Mail - Mountain Views Star Mail - 28th May 2024

Mountain Views

Big morning tea a hit

By Dongyun Kwon

Healesville Biggest Morning Tea was welcomed again by the community members on Wednesday 22 May.

The event was hosted by the collaboration of Le Pine Funerals Healesville andTarrawarra CWA and was attended by almost 70 people from a variety of age groups.

Tarrawarra CWA made the cakes and served coffee and tea at the event while Le Pine Funerals Healesville organised the rest including the raffles and prizes.

Tarrawarra CWA president Anne Faulks said she would have it again next year.

“The event was successful and a lot of people had a lovely time. I saw lots of people having lots of conversations,” she said.

“It was great to see our efforts were worthwhile.”

Turn to page 14 for more

Emergency funds

By Callum Ludwig

As Wear Orange Wednesday rolled around on Wednesday 22 May 2024, SES crews across the state are calling for more support.

A convoy of SES vehicles took to the Bolte Bridge on Monday 20 May, making up just a small portion of the vehicles that need to be purchased, maintained and equipped by crews.

SES volunteers are calling for more funding, as current subsidies and rising costs are hitting hard.

Upper Yarra SES Unit Controller Hannah Brunton said the current funding model for VICSES is not sustainable for the costs of the services that they provide and relies heavily on volunteer-led fundraising.

“Many people assume that VICSES receive funding from the Fire Services Levy however this is not the case, the current Fire Services Levy works really well for the Fire Services, and we obviously support it and are not seeking a reduction in funding provided to our fire emergency service colleagues – we work with them and support the valuable work they do,”

she said.

“Many people do not realise how little funding we actually receive or how far this goes. Using Upper Yarra as an example, we have five vehicles, one rescue truck which is state-funded and four other vehicles which are unitfunded and each vehicle that a unit funds needs to be fitted out with equipment such as radios and emergency lights as well as retrofitted for operational usage to include storage to safely stow our equipment.”

“Each vehicle can easily cost in excess of $100,000 and we have to replace them every 10

years so for argument’s sake (without application of grants) let’s say four vehicles at $100,000 each, is $400,000 to outlay within that 10 year span meaning $40,000 per year is what we need to save to achieve these vehicle purchases. The subsidy we receive is less than this so we immediately start in the red.”

The cost of fuel, vehicle maintenance, equipment maintenance, equipment replacement, consumable items and utilities are all further expenses SES units either have to pay for or apply for grants to cover.

Continued page 3

Almost 70 people turned up at the event, including Roger Treen (second from right), with Le Pine Funerals Healesville manager Jenny offering up some delicious treats.

Picture: DONGYUN KWON

Healesville backs cause

By Dongyun Kwon

Victoria State Emergency Service (VICSES)

started a campaign to appeal to the Victorian Government to establish sustained funding.

The campaign marked its launch with a public awareness drive across Melbourne’s Bolte Bridge on Monday 20 May as the coincide of National Volunteer Week and Wear Orange Wednesday.

Almost 200 volunteers with 38 SES units participated in the rally along with 32 support vehicles, 18 trucks and two buses which were all acquired through fundraising efforts.

Healesville SES controller Karen Picone said the SES Healesville Unit is supportive of

this campaign although the unit didn’t attend the rally due to the member availability.

“It is to promote all the SES does for the community, to raise awareness and to show that a lot of fundraising with a more sustainable system is required to function with better

training and facilities,” she said.

“SES volunteers should not have to fundraise for equipment to assist the community in times of need, but the reality is that we have to.

“There is a fire levy but SES does not receive anything from this, SES believes that it would be better served as an emergency services levy.” Despite the invaluable contributions of volunteers, VICSES faces significant funding shortfalls. Currently, the organisation relies heavily on volunteer-led fundraising efforts, which are unsustainable in the long term to provide up-to-date equipment and comprehensive training.

The VICSES volunteer leadership group is

urging the Victorian government to consider indexed and sustainable funding for VICSES to be able to continue to deliver critical emergency services across the state and reduce the burden on volunteers from the fundraising pressure so that they can focus on core operational tasks and training.

Ms Picone said Healesville SES needs both donations and new members. “The community can also assist us with making their homes ready for wind events or storm events by cleaning gutters, tying down trampolines and putting away anything that could become airborne in a storm, not driving through flood waters, not parking under trees when there is a storm predicted.”

Banks are ‘essential services’

By Corey Everitt

A Federal Government inquiry has recommended a slate of protective measures to curb the impacts from increasing closures of bank branches in regional areas, recognising access to cash as an ‘essential service’.

The Senate Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport laid down the report of the inquiry into bank closures in regional Australia.

The inquiry was prompted by the increasing withdrawal of banks from regional towns as they move to prioritise online banking over in-person branches.

Tax cuts for every taxpayer

The investigation covered the reasons forthesweepofclosurestotheirimpacts, hearing extreme cases where communities are as far as 500 kilometres from their nearest branch. The recommendations proposed to bring more oversight to bank closures by instituting mandatory ‘Banking Code of Conduct’ where banks would have to conduct ‘meaningful consultation’, submit a report on the ‘potential impacts’ of the closure and to fund ‘transitional arrangements’ and ‘ongoing support services’.

A regulator is recommended to give powers to enforce this conduct and authorise or defer closure requests. It would also have a number of penalties at its disposal if a bank is found in breach.

The report also recommends investigating the feasibility of establishing a public bank with emphasis on looking into ‘stand-alone banks’ that use the network of Australia Post.

Recommended further was the ’Regional Community Banking Branch Program’ that provides funds to assist communities in establishing their own bank branches. It’s suggested that such funds be drawn from the banks by supplementing the Major Banks Levy. Bank@Post, the service which allows withdrawals and deposits at selected post offices, would be beefed up by requiring all banks to integrate their service and expand its capabilities through measures such as the increase of deposit limits.

The inquiry recommended the Federal Government adopt a policy recognising access to cash and financial services as an ‘essential service’ that should be ensured with ‘reasonable access’. The report detailed how 2100 bank branches had closed between the years 2017 and 2023, it described the impact of closures can be ‘devastating and far-reaching’.

Many towns in theYarra Ranges, such as Lilydale, Mooroolbark and Chirnside Park have had local bank branches close overtime leaving less options for people to bank in store.

Most recently, this has included NAB and ANZ, with Bank of Melbourne retreating from Chirnside Park early last year.

Almost 200 volunteers with 38 SES units participated in the rally. Picture: FUND VICSES

NEWS IN BRIEF

SES funding pleas

From page 1

Ms Brunton saidVICSES has observed a significant uptick in assistance requests, marking the past three years as the busiest in our history.

“Staff who work at region and state levels are hugely overstretched which obviously has a huge impact on them but also has a knockon effect on volunteers in so many ways. It can mean we may not always get assistance from staff when it’s required in the timeframes that we need or they put themselves out to make themselves available to us, at a detriment to themselves,” she said.

“It also means our training opportunities are reduced. Available spaces on training courses are limited, it is not uncommon for a volunteer to get rejected from a training course multiple times due to limited spaces, which obviously impacts volunteer retention.”

“Courses may have eight-20 spaces available yet have 50-100 plus applicants across the state but training isn’t an optional extra, volunteers need these skills to be able to assist the community when required.”

Brigades in the Outer East have attempted to combat the difficulty accessing training by holding courses in-house. The Upper Yarra, Healesville and Emerald units recently ran two courses on road crash rescue, facilitated by a volunteer trainer from Upper Yarra, Matt, a volunteer trainer from Emerald, Lachie and a volunteer Assessor from Emerald, Phil who solely organised and ran the course to help eight members across the three units become newly accredited Road Rescue operators.

Ms Bruonton said SES is the control agency for flood, storm, tsunami, landslip, and earthquake which make up such a huge portion of natural events that emergency services respond to, while also being a primary road rescue provider.

“SES also often assist fire services, usually within Incident Control Centres or staging areas during bushfire events and high-risk days,” she said.

“It is very common for SES to assist AmbulanceVictoria with the extraction of patients in situations in which paramedics cannot easily access the patient such as due to arduous terrain or the patient’s physical location.”

“Victoria Police request assistance from SES to provide people-power in searches for missing people or crime scene evidence as well as protecting crime scenes from the elements and public visibility.”

About 200 SES volunteers turned out for the convoy over the Bolte Bridge.

Ms Brunton said it was a big moment and the atmosphere of the group was electric.

“I am always grateful to be a volunteer and proud of everything our members achieve but being part of that convoy was bloody moving, seeing the effort that volunteers put in to organise it all and make it run so seamlessly was impressive and inspiring,” she said.

“I can’t even find the right words, it was overwhelming and wholesome and powerful, so powerful.”

SES crews are calling for the Victorian Government to either increase the funding for the

Fire Services Levy and expand it to become an Emergency Services Levy or to establish a separate levy altogether.

Ms Brunton said this isn’t just a case of volunteers sooking and crying poor, they are just so frustrated and tired of being treated like the ‘poor cousin’ of the emergency services.

“We more than earn the funding we are requesting, we aren’t asking for funding for us, we are asking for funding for the sake of our communities because at the end of the day, without sustainable funding, it’s the community who suffer,” she said.

“And it shouldn’t be up to the community to put their hand in their own pockets to donate when they see us begging on a street corner.”

Anyone wishing to support the push can visit fundvicses.org where there is a link to contact local parliamentarians with a preformed editable letter or follow ‘Fund Victoria

State Emergency Service’ on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date and share the campaign on social media.

In response to a lack of funding for SES in the recent State budget, Eildon MP Cindy McLeish called on theVictorian government to address the lack of funding and said local units had been under significant pressure in recent months, with volunteers being called out for incredibly difficult situations.

“In towns across my electorate, the local SES units have been at the forefront of all recovery efforts, from floods, storms, power outages, and car accidents,” she said.

“These are men and women who volunteer their time, often, in small towns they are the first responders to accidents involving neighbours, family, friends – this is an incredibly tough role for these volunteers.”

Man rescued from tractor in Gladysdale

SES, CFA and Ambulance Victoria crews have worked together to rescue a man who had become trapped by a tractor in Gladysdale before being airlifted to hospital.

Four CFA units from Little Yarra and Yarra Junction CFA, one rescue vehicle from the Upper Yarra SES Unit and paramedics responded to an industrial accident on Hazeldene Road in Gladysdale at around 9.34am on 23 May.

“On scene, a person was trapped and then extracted,” a CFA spokesperson said.

“One man in his 40s was transported via air ambulance to the Royal Melbourne Hospital with upper body injuries, in a stable condition,” an AmbulanceVictoria spokesperson said.

The incident was deemed safe at 9.53am. Spotlight on drinking and driving during the day

One in five drink drivers fined in Victoria were caught during daylight hours.

NewVictoria Police analysis also reveals half of detections were on a weekday.

It comes amid a danger month on Victoria’s roads with 29 people killed in May last year with alcohol a contributor in multiple deaths. As of Monday 20 May, 12 people had died so far this month.

Figures show about 1200 of the near 4900 drivers caught drink driving in the last financial year were nabbed between 6am and 6pm. More than 400 were caught between 6am and noon alone.

Victoria Police has been scheduling special daytime and early-morning operations to keep drink drivers on their toes and remind all drivers police are out testing for alcohol anywhere, any time. Assistant Commissioner for Road Policing GlennWeir said people might think drink driving is something that only occurs after dark but this data shows there’s a lot of offending in the day.

“That’s why police are out breath testing motorists around-the-clock,” he said.

“If you think you can run the gauntlet, be it day or night, think again.”

The force conducts three million breath tests every year.

Not only do police deploy their booze bus fleet statewide but every police car also has breath testing capability.

The night, 6pm to midnight, remains the most prolific time for drink drivers on the road with 1900 detected followed by midnight to 6am when almost 1800 were caught.

Saturday accounts have the most detections of any day with 1200 ahead of Sunday, Friday and Thursday.

About 400 drink drivers were caught on a Monday and 350 on a Tuesday.

Most drink drivers fined – more than 40 per cent - recorded a blood alcohol content between 0.07 and 0.10.

About a third blew between 0.05 and 0.07. Anyone caught drink driving faces heavy fines and a loss of licence.

First-time drink drivers alone face a $577 fine and being disqualified from driving for three months even for low-level readings.

Figures analysed - covering 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023 - included only drink drivers who received a fine, which applied for readings up to 0.15.

Those with higher readings must go to court where a magistrate imposes a fine and driving disqualification period.

Upper Yarra SES Unit Section Leader Leah Farvis writes a message on a unit vehicle.

L-R: Upper Yarra SES Unit Controller Hannah Brunton and Section leader Kate Fowler.

The SES convoy on the Bolte Bridge on Monday 20 May.

Pictures: SUPPLIED

Blunt about road concern

By Callum Ludwig

A road safety concern that has lingered for over half a decade remains unaddressed and is causing angst for some local residents.

Residential roads Ruthven Street, Wellman Street and Grieve Street all link up to the Launching Place Primary School from both the Warburton Highway and GembrookLaunching Place Road, with the road conditions, driver behaviour and the safety of pedestrians, particularly schoolchildren, all part

of the concerns.

Launching Place resident Kalli Blunt has been part of the push for action since before 2019 and said she’s extremely disappointed that nothing has happened.

“I’ve spoken to Jim (Yarra Ranges Council’s O’Shannassy Ward Councillor Jim Child) and he knows exactly who I am, he knows I’ve been fighting for this for a long time and he knows everything I’ve tried to do just to improve safety and it’s not happened,” she said.

“I asked for signage, I was going through the

liaisons at the council and somehow they had people not working and something happened, they had other people come in and they put extra signs around Carter Street which was never even mentioned in any of my emails.”

In the Tuesday 25 June 2019 edition of the Upper Yarra Star Mail, Launching Place residents were featured on the front page hopeful that their roads would be featured in the nowdefunded Roads For Community program, which they initially were.

Ms Blunt said there are no signs at all on their roads coming from Gembrook-Launching Place Road, no safety concern signs, no dust signs and no children in the area signs.

“They (Yarra Ranges Council) have to redo the gutter every couple of years because they just can’t do a proper job of it because it’s on a hill and a dirt road, and people just fly down here as a thoroughfare with no consideration or idea that there are children here,” she said.

“There’s a lot of kids that walk up and down this road or are on their bikes and it’s a blind corner that they just haven’t done anything about, they keep promising to do something and they were going to do signs to start the year but I had to email again and was told it would be eight weeks and now another two weeks again has passed.”

The collection of streets Ms Blunt is concerned about, as well as Jacka Street and Carrol Street in the same area, were initially slated to be sealed through the Roads for Community program but were among the many projects cancelled after Federal Government funding was withdrawn.

The Roads for Community program was intended to seal roads that border on schools and preschools as well as connect to key community facilities, to complete sealed road net-

works in urban areas and to service areas with a high property density.

Ms Blunt said the difference some safety measures would make would be enormously overwhelming as it would mark the end of something that has been so desperately needed and so overlooked.

“We can’t do speed bumps apparently because of the grader which comes through once or twice a year which isn’t enough because people fishtail down the road and fly up it and they can’t seal the road anymore,” she said.

“What I really want them to do is just put some signs up and in the proper positions, not just one sign of a child holding another child’s hand up at the school, there needs to be signs down near Gembrook-Launching Place Road leading up saying there’s bends in the road and dust and it needs to be done properly.”

Yarra Ranges Council confirmed it is currently undergoing a review of its Special Charge Scheme process which is expected to conclude around mid-year.

Director of Built Environment and Infrastructure Phil Murton said following the review they will be able to provide an update to the resident on what the process will be for all future road sealing projects.

“Unfortunately there have been some delays with the signage installation as the manufacturers are experiencing their own delays, however, we anticipate that they will be ready to be installed within the next two weeks,” he said.

“The safety of our community is always our highest priority and we’ll continue to work with the resident on the roads and drains in question,”

“Roads such as these in Launching Place are graded three times each year.”

Ruthven Street, Wellman Street and Grieve Street in Launching Place are all causing safety concerns for residents. 407794

Pictures: STEWART CHAMBER

Grieve Street, Launching Place.

Angle parking here to stay

By Dongyun Kwon

Yarra Ranges Council (YRC) recently handed down that they will not include the change of the angle of park bays and the modification of the width of the pavements at Lilydale Road, Healesville in the upcoming upgrade, which sparked concern in the community.

In 2019, YRC engaged with the local community on the proposed design and requirements of Lilydale Road due to an increase in pedestrians and visitors to the area following the success of the Four Pillars Gin distillery, other restaurants and businesses on the road.

The road was transformed to include connecting footpaths, 64 formalised parking spaces, improved drainage and lighting and street trees.

Yarra Ranges Mayor Sophie Todorov said YRC is aware there are some aspects of the design of this road that the community is unhappy with, however, it needs to look at the future use and requirements of the road, not what it has been used for in the past.

“Council’s main aim for the construction of this road is to slow traffic down to make it safer for all pedestrians in the area, improve the parking by formalising the spaces, provide enough parking for predicted visitor numbers, plan for our future needs, connect with shared paths and plant a streetscape that will grow and mature in time,” she said.

“Following the completion of the road, we received some feedback about the size of the parking spaces and width of the road. While the road was built to regulation standards, we will be making some adjustments to widen the parking bays and round off the corners from the areas where the trees are.

“While we know that the changes to this road are significant to the local community, we ask for their support as we work towards improving the safety of the area for pedestrians as the local economy grows.”

Despite the recent announcement from YRC about the alterations including relocation of trees in the area, the local community is doubting if it’s going to be effective in decreasing the dangerousness of the area.

Healesville Action Group (HAG) convener John Rosser said the community is worried about safety due to the 90-degree angle parking bays.

“People are making a fuss because the [car] park is bad and is dangerous when they’re trying to get in and out,” he said.

HAG secretary John Anwin said the biggest criticism is the narrowness of the road while the pavements are wide.

“So far as we understand, they (YRC) weren’t going to ever connect these pavements to anywhere, so it’s not part of the trails from Yarra Glen to Healesville. This is just a little offshoot to bring them up into this tourist area. So there was no need to put these wider pavements here,” Mr Anwin said.

“In fact, on the council’s own hierarchy of roads where they classify them, it’s still classified as a collector road, which means it should be carrying more traffic than a side street but not as much as the main road [so the road

should be wider given that the road is classified as a collector road which has traffic all the time].

“The most realistic outcome would be to change the parking angle. They’ll not spend much anyway.”

Two HAG members said public consultation delivered by YRC was to convince community members rather than listen to the voice of the community.

“At the last meeting we had with the council, there was a PR person and she was there to put a positive spin on everything and tried to convince everybody. They had a consultation but they’re not going to change anything,” Mr Anwin said.

“The first public consultation was only with people in the street [businesses on Lilydale Road] and only a few businesses were concerned about the parking back then.”

A local tour operator is also deeply worried about the safety of the road, especially when he drops off people from his minibus.

Yarra Valley Rides director Scott Bennett said there is nowhere to park for his minibus.

“The allocated bus area that they put in after we complained is useless. It’s too short. The road is too narrow. If vehicles are dual cab utes with a bullbar or towbar, they don’t fit in the parking properly. The towbar is around on the

street, so it’s really dangerous,” he said.

“The other issue is because it’s got angled [90-degree angle] parking, people can’t see what’s coming. So when they back out, they cross the road and block the entire road to get out.

“The other one, you’ve actually got to drive technically up on the footpath to drop people off outside Payten and Jones, which is dangerous.”

Healesville CFA captain Brian Earl said the brigade mostly goes straight to Chum Creek Road from Healesville Main Street and does not pass through Lilydale Road when they have callouts in Yarra Glen and the surrounding area.

“So, it [Lilydale Road] doesn’t really affect us. The only real issue we have with it [Lilydale Road] is when we get responded to Four Pillars,” he said.

“When the alarm goes off for Four Pillars Gin Distillery, we end up tying up all the road because there’s nowhere to park and just congest the road very rapidly.”

YRC built environment and infrastructure director Hjalmar Philipp said 90-degree angle is the only angle suitable for access in both directions according to Australian Standard 2890.5:2020.

“As visitors to Lilydale Road arrive and leave

from multiple locations, 90-degree parking allows for safer manoeuvrability along the length of the road,” he said.

“Lilydale Road is classed as a collector road. This means that the road is a link between arterial roads that have a higher traffic usage. Over time the way this road is being used has now changed and become a tourist location.

“The design of the Lilydale Road and footpaths has been done intentionally to force traffic to slow down as well as maximising the number of parking spaces available for predicted future use. It also takes into account the increased number of pedestrians on the footpath - now and into the future when the Yarra Valley trails are completed.”

Along with the Australian Standards, the YRC’s traffic engineers also took into account the following factors when they decided on the design of the road; the purpose of the road, the speed of the traffic on the road, the amount of driveways/crossovers onto the road, the line of sight of the driver on the road, the line of sight of the person in the parked car, the amount of space needed for the driver on the road to either slow down or pass vehicles pulling out, the amount of space needed to pull out of the parking space without impacting other parked vehicles, and safety and buffer zones.

John Anwin (left) and John Rosser.

Picture: DONGYUN KWON

Are you gambling more than once a week?

Research shows if you are gambling more than once a week, you are more likely to develop an issue.

Council election insights

By Callum Ludwig

Another informative opportunity for aspiring Council candidates is coming up at the end of the month.

Former Baw Baw Shire councillor and mayor Ruth McGowan OAM will be delivering a workshop to help prospective councillors better understand the role of a councillor and help them to prepare the campaign ahead of this year’s elections in October.

Ms McGowan said the session will be a really practical look at what it takes to run for council.

“I’m hoping that people that are even a little bit curious might come along and learn a bit more about what the role is and its challenges, but also what the great things about being a Councillor are,” she said.

“It will be positive, but I won’t sugarcoat it, but it’s an opportunity to learn what you do as a Councillor, looking at what a day in the life of a councillor looks like and then I’ll talk a bit about what it takes to plan a campaign.”

Since 2012, Ms McGowan has acted as advisor and consultant to Council’s while also writing her book ‘Get Elected’, which is a ‘step-bystep campaign guide to winning public office’ targeted at women and encouraging them to get into politics.

Ms McGowan said time and time again, she hears councillors that get elected say ‘I wish I knew more about the role before I stood for office’.

“It does take a fair bit of time to be a great councillor and a good, effective councillor needa to put time into the role,” she said.

“That’s usually around two days a week, it can be more, it can be less, but it does have an impact on your paid work, your caring responsibilities and maybe your volunteer activities,”

“Sometimes people have to consider if they want to actually be a councillor and what’s go-

ing to be the impact on their life.”

Ms McGowan is also partnered with organisations such as Women for Election and the University of Melbourne’s Pathways to Politics

program, of which she has also completed herself.

Ms McGowan said it’s really important that councillors reflect the diversity of the commu-

nity they seek to represent.

“Across Victorian councils we know that they’re top-heavy and skewed towards older men, whereas we need more women to stand, we need more young people, we need people from culturally diverse backgrounds and First Nations people, they’re very much underrepresented on local councils across the state,” she said.

“I’d encourage someone who’s thinking ‘Do I belong there?’ to come along, because your voice needs to be heard and it certainly would be useful and beneficial for the community to have diverse voices around the council chamber that reflect the lived experiences people across the Yarra Ranges.”

The session will be held on Thursday 30 May from 6.30pm to 8.30pm at theYarra Ranges Council Civic Centre at 15 Anderson Street, Lilydale. It is free forYarra Ranges residents but registrations are essential.

Ms McGowan said being a councillor isn’t a magic, special job and people who are already leading in their communities are who she’d encourage to come along.

“They might be the president of the school council or the secretary of the kinder or a lieutenant on their local fire brigade, they’re already serving the community as community leaders and I would say many of the skills that people have can be translated to being a councillor,” she said.

“Maybe they’d like to try a different type of leadership as an elected representative and anyone can do it with the right skills, the right training and the right attitude if they’re there for the community,”

“It’s such a wonderful opportunity to serve your community in a way that you just don’t have elsewhere.”

To register for the session, visit: yarraranges.vic.gov.au/Experience/Events/Curiousabout-standing-for-Council-Workshop.

Yarra Ranges residents are invited to a workshop to learn more about what it takes to be a councillor. Picture: ON FILE

Voices ‘Launch the Bird’

By Callum Ludwig

Buoyed by potential funding from Climate 200 and confirmed funding from Huddle, the Voices 4 Casey group is continuing its journey towards the 2025 Federal election.

Community members came together at the Micawber Tavern in Belgrave on Thursday 23 May for their ‘Launch the Bird’ event to ‘give flight’ to their election campaign.

Voices 4 Casey President Dr Ani Wierenga said both the financial and community support for the group is really exciting.

“I think what stands out is a pattern of grassroots support and interest in people getting together and talking about what matters for ordinary people in communities and elevating those issues into being part of the conversation,” she said.

“It’s not just about who sits in Canberra but it’s also about how do we represent local issues in every level of government, how do we represent the concerns of everyday people and amplify those voices and how do we have better dialogue with our representatives at every level.”

The Launch the Bird event marked the start of the group’s ‘Kitchen Table Conversations’ strategy, where they will aim to send surveys or postcards to as many houses across the electorate as they can.

Dr Wierenga said it’s part of their listening process which is beginning to form an energetic buzz.

“It’s about drawing people together for conversations about what they appreciate about living here and what matters to them, we find that in these conversations, people particularly resonate towards particular issues and our hope would be to form working groups around those issues,” she said.

OPINION

“We’re early in our listening process at the moment but what we know is that the issues are different for the different towns across Casey, we’ve got the hills, we’ve got suburbs, we’ve got the agricultural areas and we’ve got the areas out into the bush so there’s a whole lot of diversity there,”

“We’re hoping to do some nuanced listening and to be able to bring some of the different sets of issues to work on for these groups, and we know that in there we need to be keeping our local media abreast of what we’re discovering so we’re thinking through the process of how we check on the pulse in different areas and dig more deeply into that.”

While the Voices 4 Casey has started, the group are also awaiting the draft decision from

the Australian Electoral Commission’s Victorian Federal Redistribution, especially as the Australian Labor Party has proposed the seat of Casey be the one that is abolished as redistributed to other electorates.

Voices 4 Casey did make a submission as part of the process that should Casey be retained, it be renamed ‘Barak’ after William Barak, a sentiment shared by a number of other local submitters.

Dr Wierenga said regardless of what happens, the listening process is going to be relevant no matter what form the electoral boundaries take.

“We’re in that interesting space where east of Melbourne, electoral boundaries may change and so we’re holding decisions until

the point where we hear the AEC and what it’s doing,” she said.

“Tonight (at the Launch the Bird event), we’re gathering key connections and volunteers, we will be meeting more people and we expect to be able to more visibly come in front of people with events that they can be involved in and from there we hope to meet people who’d like to get to know more about the Voices movement.”

Voices 4 Casey already has a number of events and appearances coming up:

Kitchen Table Conversations at the Monbulk and Belgrave libraries will be held on Wednesday 29 May and Monday 3 June respectively, both from 7pm to 9pm.

The group will have a Healesville Market Stall on Sunday 2 June, at the Belgrave Big Dreams Market on Sunday 9 June and at the Upwey Market on Sunday 23 June.

Another Launch the Bird event is in the works and set to be held in Healesville.

Dr Wierenga said 35 attendees came to the first edition of Launch the Bird.

“On the night,Voices 4 Casey received more than 16 new offers to volunteer in our 2024 Listening Campaign,” she said.

“One of the most delightful things was seeing people embrace the ways they can contribute to the 2024 Listening Campaign. from hosting, inviting, helping to lead in kitchen table conversations and sharing the survey across the community.”

Through funding from Huddle, Voices 4 Casey has also been able to bring on a Community Engagement Coordinator for their campaign.

Casey residents are also welcomed to share their thoughts with the group via their online survey at: research.net/r/V4C15.

Hunters unite for land access amid proposed changes

COMMENT by Victoria’s recreational hunting organisations

Victoria’s recreational hunting organisations stand united in their opposition to any loss of access to public land and are urging the Victorian Government to strategically grow access and ensure that an increasingly urbanised population has opportunities to participate in active outdoor recreation, including recreational hunting.

Comprised of the Australian Deer Association, Australian Bowhunters Association, Field and Game Australia, the Gippsland Deer Stalkers, The Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (Victoria) and Dog Hunters Victoria, the groups represent a membership of over 70,000 Victorians and represents the interests of a quarter of a million recreational shooters and hunters in Australia.

The Australian Deer Association’s head of

Advocacy, Sean Kilkenny said this is a huge amount of public land that recreational users have sustainably used for over a hundred years.”

“The groundswell of public support to maintain the status quo is a testament to the value placed on this land by recreational users andweareencouragedbythegovernment’sestablishment of the Great OutdoorsTaskforce; it demonstrates a recognition of the sustainable use of recreational activities in the bush,“ he said. “A national park was only floated to end native timber harvesting; with that now ended, the campaign for a national park ends with it.”

The members and constituents value opportunities to participate actively in the natural environment, sustainably harvest wild food for the table and protect important environmental and cultural assets.

Recreational hunting contributes hundreds of millions of dollars annually to the Victorian

economy and directly supports thousands of full-time jobs.

Of immediate concern to our organisations is a proposal that would turn approximately 360,000ha of State Forest in the Central Highlands into a National Park, such as the proposal of a Great Forest National Park.. Such a change would inevitably exclude access for thousands of deer hunters who work with scent-trailing hounds and companion dogs and hunters who pursue pest species. It would also significantly restrict access for tens of thousands of deer stalkers.

The hunting community has engaged openly with the eminent panel considering this proposal and has stressed the importance of maintaining and improving recreational hunting access. The unprecedented level of engagement at local forums and online from concerned local communities and active recreational users is a testament to the discon-

nect between the inner urban activists agitating for this park and the ordinary Victorians who would be negatively impacted by it.

The organisations believe that the Government committing to any changes to land tenure in the Central Highlands (or elsewhere in theVictorian public land estate) would be premature. Notably, the Government has recently established a Great Outdoors Taskforce to take a more holistic, considered, and strategic approach to how Victorians protect, conserve and use public land in a post-timber harvesting environment.

Our organisations are committed to engaging productively with the new Great Outdoors Taskforce to ensure that Victoria’s future land management arrangements meet the dual and largely compatible needs of preserving our precious natural environment and providing active outdoor recreation opportunities for the growing population.

Voices 4 Casey supporters came together to ‘Launch the Bird’ on Thursday 23 May. Picture: SUPPLIED

NEWS Beans back Haining Farm

By Callum Ludwig

A new partnership is helping to replenish Haining Farm through something as simple as your morning cup of coffee.

The Sustainable Coffee Company, Australian Ecosystems and Parks Victoria have come together, with every kilo of Coffee for Nature sold set to help fund replanting efforts in the former dairy farm turned conservation site.

Director of The Sustainable Coffee Company Brendan Condon said he thinks it is a brilliant partnership because it means that this biodiversity restoration has security of tenure and is going to be protected in perpetuity.

“What we’re now doing with the Coffee for Nature program is trying to harness the collective energy of Melbourne’s coffee lovers by directing and embedding biodiversity in that supply chain by launching what we think is Australia’s most sustainable coffee,” he said.

“I think it’s (Haining Farm) a great example of the rebound capacity of the natural world if we work sympathetically with it and if we change the land use and manage land for nature.”

The conservation efforts at Haining Farm are complementary to the Yellingbo Nature Conservation Area, with the goal of establishing the area as another new habitat for the state’s faunal emblems, the Helmeted Honeyeater and lowland Leadbeater’s Possum.

Parks Victoria’s Area Chief Ranger covering the Upper Yarra Conrad Annal said through federal funding and state funding, and a lot of work and planning with partner agencies, they have been able to redevelop the site from a dairy farm to a conservation area.

“It was strong advocacy from the community to have some public access, so that’s why it has a series of tracks throughout the park and one of the big motivations or ambitions was to have an area for conservation, particularly for the lowland Leadbeater’s Possum and Hel-

meted Honeyeater which are critically endangered,” he said.

“The habitat we’re creating is called a camphora eucalyptus swamp as that’s what those two species particularly need which we started planting in 2018, but before we did that we had to get the infrastructure in place.”

Wetlands were created and are maintained with the Don River which follows through the park, with bridges built and pumps installed so the water flow can be regulated by pumping water into the Don River and releasing it.

The Victorian Environment Assessment Council (VEAC) had recommended that Haining Farm became a community-use area that also helped to revegetate floodplain forest habitat in the Upper Yarra in 2013 and since planting began in 2018, 42 hectares have been revegetated, a track network built and a deerproof fence installed (which is set for an upgrade to help keep out other predators like foxes and cats).

Mr Annal said time will tell how the Haining Farm project has gone when they are able to release the critters.

“But to see how well the trees are doing, they’re four to six years old, is great, I guess when you’ve got 100 years of farming with fertiliser and cow manure that helps but I’ve never seen any revegetation that’s done as well as this has,” he said.

“With some of our partner agencies, we are doing a bit of monitoring, we’ve got a lot of cameras, and if you go for a walk you’ll see little posts that have got wildlife monitoring cameras in them and we’ve already seen quails, goshawks, sugar gliders, feathertail gliders and a whole range of bird life.”

The presence of sugar gliders is a particularly positive development, as they require similar conditions to the lowland Leadbeater’s Possum and Helmeted Honeyeater, which bodes well for the use of the site as a critical habitat.

Mr Condon said there’s a range of reasons the faunal emblems have lost habitat but the plan is that the animals are re-released, and that they’ve got the best chance of flourishing at Haining Farm.

“They can live on riparian zones where it’s rich country and was cleared probably 100 years ago and swamps were drained, so all they’ve got are these little pockets, like Yellingbo (Nature Conservation Area) where they’re hanging on by their fingertips,” he said.

“They tend to hang out in the same areas and I was reading that the lowland Leadbeater’s possum will scratch the bark off a eucalyptus and that exudes a sap or a carbohydrate that the Helmeted Honeyeater come and feed from, so they’re even helping each other out and giving each other a leg up.”

Funding raised by Coffee for Nature will help purchase plants identified by Parks Victoria as underrepresented in Haining Farm, as well as organise seed collection and community planting days at the site.

The Sustainable Coffee Company sources its’ Coffee for Nature green beans from Brazil’s Bom Jesus Coffee Farm which was Brazil’s Most Sustainable Coffee Farm for 2023. The coffee also scores 87 out of 100 in the Specialty Coffee Association’s coffee cupping score rating system, where coffees with a score over 80 can be considered ‘specialty’.

According to Visit Victoria, Melbourne imports 30 tonnes of coffee per day on average.

“I did some maths this morning on the way here, that’s 11 million kilos a year,” Mr Condon said.

“I worked out that if we could get 10 per cent of Melbourne’s coffee consumers to participate in a Coffee for Nature-type program, then we could be planting three Haining Farms of forest a year, just with 10 per cent of our coffee habit.”

Coffee for Nature supporters.

Picture: SIMON SHIFF

Praise for medicos

By Callum Ludwig

The Yarra Junction Medical Centre team has been recognised for their service, having been named as finalists for a plethora of categories at the 2024 Victorian Rural Health Awards.

Hosted by Rural Workforce Agency Victoria, the awards aim to recognise the significant contributions of health services to their rural communities each year, with the winners set to be announced on Thursday 20 June.

Yarra Junction Medical Centre Practice Manager Alison Dajlan said all the staff are really excited to be nominated for the awards and are blown away at being nominated in four categories.

“Being nominated as a team is really rewarding to all our wonderful staff and shows how well we all work together, it really rewards the hard work everyone has been putting in to provide the service to the UpperYarra community,” she said.

“After a few tough years with doctors moving interstate or away from the area and followed by the flood in 2022, the clinic is back on its feet and doing what it wants to do by providing affordable healthcare to the community.”

The awards theYarra Junction Medical Centre/its staff are up for are:

Chandana Gangodagama and his team for Outstanding Contribution by a Rural Multidisciplinary Health Team,

Alison Dajlan for Outstanding Contribution to Rural Practice Management,

Dr Gamini Colombage for Outstanding Contribution by a Rural GP or Rural Generalist and Outstanding Contribution by a Mentor/ Supervisor.

Ms Dajlan said she started working at the clinic in 1989 having grown up in Yarra Junction and loved the people and the area, and is always advocating to bring more services to the town.

“Dr Gamini Colombage has been working at Yarra Junction Medical Centre for nearly 20 years and his dedication to his patients is inspiring which shows in his mentoring of doctors joining the practice,” she said.

“The admin team of myself, Erica, Lana, Terri and Nicole provide great support to

the doctors and nurses and our experienced nurses Kate, Kim and Chanduni all bring their wonderful skills to work each day to expand the services at the clinic.”

The Yarra Junction Medical Centre faced tough times in only 2022 when the Modified Monash Model (MMM) introduced by the Federal Government in 2019 classified the clinic as in an MM2 area (regional centre) and not a Distribution Priority Area (DPA) for doctors looking for placement.

Due to the travel required for doctors coming from suburban or metro areas and a few sudden departures, at one point the clinic was left with three part-time doctors.

Ms Dajlan said the Rural Healthcare Awards are an acknowledgement of the dedication and commitment to healthcare by people in rural areas and that rural healthcare centres are vital to rural communities.

“Being an hour from a hospital, we see a lot more emergencies than clinics closer to hospitals, patients often find it difficult to travel when injured or unwell and often present to the clinic as their first point of contact,” she said.

“Most minor injuries can be dealt with at the clinic with only major injuries being forwarded off to hospital for specialist treatment,”

“Providing this level of care can be expensive but it is vital we are able to provide it to the community, the clinic owners appreciate this and have updated a lot of the old equipment and purchased some new monitors and equipment on the advice of the nurses or doctors.”

The Yarra Junction Medical Centre is also committed to remaining a bulk-billing practice.

Since being reclassified under the MMM, the Yarra Junction Medical Centre team has been replenished and also joined by further specialists.

Dr Michael Jones and his rural cardiology team have joined, a new endocrinologist will soon begin offering consulting monthly to save local residents a longer trip down the line for specialist appointments, dietician Will Jenkins, counsellor John Cronin and podiatrist Graham Glenister also consult from the clinic and Kay and Deb from Dorevitch pathology also provide clinic and pathology services.

Five decades of unwavering legal support

By Mikayla van Loon

Over five decades Eastern Community Legal Centre (ECLC) has been a steadfast presence for those seeking legal support.

Celebrating 50 years of service to the east on Friday 17 May, it was a show of the collaborations, partnerships and dedication of staff to ensure legal help was not a luxury.

Following the growing community legal service movement of the 1970s, the Nunawading Legal Service, as it was first known, began in 1974 with Erskine Rodan at the helm.

“It was a handful of volunteers for the first couple of years and then they employed their first staff person in 1976,” ECLC chief executive officer Michael Smith said.

“It is just amazing to see the huge amount of support the Legal Centre has provided right across eastern communities for 50 years and how it’s grown and developed.

“The notion of supporting the whole person, not just their legal problem was there right from the start, but we’re able to do that now much more than we were in the early days.”

Mr Smith said community law, “it’s not a thing we can do alone” and so without the support from local government, health partners and other agencies, ECLC would not have been born.

“For many, many years, the Legal Centre was very much based in the inner east around Blackburn and Nunawading, the Whitehorse area,” he said.

“So some of the big steps would have been in about 2005 when we opened up our office in Boronia to service the outer east and that really gave us a stronger presence to support communities right across Knox, Maroondah and Yarra Ranges.”

It wasn’t until the 2009 Black Saturday bush-

fires, something Mr Smith said he remembers “vividly”, that a need for legal help further into the Valley became apparent.

“We were straightaway up there in theYarra Valley really supporting those communities right through the Yarra Glen and Dixons Creek and Healesville and all those communities were so affected by those Black Saturday fires,” he said.

“It just showed me how the community can come together and how we can leverage support from volunteers and partners and connections to really respond quickly.

“The beauty of the Community Legal Centre is it has that flexibility and adaptability to respond to meet those needs as they arise. Eventually, that led to the establishment of our Yarra Ranges Centre which opened in Healesville 10 years ago.”

That decade also brought with it a focus on a multidisciplinary approach, to not just have front-facing lawyers but advocates, social workers, financial counsellors and educators to provide a more holistic service.

Spotlight on Men’s Shed

By Dongyun Kwon

It’s the best time for Yarra Glen and District Men’s Shed (YGDMS) to get the spotlight as National Volunteer Week was from 20 to 26 May.

The men’s shed aims to offer an environment where men can socialise informally and enjoy an atmosphere of mutual respect and friendship by working together on projects for the community, likewise other men’s sheds.

YGDMS president Tom Hardstaff said the main interest for YGDMS is to get guys together for their health.

“It’s good for them to come down, do something and talk to people instead of sitting home and looking at walls,” he said.

“They can do their own projects, making things down here and using all the machinery. That’s a very important thing for their mental health, keeping their brain working and body moving.”

YGDMS currently has 55 members.

“We’re trying to teach our members what tools to use, how to use them and the safety aspect of all the tools,” vice president Ken Kneeborn said.

YGDMS do some projects for the local community as well as personal projects.

Mr Smith said in his early days as a lawyer “there was a sense that the community legal centres were a small add on to the legal sector”, that only small problems could be tended to or people who couldn’t afford a lawyer would seek support from a community centre.

That has since changed, and Mr Smith said it has quite evidently gone the other way.

“We are seen as an absolutely vital part of the legal support system right across the east. There are clients with really complex needs who come to us because they have nowhere else they could possibly go.

“So we continue to work in partnership with private lawyers and the broader legal assistance sector but we are seen as highly professional, highly skilled and experts in particular fields, particularly around family violence, particularly around elder abuse, particularly around some prevention work.”

Throughout five decades, Mr Smith said ECLC has “helped more than 85,000 individual clients” with the domino effect of those helped reaching a much higher number.

With over 300 people who attended the birthday celebration, Mr Smith said it just showed how important all the partnerships, networks, support and engagement has been throughout the eastern suburbs.

Mr Smith said, however, there would always be more opportunities to connect and have an impact, which will be the focus of the years ahead.

“We’d like to be doing more in schools. We’d like to be doing more to address family violence prevention, early intervention and response.

“We’d like to take some of our great programs that work in one part of the east and spread into other parts of the East. So there’s always more to do to meet those needs in our community.”

“We had a Yering School project before Covid. We built a three metres by three metres shed for them and we had the kids come here to teach some wood skills. They still use it [the shed] today,” the vice president said.

“We just completed a little project for Yarra Glen Primary School. We made a TV cabinet for them,” the president said.

“There are quite often people just drop things they want to repair.”

Besides working on projects, YGDMS has some regular social events.

Every second Wednesday of the month, YGDMS has a free barbecue party for its members from 10am.

Guest speakers are invited to address the men on the last Wednesday of every month at the Catered Morning Tea with varied topics.

For more information, please contact YGDMS on 03 9730 2864 or via ygdms. secretary@gmail.com

Christine and Erskine Rodan with ECLC chief executive officer Michael Smith.

Picture: SUPPLIED

Yarra Glen and District Men’s Shed members.

The Yarra Junction Medical Centre team.

Picture: SUPPLIED

SHORTEST LUNCH 2024

Taste the Valley festival

Your favourite winter wine festival is back on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 June to bring you all handcrafted wine, delicious bites and live music over two days!

Get a taste of the hidden gems of the Yarra Valley with a weekend full of wine tasting, music, food and stunning scenery across nine participating family-run wineries, including Billanook Estate, Boat O’Craigo, Kellybrook, Seville Hill, Steels Gate, Sutherland Estate, Tokar Estate, Whispering Hills and Yering Farm Wines.

It’s the perfect way to escape winter hibernation with your whole family, best friends, and even your fur babies (with most venues being dog-friendly)!

A decadent and diverse selection of meals will be available at each participating winery, with menu offerings ranging from cheese boards to classic Italian fare and Americanstyle barbecue. Kids and those with special dietary requirements won’t miss out either, with most wineries catering for both.

There will be glasses and bottles of wine to purchase and enjoy at the wineries on the weekend. Not to mention, there will also be exclusive Shortest Lunch cellar-door specials for you to bring home with you!

Tickets start at $35 for a day pass and $50 for a weekend pass – which includes all tastings at participating wineries and a souvenir glass to keep. There is also a VIP ticket available again this year for $110, which includes a weekend pass, meal voucher, glass of wine and bottle of wine per person.

A percentage of proceeds from this year’s Shortest Lunch event will go to local community groups, with the event having raised over $100,000 shared amongst local schools and organisations like Make A Wish since inception.

Get your tickets at shortestlunch.com.au. Taste the Valley at a

Shortest Lunch event.

Picture: SUPPLIED

NEWS Grant for memorial repair

By Callum Ludwig

The Seville War Memorial is set to be restored with the support of a recent grant from the State Government.

Exactly $28,890.20 has been announced through the Restoring CommunityWar Memorials and Avenues of Honour Grant Program to help create and reinstall the two panels that were damaged.

Chair of the Seville War Memorial Committee Anthony McAleer OAM said they are excited and relieved by the grant announcement.

“It’s been a huge burden that we felt over the community that certainly has now been solved so we’re very grateful to the State Government for supplying the funds to enable it to happen,” he said.

“We’ve certainly we’ve had contingency plans in place for quite a while, but we’re certainly hoping to have it up and ready before Remembrance Day in November.”

The company that created the original glass panels will be back on board to recreate them, with the original designs and specifications having been retained.

President of the Seville Township Group Graeme Black said it would have been very difficult for the repairs to be funded any other way.

“It’s a very big project for a small town and that’s where we need State Government to sometimes come in and help out, so we are very grateful,” he said.

The grant programs can be used to restore war memorial, honour rolls or avenues of honour to their original condition or amend them to ‘better reflect veteran service’, such as adding additional names.

Mr McAleer said the only issues that still remains is the security in the area.

“It’s been a big issue for us, and we do realise that we need security cameras here, so the first thing we did was go to the (Yarra Ranges) Council who directed us to the Yarra Ranges Safety Camera Network who were given funding here,” he said.

“We really want to have a serious discussion

with them because we don’t want to put the memorial glass panels up without that added security there.

“We definitely believe that we need the security cameras here and certainly if they had been here put in previously there’s a good chance that it may have deterred somebody from attacking the memorial.”

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

Mr Smith also promised cameras for Lilydale, Yarra Glen, Woori Yallock, Monbulk, Mount Evelyn and Mooroolbark at the 2016, which went on to be delivered.

Yarra Junction town meeting

By Callum Ludwig

As one of the Yarra Ranges’ fastest-growing townships, there’s set to be plenty of people invested in the future ofYarra Junction.

As such, it’s only going to become more important that residents get their say and a Yarra Junction Community Planning event is set to discuss the formation of a new township group.

Function venue manager at Bulong Estate Winery, which is hosting the Yarra Junction Community Planning event, Monica Blanchfield said it started with a group of residents who met during consultation on theYarra Junction Place Plan.

“While we were there working with Michael from the Council (Yarra Ranges Council’s Community Development Officer for the Upper Yarra Michael Goodrich), we started to talk about township groups and decided that we’d be interested in having one forYarra Junction,” she said.

“We hope it would be able to represent the people of Yarra Junction when things come up in Council such as the Place Plan so that we have a representative voice for what the people of Yarra Junction want for their township in the future.”

The Yarra Junction Place Plan project went out for engagement in late 2023 and Community Reference Group workshops were held over the last two months.

Yarra Ranges Council has recently released an Engagement and Direction Paper that recaps the Place Plan and shares what they’ve heard from residents before the anticipated release of the draft plan in early 2025.

Ms Blanchfield said they hope the Council will be able to refer to the township group to represent the broad cross-section of the Yarra Junction community.

“That’s why we need a diverse group of people involved to make sure that everyone in Yarra Junction gets a voice and gets to be represented,” she said.

“I would encourage people to come along to our meeting just to see what it’s all about, even

if they are unsure if they want to participate, just to come and see the other people that are there and find out what we’re all about.

“Don’t assume that it’s just business people or leaders in the community, we need everyone who has an interest inYarra Junction and the future ofYarra Junction to come along, even if you think you might be representing other people, such as your own children or grandchildren.”

There’s a total of 17 township groups in the Yarra Ranges, including the Millgrove Resident’s Action Group (MRAg), Warburton Advancement League, WHYLD Community Group, the Reefton McMahon’s Action Group and the Little YarraValley Community all in the UpperYarra.

Yarra Junction community members have also met representatives of Monbulk And District Community OpportunitiesWorking Group (MADCOW) who shared some of what they have been able to achieve.

Ms Blanchfield said both MRAG and MADCOW were inspirational in showing what a township group can achieve.

“Yarra Junction is uniquely diverse in a lot of ways because we are a service centre, a lot of people come to Yarra Junction for the high school, for the swimming pool, for the football field, forWoolworths,” she said.

“We have a diverse range of people involved inYarra Junction so all those people should have a voice in what it’s going to be like in the future, otherwise our future decisions are made by the Council or other people trying to find out from all sorts of different people what we really need.

“Whereas if we can come together and talk amongst ourselves first and work out how we want to work as a community that we can enjoy and gather and share our values, then it’s really important that we can come together and be a collective voice to be heard for important future decisions.”

Anyone interested in attending the Community Planning event is required to RSVP to Ms Blanchfield at monica@bulongestate.com.au .

The event will be held at Bulong Estate Winery onThursday 6 June from 5.30pm to 7.30pm.

Restoration of Healesville Primary School gates

By Dongyun Kwon

The Victorian Government confirmed that Healesville RSL will receive a $5000 grant to restore the Memorial Gates at Healesville Primary School.

In approximately 1942, Healesville RSL gifted the Memorial Gates to Healesville Primary School as a way to recognise the service of local Australians who dedicated their lives to the First and Second World Wars.

Healesville RSL president Colette Shaw said the gates have come to mean a lot to the local community and Healesville Primary School as a way to remember all of those who came before them and gave so much.

“As time goes on, the gates have fallen into a state requiring urgent restoration to ensure they remain reflective of the respect deserved of those that not only gave their time but also to those that gave the ultimate sacrifice,” she said.

“The Healesville Primary School Gates are heritage listed. As such, it is important to ensure they are looked after.

“The Healesville RSL has applied and been successful in achieving a grant to support funding restoration of the Healesville Primary School Memorial Gates to their original condition, thus ensuring the Memorial Gates continue to serve as a reminder of the sacrifices made by locals.”

Healesville RSL will contact heritage specialists shortly to check what will be needed to carry out the restoration.

Healesville Primary School principal Tracey Robertson-Smith said the memorial

gates are used by the school for special assemblies on Anzac Day and Remembrance Day.

“Our teachers do small units of study with their students around these special days – concepts like patriotism, sacrifice and gratitude are covered in the context of war,” she said.

“Our captains all play a part in these special assemblies as we try to make those concepts understandable for all students in Prep through to Grade 6.

“I know our upper school students also investigated the history of the gates and their significance earlier this year.”

Anyone who knows any other information about the Healesville Primary School Memorial Gates is encouraged to contact Healesville RSL via president@healesvillersl.com.au

“We would love to know more about who built the Healesville Primary School Memorial Gates and any other details,” Ms Shaw said.

Healesville Primary School Memorial Gates.

Picture: DONGYUN KWON

Graeme Black and Anthony McAleer. 409166

Pictures: STEWART CHAMBERS

Two panels of the Seville War Memorial were damaged beyond repair by vandals in 2023.

Language boom at school

By Dongyun Kwon

St Brigid’s Catholic Primary School in Healesville has launched an Italian learning program with a new method since the beginning of this year, which results in a remarkable achievement.

In the new method, not only students but teachers are also learning Italian together as co-learner.

St Brigid’s Catholic Primary School languages leader Marcus Bree said students love learning alongside their teachers which has a positive effect on their retrieval.

“Rather than having a one-off session once a week with a language specialist, students do it for 15 minutes every day with their classroom teacher,” he said.

“I facilitate it as a leader and I help with navigating resources and using the slideshows that Catholic education [Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS)] provides, and the classroom teachers are actually doing it.”

After a consultation among teachers last year, the school decided to change their approach to teaching a second language.

Mr Bree said the new method is much more effective than the traditional method.

“I used to teach Indonesian here and I did it in the more traditional method,” he said.

“What we found was [that when I taught Indonesian] I would do a lesson with the students and then I’d come back the week after and students got little snippets but they wouldn’t get the same level, whereas now because they’re reviewing every single day, the students are able to use it.

“It focuses more on functional language and we’ve got Grade 6 students now who are able to have conversations with the basic vocabulary that they’ve learned in less than a semester’s worth of work.”

The school has gotten great feedback from

the parents about the progression of the students in Italian.

“I’ve had a lot of parents come to me and say they’re all speaking Italian at home to their brothers and sisters.

“They’re using it all the time and excited to be learning and doing something every day.”

When speaking with Grade 2 students, they all said they like learning Italian with their teacher.

“It’s really fun because I can sing songs and dance around [while learning Italian],” Kyran said.

“We’ve learnt numbers in Italian. Uno means one.”

“I like learning Italian because we learn dif-

ferent words with fun activities,” Maesie said.

“Sette is number seven in Italian. Grazie is thank you.”

St Brigid’s Catholic Primary School principal Tess Dwyer said she is proud of her staff and students for taking a risk and implementing the innovative approach to teaching Italian.

“I believe that this has added significant value to our students’ learning. I’ve been very impressed with the improved student and staff attitude towards learning a language and also expect this will flow through to other learning across the curriculum,” she said.

“It is wonderful to hear the students using the language in their classrooms and also during playtime, it’s great to hear students singing

and conversing in Italian by choice in their play.”

According to the data from Live in Melbourne, 36 per cent of Italian migrants choose to live in Melbourne.

The Yarra Valley is one of the settlements in Melbourne chosen by many Italians.

TheYarraValley Italian Cultural Group chair Luigi Fotia, who migrated from Italy to Australia in 1953, said he was happy to hear that local kids are learning Italian.

“Italian language is a very popular one to follow. It’s quite simple. It’s a good thing for students as well, I mean Italy is always a destination for young people at some stage to travel, and knowing certain basics is a big advantage,” he said.

There have been different waves of migration of Italians to Victoria.

The first wave happened during the gold rush period in the 1850s.

Many people from the same village or town in Italy migrated to Victoria.

The second wave took place afterWorldWar II.

From 1950 to 1970, many agricultural workers from regional areas such as Sicily and Calabria moved to Victoria.

“There were a lot of people who migrated from different parts of Italy, but the largest areas of Italy that Italians migrated to this area [theYarraValley] seem to be from Abruzzo and Calabria because mostly those areas are farming communities and this area [the Yarra Valley] has attracted people,” Mr Fotia said.

St Brigid’s Catholic Primary School has a few students who have an Italian background.

“We do have a prep student who speaks Italian fluently, he’s bilingual,” Mr Bree said.

“We are looking at having an Italian day where we might be able to utilise some of that community [Italian community] feel.”

Maesie (left) and Kyran.

Picture: DONGYUN KWON

Big morning tea success

By Dongyun Kwon

Healesville Biggest Morning Tea was welcomed again by the community members on Wednesday 22 May.

The event was hosted by the collaboration of Le Pine Funerals Healesville and Tarrawarra CWA and was attended by almost 70 people from a variety of age groups.

Le Pine Funerals regional manager Ashley Crow said being part of the community and bringing people together for a great cause are important for Le Pine.

“At Le Pine, we see ourselves as part of the community, an extension of the community,” he said.

“It’s nice to be able to do things like this to give back to the town and show the town that not only in times of need of the loss of someone, but we can also help raise awareness to such an important cause.

“Over the years, we’ve raised quite a lot of money for the Cancer Council here at the Healesville facility and Lilydale facility.”

Roger Treen said he attended the event to support Tarrawarra CWA.

“My wife used to be in CWA until she passed away. She was the president of the CWA,” he said.

“I’m looking forward to getting stuck into the cakes.”

Tarrawarra CWA made the cakes and served coffee and tea at the event while Le Pine Funerals Healesville organised the rest including the raffles and prizes.

Tarrawarra CWA president Anne Faulks said she would have it again next year.

“The event was successful and a lot of people had a lovely time. I saw lots of people having lots of conversations,” she said.

“It was great to see our efforts were worthwhile.”

CWA ladies Faye Van Duin (left) and Anne Faulks serving coffee and tea.

Le Pine Funerals Healesville prepared the raffles and prizes.

The event was attended by almost 70 people from a variety of age groups.

Tarrawarra CWA made the cakes.

Guests alongside Roger Treen (right).

A cuppa for cancer care

By Callum Ludwig

2024 marks the 20th anniversary of Wandin’s Biggest Morning Tea in support of the Cancer Council.

Held on Thursday 23 May at the Mont De Lancey Historic Homestead, the museum was converted into an opportunity for a cuppa, a cake and a chat with others who have had cancer impact their lives.

Nola Sharp helped start the now-yearly event 20 years ago and said when you start something, and it becomes a success, there’s absolutely no reason why you should stop doing it.

“We used to have it down at the Wandin Hall, which is enormous but it has no atmosphere and is very hard to heat and we did that for maybe 10 years and then Mont de Lancey offered this facility, and it just suits us so well and they allow us to come and set up,” she said.

“The community of Wandin are so generous in every way, and this is just another thing that they support, just like the sporting clubs and the fire brigade, and it just goes on and on really.”

Over $40,000 has been raised over the 20 years of events in Wandin, while the committee were also invited toThe Langham in Southbank for a Cancer Council event where they found out it was the second-longest running Biggest Morning Tea event in attendance.

Ms Sharp said a helper in the early years named Sarah McPherson had also painted a trees, the Dedication Tree, which has become a regular feature of the event.

“Since the very first year, we’ve cut out leaves, and people put names of people that they’ve come to honour in raising funds for the Cancer Council, which we think is

lovely,” she said.

“We keep them all and the books are displayed this year, we haven’t displayed them before, but they’ve got every person that has ever written someone’s name in there.”

The tables were adorned with cones or other cakes, a cuppa was available for a gold coin donation and a bountiful raffle was set to be drawn as part of the event.

Committee member Alison Jones said there’s a bit that goes into the event but it’s such a great commitment to cancer research and supporting loved ones, survivors and those who have lost the battle with cancer.

“When we started, Lisa Rouget (Vincent) said she wanted to start because she had just lost her mum through a battle to cancer and I never envisaged that three years ago I would have lost my mum to cancer and the same thing would be applied to me,” she said.

“It’s just a great way of getting together with people who understand what you’ve been through or are going through but there’s a wonderful warmth and connection you feel with those people and you might only see them once a year, but you look forward to it like an anniversary.”

Anyone who couldn’t donate in person on the day can still do so at biggestmorningtea.

com.au/fundraisers/wandin/biggest-morning-tea-vic.

Committee member Carmel Pignataro said the event means the world to her.

“My husband was born and bred in Wandin and I lost him to cancer eight years ago so for me I feel like I’m doing this for him each and every year and it’s lovely,” she said.

“I think the community all gets together and we share our stories about our loved ones but also being inWandin is the most important for me because this community is just beautiful and they helped me through the grief of losing my husband.”

Brenda Matthews to headline Warburton Film Festival

Celebrated writer and director, Brenda Matthews, a proud Wiradjuri woman, will introduce her documentary film The Last Daughter to open the 39th Warburton Film Festival in June.

Presented by Yarra Ranges Film Society, the three-day festival will screen eight films over the weekend of 14 to 16 June featuring an international feast of film from countries including Australia Belgium, the UK, Italy, France and Bhutan.

Ms Matthews will introduce The Last Daughter on a Friday night followed by a Q&A and will be signing copies of her book in co-operation with Healesville’s Verso Books.

YRFS president, Vivienne Bond, said the Society is thrilled to present another wonderful selection of films.

“We’re especially pleased to have Ms Matthews inWarburton for what promises to be a very special opening night,” she said.

“Brenda usually addresses much larger audiences, so we are extremely fortunate to have her with us as the writer, director with Nathaniel Schmidt, and the subject of the book, in this much more personal setting.”

Ms Matthews and her husband, Mark, will be staying on until the Festival Dinner.

“The committee has paid special attention to balancing genres with a mix of documentary, drama, comedy and suspense,” Ms Bond said.

Continuing the role of YRFS in promoting

film-making, the best entries from the Show UsYour Shorts competition will screen before each of the feature films with a presentation to the winning film-makers on the Sunday.

As part of the festival experience, patrons

receive a guide by Healesville writer and film critic Seth Hynes featuring insights and analysis of each of the films.

“We are excited to welcome people from all around Yarra Ranges and further afield to enjoy this weekend of film and to enjoy the charming hospitality of our town,” Ms Bond said.

“The festival dinner on the Saturday night is a great way to relax and socialise and as always, our local eateries offer a warm welcome to our filmgoers.”

Places are limited for the dinner, so early booking is recommended.

Bookings, with options from a single to multiple films, can be made online at www. culturetracks.info (click movies/Warburton Film Festival), by phone on 1300 368 333 or in person at Arts Centre Warburton and The Memo Healesville.

For information on the program visit www.warburtonfilmfestival.com.au

The festival is made possible each year with the support ofYarra Ranges Council and Warburton/Yarra Junction Bendigo Community Bank.

L-R: Film critic and Star Mail film reviewer Seth Lukas Hynes and YRFS President Vivienne Bond discussing ‘The Last Daughter’. Picture: SUPPLIED

L-R: Natalie Pye, Nola Sharp, Alison Jones, Carmel Pignataro and Sonia Thompson.

Pictures: CALLUM LUDWIG Leaves began to fill the Dedication Tree as attendees arrived.

Names of honoured loves on display.

Plenty to win in the raffle.

Church built in a day

Almost from its foundation Badger Creek near Healesville developed a strong sense of ‘community’.

Although there had been some scattered farms earlier, the gradual development of the area on 2400 acres revoked from Coranderrk Aboriginal Reserve, began in 1894 as the result of the Victorian Government’s Settlement of Lands Act, an attempt by government to combat the severe depression of the 1890s.

From the beginning the community, including Coranderrk residents, shared a capacity for self help. Nowhere was this more evident than the construction of a church in 1913 and the erection of the Progress Association Hall in 1924.

The remarkable story of the Church was recorded in the ‘Healesville and Yarra Glen Guardian’ on 14 November 1913.

Fallout: Outback

4/5

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is another enthralling action epic from iconic Australian director George Miller, but isn’t quite as good as the previous Mad Max film.

In this prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road, Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy), a young woman in post-apocalyptic Australia, seeks vengeance against Dementus (Chris Hemsworth), the gang leader who killed her mother.

Like Fury Road, Furiosa is a heady mix of kinetic, creative action sequences, starkly beautiful cinematography, nihilism, fragile hope and pitch-black humour. Taylor-Joy is a fierce lead of few words as Furiosa, proving a worthy successor (or predecessor) to Charlize Theron from Fury Road.

Furiosa forms a close bond with Praetorian Jack (Tom Burke), a fellow road warrior, and it’s gratifying to see an intense relationship between male and female characters in which romance is implied, not emphasised. Hemsworth is clearly having a blast playing the bombastic psychopath Dementus, and his brief moments of warmth and anxiety render his sadism all the more shocking (also, Dementus’s bright pink cape may be a tribute to the 1994 Australian classic Priscilla, Queen of the Desert).

The fiery road battles aren’t as special the second time round, but are still gripping, brutal rides that turn the trucks and convoys into surprisingly large spaces for attack and evasion. Unfortunately, while Fury Road is extremely tightly-paced, Furiosa is somewhat erratic and meandering.

The plot compresses too much of Furiosa’s growth as a road warrior, which feels oddly detached from the rushed war between Dementus and Immortan Joe (the antagonist of Fury Road), and the green oasis Furiosa came from fades into the background.

A riveting Aussie post-apocalyptic epic that falls short of Fury Road but is still savagely satisfying, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is playing in mostVictorian cinemas.

Looking back

Bryn Jones

Healesville and District Historical Society president

A part of that account is reprinted here.

For 14 days Mr W Hurstone earnestly canvassed the district seeking to obtain volunteers for the work (of building the church). He ‘buttonholed’ every man he came across in street or shop.. “I want you to give a day on Saturday the 8th to help build a church in Badger

CARTOON

Creek” - and let it be said to their credit not a man refused; in fact, they eagerly accepted the invitation.

Builders, carpenters, plumbers, painters, farmers and labourers - indeed anyone willing and able to help - worked hard, skilfully and with great goodwill. Remarkably, the building was erected, painted and finished (except for some ‘inside work’) as darkness settled down.

Sadly, on Sunday 14 February 1926 during the bushfires raging in the district, the building was burned to the ground in 15 minutes, 13 years after it was built. Nothing was saved.

Before the fires of 1926 the Badger Creek community recognised the need also for a ‘community hall’.

This was built and opened in February 1925. In February 2025, the Badger Creek community is planning centenary celebrations.

Stories as magical weapons

A review of A Hunger of Thorns by Lili Wilkinson LiliWilkinson is one of Australia’s finest authors of books for children and young adults.

Her novel A Hunger of Thorns – winner of the 2024 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Writing for Young Adults – is a captivating tale about missing girls who don’t need handsome princes to rescue them.

The story is dedicated to “every good girl who has a wild girl inside”. It begins by quoting Irish-Indian poet Nikita Gill: “They won’t tell you fairytales of how girls can be dangerous and still win. They will only tell you stories where girls are sweet and kind and reject all sin. I guess to them, it’s a terrifying thought, a red riding hood who knew exactly what she was doing when she invited the wild in.”

It’sworthkeepingthisquoteinmindbecause A Hunger ofThorns is set in a world where magic is deemed dangerous and illegal, and those who defy the law are sent to detention camps where their magical life force is drained to make commercial products, synthetic and disposable potions, spells, charms and illusions that make life convenient and beautiful.

And this is a world where all girls are endlessly lectured about what is expected and appropriate, where they are made civilised and demure, unwrinkled and unstained, their voices disciplined, destined to become good wives and productive consumers.

As the first-person protagonist Maude confesses: “I cry out for every girl who was told to comb her hair and wash the mud from her face. To keep herself contained. To be ashamed of her voice, her hair, her flesh. To be quiet and good and nice. Girls are not nice. Girls are wild and fierce and powerful, and I will not let anyone take that away. Not ever again.”

Maude is determined to find her childhood friend Odette, who appears to have been lost in an abandoned electrical power plant.

PASSION FOR PROSE

WITH CHRISTINE SUN

Herethemagicislushandprimitive,thriving and throbbing in exuberant trees, maliciously spying roses, carnivorous plants and mycorrhizal bacteria that connect it all together.

There are also magical girls and a terrifying monster.

To counter all this, the only weapon Maude has is her stories, for she is a gifted storyteller.

In her words: “To me, telling a story felt exactly like doing magic – reaching for invisible threads and weaving them together to make something greater than the sum of its parts.”

She soon realises her stories are so good that her characters come to life.

Like all good stories, A Hunger of Thorns is complex and full of unexpected plot twists as Maude discovers her true powers.

One particular focus is the importance of family and friendship, where strong yet lessthan-perfect female characters go to great lengths to rescue each other.

Another memorable feature is the nature itself, which, like magic, cannot be contained. Like roses always growing out of their pots, nature ultimately strikes back.

Stories are pure magic, and this one is exquisite and compelling.

Highly recommended.

The Odd Couple at The Comedy

The Badin theatre.

Jimmie the Beatle

Celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Beatles tour of Australia in 1964 with the world premiere production of Jimmie the Beatle written and directed by Tim Byron.

Jimmie Nichol is best known for sitting-in for Ringo Starr in the Beatles (when Ringo became ill with tonsillitis and was hospitalised on June 2, 1964) for eight concerts of the Beatles 1964 world tour during the height of Beatlemania.

The Beatles, especially George Harrison wanted to postpone the tour, but then the manager Brian Epstein after a frantic phone call decided to use drummer Jimmie Nicol to temporarily replace Starr.

Jimmie drummed with the Beatles in Denmark, Netherland, Hong Kong and Australia.

This elevated him from relative obscurity to worldwide fame and then back again in the space of a fortnight.

Season: June 13 – 23.

Comedy at The Basin

Your night will be guided by the hilarious engagement of the MC Kelsey De Almeida as he introduces the three comedians, Nick Schuller, David Rose, Ivan Aristeguieta, for a night of laughs to warm you to the core.

Season: Saturday June 29 at 8pm.

The 1812 Theatre

Radium Girls

Presented by Centrestage Youth Theatre.

In 1926, radium was a miracle cure, Madame Curie an international celebrity and aluminous watches the latest rage, until the girls who painted them began to fall ill with a mysterious affliction.

Season: July 2 – 13.

The Comedy Theatre

The Odd Couple By Neil Simon. A story of two divorced men who flat together.

One is an extreme fusspot while his roommate is a complete slob.

Starring Shane Jacobson as Oscar the slob and Todd McKenney as Felix the fussy one.

A great production.

Shane Jacobson and Todd McKenney were terrific in their roles and some of their scenes were a picture.

Upstairs were two English girls, played by Lucy Durack as Cecily and Penny McNamee as Gwendolyn. Oscar introduces them to Felix except he got the names mixed up.

The two girls added to the high standard of the evening and gave first class performances.

The show opened with Osar’s friends playing poker.

This scene also added to the standard of the production and each player caught the feel of his character.

Shane Jacobson and Todd McKenney were perfectly cast for their roles and this is a show not to be missed.

Mad Max: Fury Road

Starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth Rated MA15+

Miss Spelts

At Miss Spelt’s Organics, nestled in the heart of Yarra Valley, we pride ourselves on offering the freshest, highest-quality organic produce to our local community. This wouldn’t be possible without the dedication and expertise of our talented team. Today, we shine the spotlight on one such individual who plays a pivotal role in ensuring that our organic fruit and vegetable section is second to none.

Emery Osborne, with her a deep understanding and passion for sustainable agriculture joined our team early this year. And from day one, her commitment to excellence and keen eye for quality have made a significant impact on our store’s offerings and the satisfaction of our customers.

So, next time you’re in our store, be sure to stop by the produce section and say hello to Emery. Ask her about her favourite seasonal fruit or the best way to prepare that leafy green you’ve been curious about. We are confident that her expertise will not only enhance your shopping experience but also inspire you to explore the wonderful world of organic produce.

Thank you, Emery, for your unwavering commitment to excellence. You are a vital part of the Miss Spelt’s family, and we look forward to many more years of your outstanding service and passion for organic produce.

250 - 252 Maroondah Hwy, Healesville VIC 3777 info@missspelts.com.au orders@missspelts.com.au

Rebecca Davis, the visionary behind Floral Emporium, embarked on her journey 12 years ago, drawing upon two decades of blossoming expertise. Her passion for floral artistry ignited during a high school work experience, evolving into a school-based apprenticeship, while concurrently pursuing Interior Design at RMIT, enriching her skill set.

Floral Emporium thrives as a boutique floral haven nestled at 5 St Leonards Rd, Healesville. For four years, it has burgeoned into a haven for exquisite local blooms, premium artificial florals and quality giftware. Rebecca’s team has cultivated a reputation for contemporary design finesse, meticulous attention, and warm-hearted service.

In her fulfilling role, Rebecca nurtures a family-like team, including apprentice Kelly Haynes and her mother, Jillian, a Horticultural Trainer. Their shared passion fuels breathtaking floral creations and a commitment to exemplary customer service.

Floral Emporium extends its artistry beyond Healesville, catering to business displays, events, and home stylings with short or long-term floral rentals. Online orders and deliveries are available, along with ‘Interflora’ services for national and international clientele.

Rebecca’s talents have earned her acclaim, winning multiple awards within the ‘Australian Bridal Industry Awards’ and ‘Brides Choice Awards’. Under Rebecca’s creative stewardship, Floral Emporium flourishes as both a local treasure and location for floral elegance.

5 St Leonards Rd. Healesville 5905 3739

www.thefloralemporium.com.au

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 Uncovered (7)

5 Tools used to hold a wood or metal workpiece (1,6)

9 Amply (11)

10 Angry crowd (3)

11 Votary (6)

12 Comfort (7)

14 Directs (4)

15 Uneducated (10)

17 Rival (10)

19 Book ID (1,1,1,1)

20 Induct (7)

22 Resolve (6)

25 Pester (3)

26 Offender (11)

28 Raffle (7)

29 Forest workers (7)

DOWN

1 See (4)

2 Alias, pen-name (9)

3 Lecher (5)

4 Submissive (11)

5 Hair product (3)

6 Launch a tirade at (3,4)

7 Latin American dance (5)

8 Section title (10)

12 Aficionado (11)

13 Partial (10)

16 Christmas plant (9)

18 Instance (7)

21 Spectacle (5)

23 Capital of Italy’s Piedmont region (5)

24 Advantages (4)

27 Narrow beam (3)

No. 187

No. 187

MAGNIFICENT HOMESTEAD ON APPROX 120 ACRES

MAGNIFICENT HOMESTEAD ON APPROX. 120 ACRES

SITUATED in the Yea Highlands on approx. 120 acres is this amazing property.

The main feature is a 32 square homestead plus verandahs, meticulously built by the owner.

It consists of 3 bedrooms plus study, featuring 10 ft ceilings, full ensuite and walk in robe to the main bedroom, hydronic heating, and double-glazed windows just to name a few.

A separate 2nd dwelling is a 3-bedroom cottage which would be perfect for friends or relatives to stay, or you could run it as an Airbnb.

The land is mostly cleared, good pastureland supported by 3 dams of which 2 are spring fed. There are excellent stock yards and electric fencing of course.

Shedding and car accommodation consists of a massive 350m2 shed with power, hay shed, a double garage and carport.

The property also has an endless supply of fresh bore water for household use and gardens all year round. Tank storage amounts to 180,000 litres.

To appreciate this incredible property and the attention to detail it has, you need to inspect it.

Seeing is believing. ●

HOME FOCUS

YOUR SPACIOUS FAMILY HAVEN AWAITS

NESTLED on a spacious 1015m2 allotment in the heart of Emerald, stands this lovingly cared for family home, cherished by its residents for its warmth and comfort.

Thoughtfully designed to accommodate the forever changing needs of a growing family, this home boasts an array of inviting spaces, including three distinct living areas. Downstairs, a versatile rumpus room, complete with a convenient bar, offers the perfect venue for lively gatherings with loved ones, complemented by direct access to the expansive yard.

Ascend to the upper level to discover a generous living room, adorned with a captivating view, enhanced by both gas ducted heating and air conditioning for yearround comfort. Step through the adjoining door to embrace outdoor living on the balcony, ideal for indulging in alfresco dining experiences.

At the heart of the home lies the impressive gourmet kitchen, fully renovated to exude elegance and functionality, featuring lavish marble benchtops and a striking waterfall bench. Abundant cabinetry, top-of-the-line appliances including a dishwasher, and a spacious meals area complete this culinary haven.

There are four well-appointed bedrooms, with the master suite transformed into a lavish retreat boasting a fully renovated walk-in ensuite and walk-in robe. The remaining bedrooms offer ample space, with two featuring built-in robes and the fourth equipped with a built-in desk and cupboards. The updated family bathroom, boasting a sleek frameless shower, bath and huge vanity serves the needs of the household with style and convenience.

Outdoors, the fully fenced yard provides a secure playground for both children and pets, is an inviting space for relaxation and unwinding.

For automotive enthusiasts or tradespeople, the property offers ample

storage solutions, including a double carport and double garage, all accessible via the paved driveway.

Situated within walking distance of shops, Primary School, arts society, kindergarten, and picturesque walking trails, this property

epitomizes convenient living in an idyllic locale, catering to every facet of modern family life. ●

ENTERTAINING DREAM HOME ON 1/4 ACRE

COMBINE the timeless character of a cottage façade with on-trend modern renovations. Here we have a delightful home, situated on a spacious quarter acre (1,144 sqm), minutes to Healesville’s popular main street, and walking distance to the RACV Country Club. This property quite literally offers the white picket fence dream: a secure front yard and driveway access, fully fenced backyard with shed / man cave and covered decking, and a great floor plan.

The home offers 3 bedrooms (with 2 builtin robes), 1 renovated bathroom with bath and shower, and a superb flow-through living design. The home is heated and cooled by ducted heating and 2 split systems. It is the perfect home for a couple or young family –as you can see, the third bedroom makes an ideal study or home office.

Outside the property is entertaining plus: let your furry friends run in the backyard, have mates over for a beer and a game of pool in the cold of winter, entertain friends and family on the decking in the summer. There is so much joy to come out of living at 15 Hazford Street.

The concrete-based shed is a particular favourite, a multi-functional space with a work station in the corner and massive mancave (or “dame’s den”) potential – complete with built-in bar and pot belly wood heater. This is an awesome soft landing for any young buyer looking to enter the Healesville market before it booms. Get in while you can.

Text 15HAZFORD to 0448 820 022 for more information. ●

Integrity Real Estate is a family-owned real estate agency servicing the Yarra Valley, Kinglake Ranges and surrounds. Our team draws on over 70 years real estate experience to provide premium property services, with unmatched personal service that only a family company can provide.

LUXURY AND STYLE MEETS COUNTRY LIFESTYLE ON FIVE ACRES

POSITIONED in one of Emerald’s most highly sought-after locations; this outstanding architecturally designed home has been constructed with the utmost attention to detail.

Appealing to those who appreciate quality and style, every detail has been carefully considered; striking timber features, hardwood floors, huge windows, square set ceilings, and quality fixtures and fittings throughout all add to the grandeur of the home.

Entertainers will relish in the impressive living zones; the first spacious lounge boasts a central suspended fire place that creates a cozy ambiance to sit back and relax around on cooler evenings whilst you take in the breathtaking garden landscape.

In the heart of the home, discover the open plan living space that is ideal for entertaining and will impress your guests.

The impressive kitchen has been carefully designed to suit the chef of the family; the island bench with waterfall stone benchtop has an extendable stainless steel countertop ideal for food preparation, as well as a bounty of additional storage space.

Other noteworthy features include floor to ceiling cabinetry and quality appliances including an Ilve oven, Miele microwave and steam oven, integrated Miele Dishwasher and an integrated Liebherr fridge.

The dining area opens completely to the decked entertaining area to create a seamless indoor/outdoor living set up. An adjoining sunken lounge offers a more relaxed living space with direct access to the decked patio.

The master suite is something to behold, featuring a fully fitted walk in wardrobe and modern ensuite bathroom complete with floating vanity, floor to ceiling tiling and rain shower head, this is a true parents retreat.

The secondary bedrooms both with fully fitted built in wardrobes are separately zoned. The huge family bathroom offers a tranquil place to relax in the freestanding bath whilst you enjoy the leafy outlook; floor to ceiling tiling, rain shower head and floating vanity add to the feel. If you require a work from home set up, the fully fitted home office with built in desk and cabinetry will surely tick all the boxes or could easily be reconfigured as bedroom four if required.

The laundry offers an abundance of storage, waterfall stone benchtop, built in laundry baskets and walk-in broom cupboard. For year-round comfort there is zoned ducted heating and cooling. There is a double garage with remote access and workshop with internal access also under roofline.

Outside the embellishments continue, a contemporary Japanese inspired bath house with restful garden views offers versatility to suit your needs, whether you continue the vision and create a soothing bath house or create an art studio or yoga studio, the possibilities are endless. For the green thumb there is a variety of fruit trees scattered on the property along with raised vegetable gardens and a handy garden shed. The balance of the property has been completely landscaped to create a private oasis, with beautiful established plantings, magnificent shade trees and vibrant florals.

Striking granite features throughout add to the opulence.

Located just a stones throw from the thriving Emerald township; schools, cafes, sporting grounds, public transport, walking trails and parkland are all at your fingertips.

All this and we have only just scratched the surface, this is a property that needs to be seen to be believed. Inspect with absolute confidence. ●

SIMPLY GORGEOUS, JUST MOVE IN

THIS home is a delightful blend of contemporary comfort and timeless charm.

The weatherboard exterior adds character, while the modern interior with polished floorboards creates a fresh atmosphere.

The three bedrooms offer ample space, especially the main bedroom with its walk-in robe and ensuite, perfect for relaxation. The large windows allowing scenic garden views are a wonderful touch.

The main bathroom’s luxurious familysized bath sounds like a delightful retreat, and the open-plan layout of the lounge, dining, and kitchen areas ensures a seamless flow, with the kitchen offering a picturesque view of the backyard. The inclusion of mains gas ducted heating and fans ensures comfort throughout the year, catering to both cold winters and warmer months.

Outside, the outdoor entertaining area is a bonus, providing a great space for gatherings or simply enjoying the outdoors.

The established gardens and fully fenced yard add to the appeal, offering privacy and a sense of tranquility.

Overall, this home seems like a fantastic opportunity for anyone seeking a blend of modern living and classic charm. ●

Experiencesecurefamilylivingwithanabundanceofspace

You´llbeimpressedbythisdelightfulfamilyhomefullofcharacterandcharm.Offeringanopen kitchen,diningandfamilyarea, 3bedroomsincludingmasterwithensuiteandspaciouswalk-in robe,and adoublecarportatthefrontallowseasyundercoverparking.Bothbathroomsboasta delightfulfeaturewindowwhereonecantakeinthelushgreeneryinabsoluteprivacy!Thissecure fencedpropertyissurroundedbyestablishedgardens,a largegrassy,flatyardallsafelybehinda charmingfrontpicketfencewithremotecontrolgates.Inadditiontothecarports, alockupgarage andtoolshedattherear.ThepavedcourtyardwithbuiltinBBQmakesanidealsettingforanysocial gathering.Additionalfeaturesincludegasductedheating, 3splitsystems,ceilingfans, acrackling woodfireintheloungeand ahugeblockofapprox.1114sq.m Agreatplacetocallhome.

JalaThompson M 0400063055

CharmingFamilyHomeclosetotown

Boastinggreatspace,convenienceandeasycarelivingforthegrowingfamily,ina quietand picturesquelocationclosetoallfacilities.Offering 4bedroomsallwithbuiltinrobesandwith3 separatebathroomsincludinganensuiteandwalkinrobeinthemainbedroom.A flexiblefloorplan withfamilyspaceinmindandconvenientlyspreadover 2levels,multiplelivingareaswithseparate lounge/livingandfamilyroomsofferthegrowingorextendedfamilyamplespacetospread out.Beautifulkitchenloadsofbenchandcupboardspacewithqualityappliancesandfittings throughout,outsideofferslowmaintenanceestablishedgardensanda lockupgarage.A superb familyhomeconvenientlysituatedjusta shortstrolltoYarraJunctionsbusyshoppingprecinct,local schools,transportandtheYarraCentre.

DavidCarroll M 0419539320 Inspection: Sat9.30-10.00am

EnchantingHomeon ½acrewithMountainViews

Thistwostorycharacterhomeboaststhreebedroomsandtwobathrooms,offering adelightful retreatamidststunningmountainvistas.Nestledon ageneroushalfacreblock,it’sideallysituated. Thegroundlevelhoststwobedroomsalongside amainbathroom,gracedwithhighceilingsand decorativecornices.Theupdatedkitchenis aculinaryhaven,boastinga stylishbreakfastbar,ample benchspace,and adelightfulwindowoverlookingthelushgarden.Stepoutsideontothegorgeous deckarea,perfectforalfrescodiningwhilesoakinginthepicturesquesurroundings.Downstairs, aspaciousrumpusareaawaits,andmainbedroomcompletewithanensuiteandbuiltinrobe. Outside,themeticulouslylandscapedgardensburstwithcolour,adornedwithcharmingshadetrees scatteredthroughouttheproperty,creatinga sereneoasistocallhome.

CharacterlivinginParkroad,thelocationtobe! Thischarmingweatherboardhomeisanidealchoiceforweekendgetawaysordownsizing. Boasting 2bedroomsplusa study/ 3rdbedroom,itoffersflexibilitytosuityourlifestyle.Theopen plankitchenfeaturesamplenaturallight,a spaciousgasoven, acozywoodfire,andceilingfans throughoutforyearroundcomfort.Themainbedroomoffersgenerousstorage,whiletheupdated bathroomincludes avanity,showerandtoilet.Thecharacterhomecomeswiththecomfortof recentrenovationsincludingnewroof,weatherboardsreplacedjusttoname afewofthemajor improvements.Outside,thehighlightisthedeckwithcafeblindsandbreathtakingmountainviews. With afullyfenced,lowmaintenanceyardandconvenientaccesstothemainstreet,waterpark, Yarrariverwalk,andallthedelightsofWarburton,thishomeoffersbothcomfortandconvenience.

RebeccaDoolan M 0401832068

CLASS AND CHARACTER: A HIDDEN GEM

APPEALING to the most discerning buyer, it is rare to find a home of this calibre that has so much appeal both inside and outside; surely the complete package. The class and character of Sandstone and a quality first and last internal fit. The piece of mind of steel frame construction on concrete slab and the delight of a fully landscape lot of almost an acre.

This oasis is cosetted by two much larger properties of 40 and 50 acres and looks out over another pastured neighbouring property of approximately 20 acres to mountain vistas beyond. All this creating an easy care rural lifestyle with all the benefits of much larger acreage yet allowing you to keep you weekends and regular holidays away.

A contemporary home of approx 311 sqm (33.4 sq) of internal living plus 2 spacious double garages under roofline built in 2008 by JG King sits on a block size of

3662m2 ( .9 acre).

An executive home, walk in ready with a practical and flexible floorplan, as well as garaging for six cars, or other car/ workshop/studio options. The undercover verandahs encompass most of the home, and are perfect for sitting with a glass in hand, enjoying the tranquility of the beautiful mountain, paddocks and garden vistas.

A brief drive through picturesque countryside leads you to Healesville’s central shopping strip, which features award winning cafes, restaurants, major shopping brands and boutique retail. Of course, the rest of the Yarra Valley is on your doorstep, with Melbourne Central and the airport just over an hour’s drive away.

From the moment you come into the wide and elegant entrance hall, you will be enamoured with the sense of elegance, space and style. ●

Address: 92 Hodges Road, CHUM CREEK Description: 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 6 garage Price: On application Inspect: By appointment

Contact: Ian Vine 0488 179 767, HEALESVILLE REAL ESTATE, HEALESVILLE

SOUL FULL LIVING WITH GREAT VIEWS

A joyful, wonderfully unique home located in the desirable Newgrove Road, with outstanding views... what more do you need?!

Feel uplifted the moment you wander down the driveway, with its lovely garden and Gaudi inspired sculptures.The homes layout follows the curve of the land, nestling into the site, and taking advantage of the slope.

The kitchen, with a lovely bay window projecting you into the garden, has good storage and quality appliances, with the dining area adjacent.

A third bedroom, currently doubling duty as a study leads you into the amazing space used as an artist's studio /gallery.

With beautiful light, vaulted ceiling, and amazing views you can see how inspiring it would be to work there.

A separate entrance means its also a perfect home office, however a wonderful master suite could also easily be instigated, with access to the Jack and Jill bathroom shared with the second bedroom, and a dressing room created in the third bedroom. An energising space to wake up in every morning and take in the views.

On the lower split level floor, there are two established bedrooms with built-in robes, one with green garden views, the other enjoying the mountain views.

The lounge room is comfortable with access on to the deck which runs the length of the home. Another surprise awaits, and again, it is all about the light, and sitting in the outstanding views. A beautiful north

HOME ESSENTIALS

Address: 47 Newgrove Road, HEALESVILLE

facing room with huge windows draws the view into the space and watch the world of Healesville below, or gaze across at the deep blue mountains. A room, that once entered, will would be hard to leave.

Designed to maximise light, the eaves clearly offer protection from the high summer sun, but allow northern winter light to flood in. A perfect place to sit at any time of the day, watching the birdlife chatter and to perhaps be inspired yourself to be creative - it's that type of home.

Outside, the surrounds are as fun as the inside, with extensive sculptures, mosaic tiling, organic walling wandering around the garden, with inviting spots to stop and relax. A pizza oven lends itself to evenings at home with friends, or long lazy lunches. A generous workshop sits beneath the home, and side access is good on both sides.

An oversized double carport sits close to the home and offers shelter to the home in summer. Panoramic vistas abound a home for all seasons, beautifully maintained, individual, with a floor plan that offers flexibility under the roofline. ●

Description: 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 garage

Price: On application Inspect: By appointment

Contact: Ian Vine 0488 179 767, HEALESVILLE REAL ESTATE, HEALESVILLE

PERFECTLY LOCATED FAMILY HOME

A fabulous family home, offering two living spaces, six bedrooms, master with ensuite, lots of outdoor space and entertaining.

Located on the cusp of Badger Creek, it’s a quick two minute drive to Badger Creek Primary School, or a 10 minute wander, while buses regularly traverse Don Road, also a short walk away.

With so many bedrooms on offer, it allows for a flexible approach to how you use the space.

HOME ESSENTIALS

Address: 1 Rosanna Court, BADGER CREEK

A spare room for guests or a study for the kids and a home for mum and dad: Working from home made easy. Or perhaps it allows for multi generational living. The choice is yours.

Perfectly located to take advantage of all the Yarra Valley has to offer, as well as the requirements of everyday life. Neatly presented and ready to go, please call to arrange an inspection. ●

Description: 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 garage

Price: On application Inspect: By appointment

Contact: Ian Vine 0488 179 767, HEALESVILLE REAL ESTATE, HEALTHVILLE

HOME FOCUS

LUXURY MULTIGENERATION LIVING REDEFINED

WELCOME to luxury multigeneration living at its finest! Nestled in an exclusive neighbourhood, this high-end home offers an impressive 100 squares of lavish living space. Step through the grand entrance and be greeted by the elegance of a large foyer, complete with a built-in fish tank, setting the tone for the opulence within.

The master bedroom is a sanctuary in itself, boasting a spacious walk-in robe, a private balcony with breathtaking views, and a stunning ensuite featuring a double vanity stone benchtop and a makeup station. Four additional bedrooms, each with built-in robes, ensure ample accommodation for family and guests, complemented by four luxurious bathrooms throughout the home.

The heart of the home lies in the gourmet kitchen, appointed with stone benchtops, an expansive island bench, appliances include a dishwasher, electric oven, and gas cooktop, all complemented by a butler’s pantry for added convenience.

Entertainment options abound, with a dedicated cinema room, and multiple living spaces perfect for relaxation or hosting guests.

The main living area features a stylish bar, ideal for entertaining friends and family. Stay comfortable year-round with gas ducted heating, a free-standing wood heater, zoned evaporative cooling, and a split-system heating and cooling unit.

Downstairs, discover a versatile space that offers a storage area, a home

gym complete with a powder room and kitchenette, perfect for fitness enthusiasts or hobbyists.

Step outside into an entertainer’s paradise, where a large undercover decked area awaits, complete with a built-in barbecue, bar fridge, and pizza oven, overlooking a paved area and a luxurious inground pool.

Additionally, this property boasts a dual accommodation, ideal for multi-generational living or guest accommodation, featuring two bedrooms with built-in robes, a modern kitchen with stone benchtops, and a bathroom with laundry facilities, a splitsystem heating and cooling allows year round comfort.

For sports enthusiasts, a half basketball court provides endless entertainment, a cellar with two 5000-liter water tanks ensures sustainability and convenience.

Parking is a breeze with a dual access driveway, a grand carport, and a three-car garage under the roofline, alongside side access leading to a large four-car shed with a workshop and attached water tanks.

This property represents the epitome of multigeneration living and offers the ultimate set-up for multi-generational families, providing privacy, comfort, and endless entertainment options.

Don’t miss your chance to experience the height of sophistication in this exquisite estate. ●

IS THIS THE BEST UNIT YOU HAVE SEEN SO FAR?

SET in an absolutely fantastic location, only a short stroll to The Gully shopping village and train station, this spacious, two bedroom unit could possibly be the best unit you have seen so far.

With generous parking space that includes a single garage, carport and easy access visitor parking (not on title), the property offers much more than most. An oversized lounge room with split system heating/cooling also accommodates a dining area, plus there is room for a breakfast table or home office set up off the well-designed kitchen. Both bedrooms are of great size, the main room offering wall to wall wardrobe, the second room with built in desk.

Well maintained both inside and out, the home has a warm and inviting feel from the moment you step inside and is certainly bigger than meets the eye.

Outside, an undercover decking is the ideal spot to enjoy dinners with family and friends and there is just enough garden to provide great privacy and also an enjoyable pastime for any green thumb.

Offering an opportunity you simply cannot miss, this is a must see for everyone who is looking for a spacious unit, close to everything. ●

Stableford returns to club

By Ron Hottes

The V.V.Vs:

With more than enough ladies playing, the comps leading scorer again was Georgie Houniet who returned a solid 16 points for the back-nine. Georgie is in fine form, so watch out, K.B. This day’s runner-up was Merilyn McDonald, with a none-too-shabby 15 points. The ever-improving Vicki Hottes came third with 14 hard-earned points. There were no NTP winners, as expected, on the challenging 12th and 15th Par 3s. No ball rundown was required.

Wednesday 22 May, Par:

Par comp always sorts out the chaff from the fodder. Today’s fodder was clearly old mate Darryl Ward, posting a creditable +1, in chilly and damp conditions ( Take note, James). Darryl only won narrowly because Glenn-Forbes finished square. This meant in a field of nearly 40, only the popular winner beat his handicap, Well done, Darryl. Surprisingly, due to a

spate of -1’s, the ball rundown only reached that number. The NTPs were taken home by the following: Alan ’Gummy Knee’ Johnston, (3rd), David Hatt, (5th and 12th, good shooting Hatty) and finally to the weekly winner, Mr.

Ward on the ever-challenging 15th.

Saturday 25 May, Stableford:

Back to the popular Stableford scoring system, you knew that some impressive scores would be posted. Clearly, the most impressive score

Winners from the EA Dressage contest

By Anita Prowse

This weekend saw Melba Equestrian Club’s EA Dressage competition at Wesburn Park, a magnificent day after a chilly foggy start.

Winners were

· Preliminary .1 – Faye Hinchcliffe on Riverside Royale

· Preliminary .3 – Jessie Fleming on Pen Nont Gwyn Tulloch

· Novice .1 and .3 – Brooke Wheeler on Bloomfield Valtini

· Elementary .1 – Alison McHenry on Benchmark Roxanne

· Elementary .3 – Dallas Mills on Sorrella

Sunrise

· Medium .1 -Ashleigh Atwell on Champagne Finesse

· Medium .3 – Paige Burford on Ebony Park Gallants Son

· Advanced .1 and Advanced Freestyle – Jessie Flemming on Black Sterling Dreamtime

· Young Rider – Dallas Mills on Redwood Desire

· Prix St Georges and Intermediate Freestyle

– Fern Wright on Kersbrook Seamus

· Junior Team – Ella McConachy on Big Creek Just Ivy

· Intermediate 1 – Brooke McLaren on Opium Dream

Congratulations to all riders, event committee and sponsors on a great day, look forward to the next one in September.

More perfect, if slightly chilly and foggy, conditions for riding. Picture: SUPPLIED

returned on this day, was owned by Tim Jones, with a truly impressive 38 points. This meant that Tim took home the B-Grade voucher. But there’s more to the Tim Jones’ story... capping off a truly impressive day,Tim also grabbed the NTP available on the 3rd with a very accurate tee shot. Great day for you, T.J. The B-Grade runner-up was young tyro, Pacey Luttgens recording a 38-point round also, meaning that Tim won that grade on a countback (Mother will be pleased, Pacey). Pacey also added the NTP on the 12th to his winnings. In the top Grade, the prize went to Paul ’Ossie’ Osbourne. Ossie took home the top voucher by recording a 37-point result. This only just qualified, as Jason ’Kenno’ Kennedy matched Ossie’s 37-point round, but his back nine couldn’t better Ossies. In this Grade, balls reached down to 33 only, but in B-Grade, they reached 31. The other NTP successes were achieved by President Meredith (and Bagel) on the tough 5th, by Troy Murphy, (9th) and finally, by Dale Horrobin (15th).

Warburton Golf Club results.

Picture: ON FILE

SPORT Show them how it’s done...

By Sarah Bailey

Healesville’s junior and senior teams put in a very strong showing last Saturday, with few losses recorded.

Healesville U8 Tigers 4 – 0 Knox Strikers

Healesville U9 Falcons 7 – 1 Knox Pride

Healesville U9 Redbacks 6 – 3 Knox Force

Healesville U9 Lions 6 – 4 Knox Strikers

Healesville U10 Ninjas 8 – 0 Knox Strikers

Healesville U10 Goats 7 – 4 Knox Pride

Healesville U11 White Wolves 3 – 0 Knox Strikers

Healesville U12 Heelers 8 – 0 Blackburn

Coyotes

Heelers won a solid 8-0 victory against BNFC Coyotes with smooth passages of play leading to plenty of shots at goal. BNFC’s goalie did a remarkable job under constant pressure to keep the scoreline capped at eight. Mannie added a goal to his collection. Big ups to Lexie who booted some great kicks and got right in there with her tackling. Well done to Pepe, Mack and Bodie with two goals each, and congratulations to Max with his first ever goal in his first season. Captain Oscar made several powerful strikes at goal but was unrewarded with finding the net.

Healesville Hearts U13 Girls 1 – 0 Knox Force

The first half was an arm wrestle with neither team able to score. In the second half after a reshuffle, Healesville dominated the play and

finally broke the deadlock midway through Saskia S with a well taken goal. Healesville could have made it two or three but just lacked poise in front of goal. New player Poppy T presented well up front, Stella C didn’t stop running up and down the wings and theTwinTowers of Isla H and Isla L were rock solid at the back as always.

Healesville U15 0 – 4 Yarra Valley

After a great win last week, Healesville U15s hoped to go back-to-back. Unfortunately unavailability forced a shuffle in the lineup, and several team members tried to play through illness. Yarra Valley hit the scoreboard early and went into half time 2-0 up. Trying to lift the energy of the team Asha S and Puala B kept their voices loud, and with efforts by Nick R, Blake and Max J evident hopes were high of a turnaround, unfortunately Yarra Valley scored

another two. With Healesville suffering their first loss to local rivalsYarraValley in a number of years losing 0-4.

Healesville U15 Flames 3 – 0 Mooroolbark Amazons

In an evenly matched game, the Flames headed into the break 2-0 up thanks to goals from Olive B and Mia K. The second half was even tighter but a bit of skill on the turn from Eloise S in the box and a handball under pressure from the Mooroolbark defence, allowed captain Ella D to slot home a third from the penalty spot and saw the Flames wrap up the three points winning 3-0.

Healesville Reserves 7 – 2 Blackburn Sixths

Healesville were looking to make it three wins against bottom of the ladder Blackburn. A slow start by Healesville, not helped by the fact some of their players were pushed up to first team duties this week, saw them finally take the lead through Ben S after good work from Oshane. That opened the floodgates and Healesville would be four up at half time and seven in front 15 minutes into the second half.

The goals were scored by another from Ben S, two forWillW, two for Tom E and one for Lindsay M (returning from a broken ankle) Making changes and taking their foot off the gas. Healesville conceded two late goals but would still drive home resounding winners.

Healesville Firsts 0 – 3 Blackburn Giraffes 3 With Healesville low on numbers Declan C made his first team debut and Josh B just his

second game for the firsts, both performing admirably. Healesville started the game well and were unlucky not to take the lead through good chances for Ben M, who hit the post, and Daniel T. The game turned on its head with two quick goals from the home side against the run of play. Trailing 2-0 Healesville missed a penalty on the stroke of half time after Johnny C was brought down in the box. Good chances were missed by a confident Blackburn in the second half but Healesville couldn’t capitalise. Healesville Senior Women Reds 3 – 1 Croydon Ranges

The Reds pressing hard and creating chances but unable to capitalise. Croydon managed to upset the Reds formation with some great passing and physicality and but for some great defensive efforts and a incredible first half goal keeping performance from Ruby M the teams went into the break all square 0-0. The second half started with Croydon well on top with possession. Their pressure saw them win a penalty and go ahead 1-0. The goal seemed to shift the Reds into gear. Olive B was relentless in her effort and running and thanks to a defensive clearance, latched onto the wide ball setting up Eloise S who calmly slotted home the equaliser. The game needed a goal scoring hero, and it was the Reds Olive B (Betty) who broke the lines late and smashed the ball home giving the Reds a hard-fought three points. Special mention to Holi MayT for her efforts in goal in the second half.

Ladies kick off the weekend’s proceedings with a win

By Anne-Marie Ebbels

The women kicked off the weekend in fine style under lights at Belgrave on Friday night, they didn’t give Belgrave many scoring opportunities.

Healesville had a good night in front of goal with some accurate kicking to score three straight goals to no score in the first quarter.

Belgrave provided a bit of resistance in the second quarter limiting Healesville to two goals and having a couple of scoring opportunities themselves.

Healesville went into the big break with a 29-point lead.

Healesville continued to be accurate in front of goal and kept Belgrave scoreless from the game and ran out big winners by 68 points.

Healesville headed down the Warby highway to Seville with the U18s starting proceedings jumping out to big lead by quarter time.

Healesville continued to control the game in the second half and scored four goals to one to go into the half time break with a 43-point lead.

After half time Healesville continued to make scoring difficult for Seville, while taking their opportunities to increase their lead

with a final winning margin of 59 points.

The Reserves provided a nail-biter with game being very even in the first quarter with Seville going into the first break with a fourpoint lead.

Healesville gained the ascendancy in second quarter to go into the big break with a five-point lead.

Neither team gave an inch in the third quarter setting up an exciting last quarter with Seville having a one-point lead.

Seville managed to get the crucial goal to extend their lead to eight points and Healesville were unable to find a way to goal to get the lead, Seville won the game by eightpoints.

In Seniors, Healesville had a fast start and got out to a 15-point lead at quarter time.

Seville hit back in the second quarter with four goals to Healesville’s one for Seville to go into half time with a 9-point lead.

Healesville struggled to find space in the second half with the Seville defence working hard for the Healesville runners to break the lines and Seville went into the final break 17 points ahead. An early goal by Healesville looked promising, but Seville quickly shutdown any hope of Healesville overrunning them with two quick goals to run out winners

by 19 points.

In the netball it was a tough week for Healesville missing several players across all grades.

C Grade were no match for the stronger Seville team who dominated the game from the first centre pass.

Seville jumped out to big lead by quarter time of 19 goals and continued in that vein for the rest of the game to be big winners by 51 goals.

Seville got off to another quick start in the B Grade game with an 11-goals lead at quarter time.

Healesville didn’t have any answers to Seville quick transition down the court and Seville continued to increase their lead at each break to have a final winning margin of 55 goals.

In the A grade game, Healesville stuck with Seville in the first quarter reversing the trend of a slow start in previous weeks and were only 5 goals down at quarter time.

Seville came out hard in the second quarter scoring 20 goals to eight to go into the half time break 17 goals up.

In third quarter, Seville limited Healesville scoring opportunities with some strong defence.

The intensity of the game belied the scoreline with game seeming to be a lot closer than the scoreline suggested.

Seville were big winners by 48 goals. Next week, the football kicks off from 12.20pm and netball from 11.20am, followed by a celebration of Daniel Plozza’s magnificent achievement breaking Tom Ayres club games record.

Football

· Senior Men Healesville 50 defeated by Seville 69 Best: J Savage, C Warren, C Frazzetto, J Newsome, C Ballingall, B Murphy

· Reserves Men Healesville 44 defeated by Seville 52 Best: K Stanyer, D Sissins, Z Fawdry, D Ebbels, L Chandler, M Renouf

· Womens Healesville 70 defeated Belgrave 2 Best: I Stock, P Stock, E Cianci, C Wilsmore, M Cianci, I Watson

· U18 Healesville 80 defeated Seville 21 Best: J Handasyde, R Cameron, C Hammond, G Hammond, R Bode

Netball

· A Grade Healesville 49 defeated by Yarra Glen 66 Best: M Erickson, K Farrow, J Harris

· B Grade Healesville 24 defeated by Seville 79 Best: H Blackney A McMaster, Ap Stanley

· C Grade Healesville 5 defeated by Seville 56 Best: S Aloi, K Bromilow, E Birch

Yarra Glen Football and Netball Club’s round 7 wrap-up

By David Ball

Yarra Glen hosted Alexandra in perfect conditions.

With both teams having numerous players out with injuries and illness, the game started slowly.

Half way through the quarter scores were level with Yarra Glen being competitive with their more fancied opponents.

Alex scored a couple of late goals as their short kicking game started working.

At quarter time they led by 13 points.

In the second and third quarters,Yarra Glen struggled to connect as they went forward, turning the ball over with haphazard kicking while the Rebels were finding space to work in and delivered the ball with precision to their forwards.

Alex added 10 goals in this period while Yarra Glen could not get through the Rebel’s

defence to only add four points.

To the River Pig’s credit, they did fight it out to the end and kicked three goals to Alexandra’s four in the last.

Inaccurate kicking didn’t help Yarra Glen as

they went down to a stronger opponent, 4.9 to 17.11.

With last minute replacements needed the Yarra Glen reserves did well to start the game with an early goal. Alex, however, settled well and took control to add five goals to be 25 points ahead at quarter time.

Yarra Glen were competitive in general play but lacked cohesion going forward.

The Rebels capitalised on a number of unforced turnovers and kicked accurately to punish the River Pigs on the scoreboard.

At third quarter time, it was 15.4 to 3.3.

In the last quarter, the Rivers started to connect going forward and with Robbie Tucknott and Hunter Grenfell kicking some great goals, the River Pigs outscored the Rebels in last quarter, finally going down 5.6 to 17.4.

Yarra Glen A grade netball had a comprehensive 80-22 victory over Alexandra, with the

team posting their highest score for the year, dominating each quarter.

In B grade, Yarra Glen put in a strong team performance with everyone playing their role to perfection.

In C grade, Yarra Glen girls took on Alexandra at home. A clinical four quarter performance saw the Yarra Glen girls score 77 goals in just 48 minutes of netball.

D Grade started the day in a tight contest between Yarra Glen in third and fourth placed Alexandra. The defensive efforts of Annie Dietrich proved a challenge for the Alex attack but in the end the Rebels lifted in the final minutes to see Yarra Glen go down 21-24.

Next week all teams face a big challenge as they take on Warburton-Millgrove at Warburton.

Tigers tackle Hawks

By Brendan Donovan

The unbelievable weather continued as Woori Yallock travelled to take on Monbulk.

The previous night, the Under 18s got the weekend off to a winning start with a solid victory over Upwey-Tecoma, the boys are really stringing some good footy together.

Final scores Upwey-Tecoma 3.9, 27 toWoori Yallock 9.9, 63. Top Tigers were Angus MacDonald, Jack Freedman, Mason O’Neill, Tyler Ormsby, Harvey Smith and Remmi Jakimowicz.

The Senior Women played a fantastic game while under pressure due to a few availabilities. In a very even game, Monbulk was able to pull away to record a good victory for the home team.

Final scores Monbulk 4.2, 26 to 1.8, 14. Top Tigers were Sky Wilson, Sienna Mills, Emelia Robin, Jess Laidlaw, Michelle Brown and Abbie Pou.

The Ressies continued their good form, going down to a strong Monbulk by a few goals. The coaches are rapt with the improvement knowing the scoreboard will start showing the improvement.

Final scores Monbulk 9.11, 65 to Woori Yallock 3.6, 24. Top Tigers were Jake Dare, Hamish Gemmill, Ryley Dare, Tom Kear, Caleb Lee and Sam Carlton.

Netball was a mixed bag of results against a strong netball program

· A Grade: Monbulk 65 defeated Woori Yallock 39. Top Tigers were Gaby Clarke, Olivia Caneva and Chelsea Smith.

· B Grade: Monbulk 53 defeated by Woori

Yallock 55. Top Tigers were Tarsha Collette, Danielle Gazzola and Jaymee Tough.

· C Grade: Monbulk 47 defeated Woori Yallock 18. Top Tigers were Remmi Corbett, Tahlia Thornton and Emmerson Alford.

· D Grade: Monbulk 27 defeated by Woori Yallock 37. Top Tigers were Narelle Collette, Megan Britton and Cassidy McInnes.

· 17 and Under: Berwick 21 defeated by Woori Yallock 33. Top Tigers were Georgia Sands, Charlotte Hubbard and Ella McCallum.

· Under 15: Monbulk 27 defeated Woori Yallock 15. Top Tigers were Ayla Spencer, Mia Lingwood and Miami Rowland.

In the Seniors it was a tough contested game, it felt like the accuracy of the Tigers was the real difference in the end.

Monbulk hasn’t been a happy hunting ground over the years so the club was glad to leave with a strong 8 goal win and 4 premiership points to continue its unbeaten run.

With a very even contribution across the field, it was four-quarter performances from JordanWilliams and Zak Monkhorst that stood out.

Final scores Monbulk 7.14, 56 to Woori Yallock 16.9, 105. Top Tigers were Williams, Monkhorst, Alex Marsh, Jacob Aitchison, Jake Calvert, Kane Thompson and Jack Collette.

This week, Woori Yallock hosts GembrookCockatoo for the Hubert Tschampion Trophy. The Brookers have had a solid start to the year and always turn up to Woori with a hunger for the contest so the club welcomes all our supporters to come down and cheer all the teams on.

Clean sweep for the Burras

By Alex Woods

This weekend, The Burras played away against Powelltown and theWomen’s Footy went up to Thornton.

D grade started the morning and started strongly with a 2-21 halftime score. They continued on only allowing Powelltown to score 3 goals in the second half and shooting a total of 25 for themselves. The final score was 5-46, Holly Cole shot 20 goals, Lexi Cole with 12, Maddie Loveless and Sienna Muir both got 7. Issy Maurici, Holly Cole and Emily Kay were the top performers of the day.

C Grade took the court next, and again, had another good start to the game. The half time score was 2-37 and they continued on strongly. Again, keeping Powelltown to only score another 3 goals in the second half and shooting another 29. The total score was 5-66, Ashlyn Hermansen shot 39 goals, Mel Hancock with 19 and Cam Partel with 8. Nicole Winzer, Casey Hare and Amy Morris were the stars of the match.

B Grade finished off the netball for the day, They got a good lead having a nice score of 7-19 at quarter time. They continued on and had a nice 30 goal heading into the last quarter. Pushing through to the end, they finished off with a 28-63 score. Jordana Butcher shot 24 goals, Tayla Ferguson with 23 and Alex Woods with 16. Tayla Ferguson, Jordana Butcher and Chelsea Barnard were all the top performers. Women’s footy took the trip to Thornton, to take on Thornton-Eildon. A close first quarter, with T/E kicking 1 goal and Warby with 1.4. The Burra went into halftime with a 20 point lead. They came out the second half strong, kicking 4 goals and 2 behinds, to make the lead 6-52, heading into the last quarter. They finished off strongly and came home with a 1.0-6 to 9.14-68 win. Madi Ward and Jade Mewburn both kicked 3 goals, Emerson Woods with 2 and Maddi Andueza kicked 1. Top performers were EmersonWoods, Tamika Ferguson, Steph Mackay, Madi Ward and Jade Mewburn. Reserves kicked off the footy at Powelltown. They started strongly having a halftime lead of 2.4-16 to 10.6-66. The second half was strong by the Reserves as they kicked away and let Powelltown to only score another goal and behind in the last quarter. They came home with a 3.5-23 to 21.18-144 win. Nate Lucas secured a nice 4 goals, David Lever with 3, Brayden Woolridge, Matt Sidari, Tyler Bert, Daniel Schlueter and Chad Currey all had 2 and Ricky Andueza, Harry Rothwell, Brayden Ferguson and Brett Winzer all got one. David Bedggood,

Nate Lucas, Braden Woolridge, David Lever, Daniel Schlueter and Chad Currey were all top performers. Brayden Woolridge was awarded the Andrew Clarke Best On Ground Medal.

The Seniors finished off the round and secureda1.2-8to4.6-30leadattheendofthefirst quarter. Powelltown secured 2 goals in the second quarter, but the Burras got another 4 and 2 behinds to have a lead of 20-58 at the halftime break. The second half was very much the Burras, they kept Powelly to only secure 1 goal and 1 behind in the second half and kicked another 13 goals for themselves. They came home with a 4.3-27 to 21.19-145 win. Brock Caneva and Bailey Humphrey both kicked 3 goals each. Hudson Semple, Nelson Aldridge, Tom Barr, Jack Farrugia Jake Byrush and Liam Westlake all secured 2. Lachlan Hewitt, Trent Elliott and Josh Sharp all got 1. Jack Farrugia was awarded the Steve Darwall Medal. Tom Barr, Dylan Walker, Tyson Henry Brock Caneva and Jake Byrush were all top performers of the match.

Home game next weekend against Yarra Glen, as the club will play its 1000th game.

Gritty win for Dogs

It was a hard-fought win for Wandin over Upwey-Tecoma in Round Seven.

The Tigers got the jump early as they snagged the first two goals of the game before Wandin could get any control of the ball but the Dogs were able to peg them back and hit the lead despite an inaccurate 2.7 for the term.

What followed was a game that Wandin controlled without being damaging enough on the scoreboard.

Upwey-Tecoma consistently pushed numbers behind the ball, forcing Wandin into firing shots ‘from the carpark’ for large chunks of the day and their inaccuracy kept the Tigers in it.

Despite this, Wandin steadily led throughout the game and secured a 22-point win, final score 11.18, 84 to 9.8, 62.

Top Dogs on the day were Aaron Mullett, Daniel Hirst, Chayce Black, Macauley Beckwith, John Ladner and Patty Bruzzese.

Goalkickers were Mullett with 6, Beckwith with 2 and Brodie Atkins, Harrison Byrne and Jordan Jaworski with one apiece.

Next week, Wandin travel away to Pak-

enham.

Other results:

· Reserves: Wandin 8.4, 52 defeated by Upwey-Tecoma 6.18, 54. Top Dogs were Jake Iedema, Hunter Coghlan, Tyson Smith, Tom Page, Mitchell Dall and Jarrod Hartman.

· Under 19s: Wandin 5.6, 36 defeated by Upwey-Tecoma 21.14, 140. Top Dogs were Bailey Yelland, Tristan Morris, Luca Van Dreumel, Benson Dunn, Jack Dixon and Jack Van Dreumel.

· A Grade netball: Wandin 64 defeated Upwey-Tecoma 48. Top Dogs were Emmalia Blake, Maddy George and Kyah Kimpton.

· B Grade: Wandin 62 defeated UpweyTecoma 48. Top Dogs were Annie Brown, Kate Campbell and Ella Tweedale.

· C Grade: Wandin 43 defeated UpweyTecoma 29. Top Dogs were Aimee Mackenzie, Bianca Zoric and Corinne Bogle.

· D Grade: Wandin 31 defeated UpweyTecoma 20. Top Dogs were Ella Rumian, Stephanie Braniska and Kealey Earney.

· 17 and Under: Bye

EmilyKaylooksforapass. Picture:SUPPLIED

ZakMonkhorstkickstruly.

Picture:ADAMSYKES