Established in 2003
proudly serving the Northern Suburbs
20 SEPTEMBER, 2022
12496404-AV22-21
FREE DIGITAL EDITION
SIG N U P N O W!
Blooming good news Spring has sprung at Ziebell’s Farmhouse Museum and Heritage Garden, and as the roses begin to bloom, good news has come rolling in. The museum has been shortlisted in the 2022 Victorian Museums and Galleries Awards for its Turning Back to Edgars Creek exhibition, showcasing the rich history of the surrounding suburbs. Museum Director Gordon Johnston said the shortlisting was incredibly exciting and a credit to the hardworking team behind Friends of Westgarthtown and the exhibition’s curator, Kitty Owens. “It shows that our approach of developing exhibitions and programs for our local communities is working and is being recognised,” Mr Johnston said. The farmhouse is a historic dairy farming settlement, built in 1850 by German settlers, Christian and Sophia Ziebell. Entry to the gardens is free for City of Whittlesea residents and open days are Tuesdays from 11.30am to 2.pm and Sundays 11.30am to 3pm. The gardens are at 100 Gardenia Road, Thomastown. Director of Ziebell’s Farmhouse Museum, Gordon Johnston. (Damjan Janevski)
Crime drops in the north By Holly McGuinness Crime rates in both Hume and Whittlesea have hit a five year low. The latest Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) data shows Hume and Whittlesea both experienced a more than 15 per cent drop in offences recorded compared to the year prior, down 16.7 per cent and 24 per cent in each municipality respectively. In 2022, there were 17,304 offences recorded in Hume, down from 20,761 in 2021, while Whittlesea recorded 11,971 this year, down from 15,777 the year prior. Whittlesea Inspector Chris Allen said the
lows were incredibly positive, but was sceptical they would be maintained. “We know that COVID-19 lockdowns have had an impact on criminal offending and we can expect to see an increase as we continue to emerge from the pandemic environment,” he said. Whittlesea’s decrease was reflected across its suburbs – Epping had a downturn of 23.6 per cent, Thomastown down 27 per cent and Lalor decreased by 28.5 per cent. It was the most significant drop Lalor has seen in ten years. In Hume’s major suburbs, Craigieburn crime dropped by 12 per cent, 13 per cent in Broadmeadows and a 30 per cent
drop in Mickleham. The data showed offences related to receiving or handling stolen goods in Hume nearly doubled, with 1266 offences recorded this year, a 92 per cent increase from 2021. Hume Inspector Dean Clinton said the jump was reflective of multiple offences charged to single offenders. “We had two offenders in March 2022, who were processed for 385 handled stolen goods matters,” he said. Inspector Clinton said while the data showed a downturn in family violences offences in Hume, the numbers don’t always paint a complete picture.
“Not everybody reports family violence,” he said. “As much as it’s a positive that there’s less being reported, it doesn’t necessarily reflect that there might be less happening. We want to make sure that people feel comfortable to come forward to the police.” Both Inspectors Clinton and Allen praised Victoria Police’s new Neighbourhood Policing approach in relation to the CSA figures, saying the focus on community engagement had been positive. “Our focus with Neighbourhood Policing is get out, find what the community wants from us, and make them feel safe in any way we can,” Inspector Clinton said.
12564241-MS38-22