Mail - Upper Yarra Star Mail - 14th May 2024

Upper Yarra

Bruno is back!

By Callum Ludwig

A dashing Dachshund was emotionally reunited with his family on the first weekend of May after 10 long weeks.

Bruno became the subject of searches throughout the Yarra Valley after escaping from a pet sitter in Launching Place on 16 February.

Bruno’s owner Darlene Young said they were extremely worried.

“We came down from Mudgee in New South Wales down to the Yarra Valley seven times in the 10 and a half weeks he was missing,” she said.

“It’s hard because we had to we had to work so we could only come down on the weekend, we were leaving on Friday night driving all the way down there, walking around and looking for him and then driving back in the early hours of Sunday morning because my partner Andrew has to start work on Sunday night.”

Mudgee is an over 10-hour drive from the Yarra Valley, located in the Central West area of New South Wales.

Upon hearing about Bruno’s disappearance and being two of the many local residents who felt awful for the Young family, Sherri Johnston and Tracey Kelly helped lead the dedicated search and rescue effort for Bruno in the Yarra Ranges.

Mt Evelyn resident Ms Kelly said they started a campaign of printing things about Bruno and putting them up on the Lilydale to Warburton trail which Bruno seemed to use.

“I think everybody on the rail trail knew him and people would stop and ask about him when Darlene was there, it was plastered ev-

erywhere on, every community site and by doing that, that’s how we got sightings,” she said.

“The wholeYarraValley was looking for him in the end.”

A ‘Help Find Bruno’ Facebook page that was set up garnered over 1000 followers, giving regular updates on sightings over the months he was missing.

Ms Kelly said their task was made harder by the fact Bruno would bolt if anyone tried to approach him.

“We had to put it out there in our posters to not approach Bruno at all, so instead we were trying to ground him somewhere, so he felt safe,” she said.

“We had the owners sending down scent items to be ripped up and placed, we had trails of food everywhere and people were putting out food stations for him, but we seemed to be one step behind the whole time.”

A number of lost animal assistance groups noted the situation and came onboard to help or offer advice including Pearl’s Army based in the Cardinia area, which Ms Johnston is a part of, Annette from the My Dog Is Missing group and Lyn from the Milly’s Search and Trap Community Group Facebook group.

After weeks of Bruno being sighted at townships all over the Valley, even venturing out to Gruyere and Coldstream and seemingly crossing the Warburton Highway multiple times.

Bruno was at one point almost pinned down on a property in Gruyere, but the search team only had access to a neighbour’s property and he moved on.

Continued page 11

Truck flips, hits tree

By Callum Ludwig

Emergency services had an eventful start to their week as they responded to an accident involving a truck in Seville East.

A truck travelling on Killara Road near Sunnyside Drive had managed to flip over, suspending the driver upside down. Gruyere CFA Captain Jason Richardson was the officer-in-charge of the incident and said he was on the scene within about two minutes of the call being received and was able to confirm that one man was trapped.

“I quickly established that the vehicle was a liquid nitrogen transport vehicle, so that made the incident quite a dynamic job in terms of the considerations of the safety of crews and the patient,” he said.

“We had good luck in terms of the pressure vessel on the vehicle that had the liquid nitrogen in it hadn’t ruptured or impacted to cause a leak and we were monitoring the pressure of the pressurevesselwhilstAV(AmbulanceVictoria)arrived and police and all the other services, and then we commenced the stabilising of the vehicle so that we could start the extrication of the patient.”

A CFA spokesperson confirmed that six CFA units from Gruyere,Wandin and Seville responded to the incident on Killara Road at around 9.27am on Monday 6 May.

Mr Richardson said CFA crews are trained to conductafairlycomprehensivesize-upofanyjob to establish any safety risks.

“Wedoa360ofeverythingincludingacknowl-

edging entrapment risks to crews, risks to the patientandanyrisktothepublicortheenvironment aswell,”hesaid.“Someofmyconsiderationswere theenvironmentalimpactofiftheliquidnitrogen was to expel from the tank, though in saying as soon as liquid nitrogen gets atmosphere it turns into a vapour so the contents itself weren’t flammable but if the pressure vessel was to rupture it could have had severe consequences.”

Ambulance Victoria confirmed the extent of the driver’s injuries.

“One man in his 50s was transported by road ambulance to the Royal Melbourne Hospital with lower body injuries, in a serious condition,” an AmbulanceVictoria spokesperson said.

Mr Richardson said when emergency services

had arrived, the vehicle was almost perfectly upside down.

“We had the company who operated the truck attendandthenwesoughtadvicefromtheirtechnical support in terms of the contents of the vehicle and ensuring that that was made safe whilst we were conducting the rescue and then once we successfully extricated the male driver we moved on to the overhaul and recovery phase of the job which included heavy haulage to right the truck onto its wheels,” he said. “One that sometimes does get forgotten is the important job that the public plays in these emergencies, the comprehensive information that you give to the Triple O operator is crucial.”

The incident was under control at 9.55am and deemed safe at 10.51am.

Study predicts increase in crashes

By Callum Ludwig

A new study from Flinders University is calling for better policies and practices to be implementedtoimproveroadsafety,withthe‘mountainous’YarraRangesandCardiniaidentifiedas likely hotspots for increased road crashes in the future.

Dr Ali Soltani and his research colleagues from the Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute analysed the trends and locations of crashesintheGreaterMelbourneAreabetween 2006 and 2020.

Dr Soltani and his colleagues used the data over the 15-year period to determine the most common places for crashes and likely reasons for the high crash rates.

Dr Soltani said road safety has been a policy priority in Australia for decades but the rate of road transport injuries is not declining.

“While the Australian Federal Government and State Governments have introduced policies and initiatives including road safety campaigns, infrastructure improvements, speed restrictions and graded licencing process – along with imposing safety regulations for vehicles sold in Australia, as well as sanctions and repercussions for reckless driving – we still see that traffic crashes remain alarmingly high,” he said.

Dr Soltani also noted that hospitalisation rates have increased in the last nine years and

there has been no decline in hospitalisations where there’s a ‘high threat to life’ despite continuous pushes for road safety improvements.

Researchers developed a Tweedie distribution model to examine how crash frequency and potential contributing factors such as socio-demographics, road transport infrastructure and the built environment interact to predict road crash rates and create risk ratings for the different local government areas in Melbourne in an effort to offer insight into where road safety action should be prioritised and what initiatives should be implemented.

DrSolantisaidinvestigatingroadcrashtemporal and spatial patterns are essential to build better prevention strategies that target highcrash times and areas, distribute resources more efficiently, improve emergency response times, and assess road safety initiatives.

“Analysingthespace-timedatamayimprove Victorian policy and support evidence-based actions for a safer, more resilient transportation infrastructure,” he said.

“Special land use activities such as commercialandparklandcanaffectroadsafety,and knowing how built environment variables contribute to crashes can help building safer roads and minimise injuries and deaths.”

To reduce the frequency of road crashes, researchers are calling for a comprehensive strat-

egy to address the effect of built environment on road traffic crashes and for critical measures such as lowering speed limits in local streets to be implemented. “It is anticipated that downtown Melbourne will continue to be the primary location for crash hotspots, while the inner suburbs are expected to have a decrease in the occurrence of crashes, thereby enhancing safety levels,” Dr Soltani said. The study names KnoxasoneoftheLGAswiththestrongestoverall downward trend in accident frequency from 2016 to 2021.

The Star Mail contacted the Victorian DepartmentofTransportandPlanning(DOTP)for a response to the study.

“Keeping Victorians safe is our number one priority that’s why we’re working closely with police and councils to improve road safety across our communities,” a DOTP spokesperson said.

Roadsafetyprojectsrecentlydeliveredinthe YarraRangesandCardiniaareashaveconsisted of upgrades to pedestrian crossings, electronic speed limit signage in busy areas, rumble strip line markings, safety barriers, and shoulder sealing. The DOTP has also committed $210 million to the Safe Local Roads and Streets Program to support local councils to deliver safety improvements on high-risk local roads, intersections, and precincts.

IN BRIEF

Two car collision in Coldstream

Two cars collided on Maroondah Highway, Coldstream at about 4.25pm on Wednesday 8 May.

Coldstream CFA captain Sean Bethell said the crew was paged to the accident that happened between Healesville and Coldstream at Maroondah Highway near Maddens Lane.

“When we attended, we found that there was a two-car collision with a fairly heavy impact with one patient not doing very well,” he said.

“Police and Ambulance attended, and they looked after the two drivers of the cars while making sure traffic slowed down there.

“Our brigade assisted with the timing and cleaned up the roadway to make the place safe.”

One man in his 50s was transported by road ambulance to the Royal Melbourne Hospital with upper body injuries, in a stable condition. East Warburton assault

Warburton Police are appealing for any witnesses of an assault in EastWarburton to come forward and share what they know.

At about 2.15pm on Saturday 4 May, a 67year male from East Warburton was assaulted by an unknown male.

The altercation took place on Woods Point Road, East Warburton near the intersection with Cement Creek Road.

Traffic was banked up at this location, the victim got out of his vehicle to try to establish the reason for the traffic disruption. While standing next to his vehicle, an unknown male ran towards the victim andpunched him 1012 times while yelling obscenities. After about a minute, bystanders pulled the offender off the victim and the victim fled in fear. The victim sustained minor facial injuries including a black left eye, swollen cheek and lip. The victim’s glasses were also knocked off his face and were slightly damaged.

The offending male is described as being of Middle Eastern descent, about 25-35 years of age, 185cm tall of medium build with short black hair and a black moustache. He was well dressed in a green and white shirt, suit pants and a gold watch.

The victim believes the suspect was with a larger group of people of Middle Eastern nationality, who were all driving expensive vehicles. Police are seeking witnesses, dashcam or phone footage from any bystanders.

Please contact Leading Senior Constable Jarvie ofWarburton Police on 59662006. Car collides with tree in eats Warburton

SES, CFA, Victoria Police and Ambulance Victoria crews were called out to a collision last night as a motorist struck a tree. An Ambulance Victoria spokesperson said paramedics were called to reports of a collision in EastWarburton at around 10.10pm onWednesday 8 May 2024.

“One man in his 30s was transported by road ambulance to Maroondah Hospital in a stable condition,” they said.

The Upper Yarra SES unit shared on Facebook that fortunately, despite the impact being on the driver’s side, the occupant was able to be released from the car without the use of hydraulic tools. SES members and CFA rendered first aid while waiting for Ambulance Victoria to arrive.

The Warburton and Wesburn/Millgrove CFAs attended.

What missed out in budget

By Mikayla van Loon and Dongyun Kwon

A scant detail State Budget has left many of the projects open to interpretation but let’s take a look at what missed out, particularly in the Yarra Ranges.

With family violence support and prevention earmarked for $211 million in funding and $28.8 million set aside for community legal centres, it came as a double edged sword for a local provider.

Eastern Community Legal Centre (ECLC) was “pleased” to learn a further four years of funding would be provided for its Mabels program but was “deeply disheartened” that no further funding had been budgeted for the expansion of its services despite the apparent gendered-violence “national crisis”.

“We are disappointed by the State budget announcement that does not recognise the apparent need for additional and ongoing funding for our services that are at the forefront of support for family violence victim-survivors that often face multifaceted, complex needs and require tailored and targeted legal advice and broader help,” ECLC chief executive officer Michael Smith said.

A call for a “sustained commitment” from both the State and Federal Governments has been on the agenda for community legal centres in the lead up to the National Legal Assistance Partnership (NLAP) review.

“There is very little in [the] budget for the Victorian community legal sector to get excited about,” Federation of Community Legal Centres chief executive officer Louisa Gibbs said.

“But we acknowledge that in a tight fiscal environment, existing programs of Community Legal Centres will continue to be funded.”

ECLC awaits the release of the Federal Budget on Tuesday 14 May “and hopes that the urgent challenges faced by CLCs will be recognised and addressed”.

While education was at the forefront of the budget, Yarra Ranges schools have missed out

on upgrade funding totalling $753 million, with the closest school with ‘upgrades in planning’ being Croydon’s Melba College.

Universal pre-prep for four-year-olds has been delayed and will be rolled out by 2036 instead of 2032, citing workforce shortages as the reason for the push back.

Evelyn MP BridgetVallence has claimed the delivery of a promised 50 new childcare centres has been put “on hold”.

Similarly, 35 planned mental health and wellbeing locals will be set up slower than scheduled as Victoria cannot find the extra 2500 psychologists, psychiatrists and mental health nurses required to support the services.

“[This is] not only failing their obligation to implement the measures of the Mental Health Royal Commission but meaning it will remain hard for families to access vital mental health and wellbeing services,” Ms Vallence said.

A bulk amount of $964 million to maintain Victorian roads has been announced but details on where and what has been left out.

MsVallence said the true cost of road maintenance works was hard to decipher given the inclusion of flood recovery works but the total expenditure was “16 per cent less next year than it was four years ago”.

“Yet again there is no funding to fix known dangerous roads such as Warburton Highway

at Seville East or to duplicate Mooroolbark Road at Hull Road in Mooroolbark, and the Budget is silent on the Maroondah Highway and Killara Road project, creating uncertainty about when this project will ever start.

The Department of Transport was contacted for comment to confirm which, if any, road maintenance projects had been allocated to the Yarra Ranges.

RACV has also asked for better transparency from the State Government to understand which roads require repair to meet safety standards.

“Transparency of allocated road funding and areas where road improvements have been made will be key to tracking the areas where spend and upgrades are still required,” RACV head of policy James Williams said.

“Without this understanding, regional roads will miss out on integral funding that is key to ensuring a safe road network for all users.”

Premier Jacinta Allan said in her first delivery of a budget “we’re making the biggest multi-year investment in our healthcare system in our state’s history”.

Ongoing hospital funding of $8.8 billion, $146 million for Ambulance Victoria and $28 million to support the healthcare workforce were some of the headline announcements.

Despite this Maroondah Hospital, or the renamed Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, remains noted as in the planning stage alongside three other projects, with no capital works money allocated.

“Last year’s 2023-24 Budget allocated a small fund for the design and planning only, and this has not yet commenced,” Ms Vallence said.

“So, for two Budget cycles the Allan Labor Government has the promised Maroondah Hospital upgrade as ‘in planning’ and there is absolutely no funding allocated for any capital works to achieve the promised ED and expansion of Maroondah Hospital.”

General practitioners (GPs) were also left dissatisfied by the $10 million for a co-designed grant program.

“While any investment in general practice care is always welcome, the Victorian Government’s $10 million to support GPs will not save us from the Patient Tax – it’s like putting a bandaid on a patient who’s lost both their legs,” Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Victoria chair Anita Munoz said.

“Victorians should be prepared for further crowding at hospitals and local GPs to be at breaking point.”

On the environment front, despite $270 million to protect waterways and catchments, $116 million to restore native forests, $85 million for biosecurity and $38 million to expand hot water rebates through SolarVictoria, Landcare Victoria was disappointed to learn the facilitators and coordinators program would not be funded.

“Eighty Facilitators and 10 Coordinators harness the power of more than 600 groups and tens of thousands of volunteers across the state, but right now they are under-resourced and lack job security,” Landcare Victoria chair Jane Carney said.

“With their contracts due to end in June next year, we’re going to struggle to hold onto these incredible leaders, who have an increasingly important role to play as governments wind back extension support and ratchet up biodiversity and climate commitments.”

Premier Allan admitted this budget was “challenging to put together” especially “in a domestic and global environment that faces many, many pressures”.

“Whether it’s the inflationary and interest rate pressures, the pressures of workforce shortages and what that means for project and service delivery, also too the global unrest, the ongoing impact of the pandemic,” she said.

“We simply can’t put our heads in the sand and ignore these circumstances as we have putting this budget together.”

Tourism put on the back burner in blow to industry

By Dongyun Kwon

The Victorian Government handed down the 2024-2025 state budget which has disappointed the local tourism industry with a lack of funds supporting Yarra Ranges tourism.

The priorities of the budget shifted to supporting families, weathering the cost-of-living crisis, and focusing on core social services of health, education and emergency services which caused the slashed support in tourism.

Victoria Tourism Industry Council CEO Felicia Mariani said there were few surprises given the industry was steeling itself for a very challenging budget hand down.

“In a tough fiscal environment this budget has clearly defined the priorities for the Victorian Government over the next four years, and the visitor economy will take a back seat to the delivery of core services and mitigating the strains of the current cost of living pressures,” she said.

“It’s incredibly hard to come to terms with the slashing of the destination marketing budget for Visit Victoria from $32.5 million in one year to $32.5 million over four years.

“This is a significant body blow in an environment where we are trying to overtake Queensland in the number two spot for total tourism spend, a position we forfeited during Covid.”

There is a drop in investment for major events and tourism with $183.8 million being spent compared to $469.8 million last year.

$32.5 million is provided over four years for the delivery of destination marketing activities to support Victoria’s visitor economy, $9.4 million over four years is provided to the Business Events Fund which attracts highyield and high-profile international business events to Victoria, and to the implementation and enforcement of the Major Events Act 2009, and $3.3 million is provided in Fiscal Year 25 to support Victoria’s regional tourism boards and visitor economy partnerships.

Another $11 million is spent to support the work of the Great Outdoors Taskforce, which will work on developing future uses of the State forests and $4.5 million is for the Victorian Festivals Fund, further strengthening the State’s events calendar.

Yarra Ranges Tourism CEO Simon O’Callaghan said the impact of less major events funding would no doubt have a knock-on effect for the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges.

“It is probably premature to gauge what that might look like, given we rely on promoting our region as a value add visitation opportunity to those coming to Melbourne for events from regional Victoria or Interstate,” he said.

“Several of the core events that see an uplift in visitation to our region will continue, such as the Australian Open, Spring Racing Carnival and Grand Prix. Many of our local signature events, like the Tesselaar Flower Festivals, Rochford Concerts and Belgrave Lantern Festival, will also continue to support regional visitation as they are privately owned and operated.

“The funding announced will still allow our region to bid for funds, for the right activity, such as when we hosted the Rone Empire exhibition at Burnham Beeches several years ago.”

Despite the slashing, Mr O’Callaghan hopes that the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges tourism sector gets enough support

from the State Government as a major employer of local jobs. He saidYarra RangesTourism identifies an area which is needing the support of the State Government.

“An area identified by our Destination Management Plan needing greater support is the servicing and maintenance of civic infrastructure, such as our National Parks, Forests and Waterways, along with the funding programs that support local governments to enhance their public spaces that both locals and visitors enjoy,” he said.

“Ongoing, we are striving to achieve greater night-time activity for the region and attract off-peak visitation, so support for such initiatives will remain important for us as Melbourne’s population continues to grow.

“We are also aware of future programs that will support the region from the Commonwealth Games support package that was previously announced.”

The latest budget also announced the delay of the Melbourne Airport Rail Link project by a minimum of four years which makes it hard for Victoria to attract tourists interstate and internationally.

“This is a critical piece of infrastructure in cementing our position as a global destination, and we need to see some movement toward compromise and resolution,” Ms Mariani said.

Mr O’Callaghan said, however, the Yarra Ranges needs to solve the problem of local transport prior to considering the Airport Rail.

“With three train lines on the edge of our region, Airport Rail will be an essential part of the transport mix for interstate and international visitors into the future,” he said.

“However, in the short term, we need to improve local transport solutions throughout the region for visitors across both the public and private sectors to achieve more sustainable travel outcomes.”

The latest budget announced the delay of the Melbourne Airport Rail Link project by a minimum of four years. Picture: ON FILE

Vital funds for food relief

By Dongyun Kwon

With the high cost of living pressure, the Victorian Government decided to support Neighbourhood Houses across the State by investing in their food relief program.

Carers and volunteers minister Ros Spence visited Kinglake Ranges Neighbourhood House (KRNH) to announce the $6 million investment in delivering food relief for Victorian families in the 2024-25 Victorian Budget on Friday 10 May.

This includes $2.5 million for the Neighbourhood Houses food relief program which provides grants to neighbourhood houses to deliver food relief where it’s needed most.

Ms Spence said no Victorian should worry about having enough to eat.

“That’s why we’re delivering more food relief to supportVictorian families that are doing it tough,” she said.

“We’re supporting our neighbourhood houses because so many of them play an important role in getting food on the table for Victorians who need it most.”

KRNH has a long history of supporting communities across the Yarra Ranges through social events, activities, education, food relief,

special interest groups and their free counselling program Be Well in the Ranges.

KRNH president Sue Zuber said she is happy with the new announcement.

“We all realised how desperate people are and they are not coping with the shortage of food,” she said.

“Neighbourhood Houses are an essential place in any community where the community know where they can go for help to get assistance, so this $2.5 million is going to make a huge difference.”

KRNH has a food storage that offers food every Wednesday afternoon.

“Clients can go into the room and choose what they can use to make meals,” Ms Zuber said.

“We’re open on Wednesday afternoon from 1pm to 3pm, but we’re also open for emergency relief.

“So if we hear there’s a family that’s in dire straits and can’t make it in on Wednesday afternoon, we’ll invite them to come and organise some food relief for them.”

The neighbourhood house had to operate the food relief program by itself before this announcement.

The president said It was incredibly difficult to operate the food relief program without the Government’s support.

“We had to go in hand begging for the money. We would approach our local community,” Ms Zuber said.

“We asked supermarkets and food banks to access food.”

Ms Spence said the work that people do at neighbourhood houses is terrific.

“We’re really thankful for the work that they do and, in particular, during the cost of living crisis, we know that they do a large amount of work in providing food relief,” she said.

Family, domestic and sexual violence response bolstered

By Callum Ludwig

In an otherwise fiscally conservative Victorian Budget for 2024/25, investment in addressing family violence stood out as a key focus of expenditure from the State Government.

The further investment brings Victoria’s investment into supporting family and sexual violence services to $3.8 billion since the 2015 Royal Commission into Family Violence, in which the Victorian Government announced in 2023 that all 227 recommendations had been implemented.

“We’re proud of our nation-leading reforms and we will continue working to keep women and children safe,” Minister for Prevention of Family Violence Vicki Ward said.

“We know that there is so much more to do.We want aVictoria that is free from family violence.”

$269 million has been committed to initiatives designed to prevent family violence and improve safety for women;

$42 million is directed to ‘deliver timely and individualised interventions and continued support’

$39 million has been set aside for schools and early childhood services to continue to deliver the Respectful Relationships program,

$24 million aims to bolster the information-sharing capabilities of police, courts and agencies through a Central Information Point

$16 million is dedicated to providing

Domestic,familyandsexualviolence responsesandsupportserviceshavebeen bolsteredintheStateBudget.

Picture:ONFILE

community-led and culturally safe responses to family violence in Aboriginal communities with Aboriginal women anywhere between 35 to 45 times more likely to experience violence than non-Aboriginal women.

A Victorian Government spokesperson said Victoria leads the nation with our work to strengthen how we prevent and respond to family violence and violence against women.

“We know we have more work to do for a future where women, children and young people are safe,” they said.

“We support victims of family violence in Victoria with initiatives such as the statewide Orange Door Network,”

“The budget includes measures to sustain support to victim survivors, drive down family violence and sexual assault, including funding for perpetrators to change their behaviour, and tools and guidance for working with children and young people.”

Since its opening in May 2022, The Orange Door Outer East with sites in Croydon

and Belgrave has received more than 19,000 referrals and provided support to more than 21,000 people, including more than 8,800 children through outreach across the Maroondah, Knox and Yarra Ranges local government areas.

The Orange Door Outer East is delivered in partnership by Family Safety Victoria, Anglicare, FVREE, VACCA, Boorndawan Willam Aboriginal Healing Service and Child Protection, aiming to provide access to coordinated help and support for family violence, and the wellbeing and development of children.

The Orange Door network consists of specialist family violence, child and family and Aboriginal services to provide crisis assistance and support, risk and needs assessment, safety planning and connection to other services with support offered face to face, or via telephone or email.

The Orange Door Outer Eastern Melbourne is open Monday to Friday between 9.00am and 5.00pm. For more information, call 1800 271 150 or visit orangedoor.vic.gov. au.

$76 million of funding is dedicated to supporting victim-survivors of family, domestic and sexual violence including providing access to therapies and support for children and young people recovering from trauma of family violence or sexual abuse, measures to ensure they are safe in their own homes and support for staffing at Sexual Assault Services Victoria and training packages for practitioners.

Head of Service Design and National Prac-

tice Lead for Family Violence at EACH Olivia Sinn said their team of Financial Counsellors frequently support and advocate for people experiencing financial abuse: an under-recognised, poorly understood, but insidious form of family violence.

“Financial abuse is a key factor in perpetuating family violence, but is often not recognised because people do not recognise this as violence,” she said.

“Financial (or economic) abuse can include refusing to contribute to household expenses, stopping partners from working, preventing access to bank accounts, and taking out loans in a partner’s name,”

$6.8 million is specifically set to bolster financial counselling services for family violence victim-survivors, providing support to stabilise their financial position and recover from abuse.

Ms Sinn said EACH welcomes the continuation of funding from theVictorian Government in the budget to address the impact of financial abuse.

“Family violence is primarily about power and control,” she said.

“We can help keep more families free from violence by raising awareness, preventing, and better responding to financial abuse.”

In the corrections and justice system, $31 million is being poured into supporting the prosecution of family, domestic and sexual violence offences with $600,000 also committed to better educating and creating an understanding of family violence in the justice workforce.

RosSpence(left)andSueZuberinthefoodstorage.

Picture:DONGYUNKWON

TAFE funds welcomed

By Mikayla van Loon

A total of $555 million has been allocated in the Victorian Budget for the TAFE education system, training and workforce pipeline, a welcome investment from the trades industry.

Majority of the funding, $394 million, will go towards the widening of free TAFE positions, while $113 million will be allocated to support services, training delivery and help for students.

A further $32 million will be put towards the upskilling and retraining of workers.

Mooroolbark qualified electrician and apprentice plumber Michael MacDonald said freeTAFE was a blessing as an adult apprentice with a family to support while upskilling.

“Wealth shouldn’t be a barrier to education. Someone’s financial status shouldn’t limit them to accessing education and this initiative, I’ve certainly benefited from,” he said.

“Because of free TAFE, I’ve actually been able to almost complete my licensing modules, I still have a couple more to go. But at the end of the day, it means I’ll be able to become a licensed plumber and gas fitter.

“Without free TAFE, it would have been probably almost impossible for me to make a sacrifice to upskill.”

Attracting more people to not only the building and construction industry but to hospitality and other vocational training courses, Mr MacDonald said will go a long way to reducing the workforce shortages.

“There is a skill shortage across the country and in Victoria…when people are weighing up decisions, whether to go to university, or to do a TAFE course, one of the benefits of going to TAFE is that you’re earning while you’re learning,” he said.

“If you do a TAFE course, particularly with free TAFE, you come out with a head start in life. So I think it’s going to attract people.”

The skill shortage, Mr MacDonald said, is the worst he’s ever seen so any step to bridging the gap will “make a big difference”.

“There is a high demand for skilled workers, particularly the licensed trades, plumbing and electrical.

“There are employers calling out for quality people and unfortunately, a lot of people are struggling to fill the gaps they need in their workforce.”

Although building and construction won’t be the only industry benefiting from the budget, with an above average participation rate in TAFE and training, it will impact the region

significantly.

Vocational education and training in the Yarra Ranges was recorded at above state and national averages in the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.

It showed that 3,786 (8.7 per cent) people were attending TAFE, compared to the state’s 7.9 per cent and the national percentage of 7.8.

Empowered Women In Trades (EWIT) founder Hacia Atherton also welcomed the announcement but said wellbeing support for apprentices was an important piece of the puzzle to ensure completion rates improve.

“The increase of $555 million, particularly the expansion of free spots, is a step in the right direction for attracting more people to trades, especially women and girls,” she said.

“However, to improve the completion rate and promote longevity in the industry, we need to prioritise psychological wellbeing at TAFE and at the workplaces of apprentices.”

Master Builders Australia found that over the year to September 2023, 42,333 apprentices started a career in the building and construction industry.

This, however, was a 25 per cent decrease on the previous 12 month period.

Completion rates also dropped 7.9 per cent, with 21,814 students finishing their training over the year to September last year.

“Teaching apprentices positive psychology principles will empower them to build the resilience needed to navigate the challenges of an apprenticeship and effectively handle stress and burnout,” Ms Atherton said.

“It’s not just about mastering technical skills; we must also invest in equipping apprentices to thrive psychologically and emotionally.”

Evelyn MP and shadow skills and training minister Bridget Vallence was a bit more critical of the budget, saying the funding didn’t make up for the 10 years of poor investment.

“Victoria has had the lowest funded TAFE system in the country for 10 years. Labor has been in government for the last 10 years,” she said.

“This Budget reveals the number of enrolments under the Allan Labor Government in the Free TAFE for priority courses has fallen, as did the number of government subsidised apprenticeship course enrolments.

“This State Budget has fallen well short of addressing the required pipeline of workers to tackle the dire shortage of skilled workers in Victoria.”

State budget invests in emergency management

By Emma Xerri

The 2024/25 Victorian State Budget has allocated more than $16 million towards future emergency management response.

With $9.5 million of those funds going towards ensuring Victorians and emergency service organisations have the most up-todate emergency information, advice and warnings, residents of the Hills who have long suffered from poor access to emergency information may have cause for optimism.

However, for Rescue Logs founder, and former Hills resident Julia Hill, this optimism must come with caution.

“All I can say is that as a Hills community, we should not have to be worried about being able to get through when we have an emergency,” she said.

“As a consequence of living in the hills and having such bad communications, I am really conscious on hot windy days to have the radio going with the emergency services radio station playing, and making sure I’ve got the

weather reports coming up on my internet.

“So for most of us that are young and fit, we just change the way we manage the information we get.

“But the flip side, for the elderly in the area, is that they’re not so connected, because they don’t tend to be on things like Facebook. And so unfortunately, they miss out on a lot of information.”

Long time Emerald SES volunteer Ben

WIRE INDUSTRIES

Owen is also all too familiar with the communication difficulties that have long plagued the Hills community.

“If there is to be an enhancement of emergency warnings going out, that would be an advantage,” he said.

“We have storms that come through quite rapidly, so we need new ways of sharing those warnings in a timely manner.

“But I would obviously like to see more sustainable telecommunication systems in the hills when power goes out. That would probably be a better, or equally important, way to spend the funds.”

However, as a member of the SES, Mr Owen is also intrigued to see what the $6.9 million budget allocation to the State Emergency Service will mean for his branch, which has long been underfunded.

“My early indications from the budget were that SES were going to take a cut. So, if the budget allocation means an additional $6.9 million on top of what we normally receive, then that’s fantastic. But if it’s $6.9 mil-

lion for one thing, and other areas are going to miss out, then that’s a real concern.

And these uncertainties are shared by VICSES, who said “we’re still awaiting the full details from Tuesday’s announcement and the overall impact on our budget.

“We’ll continue to work collaboratively with the State Government to advocate for our needs to support our SES volunteers and their fantastic service to the community.”

Meanwhile Mr Owen maintains that when it comes to SES funding, the government has a long way to go.

“Our unit gets about a third of what we need to run per year from the government and the rest we’ve got to make up.

“I’m here today, ready to open up our CDS program where we collect containers. But we get 10 cents per container to put vehicles on the road, put fuel in the trucks, buy equipment, and put electricity on site.

“Our volunteers who are here today could be out there training or providing community education instead of having to fundraise.”

Premier Jacinta Allan and Emerald SES unit controller Ben Owen. Picture: ON FILE

The 2024/25 Victorian Budget has allocated $555 million to the vocational training system. Picture: ON FILE

Resonating to this day...

By Dongyun Kwon

In 2015, Brendon Murphy created a video to raise the awareness of domestic violence with two more mates, Rick and Bill.

It’s been nearly nine years but the video is still resonating with people as domestic violence is still an ongoing issue.

Players from the local football clubs inYarra Ranges Football Netball League, now known as Outer East Football Netball League, participated in the project.

“About nine years ago, there was a surge in domestic violence, it felt like every time you picked up a paper or turned on the TV, you were hearing about another woman being killed,” Murphy said.

“That struck a chord with me and I just wanted to try and do something with my local community to send a message that this is unacceptable.

“We asked other people to do the same and a few other leagues around Australia did the same thing. They copied our video word for word but they just used people from their community.”

The reason why Murphy made the video with local footy players was because local football was a great way to reach all of society.

“You’ve got all the young men but you’ve also got all the young women who played netball,” Murphy said.

“It’s just important that everyone needs to hear that message that violence is unacceptable.

“Women are a massive part of our lives no matter what angle you look at, and we wanted to make sure we were including everyone.”

Murphy was affiliated with the WarburtonMillgrove Football Netball Club when he made the video.

He was also on the video with his wife and one of his daughters.

Murphy said he could carry out the project thanks to support from local footy clubs.

“They were super supportive and they helped me find people who could get involved in the project,” he said.

“We went around and shot the video over two days.

“My only regret with that video is that if I had planned it out a bit better, I could have maybe had everyone in it.”

Murphy said there have been some positive changes in terms of awareness of domestic violence over the last few years.

“The changes I’ve seen are that people are more comfortable talking about it now [whereas] it was a bit of a taboo topic in 2015

and 2016,” he said.

“A lot of businesses have got a domestic violence strategy or a policy.

“I worked for Melbourne Water and I also work for Yarra Valley Water now. What I’ve noticed is both of those companies are fantastic in this space, they have policies in ways and means to help people who may be suffering from domestic violence and also perpetrators they may have, so they’ve got that policy on both sides.”

Despite the positive changes, the video creator is still frustrated that there are not enough efficient actions to reduce domestic violence.

“The number [of domestic violence incidents] this year is really concerning, so from that point of view, it’s not great, and again, this

is such a multi-layered issue. When you delve into it, it touches so many different societal issues that we have like alcohol, drugs and gambling,” Murphy said.

“We’ve done a lot of research and investigations at a political level, and the actions that come out of those things are what we’re waiting for next, but we don’t actually start implementing the actions that we’ve already found out from past investigations.

“We also need to reform our bail laws, so we keep violent offenders better managed until their case is heard. How many times do we hear them out on bail?”

The video Yarra Valley Domestic Violence PSA is available on YouTube, youtube.com/ watch?v=jtAjHiYrn90

Brendon Murphy with his wife Nicole, and three daughters Josie, Daisy and Scarlett.

Picture: JENNIFER LEWIS

Brendon Murphy pictured in his domestic violence video.

Picture: YOUTUBE, YARRA VALLEY DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PSA

Vandals target loggers

By Callum Ludwig

The recent targeting of an Upper Yarra logging contractor performing fire reduction work in the Wombat State Forest near Daylesford has sparked outrage.

Vandals smashed glass, wrote messages condemning logging activity in the forest and caused other damage.

The contractor was performing fire-reduction work for Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMVic) which utilises some targeted tree clearing to reduce fuel loads in state forest.

An FFMVic spokesperson said the health and safety of their communities, staff, contractors, and local wildlife is their first priority.

“We strongly condemn this deliberate damage to essential machinery used by our staff and contractors to reduce bushfire risk and rehabilitate affected areas of theWombat State Forest. The matter has been referred to Victoria Police,” they said.

“The equipment damaged is used to improve emergency access, remove hazardous trees, clear storm debris and other works that are crucial to public safety and the health of the forest’s biodiversity.”

As part of the transition away from native timber harvesting in Victoria which began on 1 January this year, forestry contractors have been given opportunities to assist FFMVic in fire-reduction works, with the Victorian Government also offering VicForests harvest contractors secure five-year Forest and Fire Management Services Agreements, starting from 1 July 2024, to carry out bushfire risk reduction works for FFMVic.

General Manager of the Australian Forest Contractors Association Tim Lester said their view is that protesting needs to be done in a way that doesn’t damage property and doesn’t put people at risk.

“These are live worksites and they are potentially very dangerous places, invading someone’s workspace is the same as walking onto a construction site in Melbourne or into an office. If you wouldn’t do that and wouldn’t accept that in your own workplace, then this is not acceptable in these workplaces either,” he said.

“We understand that people have different points of view and they have different expecta-

tions around how forests need to be managed but the point is that forests need to be managed, just closing the door, locking the gate and ‘It’s now fine’ is not fine,”

“That is just a recipe for disaster, a recipe for fire and a recipe for the very things that people are trying to prevent, which is loss of habitat and loss of species, the big risks to threatened ecological communities and species are fire, invasive species and climate change.”

Yarra Junction, Warburton and Powelltown were announced as beneficiaries of $500,000 provided by the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) to Yarra Ranges Council for a Local Development

Strategy (LDS) in the townships as part of the transition away from native timber harvesting, which is expected to be complete in March 2025.

Mr Lester said it was incredibly disappointing that forest contractors were being targeted.

“This is our backyard, it’s the state’s backyard and it’s our job as a community, as a people to protect that and we protect that by taking care of it,” he said.

“Sometimes, as you do in your own garden, you need to come through and take out the things that aren’t working or aren’t there for what you’re actually trying to achieve,”

“The state has decided that we won’t use this as a resource and we won’t use it for the timber but it doesn’t change the fact that it still needs to be managed.”

Only a short distance from the Upper Yarra in Piedmont, Nationwide Trees was announced to be receiving a $775,000 grant from the State Government’s Forestry Transition Fund on Friday 10 May to construct a multiuse production and dispatch shed after having led the way in employing ex-native timber workings in roles throughout the business.

Mr Lester said it is also incredibly disappointing if people think the way to get their point across is to damage other people’s property.

“Protest all you like, but don’t damage people’s property, don’t put yourself at risk and don’t put the workers at risk,” he said.

The logging contractor from the Upper Yarra was contacted for comment.

Combating misinformation in local government

By Callum Ludwig

The Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) has teamed up with the University of Melbourne to help prepare local councillors to combat disinformation in local government.

Set to be held over four weeks with a 42hour commitment, the course will aim to help current or prospective councillors to deal with the threats posed by disinformation, misinformation, and malign influence (DDMI).

MAV CEO Kelly Grigsby said while there has been an increasing recognition about disinformation and its impacts on politics, the reason the MAV has partnered with The University of Melbourne is to provide a local government context.

“We’re encouraging councillors, potential councillors and local government professionals to consider the challenges so we can better respond to issues which arise around and after the upcoming elections,” she said.

“Disinformation is a growing problem for all levels of government across the globe. As the level of government closest and most open to the community they represent, this is particularly the case for local government,”

“It’s critical for councillors and council staff to have the skills to both recognise and manage disinformation in an effective way.”

The $1490 course is also recommended for intelligence analysts and cybersecurity specialists on the University of Melbourne website.

The targeted effort to educate and inform current and prospective councillors comes after a wave of disrupted council meetings around the state, including Yarra Ranges

Council which suspended the gallery after ‘disruptive’ attendees became agitated by responses from councillors to conspiracy theories on 15-minute cities and 5G towers among others.

Yarra Ranges Council’s Director of Corporate Services Andrew Hilson said any time there’s an opportunity for formal training, professional development or capacity building for either a current or prospective Councillor, we encourage them to take it up.

“Councillors and prospective candidates should consider the skills and knowledge they think will be important to assist them in fulfilling their role as a councillor, from a wide range of topics,” he said.

“Events or courses such as these are a great way to educate those in attendance on the many different aspects of being a Councillor, and how best to meet the demands of the role.”

O’Shannassy Ward Councillor Jim Child, who was mayor at the time of the disruptions to Yarra Ranges Council meetings, also told The Age that the course should be ‘mandatory’ for current or prospective councillors.

Ms Grigsby said they are encouraging councillors, potential councillors and local government professionals to consider the challenges.

“It’s a highly practical course, which will examine the main players, their key tactics and techniques and, the cultural and psychological aspects of disinformation,” she said.

“It will also provide tips on building resilience and maligning the influence of disinformation and those spreading it.”

A logging contractor working for FFMVic has been the target of vandals. Picture: ON FILE

Councils including Yarra Ranges are being encouraged to take a course on disinformation ahead of the upcoming elections. Picture: ON FILE

Urban sprawl a concern

By Mikayla van Loon

Leading agriculture organisations in the Yarra Ranges have put forward a case for protecting the region’s food supply capacity and reducing the harms of the urban sprawl.

Recent submissions to an upcoming State Government inquiry by Agribusiness Yarra Valley, Yarra Ranges Council and Keep Yarra Valley Fruit Fly Free brought into perspective the effects of the peri-urban categorisation and the importance of the green wedge.

The Yarra Ranges is a key production zone for berry and orchard fruits, wine grapes, beef and grain, with floriculture and other forms of horticulture, including nursery plants known in the area.

Agribusiness Yarra Valley stated in its submission that horticulture alone employs 6000 seasonal workers during harvest season, with a farm gate value of approximately $700 million.

The Yarra Valley’s wine industry is also said to contribute upwards of $100 million to the Victorian economy.

But as production costs, biosecurity threats, climate change and higher rates impact farmers in the region, the fear of losing an important cohort of people and the arable land is a real challenge.

Further impacted by the peri-urban classification, Agribusiness Yarra Valley submitted that this hinders the farming community because they “are not eligible to apply for government grants or initiatives that other regional and ru-

ral council areas in the State are eligible for”.

“Urban Sprawl and demand for land in the Yarra Ranges has driven up the value of farmland to the point where it is becoming economically unviable to farm. The farming community is ageing, and many are ceasing farming operations all together,” the submission added.

Keep Yarra Valley Fruit Fly Free regional coordinator Bronwyn Koll shared similar concerns based on her own family’s experience.

“In my experience, the urban sprawl has pushed my family and farming relatives over three generations from what are now inner and outer east Melbourne suburbs to the typical ‘Yarra Valley’ locations we currently farm,” she said.

“The Yarra Valley is now fast following the same demise, becoming full of ‘lifestyle’ parcels or subdivision lots in the peri-urban space, forcing farmers to farm with greater constraints, or affordability of rates is pushing them ‘further out’.”

Star Mail has previously reported on the push for a reclassification to peri-regional by Yarra Ranges Council to not only improve funding opportunities but to support the extensive green wedge zone in the shire.

The Yarra Ranges is 2500 square kilometres, with approximately 30,000 hectares of land being used for farming.

The council’s submission claimed that “agriculture is the fifth largest industry generating $785.8m in gross revenue, $493 in regional ex-

Candidates raising funds

By Callum Ludwig

A community-driven push for independent candidates is set to be bolstered by further fundraising efforts from Climate 200, provided their values on climate change, political integrity and gender equity among others align.

The marginal seats of Casey and Deakin are on thelistoftargetareasinClimate200’sCommunity Accelerator Fund, with Liberal MPs Michael Sukkar and Aaron Violi having only claimed victory over Labor candidates at the last election with margins of 0.2 and 1.5 per cent respectively.

Climate 200 Executive Director Byron Fay said they know from history that it often takes at least two go’s to win as an independent.

“Independent campaigns that might come a close second leave fertile ground for the next independent to win the seat,” he said.

“Strong, local community groups, like the ‘voices of’ groups, are critical to the success of independent campaigns. They find the candidates that represent the community and build the groundswell of support through engaging with voters.”

The Voices 4 Casey group began their search for an independent candidate in January 2022 prior to that year’s election and settled on Claire Ferres Miles, a resident of the electorate who stepped down from her role as CEO of Sustainability to run. Ms Ferres Miles’ campaign was launched 75 days out from the election and was announced alongside funding of over $10,000 from Climate 200.

Mr Fay said Climate 200 was established to help community independent campaigns compete against the major party machines.

“These local groups are volunteer-run and reach into their own pockets to fund things like events and advertising. The more support they can get from the community, including donors, the greater their chance of scaling up and being successful,” he said.

“As history shows, with the right support, community-backed independents can absolutely win,” “Polling shows that voters are turning away from the major parties and looking to park their votes with community-selected independents who truly represent their interests.”

Ms Ferres Miles secured 8.34 per cent of the vote in Casey in 2022, behind the Liberal, Labor and Greens candidates.

The Community Independents Project (CIP) is continuing to campaign for more community groups such as Voices groups to be established and provide the grounds for people being at the centre of politics, according to CIP Director and the founder of theVoices 4 Indi group Alana Johnson.

“The current provisions for how we campaign

ports and employs 2167 people”.

Keeping the urban growth boundary (UGB) “unchanged” was key to the council’s submission, given the “ongoing latent pressures to expand urban development into some adjoining green wedge areas”.

Protecting the agricultural land but allowing easier planning controls for farmers to adapt to changing climates, whether that be the need to erect sheds or greenhouses, the council said would be a fine balance but an essential part of ensuring the longevity of farming.

Increasing pressure to diversify traditional farms to agritourism would also require balance, despite the economic benefit of ancillary uses like accommodation, function centres, exhibition centres, restaurants, and concerts and events.

“While these land uses have potential to support tourism and economic development, they can also conflict with nearby agricultural land and activities for a wide range of reasons, from amenity to use of local roads,” the council said.

The planning controls around these uses and farm gates, the council stated, would need to be explored and regulated by the State Government to protect food supply.

Agribusiness Yarra Valley also wanted to see the introduction of ‘Right to Farm’ laws to protect agricultural land.

As a region Ms Koll said the biosecurity threats are increasing with everything from

noxious weeds to foxes and deer, as well as Queensland fruit fly.

“Biosecurity in a peri-urban space is more difficult to achieve than compared to a more traditional farming zone, where there is more unity in the approaches taken, and options to take actions that can’t be taken in a peri urban environment,” she said.

Yarra Ranges Council also held its concerns about the impact of dumping soil from larger urban developments such as the level crossing removal in green wedge areas.

“Unmanaged soil and earth storage can negatively impact waterways, ecosystems, landscapes, habitat, and agricultural land, increase truck traffic on rural roads, and cause dust and noise impacts.”

The Legislative Assembly Environment and Planning Committee’s food supply inquiry looks to create a viable future for peri-urban farmers and food manufacturers.

“With our state’s population expected to rise above 10 million by the 2050s we must ensure we have enough arable land to sustain all of our food production needs,” Committee Chair Juliana Addison said.

“Agriculture and farming industries crucially provide the fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy and countless other foods all of us rely on every day.”

Public hearings will be held throughout May with a final report expected no later than 31 December this year.

in Australia make it very difficult for an independent who has to raise their own funds in order to run a campaign and certainly we all have different opinions about whether there should be tax put on campaign spending, which seems obvious to me., but it leaves independent candidates in a very difficult position,” she said.

“I think the availability of funding is a really important part of shifting the dial in Australia from the dominance of the two-party system, or any party system for that matter,”

“I also believe though that the community independents movement has to make sure that it continues to be anchored by the communities who get behind the campaign and raise their own funds, and that we don’t just end up with a system of candidates putting their hand up and getting funded by an outside force.”

Ms Johnson was present for the launch of the Voices 4 Casey campaign in February 2022 and as a founding member ofVoices 4 Indi group, which neighbours the Casey electorate, helped elect independent candidate Cathy McGowan in 2013, and then began the first seat to reelect an independent candidate to replace a retiring independent MP when current Indi MP Helen Haines was successful in 2019.

Ms Johnson said CIP continue to talk about how there are numerous ways to win and unfortunately, the only notion of winning that gets spoken about or reported about is actually winning the seat.

“There are many wins to be had for communities, the whole notion of community independents is based on the fact that people, ordinary people in communities come together and say we want representation, better representation, of somebody who actually represents us and our viewsandisnotlockedintopartypolicy,”shesaid.

“The two-party system isn’t the only way we can have government and the two-party system isn’t the only way that we have representation, in fact, ordinary people can feel a great hope in the fact that they may well be better represented through an independent,” “Even when you look at electorates where their candidate didn’t get elected in the last federal election, the benefits and the wins for the community have been enormous because people have shifted their views and are looking very differently at the two-party system.”

The Voices of Deakin group has established an online presence via a website, private Facebook group and X (formerly Twitter) account and opened up a community sentiment survey for Deakin residents to share their thoughts and views on what matters to them. Ms Johnson said there is no recipe for a community independent group, every community finds its own way of doing things.

Healesville charging up

By Dongyun Kwon

Healesville Community Renewable Energy (HCoRE) is set to start a short-term project over the next four weeks.

The Solar 4 Healesville Business Project is to engage with local businesses to explore what the business operators see as the opportunities and barriers to installing solar and determine what the possible savings could be for them and the broader Healesville community if business operators go solar. HCoRE president Karen Roberts said she is excited to actively engage with local businesses.

“We are keen to hear what the local experience has been and what businesses have to say about the benefits and barriers relating to the installation of solar panels,” she said.

HCoRE appointed Jane Judd as a new consultant at the end of April.

Ms Judd said she would visit local businesses in Healesville in person.

“HCoRE wants to find out if some owners may be interested in investing in solar energy which will benefit their tenants. We’re also interested in ideas about how the tenants think would make it attractive to them to put in a solar system,” she said.

“We’re really trying to put information in front of people, there’ll be a knock on the door and a chance for a quick conversation. We want to map who’s got solar in the main street and their interests in the solar power system.

“If they have thought about doing it [putting the solar power system in], we want to help them take the next step of assessing how effective it would be. HCoRE has skilled volunteers who have offered to assess energy bills to work out the savings solar power could offer.”

Ms Judd is referencing the Healesville Business Guide made by the Rotary Club of Heales-

ville to find the locations of the businesses. Based on the findings from the project, HCoRE will develop proposals and strategies to present to governments about options that would increase the take up of solar power by Healesville business operators.

Ms Judd said HCoRE has had successful activities to make the Healesville community more energy-sustainable since 2017 when it first formed. “HCoRE helps local people review their own homes and finds out how they could reduce their energy bills and increase their comfort at home,” she said.

“They’ve also helped not-for-profit organisations, Robyn Jane Children’s Centre, Healesville Living and Learning Centre and St Brigid’s Primary School, to put solar power in with the $90,000 grant from the Federal Government and they now have the benefit of solar power and the 15 to 30 per cent savings.”

Ms Judd is a long-term local resident with an extensive local work history and significant decades of experience in community engagement and development projects.

Ms Roberts said HCoRE is delighted to secure Ms Judd to undertake this important piece of work.

“Jane will soon be walking up and down Nicholson Street, inviting those who work there to join in the conversation,” she said.

“This is especially relevant for those who lease their premises.They are part of one-third of Australia’s population who rent and are, therefore, most likely to miss out on the costsaving benefits of solar power. “This is a situation that has been vexing organisations with much more resources than we have for a long time, but our aim is to add our voice, and your voice, to the broader conversation.”

The newly appointed consultant said she is very committed to the vision HCoRE has.

Sally Piper (left), the first person who participated in the survey, and Jane Judd. Picture: DONGYUN KWON

New sensory garden open

By Callum Ludwig

A new facility at Yarra Junction Primary School is helping students to keep their emotions and stress in check.

The new Sensory Garden at the school allows students to take themselves out of situations where their emotions are heightened, whether they are overstimulated, upset, angry, frustrated or stressed.

Yarra Junction Primary School Principal Lisa Rankin said they decided having a space for kids to self-regulate independently was important so that they could return ready to engage in learning.

“We were able to use some of the Department of Education’s funding in regards to mental health to be able to support the establishment of this, so the kids know they can even take their shoes and socks off out here as well and walk along the pathway to use those senses,” she said.

“Sometimes they come out here as well when they’re not feeling heightened as well, just to practice those strategies of self-regulation, it’s all about engaging all your senses, so as you can see along the walls there are lots of plants and things that they can smell and touch and taste.”

Engaging the senses is a common practice for helping manage different experiences of distress, often utilised in mindfulness practices like deep breathing or in responses to anxiety or panic like naming five things you can see, helping to make the individual more present in the moment.

Sensory spaces are particularly beneficial for children exposed to trauma, who suffer from chronic stress and who have specified sensory needs, but they can be effective for any children to make use of when emotions run high.

Ms Rankin said they’ve implemented a sensory pass system at the school.

“A teacher who acknowledges that a student maybe is beginning to show some signs of not being able to regulate will be given a pass and they’re able to come out to this safe

space,” she said.

“It’s nice and contained in here and other teachers going past can check in and make sure that they’ve got a sensory pass, that a

teacher knows what’s going on there and make sure the student is okay,”

“The wellbeing coordinator and myself also have a pass we can allocate.”

Local residents may have noticed the sensory garden being established in recent weeks due to the mural visible from the Warburton Highway as you pass the school, designed by Victorian artist Master Murals.

Ms Rankin said she thinks it’s important to normalise it because it relates to things we do as adults, consciously or subconsciously, to self-regulate.

“Everybody does something to self-regulate, so we are giving them tools to be able to do that and practice it so that it becomes a habit for them,” she said.

“It’s essential for life especially it’ll mean then that they can engage in their social learning and their academic learning, but also just for their own wellbeing as well so that they can keep thinking positive thoughts and be able to do that on their own independently.”

Some students shared what they have enjoyed about the sensory garden or what they like to use it for.

“The sensory garden is nice because it keeps you nice and calm when you’re a bit frustrated or angry,” Cooper said.

“If you’re stressed, you can easily calm down or you can muck around with all the things, you can even lay down on a wooden mat over there,” Ryan said.

“I like sitting and reading out here,” Eva said.

“The sensory garden keeps calm and cool, so once I’m feeling happy, I can go back into my classroom and every time I come out here, I water the plants. Here we can play everywhere, I want to be always happy, because this makes you calm and happy, and Ms Rankin spent all of this time doing this for us,” said Ben.

Ben in the sensory garden. 406362

Pictures: STEWART CHAMBERS

L-R: Cooper, Ben, Ryan and Eva. 406362 Ryan, Cooper, Eva and Ben. 406362

Pump track popular

By Callum Ludwig

The Wesburn Park Pump Track has been a hit since opening in November, providing a perfect place for local riders and being the first link in the chain in the delivery of the Warburton Mountain Bike Destination.

It has proved so popular that it has already been nominated for Parks and Leisure Australia’s Victoria/Tasmania Regional Awards, up for the running in the 2024 Park of the Year category.

Yarra Ranges Council Mayor Sophie Todorov said the Wesburn Pump Track has been a great success since its opening in November last year and the Council is so pleased it’s been nominated for Park of theYear in the Parks and Leisure Australia’s Victoria and Tasmania Regional Awards.

“The track features separate, mirrored race lines. This means that visitors to the track can race each other on separate tracks safely. This is a unique feature for a pump track in Australia, and Wesburn was designed to thrill riders of all skill levels,” she said

“When the Warburton Mountain Bike Destination gets underway, the main trail head for Stage 1 will be at Wesburn Park, meaning riders can gather at the pump track, practise their skills and prepare for their rides, wind down on the track or just have fun with their friends before hitting the trails.”

The $949,000 facility has over 1000 square metres of track surface, was supported by funding from the State Government’s Growing Suburbs Fund and followed the Coldstream PumpTrack which opened in late 2022 and has also been well utilised.

Cr Todorov said they’ve had extremely positive feedback from locals and visitors on the track.

“We look forward to working on the Warburton Mountain Bike Destination to connect

these spaces, and help new people of all ages spark a love of bike riding,” she said.

“I am so pleased with the nomination for YRC and I wish our teams the best of luck for the awards. I am proud the track is getting recognition on the national stage, whatever the outcome is.”

The winners of the awards will be crowned at an Awards of Excellence Gala Dinner held in the Victory Room at Marvel Stadium on Tuesday 21 May.

Local motel chosen by travellers

By Dongyun Kwon

A Healesville-based accommodation has been recognised in Tripadvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Awards Best of the Best for 2024.

Yarra Gables has received the same award for two years in a row.

Yarra Gables owner Ralph Henderson said he and his team are honoured that their guests rate their experience at their place so highly.

“Especially, given this is our second year at the first place, we love welcoming all our guests and look to host them as if they were friends coming to visit our home,” he said.

“This is a testament to our team who maintain the standards our guests enjoy. We are rated very highly on cleaning and service which is a significant achievement for us and our team.

“We are also very proud to be part of the Yarra Valley community and one of Australia’s premier tourism destinations.”

Mr Henderson said his customers have loved his motel for three factors.

“They love our garden, the space we have

around the property, the cleanliness of the property and also our customer service,” he said.

“We try to make them feel at home, so we don’t have lots of rules and we don’t have lots of things you can’t do.”

Yarra Gables, formerly known as Marna House, has over 100 years of history.

The property was expanded and could accommodate 50 guests in 1940.

After going through the hands of different owners, Yarra Gables finally was taken over

by the current owner in 2014.

“It’s really good for us [to receive the award] but also for Healesville and the Yarra Valley,” the current owner said.

“We have the number one gin distillery in Australia, we have the number one winery and now we have the number one accommodation and all three of them are promoting the Yarra Valley as a destination for visitors.”

Tripadvisor chief growth officer John Boris congratulated the Yarra Gables on its recognition in Tripadvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Awards Best of the Best for 2024.

“Ranking among the top percentage of businesses globally means you have made such a memorable impact on your visitors that many of them took time to go online and leave a glowing review about their experience,” he said.

This year, Yarra Gables has proudly launched a new house on an adjoining property, called Yarra Gables Lodge.

Yarra Gables now has five motel rooms and three three-bedroom houses and can accommodate up to 34 people.

First birthday party for dam parkrun

By Dongyun Kwon

Maroondah Dam Parkrun (MDP) is going to celebrate its first birthday on Saturday 25 May.

The parkrun first commenced on 27 May 2023 and has progressed dramatically with a record of 2740 finishes over the last 50 runs, which is about 55 people turn up every week on average.

Event organiser Stuart Rainbow said the only parkrun in theYarraValley has been really well received.

“We did expect the parkrun was gonna be popular but we didn’t expect it to be as popular as what it has been,” he said.

“We had 112 volunteers stick their hands up to help out, which is fantastic.”

The birthday party will celebrate the success of MDP over the first year with sausage sizzles and musical performances to add a party vibe.

Mr Rainbow said the parkrun participants are blown away by the beautiful landscape while running.

“People turn up and are just blown away by the views, looking at the mountains, the trees and wildlife,” he said.

“The little speed hump makes the course more challenging.

“When I asked people how they found the hump, some people said they loved it but a lot of people said they hated it.”

After the MDP every week, the participants go to the local cafes and have some social time.

“It’s been wonderful for people to come along and build their fitness, make new friends and have a healthier lifestyle,” the event organiser said.

Bruno reunited

From page 1

Not long after Bruno was caught on camera at a property in Coldstream belonging to Tasma Murdoch and her partner Nick, who were aware of the search and kindly opened up access to their property to help bring Bruno home.

Ms Murdoch said they first saw him on their property around 30 March but he hadn’t reappeared until late April.

“I kept in contact with Tracey after we first sighted him and she contacted me around 17 April to say he had been in the area, so that’s when I started putting out food for him here to try and attract him to our property and ground him so that he could be captured,” she said.

“We first spotted him on our property on 21 April, we came around the side of the garage and he was coming up our paddock and as soon as he spotted us, I turned around and went to go in the house and he just ran,”

“I was putting out sardines which are his favourite food and the scent items before he managed to ground him and I think if no one grounded him on a property, that dog wouldn’t have survived unfortunately because it’s getting colder.”

Video footage showed Bruno stepping foot into the trap just before 6pm on Tuesday 30 April and was reunited with his family the very next weekend.

Ms Young said the moment they found out he was safe, everyone was in tears.

“He’s going to be one very spoiled little dog though we still don’t let him outside without him being on a lead because he’s still traumatised about everything that’s happened,” she said.

“He went to the vet on Monday and apart from a few little cuts on his ears, he’s got a clean bill of health, the vet was amazed at what great condition he was in after fending for himself for 10 and a half weeks,”

“We can’t thank everyone enough for helping bring Bruno home.”

Once Bruno is settled back into home life again, the Young family intend to revisit the Yarra Valley and hold a gathering for all the community members who helped in the search effort to bring Bruno home and will contact the Star Mail to share details.

Eastern Health financially supported to get MDP off the ground.

“We saw an opportunity in the Valley to host a parkrun,” Mr Rainbow said.

“The course in Maroondah Dam needed some fine-tuning and adjusting.”

The 5km parkrun starts at 8am every Saturday at the Maroondah Dam Wall.

Anyone wishing to join the parkrun is encouraged to register at the following website, parkrun.com.au/maroondahdam

The Wesburn Park Pump Track has sections suitable for all skill levels. Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS

Yarra Gables. Picture: DONGYUN KWON

Searcher Sherri Johnston with Bruno.

Andrew and Darlene Young (front) with Tasma and Nick Murdoch (back) whose property Bruno was caught on.

Pictures: SUPPLIED

MDP will celebrate its first birthday on Saturday 25 May.

Picture: ON FILE

Bank digs deep

By Dongyun Kwon

Community Bank Healesville (CBH) donated $3000 to the Healesville Junior Football Club (HJFC) on Wednesday 24 April.

The sponsorship was to help the footy club get new playing jumpers for the U9’s, U10’s and U14 girls.

HJFC president Zach Coleman said the kids love the new jumpers.

“Coupled with logo changing, the burden pushed by the league to all clubs to update, the old jumpers were tired and were truly past their prime,” he said.

“In season 2023, the branch [CBH] also provided support to the club by funding the replacement of our girls’ jumpers for the U12 and U16 teams.”

CBH board member Elly Hanrahan attended the donation presentation night at Queens Park.

Ms Hanrahan said the donation could be made through the community bank system.

“It’s hard for families to find extra cash for new football jumpers at the moment, but participation in sports is still so valuable for young kids,” she said.

“We’ve been able to contribute $3000 tonight because members of our community have opened an account at the Main Street Bendigo Branch.

“Through the community bank model, our customers all chipped in a little bit for the HJFC without having to do anything. It was all added up and we’re so grateful for everyone who supports us so we can continue to do things like this.”

CBH has been putting a lot of effort into giving its profits back to the community for almost 15 years.

CBH is a branch of Bendigo Bank, owned by a private company run by theVolunteer Board, and the branch provides all the Bendigo Bank’s products and services as well as giving up to 80 per cent of profits back to the community.

Volunteer Board chair Nicole Slingsby said the board managed to raise $800,000 for Bendigo Bank’s franchise agreement in 2010.

“That’s by people in the community buying shares in the community bank,” she said.

“And then they needed volunteers on the board to run the business.

“They’re not bankers. They don’t do the banking or dabble in the finances, but they manage the business and they are all volunteers.”

TheVolunteer Board hires bank staff in conjunction with the corporate franchise.

CBH was finally able to pay off all its loans and now focuses on giving back more to the community.

“It’s really good that we finally started to turn a profit,” Ms Slingsby said.

“We finally were able to pay dividends on shares.

“The most important thing for us now is to keep that growth going so that we can continue to give back to the community in a more substantial way in the future.”

HJFCkidslovethenewjumpers.

Picture:SUPPLIED

The bank mainly provides sponsorship and grants to community groups or sports clubs.

Ms Slingby said they have a system for community groups to make applications for sponsorship of their events.

“Community groups come in and fill out a sponsorship form and our business development committee assesses it and supports whatever their project is,” she said.

“For example, we sponsored Dogs Day Out, the Historical Society’s event and the Film Society’s event just a couple of weeks ago and we did sponsor signage for the Healesville Community Garden.

“We had an application, which we approved, and that was for Yarra Glen Primary School for two new flag poles so that they can fly Indigenous flags. It’s really important in our community because we have a good representation of Indigenous People.”

Volunteer Board director Danny Zemp said the bank supported HJFC along with holding workshops for banking knowledge and financial well-being.

“We are sponsoring two teams at the moment, but in the past, we’ve also sponsored equipment like balls for netball and scoreboard for football,” he said.

“People have a lot of problems these days with scams and Buy Now Pay Later, and we are able to source the right people to hold workshops for people to get financial support mostly at a free to the community basis.

“Last year, the workshop was held in conjunction with The Memo. They helped us by giving their facilities at a discounted rate, so this proves that the community, we’re living in, helps one another out for the greater good.”

The Volunteer Board currently has eight directors with five sub-committees which are People and Culture, Business Development, Finance, Risk and Governance.

The main board meeting happens once a month and the sub-committee meetings are held once every month or every second month.

Mr Zemp said the board is looking for a more diverse range of directors.

“It doesn’t mean you need to understand finances, you need to be able to help the community with a community spirit in a way to understand what is needed and where I can help to get the information,” he said.

“For example, I’m not a financial person,

[but] I like to help the community. Therefore, I’m on the Business Development committee and other people have other areas of strength and we try to select directors who suit that niche.

“We have to make a whole circle to bring everything together because it’s important that we communicate well together so that we are out there to be seen and to be able to help the people who need our support.”

The reason both volunteers have joined the Volunteer Board was because they’d like to give back the love that they got from the community.

Ms Slingby joined the board in 2022 and the chair said she loves the Healesville community where she moved to about 11 years ago as a single parent.

“I had to juggle with children, school, work and study, I was studying law then. For some time, it was very very busy and I had so many lovely people offered to help me,” she said.

“My neighbours would say “Can I pick up the kids for you?”, it was such a great community feeling that I really got so much help and support.

“When I closed down my business not so long ago, I thought it’d be really nice to join a community group and volunteer some time.”

Mr Zemp has been on the board for a number of years and what made him get involved in the board is to help the community.

“I’ve been here in Healesville for 23 years now and I’ve felt like I need to give more back to the community because the community helps me as well.

“Whenever I need help, there are always people around who are willing to help and I felt giving back to something like that in a capacity that I can help is rewarding.

“I also want to make sure that we have services here on the bank that are for the community, not just for big profits, which make people smile and enjoy the community.”

CBH branch manager Keeley Mahoney said without the Volunteer Board, the bank wouldn’t be able to exist.

“They mean everything to us, they volunteer their own time,” she said.

“I’m so proud that our branch has been helping the community with the profit we’ve made from the community.

“It’s an absolute honour to help small groups struggling and keep groups and clubs going.”

Mr Coleman said the bank is very approachable and working with board members has been very easy, comfortable and professional.

“I highly recommend working with the CBH,” he said.

“The HJFC banks with the branch which has always been supportive, open to discussions on how best we can manage our transactions, and informative.

“The support and sponsorship the community bank provides our club has gone a long way to ensuring the long-term position of the club and its playing group.”

Manyguests,includingschoolprincipals andstudentsfromWorawaAboriginal College,ChumCreekPrimarySchooland ToolangiPrimarySchool,attendedthe charitypresentationnight.

$12k in donations

By Dongyun Kwon

The Rotary Club of Healesville handed out funds, raised at the 2023 Dogs Day Out, to local schools and organisations on Thursday 9 May.

The donation was about $12,000 given to eight local schools, Healesville CFA and Healesville Junior Football Club.

Healesville Rotary Club community services director Dr Ian Tinney said the rotary club decided to prioritise helping schools with the funds.

“This year, we decided to help schools because everybody is going through a tough time with the high cost of living pressure,” he said.

“We’ve heard a lot of teachers say that there are a lot more disadvantaged kids who have been missing breakfasts, uniforms and excursions. All the things are purely because they can’t afford it.”

The great majority of Dogs Day Out profits came from the great generosity of many businesses in town.

“We went around the town before the Dogs Day Out event and asked local businesses if they would help out as sponsors,” Dr Tinney said.

“They have our sincere thanks because, without their help, we would not be able to act as a conduit to help the people who are struggling and sorely in need of help at the moment.”

The charity presentation night was held successfully at Sanctuary House Restaurant in Badger Creek with many guests including school principals and students from Worawa Aboriginal College, Chum Creek Primary School and Toolangi Primary School.

The rotarian said they would hold the charity event again in the future.

“Dogs Day Out itself is a good fun dog show and also is a way of showing the community that we are involved in community events and charities,” Dr Tinney said.

Plenty of activities for Yarra Glen Girl Guides open day

By Dongyun Kwon

Yarra Glen Girl Guides hosted an opening day to introduce itself to the local community.

The event could be organised thanks to the Small Grant from Yarra Ranges Council.

Yarra Glen Girl Guides leader Heather Dynes said the purpose of the day was to encourage families from the surrounding areas to engage in guiding activities.

“We had a wonderful response,” she said.

“With the support from the council, we were able to display our camping skills, crafts, face painting and STEM experiments.”

There were also some fun activities like a nine-course mini golf set and badminton.

Healesville Environment Watch Inc (HEWI) secretary Karen Garth was invited too.

“She talked about our native animals and environment, and showed her animal furs,” Ms Dynes said.

Yarra Glen Girl Guides is calling for girls from age five to 17 to join.

Girls, who wish to join the girl guides, can have three free sessions before joining. For more information, call Ms Dynes on 0409355304.

Animalfurs.

EDUCATION WEEK

Food fight for Foodbank

Foodbank Victoria has been providing food relief to vulnerable Victorians for over 90 years and in a business where “every dollar donated – is two meals created!” what better way to assist those in need – than a food fight!

Sounds ironic, however, as the students from Wesburn Primary School discovered on Friday 3 May ‘the messiest, funnest way to help raise funds to feed those in need’ is in fact, a Foodbank Food Fight. Rest assured, no real food was harmed in the making of this event, jelly substitute and jelly blasters were supplied for what proceeded to be the most fun Friday of the school year!

An ambitious fundraising target of $5000 was set and students called upon friends and family to pitch in. It became apparent, that there is no faster way to reach your fundraising target, than to make sure the goal is worth obtaining. Consequently, for every $700 raised, a teacher would be slimed! If the donation goal was reached, Principal Mrs Stenhouse, would become the prime slime target. Students were eligible for both online prizes and school-based rewards, with the highest fundraising class treated to a VIP tent for the afternoon.

Wesburn Primary School was honoured to assist with this cause, given the enormous support Foodbank Victoria continues to provide their school, including countless food donations for the student breakfast program and food made available to families.

With the generous support of the wider school community, Wesburn Primary School students proudly raised a phenomenal $7,262 which well and truly ensured their Principal was slimed, simultaneously helping Foodbank Victoria continue to feed 57,000 people in need every day!

Sliming the Principal Ms Stenhouse.

Pictures: SUPPLIEDAll for a good cause.

So much fun at the Foodbank food Fight.

chum.creek.ps@education.vic.gov.au

NEWS Sanctuary set to turn 90

By Dongyun Kwon

Healesville Sanctuary is inviting local families to come over to its 90th birthday party on 25 and 26 May.

To celebrate, the Koala Picnic Lawns will come alive with local acoustic music, food trucks, Yarra Valley produce, lawn games, face painting, arts and crafts and Indigenous culture talks with free entry.

Healesville Sanctuary director Ross Williamson said autumn is a great time to visit the sanctuary.

“I encourage everyone to pop in and celebrate the occasion with us,” he said.

Healesville Sanctuary first opened to the public on 30 May 1934, known as Sir Colin Mackenzie Sanctuary at the time.

Mr Williamson said while many things have changed over the years, the mission to create a future rich in wildlife remains the same.

“We have a long tradition of all things Australian wildlife. Our main purpose is to connect people with Australian wildlife and to preserve it as best we can,” he said.

“Reaching 471,000 annual visitors was a fantastic achievement in the 2018/2019 financial year. In the next 10 years, I would love to get to the point where every Victorian visits Healesville Sanctuary at least once every five years. I think that would be superb.”

Along with the 90-year journey, Healesville Sanctuary has marked a number of milestones.

One of the most significant historical milestones was becoming the first place in the world to breed a platypus in 1943.

“More recently, we had a one-of-kind breeding breakthrough with Leadbeater’s Possum joey of mixed origin genetics born,” Mr Williamson said.

“Thewildlifehospitalhasgonefromstrength to strength. The AustralianWildlife Health Centre sees approximately 2,000 wildlife patients each year.

“Late last year we opened the giant Raptor Rehabilitation Centre which has increased our capacity to care for native birds and return them to the wild.”

As well as a two-day birthday party, Yarra Ranges Regional Museum has been holding a special exhibition to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Healesville Sanctuary.

The Wild and Ourselves: 90 years at Healesville Sanctuary has displayed Healesville Sanctuary’s archives for behind-the-scenes insight into how it has protected Australia’s wildlife.

Yarra Ranges Council community heritage officer Sarah Sato said Healesville Sanctuary is representative of the local government area.

“It [Healesville Sanctuary] is something that Yarra Ranges Council really values. It [Yarra Ranges Shire] is an area that really cares about the environment and wildlife,” she said.

“The sanctuary was founded on the idea of protecting and preserving Australian wildlife at the time when that wasn’t a priority.”

There are many incredible items on display at the exhibition, from beautiful historical images, ticket stubs and signage, to badges, collectable teaspoons and husbandry equipment.

Ms Sato said the most impressive items in the exhibition to her are the first visitor book, the platypus squeegee and the taxidermy platypus.

“The first visitor book for the Sir Colin MacKenzie Sanctuary was signed in 1934 on opening day by Count Lewenhaust, Master of the Hounds to the King of Sweden,” she said.

“Another one is for platypus squeegee which is a device that staff at the sanctuary came up with to solve the problem of the platypus tunnels getting clogged up with dirt and mounds. When platypuses ran through this, it cleaned all the mud off from their bodies and stopped tunnels from getting clogged up.

“Yarra Yarra is the [taxidermy] platypus on display in the exhibition. He and his twin Barak, named after William Barak, were bred in captivity in 1999 at Healesville Sanctuary, 55 years after Corrie was the first platypus to be bred in captivity anywhere.”

The exhibition is available for free and is open until Sunday 11 August.

Healesville Sanctuary events and tourism coordinator Donna Paterson said they love collaborating with local partners in the Yarra Valley.

“We were thrilled when the team from Yarra Ranges Regional Museum were supportive of an exhibition to share Healesville Sanctuary’s 90 years of history. It’s been an absolute joy to work with them,” she said.

“Our volunteers who look after the sanctuary’s archives along with the incredible curators from the museum did a fabulous job to showcase some of the special, unique and quirky items that have been collected over decades.

“Showcasing our amazing collection of artefacts at the Yarra Ranges Regional Museum was a wonderful opportunity to reach a new audience and share our incredible stories.”

Cancer support the theme in May at Mont De Lancey

By Callum Ludwig

Support for the Cancer Council is the theme for the month of May at the Mont De Lancey Historic Homestead in Wandin North.

The Craft a Cure for Cancer group is back exhibiting in the gallery while the annual Biggest MorningTea event is also coming up and is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

President of the Mont De Lancey Historic Homestead Jill Sebire said it’s been a yearly occasion for a few years now.

“Craft a Cure for Cancer started off with just tea cozies and now they’ve spread out a bit with all the others things people can come see,” she said.

“They look very good and it’s all for good cause so it’s nice that we’re able to provide that venue for them and they can keep coming as long as they like.”

100 per cent of the proceeds from the sales of the assortment of hand-crafted goods including bags, children’s clothes, ted-

dies, scarves, beanies and more that are on display in the gallery will be donated to the Cancer Council, while Craft a Cure for Cancer

will also be replenishing the stock of items throughout the month until they pack up on 29 May.

The annual Biggest Morning Tea event held in the Museum will be held on Thursday 23 May, and always proves to be a successful fundraiser, with last year’s event raising about $4000.

Ms Sebire said the Biggest Morning Tea is always a lively event.

“It’s a good opportunity for anyone touched by cancer to come together and gives you a nice feeling to be able to well talk about it if you need to,” she said.

“It’s a good get-together with nice prizes, food and tea which everyone likes early in the morning.”

All in all, the Wandin Biggest Morning Tea event has raised over $40,000 for cancer research since its inception.

The event will be held from 9am to 12pm and anyone who can’t donate in person on the day can also do so at biggestmorningtea. com.au/fundraisers/wandin/biggest-morning-tea-vic.

Jig and Jive for refugees a big success in Healesville

By Gabriella Vukman

On Saturday May 11, the Healesville Senior Citizens club was the hub for some ‘Brown Jug Polka’ and ‘Heel and toe’ jigging and jiving.

To raise money for refugees, locals threw a Bush Dance for the public equipped with violins, guitars, cellos and more.

The antics commenced at 6:30pm with a donation upon entry and anyone was welcome.

Local music teacher and Bush Dance organiser Sally Banks has been organising bush dances in the Yarra Valley for almost fifteen years.

Sally said, “One of the reasons I’ve done

bush dances in the past is to give my students the opportunity to play in a community event which is always enjoyable and a great way to involve the family.”

“I am a member of the Rural Australians for Refugees club (RAR) and they were talking about fundraising and I thought ‘We can do a bushdance.’ The idea of a bush dance which is very community-oriented seemed to suit the ‘RAR’.”

“I thought ‘that will be easy, I’ve got that down to a fine art’ and then I rang up my friend, the caller guitarist and sound man and he said that he was retiring. It has taken three people to replace him but we’ve managed it,” Sally said.

Healesville author, psychologist and exrefugee Dr Bob Rich also attended the Bush Dance.

Bob said, “I came to Australia when I was thirteen. I was a refugee. I was born in Hungary.”

“I had an ongoing war with my stepfather. In 1956, there was a hole in the iron curtain about a million Hungarians escaped. My uncle organised the escape and my stepfather gave him some gold and jewels for my upkeep in case something happened to my family and they couldn’t come.”

“The truck came, my stepfather paid the driver off and told him to go and kept the rest of the family behind,” Bob said.

Proceeds from the Bush dance will go towards housing refugees through the Brigidines catholic order.

Bob said, “There are something like 10,000 refugees. 10,000 of these poor people who have been cast loose, with nowhere to live, not allowed to earn money, no medicare, they have to live off charity.”

Sally said, “My experience with doing concerts in Kensington for years is that you get a better response if it is donations rather than an entry fee. It gets people to think about what they are going to give.”

Lilydale’s lost buildings

By Joy Gothe, Lilydale and District Historical Society

Another glimpse into the lost buildings of Lilydale was the impressive old brick building left behind from the Gasworks that were at the end of Market Street next to the swimming pool.

In June 1886 at the Hodson’s Lilydale Hotel, the first meeting was held to discuss the idea of establishing a gasworks in the township, a public meeting was then called for at Poyner’s Dining Hall in July 1886, with many excited local storekeepers and residents turning up.

The decision was made to form a company for the purpose of lighting and providing Lilydale with Gas.

The Lilydale Gas Company was formed in June 1887 offering 10,000 shares at one pound each, which were purchased by residents of the town.

Local builder, Samuel Dornom who had already built many buildings in Lilydale, was contracted to carry out the construction. Henry Hyne’s Bricks were selected for use in the buildings for their excellent quality and ability to withstand great heat.

The works comprised of a large imposing brick building, and a huge gasometer encased in a brick tank.

The Gasworks opened in August 1887 with an official Ceremony and the Illumination festivities were of a very extensive character, as

CARTOON

was fitting on so important an occasion and continued on into the evening. Large numbers of people flocked through Main Street intent on seeing for the first time in Lilydale the magnificent lighting supplied from the company’s works.

Ascending the hill to the centre of the town, quite a blaze of light met the eye in all directions.

The shops and homes were festooned with coloured lights and huge stars adorned the front of many buildings.

The works a whole new industry as shop owners and home owners purchased gas light fittings for their premises and homes.

The Gasworks operated until the 1930’s when it went into liquidation.

Unfortunately, the works were sold in January 1935.

Later the Council purchased some of the land for flood prevention works and demolished the old brick building in June 1947.

What a sad day, destroying such a unique solid brick building, if it had been restored it surely would have provided a fabulous space for many community activities.

The Lilydale Community Youth Club is now built over the site.

If you want to discover more about the history of Lilydale, visit lilydalehistorical.com.au or email info@lilydalehistorical.com.au

Third Planet of Apes thrills

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Starring Owen Teague, Freya Allan and Kevin Durand

Rated M

4.25/5

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is an enthralling continuation of the Planet of the Apes reboot series.

Generations after the events of War for the Planet of the Apes, a young chimpanzee named Noa (Owen Teague) must rescue his clan from the tyrannical ape Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand), and befriends a human girl named Mae (Freya Allan) along the way.

As with the previous trilogy, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes blends compelling drama and richly-developed characters with thrilling action.

Noa has an enthralling arc of courage and discovery, as he learns more of the old world and struggles to save his family and embrace his clan’s traditions.

Some of the best villains make sense but you disagree with their actions; Proximus is a ruthless zealot who twists the teachings of the benevolent ancestor Caesar from the prior trilogy, yet he is charismatic, ambitious and leads a vast, organised empire.

Unlike many modern effects-heavy blockbusters, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

uses beautiful real locations rather than flat green-screen sound-stages.

The gruelling action sequences make great use of nimble ape physicality, and through moving performances and extremely expressive CGI (which even models the apes’ faces, to some degree, after their motion-captured human actors), the apes can be deeply sympathetic or terrifying. Peter Macon provides insight and levity as Raka, a wise orangutan.

The one weak link in the cast is, amusingly, the human Mae; among the humane, affecting apes, Mae feels implausibly capable yet somewhat bland.

An animalistic thriller with some of the best drama and character writing of the year, Kingdom ofthe Planet of the Apes is playing in most Victorian cinemas.

The 1812 Theatre

The Great Gatsby

Jay Gatsby, a self-mase millionaire, passion ately pursues the elusive Daisy Buchannan.

Nick Carroway, a young newcomer to Long Island, is drawn into their world of obses sion, greed and danger.

Billy Elliot delights at CLOC Kemp’s curtain call

The breathtaking glamour and decadent excess oof the Jazz Age comes to the stage in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel and Simpon Levi’s adaptation.

Season: May 16 – June 8. Bookings: 9758

3964

CLOC Musical Theatre

Billy Elliot

First I must say that this is a musical not to be missed.

CLOC Musical Theatre has produced one of its most moving and funny shows that it ever has.

The story of Billy Elliot is set against the miners strike of 1964 in County Durham in the north of England.

Young Billy is taking boxing lessons when he discovers in the same hall there is a ballet class.

Watching the class, he realises this is his future.

And so the story commences.

Opening the production was film from news TV of the miners’ strike, a scene from Churchill and Maggie Thatcher

Billy,onMay11wasplayedbyLukasElliot.

A very talented young man.

Not only did he box, do ballet excellently, tap and act.

A wonderful portrayal and he was on stage all evening never missing a line nor a number.

Some of the dance sequences were terrific especially when he danced with his older self-played by Dylan Hery.

A wonderful duo.

Other outstanding performances were

given by Billy’s friend Michael, played by Angus Hutchison who is also talented in dance and tap and seeing both Billy and Michael doing a dance sequence together was a sheer delight.

Billy’s grandmother was portrayed by Barbara Hughes, another asset to CLOC doing a great job in the role.

His father was played by Chris Hughes who captured the role of father, miner, widower and striker with aplomb and expertise.

Billy’s older brother Tony was given a first class performance by Joshua Summer.

Billy’s dance teacher, who supported him all the way was Mrs Wilkinson, played by Melanie Bit.

A wonderful portrayal and in parts very moving.

Some of the scenes were outstanding particularly the dance sequences.

The scenes where the miners fought the .police, very well done, the sequence where the police and miners were mixed with the ballet dancers.

The ballet scenes were a delight and CLOC has rounded up a very talented dancers who not only did ballet but were excellent o tap.

Overall a wonderful night of theatre and I recommend everyone should go and see it.

The production finishes May 25 Book through CLOC webpage.

REMEMBER

· The Basin Theatre – Jimmie the Beatle. June 13 – 23.

· Gemco – Take Ten – May 17, 18 and 19.

Graphic novel is charming

A review of Ghost Book by Remy Lai

Winner of the 2024 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award – Prize for Children’s Literature, Ghost Book, by Brisbane-based author and illustrator Remy Lai, is a heart-warning graphic novel for children aged nine and above.

The book’s protagonist is July, a 12-yearold girl who is seldom noticed by her schoolmates.

With her mother having died in childbirth and her father busy selling dumplings everyday, July often feels ignored – by both the living and the dead, as those ghosts around her don’t realise she can see them.

It’s the Hungry Ghost Month, the seventh month in the lunar calendar, when the Gates of the Underworld open and dangerous ghosts get to roam the living world.

When July saves a boy ghost named William from being devoured by a Hungry Ghost, he becomes her first and only friend.

Together, they try to return William’s wandering spirit to his body. Their adventures reflect many aspects of East and Southeast Asian folklore, starting with the Hungry Ghosts, which are believed to be the spirits of those who have died tragic deaths, those who aren’t receiving offerings from their living families, and those who are punished for the terrible things they did while alive.

The story further brings various mythical figures to life, including Oxhead and Horseface, whose job is to escort new ghosts to the Underworld. Meanwhile, the character Heibai Wuchang combines two deities –the Black and White Impermanence – who keep the Underworld in order.

Perhaps the most interesting character is Grandma Meng (or Meng Po), who serves the Forgetting Soup (or the Soup of Oblivion) at the Bridge at the End (or the Bridge of Oblivion).

Like the water of Lethe, the river of forgetfulness in Greek mythology, the soup ensures that souls who are ready to be re-

PASSION FOR PROSE

incarnated do not remember their previous life or their time in the Underworld.

These traditional cultural elements enrich the plot, shedding light on universal themes such as friendship, family, grief, loss and loyalty.

The funny, full-colour illustrations and witty dialogues are uplifting, easing the tension that some young readers may feel while pondering the complex issues of life, death, separation, loneliness and fear.

The portrayal of the Underworld may bring back memories of Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away (2001) and Lee Unkrich’s Coco (2017), where bright, festive colours are used to capture the audience’s imagination.

Also curious are the “people” in the Underworld, creative combinations of animals and humans that remind readers of Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are (1963).

While a handful of ghosts are spooky, the overall visual effect is delightful and fun. To this reviewer, the handful of Chinese characters used in the book are full of meaning, such as the subtle difference between “dumplings” (yummy) and “wonky dumplings” (“eat some and your problems – and you – will be forgotten”).

But the most fascinating character is “forget”, which combines “perish” and “heart”. Luckily, as Ghost Book shows us: “A broken heart is a heart that has loved and been loved.” Highly recommended.

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 Underground railway (6)

4 Water-surrounded land (6)

10 Chickens, pigeons etc. (5)

11 Social exclusion (9)

12 Provider of information (9)

13 Rainforest vine (5)

14 Of Troy (6)

15 Over (4)

19 Currency unit (4)

20 Antelope with lyre-shaped horns (6)

24 Happen (5)

25 Encouraging (9)

27 Male name (9)

28 Proclaimer (5)

29 Proof-corrector (6)

30 Fruit (6)

DOWN

1 Temperance (8)

2 Shoeless (8)

3 German-speaking country (7)

5 Mollusc (7)

6 Shoe brand (6)

7 Humiliate (6)

8 Scottish island (4)

9 Law (7)

16 Bed-bound person (7)

17 Italian church (8)

18 Large marsupial (8)

19 Procession (7)

21 North African country (7)

22 Deadbeat (6)

23 Outline (6)

26 Sham (4)

5

LIKEN LILAC MISER MOTTO NOTED PASTA PEACH ROACH RUING RURAL SCALE SERVE SLEET SONGS SPARK STAIR STEPS STYLE SWEET TENET TOPIC TOTES

SERENE RETREAT WITH ABUNDANT NATURE PROPERTY

SERENE RETREAT WITH ABUNDANT NATURE

LET’S get this sold!

Discover the tranquillity of 21 Cornelius Crescent, Healesville – a stunning property nestled on approximately 12 acres of pristine bushland, teeming with native wildlife. This peaceful haven offers a meticulously renovated 2-bedroom house and so much more. If you’re seeking a serene escape with modern comfort and natural beauty, your search ends here.

Step inside this immaculate residence, where no detail has been spared in creating a modern and comfortable living space. The renovation work showcases a level of craftsmanship that is truly remarkable. From the sleek and modern kitchen to the luxurious bathroom, every corner of this home exudes quality and style. The bifold doors open up to a generous front deck, providing the perfect spot for morning coffee or evening relaxation while taking in the tranquil surroundings.

The cleverly designed study can easily be transformed into an extra bedroom, offering flexibility for your family’s needs. All year round comfort is supplied with the addition of reverse cycle ducted heating and cooling throughout the home. Imagine waking up to filtered mountain views and the soothing sounds of nature, all from the comfort of your own home.

Outside, the expansive 12 acres of bushland are a nature lover’s paradise. Explore the bush, observe native wildlife, or simply enjoy the peaceful serenity that surrounds you. A cleared area on the property is perfect for growing your own vegetables or creating a garden oasis. With a double garage and carport, there’s ample space for your vehicles and storage needs or STCA there is plenty of room to build extra shedding. All this is positioned just a 5 minute drive from the town centre on a no through road.

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to own a piece of Healesville’s natural beauty, perfectly paired with a top-tier renovation. Contact us today to schedule your private viewing and experience the serenity of this amazing property. Your peaceful retreat awaits! ●

IMPRESSIVE EXECUTIVE PROPERTY

LOCATED on a glorious, sun filled 4050m2 block, in the highly sought after pocket of Belgrave Heights / South, this large and spacious family home is set to impress both inside and out. A floorplan of 6 bedrooms, study, three bathrooms and three oversized living zones has been extremely well designed to adapt to any family lifestyle and creates space and privacy for all.

Spanning over two levels, the home has been finished tastefully with striking timber floorboards and quality carpets whilst double glazed windows, remote V-Lux skylights, ducted vacuum system and loft storage are all quality extras for you to enjoy.

A sunken formal lounge plus spacious rumpus room can be found on the lower level of the home whilst upstairs, another oversized living area and study nook sit perfectly between the master suite and another large bedroom, making this a versatile floorplan that could allow for extended family living options.

Beautifully detailed, the kitchen has been updated to include stone benchtops, quality appliances and allows for great functionality with its walk in pantry and extensive bench space. It also allows you to cater for both indoor and outdoor entertaining, being centrally positioned around the spacious dining area and also the undercover Merbau decking at the rear of the home. Sparkling in the background, the inground pool stretches for an impressive 13.5 metres and comes complete with solar heating.

Just as extensive as the size of the home, the amount of garaging and storage space seems endless. A double garage with remote access can be found off the circular sealed driveway plus there is an additional 14 x 7m shed at the rear of the property plus under house workshop / storeroom making this property the perfect choice for those that need to store cars, work equipment or the like.

Staring out over a peaceful view of the nearby valley with a near flat and fully useable block, this property needs to be seen to be believed. ●

HOME FOCUS

A MASTERPIECE OF STYLE AND SPACE

DISCOVER the epitome of luxury living in this custom-built home, tucked away in a serene location right in the heart of town. With meticulous attention to detail and highquality finishes throughout, every aspect of this residence exudes elegance and comfort.

Step inside to be greeted by the warmth of hardwood timber floors, soaring 10’ ceilings, casement and double hung windows, feature leadlight and beautifully sculpted cornices. The formal living area beckons with a feature fireplace, perfect for cosy gatherings with loved ones.

Entertaining is a delight in the expansive family/meals area where a solid fuel fire invites relaxed enjoyment. This area connects seamlessly to a state-of-the-art Smith and Smith granite kitchen, where culinary adventures await. Boasting a Beling stove, glass splashbacks dishwasher and a vast array of storage, you will delight in the views on offer as you whip up a storm. French doors lead out to a spacious deck adorned with a covered gazebo, creating the ideal setting for memorable family gatherings. Unwind in the covered

outdoor swim/spa area, surrounded by the tranquillity of the lush 7659m2 of established gardens.

There are four bedrooms, the master suite, complete with a luxurious ensuite boasting double vanity, double shower and the latest fittings, offering a sanctuary of relaxation whilst the main bathroom also displays top of the range fittings. An open study will cater for the student or a work from home situation.

Year-round comfort is assured with hydronic heating, a solid fuel fire, and a split system, while a remote double garage and separate colorbond garage provide ample space for vehicles and storage, with the shed doubling as a workshop or man cave. A paddocked area will cater to a four legged friend.

Security and privacy are paramount, with remote gates ensuring peace of mind for you and your family.

Don’t miss the opportunity to make this private sanctuary your own. Contact us today to schedule a viewing and experience luxury living at its finest.●

HOME FOCUS

UNIQUELY WARBURTON VIBE ON OVER 1/2 ACRE

NESTLED amidst enchanting deciduous trees and boasting breathtaking mountain views, this weatherboard wonderland is more than just a home—it’s an experience waiting to be cherished.

With over ½ acre of lush land, let your imagination roam free as you explore the private, securely fenced backyard, tailormade for little adventurers to discover nature’s wonders.

Step inside to discover a haven of charm and character. Multiple living zones offer endless possibilities for relaxation and entertainment, from the cozy warmth of the wood fire to the charm of an open fireplace.

Whether you’re in need of 3 or 4 bedrooms, this home adapts to your lifestyle with ease. Ascend to the upstairs loft room and be captivated by panoramic views from the picture window and enjoy fresh air from the Juliet balcony, all while enjoying the charm of “wonky” timber flooring that adds a touch of whimsy to every step.

Downstairs, two generously sized bedrooms and two bathrooms await, complete with pedestal basins, baths, and toilets, ensuring convenience and comfort for all. The master bedroom enjoys a walk through robe to the ensuite, lovely sash windows and views of your garden.

Dreaming of a space to unleash your creativity? The versatile layout offers endless options—a study, library, formal dining, or simply leave it open for extra living space—the choice is yours.

The country-style kitchen beckons culinary adventures and seamlessly flows onto the deck, where you can savor the serenity of your surroundings while basking in the beauty of the views.

But wait, there’s more! A separate studio

from-home sanctuary, or a welcoming retreat for

family. Don’t miss the chance to make this

extraordinary home yours—a unique blend of charm, comfort, and natural beauty awaits on Mt Donna Buang. ●

FamilySpacewithComfortandConvenience

Wellpositionedandverywellpresented,thischarminghomeissuretopleaseifyou’relookingforan easycareandconvenientlifestyle.Fresh,modern,lightandbrightthroughoutandboastingplenty ofspaceforthegrowingfamily.With3 bedroomsand 2bathrooms, aspaciousliving/loungearea offersgreatspaceforeveryoneplusanuptodatekitchenanda separatemealsarea.Outsideis somethinga littledifferentwithendlesspossibilitiesofferingextraaccommodationfortheextended family,teenagersortheidealworkfromhomeofficearea,gamesroomorstudio.Anexcellent locationwithgreatmountainviewsandideallylocatedjusta shortstrolltoYarraJunctionspopular shoppinghub,localschools,publictransport,theYarracentreandsportingfacilities.

SimplyGorgeous,JustMoveIn Thishomeis adelightfulblendofcontemporarycomfortandtimelesscharm.Theweatherboard exterioraddscharacter,whilethemoderninteriorwithpolishedfloorboardscreates afresh atmosphere.Thethreebedroomsofferamplespace,especiallythemainbedroomwithitswalkinrobeandensuite,perfectforrelaxation.Thelargewindowsallowingscenicgardenviewsarea wonderfultouch.Themainbathroom’sluxuriousfamily-sizedbathsoundslikea delightfulretreat, andtheopen-planlayoutofthelounge,dining,andkitchenareasensures aseamlessflow,withthe kitchenoffering apicturesqueviewofthebackyard.Theinclusionofmainsgasductedheatingand fansensurescomfortthroughouttheyear,cateringtobothcoldwintersandwarmermonths.

Brilliantlylocatedina stylishculdesac,withmountainviewssitsthisstunningfourbedroomresidence. Asyouenter,youaregreetedbyqualityflooringanda senseofspaceasyounotethelargemaster bedroomtoyourleft,thatboastsa walkinrobeandensuite.Continuingthroughthehome,you’ll findyourselfintheheartofthehouse -theexpansivekitchen,dining,andfamilyroom.Withitsopen layout,thisareaseamlesslyconnectstotheoutdoorentertainmentareaandprivaterearyard.The kitchenshowcasesanislandbench,amplecupboardspaceandallcreatedwitha stylishandclean, crisppalette.Youwilldiscoverbedrooms2 and3 in aseparatewing,providingprivacyandcomfort forfamilymembersorguests.Bed4 isconvenientlylocatedoffthefamilyarea,offeringversatilityand flexibility.Thishomeoffers aharmoniousblendofcomfort,convenience,andstyle.

4bedroomcharacterhome,largeblock,oppositetheYarrariver Storybookliving,acrossfromtheYarraRiverandonly afewminutesstrollintotheheartofWarburton thishomecertainlyhasalotonoffer.Doublestoreyandcompletewith 4bedroomsand 2bathrooms theversatilefloorplanprovidesamplelivingoptions.Gorgeousformalloungewithlargewindows lookingoutontotheestablishedcottagegardens.Amazingsuper-sizedkitchen,fabulousspacefor theaccomplishedcookwithroomtomove,thefestivefeastwillbe adreamtocookup.Master bedroomwithensuiteandupstairsanother2 bedrooms,studynookandmainfamilybathroom, plentyofstorageandbonusductedvacuum.Largegaragewithinternalaccesswillmake unpackingtheshopping abreeze!Plentyofspaceoutsidewithfruittreestoindulgeinandcottage gardenstoloseyourselfin, adelightfulpropertyinbrilliantlocationtoenjoythedelightsofWarburton.

25 ACRES FULLY EQUIPPED EQUESTRIAN FARM

WELCOME to a fully equipped 25 acre horse property in picturesque Glenburn, offering an enormous range of features –hands down the best value pound for pound in the district.

The renovated 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom homestead is heated and cooled with 3 split systems, evaporative cooling, and Scandia wood heater. Additionally there is 3 phase power connected with generator input.

Equestrian facilities:

· 65 m x 35 m all-purpose arena fully enclosed

· Over 12 secure paddocks

· concrete-floored stables with 3 boxes and 1 tie-up bay

· wash bay with hot wash

· lockable tack room with feed storage

· 2 day yards with loose boxes and 25 m round yard

Further to the property’s storage capacity, add a 9 m x 15 m Colorbond shed with 3 bays (1 concreted). There are 3 dams on the property, including 1 spring fed, ideal for watering stock and horses, in addition to the watering troughs, most automated. Lastly, the feed is top-class, with the property capable of yielding > 2,000 square bales and upwards of 200 round bales.

This property is at the top of many buyers’ rural checklists. It goes without saying: get in while it lasts.

Text 36BURNS to 0448 820 022 for more information. ●

SPACIOUS FAMILY HOME WITH VALLEY VIEWS

ENJOYING views across the valley, this spacious, open plan home boasts great appeal along with four bedrooms, two modern bathrooms – The master suite with full ensuite with corner spa plus oversized walk in robe and split level lounge, dining and TV areas. The floorplan has been well designed to allow for privacy for kids bedrooms away from the living areas and master bedroom, giving everyone a little bit of peace and privacy and making this the ideal family layout.

Along with the convenience of multiple split systems throughout, you will also find a cosy wood heater that you can enjoy throughout the colder Winter months ahead.

Outside, a sealed driveway leads to a double carport whilst an extra parking bay for two cars is convenient for guest and extended family.

Tiered for easy use, the rear yard is fenced and contains a paved entertaining area and lovely garden where kids can play. The rear decking is the ideal spot to enjoy a BBQ or relaxing of an evening watching the sun go down.

Only a short drive to Upwey main street, public transport and schools plus only a short distance from the wonderful walking trails of Birdsland Reserve, this home will impress on every level. ●

SharynChandler

SPORT Healthy golf turnout

By Ron Hottes

The V.V.V’s:

Hooray, there were enough girls this week to have a daily comp. And, the consistent Merilyn McDonald made the most of that opportunity by snatching the top voucher with a solid 19 points. This was Merilyn’s second win in recent times and easily accounted for the rest of the field, as Suzanne Barratt took home the runner-up prize with a creditable 16 points. Merilyn topped off her day by producing a stunning tee shot on the tricky 12th that finished a metre from the pin, granting her that NTP prize. Good work, Ladies.

Wednesday 8 May, Stableford:

Josh Hin is riding the crest of a wave of very good form lately, and this day was no exception. Josh fired a 78 off the stick to amass a superb 41 points. This easily topped the rest of the nearly 40 field, because Club Secretary, Kevin Bargar grabbed the runner-up voucher, on a countback, by recording 35 points. Well done to both of those boys. With a stack of 35’s and 34’s posted, the balls only covered those scores. All the NTP prizes were taken as follows: Josh Hin clearly had a day to remember, because he also collected two of these (3rd and 5th). John Haynes grabbed the 9th, Merilyn McDonald the 12th and, finally, my old mate, Darryl Ward picked one up on the 15th.

Saturday 11 May, Stableford:

A healthy-size field battled it out for top honours on this day. Clearly, the most determined battler was young gun Angus Hall, who amassed 41 impressive points, to take home the B-Grade voucher. The B-Grade runner-up

Trades & Services

Stuart Patrick posted a 39-point result. The AGrade top prize went home with Michael Pinkster, who accrued a 40-point round. Michael’s result easily accounted for the A-Grade runner-up, because Liam Kay returned a 36-point round. The ball rundown extended to 36 only. NTP winners on this day were Dale Horrobin (3rd), Lee Creedy (5th), Brayden Millar (9th), Michael Pinkster (12th), and Rod Kempton (15th).

Dressage series a hit

By Anita Prowse

Wow, what a massive week we have had this week.

Friday saw the final in Yarra Glen ARC’s Dressage Series, which proved very popular and had a fantastic atmosphere. Series winners were:

· Level 5 - Megan Morris

· Level 4 - Alison Moloney

· Level 3 - Cleo Billings

· Level 2 - Kim Johnson

· Level 1 - Di Wilkinson

· Level Ad - Yolanda Slykerman

Congratulations to all the competitors and the event committee on running a really lovely competition.

Saturday and Sunday, Upper Yarra Pony Club’s annual Dressage Jackpot was run with some great fun on Sunday when we were joined by Forever Friends Animal Rescue for some great activities and prizes and to raise awareness of the charity and its importance. So much fun and so many smiles. Jackpot winners were:

· Grade 1 Paige Whitney,

· Grade 2 Jessica Welsh,

· Grade 2 PC Phoebe Dixon from Lilydale & Mooroolbark PC,

· Grade 3 Melissa Wheeler,

· Grade 3 PC Sophia Myszka from Doongala PC,

· Grade 4 Rebecca Phillips,

· Grade 4 PC Elsie Bree from Yarra Glen PC,

· Grade 5 PC Emma Grave from Pakenham PC,

· Grade 5 open Kristie Law

· Grade 6 Scarlett Cloke,

· Grade 6 PC Eve Moloney,

· OTT PC Sophia Myszka on We Need More Ammo,

· OTT Open Katie Snodgrass on Blue Street Bandit. Congratulations everyone and happy riding.

WarburtonGolfClubresults.

Wandin relish big victory

Wandin returned to winning ways this week with a comfortable win away from home over Gembrook-Cockatoo.

The Brookers led by coach Michael ‘Spud’ Firrito jumped out of the gate with the first three goals of the game beforeWandin decided to turn to play, responding late in the quarter with two goals of their own.

The next two quarters were fairly even with Wandin in control of the tempo of the game before kicking away in the last quarter.

Final score Wandin 14.12, 96 to GembrookCockatoo 7.7, 49.

Top Dogs on the day were Samuel Hodgett, Macauley Beckwith, Brodie Atkins, Patty Bruzzese, Harrison van Duuren, Harry Mitchell, Chayce Black and Clinton Johnson.

Goalkickers were Charlie Wood and Johnson with 3, Bruzzese and Atkins with 2 and one apiece from Jordan Jaworski, Harrison Byrne, Patrick Hodgett and Mitchell.

Other results:

· Reserves: Wandin 9.9, 63 defeated Gembrook-Cockatoo 5.4, 34. Top Dogs were Tom Page, Aaron Mandl, Blake Chrisfield, Tyson

Smith, Alexander Ferguson and Darby Huggins.

· Under 19s: Wandin 3.5, 23 defeated by Gembrook-Cockatoo 16.16, 112. Top Dogs were Bailey Yelland, Benson Dunn, Oli Nathan, Jordy Brookshaw, Jye Harvey and Jack Dixon.

· Womens: Wandin 0.2, 2 defeated by Warburton-Millgrove 5.5, 35. Top Dogs were Lydia Langton, Lottie Read, Alysha Henskens, Lauren Sullivan, Georgia Krueger and Jessica Hendrie.

A Grade netball:

· B Grade: Wandin 73 defeated GembrookCockatoo 37. Top Dogs were Charlotte Sparkes, Brittany Tait and Kate Campbell.

· C Grade: Wandin 57 defeated GembrookCockatoo 46. Top Dogs were Madi Rouget, Ella Tweedale and Diane Jacobs.

· D Grade: Wandin 53 defeated GembrookCockatoo 25. Top Dogs were Aimee Mackenzie, Marlee Smart and Cassidy Iedema.

· 17 and Under:Wandin 34 defeatedWooriYallock 11. Top Dogs were Annie Brown, Libby Earney and Abby Akers.

Burras’ winning ways

By Alex Woods

Warburton-Millgrove’s Round 5 games started Friday Night against Wandin, with the women’s team having a tough game ahead of them.

The rain had set in for the Friday but managed to clear for the game. The ground was dewy and wet, which made for slippery conditions. They started off strong with a 0.0-0 to 4.3-27 lead at the first break. They continued along nicely, leaving Wandin to only score 2 points for the game and finished off with a nice score of 5.5-35. Sally Mcintosh, Lilian Pagels, Stacey Mercury, Sienna Clark and Jade Mewburn were all the top performers. Jade Mewburn secured 2 goals, Rach Maxwell scored a nice goal for her 50th game, Lilian Pagels also secured one, as well as, Madi Ward. Saturday, the Burras ventured over to Belgrave for another round of tough matches. The morning started off with D Grade. They had a strong start, having a nice lead of 7 goals at halftime. Belgrave started to slowly approach, but the Burras managed to hold on securing a 2-goal win. Sienna Muir, Issy Maurici and Tamin Crunden were the top performers, with Sienna shooting 14 goals, Maddie Loveless with 8 and Brooke de Pedro with 7.

C Grade took the court next. Belgrave managed to get the early jump with a 1 goal lead at the first break. The Burras took control of the game in the second quarter and had a nice 5 goal lead at halftime. They continued on with their skills and momentum and took control of the game for the remainder of the match. 22-36 was the final score, with the top players being Courtney Lever, Mel Hancock and Chantelle Hermansen. Ashlyn Hermansen shot 21 goals and Mel Hancock with 15.

A Grade was on after C grade and started off strong with a 2-12 lead at the first break. Belgrave gained some momentum and secured 11 goals in the second quarter, along with out 10. The second half of the game was still in our control and they continued that strength right to the end, taking home a 48-29 win. Bianca Daniels put up 30 goals, Karly Wappett with 10 and Ashlyn Elliott with 9. Jessie Hare, Ashlyn Elliott and Bianca Daniels were the stars of the match. Reserves started at midday. Belgrave started off strong, kicking the first few goals at the start of the first quarter. The Burras took some control in the second and managed to keep Belgrave to kicking 1 goal and 2 behinds and scoring 1.1 for themselves. Unfortunately, Belgrave came out stronger in the second half and took control of the game. The final score was 10.13-73 to 3.3-21. Dave Swankie secured 1 goal, as well as Raymond Lord. Brayden Ferguson, Nate Lucas, Dave Bedggood, Ricky Andueza, Jackson Jones and Matt Sidari were the top performers of the game.

B grade finished off the netball for the round. A strong first quarter by both teams with the Burras having a 3-goal lead at the first break, 13-16.

The next two quarters were just as strong with Belgrave remaining close behind with a 3-quarter time score of 41-44. In the last term, Burras came home strong and took control of the game. The final score was 51-57, with Jordana Butcher having a strong game, shooting 43 goals. AlexWoods also secured 14 goals. Top performers were Jordy Butcher, Emily Hay and Chelsea Barnard.

Senior footy finished off the day with a tough match ahead of them. Belgrave started off strongly, with a 5.3-33 to 3.2-20 quartertime score. The Burras took some control of the second quarter and were only 4 points behind at the halftime break. Belgrave secured themselves a 2 goal lead heading into the last quarter.The Burras turned it on for the last and played a great quarter of footy to take home a 4-point win. Bailey kicked 3 goals, Trent Elliott had a big game and secured 2 goals as well as Liam Westlake. Tom Marr secured another match-winner and Lachy Hewitt, Marcel Kocher and Tom Barr also kicked 1 each. Trent Elliott, Nelson Aldridge, Ben Pretty, Marcel Kocher, Bailey Humphrey and Tom Barr were all top performers of the day.

Milestones aplenty for Woori Yallock

By Brendan Donovan

Yet another day of perfect weather greeted the participants on Saturday atWoori as the Tigers hosted Emerald.

A bye for the Under 18s allowed a few of the boys pressing for senior footy a chance in the ressies.

The Ressies got their second win for the year, it’s been a great turnaround this year with the boys finding more winning moments.

Final scoreWooriYallock 9.6, 60 defeated Emerald 6.6, 42. Top Tigers were Tom Kear, Hamish Gemmill, Caleb Lee, Ronan Taylor, Chris Lower and Jack Freedman.

The netball was a mixed bag of results but the whole netball program has been an overly positive vibe so far this year. Two great achievements from the weekend gone were Tarsha Neal scoring her 100th career goal and the U15s picking up their first win of the season under coach Josie Venville.

A Grade: Woori Yallock 41 defeated by Emerald 57. Top Tigers were Olivia Caneva, Gaby Clarke and Chelsea Smith.

B Grade: Woori Yallock 74 defeated Emerald 46. Top Tigers were Holly Dunlop, Rebecca Course and Jaymee Tough.

C Grade: Woori Yallock 33 defeated by Emerald 38. Top Tigers were Melanie-Rose Jakobs, Remmi Corbett and Emmerson Alford.

D Grade: Woori Yallock 34 defeated Emerald 32. Top Tigers were Kylie Corbett, Laura Atkins and Narelle Collette.

17 and Under: Woori Yallock 11 defeated by Wandin 34. Top Tigers were Charlotte Comport, Oliver Stenhouse and Monique Brown.

The senior boys saluted two great servants of the club; Jordy Williams (100 games) and club captain Kody Busoli (200 games).

In a scrappy first half, the Tigers struggled to find their own space with Emerald taking it right up to them.

In the second half, Woori was able to get its team play going and was rewarded on the scoreboard. With a few injuries along the way, it was a pleasing team effort as the side continued its unbeaten run.

Woori 15.15, 105 defeated Emerald 5.9, 39. Top Tigers were Taylor Gibson, Joshua Neal, Oscar Simpson, Jake Calvert, Kody Busoli and Robert Allen.

In the women’s footy, they continued a dominant start to the season with a solid win. The team’s defensive press was a high-

light with relentless forward-half turnovers. Final score was Woori Yallock 4.6, 30 to Emerald 1.1, 7. Top Tigers were Emelia Robin, Isla Schroder, Jess Laidlaw, Rachael Lee, Sky Wilson and Catrina D’couto.

This week the men’s footy and netball head to Mt Evelyn which is always a tough assignment.

Senior Women’s play at Seville on Friday night

The U15 netballers picked up their first win of the season.

Kody Busoli walks out with newborn son Fletcher in his 200th game.

Pictures: ADAM SYKES

Sienna Muir shoots for the Burras.

Picture: SUPPLIED

Wandin’s Chayce Black shrugs a tackle from Gembrook-Cockatoo’s Dante South. 406514

Picture: ROB CAREW

Healesville sides fight hard

By Sarah Bailey

Healesville U9 Falcons 2 -2 Yarra Valley SC U9 Falcons were away against Yarra Valley.

A great first half saw Logan S score after a great turn and play by Spencer B.

Harry G then scored his first ever goal to go two up.

Yarra Valley fought back in the second half with a goal and then scored with the last kick of the game.

Healesville U9 Lions 1 – 0 Northern Eagles SC B side

It was a pretty evenly matched first half with a couple of stand-out saves from Maverick keeping the scores to 0-0 at half time.

The Lions managed to get a bit of momentum in the second half with a few chances going just wide until a deft little flick over the keeper by Colton put the Lions up 1-0.

The Lions continued to pepper the keeper but couldn’t break through again.

Healesville Under 9 Redbacks 7 – 1 Northern Eagles SC A side

Right from the start the Redbacks went on the attack, and it didn’t take long to open the scoring as Ben P broke through the Eagles defence and kicked a nice goal.

They kept the pressure on right through the first half and didn’t allow the Eagles any space or opportunities to settle.

Half time score was 4-1 with the highlight coming from Teddy’s thunderbolt strike that the keeper had no chance of saving.

The second half continued in a similar fashion as the Redbacks worked well together with great passing and structure. Everyone did a fantastic job and the shared around the goal scoring.

U10 Ninjas 2 - 7 Croydon Ranges FC Red

This week the Ninjas encountered a well-organized and drilled Croydon team.

Jaxson T was in goals first up and made some good saves keeping the Ninjas in it.

Leo C was lively up front giving the boys the spark they needed with great talk and movement.

Jackson S and Eddie P made some fantastic intercepts in defence on both sides of the park.

Max H was again the leader in midfield, tak-

ing the game up to the opposition.

Healesville U10 Goats 4 – 1 Lilydale Eagles SC Blue

The Goats started strong displaying excellent structure and organisation.

Arlo opened the scoresheet from an impressive corner set play.

Patrick zipped it up the sideline and from around 20m out Arlo sent it high and goalwards looping over the everyone including their goalkeeper to find the back of the net.

Ash,Will and Percy were impenetrable in defence and supported at times from their equally strong midfield.

Arlo, Reggie and Ryder scored additional goals and with Ryder hoping to get his second went on an impressive late run showcasing eye popping individual talent.

Healesville U11 White Wolves 9 - 0 Waverley City SC

After beginning with some fairly even back and forth. Ardi C was the first to score for theWolves, opening the flood gates.

With the mercy rule brought in, it made little difference as theWolves’ forwards found the net regularly from distance.

Reaping all the spoils

By Anne-Marie Ebbels

The A-grade netball game was another nailbiter this week with the two teams going goal for goal for most of the game. Only two goals separated Healesville and Alexandra at the final break with Healesville in the lead. Alexandra upped their defensive game in the final quarter and earned several turnovers to put themselves in front with two minutes to go. Healesville couldn’t find the turnover in the final minutes to hit back, and Alexandra won by 4 goals.

B grade started the game well and went into the first break with a goal lead. Healesville continued to extend their lead in the second quarter and went into the big break 12 goals up. Alexandra hit back in the third quarter, but Healesville managed to maintain their lead and extend the final margin to 20 goals.

A tough first quarter in the C Grade game had both teams even at quarter time. Healesville settled in the second quarter and won some crucial turnovers to be four goals in front at halftime. The third was even with Alexandra unable to eat into the Healesville lead. Healesville extended their lead in the final quarter to win the game by 8 goals.

The U18s got out to a quick start in their game against Olinda-Ferny Creek with three goals to none in the first quarter to go into the first break with a 22-point lead. OlindaFerny Creek settled in the second quarter and reduced Healesville’s scoring opportunities while creating a couple of their own. In the second Healesville continued to increase their lead while Olinda-Ferny Creek got their first major on the board. Healesville was the winner by 43 points.

In theWomen’s game, the first quarter was

Restructuring of the team allowed some of the Wolves’ backs to get amongst the action in unfamiliar territory.

Two debut goals were scored to the crowd’s delight.

Harley T opened his scoring account with a bomb from beyond the box, as too did stalwart down back Oliver R who gleaned a massive cheer for his long-awaited drought breaking goal.

Confidence, ball sharing and taking role responsibility are all becoming a feature of the Wolves game play.

Healesville Heelers U12’s 3 – 0 Mooroolbark Baptist SC Raptors

It was a tightly contested game that ultimately went the Heelers way.

The Heelers rose to the challenge of a strong opposition, producing some outstanding team play, which enabled Mack to find the net twice.

MBSC made some quick attacks and goalies Yuuki and Jesse skilfully prevented them from scoring. It was a match in which every player made important contributions, even forcing an own goal from MBSC in the closing minutes of the game.

Healesville U13s 1 - 5 Blackburn New Hope SC Servals

An under-strength Healesville team came up against an excellent Blackburn.

After being an early goal down it looked like it was going to be a long day for the home side, but they continued to grow as the game progressed and didn’t let their heads drop.

They almost scored with an amazing individual run by Louie G well-saved by the Blackburn keeper.

The second half was much more even with Healesville advancing increasingly into the opposition half.

Ryder H missed a great chance before Tom J, with his second goal of the season, finally got Healesville a deserved goal for all their hard work.

Cooper W and Dylan C (keeper) both had strong games.

Healesville U15s 1 – 3 Gideons Warriors Healesville faced the unbeaten Gideons.

With two late outs, a position shuffle and change of tactics was required.

The game started well with Pip M scoring

early for Healesville.

However the rest of the first half went the way of Gideons who scored the next three showing the Healesville boys that they could not ease up at any point.

The second half started with Healesville a step behind and seemingly not expecting Gideons impressive pressure.

However some great defending by the defensive line kept Gideons out.

The longer the game went on, the more control Healesville wrestled back with a late push at goal, unfortunately not netting any.

Healesville Reserves 2-1 Knox Churches SC

After some excellent recent displays without reward Healesville were keen to turn their fortunes around.

A tight first 25 minutes started to open up and Healesville missed some good chances through Oshane D and Tom E.

Finally their dominance paid off with a goal from Ben S and on the stroke of half time Steve C had a goal disallowed for offside.

Healesville came out strong after half time and Ben S scored his second goal of the game.

Knox pulled one back late and pushed for an equaliser.

Healesville were happy to hear the full-time whistle and celebrate their first win of the campaign.

Dandenong Red Fury Phoenix 1 - 0

Healesville Seniors

Top of the table DRF hosted a Healesville side that have been competitive all season without the rewards.

This theme would, unfortunately, continue for another week.

The home side were the dominant team in the first half but had only one shot, which hit the post, until a dubious goal, which was kicked out of goal-keeper Stuart P’s hands, saw them take the lead.

Healesville grew into the game after half time but needed Stuart to make some great saves and the crossbar to ensure Healesville remained only one goal behind. At the other end Healesville dominated the last 20 minutes but Peter F, Daniel T and Johnny C all missed excellent opportunities to earn what would have been a deserved point.

Tough losses for River Pigs

By David Ball

atighttusslewithbothteamsremaininggoallessatquartertime.Olinda-FernyCreekwent into the first break with a two-point lead. Healesville managed the first goal in the second quarter and went into the halftime break five points in front. Healesville came out after halftime and continued to hold Olinda-Ferny Creek goalless while scoring two goals themselves to go into the final break 21 points up. Even Olinda-Ferny Creek finally scoring a goal meant that Healesville maintained their lead winning by 21 points.

The Healesville Reserves got off to a strong start against Alexandra in the first quarter, keeping their opponents scoreless into the firstbreak22pointsup.Inthesecondquarter, Healesville scored 5 goals to one extend their lead to a 48-point lead at halftime. Healesville continued to make it difficult for Alexandra to score and continue to make a mark on the scoreboard to run out winners by 90 points.

In the Men Senior game, the first quarter was a tight tussle with the quarter-time margin only 3 points to Healesville. A stronger performance by Healesville in the second quarter kept Alexandra goalless and increased Healesville’s lead to 23 points. Alexandra came out inspired after half-time and turned the game around with a fivegoal quarter to go into the final break with a 3-point lead. Healesville regrouped for the final quarter and limited Alexandra’s scoring opportunities to win by 19 points which could have been more with more accurate kicking in the final quarter.

Healesville travels a short way down the road to Yarra Glen for the annual Pride game for netball and senior men’s football. Football starts at 12.20pm and netball from 11.20am. The Women’s team play Upwey-Tecoma at Upwey and the U18s have a bye.

Yarra Glen travelled to Seville to get their first look at the nicely levelled Seville oval. In perfect conditions, Seville jumped the River Pigs, kicking 7 goals to nil in the first quarter.

The Seville ruck combination was too strong giving the Blues a number of easy centre clearances.

The River Pigs started the second quarter well kicking the first goal and for half of the quarter matched Seville in general play, adding another goal.

The River Pigs suffered injuries to key forwards Nick McKenzie and Josh Hawkins and struggled to stop Seville’s rebound from the back half.

The Blues fast-leading forwards were marking strongly and converting to see Seville add 5 goals to Yarra Glen’s 2. At halftime, Yarra Glen was 2.1 to Seville’s 12.10.

The third quarter was a disaster for Yarra Glen, with more injuries leaving a depleted bench as Seville lifted their intensity.

Seville added 8 goals to nil, with Nathan O’Keefe kicking 3 after being well held in the first half. To Yarra Glen’s credit, they competed tenaciously in the last quarter. Seville added 5 more goals to the River Pigs 1 in a game where Seville proved to be far too good with Yarra Glen finally going down, 3.2 to 25.18

Best players were Sam Wood, Tom Sullivan, Jim Marks, Max Depina, Chris Beattie and Richard Gurney.

Goalkickers: Richard Gurney, Oscar Grenfell and Marcus Kikidopolous.

Yarra Glen Reserves team faced a more accomplished Seville unit and it showed on the scoreboard in the first quarter with Seville kicking 8 goals to Yarra Glen’s nil. The Seville forwards were getting plenty of supply and

converted well. The second quarter was much of the same and whilst the River Pigs’ effort could not be faulted, they continually turned the ball over under the pressure applied by the Blues.

The second half saw a much-improved effort from the River Pigs with Ash Bryans working overtime in the midfield and moving forward to score Yarra Glen’s first and only goal. They started to team better but were not able to convert.

Seville proved far too good and whilst the River Pigs did not give up, they were well beaten, going down 1.3 to 27.13

Best players were Ash Bryans, Ryan Bastian, Braedyn Crombie, Taylor Bryans, Ethan Murdock and Brad McKenzie.

The goalkicker was Ash Bryans.

Yarra Glen coach Dean Williams talking to the midfield group at half time. Picture: SUPPLIED

Healesville under 10 girls having a blast during Female Football Week. Picture: SUPPLIED