a large, covered veranda that wraps around the rear of the home facing the tranquil rear garden

· Central kitchen, with abundant storage and bench space, stainless steel appliances and a separate adjoining dining area.

· The roomy laundry has direct access to the verandah

· Undercover parking for 2 cars and a shaded area for several more or a boat, caravan or work vehicles

The extensive backyard can be accessed from the veranda via a paved barbecue area shaded by a beautiful tree canopy. The yard has an open grassed area surrounded by shedding and a large secure powered workshop. A tree-lined boundary includes a veggie patch and a mature lemon tree. What home is not complete without a lemon tree?

A separately metered self-contained bungalow/unit completes the property with 1 bedroom, full bathroom, lounge with airconditioning, kitchen including breakfast bar, separate parking for 2 cars and covered verandah to the entrance. Private and perfect for growing/extended family or even to generate an income. It also could be a fantastic home office/workspace/studio (subject to council approval).

Experience the peaceful ambience of this neighbourhood, coupled with the convenience of a bus stop across the road, close to shops, schools, and community facilities with Emerald only a 6 minutes drive away.

Don’t miss the opportunity to make this extensive property your forever home. Contact us today to schedule a viewing. ●

By David Marshall Wandin U14s vs Mooroolbark

Wandin’s U14 team faced off against a formidable Mooroolbark side in the Semi-Final this past weekend, playing on their home turf. Winning the toss and electing bowl the game saw momentum swinging back and forth throughout the day. Mooroolbarks strong batting line-up got off to a good start not losing a wicket until the score was on 50. Wandin’s ever-reliable captain Tom Day stepped up to the plate being involved in 3 quick wickets for 5 runs putting Mooroolbark on the back foot taking two wickets and effecting a run out to have Mooroolbark 3 for 55. Mooroolbark wrestled back control of the game pushing the total over 100 without losing another wicket. Enter surprise packet Kai Lowrie, one of the very young pups up from the U12s to take two crucial wickets by removing both set batsmen who were on the move. It was a game-changing bowling spell that brought the game back into Wandin’s favour. At the end of Mooroolbark’s first half of the innings, the score was 5 for 103 and now it was Wandin’s turn to bat. Wandin was on the back foot early losing two crucial wickets to have the side reeling at 2 for just 1 run and another when the score was just 13. Harry steadied the ship with Jack but was run out after a mix-up leavingWandin at a precarious 4 for 29. Enter Jye Aitken to the crease who has come so far this season with his decisionmaking on when to attack and defend, settled down with the reliable Jack and was able to get Wandin to the end of the first half of the innings, not losing another wicket pushing the score out to 4 for 109. The game couldn’t be more evenly poised.

Continuing the innings the following day, Jye quickly retired followed soon after by Jack. This left Wandin’s lower-order bats to try and give the team a competitive total to defend and they sure didn’t let the side down. Manny

made a crucial 14 seeing off some top-line bowling to keep the runs ticking over. Enter Will Johnson, another of the young pups from the u12s, who came on and with no fear took the game on no matter who was bowling. Will finished with 15 of just 17 balls and wrestled the momentum back into Wandin’s favour.

Crucial contributions from the rest of the lower order pushed Wandin’s total to 169. A total that was definitely defendable.

Mooroolbark returned to the crease with Tom, Jack and Harry leading the way with the

ball focusing on accuracy to keep the lines tight and giving Wandin the best chance to take wickets. And this is how it panned out, with the boys being able to take regular wickets dismissing Mooroolbark for 122 and winning the game to move to the Grand Final next week.

Key contributions for the game were: Batting: Jye Aitken (41 not out), Jack Dowthwaite (40 not out), Harry Churchill (16),Will Johnson (15), Manny Vallence (14). Bowling: Tom Day (3 for 10), Kai Lowrie (2 for 4), Tyler Seeger (2

for 16) and Harry Churchill (2 for 17).

Well done to all the players and a well-deserved Grand Final appearance.

Wandin 2nd XI vs St Andrews

In hot oppressive conditions, Wandin’s 2nd XI faced off against St Andrews to fight for a place in the Grand Final. The day didn’t get off to a great start with St Andrews winning the toss and having no hesitation in batting first, sending Wandin out into the heat to field. The first stage of the game was an even battle between bat and ball. The top order of St Andrews all getting starts, but also losing wickets. Joel Galvin got Wandin started by removing both openers. A back-and-forth battle, all bowlers toiled away to have the game evenly poised at 5 for 121. At this point, St Andrews was able to get control of the game with key contributions from Rixham and Richards putting together a crucial partnership and taking the score to 260 before losing another wicket. St Andrews were chasing quick runs and finished with a formidable but gettable (at a fast Wandin ground) score of 293. Huge bowling effort by everyone in the heat with Mitch Kogelman finishing on 2 for 79 off 17 overs. Galvo was massive during the day bowling an incredible 24 overs finishing with 4 for 74.

Wandin struggled to get a solid partnership together, losing regular wickets throughout the day.

Bryce Edwards top scoring at the top of the order with 24, and that man again Joel Galvin scoring 21 in the middle.With no other key contributions,Wandin was bowled out for 101.

Time to regroup and prepare to take on Healesville to fight it out for a spot in the Grand Final.

Wandin Women’s semi-final vs Templeton was abandoned due to RDCA heat policy but the side will progress to the Grand Final against Montrose next week due to their higher ladder position.

Wandin’s U14s being addressed by coach David Marshall after their win. Picture: SUPPLIED

Golfers battle the heat

By Ron Hottes

Monday 4 March, ‘V.V.V’s:

9 V.V.V’s tackled the front 9 this week. Annalies Duivenvoorden once again dominated the field to capture the top voucher with her 17 points. Come on, Venuses, you need to lift your game to threaten Annalies’ domination. Michelle Jordon is trying very hard and was rewarded with the runner-up prize for her 16 points. There were two NTPs won; one by Ineke DeGraff on the 3rd and Annalies won the other one on the 9th making for a great day for her.

Wednesday 6 March, Stroke and M.McGrann Bag qualifier:

On a fairly hot day for playing golf, we saw a couple of fairly hot golfers lead the healthysize field. The hottest mid-weeker was Alan McDonald, who shot an 80 off-the-stick, for a winning Nett 62. This qualifies Macca for the bag playoff in December. Of course, he also took home the B-Grade voucher and huge bragging rights. Phil Garside earned the runner-up prize, with a solid Nett 70. Great job, Senior. The A-Grade winner, with a score not to be sneezed at, was Noel Cross. He posted a Nett 65, which would have had a fair chance of winning any other day of the week. Of course, not to be outdone between the Garside brothers, Ian was runner-up to Noel. Junior recorded an impressive Nett 68. The balls reached Nett 71 in both grades. NTPs went home with Steuart Hawke (3rd), ‘Fuzzy’ Fall (5th), Glen Forbes (9th) and old mate Darryl Ward (15th).

Twilight:

Another hot afternoon delivered hot scores for the leaders.The leader of the pack was Peter Whitehead, who posted a sizzling 21 points.

Warburton Golf Club results. Picture: ON FILE

This result pushed Peter up the leadership board of the Shootout Top-Ten. Well done, Pete. The runner-up Geoff Sharp scored a none-too-shabby 20 points to claim that prize. The ball rundown reached 18 only. Shane Campbell snared the NTP for the 15th and David Hatt took one home for his accurate second shot on the 10th.

The Top Ten leadership board is now silenced until after the last ‘Home and Away’

game is played on March 28.

Saturday 9 March, Stableford:

A surprisingly big field contested this day’s event under cloudless skies and near-40 degree conditions. Some players prepare better for those brutal temperatures, and this showed up in the results, because there were plenty of ordinary scores, but at the other end of the board there was Shane ‘Bomber’ Campbell who had a day to remember. Bomber had

Warburton Bowls Club goes down in final

By Garry Lewis

In perfect conditions at Mooroolbark Bowls Club, Warburton’s Midweek Pennant Side played against Monbulk 1 in the Grand Final of their Section 5 last Tuesday.

The Burras finished the season in heartbreaking fashion, losing to Monbulk by 2 shots, 62 to 64. After a slow start, Warburton fought back to be only 3 shots down at the break. It was a see sawing battle after that; first one side then the other gaining the overall lead.

With only four ends to play it was 59 all. It all came down to the last end with only one rink to play and Monbulk leading 64 shots to 60. The Burras never gave up but could only gain two more shots in a brave but disappointing finish.

Rink scores were as follows: R. McKail 12/ 29; S. Lord 28/ 19 and G. Walsh 22/ 16.

Nevertheless, it was another fine season for the Warburton Bowls Club with several new and younger players blooded who will only benefit from the experience.

In another high-standard Intra Club Final, the father/son combination of Steve Lord and Christopher Lord defeated Greg Walsh & Steve Freestone in the Club Pairs’ Championship last Monday evening.

The Wednesday Night Barefoot Bowls Triples Competition concluded last Wednesday in perfect conditions for the Finals Evening. All games were a knockout 6 ends with the top 8 teams playing off and the bottom 8 also playing off in the second tier. The games were of a good standard highlighting the improvement of all teams throughout the season.

Damian Key, from the Three Stooges, started a great night for his team by being the first person to touch the jack. This sparked his team to eventually win the Grand Final for the second tier by defeating the Sheep Assist Team.

In the top tier, the Bowls to the Walls Team defeated a gallant Bee Gees Team in the Grand Final to win the overall Barefoot Bowls Premiership for the 2023/ 24 season.

Congratulations to all the teams for their keen participation throughout the season as the club looks forward to our next season later in the year.

A special mention once again for Club Member, Glenys Lewis, for her wonderful and efficient coordination of this most enjoyable competition. Thanks also to all the other members who assisted her each week.

Following the success of our recent Bingo Nights leading up to the Barefoot Bowls, another series of four Bingo Nights will com-

mence on Wednesday 20 March at the Warburton Bowls Club, Warburton Recreation Reserve. Eyes down at 7pm. Great prizes and lots of fun. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Social Bowls continue to be played on Mondays from 12 midday with everyone including new and beginning players encouraged to attend. Come along and give Bowls a try!

44 superb points to easily win the day plus a couple of NTPs ( on the 12th and the 15th). Shane will be hoping his footy team starts as well this week. Tex Van Der Kooi grabbed the runner-up voucher by posting 39 hard-earned points on the day. Good work, Texxy boy. If you returned a 36-point round, or better, you can claim a ball. The other NTPs went to Tex (3rd), President Meredith and Bagel (5th) and David Hatt (9th).

Level 3 winner Cleo Billings.

Picture: SUPPLIED

Top results

By Anita Prowse

Very warm weather over the weekend saw lots of cancellations of events for heat policy requirements. Fortunately, Friday’s Dressage event run by YGARC at Wesburn Park was a lot more comfortable weather wise.

Winners were

· Advanced 1 – Mandy Edwards on San Sassy from Yarra Glen ARC

· Advanced 2 – Jodie Barton on Rockfields Choccolata from Macclesfield ARC

· Level 1 – Katherine Bavaro on Bloomfield Vivante from Bunyip EC

· Level 2 – Amanda Lithgow on Belcam Aladdin from YG and Lilydale HRC

· Level 3 – Cleo Billings onYondella First Assassin from Amaroo EYV

· Level 4 – Alison Moloney on Primrose Park Jacka Storm from Shirley Heights Inc

· Level 5 – Sarah Marshall on Starscream from Shirley Heights Inc

Entries for the second event in this series are selling fast so get in quick at Event Secretary. Happy Riding everyone.

L-R: The Wednesday Night Barefoot Bowls overall winners ‘Bowls to the Walls’ Mick Wood, Aimee Dostie and Mat Stoessiger. Picture: SUPPLIED

SPORT

Championship bling

By Jamie Strudley

The Little Athletics Victoria State Track and Field Championships were held over the weekend at a hot, often windy, Knox Athletics Track.

Athletes qualified via their respective region championships ensuring the very best from around the state were in action.

Yarra Ranges Athletics had one of our largest teams competing, with 37 club athletes qualified to compete. We finished the championships with six gold, six silver, four bronze, three fourth place finishes and another four athletes in the top eight. A fantastic weekend of athletics.

The medal haul was led by Micah Friend and Zoe Clarke. Micah, competing in Boys 9-10 Multiclass finished with two gold, two silver and a bronze medal. Zoe, competing in Girls U15 won two gold and one bronze medal from her three events. Other medallists were Brock Peel (one Gold, one Silver), Emily Pincott (Gold), James Chrome-Smith (two Silver), Beau McKinnon (Silver), Tillie Sommers (Bronze), Lanni Aborowa (Bronze).

Full Results are:

Girls U16

· 800m: Kristina Nackovski 2:48.89 (11th);

Girls U15

· 100m: Kayla Paton 13.19 (12th);

· 200m: Kayla Paton 26.77 (11th);

· 400m: Zoe Clarke 61.21 (3rd);

· 800m: Zoe Clarke 2:25.07 (1st);

· 1500m: Zoe Clarke 5:04.68 (1st);

Girls U14

· 100m: Emily Fiedler 13.16 (16th);

· 200m: Emily Fiedler 27.28 (13th);

· 400m: Emily Fiedler 64.41 (14th);

· 1500m: Tori Kincaid 6:10.68 (18th);

Girls U13

· 1500m Walk: Brienna Coffey 9:19.66 (4th);

· High Jump: Mackenzie Graham 1.40m (7th);

· Javelin: Shania Tove 20.27m (16th); Sarina Hathaway 14.89m (21st);

Girls U12

· 1500m Walk: Holly Yorke 8:54.16 (4th);

· High Jump: Emily Pincott 1.50m (1st); Lanni Aborowa 1.40m (3rd); Arizona Peel 1.35m (5th);

Girls U11

· 400m: Caitlyn McKerlie 74.97 (18th);

· 1100m Walk: Lucy Oettinger 7:51.33 (16th);

Girls U09

· 100m: Zahra Lehmann 16.20 (19th);

· 700m Walk: Tillie Sommers 4:08.52 (3rd);

· Long Jump: Zahra Lehmann 3.27m (16th);

· Shot Put: Imogen McMillan 4.52m (15th);

Boys U16

· 800m: James Crome-Smith 2:08.45 (2nd);

· 1500m: James Crome-Smith 4:36.28 (2nd);

· Discus: Wilbur Davidson-Tuck 29.56m (9th);

· Javelin: Wilbur Davidson-Tuck 23.43m (10th);

· Shot Put: Wilbur Davidson-Tuck 8.79m (11th);

Boys U15

· 400m: Mitchell Pointon 58.88 (17th);

· 800m: Mitchell Pointon 2:11.50 (7th); Blake

Saloyedoff 2:14.76 (11th);

· 1500m: Mitchell Pointon 4:46.51 (8th); Blake

Saloyedoff 4:50.96 (14th);

· Javelin: Mitchell Pointon 25.12m (9th);

Boys U14

· 1500m Walk: Beau McKinnon 8:25.18 (2nd);

· Shot Put: Zac McMillan 10.13m (9th);

Boys U13

· Javelin: Jakob Knapman 19.98m (18th);

· Shot Put: Jakob Knapman 7.86m (20th);

Boys U12

· 1500m: Samuel Thomas 5:12.86 (15th);

· Discus: Zack Paternoster 21.88m (20th);

· Javelin: Ilikimi Tove 28.31m (4th);

Boys U11

· 100m: Koby Stephens 13.68 (10th);

· 200m: Koby Stephens 28.84 (14th);

· 80m Hurdles: Kristian Sultana 13.80 (9th);

· 1100m Walk: Xander Sommers 6:31.91 (5th);

· Long Jump: Koby Stephens 4.33m (5th);

Boys U09

· 800m: Riley Yorke 3:00.44 (14th);

· High Jump: Brock Peel 1.20m (1st);

· Long Jump: Brock Peel 3.94m (2nd);

· Shot Put: Brock Peel 5.10m (19th);

Boys U910 MC

· 400m: Micah Friend 2:02.04 (2nd);

· 800m: Micah Friend 4:52.04 (1st);

· Discus: Micah Friend 8.71m (3rd);

· Long Jump: Micah Friend 1.66m (2nd);

· Shot Put: Micah Friend 4.35m (1st); Mitch Mullens was in action at the latest HVC meeting. Mitch stormed home to record his fastest time of the year for 100m, running 11.12 seconds, just outside his club record.

This week is our celebration round for our little athletics members with invitations for parents to participate in selected events. This will be our final round of track and field action for the season with our presentation day the week following (23 March). Check socials and website for details.

Training for our six-12yo has finished for the summer season, cross country training will start up on Tuesday evenings in April, enjoy the rest! Seniors training (13yo plus) is on Tuesday and Thursday from 5.30pm at Morrison Reserve. Yarra Ranges Athletics welcomes and encourages all athletes of any age or ability.

Go to lavic.com.au or athsvic.org.au or email info@yarrarangesathletics.org.au for information about events and registration. Cross Country is coming.

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!

Darcy English hits winning runs for side

By Chris Handasyde

· U12-4: Grand Final - Healesville 7/92 defeated by Mooroolbark 4/116

The top two teams for the season had won their semi-finals to play off in the Grand Final. Healesville won the toss and chose to bowl. An early wicket to MannyWinrow and the boys were excited, however good partnerships from Mooroolbark enabled them to score 4/116 from their 23 overs. Mika Kerst (1/14), Manny Winrow (1/10), Ryder Hudson (1/14) and Arthur Coleman (1/9) were the wicket-takers. With the target set it was Healesville’s turn to bat and they started well, however, lost their first wicket at the 16-run mark. Healesville lost another 2 wickets when on 31 then another 2 when on 42. The steady loss of wickets meant Healesville struggled to put on good partnerships to get them into a winning position as they landed on 7/92 from the 23 overs. Manny Winrow 20* from 27 balls, Louis Keath 18 from 16 balls and Arthur Coleman 17 from 31 balls all batted well. It’s been a great season and hope to see all players return next season for another fun season of cricket.

· U16-4: Semi Final - Healesville 34 defeated by Wonga Park 0/41

Healesville won the toss and elected to bat and unfortunately winning the toss was the highlight of this match. Healesville was bowled out for 34 in 19 overs. Wonga Park then smacked up the runs in 7 overs without losing a wicket. With some of Healesville’s players finishing their junior cricket journey this was a disappointing last game for them but they should all take pride in their full junior cricket career and how they have represented the club and themselves over many junior cricket seasons.

· Seniors 1st XI: Elimination Final - Healesville 3/132 defeated Lusatia Park 114 Lusatia Park won the toss and elected to bat on day 1 of a scorching hot weekend. Mitch Tampaline and Luke Chandler opened the bowling with Luke claiming the first wicket of the match when the score was on 8. A 30run partnership was built before Mitch Tampaline got one out, caught by Mark Powell. Liam English snagged a wicket and Lusatia Park was 3/65. Josh Handasyde came on to bowl with immediate effect that then triggered a constant flow of wickets that saw Josh claim his first 5 wicket hall in an innings (5/14) in which 2 were caught by his brother Tom. Lusatia Park were bowled out for 114 in 47 overs. Rod Woodford was economical with 0/19 from 11 overs, Luke Chandler 2/23 and Mitch Tampaline 1/21 from 10 overs all bowled well in tough conditions. Mark Powell and Tom Handasyde opened the batting and put on a 50-run partnership before Tom was caught. Mark Powell was batting well before he was run out for 44 coming back for a second run. Josh Handasyde and Ash Hamer remained not out ending day 1 and Healesville were 2/69. Day 2 was just as hot, Ash Hamer departed early but Josh Handasyde 45* and RyanWebster 25* steered the team home as they progressed to next week’s Semi-Final vs East Ringwood with Norwood having already booked their spot in the Grand Final in a fortnight.

· Seniors 2nd XI: Elimination Final - Healesville 9/198 defeated Lilydale 196 What a match – Healesville home in a thriller as 15-year-old Darcy English makes 44* from 46 balls including 2 boundaries from his final two balls to get Healesville over the line. Lilydale won the toss and batted first. Jack

Concussion protocols revamped

The AFL has announced new concussion protocols to be implemented at every level of football below the AFL and AFLW, bringing them in line with the Australian Institute of Sport’s Concussion and Brain Health Position Statement 2024.

Under new rules, players will be forced to refrain from playing for 21 days after suffering a concussion, essentially missing three matches.

In a statement on the league’s website, AFL general counsel Stephen Meade said the League’s concussion guidelines were the most stringent concussion protocols in Australian sport and they reflected the AFL’s commitment to player safety at all levels.

“The updated community guidelines represent a significant step in the AFL’s existing record of ongoing improvements to its concussion management strategy that reflect medical research and other learnings over time,” he said.

“We play a contact sport and there is always going to be risk, however over recent years we have continued to take action to strengthen match-day protocols and amend the Laws of the Game to discourage high contact, and we will continue to do so.”

Drummond and Tom Dalley opened the bowling with Jack bowling his best spell for Healesville taking the first 4 wickets of the game to have Lilydale on the back foot at 4/30. A 50-run partnership was created before Mike Jackson claimed his first of 4 wickets. Some good partnerships and some fielding errors in the tough conditions hurt Healesville as Lilydale made 196. Jack Drummond 4/25 from 13 overs and Mike Jackson 4/31 from 13 overs were outstanding. On day two, Healesville were confident that if they weren’t bowled out we would make the runs. A disastrous start with Brenton Damrow and MaxWallace out and Healesville was 2/3. This then turned into 4/30 before some partnerships started to be built. The middle order of Mike Jackson 38, Michael Davern 39, and Ben Wallace 26 gave them hope. Darcy English came in to bat when Healesville were 6/133. His innings of 44* from 46 balls that included 8 boundaries proved to be match-winning as the tail battled to hang in. At 8/166, Tom Dalley and Darcy put on 24 runs before Tom was dismissed at 9/190. Brodie Grace who has been working hard on his batting all year faced two balls to see out the over. Darcy then took it upon himself to finish the match hitting two boundaries on the first two balls of the next over to get Healesville over the line and into next week’s Semi Final vs Wandin with St Andrews having already booked their spot in the Grand Final in a fortnight.

· Seniors 3rd XI: Healesville vs Coldstream –Match Abandoned due to heat.

Unfortunately, Healesville’s 3rd XI have been booted out of the finals without a ball being bowled due to the stricter heat policy rules for lower grades.

AFL and AFLW players will still only have to miss 12 days of action with the AFL stating that the ‘advanced care settings’ and increased medical oversight for concussed AFL and AFLW players would allow them to continue with the three-stage, 11-step return to play protocols that have been in effect since 2021. This will still apply even if an AFL or AFLW-listed player is concussed while playing at a state-league level such as the VFL, WAFL or SANFL.

Mr Meade said they continue to listen and learn from the medical and scientific professionals and take action to deal with the important topic of concussion and player safety.

“While there are risks of injury in our sport, we will continue to act to reduce and manage those risks, and there are also many very significant physical and mental health benefits of playing our great game.”

The changes come into effect in the wake of further severe concussion news in the AFL, with Melbourne Demons star Angus Brayshaw forced into a medical retirement last month due to the impact of multiple concussions while a landmark seven-week suspension was handed out to St Kilda defender Jimmy Webster for an ‘extremely careless’, ‘very high’ impact and ‘high contact’ bump on North Melbourne co-captain Jye Simpkin in a Community Series practice match, as found by the AFL Tribunal.

The Eastern Football Netball League and Outer East Football Netball League were contacted for comment.

Local footballers will now have to sit out 21 days after suffering a concussion.

Picture: MIKAYLA HAUPT

A happy Micah Friend with his five state medals. Picture: SUPPLIED

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