Lifestyle Wimmera 2018, Edition 4 by The Weekly Advertiser

LifeSTYLE

Edition 4, 2018

wimmera

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Our wonderful patch T

he diversity of people across the Wimmera is never more evident to the The Weekly Advertiser team than when exploring content for our annual Lifestyle Wimmera magazine. The region is awash with wonderful personalities and Lifestyle Wimmera provides us with a different type of medium to unveil them to our readers. When you look across a landscape that stretches from the Pyrenees and Grampians to the plains, swamp and desert country, it is hard to gauge the eclectic mix of humanity that it supports. This is the fourth Lifestyle Wimmera magazine, a publication that opens the lid on some of our seasoned citizens, groups and organisations that help provide the cornerstone and direction of our society. Lifestyle Wimmera 2018 is designed to provide insight, encourage reader interaction and prompt people into making the most of what our part of the world has to offer. As with our three previous editions, we hope you enjoy this special cultural snapshot of our collective community. And, as usual, we always welcome your thoughts and ideas for future publications. Happy reading.

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Editor – Dean Lawson

Cover photo: Dimboola CWA members Marlene Schmidt, Colleen Rabl and Carol Smithett. Editor, Dean Lawson; sub-editor, Georgia Bailey; writers, Sarah Scully, Dean Lawson, Jenny Shand, contributors; designers, Barry King, Kelly Laird; photography, Paul Carracher; advertising, Mark Sulic, Lee Meadows, Liz Luy, Chris Thomas, Matt Jenkins, Aimee O’Callaghan. Produced for free distribution by The Weekly Advertiser – ACE Radio Broadcasters Pty Ltd. ACN 064882 042. Printed by Newsprinters Pty Ltd, 7940 Melbourne Road, Shepparton.

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CWA secrets T

he Country Women’s Association is one of rural and regional Australia’s iconic community organisations. With about 44,000 members across 1855 branches, it is the largest women’s organisation in the country. The CWA has played an integral role in the history of the Wimmera, Mallee and Grampians and continues to influence, support and champion many causes. Its primary role is to advance the rights and equity of women, families and communities through advocacy and empowerment. It is open to women of all ages and branches remain operational across the region. Branch details are available on website cwaofvic.org. au. Many CWA members, apart from their leadership and advocacy, have reputations for their kitchen craft. In this edition of LifeStyle Wimmera we’ve randomly explored, with the help of willing CWA members, some of their popular dishes. You’ll find some more favourites on pages 34 and 35.

Marlene Schmidt CWA Horsham branch Apple strudel

Ingredients: Pastry, 125 grams butter, 250

grams plain flour, cold water. Filling – Mix four sliced apples, sultanas, grated rind of lemon, 1 teaspoon vanilla essence, a good sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar. Method: Rub butter into flour then mix to a soft dough with cold water. Place on floured surface then roll out pastry to about 30x30 centimetres. Brush pastry with melted butter. Place filling on pastry then roll up and place on oven try lined with baking paper. Brush top with beaten egg then sprinkle with caster sugar. Create marks, about seven centimetres apart, on the strudel with a sharp knife. Bake in a moderate oven until light and brown.

Heather Seaman Stawell CWA

eather’s ‘Cheese Stuff’ recipe is famous at Stawell CWA. Members always look forward to Heather’s turn on a branch supper roster because she always creates this popular dish. It is a finger-food delight.

‘Cheese Stuff’

Marlene Schmidt, above left and also on our cover, and fellow CWA members Colleen Rabl and Carol Smithett bake an apple strudel. Picture: PAUL CARRACHER

Page 4

Ingredients: 2 cans of diced capsicum 1/2 cup brown malt vinegar 1/3 cup brown sugar 1 to 3 teaspoons of garlic flakes, as preferred. Method: Mix together and simmer to a chutney-like consistency. Cool. Invert tub of Philadelphia cheese on a plate and pour over ‘Cheese Stuff’. Serve with crackers or julienned vegetables.

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LifeStyle 2018

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An open heart and home S

By Sarah Scully

tawell’s Mary Scully considers travel one of the loves of her life – after her three children and before food and wine. At 18, Mary headed to the United Kingdom with a friend she grew up with in the small Mallee town of Wycheproof and spent a year exploring some of what Europe had to offer in the 1970s. Then she moved back to Australia, joined the police force and started a family, and although life still offered plenty of adventures, they were much closer to home. But as they say, once a traveller, always a traveller, and Mary knew she wasn’t done. “When I turned 50, it became a passion to

Mary Scully

LifeStyle 2018

travel overseas for two months every second year,” Mary said. “I have now travelled to more than 50 countries, some of them two or three times. “One of my sons married a Norwegian he met while she was travelling in Australia. They now live in Norway so it is always a great excuse to travel in that direction.” Mary was exploring the famed Route 66 in the United States when she first heard of Airbnb, a website that acts as a marketplace for various types of accommodation across the world. “Two of the guys in my tour group said they had stayed in an Airbnb before joining the trip,” she said. “They told me what it was and I became inspired. I thought ‘what is the second-best way to travel if I cannot travel myself?’ and decided to travel vicariously through others.” When Mary returned home she set about turning the germ of an idea into a reality. “My house was empty because my son and his wife, who lived with me for a while, had moved into their new home,” she said. “I had also done a lot of renovations on my house and finally had a bathroom that wasn’t embarrassing, so I contacted one of the guys from the trip to pick his brains and did my research about what overseas guests wanted from a stay in an Airbnb. “By this time I had found out Airbnb started in 2008 and has listings throughout the world that have hosted more than nine-million guests.” Mary said Airbnb made it easy for her to become a host.

“They were very supportive,” she said. “The more I looked into it the more it suited my lifestyle. “I work full time at Northern Grampians Shire Council and like my own space, but with Airbnb I get to choose who I host. I only take bookings from people who have had their ID verified and get to choose when my room is available, because sometimes I’m not around to prepare the room between guests. “Having lived with my adult daughter, son and now daughter-in-law for different periods I knew I didn’t mind having other adults in the house, which is a big part of Airbnb; you have to be prepared to have strangers sleeping in your house and sharing your bathroom.” Mary said while Airbnb worked perfectly for her, it was not for everyone. “It does require a bit of preparation, juggling and cleaning, but I don’t mind it,” she said. “For me, it’s not about making money – I’m often told I should put my rates up – but about the people I meet along the way. “I love meeting like-minded travellers, hearing their stories and being part of their journey. I love listening to their accents and observing their food and cultural diversity, all the things I like to do when I travel. “Travellers are always in a good mood because they are on holidays and they want to pick your brain about things to do in the area, places to eat and the best walks in the Grampians; they also love to share their photos of kangaroos.” Mary has hosted visitors from across the world, interstate and throughout Victoria. She said the majority hailed from overseas, particularly Asian countries. Her guests usually stay two nights, arriving on a Friday, visiting popular Grampians National Park and Halls Gap on the Saturday and heading off on the Sunday. “While that is the norm I have hosted a family of five from China for a month because they could not find anywhere else

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to stay in Stawell,” she said. “I also had a businessman working in Ararat stay because he loves Airbnb and couldn’t find one in Ararat. “Three bookings a week is ideal for me and I have turned down requests for longterm accommodation because I am really just in it to meet travellers.” Mary said while she loved meeting everyone, a few guests stood out in her mind. “I have had a guest called Anna return, bringing her first serious boyfriend to stay so she could ‘run him by me’,” she said. “The boyfriend, Allan, was in the business of growing black garlic for highend restaurants in Melbourne and ended up posting me six heads of black garlic to use in my cooking; we swapped photos of meals cooked for a while. Needless to say, I approved Anna’s choice. “I once had an Italian chef from Florence cook me eggplant parmigiana, which was to die for, and a young girl returned to bring her new husband and her family to stay because she had enjoyed her stay as a solo traveller. “I have hosted couples on their honeymoon and can now empathise with parents of the young couples who have met and fallen in love while travelling and are in long-distance relationships while they decide which country will be their new home. The stories are endless.” Mary said she loved receiving feedback from her guests about their stay in her restored 100-year-old Victorian house. “I have received more than 450 reviews since starting on this journey and I am proud of my ‘superhost’ status, which means I have maintained an overall rating of 4.9 from guests and 95 percent five-star reviews,” she said. “I love hosting travellers and I take a lot of pride in my home so it’s very gratifying to see people take the time to leave such positive comments about their experience.”

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Taking steps to broaden T

By Jenny Shand

here’s an elephant in the room, Rob Walter says, and its name is stress. The Horsham Healthy Minds member is adamant that stress is a key contributor to mental health issues and suicide rates across the Wimmera and the nation. “And that elephant is not being effectively addressed,” Rob said. The retired real estate agent is part of a small but committed group behind Horsham Healthy Minds, a grassroots community organisation that aims to improve people’s mental health and reduce suicide rates. He and fellow member Gavin Morrow believe stress-management tools and mindfulness practices are the way forward when it comes to achieving these goals. Gavin, a Wimmera Football League commissioner and Morrow Motor Group director, started focusing on mental health issues across the region in 2010. Shocked by a spate of suicides by young men in and around Warracknabeal, he started his quest for greater understanding and practical solutions to help the region’s people. Within a year Horsham Healthy

Minds began, formed by a small group of passionate volunteers who had been touched by suicide’s terrible ripples and were committed to making a difference. “Over the years we’ve had the opportunity to speak to people who have not succeeded in suicide and talked about the reasons why they attempted it,” Gavin said. “What we’re learning over the journey is that much of it is about stress. It so often gets back to the stress or pressure of finances, of relationships breaking down or even embarrassment of some kind.” The men said the independent group run by volunteers had the freedom to chart its own course when it came to exploring mental health issues and solutions. Rather than concentrate on medical channels, group members are putting the benefits of mindfulness and effective management of stress centre stage. They are achieving this by organising and supporting Horsham-based courses, workshops and public forums led by experts in the field to bring a greater awareness of these practices to the community. The men said evidence from professionals – such as former chief executive of Lifeline

and beyondblue Dawn O’Neil – who have taught mindfulness and stress-reduction techniques in communities with high levels of suicide is startling. “Dawn O’Neil went out into an Aboriginal community which had a massive rate of suicide and she taught mindfulness and stress-reduction techniques in the community,” Gavin said. “And for over 12 months they went without a suicide. That was a real eye opener for me. She’s gone and proved that it works.” In Australia, suicide is the single greatest cause of death for people aged between 15 and 44, with men making up three quarters of those numbers. Figures also reveal the suicide rate in the indigenous community is double that of the non-indigenous community. The Horsham Healthy Minds duo said while mental health professionals were working hard to help people across the country, they were under pressure from sheer demand as well as funding and staff shortages. Rob and Gavin believe every Wimmera family has been impacted by mental health issues in some way. And they think Albert

Einstein got it right when he said: “The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift.” Rob said the rational mind focused on treating symptoms when it came to mental health. He wants people to consider taking a more intuitive approach as well, and change the way they think. “Mindfulness doesn’t tell you what to see, it teaches you how to see,” he said. “A person who is contemplating suicide has got a very narrow view of reality. If that view can be broadened, they can see there are other opportunities and that life hasn’t come to an end.” Mindfulness is not a new phenomenon. An ancient Buddhist practice, it is now being embraced by education facilities, businesses and even politicians, with Britain’s House of Commons establishing a Mindfulness AllParty Parliamentary Group. Rob and Gavin practise mindfulness mediation daily. Rob’s been a convert for many years, while Gavin is relative newcomer. Both believe it should be part of every school’s curriculum, to help tackle a growing problem of anxiety among young students.

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your view They also see strong value in other stressrelief practices including walking, yoga or seeing a movie with mates. Mindfulness meditation takes practice. As Rob said, if you want to get physically fit you go to the gym. “But if you only go to the gym for one day, you won’t get too many results,” he said. “And that’s what some people do when they try mindfulness and meditation. They go once and say it didn’t work for me. But you’ve got to do it every day, you’ve got to train.” Gavin learnt mindfulness at a Horsham course last year. He aims to do up to 20 minutes of meditation every morning and evening. He goes into a room with a chair and calms his mind. “I could notice a difference after my sixweek course,” he said. “I’ve even used it in my table tennis, where I might have lost a number of shots in a row and started to get stressed and angry with myself. So I’d walk away from the table while playing and use a stress-reduction technique I’d been taught to calm myself down. “It might only take 30 seconds, then I’d go back and be in a much better state to

continue playing. It had an effect on my game.” Rob calls mindfulness mediation a paradox. “Its effect on your body is out of proportion to the effort,” he said. “How can doing nothing be so beneficial? It’s something you can do for yourself for nothing and it’s the absolute missing link when it comes to mental health.” Horsham Healthy Minds, which attracts strong support from Horsham businesses and individuals, plans to run another stressmanagement course early next year if it can amass the necessary money. Gavin said Horsham Healthy Minds’ end goal was to cut the rate of suicide in the Wimmera. “While top-of-the-tree is reducing suicide, if you reduce stress in people’s lives, that will help them with their depression, so at the end of the day it gives people a better quality of life,” he said. • People wanting information on Horsham Healthy Minds can call Rob Walter on 0428 504 383 or Gavin Morrow on 0418 504 985. If you need help and advice you can call: beyondblue on 1300 22 46 36; Lifeline, 13 11 14; Kids Helpline, 1800 551 800; the Suicide Call Back Service, 1300 659 467; or MensLine Australia on 1300 789 978.

Horsham Healthy Minds members Rob Walter, left, and Gavin Morrow, are adamant that stress is a key contributor to mental health issues and suicide rates across the Wimmera. Picture: PAUL CARRACHER

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Masters at rowing A

By Sarah Scully

s a child, Dimboola’s Jenni Brand would spend hours on, in or alongside the Wimmera River. As an adult, little has changed – except she has passed on her love of the environment to her three daughters – Tara, 14, Alyssa, 12, and Maddison, 8, Petschel. Jenni was a student at Dimboola Memorial Secondary College when she became involved in rowing. “They ran a rowing program back then and all the kids got involved,” she said. “I was a second-generation rower, I used to row with my dad, Geoff Brand. Outside of school, I kept at rowing because it was a lot of fun. “We used to have the best time out on the river, whether we were rowing or swimming or just hanging out, it didn’t matter. The place was ours.” Jenni, 45, joined Dimboola Rowing Club as a teenager and was club captain for a couple of years in her late teens. She went away to university. “I went away to uni and when I came back there wasn’t anyone to row around with,” she said. “Once I had kids, they were too young to leave at home, so I didn’t get back into it. “Eventually I was asked to row again and my kids were a bit older. It was hard to get them looked after but I loved rowing. “Now Tara rows and my middle daughter, Alyssa, wants to start. Maddison has coxed for us a couple of times, but she’s still a bit young. She will row when she’s old enough. “I can definitely see myself in them.” Rowing club stalwart and regatta secretary John Nichols believes Jenni and her family came along at the right time. “Jenny is brilliant. She is a great club captain and she seems to bring the best out of the kids,” he said. “It’s great to see so many smiling faces in training and at competitions. “Things are definitely heading in the right direction.” John said Jenni’s involvement had

LifeStyle 2018

provided a much-needed boost for the club. “We were struggling a few years ago for a combination of reasons,” he said. “One of these was obviously the drought – the river was dry for about three years and unusable for five.” An unusable river and a declining population do not do a rural rowing club any favours. “School enrolments are about half of what they were about 30 years ago,” John said. “Plus, a lot of kids these days are more interested in spending time in front of a computer screen than playing sport. “Some sports, like football or basketball, you can get away with training once a week as a junior. But when it comes to rowing you really need to be doing it at least twice a week.” John also credits the Dimboola community for supporting the club in tough times. “Even through the drought we had a good social membership,” he said. “This helped keep the club going, even though things were quiet on the rowing side. The community has been a great support.” The club’s rowing season generally runs from September to April, although John said Jenni had introduced a winter program for the first time in his 35-odd years with the club. “We get together once a week on Sundays for a row and a cooked breakfast,” he said. “It’s been great.” Jenni said rowing on a freezing winter morning was not as bad as it sounded. “It’s never too cold to row, although it can be too windy,” she said. “You can always wear heated gloves.” Jenni said the club had built up to about 15 competitive rowers and ‘a huge supporter and social membership’. She encouraged Wimmera people to give the club, and rowing, a go. “It really is something that can be done by people of all ages,” she said. “When we started rowing it was all about the younger rowers but I’m really excited about the masters level.

Jenni Brand

“Our masters start at 27 and at some clubs, there are even 86 years olds competing. “We have a couple of people who are 60 or almost 60 at our club and I’ve heard of people taking up rowing at 70 – I really think it’s never too late to start.” Jenni said aside from the obvious health benefits involved with being active, rowing also offered lifestyle and social benefits. “The club has brilliant supporters, regardless of whether they row or not. We’re always looking for people to help out

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when we go away or help with competitions, so you don’t have to be a rower to join,” she said. “Socially, on a Friday night, the bar is open and a lot of people get together for a snack and a refreshment. “Although we do try to do three to four regattas both before and after Christmas, it’s not all about competing.” Dimboola Rowing Club is preparing for its annual regatta – which is always a huge weekend for the town – on November 10.

Page 11

A slice of history P

By Anne Taylor

eople from many varied heritages have made the Wimmera their home – from the traditional owners to the German farmer settlers in the late 1800s, post-war European immigrants and more recently settlers from parts of Asia and Africa. Each culture makes a contribution to our society, which makes this our home. We love living here, but we also love getting away to see other parts of Australia and the world. Holidays are part of the fabric of our lives and can take on many forms. Ancestry tourism, or the more broadly based ‘nostalgia tourism’, have become significant segments of the tourism market. By nostalgia tourism, we mean going back to places you might have visited as a child and taking your family there to share and re-create happy childhood memories. Many of us have a yearning for times past, although it is good to do your research and not expect everything to be as it was 20 or 30 years ago. That family trip to Disneyland, or first cruise to the South Pacific, or a road trip to Queensland takes us back to times spent with our parents and our often annoying siblings, who miraculously in most cases seem to develop into reasonable adults. Ancestry tourism delves a bit further into the past and traces your family origins back to the places previous generations lived before taking huge and brave steps to journey to a new land, although in some cases they might have had less say in the decision, having been brought here courtesy of Her Majesty’s Government in a convict ship. A trip back to those very different and distant places helps forge bonds with our ancestors and gain an understanding of what has shaped our own identity. For those with British heritage, a road trip in the UK or Ireland can become much more personal when you stop off in small villages where previous generations made their homes.

It is really special to see your family name above a butcher shop or pub in a place so far away from the Wimmera. Get chatting to the locals and you might be surprised how interested they are in someone travelling such a long way to visit their little corner of the world. They will consider you ‘family’ even if you are not actually related, as I have experienced in rural Ireland on more than one occasion. If the Finns – or Norwegians, Danes or Swedes depending which poll you are reading – have the title of the happiest people on earth, I think the Irish must be real contenders for the world’s most friendly. With so many local residents of German heritage, trips to Europe often include visits to the home towns of the intrepid folk who decided to try their hand at farming in Australia in the late 1800s. Some journeyed first to South Australia and then made their way to the plains of western Victoria. However they came to be here, we are all the better as a community for their contributions to our district and it is fascinating trying to put yourself in their shoes as they encountered such a different way of life from the villages they left behind. As we know, people from many of the small towns in the Wimmera made a significant contribution to military efforts in the First World War, Second World War and in Vietnam and in many cases never made it back home. It is very moving to see how many of their younger descendants remember and honour their sacrifice by visiting the battlefields, particularly in Turkey and France. If you are not into researching yourself, there is bound to be a family member who has already looked into it. Private tours can be arranged to visit places family members were posted to and many day tour operators are happy to include visits to particular locations. Trekking the Kokoda Trail or travelling in Vietnam provides an opportunity to

combine a holiday with visiting significant sites. You don’t need to have a personal connection to want to travel to significant locations. Many people visit these sites to pay respects and gain an insight into why these places and events helped shape our nation. It is difficult to describe the immense feeling of sadness and futility I felt when standing on a patch of ground in Pozieres, which the war historian Charles Bean described as ‘more densely sown with Australian sacrifice than any other place on earth’. Along with a sense of gratitude for those brave souls who perished there, you come away with a new perspective of the things we consider difficult or unfair in our lives today, which very quickly pale into insignificance. It is a moving experience I would not hesitate to recommend.

Tourism is often a vital part of the economy and visitors who respect cultures, customs and the environment can help provide employment and career opportunities for members of the community. You might also consider combining some volunteering with your holiday and assist the community in a more hands-on way while also exploring the countryside. So why not make a theme out of your next holiday and combine it with a bit of nostalgia or a slice of history? You will come home to the Wimmera much richer for the experience. Happy travels and don’t forget the very wise advice from travel writer Pete McCarthy – never walk past a bar with your name on it! – Anne Taylor is italktravel Horsham managing director

Italktravel managing director Anne Taylor enjoys a pint while on a tour of Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, Ireland. Anne, who has Irish and English ancestry, visited the famous brewery during an exploratory trip to the Emerald Isle.

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Music By Sarah Scully

Jan Pope wows the crowd at Morning Melodies at Ararat RSL.

any studies champion the effect of music therapy on the ageing, particularly people experiencing

dementia. From enhancing a dementia patientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s communication, cognitive and behavioural capabilities to simply stimulating and engaging seniors, music can be an amazing tool. Araratâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jan Pope discovered a love of music and performing at a young age and throughout the years has honed her craft to improve the lives of others. For several years, Jan has volunteered her services at aged-care centres in Ararat. She is a popular fixture on Ararat Retirement Village and 70 Lowe Street entertainment calendars, performing to residents fortnightly. Lowe Street offers an alternative home for people who require constant nursing care. Nurse unit manager Tanya Haslett said the centre operated on Montessori principles, catering for individualsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; needs. Reminiscing sessions, afternoon teas and pet therapy are among key activities and Mrs Haslett said music therapy also provided comfort and enjoyment.

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therapy a blessing “We do musical therapy with iPods, which a lot of clients enjoy singing along to,” she said. “We put their favourite music on the iPods and if they are unable to tell us, we ask their families what they like. “It’s especially good for the ones who can’t talk. We put their music library on and they start tapping their feet.” Mrs Haslett said several residents were part of a choir, run by a lifestyle coordinator and volunteers. “Someone plays the piano and they all get together for a big singalong. They love it,” she said. “Residents also have musical instruments and they love to bang away at them. “All our residents have some kind of cognitive impairment, it varies across different levels.” Mrs Haslett said they all loved their regular visits from Jan. “She plays all sorts of different songs and they love tapping their feet and singing along,” she said. “Her visits are definitely a highlight.”

Jan said she loved seeing audiences respond to her performances, particularly those who had trouble communicating through more conventional methods. “You’d be amazed at the response you get from people when you start playing songs they grew up with,” she said. “While I do it for fun, there is something special about seeing someone connect through music. “The more mobile residents love dancing around, which I always enjoy. There’s one little old lady who gets up on her walking frame to dance. It’s great.” Every now and then, Jan likes to host a themed session. Last month’s theme was ‘country’. “I basically picked the theme because I wanted to learn more country songs,” she said. “I had just returned from the Mildura Country Music Festival and was inspired. “Not many people around here grew up on country music, which I find surprising. A lot of people seem to know the really old songs but aren’t familiar with the newer ones.

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Morning Melodies Earlier this year, Jan took over a longrunning Morning Melodies session at Ararat RSL. “I was in Vietnam on holidays with my husband, Derek, when I got a call asking if I would do it,” she said. “I figured it was basically what I’d already been doing for years at Lowe Street and the retirement village, so I thought I would give it a go. “The main difference is I get to throw in a few more modern songs. That was a bit of a revelation for me. I always used to do old songs like Danny Boy and White Cliffs of Dover, but then I started adding in some rock ’n’ roll tunes like Blue Suede Shoes and Rock Around the Clock, which have been really popular.” Jan said each Morning Melodies session was different, but always drew a decent crowd.

“We usually get a full house. We have people come from Gordon Street disability service, a bus from the Garden View Court nursing home and of course, our Ararat regulars,” she said. “We have so much fun. Some weeks we do YMCA or Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini and we often do a conga line around the room. “I don’t hand out words – people who have run Morning Melodies in the past have done so, but I don’t like being restricted to a program. I like to be able to gauge the audience and their mood. Sometimes people want to get up and move around, other times they want to chill out. “That’s why I mainly choose songs people know. It’s all about having a good time.” Free Morning Melodies sessions are usually on the last Thursday of each month. “A lot of people make a day of it. They come for the free cuppa at 10am, the music starts at 10.30am and then they stick around for lunch afterwards,” Jan said. “It’s a great morning out and newcomers are more than welcome.”

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Don’t be afraid to smile! For many, the thought of getting dentures can be daunting. The myths and misconceptions surrounding dentures can make some people feel uncomfortable about getting them. With more than 30 years’ experience in the dental industry, Horsham’s Andrew Bolwell has helped countless patients with their dentures. He chatted with The Weekly Advertiser to help answer questions and dispel anxieties some prospective denture patients might have…

What can I expect when I get dentures?

Everybody is different when it comes to coping with new dentures, so we make sure every patient is well supported. We make the process as comfortable and stress-free as possible. Follow-up appointments and adjustments are organised to get the best possible results, so when you get your new dentures you are not on your own.

What takes place during the procedure?

dentures – lips, cheeks and tongue – need time to adapt. Because of this, it is important not to change old dentures too drastically. Over time you will build up your denture control.

Depending on what sort of dentures you require, there can be up to five appointments before you receive your dentures. For urgent cases or for people who need to travel long distances, we can offer four appointments in one day, and usually within a week you will be able to pick up your new dentures. Generally, we do a first and second impression, registration, try-in and insert.

Can I afford to get dentures?

Will my dentures look normal and fit properly? Everyone has a different bone structure, lip extensions and general oral environment. This is why we work through the fiveappointment process with our patients to achieve a result that is functional, comfortable and aesthetically pleasing. The denture process includes a trial fitting, so you get to see them before they are finished and adjustments can be made.

Will I be able to eat and speak normally?

Again, everyone’s circumstances are different. People who have had their current dentures for more than 10 years can take longer to get used to wearing new dentures. The muscles that control your

First, we need to know what sort of dentures are the best fit for each individual’s situation, so a consultation is necessary. Then we ascertain whether a patient has private health cover, is health fundassisted or is paying their own way. Department of Veterans’ Affairs gold card holders receive free treatment. Pension or health care card holders can get assistance through the Victorian or South Australian denture schemes.

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GO YOUR OWN WAY The sneezin’ season... S

By Ebony Jordan

pring is in the air! The days are getting warmer, the birds are singing, the flowers are blooming… and you can’t go anywhere without a box of tissues shoved under one arm. This is because you are sniffling, sneezing and wheezing like it is going out of fashion. There are many ways your body can produce allergy symptoms. One way is an immediate reaction, also known as a ‘true allergy’. This is an ‘IgE’ reaction. IgE triggers immune cells called mast cells to release histamine, causing classic symptoms of sneezing, itching, watery eyes, a runny nose or rashes and hives. An extreme example of this is anaphylaxis, which can cause lifethreatening swelling of the face and airways. The most common allergy in the Wimmera, Mallee and Grampians is hayfever, also known as allergic rhinitis, caused by pollens. We have a particularly high pollen count in western Victoria because pollens, grasses and weeds blow from the grasslands in the north. Coastal areas have a lower pollen count because they are fortunate enough to usually receive a fresh, clean southerly breeze from the ocean. If find yourself sneezing and wheezing most of the time, you might be victim to the dreaded rye grass that in Victoria flowers for nine months of the year. Allergies can be irritating and frustrating, but all hope is not lost. There are many natural remedies that do more than block your symptoms. Recent research has indicated some natural compounds might moderate the entire immune response, so that you can actually ‘stop and smell the flowers’ and tolerate the splendid season of spring. Melbourne-based Professor Mimi Tang has discovered a particular strain of beneficial bacteria called Lactobaccilus rhamnosus, LGG, can have a significant effect on allergic response. This probiotic is so powerful at regulating LifeStyle 2018

immunity that it has resolved lifethreatening peanut anaphylaxis in children enrolled in Professor Tang’s specialised programs. Her research has been life-changing for some families, with some of these children being able to tolerate eating peanuts up to four years after treatment. The old saying ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’ can also ring true when trying to combat allergies. Quercetin, found in apples and onions, is another one of Mother Nature’s natural antihistamines. The plant pigment or flavonoid stabilises mast cells, stopping the release of histamine into the body in the first place. Naturopaths also use herbal medicines such as perilla, albizia and baical skullcap to naturally reduce IgE and histamine levels. The result can be a dampening of allergic reactions that soothe the pesky symptoms of itchiness, sneezing, watery eyes and drippy noses. Treating allergies and intolerances can be complex. There are many different foods, chemicals, toxins and environmental substances that can cause problems. There are also many ways the body can go haywire when exposed to them. Some people experience delayed reactions and don’t display symptoms for up to four days after exposure. Some people are even allergic to exercise and sweat. Others claim they are homework intolerant. Either way, allergies can be tricky. But there is testing available to help pinpoint what might be aggravating you and this can help determine the best course of action. So if you suffer from allergies you could: A. Try a sea-change by eating apples, onions and beneficial bacteria on the beach for nine months of the year or… B. Chat to your natural healthcare professional about what you can do to identify, reduce and resolve your allergies this spring. – Ebony Jordan is a Wimmera naturopath with Des Lardner’s Organic in Horsham, which won this year’s Wimmera Business of Year Awards’ health and fitness category.

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earing-impaired western Victorians are the first Australians to benefit from the world’s latest and greatest in hearing aid technology. Tim Rayner Audiology was proud to be the first clinic in Australia to fit Danish-made Evoke hearing aids to a patient in western Victoria. Since their release, only some eight weeks ago, Tim Rayner Audiology has managed to fit 40 sets of these new-age hearing aids, making the clinic one of the most experienced with this level of technology. Tim Rayner, who operates six clinics across western Victoria, said Evoke hearing aids, launched in May this year by Danish company Widex, were far ahead of any other device on the market. “These new hearing aids offer a more advanced highdefinition level of hearing that actually learns how you prefer to hear, and automatically alters the hearing aids to suit,” he said. “They will remember different environments and apply these changes as needed. “They continue to learn well into the future.” Mr Rayner said acceptance of the new technology by patients had been very high. “It’s quite amazing to fit these hearing aids and see the patients’ reactions,” he said. “We are also learning, every time we fit an aid, or fine-tune it, how we can make the most of this advanced technology.” Mr Rayner said the practice’s expertise in fitting the Evoke devices laid in the training the team had done to get the best from the technology. “All five audiologists have undergone recent training, so they know how to get the best from the technology and really ensure patients get the results they need,” he said.

OUR TEAM: Audiologists Geraldine, Kyle, Tim, Lauren and Michael.

Among the features of the Evoke aids is their capacity to wirelessly connect to each other to ensure the ears are balanced and provide advanced connectivity to phones, televisions and audio systems. “They can connect like no others before,” Mr Rayner

said. He encouraged anyone considering an update of their hearing aids to make an appointment by calling Tim Rayner Audiology’s main office on 5560 5833, to gain an overview of the benefits the new product delivered.

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The future for ‘retirement’ focus R esearch over recent years suggests the secret to a long and healthy life is to continue working and to stay in control of your finances

and life. The nature of work might change – fewer hours, less stress, new career – and with good planning it is possible to have all the good things associated with retirement such as more leisure, time with family, travel and new activities. No government can afford to support the Baby Boomer generation through retirement. Paying pensions for longer life spans is not sustainable. In 1905 the average life expectancy was 55.2 years for men and 58.8 for women. The age pension was introduced from 1909 and was available from age 65, so most people did not qualify. However, a century later the average life expectancy for a 65-year-old is 84.6 years for men and 87.3 for women. To address this the eligible age has been gradually increasing since July 2017 until it reaches 67 from July 1, 2023 for both men and women. Further measures to encourage older people to keep working include tighter eligibility for income support before age pension age; an incentive payment to employers to hire eligible mature aged workers; tax-free superannuation after age 60; ability to access superannuation as a pension before retirement; and increasing the age when superannuation can be accessed. Our leaders are also concerned about the shrinking pool of workers in a growing economy. In 2015, there were 4.5 workers for every person over age 65. By 2055 it is projected that this ratio will have halved to just 2.7 workers. But look on the bright side. There will be a significant opportunity

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arising from Australians working longer. The 2015 Intergenerational Report predicted that by 2055, 17.3 percent of those aged 65-plus will be working, an increase from the 12.9 percent in 2015. This will ensure a positive impact on productivity levels, contributing to a stronger economy. This does not mean Australians have to work harder during their later years. Technology has made many jobs much easier and most of us struggle to even imagine what it will be doing for us in 40 years’ time. The reality is that many people who retire to a life of leisure too early end up disillusioned. This resentment can create ill-health and ironically, the years they were hoping to spend enjoying life, can be unexpectedly cut short. Research shows being active and engaged in life leads to a healthier and longer life. This doesn’t have to be paid employment but for some of us it is what provides the challenge and excitement. Many people who could retire today choose to keep working for the love of it, or if money is no longer an issue, offering their experience and knowledge in volunteer roles. Maybe there will soon come a time when the word ‘retirement’ will disappear from our vocabularies because more people will want to keep on keeping on.

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We’re K

Ted Broda and Carmel Conway

By Jenny Shand

een prospector Tadeusz ‘Ted’ Broda, 71, reckons there’s a gold nugget with his name on it somewhere in Stawell district. But his partner of 40 years, Carmel Conway believes they’ve already uncovered valuable riches since making a tree change from Melbourne to the east Wimmera town last year. And those riches are measured not in ounces, but in friendship and community. “The people here are beautiful,” Carmel said simply. “It’s just brilliant here. I felt at home straight away.” The couple relocated from Carrum Downs to their two and a half bedroom house in Eventide Homes’ The Plantation Village community on the hunt for a quieter life, a peaceful retirement and a sense of community. Carmel, 65, was fed up with work issues and Ted had ‘retired’ several times. Ted doesn’t mince words. He talks of workplace bullying that affected Carmel’s health, of concrete, pressure and breakneck pace and says the decision to move just made sense at their stage of life. “It was a relief to leave the rat race,” he

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LifeStyle 2018

here to stay said of the Stawell relocation. “We had a property in Queensland, sold that, put a holding deposit on the place here and as soon as our house in Carrum Downs sold it was quick, get out of Melbourne, out of the gear-box jungle and get into the country. This is a lovely place to retire to.” Ted and Carmel, who have six children and 10 grandchildren between them, have settled happily into The Plantation community. Their home is one of 16 and they’re forging friendships with fellow retirees who have downsized while enjoying total independence within an active community of seniors. Eventide Homes, part of the Stawell community for decades, provides housing options for people ranging from independent living accommodation to residential care choices. It’s a close-knit community, the couple say, and they are excited to have joined its ranks. “Our kids said go for it,” Carmel said of the move. “They said it was our life, we’d done the hard yards, go out and enjoy it. They are pretty good kids.” The duo, who still visit family regularly in Melbourne, believes good communication between partners is a key to happy retirement. And they’re adamant that getting involved in your local community is incredibly rewarding. “My advice to people wanting to retire – move to Stawell,” Ted laughed. “You get treated like a person here, not a number.” With more than a year living in Stawell under his belt, Ted has become a driving force in the Eventide community. Every month, you’ll find him behind the wheel of a minibus, taking people from the residential care facility and independent units on day trips across the region. “And Carmel’s the best hostess!” he laughs. From Rupanyup and Sheep Hills silo art to Lake Bellfield, Horsham to Wendouree, the monthly minibus trips have sparked interest among participants as they chart changes in familiar sites and enjoy new experiences. “On the first trip they requested we drive through the main street in Stawell because they hadn’t seen the work that was happening there,” Ted said. “I love talking with all these people on the bus trips. They’ve got a lot of history and stories to tell. To see the expression on their faces at the end of the journey is worth every minute spent driving.” For Carmel, each bus trip is a learning experience and she’s keen to further her education on the Wimmera region and life. “They are teaching me things too,” she said. “One lady said being on the bus trip was amazing, that she’d LifeStyle 2018

seen things she didn’t even know were there. And she’s a Stawell person.” While the word ‘retirement’ can strike fear in some people’s hearts, it can’t come soon enough for others. Ted said it took him several attempts for retirement to stick. “When I retired earlier, Carmel got me to mow lawns and gave me too many jobs,” he chuckled. “I went back to work casual, part time and then full time.” But when Carmel’s health was affected by work stress, they knew it was time to start planning for retirement in earnest. Part of that planning, they said, involves ensuring you have interests to keep you fulfilled and busy. Ted grows bonsai and has given three talks on this intricate Japanese art form since living in Stawell, while Carmel loves crosswords. They’re soaking up the sights of their new town and can’t wait to explore more of the region as the weather improves. The couple is also considering a trip overseas to countries including Germany, where Ted was born to Polish parents. “Stawell has got everything going for it,” Ted said. “It’s a quiet town, the Grampians are nearby and the people are friendly. It’s the sort of place where you can sit down and enjoy watching the world go by.” Carmel loves the peace, their neighbours and Halls Gap Zoo. Ted enjoys the town’s rich history, the countryside and would love to go down Stawell Gold Mine. “Over the years I’ve found a few gold nuggets, including a substantial one – nothing to retire on but enough to make rings and bangles for Carmel,” he said. “And I’m sure there’s a big nugget out there somewhere for me to find.” Whether they’re sharing a cuppa with neighbours, enjoying a glass of wine in their garden as the sun sets over Stawell or touring the region on an Eventide bus trip, the couple knows they’ve made the right decision to shift from Melbourne. They’re more than a year into their Stawell relocation, and they’re loving the flavours of their new life in the Wimmera. “When it comes to Stawell, we are stayers,” Carmel said. Ted is quick to agree. “Stawell is it,” he said. “We love it here. Our next move will be six foot under.”

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Early settlers ‘astounding’ Miga Lake’s Janine and Mark Hancock love taking to the road in their Toyota Land Cruiser and have made several trips throughout Australia. Among their most memorable journeys was a trip to Cape York from July 15 to August 30, 2017. Here they share a condensed version of a trip diary with LifeStyle Wimmera readers.

Equipment used: 1994 80 series Toyota Land Cruiser wagon, diesel manual chosen for its simplicity, no electronics to cause trouble. On-board built-in aircompressor, 70-litre water tank, diff lockers, winch, snorkel – a must have, dual batteries, Engel fridgefreezer and a Freedom centre pole canvas tent. Only driver-front passenger seats remain, with cargo rack behind for safety. All essential requirements for a trip like this and all used.

ur journey included stops in Echuca, Deniliquin, Hay, Cobar, Burke, Charleville, Barcaldine, Prairie and Cooktown. We love learning about local history while on our travels. Battle Camp Road, 35 kilometres out of Cooktown, Queensland, was named after an 1870 battle between an estimated 500 Aboriginal warriors and a well-armed force of 130 diggers and police who had camped for the night on their way to the Palmer River Goldfields. It was a bloody lesson for the Aborigines, in the superiority of repeating rifles over stone-age weaponry. They never again tried mass frontal assault, instead opting for guerrilla tactics. Bathurst Heads lies on the coast in Cape Melville. There are no facilities but there is a five-star coastal view. A monument here recalls a terrible event in the area’s history. In the early hours of March 4, 1899, a huge cyclone, ‘Mahina’, roared in from the Coral Sea, destroying 80 pearling luggers that were sheltering in Charlotte and Bathurst bays. More than 300 people drowned and several local Aborigines were also washed out to sea by a powerful back surge while attempting to assist survirors to safety. Musgrave Roadhouse, built in 1886, was one of six telegraph stations constructed to pick up repeat signals down the wire between Cooktown and Cape York. Designed as a fortress against Aboriginal attack, it was named after Sir Anthony Musgrave, Governor of Queensland from 1883 to 1899. It was closed in 1929 and became a station homestead.

Apart from removal of its gun ports, the old building’s historic fabric has been preserved. Tourists love to camp at these destinations and much history is learnt while visiting.

Paradise

We moved on to Coen, Archer River Roadhouse, Lockhart in the Iron Range National Park and out to Chilli Beach in Cape Weymouth. Portland Roads has a beautiful sheltered little bay, often called ‘paradise’ by visitors. Today there are only a few houses and a café. Early explorers, miners and settlers came by ship and struggled to shore here to begin a hazardous journey to fulfil their dreams in Cape York, to explore, harvest sandalwood, mine for gold or rear cattle. Portland Roads was the staging point for the central part of the state and in the Second World War provided the key defence base for northern Australia. Our first crossing for the trip was the notorious Pascoe River on the Frenchmans Track. Cue fast-flowing deep water, a stoney solid bottom, waist-deep water at the

deepest point with two large rocks to avoid, and a steep large boulder exit on the western bank. We had to winch ourselves the last metre up out of the track at Wenlock River. There were some deep holes and a very steep descent. The PDR – Penninsula Developmental Road – is the main road to the cape. It’s an all gravel road, with some smooth areas and some very rough. We drove out to Weipa then to Bramwell Station, another great accommodation venue. Many of these places have live music, restaurants and all facilities.

Old Telegraph Track

We started the Old Telegraph Track from Bramwell Roadhouse. The unserviced four-wheel-drive track has about 14 river-creek crossings of varying degrees of difficulty, with some of the crossings claiming many vehicles a year due to water inhalation or roll-overs. Waiting vehicles at most crossings enabled drivers to observe depths of water, rocks and holes before entering. In the early 1880s the Queensland government employed J.R. Bradford to

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survey a route along Cape York Peninsula to Thursday Island for the construction of an electric telegraph line. Finally, after three gruelling months, the expedition reached Somerset near the northern tip of the cape. Soon after, the peninsula section began and was completed in 1886. The line consisted of galvanised cast iron ‘Oppenheimer’ poles manufactured in Germany and some are still standing today. Fruit Bat Falls and Elliott Falls are absolutely gorgeous swimming pools with water cascades and tiered swimming holes, a must see while exploring this great track. The ferry takes you across the Jardine River to Bamaga and onto Punsand Bay, a shaded camping ground right on the beach. A short drive and then a walk gets you to the northernmost tip of Australia. When you reach your final destination you are treated to sensational views across the ocean. We travelled to the east coast of Somerset Beach and then south along the coast driving the four-wheel-drive Five Beaches Track. We camped at Seisa and took the onehour ferry ride to Thursday Island and then onto Horn Island, Merluna Station and Laura. They had basic camping areas but great ‘outback experience’ accommodation.

Old Coach Road

We travelled the Old Coach Road, which receives little attention despite its reputation as being one of the toughest tracks in the cape – an epic drive with amazing views of the Great Dividing Range. Situated between Maytown and Laura it was originally used as an access route to the newly established Palmer River Goldfield; the track remains largely unchanged and undeveloped, and is extreme four-wheel drive only. Hundreds died on this track during the rush and it is known as the wildest rush in Australian history.

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Maytown, now a ghost town, at its peak serviced about 24,000 people. Once again we were reminded of the hardships people endured during these times. Nothing much remains today – it was an amazing four-wheel-drive trip. We passed through many cattle stations, all gravel roads, some graded, some very corrugated and rough. We viewed Mount Mulligan – 18 kilometres long and rising 400 metres – referred to as Queensland’s Ayers Rock. It was here during the morning of September 19, 1921, a horrific explosion in the coal mine killed the entire day shift, 75 men. The explosion was heard 60 kilometres away, but worst of all, by all the children lining up for school and the wives at home – it still ranks as one of Australia’s worst mining disasters. Mount Surprise, Georgetown, Croydon and Normanton were our next destination places. We boarded the RM93, known as the Gulflander, for a three-hour trip across country – affectionately said to go from ‘nowhere to nowhere’. The heritage-listed Normanton to Croydon line was never connected to the state rail network and remains the only line in Queensland still measured in miles. The line was laid in a fashion unlike

anywhere else in the world. With an innovative sleeper design, seasonal floodwaters flow over the line to lessen flood damage. A testament to the ingenuity of this design is that today much of the line is still the original rail and sleepers laid between 1881 and 1891. Onto Karumba in the Gulf of Carpenteria, Cloncurry and McKinley. We camped at the back of Walkabout Creek Hotel, which you cannot miss when driving into town – just look for the Never Never Safari Tours truck. We headed to Winton and onto Longreach where we visited the Stockmans Hall of Fame, an amazing structure built in 1988 as a tribute to the pioneering stockmen and women of Australia. The Qantas Founders Museum displays a Qantas 747 jumbo jet housed on the tarmac. It towers the buildings as you enter the town, along with several other planes. We took a ‘wing walk tour’, which was an amazing experience. It is one of very few places in the world you can do this, I believe. Another absolute must-do while visiting here is to step into pioneer shoes with the help of the Kinnon family, with traditions that stretch back 150 years. This family of graziers started their outback tourism business in 2006, becoming

one of outback Queensland’s biggest attractions. What started as a way to survive the region’s crippling droughts quickly became a passion for sharing and preserving their outback way of life and its heritage. Whether it be a Cobb and Co Stagecoach Experience, Starlights Cruise along the Thompson River or a farm tour to Nogo Station, this family takes you back to yesteryear. We cannot speak highly enough of what they have created for tourists. Next we went to IIfracombe, Jericho and into Emerald, where we viewed the amazing Fairbairn Dam – what an amazing manmade structure. We headed across to Rockhampton and Emu Park, visiting the beautiful coastal boardwalk, a tribute to the Anzacs, so beautifully designed and constructed and well worth a visit. We passed through Mount Morgan, Biloela, Monto and onto Mundubberra where we visited Boondooma Homestead, built in the 1850s. It has a combination of vertical and horizontal timbers, mostly pit-sawn and hand-dressed iron bark. The present roof is corrugated iron over the original shingles. Jimbour Homestead has an absolutely

amazing two-storey mansion with huge gardens, we absolutely loved it. We drove up to Bunya Mountains National Park, Queensland’s second-oldest national park, which protects the largest bunya pine rainforest. While visiting Surfers Paradise we viewed the amazing Great Australian Outback Extravaganza, a great lesson on Australian history with a different theme each time. This was our third attendance; it’s absolutely fabulous, brings tears to your eyes. It is another must-do opportunity and makes you proud to be an Australian. A lovely mountain drive took us through Murwillumbah, Uki, Kunghar and Nimbin, then onto Lismore, Casino, Tenterfield, Tamworth and into Gunnadah. We went through Dubbo, Wellington, Cowra and onto Junee, visiting the amazing chocolate factory housed in the old flour mill. You can take a guided tour and learn how chocolate is made, relax and have a meal in their beautiful restaurant or purchase some amazing organic chocolate. It is very family friendly and another must do. Regardless of where we travel, the endurance of the early settlers continues to astound us wherever we go.

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Page 23

‘Never tell us we can’t By Dean Lawson

“S

ometimes you need to take the biggest mouthful you can and start chewing like hell!” “It’s about saying ‘I can’ and then seeing what happens.” That’s how Mark Hancock, 56, summed up how the evolution of a phone call, an idea and ‘a fair amount of bulldust’ led to Horsham finding itself on the world stage of international motorsport. “It was something a very good friend of mine once said to me and it has certainly applied to what has happened in off-road motorcycle racing in the Wimmera,” he said. “All you need is to have passion, continue to say ‘we can do it’ and have good people around who share the passion.” Mr Hancock made an effort to drop names except his own when he described how his hometown had thumbed its nose at doubters to host a major international sporting event. But the truth is he is at the core of why a huge worldwide motorcycle-racing

fraternity is now familiar with Horsham, the Wimmera and western Victoria. When Horsham Motorcycle Club hosted World Junior Motocross Championships at its Dooen circuit this year, with an international audience in the millions, the occasion represented an amazing climax to a story of dreams, passion, desire and effort. Mr Hancock provided insight into the background that led to the amazing rise of Horsham in one of the world’s most competitive motor sports. “One of the things that quite astounded me when travelling across the state for junior competitions with my sons was nobody seemed to know where Horsham was – or the Wimmera for that matter,” he said. “Motorcycling had no identity here whatsoever. People, some of them even from as close as parts of western Victoria, would ask, ‘where are you from?’. We would say Horsham, and they would say, ‘where’s that?’. I found that quite astounding.” Mr Hancock said Horsham Motorcycle Club had been going through a rebuilding

stage and trying to build momentum in early 2001 when he heard promoter Kevin Williams might be considering running a Victorian Thumpernat Series, which involved racing on a grass track in open terrain. “I was club treasurer at the time and decided to cold call him, knowing we had more of a paddock than a track, to suggest that he could bring the series to Horsham,” he said. “Kevin’s response was that he was winding up the thumpers to run the Australian motocross championship. “I didn’t tell the committee I was ringing him because I was just curious and looking for a chat – although we talked about it informally later and discussed how we didn’t have a facility up to the level Kevin was talking about. So the idea basically smoldered. “Sure, we talked about it and we had started to develop the club and course to include a full-blown international-level circuit – mainly on the back of the passion of Matt Baker of Murtoa and Dimboola’s Gary Petschel – and expressed an interest in getting involved. “Then, about five months later, Kevin Williams on his way back from Mannam in South Australia rang to say he wanted to have a look at Dooen and asked if I could meet him at the track. “So we met, had a chat and at the time there was nothing really there – and I mean literally. We still laugh about it today. “He asked me where the track was and I pointed over my shoulder and said ‘there’. He responded with ‘where?’ “I then said ‘you might not be able to see it now, but we can’. In other words, for it to happen we had to get everything organised in six months and had a big job ahead. It was out of control and quite daunting. “We had to let Kevin know our decision so we had a meeting and fortunately people such as Matt Baker and Dan Kenneison and other passionate members said ‘let’s do it!’ “We designed the track, the earthmovers got going, built the track, built the

clubhouse and when Kevin turned up in late February, a month out from the event, he was completely blown away by the design and layout. “The idea was to run the championships for three years, but little did I know at the time that we would run 17 Australian championships in 18 years, including multiple state championships across every discipline in dirt racing including motocross, sidecars, quads, women, rookies and juniors.” Mr Hancock found himself, his club and Horsham caught in a spinning cycle of development and was soon taking his influence beyond the region, Victoria and Australia. He found himself in a position of assistant clerk of course for the national motocross championships and on Motorcycling Australia’s management board. “At the club we also had Kenny Watts taking the mantel as president and Laurie Pearson taking an enthusiasm for the sport to a new level,” he said. “The great thing about it all was we were a small club and a group of mates who could depend on each other to put in the hard yards and get the job done. “And it was through that passion that the opportunity to host a world junior championship came along. “It actually started when Kenny, in a speech for his 2013 life-membership presentation, stated the only thing the club had yet to run was a world championship. “So, again the club said ‘let’s do it’ and suddenly Laurie was making application calls to Monaco. “We were told by many people in the industry that we would never be able to run a world championship – just like we had been told we would never run an Australian championship. This has led to our motto: Never tell us we can’t do it.” The process took club members to meetings around the world, especially Mr Hancock who would spend time in Spain, Indonesia and Argentina to gain elite-level qualifications.

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LifeStyle 2018

do it’ He remains one of the highest qualified officials in the sport in Australia. “I eventually became a qualified official to run a world championship event while at the same time Laurie, Jacqui Hill and Kenny and others were working hard on the ground,” he said. “From my perspective, following my kids in their sport carried to starting as a race official, which carried me to managing events, which carried me to being heavily involved in the sport in competition and administration, which then carried me to the world.”

Early years Mr Hancock grew up in a world of business and sport courtesy of parents Lance and Merelyn. He became more than handy with a badminton racquet and also chased the wind and waves in the surf during his tertiary study years. He developed an interest in ‘two wheels’ from an early age and with enthusiastic young daredevil mates took on the then undeveloped river frontage which is now Barnes Boulevard parkland in Horsham. “It was our backyard playground. For us it was dirt that we could ride our motorbikes on where everyone left us alone. There was the likes of Tony Galpin, Debbie and Amanda McKee, Michael Gerlach, Jamie and Dale Astbury, my sister Jill and Trevor Radcliffe,” he said. “We were youngsters on little trail bikes – including Peewee 50s – where our passion shifted from ‘pushing’ a bike to riding one with a motor. Obviously, we and our bikes got bigger over time.” After concentrating on studies Mr Hancock returned home to take on a job as an accountant, eventually forming his business Advance Accounting, and also rekindled his love affair with motorcycles. He dabbled briefly in road bikes before switching back to off-road machines and soon passed on his interest to his children.

Mark Hancock

He then found himself travelling to various junior motorcycle events. “I also helped out as treasurer at Pimpinio footy club for 18 months and through connections offered to help Horsham Motorcycle Club run a Green Triangle Enduro series at Dooen,” Mr Hancock said. “Gavin Johnson and Michael Speirs had been struggling to keep the motorcycling club alive and I had a free weekend and basically offered to give them a hand with scoring. “We had ridden the track as kids but there was not much there in the late 1970s. Things from there were either based on luck and-or being in the right place at the right time. “I knew Danny ‘Kenny’ Kenneison who was a Stay Upright instructor and we went to a club general meeting and put our hands up to get something happening because kids in Horsham had nowhere appropriate to ride. That’s how the momentum started.

Vass Radulovic had been in the racing scene before and volunteered to be president, I became vice and Danny secretary and Gavin Johnson said he would stay on for a year as treasurer. “We started organising ride days, club race meetings and expanded into running regional titles and becoming part of the Victorian Western Region series. We then ran a state title. “When we started racing we basically had no officials and because I had stopped riding, Vass ‘democratically’ volunteered my services. My passion changed direction from riding to officiating and running events, which allowed me to continue marvelling at a sport where riders were willing to push themselves and their machines to the limit while chasing their dreams.” Mr Hancock said he and the club had experienced ‘an amazing journey’. “A small dream just kept growing and growing and we kept growing with it. It’s an

important reminder that when opportunity presents itself we should reach out and grab it,” he said. “The reality is that I did very little – it was the club that made it happen. “The beauty is now in the off-road motorcycling fraternity at least, wherever I go in the world, I now never have to explain where Horsham is. Everyone in motorcycling now knows who and where we are – and it is a wonderful legacy that a worldwide fraternity wants to come back to the Wimmera.” Horsham Motorcycle Club is now exploring the potential of hosting world senior championship racing at Dooen. Apart from out-of-pocket travelling expenses, Mr Hancock provides his officiating services to the international sport free of charge.

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Page 25

recreational water lake albAcutya

Beulah Weir Pool

Jeparit

lake hindmarsh

Horsham

wimmera

natimuk lake

dock lake green lake

LAKE WALLACE lake toolondo

pine lake

river

LAKE BULOKE

mbiack

Warracknabeal Weir Pool

Dimboola

EEK

Brim Weir Pool

Donald Caravan Park Lake

yarria

lake lascelles

BATYO CATYO taylors lake

MARMA LAKE

Huddlestons Weir

zie

will iam cre ek

Riv

glenelg

lake lonsdale

rocklands

Radial Gates

Catfish

Lake wartook

lake fyans

Stawell Diversion Weir

fya

Wannon Diversion Weirs

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Dogs allowed

Yes

No – caravan park only

Yes

No – caravan park only

Yes

Yes – camping areas only

Yes

Moora Moora reservoir#

Yes

Yes – camping areas only

Rocklands reservoir#

Yes

Yes – camping areas only

Yes

Taylors Lake#

Yes

Yes – camping areas only

Yes

Lake Toolondo#

Yes

No – caravan park only

Yes

Lake Wartook#

Yes

Green Lake#

Yes

Beulah weir pool*

Yes

Yes – camping areas only

Yes

brim weir pool*

Yes

Yes – camping areas only

Yes

warracknabeal weir pool*

Yes

donald ‘foletti’ caravan park lake*

Yes

Yes – on leads

Lake Lascelles*

Yes

Lake marma*

Yes

Yes – but no jet skis

Yes

walkers lake*

Yes

Yes - but no jet skis

Yes

Lake Bellfield#

Yes

Lake Fyans#

Yes

Lake Lonsdale#

Dock Lake^

EMPTY

Pine Lake

NOT IN SERVICE

Natimuk lake^

EMPTY

Yes

Lake Hindmarsh

LOW LEVEL

Yes

Lake Albacutya^

EMPTY

Batyo Catyo

LOW LEVEL Yes

Yes

# GWMWater storage.

EMPTY *Supplied by the Wimmera-Mallee Pipeline.

^Lakes empty at time of printing.

Some information courtesy of GWMWater. Some conditions might be subject to change.

Bulk Meats – Old Fashioned Smoked Smallgoods

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Page 26

Toilet

• Home-made cabana, stras & salami

Murray cod Trout

Caravan Park

Lake Buloke^

Lake Bellfield

Yellowbelly

Camping permitted

Green Hill Lake

moora moora

Silver perch Redfin

iv ar er

Dad and Dave Weir

Boat ramp

Swimming

Glenorchy Weir

Distribution Heads

river

Weirs

walkers lake

Power boats Water skiing allowed & jet skis

Water Body

GREEN HILL lake

cre

*Map not to scale riv

LifeStyle 2018

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Page 27

recreational water lake albAcutya

Beulah Weir Pool

Jeparit

lake hindmarsh

Horsham

wimmera

natimuk lake

dock lake green lake

LAKE WALLACE lake toolondo

pine lake

river

LAKE BULOKE

mbiack

Warracknabeal Weir Pool

Dimboola

EEK

Brim Weir Pool

Donald Caravan Park Lake

yarria

lake lascelles

BATYO CATYO taylors lake

MARMA LAKE

Huddlestons Weir

zie

will iam cre ek

Riv

glenelg

lake lonsdale

rocklands

Radial Gates

Catfish

Lake wartook

lake fyans

Stawell Diversion Weir

fya

Wannon Diversion Weirs

www.theweeklyadvertiser.com.au

Dogs allowed

Yes

No – caravan park only

Yes

No – caravan park only

Yes

Yes – camping areas only

Yes

Moora Moora reservoir#

Yes

Yes – camping areas only

Rocklands reservoir#

Yes

Yes – camping areas only

Yes

Taylors Lake#

Yes

Yes – camping areas only

Yes

Lake Toolondo#

Yes

No – caravan park only

Yes

Lake Wartook#

Yes

Green Lake#

Yes

Beulah weir pool*

Yes

Yes – camping areas only

Yes

brim weir pool*

Yes

Yes – camping areas only

Yes

warracknabeal weir pool*

Yes

donald ‘foletti’ caravan park lake*

Yes

Yes – on leads

Lake Lascelles*

Yes

Lake marma*

Yes

Yes – but no jet skis

Yes

walkers lake*

Yes

Yes - but no jet skis

Yes

Lake Bellfield#

Yes

Lake Fyans#

Yes

Lake Lonsdale#

Dock Lake^

EMPTY

Pine Lake

NOT IN SERVICE

Natimuk lake^

EMPTY

Yes

Lake Hindmarsh

LOW LEVEL

Yes

Lake Albacutya^

EMPTY

Batyo Catyo

LOW LEVEL Yes

Yes

# GWMWater storage.

EMPTY *Supplied by the Wimmera-Mallee Pipeline.

^Lakes empty at time of printing.

Some information courtesy of GWMWater. Some conditions might be subject to change.

Bulk Meats – Old Fashioned Smoked Smallgoods

Yabbies

Page 26

Toilet

• Home-made cabana, stras & salami

Murray cod Trout

Caravan Park

Lake Buloke^

Lake Bellfield

Yellowbelly

Camping permitted

Green Hill Lake

moora moora

Silver perch Redfin

iv ar er

Dad and Dave Weir

Boat ramp

Swimming

Glenorchy Weir

Distribution Heads

river

Weirs

walkers lake

Power boats Water skiing allowed & jet skis

Water Body

GREEN HILL lake

cre

*Map not to scale riv

LifeStyle 2018

• Christmas homecooked ham on bone • Discount bulk meats

• Chorisos • Kransky

sts Roast meat speciali

In-Shop Smokehouse

Family owned and operated butcher shops for more than 38 years

• Lamb • Beef • Pork • Chicken

Fresh Seafood every Wednesday & Thursday LifeStyle 2018

www.theweeklyadvertiser.com.au

Page 27

Shining a light onto I

By Dean Lawson

t is hard to imagine day-to-day life without household electricity. We automatically bring light to a world of darkness with a flick of a switch and then continue to make the most of the advantages of having a ready supply of energy at our fingertips. But there was a time for many in the Wimmera when having an electrical lighting system in a house was a luxury and generating power to efficiently make this happen was a challenge. Understanding such circumstances provided Horsham hobby mechanical engineer George Smith, 77, with inspiration for one of his long-term projects. Mr Smith, who spent his working life with the former Country Roads Board as a machinery operator, these days delights in tinkering with old motors in his workshop. And it was a unique project that caught his attention that not only satisfied his passion but also provided a snapshot into Wimmera history. Many years ago, in the mid 1940s, Ossie Rule, a community personality, created an engineering plant to provide the first house

in Pimpinio with electric lighting. The arrival of mains power and rapid advances in technology eventually superseded the need for the old plant and for many years it sat idle, gathering dust in a shed at Pimpinio. Mr Smith rescued the plant, which was most likely destined for the rubbish dump, and methodically returned it to working order. Now, when Mr Smith wheels the machine from his shed, it only takes a few cranks of the handle to get it rumbling back to life. On completion of the project, Ossie’s son Noel thanked Mr Smith on behalf of Ossie’s descendants for restoring the plant ‘to a better condition than it was when first built’. “Without his efforts it would have been consigned to the rubbish tip and never been heard of, or seen, to remind younger generations to understand the ingenuity of people of that era,” Noel Rule wrote. Mr Rule explained in the letter the background of the lighting plant, which ran out of a shed in the front yard.

He wrote a four-cylinder Willys Overland engine, complete with radiator and supported in part by an original chassis on four legs, included a magneto to provide a spark for ignition and avoid the need for a battery. The engine ran on only one of the cylinders and drove a starter-generator from a Dodge car to create 12-volt electricity. Mr Rule explained that petrol was scarce in the region after the Second World 123x155 - BreastScreen LifeStyle Wimmera War and the subject of rationing, so theAd.pdf 1

plant had two fuel tanks – a relatively small one for petrol and larger one for kerosene. The operator started the engine with a crank handle, initially using petrol before switching to the cheaper and more freely available kerosene. “Os wired the house to every room by 14/08/2018 PM along external1:48:01 wires

the door frames and

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LifeStyle 2018

its creation architraves with separate switches to each room,” Mr Rule wrote. “He could not afford batteries to store electricity, so he started the engine when it got dark and turned it off when he went to bed.” Mr Smith said he had known Ossie Rule well through family connections, which made the project even more satisfying. “I’ve always been mechanically minded. I like to find out how things work so I pull them to pieces and put them back together again,” he said. “I do up a lot of old motors and when I left the CRB I restored an old kerosene Chamberlain tractor. That pretty much got me going. “The lighting plant has something pretty special and you know, I’ve never had to do a thing to that old motor and it never uses a drop of oil.” Mr Smith said he was unsure what he would ultimately do with the lighting plant but for the moment he would keep it operational while he worked on other projects. The latest project in his shed involves exploring the potential of an old Wisconsin engine.

George Smith

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Page 29

A love affair with By Sarah Scully

hen Jodie Holwell was 10 years old, her parents took her to see Ararat Musical Comedy Society’s first production of The Mikado. The exciting combination of music, drama and colourful costumes had a major impact on a young Jodie, who decided one day she too would take to the stage. Her first experience with the Gilbert and Sullivan opera would turn out to be one of several. Ten years later Jodie played one of the ‘three little maids’ in the Stawell Musical Ensemble – now known as SPACi – version of The Mikado. In 2015, she directed Ararat Musical Comedy Society’s second production of the comedic opera set in Japan. Jodie joined the society in 2001. “I had been involved with Stawell Musical Ensemble for more than 17 years but I moved closer to Ararat in 2001, so I decided to join the Ararat group,” she said. “It was well known for staging quality productions and I have not been disappointed.” Jodie, 51, said she enjoyed the positive

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and inclusive atmosphere the society offered. “We have a lot of laughs, both on and off stage, and the friendships I have made along the way have been really special,” she said. “Of course, I love performing on stage – nothing beats that feeling of stepping out onto a stage once the music starts.” Jodie is dedicated to the performing arts, whether it be singing, dancing, acting or a combination of the three. She has long juggled performing with full-time work – Jodie was a long-time

editor of The Ararat Advertiser and has moved into a community liaison officer role at East Grampians Health Service – as well as helping raise a family with her husband, Grant Johnson. “I have performed in 40 musical theatre productions in 35 years,” Jodie said. “Yes, they all involve a lot of physical and mental work and require a lot of commitment, but they are worth it – yes, I am a music-theatre tragic.” Of those 40 shows, one in particular stands out. “I was lucky enough to perform in Les Miserables with Horsham Arts Council many years ago and nothing has ever topped it since,” Jodie said. She said it had been her dream – along with that of another long-time Ararat Musical Comedy Society member, Jodie’s best friend and singing ‘partner in crime’ for more than 40 years Leanne McCready – to bring Les Miserables to Ararat. “After three years of planning and hard work we will realise that dream when Les Miserables opens at Ararat Town Hall in June 2019,” Jodie said. “I have always loved the role of Eponine in Les Mis – it was a bucket-list role – but sadly, I’m way too old now.

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LifeStyle 2018

the stage “I would love to play one of the character Donna’s hilarious friends in Mama Mia though, that would be great fun.” Jodie said another highlight of performing in smaller communities was the opportunity to do so with family and friends. She performed on stage with her mother Terry Holwell in Stawell, while her father Ian worked backstage. “I met my husband Grant eight years

ago and dragged him along to audition for Chicago… he got one of the lead roles and we have been performing together on stage ever since,” Jodie said. “I consider myself lucky because all my closest friends are involved in theatre, Ararat Musical Comedy Society in particular. “I’m very blessed to be able to share so many wonderful memories on stage with my family, husband and best friends.”

Jodie Holwell and her husband Grant Johnson perform in Ararat Musical Comedy Society’s production of Pirates of Penzance.

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‘If you stop learning, By Jenny Shand

hen Helen Fleming, 74, attends Scrabble and cryptic crossword classes at Horsham-based U3A, she’s adding to her weekly exercise tally. “I think it’s the mental fitness that people of a certain age value – after all, we’re not dead yet,” she said. “And we need to exercise our brains. If you’re on your own you are talking to yourself or your pets – at least if you go to class you get to talk to other people.” The Horsham woman joined Horsham and District U3A’s ranks after returning to live in the Wimmera capital in 2010. She is one of a record 316 people aged between 70 and 90 years enrolled with the mature-age learning organisation, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in Horsham last month. The organisation’s classes range from physical exercise to culture, craft and recreation and all sessions are run by volunteers. U3A, which stands for University of the Third Age, is all about education and stimulating people’s minds and Helen is proud to be part of the mix.

She is a U3A committee member, helps run the Scrabble class and organises set-up for a tai chi class. “I got involved the year I arrived back here and I joined a crossword group,” Helen said. “I really just needed something to occupy my time and the more I got to know members the more I felt the need to help seniors in Horsham. “There seemed to be so many people who didn’t have a reason to leave their house, and getting them involved in U3A gave them a reason to do just that. And that’s good.” With enrolments at an all-time high, Helen believes the university is a vital part of Horsham’s landscape. She sees the social, mental and physical benefits of participation every time she witnesses a class in action. And, when she attends Scrabble and crossword classes, she knows her brain is in for a good workout. “I have been playing Scrabble for so many years and we all just love playing,” Helen said. “We’ve got a pretty good working knowledge of the English language and putting that to use is a lot of fun.” Helen started building that knowledge

base from a young age at her grandmother’s direction. As an 11-year-old girl, her grandmother would point her to a set of Encyclopaedia Britannica and urge her ‘start reading’ when it was too wet to play outside. “I thought ‘Oh gosh, this is terrible’,” Helen laughed. “But I actually read the entire 26 volumes and atlas over a three-year period. Every time I came home from school I’d sit and read and couldn’t put it down and the knowledge sticks in your brain. “You might not be able to recall it immediately, but it comes to you.” The Horsham classes are attracting interest further afield than the Wimmera. Helen keeps getting emails from people in Horsham, Sussex, wanting to enrol in art classes after seeing them online, not realising they are being held on a different continent. “U3A is an enormous, worldwide organisation,” she said. “I always email these people back and say ‘If you want to get a flight to Australia you would be most welcome’.’’ With so many classes on offer, Helen urges people to join the U3A family as participants, tutors or organisers. She’s adamant U3A fills an important role

for Wimmera people who have left full-time work – the third age – and is proud to be part of the organisation. “It gives me a reason to get out of bed. And, being on the committee and class co-ordinator, I’ve got quite a lot of work to do,” Helen said. “It keeps me occupied and I can see firsthand what people get out of it.” The U3A phenomenon started in France in 1973 and reached Melbourne by 1984. There are more than 260 groups like Horsham’s across the nation, with a total membership of about 90,000. Horsham and District U3A president Bob McIlvena said while membership was open to all mature-age people in the community, there was no set ‘lower’ age.

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you stop living’ With headquarters in the old Horsham Railway Station, the U3A’s classes cover a broad range of interests. Whether you want to try your hand at table tennis, bridge, conversational French or Italian, or are keen to join a seated gentle exercise class, a computer club, a gardening group, watch film classics or try pastels and acrylic painting, the organisation has you covered. It also introduced line dancing and tai chi classes this year for the first time. “We’ve even got a grumpy old wrinkles class,” Bob laughed. “That’s where we all get together and have a grump about rates, neighbours, dogs and anything that’s annoying them – the local council gets a hammering.” Bob said U3A gave people a chance to participate and learn – whether they stride into class or move carefully using a walking aid. “It’s for people who have reached an age where their working life might be over and their bodies might tell them to quit, but their brain still wants to keep going,” Bob said. “They want the opportunity to learn more or to share the experience they’ve gathered in their life with others. If you stop

learning, you stop living.” Bob marvels at the collective experience and knowledge that lies within Horsham and District U3A’s membership. It’s underused and that, he says, is a waste for the community at large. “I often think the authorities and councils miss out a bit by dismissing people who come of age, leave the workforce and take years of practical experience with them,” he said. “And I’ve always thought there should be an opportunity to use this knowledge by perhaps forming a committee of these retirees with special expertise.” Bob has been president of the U3A for about four years now and loves seeing the pleasure people get from attending classes. “U3A has created an opportunity for senior citizens to carry on and participate in something that gives them enjoyment and sharing,” he says. “And they can go home with a sense of having achieved something.” • For more information, visit www. horshamu3a.org.au, phone 5382 6654 or write to PO Box 706, Horsham 3402.

Helen Fleming enjoys a game of Scrabble.

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Page 33

Margaret Hunter Dimboola CWA

y mother was born in New Zealand of Scottish parents in 1890 and traditional home cooking has always been part of my family. This pudding has been passed down through our family and is still enjoyed today. Just the other day my 32-yearold grandson Nathan, of Horsham, asked me to show him how to make this pudding. He is a good cook so I am pleased to pass it on to him. At Dimboola CWA we would be pleased to welcome any ladies to come visit us and learn more about The Country Women’s Association of Victoria. This year CWA is celebrating its 90th birthday. People can call 5389 1976 or email mahunter4@bigpond.com.

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Helen Slattery Nhill Twilight Branch, CWA

his is a sponge recipe that’s evolved over time, which tends to get a good response from all who try it. The recipe is for two sponges and my suggestion is to stick to tradition and use cream and passionfruit – a bit of passion, after all, goes a long way. I’m among many enthusiastic cooks who regularly make cakes for sale at Nhill’s community Lowana Craft Shop. I also do some produce judging at regional shows. Members of Country Women’s Association Nhill Twilight Branch meet at 7.30pm on the third Wednesday of every month. Come and join us. People can call 5391 1529 to inquire.

Page 34

teaspoon of bicarb soda; 1/2 cup of sugar. Pour over a cup of boiling water and stir. Add one cup of self-raising flour and 1/2 cup of plain flour; 2 cups mixed fruit; 1 teaspoon mixed spice. Stir well and leave overnight. The next day, place in a greased steamer basin or a pudding cloth and boil for 2 1/2 hours. To prepare cloth, dip in boiling water, wring out and coat with plain flour. Place mixture in the centre and tie with string, leaving a little room for expansion. Place basin or cloth in a large pot of boiling water – keep it boiling all the time – replace only with boiling water. Serve with cream, brandy sauce or custard. For Christmas you can add extra fruit, spice, nuts and spirit of your choice. It is good cold the next day too.

Sponge

Ingredients: 5 eggs separated Pinch of salt 3/4 of cup of caster sugar 1 1/2 cups of cornflour l teaspoon bicarbonate of soda l teaspoon cream of tartar Method: Beat egg whites with pinch of salt until thick, add caster sugar while beating carefully. Beat for a couple of minutes then add egg yolks until mixed. Sift cornflour, bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar into mixture and fold until mixed. Bake for 30 minutes at 180 degrees Celcius or until cooked. Spray and paper 8-inch tins. Enjoy, and good luck.

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LifeStyle 2018

CWA secrets Jess Cass Stawell CWA

his recipe is famous in my family and is a staple at Christmas time. It was a highly kept secret but after several attempts, I think I have worked out mum’s recipe. The Stawell Branch always welcomes new members. You can find us on Facebook under ‘CWA Stawell Branch’ or email us at cwastawell@gmail.com.

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Forward with D

Kola Kennedy

By Jenny Shand

a challenge I am much better off. I elevate internally and go at it.” Kola, who changed her name from Elizabeth by deed poll when she was 21, takes that same approach to her life in the Wimmera. She’s been a hard-working, humble thread in the region’s fabric for the past 45 years and is currently president of Horsham Combined Probus Club, on Dooen Hall committee, a Justice of the Peace and treasurer of the JP’s local branch as well as a Wimmera Volunteers’ driving mentor. She’s also just finished a six-month stint on an older persons reference group reporting to the Horsham Rural City Council. In the past two decades Kola has travelled solo to Israel, Europe, England, Canada and the United States, adorned with a biker’s badge declaring her Property of Jesus. She’s completed the famous climb over Sydney Harbour Bridge. And she’s flung herself out of a plane over the flat Wimmera landscape. “I must have been over 60 when I did a sky dive in Horsham with my younger son Damon,” Kola said. “They said ‘Come on, jump’ and I thought, ‘No bloody person in their right mind jumps out of a plane!’.”

ooen’s Kola Kennedy loves a challenge. Some she’s welcomed, some she’s endured and all she has faced with her back straight, her shoulders square and her eyes on the prize. From a diphtheria diagnosis as a newborn to divorce, single parenthood to sky diving, financial difficulties to farming goats, Kola knows only one approach. And that’s forward with determination and faith. When Kola joined the workforce as a teen – at a prestigious Melbourne law firm – she discovered her hunger to conquer new work skills. She reckons that drive to keep learning is deeply ingrained and enduring. “I was a dogsbody there, I could do anything,” she said of her eight-plus years with the firm in the 1950s and early ’60s. She was fresh out of Stott’s Business College in Camberwell and spent the first week learning how to make the perfect cup of tea, with spoon and biscuit placement paramount. It makes her laugh a bit now. “But the more challenges they gave me, the more I fired up,” Kola said. “And I am still much the same. If I have

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LifeStyle 2018

determination and faith But then she was airborne and falling fast, strapped to her instructor. “I kept my eyes shut for a few seconds and then opened them, thinking, ‘Heck, I’m paying for this’,” she chuckled. Kola’s childhood was split between Melbourne and Alexandra, north-east of the state capital. Her father sailed on the first ship from Australia bound for Egypt and the Second World War in 1939. “He went in December and I was born in September – I might have been my parents’ final fling,” Kola muses. “He didn’t see me until I was 14 or 15 months old.” Her parents divorced when she was young and she lived with her grandmother Sylvia and step-grandfather Jack in Alexandra for much of her schooling. Jack was a professional rabbiter and she loved spending time with the grandparents she adored. “They were tough times but there were boundaries and obligations and commitments,” Kola said of her early years. “My Gram was lovely. My Mum was a machinist and visited every six weeks. I died to see her on a Friday arvo and then I died when I watched her car drive off home

‘

If I have a challenge I am much better off. I elevate internally and go at it

’

– Kola Kennedy down the road on Sunday arvo. As mum drove off, Gram’s arms were always around me. So I was lucky, because I did know pure unadulterated love. But, if Gram said ‘jump’, you said ‘how high?’.” It was a childhood of billy carts, ferreting, digging for rabbits, riding bikes, reading books, chopping wood, school lessons and bush craft. And she remembers crying when she returned to the city to live with her mum at 15 to attend business college. After marriage, a stint in Wagga Wagga and a brief return to Melbourne, Kola, her husband and sons Dean and Damon relocated to Horsham. She vividly remembers a knock on the door the night before they prepared to move from a Pearl Street rental to their 30 acres at Dooen in the mid ’70s. “This man said, ‘I hear you’re moving to the country, you might be able to use this,’’

Kola said. “He handed me a piece of string or tatty rope and when I followed it to the end there was a little goat. He gave me the goat and walked away. So we moved out to Dooen with Margaret – she looked like Margaret Whitlam – and that was the start of our goat herd.” The Angora goat herd grew to about 100 at its peak and remained a key income source in the tough years after her divorce. She threw herself into goat farming and learnt swiftly, with one of her animals taking out champion buck at the Australasian Angora Show in Melbourne in 1989. “When times got tough I learnt to kill goats and sheep and butcher my own meat,” Kola said. “I went three years without a new pair of shoes – I remember that distinctly.” Now the goats are gone. She’s left with two sheep, four chooks and ‘four and a half cats’. The yard cat is crippled, she said, and only moves half as well as its companions. She’s now got time to act as a Wimmera Volunteers’ mentor driver to two men in Horsham. “I take these young men and teach them to drive,” she said. “I was always a good driver, but I’m a

very good driver now. I do mentor driving once a week and it’s another challenge. “But I get as much out of it as they do. And I have to give before I get – it’s the Lord’s rule.” Kola urges people with time on their hands to contribute to their community and reap the rewards. “You look in the mirror and what you see is what you get with me – but what you’ve got, share it,” she urged. “Sit down, write out your skills and abilities, the amount of time you can spare and how you want to spend it and then go and ask who needs your services. “Someone will. After all, if you’ve got to 70 and haven’t learnt anything, then what a waste of time.” Kola has her sights set on another trip overseas next year, with Singapore and Dubai top of the list. But with 80 approaching in less than two years, she’s got to pass the ladder test before giving herself the green light. “While I’ve still got my marbles and can still climb up a ladder, I’m right to travel,” Kola said. “That’s my measuring stick of fitness – but it has to be an extension ladder!”

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egional camera clubs provide photography enthusiasts with a positive environment in which to develop their skills and hone their

craft. Stawell’s long-running club has chalked up 30 years this year and members have been celebrating with a variety of activities and exhibitions around the region. Celebrations kicked off in March with a week-long exhibition at Stawell Entertainment Centre. In June, the club ran its annual exhibition in partnership with Stawell Uniting Church. President Lyn MacKenzie said the club had a successful September and members were thrilled to win an annual Wimmera interclub competition with Nhill and Horsham camera clubs. “At the end of September we were invited to exhibit our work at the Halls Gap Wildflower Show for the first time,” she said. “Our latest activity, as a group, was to help and support the photography section at Stawell Agricultural Society’s annual show on October 27. “We have also continued our monthly activities, which aim to support all members in the expansion of their skills.” Lyn said next year the club planned to run a short course for beginners. “We are very pleased that we are continually growing our membership, which covers all age groups and skill levels,” she said. “We aim to ensure that we learn in a fun, sharing and community-minded way.” People can call Lyn on 5358 1878 or secretary John Tiddy on 5358 2297 for more information.

LifeStyle 2018

Stawell Camera Club members are spoilt for choice when it comes to subjects, whether it is the spectacular vistas of the Grampians, images of life on the land or capturing the people who make the region what it is. Here is a selection of Stawell Camera Club images, clockwise from left, Jessica Hodder’s ‘Farming Glenorchy’; Johyn Tiddy’s ‘CFA fire crew’; Lyn Mackenzie’s ‘Aurora over the Grampians’ and Trudy Russell’s image of Fish Falls. www.theweeklyadvertiser.com.au

Page 39

Rekindling the love By Dean Lawson

hen reflecting on some great moments of childhood, for some of us at least, it can be hard to think beyond what must surely be two of the great Australian pastimes. And of course, these great pastimes that were so consuming, especially during school holidays for many of us growing up in the Wimmera, were fishing or its first cousin, yabbying. For those of us indoctrinated into the piscatorial arts at a young age, many retain a hard-to-describe feeling about using angling as a measure on ways to exploit the great outdoors. It’s a feeling that curiously and in some cases ridiculously, places the pursuit and capture of a ‘good’ fish or handful of freshwater crayfish at the pinnacle of personal achievement. Scientist, doctor, forklift driver, labourer, accountant, checkout operator, newspaper editor – the love for fishing does not discriminate. We’re not sure if it is a primeval genetic code somehow relating to our ancestral desire for the hunt. But we know, similar to the fish we chase,

t a s r e tt a m h t l a e h l a c Lo ACY

that when we’re hooked, we’re hooked. The Wimmera and areas pushing beyond its boundaries have long been a playground for people keen to wet a line in the hunt for ‘the big one’. Whether it be relaxing with a few mates after work on the bank of the Wimmera River or one of its creeks, lobbing a lure into a weir pool or lake or getting decked out for a full-on boating assignment in one of the fish-filled lakes, the region has been rewarding and disappointing – depending on your perspective. While many of the crusty all-knowing old hands have relied on fishing techniques handed down through generations, youngsters or the confident up-and-comers have always explored, analysed and researched every type of reel, rod, spinner, hook, line and bait. Both approaches seem to work, or not work – again, depending on your perspective. For those of us whose early adulthood or childhood spanned the mid-1970s, when much of the country was awash, fishing became second nature. One image forever burnt in the mind from the time is the sight of mobs of children,

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LifeStyle 2018

affair with angling their pushbikes thrown aside from a mad dismount and rush, gathering excitedly on the eastern side of a near-bursting Horsham weir. With streams of water spraying through the cracks in the boards as an overflow poured into a steaming pool below, fishing rods jutted here and there, some bucking violently in response to hook-ups and bites. The youngsters were filling bags and containers with small redfin and after catching their fill, racing off to tell and show their mates and families. At school the occasion generated discussion for weeks. It was perhaps only when the flooded swamps and swollen lakes, which had provided such recreational delight for several decades, began to recede, that interest in the great sport started to ease. During times when drought grips the region, angling and many other water-based sports lose momentum. Enthusiasts lose their favourite fishing haunts, others concentrate on work and family or develop interest in other areas. Fishing rods settle into a long-term dusty home in the corner of the shed and yabby nets start to deteriorate on the shed wall. But for those who have at some stage

enjoyed the thrill of hooking a flying trout on lakes such as Toolondo, Fyans or Wartook, been almost pulled from a boat by a mighty redfin in deep water at Rocklands or managed to entice a mighty yellowbelly or Murray cod to take a bait from a river or lake, it rarely takes much to reignite the fishing flame. It is this type of sensibility that has attracted the attention of not only anglers and yabby hunters, but also community, development and government leaders. There is growing recognition, and now confirmation, of long-held beliefs about the socio-economic benefits of the pastime. Studies have shown recreational fishing is a giant in the undercurrent of society and the response has opened the door for greater consideration by the powers that be for more fish, water and facilities. While it has remained hard to maintain water in some difficult water-management lakes in the broader region, others are now part of strategic top-up schedules. Creating angling and other recreational opportunities are also now front-and-centre when considering water management and distribution as supply. As the water flows, authorities are loading up lakes with juvenile fish and in some

arguable cases establishing better fishing conditions than occurred in the past. While a new batch of Wimmera children – while perhaps fewer in number than in the past – are again taking up the sport, angling is also again presenting fresh opportunities for older members of Wimmera society. Regional fishing competitions are again gathering pace, with Jeparit and Edenhope joining Horsham in presenting major events. These events appear perfect starting points to jump back on the fishing bandwagon. Improved access to waterways via pontoons, tracks and boat ramps is becoming commonplace and we’ve never had more choice in high-quality gear. In contemplating renewed exploration into the sport many of us cherished as children in our part of the world there is only one great element that appears to be holding us back – and that’s the stuff that falls from the sky. But, these days we have a WimmeraMallee Pipeline generating massive water savings, which means the chances of more lakes having some water, and therefore populations of fish, are high. Hmm! Might be time to check out what needs replacing in the tackle box.

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Overcoming fears By Jenny Shand

llswater’s Rhonda Winter is leaving her fears in her wake. In just six months of swimming lessons Mrs Winter, 60, has gone from a non-swimmer scared of the water to proudly powering through the pool. And she’s set her sights on achieving 1000 laps to celebrate her new skill. “At the local swimming pool they have a challenge to do 1000 laps,” Mrs Winter said. “I thought even if it takes me all summer, I’ll do it!” Mrs Winter had steered clear of swimming after being dunked at a young age. After watching her three-year-old granddaughter Amelia swimming confidently, she decided it was time to overcome her fears and signed up for weekly lessons at Horsham Aquatic Centre early this year. “Amelia was jumping into her mum’s arms in the pool and I thought I don’t even have the courage to jump from the side,” Mrs Winter said. After starting lessons in an adult class her swimming skills have increased and so has her confidence. Now she can comfortably swim laps.

“I can go up to three laps, using freestyle and backstroke and when I started I couldn’t even do two strokes,” Mrs Winter said. “And it took me a week to get over that first lesson.” Mrs Winter encourages people, regardless of their age, to learn how to swim. She said people often asked her what it was like taking swimming lessons as an adult. “A lot of people have shown interest at work. I tell them how nervous I was on day one, but even then my teacher has made me feel so comfortable and now it’s just good fun,” she said. With freestyle, backstroke and sidestroke mastered and breaststroke a work in progress, the Edenhope district woman said she was proud of her achievements and credited much of her success to Horsham Aquatic Centre’s instructors and environment. “Other than having professional and kind teachers, you just walk into the centre and see a range of people learning to swim – from babies to people my age, and all abilities,” she said. “Everyone can learn to swim and this constantly reminds me that I can too. It is never too late and you will never look back.”

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D Page 43

How is your knowledge? 1. Grampians Road from Dunkeld to Halls Gap runs between which two Grampians mountain ranges?

25. What was the name of the infamous character who regularly visited the Wimmera and met his end at Peechelba Station in April, 1865?

2. Who was the controversial mother of Queen Elizabeth I? 3. What powdered fruit-flavoured drink released in 1959 gained popularity after NASA used it on John Glenn’s Mercury flight and subsequent Gemini missions?

26. What type of historic aeroplane, occasionally seen in the Wimmera sky, is named after a large member of the cat family crossed with an insect renowned its nocturnal behaviour?

4. Australians were involved in the Korean War, which involved hostilities between North and South Korean forces and their respective allies between June 25, 1950 and July 27, 1953. Which side won the war? 5. What group of insects forming the order Coleoptera, which basically means ‘sheath’ and ‘wing’, makes up almost 25 percent of all known life-forms and about 40 percent of all insect species? 6. What iconic Australian snack food was invented by Bendigo boilermaker-turned football caterer Frank McEncroe, first sold in 1951, and since 1995 has been produced by Simplot Australia, a branch of American J. R. Simplot Company? 7. During floods, which Wimmera-Mallee terminal lake would fill first – Lake Hindmarsh or Lake Albacutya? Also, what is the name of the relatively small 470-hectare lake between Hindmarsh and Albacutya connected to Outlet Creek and part of Lake Albacutya Park? 8. We all know what the term ‘going berserk’ means. The term is derived from fierce medieval warriors reputed to have fought with a trance-like fury. Where did they come from? 9. What was the Australian AE2, which famously made it through what and into where during the First World War? 10. Swallows are aerobatic masters we often see in hot pursuit of insects against a setting Wimmera skyline. Swallows, like most perching birds, are anisodactyl, unlike most parrots which are zygodactyl. What does this mean? 11. What is the common name of the collection of lymphoid tissue facing into the aerodigestic tract?

Lifestyle W drawn a immera has 35-que snapsh stion ot of The W from the archiv es eekly A dve weekly quiz as rtiser’s a test. Care questio ful, while so me ns of the will be easy, a some n s w obviou e s as th rs aren’t as ey mig ht see m.

27. What is the alternative and more common name for a bush thick-knee? A border collie plays amongst the locusts at Dudley Cornell Park during a plague. Picture: BARRY KING 12. In the Chuck Jones Loony Tunes animated cartoons, what bombastic character shares a name with an equally famous North American national park?

19. What 1966 iconic Italian Spaghetti Western film, directed by Sergio Leone and shot in Spain, starred Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach?

13. What is the fundamental difference between ale and lager beer?

20. According to the long-running Australian television advertisement and jingle, what are you eating when you ‘feel it crumble and melt in your mouth...?’

14. The ancient mythological griffin was a cross between what two creatures? 15. Which one of these is the most out of place? Murray cod. Macquarie perch. Silver perch, Golden perch. Eel-tailed catfish. Brown trout. 16. According to the historical writings of Suetonius, the Roman emperor Caligula, 37 to 41AD, planned to make Incitatus a consul, which represented the highest political office of his empire. What was fundamentally wrong with Caligula’s plans? 17. The Wimmera centre of St Arnaud is named after French marshal Jacques Leroy de Saint Arnaud who was commander-inchief of the army of the East during what international conflict? 18. Member for Wimmera Alexander Wilson, first elected to the Federal House of Representatives in 1937, famously joined independent Arthur Coles, with whom he shared the balance of power, in crossing the floor in 1941 to put what leader and political party in charge of the country?

21. What was the other name for Temujin, who lived from 1162 to 1227, followed the Tengrism religion, promoted governance based on meritocracy and was responsible for one of the greatest empires in history? 22. Many people growing up in the Wimmera have fond memories of popular culture surrounding childhood food. Name the animated or cartoon animal mascots associated with Paddle Pop ice-creams, Coco Pop cereal, Billabong ice-creams and Froot Loop cereal in the Australian market. 23. True or false? Locust plagues that sweep across the Wimmera-Mallee involve the same biblical species that threatens agricultural production in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. 24. Are cricket balls used in international test-match cricket encased in four or two pieces of leather sewn together?

28. What southern Mallee township is named after a Scottish aristocrat, known as Viscount Aithrie and then the 1st Marquess of Linlithgow after returning to England from Australia where he had been Victorian Governor from 1889 to 1895? 29. Pyrokinesis is an unproven but alleged psychic ability to control what? 30. How many soldiers were in a Roman legion? A. 2000. B. 4000. C. 6000. D. 8000 31. A baby echidna is called a puggle, a baby cat a kitten, a baby dog a pup and so on. What is a baby Tasmanian devil called? 32. True or false? In 1988 a Portuguese shipwreck found deep in sand dunes near Warrnambool by researchers using ultrasound technology has since been confirmed as the fabled Mahogany Ship? 33. Many consider Martin Luther and John Calvin, both significant figures from the 1500s, as the primary champions of the Protestant Christian faith. From an historical time frame, who was the first of the two reformers? 34. What song written by Chip Taylor and originally recorded by American band The Wild Ones provided another band called The Troggs with a major international hit in 1966? 35. The saltwater crocodiles that inhabit northern Australia have nictitating membranes which are another name for what?

Answers: 1. Mt William Range to the east and Serra Range to the west. 2. Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII. 3. Tang. 4. Neither. With the United Nations, Chinese and Soviet Union all involved, hostilities ended in a military stalemate and armistice. More than 2.5-million civilians alone were either killed or wounded. 5. Beetles. 6. Chiko Roll. At the height of its popularity in the 1960s and ’70s 40-million Chiko Rolls were sold annually in Australia. 7. Lake Hindmarsh is the most southern-most of the two. Ross Lake sits between them. 8. Scandinavia. ‘Berserk’ comes from Viking Beserkers which, according to legend and folklore, were commissioned to royal courts as bodyguards and shock troops. The 1980s song ‘Berserk Warriors’ by Australian pop band Mental as Anything is in reference to the break-up of Scandinavian supergroup ABBA. 9. The HMAS AE2 was a submarine, one of two in the Royal Australian Navy. It navigated through the heavily mined Dardanelles during the Gallipoli campaign and was the first submarine to enter the Sea of Marmara inside Turkish territory. 10. It’s toe arrangement. Anisodactyl birds have three toes pointing forward and one back. Zygotactyl birds have two toes pointing forward and two pointing backwards. 11. Tonsils. 12. Yosemite Sam. Yosemite National Park is in central California. 13. They are made from different types of yeast that dictate the temperature at which the beer is fermented and ultimately the taste of the product. Ales are fermented at warmer temperatures and shorter time spans than lagers. 14. Lion and Eagle. It had the body tail and back legs of a lion and the head, wings and front-feet talons of an eagle. 15. The exotic Brown trout. All the others are Australian freshwater fish native to the Murray-Darling river system. 16. Incitatus was a horse. It remains historical conjecture whether this was a sign of Caligula’s madness or simply a satirical political prank. 17. Crimean War. 18. The ALP’s John Curtain. Wilson, a Victorian United Party representative, and Cole voted against the budget, bringing down Arthur Fadden’s minority Country Party government. 19. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. 20. A Cadbury chocolate Flake bar. 21. Genghis Khan. He was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire. 22. Paddle Pop lion, Coco Pop monkey, Billabong kookaburra, Fruit Loops toucan. 23. False. Our locust is the Australian plague locust or Chortoicetes terminifera, a native Australian insect. It is different to the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria. 24. Four. Many domestic, regional and junior competitions use two-piece balls because they are less expensive. There are also rubber-based composite balls. 25. Bushranger Daniel ‘Mad Dog’ Morgan. While Morgan was bailing up the station, a stockman shot and fatally wounded him. 26. Tiger Moth. 27. Curlew, or bush-stone curlew. 28. Hopetoun. John Adrian Louis Hope was also The 7th Earl of Hopetoun and known as Lord Hopetoun. He was also Australia’s first Governor-General. 29. Fire. The phenomenon was the basis for the successful science fiction book Firestarter by novelist Stephen King. 30. C. 6000. Each legion was divided into 10 cohorts and each cohort had six centuria. 31. It is a marsupial and therefore a joey. 32. False. Despite popular folklore and various publications outlining eye-witness accounts of the wreck dating back to the 19th century, there is no conclusive evidence it still exists. 33. Luther. When he nailed his theses to the door of a castle church in Germany in 1517, he was 26 years older than Calvin who was eight at the time. 34. Wild Thing. 35. Third eyelids. They are stored in the lower corner of the eye and sweep across the eye as it opens, cleaning and lubricating the eye with fluid from a tear duct. Page 44

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LifeStyle 2018

Mini Cross

010

4 1 3 2 5 5

ALFAKODO Alfakodo N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

B+M B-O O-C H÷V O+P A+K G+O M+C H-K A+A Z-H C-Q S-P

ACROSS 1 Moved towards 5 Employed 6 Echo 7 Move gently

DOWN 1 Preserve 2 Continent 3 Belonging to males 4 Boundary

L A A A I T R O A V W A S

I B V R R L I A R E F H C

Bell Birth Caged Can Cap Corridor Disco Ear

K Y A A E D V L L L E B O

S S H L B T X J T R A P O

L F P K M G V Q O J I G B

Y E S A E X E D O D I I O

T A N A M K I L O G R A M

H E G C E R O E N T U V N

8 10

ACROSS 1 Pour off leaving sediment 5 Fruit of the oak 8 Altruistic love 10 Singer 12 Drawing implement 13 Dirt-moving implements 14 Meadow 15 Oozed out 18 Fact 21 Uncommon 22 Carry 24 Soaked food 26 Essential being 27 Level 28 Animal 29 Calm 31 Donkey 33 Put back 35 Attribute 37 Says further 38 Requires 39 Combine 40 Stifled laugh

15 18

27 29

33 35

38 39

N A A O F F E R E D B G R

L A C I T A M E H T A M I

Skill Tan Ten Tilt Web Yes

703

P I N O R A L S H W C G B

Maps Mathematical Navy Offered Oral Rail Rake Remembering

Enter Ever Fog Gin Hats Kilogram Lava Leg

Ordinary Crossword

1251

A toaZnumber have a number valueare Letters ALetters to Z have value. Some shown Some in the are right handincells. Create remaining shown the right hand cells values clues values in centre cells. Createusing remaining using clues in centre cells

V×V S-Q V×P F-M M+W C×X R+X Q×V Q×X B+R S-A A+P S÷V

001

Solve the crossword. Each answer has four letters.

Each cell in an outlined block must contain a digit: a two-cell block contains the digits 1 and 2, a three-cell block contains the digits 1, 2 and 3; and so on. The same digit must not appear in neighbouring cells, not even diagonally.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M

I E O T V E N L A

L K N E N T E R G E I T I

DOWN 2 Efface 3 In addition 4 Natural gifts 5 Monkey 6 Condemns 7 Attackers 9 Church recess 11 Break 14 Old stringed instruments 16 Mean sneaking coward 17 Acts 19 Replenishing 20 Shelf around a fireplace 23 Superintend 25 Continue despite opposition 30 Sea eagle 32 Grass-like plant 34 Kiln for drying hops 36 Command to a horse

SUDOKU

ORDINARY CROSSWORD

E I D E G A C K B R D S D

L K N E N T E R G E I T I

L A A A I T R O A V W A S

I B V R R L I A R E F H C

K Y A A E D V L L L E B O

S S H L B T X J T R A P O

L F P K M G V Q O J I G B

WORD FIND

Y E S A E X E D O D I I O

T A N A M K I L O G R A M

H E G C E R O E N T U V N

P I N O R A L S H W C G B

N A A O F F E R E D B G R

L A C I T A M E H T A M I

MINI CROSS ACROSS: 1 Came, 5 Used, 6 Ring, 7 Ease. DOWN: 1 Cure, 2 Asia, 3 Men’s, 4 Edge. 1 2 3 2 5

3 5 1 4 1

1 4 3 2 5

3 2 5 1 4

4 1 4 3 2

SUGURU

S-A S-A A+P A+P S÷V S÷V

7 7

X X Y Y Z Z

Z-H Z-H C-Q C-Q S-P S-P

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K K L L M M

C O R N E A N C I L S D U D E D R A R E E S S E S T D A S S O R E A D D S S G T T E R

1 19

N T A A G A P L P E V E L S N E X U T H S O P B E A R N E R E S T G N I E E D S E T I

5 10 21 22 13 3 18 4

C A L S S H O A T R T E E N R E W S I N R G

D E R B A S L E U T O E V S E R A S E M E

23 8

T U V W X

ALFAKODO

N O P Q R S

LifeStyle 2018

D E F G H I J K L M D E F G H I J K L M 17 25 24 14 15 20 26 12 11 7 17 25 24 14 15 20 26 12 11 7

9 16 6 17 25 24 14 15 20 26 12 11 7

C C 6 6

L M

B B 16 16

A A 9 9

TARGET TIME alive, anvil, eave, ELEVATION, even, event, evil, lave, leave, live, love, naive, native, nave, nova, novel, olive, oval, oven, vain, vale, valet, vane, veil, vein, venal, vent, veto, vial, vine, viola, violate, violent, violet, vital, volt, vote

Z Z 19 19

Y Y 1 1

F G H

X X 4 4

A B C D E

W W 18 18

All the blank cells must be filled in using numbers from 1 to 9. Each number can only appear once in each row, column and in the nine 3x3 blocks.

Solutions V V 3 3

002

R S T U R S T U 10 21 22 13 10 21 22 13

001

Q Q 5 5

Sudoku

P P 2 2

E I D E G A C K B R D S D

178

N O N O 23 8 23 8

Target: Average 23 • Good 29 • Excellent 34+ Using the nine letters in the grid, how many words of four letters or more can you list? The centre letter must be included and each letter may be used only once. No colloquial or foreign words. No capitalised nouns, apostrophes or plural words ending in ‘s’. Reference Source: Macquarie Dictionary

Suguru

Word Find

001

Target Time

Page 45

Cathy living her teaching G

By Sarah Scully

rowing up, Cathy Grace dreamed of being a headmistress of a small primary school. “I wanted to be just like Laura Ingalls Wilder, I loved Little House on the Prairie,” she said. “My grandmother was a teacher, so it was in the blood. “We lived on a farm at Aubrey, about 12 kilometres west of Warracknabeal, and used to come into Horsham regularly. I would look out the window at the Kalkee school and tell my parents that one day I would be a headmistress and it was going to be at a small school, like that one.” About 45 years later, Cathy’s childhood dream became a reality when she was awarded the principalship of Our Lady Help of Christians School at Murtoa. “I was really happy, but a little sad in a sense, because my dad died in 2006 and wasn’t here to see it and celebrate with me,” she said. “Still, he would have been very proud that I persisted and followed my dream.” Cathy started her teaching career in 1987 at Benalla West Primary School. At the end of the year she married her husband Peter

and moved to Melbourne, where she taught at Doveton North Primary School. “We stayed there until we had our two children, Matt and Amy,” she said. “By then I had turned to CRT – casual relief teaching – while I was pregnant and the kids were young. “In 1991 we moved back to Horsham, but because I was on family leave, we still had the option to go back to Melbourne if we didn’t like it. “But we loved Horsham. Peter and I both wanted our children to grow up in the country.” Cathy started relief teaching at Ss Michael and John’s Primary School and it did not take her long to realise that was where she wanted to be. “Straight away I could tell it was a great school,” she said. “There was just something different about these students. They were so tolerant and really respected each other. They understood about people’s differences. I loved the atmosphere and the culture of the school.” After a while, Cathy was appointed to a part-time position, which became a full-time role. She was deputy principal of the school for

‘

There was just something different about these students. They were so tolerant and really respected each other

’

– Cathy Grace 13 years before an opportunity came up at Murtoa in October last year. “Their principal went on leave and I was asked if I wanted to go there on secondment for 12 months,” she said. “It was an opportunity for me to see if principalship in a small school was what I thought it would be – and it was. “I figured it was a great place to get a handle on being a principal – a small school and a beautiful community.” At the end of the 2017 school year, the school’s previous principal resigned. Cathy applied for the ongoing role in June this year and was successful, turning a one-year acting principal term into a sevenyear principal contract. She said she was thrilled to secure the role. “You get to know so much about every single student at a small school,” she said. “You discover their strengths and areas

they need to work on and it allows you to structure their learning, which is important, since it’s all about the kids. “One of the things I love most about the school is that everyone is there for each other. The parents are amazing. In a small town, everyone is willing to put in to ensure the school and Murtoa stay active and continue to grow. “Every day is different and seeing a student blossom before your eyes makes every day worthwhile. Knowing that as a team we make a difference in each of the student’s lives is so rewarding and gratifying.” Cathy oversees 30 students, three teachers, four learning support officers and an administration officer. “We’re really well resourced and it allows us to enhance our teaching and students’ learning as well as personalise their education,” she said. “The students set learning goals and together we identify success criteria for the goals so they can self-assess their learning. Once they achieve a goal they set a new one. We’re setting them up for later in life. “I’m passionate about empowering people to be the best they can be, and helping others do the same.”

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LifeStyle 2018

dream Cathy said she had brought a significant amount of past experience to Murtoa. “We’re working to teach children about self respect and being responsible for their own learning,” she said. “We have made some small changes and are planning some renovations. In the near future we will look to develop a master plan for the school.” Cathy said although she had a busy work schedule, she was committed to a healthy work-life balance. “I’m in a very fortunate position because my husband is retired. He makes sure there is a meal on the table when I get home and keeps home life in order, so I don’t have to stress about those things,” she said. “Our roles have swapped – I used to be the stay-at-home mum when our children were born, and then we both worked fulltime when the kids were at school, and now he’s the domesticated one. It frees me up on weekends and allows that work-life balance. “Peter is very supportive of me pursuing my dream of being a principal. “We also make sure we get away somewhere or do something during every school holiday period. It’s very important for us both to get away from our routines and enjoy some down time together.”

LifeStyle 2018

Cathy Grace

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Win

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f ng many o ing explori rn at o th m lls e a th waterf pend r S o – ts m in a o 0 p 1 ut ou alks, looko dscape. Y the great w utiful Grampians lan ra u ult l bea rambuk C B e th create the to it f Halls pay a vis could also township o e th re lo p x e Centre and k to Gap. ur way bac o y e k a m er you , you will 3pm – Aft Tourist Park Tours e id s e k a L Halls Gap pians Wine p by Gram u d e d beer k ic p be al wine an c lo f o n o o ians - an aftern the Gramp h is n fi to y a is a great w . e c n experie you will Wine tour s n ia p m ra cal pubs, On the G and two lo s rd a y e in p. visit two v at each sto d e d lu c in with drinks back to will return u o Y – m Park for 6.30p ide Tourist s e k a L p a Halls G leisure. t is at your a night tha

Grampians Helicopters Black Ranges ward A e c n e ri e p x E Winning

Fly to Bestâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Winery for an Artisan Picnic Lunch r and underground cella tour

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Steel Cutters Cottage

Our love-apple obsession T

By Dean Lawson

omatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes! What is it about this humble fruit that drives the passion of many a home gardener as soon as there is a hint of spring weather in the air? It seems every would-be as well as legitimate gardener gets into a mad frenzy in search of that perfect seedling, that tiny plant that holds the promise of a rich bounty come summer. Getting the fertiliser and moisture levels right to produce that crop ‘just like grandad’s’ is almost like a coming of age for many Wimmera people. For some, growing a quality tomato can be as important as cooking a perfect barbecue. The market has been quick to recognise this curious fervour and there are now countless hybrids providing tomato crops for everything from sandwiches to sauce and chutneys. The Wimmera, Mallee and Grampians seem to provide the perfect climate for the culinary wonder and the arrival of spring provides the perfect time to seek out that special variety that ‘guarantees’ outstanding results. There are the favourite seedlings that disappear quickly from the shelves – the

ox-hearts to the cherries – as well as those mysterious multi-coloured or boutique varieties inviting investigative plantings. But decisions, decisions! When and when not to plant? To cover or leave open to the elements? To remove or keep leaves anywhere near the ground? To water or not to water? And that quality friable mix of manure, phosphates and potash – does it all really matter what you plant them in? It can sound too hard to get it right. But no matter – the urge is always there to push on regardless and when visiting a nursery there is always a good argument to find room back home in the vegie patch for just one more. The taste of raw tomato can be surprisingly polarising, with many people going to great lengths to remove the fruit from sandwiches. But it is often hard to find anyone who doesn’t mind sampling tomato sauce in its variety of forms. The humble tomato is a wonder fruit and it might come as a surprise that this delicacy comes from the Solanaceae plant family, renowned for producing several highly toxic and potentially deadly species. And while the leaves and stems and unripe fruit of tomato plants are mildly toxic, the

ripe tomato fruit is far from poisonous and in fact highly nutritious. Tomatoes are one of the richest sources of the red carotene lycopene, which many researchers suggest is one of the most powerful disease-fighting antioxidants in the plant world. There are strong arguments that lycopene, especially when concentrated after collapsing the matrix of the fruit through lengthy ripening or cooking, might help in preventing the scourge of the ageing male – prostate cancer. But the benefits are also there for female consumers. There is research suggesting lycopene can strengthen the skin’s resistance to ultra-violet rays, ultimately helping skin look more youthful. Considering the tomatoes ripen in the warmer months when the sun is at its most potent, the timing for a crimson feast is perfect. You can make up your own mind as to why tomatoes in the mid-1500s were called ‘love apples’. Botanists have seized on the nutritional information becoming available and are now breeding hybrid plants with elevated levels of not only lycopene but other nutritional pigments and vitamins.

Global dish

But what a choice! The plants have certainly come a long way since ancient central and south Americans discovered they could eat the cherry-like and possibly yellow fruit of what was more a perennial than annual plant growing in the wilderness. From those first cooking experiments in the Americas hundreds of years BC, the plant found its way to Europe and Asia with the Spanish and found almost a second and third home in Italy and the Middle East and north Africa before reaching North America and the rest of the world including Australia. China now ranks as the biggest producer of tomatoes on the planet, producing tensof-millions of tonnes of fruit a year. While there are now thousands of cultivars developed in countries around the globe, the Wimmera has a long history of producing tomatoes, commercially as well as domestically. One grower in particular, the late Jack ‘Spooks’ Membrey who lived at Haven, gained critical acclaim for developing his own variety of tomato. In the end, all everyone wants to do is grow some backyard tomatoes because nothing comes close to the fruit, also called a culinary vegetable just to confuse matters, when it is allowed to ripen on the vine.

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