EXTRAVAGANZA: Horsham City Pipe Band president Gordon McKenry, pictured with band member Kim Brooks, are warming
at Horsham in September. Pipe bands from Adelaide and across Victoria will competitively
is
to call Liz Minne on 0429 540 127. The event is on September 7 at the Horsham Botanic Gardens.
BY LAUREN HENRY
Adeclaration from two councillors the current council will go ‘down as the worst council in this municipality’s history’ encapsulated Horsham Rural City Council’s meeting on Monday evening.
In what was at times a farcical meeting, all eyes were on the council who had the responsibility of passing the 2024-25 Budget.
As it became clear from the outset of the debate that at least three councillors would not support the draft Budget – which had already missed the State Government’s June 30 deadline – an adjournment was called as councillors left the chamber to discuss in private if Cr Ian Ross’ proposed amendment was allowed to proceed.
Cr Ross held strong in his defence of farmers and the rising farm differential
rates they faced, and he requested the farm differential be lowered to ease the rate burden on rural landowners.
Returning some time later, Mayor Robyn Gulline announced to the full, and at times noisy, public gallery the amendment was not allowed as it was deemed to be an alternate motion.
After a lengthy debate, the original motion was passed, and the 2024-25 Budget was adopted, with Crs Ross, Claudia Haenel and David Bowe voting against. But even the voting procedure caused confusion as Cr Bob Redden thought he was voting on an amended motion.
The process raised the ire of some members of the public gallery, who voiced their disapproval to the extent the mayor entered into a shouting match and ejected at least one person from the chambers.
Cr Haenel interjected, saying she felt
unsafe due to Cr Gulline’s behaviour.
Following the vote on the Budget, the meeting quickly moved to the next item on the agenda – council’s latest community satisfaction survey results.
The mood did not improve in the chambers as Cr Haenel pointed out the council was below the state average on every core measure except customer service interactions – in comparison to neighbouring councils who were celebrating improvements.
Cr Ross was scathing in his assessment.
“We can’t spin our way out of it. Who is responsible? We as councillors are,” he said.
“We’re going down as the worst council in this municipality’s history.
We must do better.”
Cr Les Power said the council ‘probably will go down as the worst council’.
“Why? Because the seven councillors
here don’t really get along too well,” he said.
“Simple as that, and the people out there in the community see that. They also see what we attend, when we attend, and also our briefing meetings and our council meetings.
“People can see that as councillors we’ve got an obligation to come and represent the community.
“This is where we learn about what goes on in the community and what we can do for the community.
“But we fail to actually attend all briefing meetings and discuss what is brought up for us before it comes to a council meeting.
“And when we come to a council meeting, we ask some really dumb questions. And the community sees that.”
For more on the Budget, see page 3 and survey, see page 7.
Council has announced an innovative safety project for the Riverside Bridge area, a popular recreational spot for the community.
The area, which boasts trails on both sides of the Wimmera River, has been a cause for concern due to the narrow parapet on the curved Riverside Road Bridge.
Despite the low pedestrian traffic, the council has received numerous reports about pedestrians using the bridge to connect to different sides of the trail.
Recognising the need for safety improvements, council has successfully applied for $452,500 in funding under the Heavy Vehicle Safety Program to install a low-cost trail-type bridge attachment on the existing structure.
Total project cost is $690,000.
To ensure the project is delivered at the least possible cost, HRCC has conducted the design work in-house and will have council’s concreting team manage footing construction.
Additional funding for surrounding pathways is also being sought from Wimmera Catchment Management Authority (WCMA).
This collaborative effort between HRCC, the Federal Government and WCMA aims to provide safe access for the community around the picturesque Wimmera River.
The project is expected to be completed by June 2025, marking a significant step forward in ensuring the safety and enjoyment of the popular local area.
The Re-Open The Wesley Campaign aims to restore the Roberts Avenue building and give it a fresh purpose as a niche performing arts space.
HRCC previously matched the Wesley Committee’s cash contribution to the project of $225,000 enabling it to kick off a fundraising campaign with $450,000.
The Wesley Committee is now seeking to raise an additional $550,000 from community donations and contributions from corporate and philanthropic entities.
This will allow the Committee to seek a dollar-for-dollar government grant to reach the final target of $2 million.
Horsham Regional Livestock Exchange witnessed a significant increase in sheep and lamb sales at Wednesday’s auction, following a quieter period throughout 2024.
The sale attracted a much higher yarding, with sales up by more than 12,000 head.
Buyers from across the region flocked to the afternoon sale, reflecting the surging demand for livestock.
Horsham Rural City Council Commercial Enterprises Co-ordinator Paul Christopher attributed the surge in numbers to shifts in supply and demand.
“We’ve seen low lamb production throughout the year so far. But now the supply and demand equation has moved in favour of producers,” he said.
“We only had 1500 head last week, and 13600 this week. So it was a significant lift.
“Confidence in the market is high with buyers reacting positively despite the increasing prices trends, and that’s hopefully a sign that we might be in for a stronger few months ahead,” Mr Christopher said.
As the market continues to rebound, the Horsham Regional Livestock Exchange remains a vital hub for the region’s agricultural sector.
As the major regional exchange for the WimmeraSouthern Mallee region, Horsham’s saleyards can attract vendors from as far afield as the South Australian border and southern-New South Wales.
Q38/2024
WAL HUB - LOT 2 SECURITY FENCING
Supply of materials and construction of 395m of chainwire mesh security fence. Closes Friday 26 July
25-001
SUPPLY AND DELIVERY OF STREET TREES Seeking a panel of suppliers for various tree species and pot sizes, generally from 15L to 45L. Closes Wednesday 31 July
25-002
SUPPLY AND DELIVERY OF SEEDLINGS
About 20,000 seedlings, native to the Horsham area, for the Rural Revegetation Program 20252027. Closes Friday 2 August
25-002
SUPPLY AND INSTALLATION OF SIDEWALK ON RIVERSIDE ROAD BRIDGE
Installation of new sidewalk on Riverside Road bridge. Closes Thursday 8 August
All tender, EOI and RFQ details at hrcc.vic.gov.au
Current Community Engagements
For details visit the Have Your Say section of HRCC's website
DRAFT ONSITE WASTEWATER
MANAGEMENT PLAN 2024-2029
In rural areas where connection to the sewerage system is impractical, standalone onsite wastewater systems are used.
These systems, if not properly managed, can pose significant public health and environmental risks. The OWMP, last updated in 2006, has been reviewed and redeveloped to reflect current legislative requirements and improve risk management practices.
The Council invites all community members to participate in the consultation process. The draft plan is available on the Council’s website, social media channels, and in hard copy at the Civic Centre. Submissions will close Wednesday 21 August at 5pm.
Next Council Meeting: August 26, 2024 - 5.30pm Horsham Rural City Council: 18 Roberts Avenue Horsham | Postal
| Phone: (03) 5382 9777 | Email: council@hrcc.vic.gov.au | Web:
BY LAUREN HENRY
Horsham Rural City Council’s 2024-25 Budget narrowly passed at Monday night’s meeting, but not before lengthy debate where three councillors strongly voiced their opposition.
Crs Ian Ross, Claudia Haenel and David Bowe all raised their opposition to the amount the Horsham municipality’s farmers would be charged in rates.
Mayor Robyn Gulline and Crs Les Power, Penny Flynn and Bob Redden voted in favour of passing the Budget.
While a rate cap of 2.75 per cent under the State Government’s Fair Go Rates system applies, farmers face a sharp increase in rates due to rising property valuations.
As outlined in council’s Trigger of Review of Differentials Policy in the Revenue and Rating Plan 2021-2024, an increase greater than 3.5 per cent between two differential rate categories has triggered rates on farm properties to increases with the value of the property.
In a nutshell, because rural property values have significantly increased, farmer rates will increase.
Cr Ross attempted to make an amendment to the motion – to ensure farm and urban share of the rates remained the same percentage as last year and council investigate moving to a floating differential in the next
Vintage motoring enthusiasts are in for a treat next month as MG Car Club Victoria’s Ballarat register conduct a Wimmera tour from August 9 to 12.
Club member Greg Carter said the tour would begin by visiting the Pyrenees wine region, before stops in Ararat and Horsham on the first day.
The following three days will see the tour visit Nhill, Dimboola, Murtoa, Rupanyup and Longerenong, finishing with a lunch in Horsham on August 12.
Club members plan to visit attractions including Summerfield Wines in Moonambel; Ararat’s Langi Morgala Museum and One Tree Hill lookout; Nhill Vintage Machinery Club, Nhill Aviation Heritage Centre and the Australian Pinball Museum in Nhill; Dimboola Imaginarium; Murtoa Stick Shed and Murtoa Museum Precinct; Woods’ Farming and Heritage Museum in Rupanyup; Longerenong Homestead; and the Horsham Military
year – but after much deliberation it was deemed invalid and too much of a change to the Budget.
He said he was concerned the rates had been lowered for residents in urban areas, but not those in rural areas.
“Rates for the rural people have gone up by 12.5 per cent this year, plus the cap, which means there’s effectively another $1 million from the rural people, while effectively the urban one has gone down,” he said.
“We cannot keep on doing this to the rural people. It’s unsustainable, especially with the year we have.
“Member for Wannon Dan Tehan has talked about the drought in the south of the municipality, right through into southern Grampians – the extreme circumstance to keep livestock alive.
“We’re in dire straits, and yet, without any heart or feeling for the rural people, we just keep asking for more money.”
Cr Bowe said he was disappointed with the overall Budget process and the delay associated with the new council system implementation on the budget preparation.
“The differential rates need to be more balanced to avoid placing an unused burden on any single sector,” he said.
“It is critical to ensure transparency and fairness in the rate setting process.
“Our community is already facing significant cost of living increases and these increases in fees, charges and
rates cause further financial strain.”
Cr Haenel said she was concerned about ramification for council and each councillor in adopting a Budget that was in breach of the Local Government Act 2020.
“The Local Government Minister has not granted the extension past the deadline of June 30, 2024. It’s as simple as that,” she said.
Past deadline
While council applied to Local Government Minister Melissa Horne for an extension, council chief executive Sunil Bhalla could not answer councillors’ questions about ramifications of the breach, and said he had not received a formal reply from Ms Horne about the extension, but didn’t ‘believe there’s any reason for council to actually not adopt the Budget’.
Cr Flynn said people in urban areas were doing it just as tough as farmers.
“Many people in our community are doing it tough and we as councillors need to make decisions in the best interest of the whole municipal community – not a small cohort, not who we think is being hard done by,” she said.
“For the last three years I keep hearing how well the farmers have done ... and now I’m hearing that they’re having a bad year, so all the things we do need to be reinvented and changed to help them.
“There may be parts of the Budget that each of us don’t like for whatever reason, or we may not agree with, but
it is our obligation and our responsibility to approve this budget.”
Cr Les Power passed the recommendation for the Budget but said he was concerned about a $200 municipal charge, which he believed was a burden.
“We could go on and on about the Budget and why it should be and why it shouldn’t be put through, but I believe that this budget has been put together, it’s well planned,” he said.
“We’re already over June 30, and to other councillors that are looking on, and to the State Government that’s watching us at the moment, I would say they’ve been thinking we’re a bit of a rabble at the moment, instead of being a successful and prominent council.”
Cr Gulline said the Budget confirmed the council was reliant on state and federal government grants.
“Cost-of-living pressures are impacting on everyone’s budgets and council is no different,” she said.
Cr Gulline said many people, not just the farmers, were ‘asset rich and cash poor’.
“It is important our community understands that the only personal financial information that council is provided with are the property values as reassessed by the Victorian Valuer General on 1 January each year,” she said.
McKenzie Creek farmer Neville McIntyre, who was ejected from the council chamber at the meeting, said he planned to refer the council to Ms Horne following the passing of the Budget and farmers may need to look at refusing to pay the council rates.
“This would have to be the worst budget this council has ever thought of. To give the farmers a total $1.25 million rate increase and to give the residential sector a $1 million rate reduction is probably the most ridiculous thing this council has ever done,” he said.
“There’s been a 16.5 per cent rate increase for farmers and 7.5 per cent decrease for residential.”
“As I’ve said so many times before, fair depends on the seat you are sitting on.” The $62-million Budget includes capital works of $26.261 million, made up of $10.430 million in new projects; $14.823 million in renewal; and $1.008 million in upgrades. The capital works program will be funded by $7.889 million in grant funding and $17.841 million in council cash from operations, reserves and investments. Specific projects funded by the council in the Budget include $1.191million for Horsham City Oval netball court clubrooms; $492,000 for detailed planning to relocate council’s works depot and a further $900,000; $1.8 million to purchase a new site for the depot; and $1 million for relocation costs. There is also $150,000 allocated to planning and design of a Wimmera Regional Sports Stadium.
Collection. Mr Carter said the club’s Wimmera-based members chose locations for the tour they had wanted to visit for years.
“The four day tour is to visit attractions we Wimmera locals often drive past intending to take a look and say
‘we must go there one day’,” he said.
“A regular tour on the MG calendar for many years was The Gathering of The Faithful in Wagga Wagga, but sadly that event fell away.
“Last year a very successful tour of Mt Gambier filled that space.
“The MG Car Club Ballarat Register captain asked if we could arrange something in the Wimmera.
“It has been a great pleasure to have enthusiastic local people to help put this tour together and showcase our spectacular region Wimmera.”
SHOWCASE: Horsham MG owners, from left, Dave Taylor with his 1970 MG B Mk2, Ian Jarred, 1968 MG B Mk2a, Kevin Johnson, 1972 MG BL, Peter and Dawn Wood, 1968 MG B, Steve Harwood, 1964 MG B Mk 1, and Greg Carter 2004 MG Z 5180, will join MG Car Club Victoria’s Ballarat register tour of the Wimmer next month.
PAUL CARRACHER
MG is a British automotive brand founded in the 1920s, and has a long association with motor racing. Mr Carter said the tour would include a rare MGR V8, which was produced in limited numbers, as well as a one-off MG Special built in Horsham.
Section
Quick-attach
categories of voters can be enrolled to vote in the Horsham Rural City Council election: State-enrolled
State-enrolled voters
Am I enrolled to vote?
You are automatically enrolled for this election if: you will be 18 years of age or over on Saturday 26 October 2024 and you live in the Rural City of Horsham and you are on the State electoral roll for your current address. You need to enrol if:
• you are an Australian citizen aged 18 or over on Saturday 26 October 2024 and
• you live in the Rural City of Horsham and you are not on the State electoral roll or
• you have lived at your current residential address within the Rural City of Horsham for at least a month and have not yet updated your enrolment details, including any changes to your postal address.
How do I enrol?
You can enrol online at vec.vic.gov.au
You can also download an enrolment form from the website.
All enrolment applications must be received by the Victorian Electoral Commission by the close of roll at 4 pm on Wednesday 7 August 2024.
How can I check my State enrolment?
You can check your enrolment details online at vec.vic.gov.au at any time, or call 131 832.
Am I enrolled to vote?
To be a Council-enrolled voter, you must be: 18 years of age or over on Saturday 26 October 2024 and not a State-enrolled voter within the Rural City of Horsham.
New rules mean you are no longer automatically enrolled if you are a non-resident property owner (e.g. a landlord or a business owner that pays rates). If you are a non-resident property owner within the Rural City of Horsham, you need to apply to enrol if you wish to vote in the Horsham Rural City Council election.
Who else can enrol & vote?
You may also apply to enrol if:
• you have purchased a rateable property within the Rural City of Horsham since the last election but you are not a resident of the Rural City of Horsham, or
• you are not an Australian citizen and you live in, and pay rates for, a property within the Rural City of Horsham, or
• you pay rates on a property you occupy within the Rural City of Horsham and have no other voting entitlement within the Rural City of Horsham, for example you are a shop tenant and pay rates to the Council for your tenancy, and you have no other voting entitlement within the Rural City of Horsham, or
• you are a director or company secretary of a corporation within the Rural City of Horsham that pays rates to Horsham Rural City Council and you have no other voting entitlement within the Rural City of Horsham.
How do I apply to be a Council-enrolled voter?
If you meet any of the above criteria and wish to enrol, contact Horsham Rural City Council on 5382 9777 for a council enrolment form. Council enrolment forms must be received by the Council by the close of roll at 4 pm on Wednesday 7 August 2024
How can I check if I am Council-enrolled?
You can check your enrolment details by contacting the Council on 5382 9777.
Thinking about standing for election?
To nominate as a candidate for Horsham Rural City Council, you must: be an Australian citizen and enrolled on the voters’ roll for Horsham Rural City Council and be eligible to become a councillor and have completed the mandatory candidate training provided by Local Government Victoria before lodging your nomination with the Election Manager.
For further information, visit vec.vic.gov.au
Enrolment closes 4 pm Wednesday 7 August 2024
State-enrolled voters can register for free VoterAlert SMS and email reminders at vec.vic.gov.au
Member for Lowan Emma Kealy and Member for Mildura Jade Benham have declared the loss of childcare services at Hopetoun and Kaniva as a ‘devastating blow to families’.
Uniting Vic Tas’s Hopetoun ChildCare Centre closed in April this year, and Ms Kealy believes the Kaniva service will follow in the same direction due to a lack of qualified staff.
But a Uniting spokesman has denied the Kaniva childcare service would close.
He said the Kaniva service had closed for ‘a few days’ this year due to staff illness, but there were no plans to permanently close. “We support all
Piano solos, brass and woodwind, choirs, and a Taylor Swift section are featured in the Wimmera Music Eisteddfod’s program at Horsham, starting Friday.
Eisteddfod committee member
Sandra Kitchen said a lot of entries had been received for the annual competition.
“It’s a great opportunity for children to perform, and really, there are no other opportunities like this,” she said.
While the competition is mostly for primary and secondary school-aged children, there are open-age vocal and instrumental sections.
“There are several sections – for solos, duets and trios, which are fun,” she said.
The two-day event features a strong involvement in piano and vocal, ranging from novice through to championship levels.
efforts by community leaders to attract attention to the workforce issues in early learning, especially in rural and regional areas,” he said.
“However, we want to reassure the community the Kaniva Early Leaning Centre operated by Uniting Vic Tas is not closing.”
A spokesman said Uniting Vic Tas had been working closely with Yarriambiack Shire Council and other community groups in an effort to reopen the Hopetoun service.
“A community meeting was held on Thursday with the council, Uniting and Emerge Early Years Services where families were updated on future plans for the service,” he said.
Ms Benham said the closure of vital
“Our communities need urgent government assistance. We cannot continue to see essential services like childcare disappear due to staffing shortages”
– Emma Kealy
childcare centres due to a lack of qualified staff cut deep in communities.
“It is not just the loss of a childcare centre, it is the loss of a community hub, a place of learning, and a source of support for many families,” she said.
“As things stand, too many regional communities are classified as ‘child-
care deserts’ – meaning there are more than three children competing for each place at local childcare facilities.”
With limited childcare options in rural areas, working parents will face significant challenges balancing their professional responsibilities with the need to find suitable and affordable childcare.
Ms Kealy said The Victorian Nationals were working hard to address the ongoing childcare crisis in regional Victoria by developing a specialised policy initiative to enable predominately working women to return to the workforce.
“Our communities need urgent government assistance. We cannot continue to see essential services like
childcare disappear due to staffing shortages,” she said.
“The problem is not only Labor’s failed workforce policies, but a lack of investment in new childcare facilities, with Labor in recent months abandoning its plans to build more childcare facilities.
“The Nationals are actively seeking input from the local community, whether from educators, parents, family members, or service providers to shape their policy.”
Ms Kealy said people interested in contributing to The Nationals’ childcare and early learning policy could contact her office on 5382 0097 or via email at emma.kealy@parliament. vic.gov.au.
Northern Grampians Shire Council has commenced a much-anticipated Stawell Cemetery expansion project that is set to continue in the coming years.
Mayor Rob Haswell said the expansion, which will see the introduction of a new lawn cemetery, was ‘crucial to Stawell’.
“The existing lawn cemetery will be at capacity in the next three years, with the expanded cemetery providing more than 5500 additional plots and ensuring the community’s burial needs are met for the next century,” Cr Haswell said.
The project is funded by council, with a total budget of $550,000 allocated across several years.
Council staff will undertake earthworks and the removal of native trees, which will be replaced by more infrastructure-friendly species.
Stage two of the project will involve constructing roads, a footpath and continuing road infrastructure development.
Saturday – Horsham Church of Christ – 9.30am, 17-and-under vocal; 15-and-over novice; and open age original composition. 1pm Saturday at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church Horsham – elementary piano solo; secondary age piano duet/trio; inter-
Competition starts on Friday –9.30am at Horsham Church of Christ – secondary ensembles/choirs; duet/ trio; primary ensembles; and primary vocal. 1pm at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church Horsham – first/ second year brass/woodwind; prepreliminary piano, elementary piano; primary age piano duet/trio. 2pm sections at Horsham Church of Christ – 14-and-under vocal novice solo; 13-and-under vocal; 15-and-under vocal. 6.30pm sections at Horsham Church of Christ – open choir and ensembles; family groups; and Alex Rathgeber vocal championship.
mediate piano solo; advanced piano solo; open Ann Adler memorial piano event; and most promising piano student presentation. 2pm at Horsham Church of Christ – open vocal solo; open vocal duet/trio. 6.30pm Horsham Church of Christ – Ann Adler memorial piano event winner; Taylor Swift solo; open vocal
musical; and most promising vocal student presentation.
All sessions are open to the public, single session or whole-day tickets can be purchased at the door of each venue prior to the session starting.
Children 12 years and under can enter free of charge.
– Bronwyn Hastings
The expanded cemetery is planned to include new rose gardens, an open space, new fencing, additional entries and exits, as well as the new roads and footpaths, including a road linking the old and new cemeteries.
Community members can continue to access the current cemetery while works are underway.
BY LAUREN HENRY
Horsham Rural City Council’s community satisfaction survey results were met with distaste from councillors at Monday’s meeting.
Horsham’s overall performance score of 43 was lower than both the fellow regional centres and statewide averages of 54, and lower than last year’s total of 45.
It scored lowest with rural residents and highest with people aged 18 to 34 years.
The annual survey, conducted by the independent provider JWS Research, sampled 400 residents, representing a cross-section of the municipality’s population of more than 20,000.
The only category where it had improved was customer service, scoring 62, compared with 52 last year, but was still below the state average of 67, and regional centre average of 68.
The category results were: value for money 41, compared to last year’s score of 43 and a state average of 48; overall council direction 37, com-
pared to 34 last year, and a state average of 45; waste management 55, compared to 64 last year, and a state average of 67; consultation and engagement 43, the same as last year but below the state average of 51; community decisions 40, compared with 42 last year and state average of 50; sealed local roads 38, the same as last year but below the state average of 45; unsealed roads 33, below the state average of 36.
Cr Bob Redden said the regional centre councils that Horsham was compared with were larger, with larger budgets.
“This limits our capacity to do things we’d like to do to improve our council’s performance,” he said.
Cr David Bowe said the deterioration of roads was a major factor in the poor results.
“One of the key parts in the survey show council needs to improve in maintaining our road networks and better support our rural community as this was the lowest score from the feedback in the survey,” he said.
Horsham resident Alma Brain is celebrating her 100th birthday today, and is reminiscing on a life well-spent around family and friends.
Mrs Brain grew up on her parents’ farm at Galaquil East and went to a local school.
“I went to school until the eighth grade – my parents were too poor to send me to high school,” she said.
“I worked at Ballarat Woollen Mills, but I didn’t last too long there, it played up with my hands. I looked after an old lady at Lismore for a while, until she passed away, and then I went grapepicking at Merbein.
“My neighbour had relatives there, but we no sooner got up there and she got sick.
“But you have to be pretty good to make money up there, you have to be quick.”
Mrs Brain celebrated her 21st birthday at a dance at Derrinallum.
“I didn’t know anyone there, they made an announcement for my birthday, but no-one knew me,” she said.
Mrs Brain met her husband-to-be, Kelly, at a dance – the only entertainment youth had at the time.
“We produced three lovely children –Gary, Joy and Pam,” she said.
Cr Bowe said council needed to better communicate its decisions to the community.
“A prime example of this is the temporary wombat crossing at Firebrace Street and McLachlan Street roundabout. The community has raised concerns regarding the height of the crossings, potential slipping hazards, typically faced by individuals using wheelchairs and other mobility aids, and traffic impact and movement,” he said.
“This is a pressing issue, and the council needs to act swiftly to remove these interrelations, taking such actions would show that council is listening to the community.”
Cr Ian Ross congratulated staff on achieving the increased customer service score.
“I believe this motion highlights just what the problems are – receive and note the Horsham Rural City Council 2024 Local Government Community Satisfaction Survey – to me that means park it, and leave it.
“And two, note that an improvement
plan to address the low scores will be presented to an upcoming meeting of council. Having it presented to us is not good enough – we as a council are responsible.
We should be involved in committees to work together strategically, so we can go through and get a better outcome for this municipality and our people. We owe that to our citizens at least.”
In a media release last week, chief executive Sunil Bhalla said it was pleasing to see the council’s commitment to serving its community demonstrated in the customer service rating.
“This positive result is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our staff. Yet, the survey also highlighted many areas for improvement,” he said.
“Waste management was identified as our worst performing area, dropping from 64 to 55. We understand that the four-bin service, which will soon become compulsory for all Victorian councils, has been a significant
Nine grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren followed.
“I have seen so many changes in my lifetime – really, when we started out, we had no conveniences, everything was hard work, but we didn’t know any different,” Mrs Brain said.
“Things in the home have come so far, refrigerators, radio – we didn’t have a wireless to start off with. And cooking was always an effort on a wood stove.”
Mrs Brain played ‘a heck of a lot of sport’, from basketball, now known as netball, to tennis, golf and bowls.
“I won the Victorian Country Women’s championship with Shirley Butler in the 1990s,” she said.
Mrs Brain’s sporting abilities have filtered down the generations – a greatgrandson played tennis in Alabama on a scholarship, and a granddaughter represented South Australia in a soccer tournament.
Her brother Eric was also a good sportsman, and now aged 92, he still drives from Beulah to visit Mrs Brain each fortnight.
“I’ve had a good time, I’ve enjoyed myself and made good friendships through sport,” she said.
Mrs Brain celebrated her birthday with family and friends on Sunday afternoon with an open house.
change for our residents. We are dedicated to making necessary improvements to ease this transition.
“Looking forward, we are eager to build on the survey findings and continue to work diligently towards achieving better performance.
“We appreciate the community’s feedback and will use it to guide our efforts in the coming year.”
Mayor Robyn Gulline expressed her disappointment in not improving on the 2023 score but noted council’s overall performance rating had stabilised after experiencing a significant 11-point decline the previous year.
“Compared to similar councils and across Victoria, numerous elements of these results are encouraging, although we acknowledge the overall decrease from the previous year,” she said.
“Our goal is to be a top-tier council and organisation. Therefore, we will consider the survey findings and strive to do better in the identified areas, with the aim to improve our overall performance rating next year.”
As the two-year anniversary of the October 2022 flooding that affected the Ararat region approaches, Ararat Rural City Council has launched a survey aimed at better understanding the community’s recovery needs.
Council chief executive Tim Harrison said weather events such as the floods could affect communities, causing additional stress in all areas of people’s lives.
He said the council was working with residents to discover ways to improve its information delivery, support, and-or tools for building resilience in flood-affected areas.
“Council is looking for your real thoughts and experiences of the late 2022 floods, to inform improvements in serving our community,” Dr Harrison said.
“We don’t operate on guesswork; residents who fill out this survey will be giving us crucial guiding insight into how we make these important decisions.”
The survey covers topics including communication, cultural awareness and mental-health care.
People can complete the survey by visiting engage.ararat.vic.gov. au/flood-recovery-survey-2024. Submissions will close on August 12.
This Saturday, July 27 9AM - 1PM
My council, my vote
You must be enrolled to vote
A general election for Northern Grampians Shire Council will be held in October 2024. To be able to vote in the election, you must be enrolled by
Two categories of voters can be enrolled to vote in the Northern Grampians Shire Council election: State-enrolled voters and Council-enrolled voters.
State-enrolled voters
Am I enrolled to vote?
You are automatically enrolled for this election if:
• you will be 18 years of age or over on Saturday 26 October 2024 and
• you live in Northern Grampians Shire and you are on the State electoral roll for your current address.
You need to enrol if:
you are an Australian citizen aged 18 or over on Saturday 26 October 2024 and
• you live in Northern Grampians Shire and you are not on the State electoral roll or
• you have lived at your current residential address within Northern Grampians Shire for at least a month and have not yet updated your enrolment details, including any changes to your postal address.
How do I enrol?
You can enrol online at vec.vic.gov.au
You can also download an enrolment form from the website.
All enrolment applications must be received by the Victorian Electoral Commission by the close of roll at 4 pm on Wednesday 7 August 2024.
How can I check my State enrolment?
You can check your enrolment details online at vec.vic.gov.au at any time, or call 131 832.
Council-enrolled voters
Am I enrolled to vote?
To be a Council-enrolled voter, you must be:
• 18 years of age or over on Saturday 26 October 2024 and
• not a State-enrolled voter within Northern Grampians Shire.
New rules mean you are no longer automatically enrolled if you are a non-resident property owner (e.g. a landlord or a business owner that pays rates). If you are a non-resident property owner within Northern Grampians Shire, you need to apply to enrol if you wish to vote in the Northern Grampians Shire Council election.
Who else can enrol & vote?
You may also apply to enrol if: you have purchased a rateable property within Northern Grampians Shire since the last election but you are not a resident of Northern Grampians Shire, or
• you are not an Australian citizen and you live in, and pay rates for, a property within Northern Grampians Shire, or
• you pay rates on a property you occupy within Northern Grampians Shire and have no other voting entitlement within Northern Grampians Shire, for example you are a shop tenant and pay rates to the Council for your tenancy, and you have no other voting entitlement within Northern Grampians Shire, or
• you are a director or company secretary of a corporation within Northern Grampians Shire that pays rates to Northern Grampians Shire Council and you have no other voting entitlement within Northern Grampians Shire.
How do I apply to be a Council-enrolled voter?
If you meet any of the above criteria and wish to enrol, contact Northern Grampians Shire Council on 5358 8700 for a council enrolment form. Council enrolment forms must be received by the Council by the close of roll at 4 pm on Wednesday 7 August 2024
How can I check if I am Council-enrolled?
You can check your enrolment details by contacting the Council on 5358 8700.
Thinking about standing for election?
To nominate as a candidate for Northern Grampians Shire Council, you must:
• b e an Australian citizen and enrolled on the voters’ roll for Northern Grampians Shire Council and
• b e eligible to become a councillor and
• have completed the mandatory candidate training provided by Local Government Victoria before lodging your nomination with the Election Manager.
For further information, visit vec.vic.gov.au
Enrolment closes
4 pm Wednesday 7 August 2024
State-enrolled voters can register for free VoterAlert SMS and email reminders at vec.vic.gov.au
Jodie Atkinson’s husband, Craig, was funny. He was fit and active. He was loving; a good bloke. She describes their relationship as ‘far from perfect’ but perfect for her.
When he died, rather suddenly at 52 years old, Craig Atkinson did not flatten into a one-dimensional ‘sad’ memory.
His sudden absence filled Mrs Atkinson with fear, anxiety, panic and confusion, irreparably changing her life trajectory forever.
Some days, some she cried, she laughed. She went to the movies with friends. She enjoyed tastes, smells and conversation. All the while, grief accompanied her.
It turned out, grief wasn’t onedimensional either.
If people had bothered to ask, instead of saying ‘I’m sorry for your loss’ and awkwardly changing the subject, Mrs Atkinson had so much to say about the roller-coaster of her grief.
“I never intended to write a book about grief, let alone write and selfproduce a cabaret show,” she said.
“I started being really honest with people about what was playing out for me and because those conversations were so rare, many suggested I write a book.
“We don’t talk about grief enough, and we need to.”
Mrs Atkinson’s book ‘Have You Met My Grief?’ is a resource for people struggling to comprehend conflicting emotions and behaviours following the loss of a loved one. Her cabaret show, of the same
“The
fact that Jodie is a local makes it all the more special. We hope to see just as many men as women in the audience because this is a chance to examine the way we deal with something every one of us will experience”
– Cath McDonald
name, is something extra. “Cabaret is a beautiful platform for engagement, interaction and education,” she said.
“The vulnerability and storytelling allow people to have a connected and authentic experience.
“The audience comes on that journey with me, but it doesn’t descend into maudlin despair; we really do laugh, cry and everything in between.”
Not only did Mrs Atkinson receive a grant from the ‘Mental Health Commissioner for South Australia’, in recognition of her important messaging, her show has also been lauded for its entertainment value.
In 2023 she won the debut award at the Adelaide Cabaret Fringe Festival, followed by the 2024 weekly award at Adelaide Fringe Festival.
Critics described the show as ‘entertaining, enlightening and inspiring’.
Now, Mrs Atkinson is bringing ‘Have You Met My Grief?’ to her hometown – Edenhope.
“I did all of my schooling in Edenhope and like to say that my
big break came in my school production ‘The Princes’ Pursuit’,” she said, jokingly.
“I’m really excited to bring my show home; it will be interesting because I know it’s a different audience but we need to break down that stigma, especially for farmers and their communities.”
Mrs Atkinson is passionate about improving access to the arts in regional areas.
“It can be an uncomfortable topic but it’s a very real and difficult part of life,” she said.
“It’s helpful for people to know how grief might impact their lives, when it shows up.”
The free cabaret performance has been funded via suicide prevention group ‘Lifeforce Edenhope’, which successfully applied for a Wesley Mission grant.
Green Taylor Partners are seeking a dynamic and motivated individual to join our Administration team to support our current team on a part-time basis. Ideally, the successful candidate will be working in our office each weekday on agreed parttime hours.
Our firm enjoys assisting a diverse group of fantastic clients throughout the Wimmera, greater Victoria and nationally. Our Vision is ‘to build relationships so that we enrich the lives of others’.
The successful candidate will be working in a team environment where caring for our clients is key. The role includes being a friendly face for our clients and key contacts (including the Australian Taxation Office), administration support for our accounting team and performing general office administration tasks. Ideally, candidates will have:
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Excellent customer service skills, including ability to be discreet with confidential matters.
• A team orientated focus, while being able to work autonomously when required.
• Ability to work to deadlines and effectively prioritise multiple tasks.
• Experience using Microsoft Office suite of software.
The following will be considered, but are not essential requirements:
• Administrative or secretarial studies
• Experience in previous Administration roles.
• Experience with social media for business.
To apply, please email your resume and covering letter to careers@greentaylor.com.au
include “Office Administration Application” in the subject line. Any further information required contact Vicky McClure on 5382 4761.
Green Taylor Partners is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds and experiences.
St Arnaud fire brigade members’ monthly meeting will be at the town’s Royal Hotel on Monday – 150 years to the day the townsfolk first met at the same hotel to form a volunteer brigade.
150 Year committee chairman Michael Snow said the brigade’s meeting would remember, commemorate and celebrate the occasion.
“This anniversary is momentous and it seems only fitting and right to host our meeting 150 years to the day in the same location as the first ever meeting in 1874,” he said.
“Solomon Cox, our first captain, was also the owner of the Royal Hotel at the time.”
Showing the pioneering standards of the time, the St Arnaud Royal Hotel is also celebrating 150 years since it was established.
Current publican Vicky Christopolous said the Royal Hotel was excited to host the fire brigade meeting on July 29.
“How lucky are we to attract an award-winning show that you’d typically have to travel to the city for,” Lifeforce Edenhope chair Cath McDonald said.
“The fact that Jodie is a local makes it all the more special.
“We hope to see just as many men as women in the audience because this is a chance to examine the way we deal with something every one of us will experience.”
Have You Met My Grief will be at Edenhope and District Community Centre on Sunday, August 4, from 4pm. Tickets are free and include finger food, drinks and babysitting services.
Limited tickets can be reserved by leaving a message, with details, including babysitting requests, by calling 5585 9845.
“Both the fire brigade and the Royal Hotel are 150 years old this year and both are very proud of their heritage – big occasions like this should be recognised and celebrated,” she said.
When the fire brigade was formed, St Arnaud was a mining town with a population of about 1200 people.
St Arnaud fire brigade captain David Reynolds said the St Arnaud Fire Brigade had to combat many significant fires within and outside its town boundaries during its history.
“While the town has significantly changed in 150 years, the commitment of the St Arnaud Fire Brigade volunteers to protect the life and property of its community has never waned,” he said.
“Our current members are awfully proud of our brigade’s history, and we will continue the legacy of serving our community into the future.
The brigade will publicly celebrate its 150th anniversary with a torchlight procession through the streets of St Arnaud and a plaque unveiling on November 16.
We
‘Fifteen years, with a lot of luck’ – Rupert Murdoch, chairman emeritus of News Corp and founder of The Australian, on how long newspapers will survive.
Mr Murdoch made the statement in an interview with Sky News Australia last week, where he was speaking about the 60th anniversary of The Australian
It’s a question that is often asked, pondered and discussed within the newspaper industry.
Particularly when newspapers shut – as many did during the COVID-19 years – or stop their print publications, as happened last week in New South Wales when Australian Community Media, ACM, made the decision to stop the printed weekday editions of three daily newspapers in Orange, Bathurst and Dubbo.
The weekday editions of the Central Western Daily, the Western Advocate and the Daily Liberal will only be available online, but the publications will print ‘expanded’ editions on Saturdays.
Additionally, the Oberon Review and the Blayney Chronicle will stop publishing in print for good, and move online from late August.
Is it a sign of the digital times we live in? Yes. Is it something we will see more of in the future? Yes.
Print costs are continually rising –there are very few options when it comes to producing newspapers on a printing press.
It is a specialised industry that is facing its own increasing costs of
By Lauren Henry
paper and equipment – much of which comes from overseas.
Stopping a publication’s print editions is one solution to address a decline in revenue.
But there are other ways to turn things around – some mastheads are raising cover charge costs; some are changing their advertising models; and some are cutting back staff.
What does all this mean for readers? What does it mean for the community – especially in regional and rural Australia?
There’s no doubt newspapers need to embrace and include a digital component into their business model – and most have to varying degrees in the past five to 10 years.
But what do you lose if you cut your print editions?
Firstly, you lose a big chunk of your readers – while there is a decline in the amount of people who buy and read the print editions, there are still plenty, especially in regional areas, who love nothing more than to sit down and read the news on the pages of a newspaper.
The online version of stories lose so much compared to those that appear in a curated newspaper, where the placement of the stories and the photographs in each section engages a wide range of read-
ers to soak in all the information.
Would you know about that stolen car that appeared in a three-sentence brief if you didn’t read the ‘big’ story about the local council on page 3?
Would you have seen that a local business was having a sale and could save you some dollars if the advertisement didn’t appear next to an engaging photograph that took your eye?
What about that job that gets you thinking about a career move when you peruse the classifieds’ section?
A newspaper includes a long list of ingredients – not just news and photos – that interests all sorts of people, and it constantly amazes me the sections that people are drawn to.
We get complaints if the quiz is not published, there are plenty of readers keen to read our motoring section each week, and don’t get me started about the popularity of our sports photos each week.
Sure, the different sections can be placed on a website, but the big stew of ingredients that make up a physical newspaper cannot be replicated online, and if they are – they certainly don’t attract the same level of exposure and eyes on them.
A digital edition where readers can flip through the pages online tries to replicate the experience of a newspaper, but it doesn’t get anywhere near the levels of readership that actual newspapers attract, nor that of specific digital stories.
The curation of a newspaper is
unique in its packaging and presentation to readers – the light and shade of stories – the serious news mixed with community events; the features on people who are achieving the remarkable or making our community great; the editorials that highlight key issues important to the region, and coverage of sport that is so important to the functioning of our regional towns, just to name a few.
Secondly, a region loses their voice, their number one advocate for key issues and their key conduit for galvanising the community when their newspaper diminishes.
So what does all this mean for community newspapers such as The Weekly Advertiser?
A free-of-charge newspaper, we don’t need to worry about cover charges, and we are very much based on a traditional method of producing newspapers – strong advertising combined with quality journalism and production.
And while we have a growing website and social media presence, our printed editions remain our focus.
But like any newspaper, this only happens with the support of our local businesses who see value in placing advertisements in our printed editions, and, of course, our local communities.
Our commitment is steadfast on delivering a high level of quality newspapers each week.
Quality and commitment, no matter what the medium, is the real point of difference.
The Nationals have launched a petition to help secure funding for the wild dog control program, with the future of the program yet to be confirmed past October.
Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Member for Lowan Emma Kealy called on the government to consult with farmers, as promised, amid plans to end wild dog control.
She said reports farmers had been dealt silence on the issue without official consultation were deeply concerning.
Wild dog control has already been stopped in north-west Victoria with a dingo unprotection order stopped after Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos said the dingo population in northwest Victoria was under threat of extinction.
Farmers in the northern Wimmera say the animals attacking their livestock are not dingoes, but wild dogs.
Ms Kealy said the government must start consulting and providing certainty to farmers and landowners across Victoria.
“Wild dog control is a critical issue for livestock producers, yet the silence is deafening around the future of this program. When is this promised consultation going to start?” she said.
“Protecting livestock from predators is a significant challenge for farmers. There is growing anger that Labor consistently prioritises animal extremists over supporting our farmers to grow food and fibre and drive the Victorian economy.
“This is looming as another broken promise from Labor, and Victorians farmers will pay the price.”
To sign the petition, people can visit www. parliament.vic.gov.au/get-involved/petitions/ victorias-wild-dog-program.
Elections Online Mandatory Candidate Training now available
All candidates in any council election in Victoria are required to complete the online Local Government Candidate Training. All candidates must also declare to the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) when they have completed the training in order to nominate.
Northern Grampians Shire Council is hosting another online session as part of a Pre-Election Candidate Development Program; the program is being delivered by the Victorian Local Governance Association.
The sessions are designed to help prepare community members interested in standing as candidates in the upcoming election.
25 July - Life as a Woman Councillor
In this session, candidates will be provided with an opportunity to hear from previous women councillors about their experiences representing local community. From standing for office, to getting elected and serving as a councillor, the unique experiences of women will be shared in an informal and relaxed environment promoting discussion and sharing of ideas.
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Date: 25 July 2024
Venue: Online
To register for this session or for more information, please visit www.ngshire.vic.gov.au/elections
The online Candidate Training is available to complete now on the Local Government Victoria website and takes around one hour to complete.
For more information on the Local Government Candidate Training visit www.localgovernment.vic.gov.au/councilgovernance/candidate-training
Effective 1 July 2024 there will be a minor increase in waste disposal charges at all council transfer stations This update is essential to ensure the ongoing quality and sustainability of our waste management services Council appreciates your cooperation and commitment to a cleaner community For detailed information on the new rates, please visit www ngshire vic gov au Thank you for your understanding
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Keep up-to-date with the latest news!
If you d like to keep up-to-date with council activities, please keep an eye out for our council news by subscribing to Latest News via the council website at www ngshire vic gov au/latestnews
The Community Benefit Fund administered by the council on behalf of Neoen Australia (owner of Bulgana Green Power Hub) has $120,000 to contribute towards community-led projects and programs Not-for-profit groups and organisations can apply for up to $5,000 to implement a small project and up to $20,000 for a large project with a co-contribution
To understand more about this funding opportunity check out the Bulgana Green Power Hub website page at https://bit ly/4btn For further enquiries please contact Rachel Whittaker on 03 5358 0512 or community@ngshire vic gov au
Maternal and Child Health drop-in sessions where our nurses can help you with these questions and any others you have about sleeping, settling and all things feeding, including breastfeeding
This support is available for parents/carers of babies and children up to 6 years of age
St Arnaud
First Wednesday of each month between 2pm and 3 30pm, St Arnaud Maternal and Child Health Office, 7 Walker Street St Arnaud Stawell
Second and third Wednesday of each month 2pm and 3 30pm Stawell Maternal and Child Health Office 87 D’Arcy Street Stawell
AHalls Gap man, 59, has been charged with theft, damage and firearms offences after a multi-agency warrant on July 12.
Halls Gap Police, supported by Parks Victoria and Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, DEECA, executed the search warrant at a Halls Gap property as part of ongoing collaboration between the regulatory bodies.
The officers recovered a large amount of wood, allegedly stolen from various public locations including a state park. A large trailer, chainsaw and firearms were also seized.
An unregistered firearm was discovered along with registered firearms not listed at the address.
Sergeant Chris Russo, officer-in-charge of Halls Gap Police, said the man also had his firearms licence suspended.
“This is a timely reminder that all regulatory services are actively patrolling and working together to combat firewood theft as well as forest and habitat destruction,” he said.
“Police and authorised officers can seize all equipment used in the course of these offences.”
The man has been bailed to appear at a magistrates court at a later date.
Meanwhile, the Conservation Regulator and Parks Victoria have launched Taskforce Ironbark, a joint state-wide initiative targeting illegal commercial firewood removal from public land and empowering Victorian firewood consumers to make choices that help protect our forests and native wildlife.
In 2023, thieves damaged or destroyed more than 9200 native trees or cleared about 462 hectares of public land in Victoria, with much of
the stolen wood sold on to Victorians by illegal firewood operators.
Authorised officers are conducting targeted patrols across public land and using intelligencegathering methods, such as concealed cameras and community reports, to catch commercial firewood thieves.
Last year, the Conservation Regulator and Parks Victoria issued 130 infringement notices and laid more than 220 charges related to habitat destruction and the illegal cut and take of firewood from forests and parks.
In Victoria, it is illegal to cut and take timber from public land without authorisation and offenders face maximum penalties of more than $9879 and/or 12 months in prison for each charge. Chainsaws, trailers, and vehicles used in the offending can also be seized.
Taskforce Ironbark manager Brady Childs, of the Conservation Regulator, said the taskforce was formed to disrupt illegal commercial firewood operators and remind all Victorians they play an important role in preserving forests and parks, protecting wildlife habitats, and reducing the harm associated with firewood theft.
“We have seen a rapid rise in firewood-related damage on public land, and native trees are being stolen from Victoria’s forests and parks faster than they can be replaced, leaving our native birds, reptiles, and small mammals without crucial habitat,” he said.
People can help by reporting suspicious sellers or firewood theft from public land to 136 186.
For more information on responsible sourcing of firewood, visit: www.vic.gov.au/sourcingfirewood.
THANK YOU: Representatives from the 14 environmentally sustainable community projects in the Hindmarsh, Horsham and Yarriambiack municipalities allocated money from the 2024 Murra Warra Wind Farm Sustainable Community Grants Fund
More than $100,000 of grants have been allocated to not-for-profit groups in the Wimmera, as part of the 2024 Murra Warra Wind Farm Sustainable Community Grants Fund.
Grants will go to 14 environmentally sustainable community projects in the Hindmarsh, Horsham and Yarriambiack municipalities, which neighbour the Murra Warra Wind Farm.
A $20,000 grant was allocated to Minyip Recreation Reserve Committee of Management to install a new irrigation system for the junior oval to enable efficient watering.
Horsham Motor Sports Club also received $20,000 to replace its ageing staff and competitor toilets with new energy-friendly facilities.
Other successful grant applicants included Horsham City Bowling Club for solar panels on its clubhouse and Wimmera River Improvement Committee to ‘green’ the Wimmera River picnic area.
Rainbow and District Landcare Group secretary Bernard Young said the group would use its grant to educate and train land managers and landowners in all aspects of rabbit biology, population monitoring and control methods to help tackle the region’s rabbit problem.
“Rabbits impact agricultural production, damage crops, soils and native vegetation, as well as local biodiversity,” he said.
“They’ve infested agricultural land, businesses, roadsides and recreational areas, and are encroaching into the urban fringe. Once the participants have completed the training, they’ll be encouraged to share knowledge and mentor other land managers across the district.”
Other recipients include –
Centre for Participation, new freezer to support the Wimmera Food Collective program; Dimboola Croquet Club, new watering system for croquet green; Dimboola Golf Club, efficient heating and cooling for clubrooms; Dimboola RSL Sub-Branch, new inside blinds; Laharum Public Hall, trestle tables to support events such as vegetable swaps; Natimuk Climbing Club, a ‘kilter board’ artificial climbing wall; Taylors Lake Football and Netball Club, solar lighting for storage facility and weather-protected seating at netball court; Warracknabeal Playgroup, environmental education program for children; Warracknabeal Golf Bowls Club, new landscaping and garden upgrade around the bowling green.
Squadron Energy’s Murra Warra Wind Farm operations manager Chris Gulvin said the renewable energy company was pleased to again support an impressive list of projects that would benefit the Wimmera community and environment.
“A big thank you to everyone who applied for the latest round of community grants,” he said.
“Squadron Energy is pleased to support notfor-profit community groups and organisations working to make a positive and lasting contribution to regional communities near the Murra Warra Wind Farm.”
The Murra Warra Wind Farm Sustainable Community Grants Fund is administered by Wimmera Southern Mallee Development and more information can be found at www.wsm. org.au.
Becoming a parent can be hard. When you live in an isolated rural town, it can be even harder.
Grampians Health Rural Outreach mental health worker Zviko Jinga is a mother of three, including twins, and has experienced firsthand how anxiety and isolation can accompany new motherhood.
Ms Jinga shared her story, alongside maternal health nurse Adrienne Caldow, at a recent Edenhope event aimed at reducing stigma and highlighting services available to new mothers.
“When the twins were very young and my daughter was three, I was always anxious,” Ms Jinga said.
“I was constantly checking on them, thinking they’d maybe choke in their sleep.
“What helped me was opening up to my sister because she helped me talk it through, but not everyone has that person.”
Ms Jinga’s message to attendees was to implement self-care strategies.
“I suggest mums make an intentional effort, every day, to do something for themselves,” she said.
“If your cup stays full, you’ll be better able to support your family.
“Try to identify what you enjoy and what rejuvenates your energy and then intentionally make time for that every day.”
Ms Jinga said services including general practitioners, social workers, maternal health nurses, private counselling services and the Rural Outreach program were all available to new mothers who found typi-
cal coping strategies were no longer working for them.
“What I’ve heard from mums is they don’t feel comfortable asking for help,” she said.
“The approach seems to be trying to convince other people they are okay, which is something we need to change.
“Every mum has challenging moments, at some time, and it is important to ask for help so they don’t become serious problems.”
As a non-clinical Rural Outreach worker, Ms Jinga can meet with parents in their home, listen to them and provide guidance and referrals for
other service providers. “It could be that someone just needs to chat and be heard,” she said.
“It could be that they need to form connections in the community, to break the social isolation, which I can also assist with.
“If there is a need for clinical services, I can help to organise appointments and referrals and make sure parents know where to get the help they need.”
Ms Jinga, who developed social anxiety during COVID-19 isolation, said she hoped sharing her story would help other mothers feel comfortable about reaching out.
“I am not someone who is separate from these problems, I myself have experienced the challenges,” she said.
“I’m passionate about helping other parents because it’s the season I am in personally and the area I’ve worked most in professionally.
“Together we can reduce the stigma and start finding support, for a very important time in our lives and in the lives of our children.”
Grampians Health’s Rural Outreach workers travel to clients across western Victoria.
People can contact the free service by calling 1300 688 732.
Ararat Rural City Council has set aside $2.143 million to reconstruct a two-kilometre section of Buangor-Ben Nevis Road from the Western Highway end. Outlined in the council’s 2024-25 budget, the project aims to reduce the number of large-capacity vehicles travelling through Ararat, lessening their impact on local roads and increasing transport efficiency.
Buangor-Ben Nevis Road is a thoroughfare between the Pyrenees Highway and Western Highway, and is a route for freight vehicles as well as local and tourist traffic.
The road is also a main route for accessing the townships of Buangor, Bayindeen, Warrak and Mount Cole Creek.
The project will replace narrow sections of road in the first two kilometres, including excavating and removing existing degraded road seal and pavement, while installing new road base course layers, drainage, sealing, line marking and safety signage.
Council chief executive Tim Harrison said the reconstruction works would improve connectivity for local communities, and reduce travel times and driver fatigue.
The project is jointly funded by the council, which contributed $1.3 million, and $843,000 from the Federal Government’s Local Roads and Community Infrastructure program.
“Buangor-Ben Nevis Road is a critical link for our municipality, supporting both local communities and vital freight transport,” Dr Harrison said.
“By investing in its reconstruction, we’re not just improving road conditions; we’re enhancing safety, efficiency, and the overall quality of life for our residents.”
Grampians
Health Edenhope’s Health and Wellbeing Hub resembles Santa’s workshop following the delivery of a large bundle of toys.
Speech pathologist Daniella Macolino said the toys would be used in paediatric appointments, including speech and occupational therapy, to assist with assessment and program development.
Parents can then take the toys home for their children to continue to use.
“It’s so important that children practice the skills introduced in our sessions,” Ms Macolino said.
“Toys are key to engaging with our little clients, so we can surreptitiously assess the way they speak and interact, but also introduce fun activities that will build relevant skills.
“If parents can take exactly the same toy home and play exactly the same game, that’s going to mean a consistent approach and better results.”
Primary health co-ordinator Jo Grant said the toy library epitomised her team’s innovative approach to rural healthcare.
“This was a unique idea developed by speech pathologist Joy Harwood and occupational therapist Ashleigh Maybery, who noticed a gap in access for Edenhope children,” she said.
“They identified the need, designed a program, carefully chose appropriate toys and assisted me with a grant application; it was an ingenious solution that I haven’t seen implemented anywhere else.”
Speech pathologists visit Edenhope every Thursday and children below school age do not require a referral.
Appointments are subsidised by the State Government to facilitate access and equity of care in rural areas.
“We know that early prevention or intervention is essential in rural communities and it’s so important to have these services available locally,” Ms Grant said.
“The aim is to prevent the development of more serious issues so people do not need to travel long distances for care.”
Ms Macolino echoed the push for assessment and monitoring in early childhood.
“Young children can develop at different rates, but there are specific milestones or abilities we like to see and, if some help is required, early intervention is key,” she said.
DELIGHTED: Grampians Health
Edenhope staff, from left, Kendall Pickering, Jo Grant, Amber McClure and Daniella Macolino are delighted with the arrival of a catalogue of toys for paediatric therapy appointments. Below, speech pathologist Ms Macolino puts items to use with two-year-old Della Irving.
“Even
if parents just want to ensure their child is on track, we can complete an assessment and offer recommendations for skills to practice at home.”
People can make an appointment or find more information by calling the Health and Wellbeing Hub on 5585 9830.
Following the success of a Social Innovators program that saw Ararat students participate in a two-day workshop last month, Crazy Ideas College is preparing to launch the program’s second stage.
The Ideas2Life Lab aims to teach students at Ararat and Marian colleges about bringing an idea or project into the real world, focusing on experiments they developed during the Social Innovators workshop.
Ideas2Life will provide students with coaching, skills and resources to communicate and collaborate with businesses and the community.
Community partners from within Ararat’s business and community organisation network will form part of the day’s coaching segment and will offer guidance on marketing and connecting with local businesses, as well as helping students to develop a comprehensive project plan.
The partners will include Ararat Neighbourhood House’s Teli Kaur, Ararat RSL’s Toby Steele, Deputy Mayor Jo Armstrong, Cr Peter Beales, and council chief executive Tim Harrison.
“After the students’ incredibly creative work during the Social Innovators program, I’m looking forward to seeing their ideas evolve with this next stage of the Crazy Ideas College workshop series,” Dr Harrison said.
People can read about the project on Crazy Ideas College’s website cicbeyond.com/events-andideas/ararat-social-innovators-2024.
Ararat Rural City Council
this month welcomed a second busload of visitors as part of the Ararat Settlement Activity Program.
Participants from Melbourne took part in a guided tour of the Ararat town centre, with stops including the visitor information centre, Gason, AME Systems, Ararat Town Hall, Alexandra Gardens, Ararat Neighbourhood House, several primary and secondary schools, Green Hill Lake, and One Tree Hill Lookout.
The program has so far attracted more than 40 new residents to take up secure, long-term jobs in the rural city.
Maung Thaung Aye attended the first of several planned bus tours as part of the program earlier this year and said he hoped to build a future in Ararat.
“I was referred to the Ararat Settlement Activity Program by my job provider, who recommended I attend an Ararat bus tour,” he said.
“Before that, I participated in an information session about Ararat, where I learned about the job opportunities available.
“During the bus tour, I discovered that Ararat is near the Grampians, with workplaces and amenities in close proximity. Compared to Melbourne, traffic is minimal in Ararat.
“Our commitment to the Ararat Settlement Activity Program underscores our belief in fostering both cultural diversity and economic development, ensuring a vibrant future for all residents”
– Dr Tim Harrison
process, and helping me apply for a job at Ararat Meat Exports.
“Looking ahead, once I have settled into my new job, I hope to eventually buy a home in Ararat”.
The initiative is part of a partnership between the council and Wyndham Community Education Centre.
Council chief executive Tim Harrison said the program focused on matching potential settlers with local employers looking to fill existing roles to grow a diverse local workforce.
“Through our partnership with the Wyndham Community Education Centre, we’re paving the way for long-term employment and community integration,” Dr Harrison said.
CELEBRATION: Smallaire owner Gary Small, right, was surprised by the presentation of a reclaimed, refurbished air-conditioning unit at Friday’s 50 years in business celebration. “I made it 50-odd years ago, it was one of the first, and the first stainless steel one. Stainless is a lot dearer, but it will last another 50 years,” he said. Beginning in a backyard at Rainbow, Smallaire now employees about 24 people, manufacturing products including air seeder parts and industrial air-conditioners. “We are also working on a few green projects now, including Tarpfast, which uses the wind to develop energy, which will be beneficial at remote bunkers.” A plumber by trade, Mr Small has an inquiring mind. “I just like that sort of thing, I like messing around with different ideas – I suppose that’s why my nickname is Gadget,” he said. Mr Small is pictured with general manager Jock Baker.
Community groups in West Wimmera Shire have benefitted from two council grants programs, with seven groups sharing $27,000.
Five groups will receive money under round two of a community strengthening grants program.
brooms; Apsley Tennis Club, $5000 to upgrade its kitchen facilities; and Lake Charlegrark County Music Marathon Inc, $10,000 for a mobile cool room.
Edenhope Pastoral and Agricultural Society received $500, and Kaniva Link Neighbourhood House, $1600.
“Council assisted me by explaining the induction and application
“Our commitment to the Ararat Settlement Activity Program underscores our belief in fostering both cultural diversity and economic development, ensuring a vibrant future for all residents.”
Dinyarrak Fire Brigade will receive $1290 for a quick-fill trailer; Kaniva Lions Club, $4399 for a lawn mower to service the Kaniva cemetery; Apsley Pony Club, $4480 for furniture and appliances for a new kitchen and clu-
Rarely does a property of this quality & size become available in the tightly held area of Brimpaen located approx. 40kms (25 mins) south of Horsham at the foothills of the majestic Grampians with an average rainfall of approx. 600mm.
Divided into 29 paddocks with an extensive laneway network. Excellent water assets with 26 catchment dams, 4 x GWM Pipeline meter points with an extensive network of tanks and troughs. 3-stand shearing shed, sheep yards, machinery & hay sheds.
@
The community strengthening grants program is designed to promote and increase residents’ participation in community initiatives, build and strengthen local networks and partnerships, and support community leadership, learning, and skill development.
Two groups received council sponsorship and contributions grants.
The sponsorship and contributions grants program provides communities with the opportunity to collaborate with the council to make their locality a better place to live.
People wanting more information on the grants, including guidelines, eligibility, and application forms, can visit www.westwimmera.vic.gov.au or phone 13 99 72.
Demeter
for approx.
the
has been
Unique zoning of predominately RLZ Rural Living Zone & Farm Zone. Divided into four paddocks with very good fencing, great shelter belts & exc. water supply.
Southern Wimmera Cropping/Grazing Lot 2 / 1878 Northern Grampians Road, Laharum
Southern Wimmera Cropping/ Grazing - 101.2 ha/ 250.07 acres. Excellent fencing with good access with road frontages on 3 sides. Outstanding Mountain views, 2 catchment dams & GWM Pipeline water.
@ $7000 per acre – $1,750,490
The State Government’s announcement of $300,000 in grants for agricultural and pastoral societies ahead of the 2024-25 show season has been met by criticism from the state opposition.
The Agriculture and Pastoral Society Grants Program has remained at $300,000 in total funding, with a $10,000 maximum for each show.
But Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Member for Lowan Emma Kealy said the grants had failed to keep pace with the rising cost-ofliving.
Ms Kealy said with inflation increasing by more than 50 per cent in the past 19 years, shows were being drastically short-changed.
She said the program’s funding was failing regional Victoria in the face of rising costs and inflation.
“These shows are the lifeblood of regional communities. There’s nothing better than a country show to bring people together and people prepare cakes, crafts and livestock a year out from the show in the hope of winning a ribbon or trophy,” she said.
“The shows bridge the gap between consumers and agriculture, giving them an insight into where produce comes from.
“It’s a great way to celebrate our producers and educate our young people.”
“Our Agricultural Societies deserve better.
“They’re not just events; they’re the heart and soul of our regional communities.”
Agriculture Minister Ros Spence said the program aimed to support agricultural and pastoral societies in projects that helped stimulate community involvement in activities that promoted agriculture.
The grants can be used to upgrade or establish new facilities, enhance public amenities, improve essential infrastructure, improve business management activities, biosecurity planning and promote reporting of livestock movements.
Previous projects funded under the program include new animal yards, fencing, shade covers and lighting or upgrades to shearing pavilions, luncheon halls, public amenities and viewing stands.
“We are proud to keep supporting our agricultural and pastoral societies to put on their fantastic shows across Victoria that display the best of our agriculture industry,” Ms Spence said.
“These societies are at the heart of our regional communities, and this initiative will help them to showcase agriculture to the many Victorians who love attending our rural shows.”
Applications for the grants close on August 23. To learn more or to apply, visit agriculture.vic.gov.au.
Nurse unit manager Rebecca Bolzon is Grampians Health Horsham’s new emergency department manager.
In her second month in the role, Ms Bolzon is already impressed by the high standard of care her team provides to the community.
“They are well-drilled, a very professional and high-functioning team, which has been so helpful for me while I settle into my role,” she said.
Ms Bolzon has experienced their capabilities first-hand – she works a few shifts on the floor with her team.
“It’s important for me to do that because I have a better understanding of the challenges they face each day and at the same time it keeps my practical skills up,” she said.
“They work extremely hard with the pressures they have in emergency on a daily basis.”
Ms Bolzon transferred within Grampians Health to Horsham from Stawell, where she spent three years as nurse unit manager of urgent care and acute care before moving into clinical education.
She also worked regular shifts in the intensive care unit at the Ballarat campus.
Ms Bolzon said she feels well-supported in her new position by her team, visiting emergency consultants Drs Peter Carter and Amanda Lishman, and Grampians Health.
“It’s not just the nurses who have made me welcome though, it’s been everyone – even the cafeteria team have gone the extra step and started stocking almond milk for me,” she said.
Nominations are open for this year’s Victorian Seniors Awards, which recognise hardworking, dedicated senior volunteers in the community across six categories.
The awards for people who share their skills, experience and time, are –
Victorian senior of the year; promotion of multiculturalism, healthy and active living; veteran community; ageing well; and council on the ageing Victorian senior achiever award.
Nominees must be aged 60 years or older, or 50 years and older for
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Victorians.
Nominations close on August 11 and can be made via seniorsonline.vic.gov. au/awards; the awards will be presented in October, coinciding with the annual Victorian Seniors Festival.
From The Weekly Advertiser archives: July 22, 2004 –TAC Minister Rob Hulls was in Horsham as part of a community cabinet visit, and described St Brigid’s College student Jannik Blair as ‘inspirational and a role model not only for motor vehicle collision victims, but also his peers’. During the visit Mr Hulls and Jannik discovered they shared a love of Geelong Football Club
10 years ago: July 23, 2014
The Wimmera’s first mosque was set to open on Stawell Road, Horsham. A dilapidated house was demolished to make way for construction of the modest mosque. Horsham Islamic Welfare Association head Dr Mahabubur Mollah said members were excited to have a new, purpose-built place to gather, and expected about 20 people would use the mosque regularly.
Five years ago: July 24, 2019
Grampians Community Health received funding from a combined community donation from groups including Grampians Toy Club to purchase a Toyota Spade. The new purpose-built vehicle gave people with limited mobility another transport option through the ‘community car’ program.
One year ago: July 26, 2023
Wimmera-born historian Felicity Jensz launched ‘Ebenezer Mission Station 1863-1873: The diary of missionaries Adolf and Polly Hartmann’ at an event in Dimboola. The book contained an annotated, daily diary of Mr and Mrs Hartmann, from the time they left Europe to their eight years at Antwerp’s Ebenezer Mission, to when they moved to Canada as missionaries to the Lenni Lenape people.
1. What did Robert William Dane open in the Wimmera in 1856?
2. On this day in 1969, what returned to earth after taking the first astronauts to the moon, returning them safely?
3. True or false? Earrings are an obvious fashion accessory, but many superstitious sailors of yesteryear, particularly pirates, wore gold earrings because of a belief that it would improve or cure bad eyesight.
4. Which Jamaican runner is an 11-time world champion and holds the record in the 100 and 200-metre races?
5. What is the name of the thin and long country that spans more than half of the western coast of South America?
6. Which movie, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks, Edward Burns and Matt Damon, was released on this day in 1998?
7. Who is seen as the most famous female American fashion icon of the 1960s?
8. Which ingredients combine to create a ganache?
9. Bill Oddie, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden were the three primary characters from the 197080 television comedy series The Goodies. Who was recognised with OBEs?
LUCKy sTaRs WiTh KERRy KULKEns
FOR THE WEEK JULY 27 TO AUGUST 2
(March 21-April 20)
Day: Monday
Numbers: 3.2.6.5. Lotto Numbers: 3.12.26.24.40.44. There were some very happy and romantic nights and engaging new friends. There were perfect moments at home and luck in a game of chance.
TAURUS: (April
20)
It’s not a good time to make decisions on important matters. It’s better to wait and see before deciding about anything or anyone. This is a more harmonious period at home and in the work scene.
GEMINI: (May 21-June 21)
Lucky Colour: Yellow
Lucky Day: Friday Racing Numbers: 2.3.5.6. Lotto Numbers: 2.13.25.40.5.44.
Some friction on the domestic scene is indicated. This could be due mainly to financial arrangements that do not suit everybody. Study all aspects well before committing yourself.
CANCER: (June 22-July 22) Lucky Colour: Lilac Lucky Day: Monday Racing Numbers: 2.3.6.2. Lotto Numbers: 2.13.5.19.7.22.
It was a very romantic period in which those with love interests could make up their minds, and those still looking for the right person could have a lucky find. It’s not a reasonable period for divulging secrets about your business activities.
LEO: (July 23-August 22) Lucky Colour: Blue Lucky Day: Wednesday Racing Numbers: 5.6.2.3
A new money-making venture should turn out quite well, although not how you expected. Some romance could interfere with your business matters, so watch for trouble.
VIRGO: (August 23-September 23)
Lucky Colour: Cream
10. Mount Byron is in what 11,700-hectare Wimmera State Park? Answers: 1. A prospect mine at Big Hill in Stawell. 2. Apollo 11. 3. True. Some believed that precious metals in an earring possessed healing powers. They also used them to pay for their funeral if they died at sea. 4. Usain Bolt. 5. Chile. 6. Saving -Pri vate Ryan. 7. Jacqueline Kennedy. 8. Cream and chocolate. 9. All three of them. 10. The Black Ranges State Park. Getting in touch with The Weekly
Our office is at 2 Stawell Road, Horsham. Mail: PO Box 606, Horsham 3402. Telephone: 5382 1351 Website: www.theweeklyadvertiser.com.au Email: weeklyadvertiser@team.aceradio.com.au For classified advertisements: 5382 1351 – email: horsham@aceradio.com.au
5382 1351: Mark Sulic: marks@team.aceradio.com.au; Lee Meadows: leem@team.aceradio.com.au;
Lucky Day: Tuesday Racing Numbers: 2.3.2.1. Lotto Numbers: 2.13.26.36.34.40.
The early bird gets the worm, and the clever one receives the most benefit. Do not let emotional matters ruin your plans for an entertaining and happy period.
LIBRA: (September 24-October 23)
Lucky Colour: Silver Lucky Day: Saturday Racing Numbers: 5.6.2.3. Lotto Numbers: 5.12.26.36.30.22. You could find happiness closer to home, your thinking should be straight, and making the right decisions is indicated. An attractive member of the opposite sex could be the cause of how you are feeling.
SCORPIO: (October 24-November 22)
Lucky Colour: Blue Lucky Day: Sunday Racing Numbers: 2.3.5.2. Lotto Numbers: 2.13.25.40.6.20. Many will have problems with their relationships, and some will lack progress in that affair. Many will run into an old love affair.
SAGITTARIUS: (November 23-December 20)
Lucky Colour: Pink
Lucky Day: Sunday Racing Numbers: 5.6.9.8. Lotto Numbers: 5.12.26.36.37.44.
You should respond well to many things you did not expect to happen so soon. Being in tune with the vibes around you brings a sense of well-being – some luck with a Taurian.
CAPRICORN: (December 21-January 19)
Lucky Colour: Yellow
Lucky Day: Tuesday Racing Numbers: 4.6.2.1. Lotto Numbers: 4.12.15.26.34.44.
A lucky streak is evident for the punter if you follow your hunches. What you say or admit to can get you into more trouble than what you do. People are expecting your side of the story to be told.
AQUARIUS: (January 20-February 19)
Lucky Colour: Peach
Lucky Day: Monday Racing Numbers: 1.3.2.5. Lotto Numbers: 1.12.15.24.40.22.
If you let tension rise, you will be off on the wrong foot for the next week or so. Many will be ready to take off in different directions; the rest could become pregnant or get someone else pregnant.
PISCES: (February 20-March 20)
Lucky Colour: Green
Lucky Day: Monday Racing Numbers: 5.6.9.3. Lotto Numbers: 5.12.26.36.30.11.
Before throwing caution to the wind or making dramatic moves, patience is necessary for the next week. Good things are happening out of the blue, and reasons to celebrate are coming up fast.
Ford has revived the once-loved Capri nameplate, but it won’t adorn a fastback coupe, like it once did, or an Australian-made convertible.
Instead, it will be worn by an electric SUV with four doors and Volkswagen underpinnings.
The new model with an old name was unveiled in Europe, where it will go on sale later this year, but it is unlikely to make its way to Australia given we won’t be receiving its electric Explorer twin.
The original Capri enjoyed a successful run, across three model generations, between 1969 and 1986, with almost two million produced.
It also saw significant motorsport success, adding to the model’s street cred.
There was also the 1989-1994 Ford Capri sold in Australia, but that isn’t the model Ford is referencing in its marketing material for the new model.
That model was more of a convertible Ford Laser, and it wasn’t a hit.
So why then, some 37 years after its departure, is the Capri making a return – albeit as an electric crossover?
Perhaps for a similar reason to the Mustang Mach-E, which shares nothing with any Mustang that came before it other than the Blue Oval badge.
Because the name stirs emotion, that’s why.
Unlike its namesake, the new Capri
forms an acronym in the marketing brochures that reads; Cool, Athletic, Past meets future, Rebellious to its core, Intelligent technologies.
While some of these claims may ring true, referring to your own car, an SUV no less, as ‘rebellious’ or ‘cool’ feels a little forced.
It appears Ford is aiming to intertwine the original Capri’s reputation with the new model, which shares a vaguely similar side profile silhouette.
Where the old Capri was genuinely cool, with edgy styling, injected 2.8-litre power, and considerable motorsport success, the new model is cool because Ford says so.
Ford Blue and Model E Europe general manager Jon Williams said
bringing back a legend as revered as the Ford Capri ‘is a big deal’.
“We’re excited the new all-electric Capri is ready to bring some swagger to the world of EVs and introduce a whole new generation of drivers to the spirit of a cult classic,” he said.
Perhaps the one ‘cool’ thing Ford did was partner with French football legend Eric Cantona for a series of quirky ads.
In one of them, he says, quite appropriately, ‘some say legends are born. Others say legends are made. Only legends really know’.
The Capri, which uses the Volkswagen MEB EV platform, will be offered in standard rear-wheel drive and premium all-wheel drive configurations,
with 210kW single-motor or 250kW dual-motor powertrain options.
The more powerful all-wheel drive Capri premium will dispatch the 100kmh sprint in 5.3 seconds, which is nowhere near the 3.7 seconds its Mach-E GT stablemate is capable of, but is still swift.
Range is quoted at 627km in the single-motor model, or 592km in the dual-motor model, and with as much as 572 litres of boot space it’ll certainly be road-trip capable.
While Australia is unlikely to receive the new Capri, GoAuto suspects Ford Australia could do a better job of the marketing material, because, saying you’re cool doesn’t make you cool. – Cobey Bartels
will kick-off pricing of its #1 and #3 – pronounced hashtag one and three – ranges from $54,900 and $57,900 plus on-road costs, respectively, when the all-electric range goes on sale from September.
The six-variant line-up is headlined by high-performance Brabus versions of each range, available exclusively from Lei Shing Hong, LSH, Auto Australia retail outlets in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
The importer says Geely-owned Smart’s positioning as a high-tech, premium EV brand begins with the 4270mm long #1 Pro+ which arrives as standard with 19-inch alloy wheels, a panoramic roof, advanced ADAS technologies, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, and a powered tailgate.
The single-motor variant is powered by a 200kW-343Nm electric motor offering a claimed zero to 100 kilometre an hour time of 6.7 seconds.
Range, battery capacity and charging details have yet to be confirmed, with LSH Auto Australia holding some details in reserve until the models’ local launch.
However, GoAuto understands the duo share a 66kWh battery pack capable of charging 10 to 80 per cent at up to 150kW DC, providing a driving range of up 440 kilometres.
HEADLINE: Smart’s six-variant line-up is headlined by high-performance Brabus versions of each range.
Moving up to the #1 Premium, priced from $58,900 plus on-road costs, buyers will find the same powertrain bolstered by a 640-watt Beats audio system, fast AC charger, Matrix LED headlights and leather upholstery.
The dual-motor #1 Brabus, from $67,900 plus on-road costs adds a 315kW-543Nm output – for a zero to 100 kilometre an hour time of 3.9 seconds – sports body kit, red brake callipers, and microfibre suede upholstery.
Other features are understood – but
not confirmed – to include heated front seats, a 360-degree camera system, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assistance, parking assistance, wireless device charging, a 12.8-inch infotainment screen, ambient LED cabin lighting, and a ‘floating’ centre console.
Joining the #1 hatch line-up, the #3 crossover offers identical power and torque outputs to its hatch sibling and follows the same grade walk and equipment offerings.
The Smart #3 Pro+ arrives from $57,900 plus on-road costs, the Premium from $61,900 plus on-road costs, and the flagship Brabus from $70,900 plus on-road costs.
“The return of the smart brand with such exciting new premium EV vehicles, highlighting German design and industry leading EV technology, is a very exciting time for our group,” LSH Auto Australia managing director John Good said.
“We are certain the extensive and
highly appealing Smart range will build a unique position in the Australian market for those wishing to add electric mobility to their lifestyle.
“When combined with our LSH Auto standard of care and customer experience, we know that Smart will quickly become a very strong brand in this market.
“We look forward to showcasing the smart family to Australians in the very near future.”
– Matt Brogan
Fill in the blank cells using numbers from 1 to 9. Each number can only appear once in each row, column and 3x3 block.
Fit the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 into the hexagons so that where the hexagons touch, the numbers will be the same. No number is repeated in any hexagon.
Fit the given numbers into the hexagons so that where the hexagons touch, the numbers will be the same No number is repeated in any hexagon
© bmpuzzles Distributed by Knight Features
* No swear words
* No verb forms or plurals ending in ‘s’
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Wayne’s
Based on unprecedented reader and listener demand, we encourage regional trade-based businesses to become part of The Weekly Advertiserʼs Local Trade Directory.
The Local Trade Directory offers the only true multimedia platform combining print, radio and online services for businesses to ʻspread the wordʼ in across the Wimmera, Mallee and Grampians.
It’s affordable and effective!
For a small weekly investment you will receive an advertisement (as above) PLUS... Receive bonus radio credit mentions on MIXX FM and 3WM throughout your paper advertising period.
(nee O’Dea), Una Mary
29/7/1937-14/7/2024
Passed away peacefully surrounded by her loving family at Iona, Nhill.
Loved and loving wife of Bruce.
Devoted mother of Wendy, Peter and Glenda.
M-I-L of Peter and Andrew.
Adored Nan Nan of Felicity, Kristen and Damian, Joshua and Bailey.
Great Nan Nan to Jackson and Evie and Emilia.
A heartfelt thanks to all the staff at Iona. The care and support over the last 10 years is truly appreciated.
Forever in our hearts.
Craig Maurice
23/8/1969 - 2/7/2024
Loved son of Joan Monck and Maurice (Dec)
Loved husband of Melinda
Loved brother of Tania and Danny (Dec), Peter, Deidre and Tony
Loved stepson of Leon (Dec)
Much loved father of Nick, Jackson and Bailey
Stepfather to Jayden and Josephine.
Friend to Keicha, Tia and Caitlyn
Grandfather to Weston and Blake.
Stepbrother to Karen and Cathy Monck
At peace with Stanley his dog Love Mum
Lois Dawn
2-1-1956 to 17-7-2024
Passed away peacefully at Royal Melbourne Hospital
Daughter of Iris & George (both dec).
Sister of Geoff (dec), Coral, Judy, Kevin, Diane & their families.
‘Reunited with Mum’
Horsham & District
Funerals
Dylan & Amity Hartwich 5382 1149
MULRANEY,
Brian Robert “Tom”
7-10-1930 to 15-7-2024
Brother to Doug, Pat Tink, Barb, Mick (all dec) & Peter.
Horsham & District
Funerals
Dylan & Amity Hartwich 5382 1149
MULRANEY,
Brian Robert “Tom”
7-10-1930 to 15-7-2024
Brother to Peter & Marie.
Uncle to Anne & Shayne, Paul, Frankie, Mary & Tim.
Great / Great-Great Uncle to Pat, Louis & Caitlyn, Maggie & Nick, Claire, Jill, Meg, Nellie, Ruby, Sam & Chloe, Laura & Zac, Charles, Leni, Zadie, Hallie, Percy, George, Max & Tullulah.
Lovingly Guided Us with His History & Knowledge
Your Life was a Blessing, Your Memory a Treasure
“We Will All Miss Him More Than Words can Express”
WENTWORTH, Peter John of Beulah, on July 8, 2024
Loved father of Trent (dec), Tanya and their families.
WUNDERSITZ, Joy Agnes
Passed away on July 16, 2024 aged 95 years.
Dearly loved wife of Mervyn (dec).
Loving mother and motherin-law of Geoff & Joy; Carolyn; Terry & Sharon; Dianne & Neil.
Adored Nanna to Ben & Lina, Josh & Bron, Adrian, Sam & Alex, Emma & Bruna; Michelle; Melany, Ami & Daniel.
Great Nanna to Phoenix, Ebony, Jackson, James, Charlotte, Marlee, Caleb, Jedd, Grace, Alexandra and Oscar.
Reunited with Dad in God’s Garden
BARTLETT (nee O’Dea), Una Mary
Funeral Mass for Mrs Una Bartlett will be offered at St Patricks, Leahy Street, Nhill on Friday (July 26th, 2024) at 11am.
The funeral will leave at the conclusion of Mass for burial at the Nhill Lawn Cemetery. The funeral will be webcast at www.tobinbrothers.com.au
Tobin Brothers Funerals Ballarat 53333101 www.tobinbrothers.com.au
DECKER, Craig Maurice
The funeral service to farewell the life of the late Craig Maurice Decker will be held at the Seniors Hall, Stawell, Thursday July 25th 2024 commencing at 1pm.
Interment to follow at the Stawell Cemetery.
Amity & Dylan Hartwich 5382 1149
GARDNER, Lois Dawn
The graveside funeral service to farewell the late Lois Gardner is to be held at the Horsham Lawn Cemetery, Friday, July 26, 2024 commencing at 2pm
Dylan & Amity Hartwich 5382 1149
HUTCHINSON, Glenda Anne
The graveside funeral service to farewell the late Miss Glenda Anne Hutchinson is to be held at Horsham Lawn Cemetery, Friday, July 26, 2024 commencing at 11am
Dylan & Amity Hartwich 5382 1149
MULRANEY, Brian Robert “Tom”
The funeral details for the late Tom Mulraney are yet to be finalised. Details to be advised in the coming days.
Dylan & Amity Hartwich 5382 1149
WENTWORTH, Peter John
The funeral of Mr Peter John Wentworth will leave the Uniting Church Beulah on Monday, July 29, 2024 after a service commencing at 12 noon for the Beulah Cemetery.
W.B. Gardiner & Son
WUNDERSITZ, Joy Agnes
The funeral of Joy Agnes Wundersitz will leave St Peter’s Lutheran Church, Dimboola on Friday, July 26, 2024 after a service commencing at 11am for the Dimboola Cemetery.
~ FREIJAH ~ Aida
12-11-1939 - 21-05-2024
We would like to sincerely thank our family and friends for their love and support, messages, cards, flowers, food and sympathy on the death of our much loved mother, mother-in-law and Siette.
A heartfelt thank you to all of you. Phil and Denise, Marcelle and Rod and family
~ McQUEEN ~ Rodney Dale
We would like to sincerely thank everyone for the love, care, kindness, prayers, support, cards and messages of sympathy on the passing of our dearly loved Rodney.
We also appreciate the stories people have shared with us of their connections with Rodney, both socially and in the business world.
We will treasure those memories forever.
Please accept this as our personal thanks.
Alys, Dianne, Geo rey, David and families
1 Honey Boy and 1 Black Girl
Spoodle available now to new Furever Families, both have been raised in a family environment on our farm, socialised with other dogs, cats, horses, live stock and chickens, They love cuddles, walks and time spent with you chilling in front of the fire, microchip 956000016666706/6579578
source# EE223376 $1500 girl $1800 boy Ph 0400035456
5mth old Guinea fowls $25 each Ph 0435124012 Dimboola
Alaskan Malamute pups, Born 21/2/24 Vet checked, microchipped wormed Source number MB168224 Boy 98514007720630. Boy 985141007720631, Girl 985141007720628 $1000 Ph Nadine 0429836214
Birds for sale, princess parrots, cockatiels and bourkes, all colours Ph 0408535515, Stawell
Border Collie pups, brown & white, male & female, microchipped and vaccinated, microchip# 985141007305923,98514100 7305924, 985141007305925, 985141007305926, source no E231600, $850 each Ph or text 0493111730
Budgies, assorted colours $10 each Ph 0417533579
Doberman pups, 4x girls black/ tan, 4x boys 3 black/tan and 1 brown/tan, ready to go, m/c # 956000014813157/14702252 /14697789/14699139/14845771 /14850566/14817621/14810773 $2000 Ph 0431982052
Female desexed mini dachshund, I like kids, dogs, cats, I am toilet trained, love walks and snuggles, microchip# 900141000504012, source# MB197522 $1400ono Nhill Ph 0431725487
Horse rug, 6 foot wanted Ph 0427361940
Merino Sheep, 1 Suffolk merino cross, 1 whether suffolk merino cross, $600 and no separation Ph 0481756063
Miniature Dachshund Puppies,1 black/tan M $3000, 1 black/tan F $3000,1 blonde M $4000, vacc, vet checked & m/ chip 953010006206969/70/71, source# MB257827, ready for collection, located Nhill Ph Grace 0499005268
Purebred black faced Dorper rams, pic# 3HSDC083 Ph Liz 0419664345
Roosters, ducks and guinea fowl wanted to buy Ph 0469740723 Spit-pigs $140 each, Salami pigs $350 each, extra large Ph 0427361940
Suffolk Rams, 18 months old,fully vaccinated, OB accredited, PIC3SGP010, ready to work, good bloodlines, well grown, $800 plus GST, can arrange delivery Ph 0429196337
Young Muscovy ducks, available now, $15 each Ph 042992620
0427909230
2016 Supreme Spirit Limited Ed 11, exterior black and white, 24’6”, long full front wardrobe, cafe style kitchen, big ensuite toilet, shower, 5kg washing machine, 4 brand new tyres L/T, diesel heater, big fridge, lots of cupboards, annexes winter and summer solar power, 2 x 120 watt batteries plus more, medical reason for selling top unit
$70,000neg Ph 0427911765 or 0477138363
2018 Dingo Ultimate Camper, heavy duty top of the line off-road trailer including boat rack, fully enclosed annexe
REDUCED 2011 Pinnacle camper trailer - full off-road, hard floor, a full canvas annexe, tag hinge towing included, 2 new tyres- spare is brand new, 2 batteries, Anderson plugs for charging batteries are included, 2 power points, light in camper, queen size bed and mattress, new fly screens in windows and doors, 4 burner gas stove, includes 2 gas bottles, 60L water tank,sink with water tap and electric pump to sink and outside tap, carries 2 large fuel containers, portable gas heater, portable toilet with pop-up shower or toilet cubicle, folding camp table, Rego till Sept 2024, U28090 $9,000ono Ph 0429942936
REDUCED 2018 Jayco Swan Camper, hardly used, as new, front & rear double beds, couch & table bed, can sleep 6 easily, battery pack, 4 Burner gas stove & grill, microwave, 3 way fridge, awning, lots of cupboards, $20,000ono, Ph 0427467622
Kaniva
REDUCED Concept Ascot caravan, 2006, 18’, pop-top, tare 1420, low kms, kept undercover, regularly serviced, EC, many extras inc, near new full annexe, easy to tow, R3373 $20,000 Ph Ray 0413445347
Ph 0407360212
2022 Goldfields camper trailer as new, used once, loads of extras
$20,000 Ph 0438722796
CUB Escape camper, 2020, Australian made, off road camper that will go anywhere, queen size bed, all canvas awnings, very good condition $24,800 Ph 0490532715
Galaxy Scenic caravan, 2004, 19’, EC, shower on outside $18,000 Ph 0400603022
Kokoda Tribute 2 Platinum, 2015 as newcondition, semi-off-road, ensuite, custom design, lots extras $56,000 Ph 0493052729
Motorhome Jayco Conquest 2021, 25’, satellite system, diesel, heater, 7625knms, 1UU2JX
$168,000 Ph 0429821461
New Age 2013, queen bed, TV, large fridge, microwave, gas/
Ph 0427778747
Ph 0407542856
Seeking Individual Support Worker (Ageing) to provide in-home care, Horsham based, duties include, dressing, bathing, toileting, minimum 1 overnight + 1 day shift per week, male or strong female ideal, Italian/English language skills ideal, more detail on enquiry Ph 0439307176
1984 Inter Acco 1830A, 18’ tray with bulk bin and double deck sheep crate, 02697P $16,000 plus Gst Ph 0400603022
Brandt 46’ auger , 8” super charge, new battery, new motor 3rd wheel drive $14,000 plus Gst Ph 0400603022
Case IH 2144 Harvester, 4375 engine hrs, 3108 rotor hrs, trimble auto steer, no screen, 25-foot flex front on Leith trailer, $50,000 inc Gst Ph 0428852409 Murtoa
CAT, 955 K traxcavator DROTT, ROPS, strong double ripper, GP bucket, D330T motor $35,000 plus Gst Ph 0400603022
Chamberlain Countryman 354 plus Cabin & Front end loader, 1960s, going well/good tyres Ph 0477275737
Connor Shea, 18 plate disc, hydraulic lift and fold $850ono,Southern cross pump jack, electric motor, working $80, Asuc wool table $120ono Ph 0407911884
Croplands Pegasus 6000lt boom sprayer, all hydraulics, 36m wide, air bag suspension, 20 point 8 forty, 2 tyres $77,000 inc Gst Ph 0498549832
REDUCED Goldstream RV Off Road 2007, solar panels, new deep cycle battery, roll out awning, pull out flys each end, outside shower, new porta loo, full annexe, queen bed, RC air con, hot water, full oven with grill, 3 gas burners, electric fridge runs off solar electric, built in radio plus tv, storage cupboards over bed, storage under seats, reg until October 2024, $15,500 Ph 0409967815, Horsham
REDUCED Isuzu Outback
Express Motorhome for sale, 2 seater, sleeps 3, auto, diesel, fridge, tv, shower, toilet, stove and lots more, have to see to believe, can drive on normal car licence, 3.1m long, RWC, $40,000 with 12mth rego and RWC Ph Phillip 0428173606 or Susan and ask for Phillp 0458727370 Horsham
Toyota Coaster camper , 2 seater, diesel heater, 1hz motor, solar and 12v awning much more, $40,000 Ph 0418325662
Stoll S6 2014 boom spray 6000lt tank, 36m boom,10 sections, 520/85R 42 tyres, 2.3mt axle on air bag suspension, mud guards, stainless steel centrifugal pump with hydraulic drive, 450lt flush tank, fence line nozzles both sides, TriJet nozzle bodies, one owner/operator, $80,000 inc Gst Ph 0428852409 Murtoa
Tractor Tyre , 1/2 the new price, 16.9 x 28, near new Ph 0353870522 AH or 0413073478
Trailing Grain Feeder , with canopy, good condition, $1100, Ph 0400894020
Carryall 6’ x 3’, suit type 1 + 3 3PL $150 Ph 0429491426
New Holland T8 360, 2250 hrs, one owner, non- smoker, never pulled an air-seeder, add blue switched off, linkage, UHF radio, auto steer ready, 50km box, excellent condition, upgraded to articulated, $270,000ono plus Gst $297,000 inc GST Ph 0418504408
2016 Ramco C Dolly trailer, registered X17337 $4000 Ph 0407542856
Doll collection, celluloid, porcelain and collectables, leather handbags, brand names, tapestries large variety Ph 0498621118
Fencing material , cyclone combination stays $66 inc, 100mm heavy duty galv pipe, ideal for strainer posts, 6m length cut to size $120 inc, 1000 elec fence standoffs $220 inc Ph 0428579838
Firescreen, 1300mm opening, 1700mm including wings, plus tool set, all in EC $250 Ph 0408504633
Half size pool/billiard table, slate top, folds for storage, comes with balls, cues & racks $100 cash Ph 0427545424
Large collection of Arnott & Anzac tins, old and new, 5 antique plough seats, corner TV cabinet, all negotiable Ph 0427857510
Massage Machine, duo MKII
Professional complete with instructional DVD, $300ono Ph 0429820692
Pine Posts S/H, good order, $5 each Ph 0429954000
REDUCED Horse hames, old, 8 pairs $10 pair ono, McCormick deering 2236 tractor, front wheel $120ono Ph 0407911884
Ryobi router $100, Triton router table $150, Triton jaws $150, band saw $200, band saw small $50, angle grinder $40, air compressor $100, plasma cutter $180, Ryobi drill press $120 Ph 0499769869
Table, black steel, glass top, with three chairs, GC, outdoor $50 Ph 0419560817
Heaslip grouper, VGC, 2 bins, 4200L each capacity, Honda motor, new bearings in elevator, adjustable legs, always shedded $7700 inc Gst Ph 0427330078
Aluminium windows, 4 x double approx 6’x6’, 2 x single approx 6’x3’, other smaller sizes, VGC, also quantity of timber louvre wardrobe doors, make an offer Ph 0437754474
Chicken manure, ex sheds or composted available now The Good Dirt Company Lethbridge Vic Ph 0409889250
3 seater leather couch Ph 0439110899
Household items , Diamond Creek round pedestal table $140, buffet three door 3 draw $140, pine dressing table with mirror $50, combination steel and timber head and foot, $100, 2x single bed Antique head and foot set, $30 each set Ph 0428504569
Mattress $250 , single bed blackwood $250, as new Ph 0437688336
Pool table, s late, 2.1/1m , plus accessories, $500ono Ph 0419892890
Vintage 1964 Viscount Ambassador alumvan, excellent original condition, rewired to 240v, 14f, + more $9500ono Ph 0431820493 BMW RT1200 Motorcycle,
2001 Savage 418 Kestrel SF, reg GG970, exp 18 Sep 2024, 30Hp, 2S Mercury motor, cover and canopy, dunbier gal trailer zeg U57972, exp 18 Sep 2024 all in very good condition $8250 Ph 0429924704
3.8 Savage aluminium boat, new 18 hp Tohatsu motor, Biminis, Eagle fish finder, Mackay galvanised trailer, GC, $3700 Ph 0428826113
3.8 Stacer Kippar boat,15hp, 2 stroke Mercury, trailer A77849, cover, canopy, extras, boat reg J0296 $3700 Ph 5382 4210
4.0m Stessl Aluminium Runabout , on galvanised trailer, 25HP evinrude outboard motor, electric trolling motor, not used over 2 years, trailer reg V82175, boat reg DT917, serial no 09185405, $4000, Ph 0437899398
Aspire Wheelchair, extremely comfortable, padded headrest, additional padded section for leg support, barely used over 3 month period, paid $3500, selling for $1500 Ph 0427562913
and
0428154961
Yamaha Scooter, excellent condition, 6100km, RWC, 6 months reg, ideal for learner, $1800ono Ph 0408824739
“Playola” Pianola , good condition, tuned and with 65 rolls, $500 Ph 53827026
Antique German violin,
Price reduced to sell Ute 2012
Nissan Navara D40 S6 MY12 RX cab chassis, single cab 2dr, manual, 6sp 4x4, 1222kg 2.5DT, one owner, a 92yo retired farmer who no longer needs the ute, excellent condition, serviced with log book and with RWC, seats have been covered since purchase so “as new”, solid fitted rubber matting in tray, YYU634, $10,000 Ph 0402135520
REDUCED 2010 Hyundai i30 diesel wagon, reg, RWC, economical, XWS504 $6500 Ph 0419132137 Ararat
2004 VY SS Commodore, black, RWC, VGC, YKW598 $16,000 Ph 0400603022
2009 Holden Colorado, auto, 3.0 diesel, tow bar, steel tray, toolboxes, Sept 2024 rego, RWC, tub with hard lid included, 312,000 kms, XBV738, $12,000 Ph 0458991202
2003 Landcruiser, auto, factory turbo diesel, lots of accessories, Reg HDJ100, 420,000km, $29,500 Ph 0447159379
2011 White Nissan Navara D40 STX550 V6 twin cab, auto, diesel, bull bar, driving lights, snorkel, long range fuel tank, duel battery system, 2 inch lift kit, canopy, hard top tonneau cover and roll bar, 1 owner, serviced regularly, rego paid until 23/12/2024, comes with RWC, engine number: V9X007595C, 297,500kms, YTZ 215 $20,800ono Ph Craig 0429832207
2015 Nissan Navara, bbar, lbar, snkl, rrak, canopy, T-bar, ebrks, dbats, abags, 6spd man, 9mths reg, RWC, only 118,000kms, ADP699 $23990 Ph 0427423609
2018 Mitsubishi Outlander, 2.0i PHEV Auto, plug-in hybrid, Mitsubishi serviced, superb condition throughout, near new tyres, 30-40km electric range, reg to April 2025, RWC supplied, 100,732 kms, Reg 1XN 2NP, $24,500 ono Ararat area ph 0413832765
2019 Subaru Impreza Hatch back, AWD, glass electric sunroof, safety, comfort, Pearl White, EC, 40,000kms, 1PA8PJ $26000 ono Ph 0427822909
2022 Isuzu Dmax X terrain
Valencia orange for sale, 25,318 kms,still under new vehicle warranty until 2028 or 150,000 kms, 7 months rego, RWC, BVI 103, $60,000 Ph 0438918240
Ford Wildtrak 2018, 3.2 motor 6 sp auto, bullbar, driving lights, 3" exhaust, 60 amp Anderson plug to the rear, dc-dc charger, clear view compact extendable mirrors, 175 Ah lithium battery, GVM upgrade, trailer brake controller, 140lt fuel tank, UHF radio & phone aerial, ECU throttle controller, aluminium canopy/ under tray boxes, ladder, jerry can holders, roof rack, mounted 160W solar panel, 39lt PVC water storage, Engel fridge on slide, Titan single drawer, battery charger, solar/battery controller, 240 volt inlet, 3 inside powerpoints to run fridge & charge battery etc, USB charging points, cig lighter plugs, inside canopy lights, 2m x 2.5m awning, excellent condition, reg Gadga, 75,360kms, $62,000 Phone 0429909210
2 bedroom house for rent in Horsham Ph 0432774645
2BR unit for rent - Kaniva, suit professional or retiree with good history, quality rental, excellent brick unit, single garage, 2BR with BIR, walk in shower, neutral decor, open plan living kitchen with dishwasher, lounge, split system, secure backyard, $1256 p/month, bond req Ph 0419546410
Housemate wanted , clean home in Haven, large furnished bedroom, double carport, private yard, no pets, $200 per week includes bills Ph 0407043917
Gypsum, lime, compost and all granulated fertilizer spreading, modern 4wd trucks, Floatation tyres, GPS and scales, call Adam Ph 0427552432
Massage Service , full body massage, 1 or 2 masseuses available, call for a quote and booking Ph 0460500827
Hindmarsh Shire Council invites suitably qualified and experienced persons / organisations to respond to its Tender forCONTRACT NO. 2024-2025-01
PROVISION OF TOWN PLANNING AND ASSOCIATED SERVICES
The specific requirements are detailed in the tender documents, which can be downloaded via Council’s website at www.hindmarsh.vic.gov.au/tenders.
Closing time for the above tender is 2:00pm on Thursday 8 August 2024.
All enquiries should be directed to Laura Sonnberger, Contracts & Procurement Officer, via email to lsonnberger@hindmarsh.vic.gov.au or telephone (03) 5391 4444.
Monica Revell Chief Executive Officer
www.theweeklyadvertiser.com.au
July 24th
In this our fourth week sharing about the Holy Spirit of God, we can realise the immense power, presence and grace available to us when we accept God’s invitation to follow Jesus Christ and invite God to work in our lives. In previous weeks we read that with God’s Spirit in us – we are never alone, we have power and gifts beyond our imagination, and we are given strength to live our lives and relationships with grace and love.
In preparing his disciples for the Holy Spirit, Jesus also promises that the Holy Spirit is an Advocate and Counsellor; the Holy Spirit speaks to God on our behalf and prays for us. The Holy Spirit will guide and lead us, helping us to make decisions that are good and right and will bring blessings both to ourselves and to others.
And Jesus also says that he, through the Holy Spirit, will give us peace. It’s hard to have peace in this world with everything happening that is not good. The kind of peace Jesus promises is a peace that is deep within us and doesn’t rely on circumstances or feelings. It is a peace that we can experience even in turmoil, sadness, or anxiety. This seems hard to imagine, but it is a peace that can come through faith in God and believing that God is real, is alive, and is able to work in us and through us – Good news, indeed! Susan Pearse – Southern Mallee Co-Operative Parish – Hopetoun/Rainbow
Hindmarsh Shire Council invites suitably qualified and experienced persons / organisations to respond to its Tender for -
CONTRACT NO. 2024-2025-02
SWIMMING POOL UPGRADES
The specific requirements are detailed in the tender documents, which can be downloaded via Council’s website at www.hindmarsh.vic.gov.au/tenders.
Closing time for the above tender is 2:00pm on Thursday 8 August 2024.
All enquiries should be directed to Laura Sonnberger, Contracts & Procurement Officer, via email to lsonnberger@hindmarsh.vic.gov.au or telephone (03) 5391 4444.
Monica Revell Chief Executive Officer
Street, Horsham. EOIs close 2 pm on Wednesday 31 July 2024. Our EOI form is available on our website at gwmwater.org.au/news. If you prefer a hard copy of the form, please contact our Customer Service team on 1300 659 961 during business hours.
Mark Williams Managing Director
and
and
and
1. This notice applies to the Stawell Water and Sewer District.
2. Please take notice that, under Section 144 of the Water Act 1989, GWMWater declares the land described below as serviced properties: Billimina Street, Stawell Lots 1-16 & 22-35 PS912732W, Parish of Stawell
in paragraph two must be taken to be serviced properties. Notice of Declaration of
Sunday, July 28
Edenhope 10am LR Goroke 10am LR Natimuk Join Vectis Vectis 10am LR Dimboola 10am LR 11
| Horsham
659 961
| Faults: 1800 188 586 - 24 hrs info@gwmwater.org.au | www.gwmwater.org.au
POINT ST & BANFIELD ST FOOTPATH AND
At the Council Meeting of 28 May 2024, Ararat Rural City Council discussed the option of selling Councilowned land between View Point and Banfield Streets, Ararat.
The site has been identified as valuable residential land which is best sold into the private market for development. Located on this land is a footpath and very small playground. Council wish to gauge the community’s thoughts on this area, and provide information about its use.
For more information and to submit your comments, visit engage.ararat.vic.gov.au or call Customer Service on (03) 5355 0200.
Dr Tim Harrison Chief Executive Officer
Form 2
The land affected by the application is located at:
The application is for a permit to:
169 Elizabeth Street, Ararat VIC 3377
Use and Development of the site for a Materials Recycling Depot and removal of Native Vegetation.
wdwdwdwdwdwd
The applicant for the permit is:
The application reference number is:
You may view this application through Council’s Greenlight portal on: https://ararat. greenlightopm.com/ and choosing Planning Department then view this by clicking on the ‘Applications on Advertising & Make a Submission’ tab
Manhari Metals c/o Keen Planning Planning Permit No. PA3354
Ararat Rural City Council – Customer Services, Vincent Street, Ararat Planning Department (03) 5355 0228 https://www.ararat.vic.gov.au
Documents and plans can be viewed online at the above web address and is free of charge. Any copies requested will be at a charge.
Any person who may be affected by the granting of the permit may object or make other submissions to the responsible authority as below.
An objection must be submitted through:
• The above Greenlight Portal or;
• Emailed to planning@ararat.vic.gov.au or;
• Mailed to PO Box 246, Ararat
The objection must:
• Include the reasons for the objection;
• State how the Objector would be affected; &
• Include your contact details.
The Responsible Authority will not decide on the application before: 9 August 2024
If you object, the Responsible Authority will tell you its decision.
‘Please be aware that copies of objections/submissions received may be made available to any person for the purpose of consideration as part of the planning process’
Contact:
Telephone (03) 5382 1351 Email horshamreception@ team.aceradio.com.au
$33.41
Contact: Nicole Jhureea
Contact:
Contact: Gwen
Exciting opportunity for a live-in position to manage the Halls Gap Valley Lodges & Function Centre.
Applications close August 5. Call 0427 810 122 for more information
in our fresh new shop. Retail / Wholesale Casual Position
20+ Hours Per Week, could be more hours for the right person
• Some heavy lifting (15 - 20kg) is involved.
• Some early mornings will be required.
• No experience necessary but some would be an advantage.
Please submit Resumes by 27th July, in store at 40 Urquhart Street, Horsham Or email: jkgriffiths71@gmail.com
Join our team by applying for this exciting job opportunity:
If you’re dedicated to delivering exceptional results for clients in a vibrant, fastpaced environment, this is the job for you! We’re seeking a reliable, accountable, and sales-focused individual who has creativity, self-motivation, and exceptional interpersonal skills.
Responsibilities:
• Build client relationships and develop strategic marketing plans.
• Coordinate with internal teams to execute campaigns.
• Monitor campaign progress, provide insights, and manage client expectations.
• Work alongside the sales team to collaborate sales and marketing targets. Requirements:
• Reliable, accountable and driven to exceed client expectations.
• Approachable with strong communication and dedicated to building long-term rapport with clients.
• Strong communication and project management skills.
• Creative problem-solving abilities and proactive client management approach.
Remuneration for this position: Salary per annum will be commensurate with experience.
To apply:
For further information or if you’re ready to take on one of these exciting opportunites, send your resume and cover letter to: Olivia Lenehan, Office Manager horshamoffice@aceradio.com.au
ACE Radio Broadcasters is an equal-opportunity employer.
Join the Hindmarsh team and contribute to our beautiful Shire.
With Hindmarsh Shire Council scheduled to commence direct management of pools in 2024, we are seeking a Team Leader Pools to oversee the day-to-day running and organisation of the 4 pools in our Shire. This exciting venture is a seasonal contract from late September until late March each year. If you are passionate about contributing positively to the community, this is the job for you!
Applications close Wednesday 7 August 2024 at 12noon.
Scan the QR code for details about this role and how to apply, visit our website www.hindmarsh.vic.gov.au/workin-council or contact our Customer Service Centre on 03 5391 4444.
Hindmarsh Shire Council is committed to increasing diversity across the organisation. We encourage anyone to apply for our vacancies regardless of their age, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or disability status.
We can help!
Place your situation vacant advertisement in
– the largest circulating newspaper in the Wimmera, southern Mallee and Grampians. Telephone (03) 5382 1351 Email horshamreception@team. aceradio.com.au
Inroads are seeking to recruit a Project Assistant located in Horsham to join our contracting team. The ideal applicant would have the following attributes:
• Experience in Project Administration
• Ability to manage time effectively and prioritisation of key requirements
• A strong work ethic to operate autonomously when required
• Pro cient in Microsoft Of ce suite
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to follow directions and problem solving skills to nd solutions
• Must be able to comply with police check and drug testing requirements
Please send applications, including cover letter and current CV to reception@inroads.com.au
Area: Horsham
Ph: 03 5382 4406
Email: reception@inroads.com.au
Inroads are seeking to recruit a Contracts Manager located in Horsham to join our contracting team. The ideal applicant would have the following attributes:
• Minimum 3 years experience in similar roles and/or hold a Batchelor of Civil Engineering.
• Previous experience in the civil construction industry – highly regarded
• A strong attention to detail with a high level of accuracy
• Effective organisational & time management skills
• Pro cient in Microsoft Of ce suite
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Customer focused
• Must be able to comply with police check and drug test requirements.
Please send applications, including cover letter and current CV to reception@inroads.com.au
Area: Horsham
Ph: 03 5382 4406
Email: reception@inroads.com.au
Position No: 50962148
This position manages a small team to deliver a comprehensive range of property, facilities, and operational services across a cluster of sites within the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, primarily focused on sites occupied by Agriculture Victoria. Located at a major site in Horsham, the position will be responsible for the provision of facility management and operational services at a major site, or combination of major, minor and/or microsites. The facilities include farms, depots, office premises, research facilities, glasshouses, ICC response facilities etc. In this position you will be required to support a small number of staff and have a strong understanding and commitment to continuous improvement and customer service.
The position requires a motivated self-starter who is able to build and maintain good working relationships within the department and its’ relevant agencies, as well as managing several projects or programs of work from inception through to completion. A solid understanding of the DEECA business, along with strong analytical and communication skills would be beneficial.
Accountabilities:
• Supervise a small team to deliver property, facilities, and operational services across one or more sites.
• Manage and maintain a range of buildings, structures, and associated facility infrastructure across multifunctional sites; including identifying technical problems and providing timely responses to address facility malfunctions and breakdowns; and support and management to the delivery of a range of operational services.
• Manage and Deliver Business Operations in relation to Front of house and Back of house operations to staff and Public at Site
• Adopt and apply OH&S policies and procedures to ensure a safe work environment, including the supervision of contractors, in line with legislative requirements and departmental policies and procedures.
• Deliver services aligned to the BFS Operations Unit, along with other tasks as required by the position’s manager, and/or Regional Manager.
Specialist/Technical Expertise/Qualifications
• Knowledge of OH&S policies and procedures would be highly regarded.
• Experience of working in a regulated maintenance environment, facilities management discipline or operational services delivery, would be advantageous.
• A current Drivers Licence.
This is an ongoing position. The work location for this position is Horsham.
To be considered for this position, applicants are encouraged to submit a resume and cover letter (no longer than 2 pages) summarising their skills and relevant experience.
Applications close at midnight on Wednesday, 31 July 2024.
For further information including the position description, key selection criteria and to apply visit www.careers.vic.gov.au
BY SIMON KING
The clash of the heavyweights in Wimmera Hockey Association open competition headlines round 11 at Yanac on Saturday, as several teams’ chances of making the finals hang in the balance.
Yanac Tigers and Warrack Hoops currently hold the top two places on the ladder and are already assured of playing in the finals again this year. They are on track to potentially meet again in late August, so the psychological advantage of a win here could make the difference at the end of the season.
The Tigers are undefeated in their last 50 games, and recent form suggests this will continue, but the Hoops looked good in their win against the Hurricanes last week and are in the best position of any of the teams to challenge this dominance.
The second open match will see the other two teams in the top four meet, with both needing a win to keep their run to the finals on track.
A win for the Cobras will confirm their place in the finals, keep them in the running for a top-two finish, and increase the pressure on the Hurricanes to qualify.
A Hurricanes win would shut the door on the Nhill Rangers’ chances of making the finals.
Recent form suggests the Tigers and Cobras should come away with wins, but there could still be a few surprises in a very even season. The Rangers have the bye.
The fluctuating form of several middle-of-the-ladder teams in the women’s competition will ensure interest is maintained well into the last third of the regular season, beginning with two pivotal match-ups this week.
Dimboola Roos have missed several key players in recent matches, which has been reflected in their onfield results. They will need another win soon to get their season back on track, but they are not assured of getting the points when they take on Nhill Thunderbirds.
After a slow start, the ’Birds are finding some form, and remain in a position to return to the top four, but will need two more wins than either the Roos or Jets in the next six rounds.
This scenario is possible, and they can stay on track with a win against the Roos.
Horsham Jets have also had a ‘hot and cold’ season, but coming off a solid victory and taking on Kaniva, who fought out a tough draw last week, could see them keep their hopes of a top-two finish alive if they can put their best team on the pitch.
Taking on the ladder leader will be a great learning experience for sixthplaced Warracknabeal, particularly for its younger cohort of players who have shown considerable improvement in both skills and confidence
throughout the season, but the home team should be too strong and maintain its grip on the top of the ladder.
In the under-16 division, teams from the top three will take on opponents from the bottom three, and recent form suggests the gap between the two halves is set to widen.
The closest match of the round will be between Kaniva Raiders and the team from the bottom three that is best positioned to challenge the leaders, Horsham Bombers, but with the possibility of claiming the top spot, Kaniva should be too strong.
It is difficult to see Yanac Warriors being seriously challenged by Warrack Revengers or Nhill Leopards, having too much trouble taking on the young Dimboola Kangaroos, but if either of the leading teams were not to take their opponents seriously, an upset is not out of the question.
Round-10 results –
Open: Warrack Hoops 4 (goals, O. Bennett 2, C. Baldock, L. Nuske; best, O. Bennett, I. McPherson, S. Schultz) d Horsham Hurricanes 0 (T. Batchelor, C. Hassall, J. Hawke). Kaniva Cobras 2 (J. Bedford 2;
ATTEMPT:
Nhill Rangers’ Joseph Knoll takes a shot at goal as Kaniva Cobras’ defenders Ryan Smith, goalkeeper Noah Krelle, Logan Krelle, and Lachie Mills attempt to stop him.
Picture: RACHEL CLARK
L. Mills, A. Wallis, J. Bedford) d Nhill Rangers 1 (J. Reichelt; K. Rowe, J. Knoll, C. Schultz). Women: Horsham Jets 5 (A. Heal 2, H. Werner, H. Mackereth, J. Mackereth; H. Werner, A. Heal, H. Knoop) d Warrack Women 0 (E. Williamson, E. Eichberger, E. Bull). Kaniva 1 (L. Stimson; S. Williams, L. Stimson, N. Hutchins) drew with Nhill Thunderbirds 1 (R. Clark; N. Kuhnell, T. Cuming, R. Clark). Yanac 6 (E. Alexander 3, T. Croot, M. Mackley, S. Hedt; E. Alexander, M. Mackley, A. Farmers) d Dimboola Roos 0 (J. Hauselberger, C. Hadzig, L. Hauselberger). Under-16: Horsham Bombers 6 (J. Mackereth 2, J. Schwarz, A. Jochinke, H. Mitchell, H. Knoop; H. Knoop, J. Schwarz, K. Besselaar) d Warrack Revengers 0 (E. Williamson, M. Bentley, S. Williamson). Kaniva Raiders 1 (F. Dodson; C. White, L. Krelle, C. Bedford) d Nhill Leopards 0 (B. Clark, D. Clark, O. Bone). Yanac Warriors 9 (H. Zanker 3, Archie Zanker 3, S. Pedie, Asher Zanker, I Hedt; Archie Zanker, Asher Zanker, Annabella Zanker) d Dimboola Kangaroos 0 (J. Ward, R. Hadzig, A Pretorius).
Under-12 development program: Warrack Avengers 1 (C. Bentley) v Horsham Black Hawks 3 (E. Batchelor, E. Elliott, A. Neumann). Kaniva Rampagers 4 (D. Bee 4) v Nhill Bandits 4 (N. Krelle 3, R. Wheeler). Yanac Lowan Stars 5 (S. Farmers 2, Z. Rethus, H. Zanker, A. Cramer) v Dimboola Kookaburras 1 (R. Hadzig).
Garry George of Beulah continued his winning ways when training a winning double at Horsham Greyhound Club’s regular meet last week.
George has enjoyed a purple patch of late, with Lilydale and Show Cause adding to his recent list of winners.
The club also hosted a Sunday meeting and it was LaLa Rapid for team Hartigan of Horsham who struck first, winning a gripping finish against Weblec Whistler for Heather Baxter of Murtoa.
Sleek Blazer for team Fullerton then made it two wins on the trot, winning easily in the second last race of the day. Lilydale has compiled an impressive resume, winning four of her five starts to date and finishing third in her other start.
The race was all but over from the start on Tuesday last week – nothing could make any ground on the speedster going home a four length winner in the quick time of 23:45 seconds. Show Cause, while not quite as quick from the traps, was able to push up from the inside draw and also lead throughout and stopped the clock in a nice run of 23:34 seconds – two lengths to the better of her rivals.
Lala Rapid blew the start and was forced to win the hard way. Last early, he mustered well, improving to fourth position as the greyhounds cornered. Straightening for home, the big brindle chaser loomed large and slowly picked them off one by one, grabbing Weblec Whistler in the last bound to win by the barest of margins in 27:95 seconds.
Sleek Blazer for team Fullerton was simply too strong for his rivals. Jumping well he positioned up second early, but on turning for home railed superbly to take the lead and never looked back, going home a comfortable three length victor in 23:48 seconds.
– Peter Carter
from 6am to 9am
BY DAVID BERRY
The eyes of the world will be on Paris for the next two weeks as the games of the 33rd Olympiad hit our television screens, and for Wimmera volleyball enthusiasts there will be a link to the beach volleyball.
Izak Carracher and his partner Mark Nicolaidis will be competing on the sand under the Eiffel Tower as first time Olympians after a win at the Asian Continental Cup in China, surviving three match points against their Chinese opponents to qualify for Paris.
Carracher is the son of Volleyball Australia president Craig Carracher who has family in Goroke.
Carracher and Nicolaidis are in Pool
WINNER’S
CIRCLE:
Stablehand Morgan Lane and driver Jackie Barker with the Aaron Dunntrained filly Sweetnikkilou after their win at Melton last week.
A of the main draw, while fellow Australians Tom Hodges and Zac Schubert are in Pool C.
Hodges started his volleyball career in Melbourne playing for State League club Melbourne Uni Renegades, while Schubert learnt his volleyball growing up in Loxton in country South Australia.
The Swedish pair of David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig are the top seeds in Pool A, while the Tokyo gold medalists, Norway’s Christian Sorum and Anders Mol, are in Pool C.
There will be plenty of interest in the women’s beach volleyball with Australian pair Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho Del Solar back, aiming to go one better than their silver medal in Tokyo.
Mariafe and Taliqua caught the at-
tention of the Australian public on their way towards that silver medal in Tokyo, gaining valuable prime time television exposure and giving the sport a much-needed boost.
The gold medal winning pair from Tokyo will not participate in Paris, so the top seeds are the Brazilian pairing of Ana Patricia Silva and Eduarda Santos Duda, with the Australian girls going in ranked 14th.
While there will be plenty of interest on the sand, there will be just as much interest in the South Paris Arena, where the indoor volleyball will be played with Tokyo gold medalists France in the men and USA in the women both favored to make it through to the second round.
Australia did not qualify for Paris, with Volleyball Australia now setting
Nine race cards were conducted at both Charlton and Melton last week, with a number of ‘locals’ in the winner’s circle.
St Arnaud Harness Racing Club president Ross Conway was first to strike at Charlton with his eight-year-old mare Cornelia successful in the $6000 Wimmera Mallee Pace.
Cornelia showed plenty of early speed from gate five at the start and easily crossed to the pegs to assume control of the 1609-metre contest. Driver James Herbertson rated his charge perfectly through the middle stages with a cushy 60.1 second half, then upped the ante round the last bend when challenged, and the mare cruised home by five metres in a rate of 1:57.2.
Back in May, Conway pulled off a superb training feat when Cornelia scored first up after a four year break at Swan Hill.
Win for Ainsworth crew
The Ainsworth family combined to capture the $4500 North West Ag Trotters Handicap at Charlton with their five-year-old mare Boutika.
Raced by Katrina Ainsworth, trained and driven by her brothers Ashley and Jason, Boutika made a safe getaway from the 10 metre handicap after being inconvenienced at the start and sat mid-field during the early stages of the 2100metre journey, off a quick tempo set by the front runners.
When the dust settled, Jason gave Boutika more rein and steadily made ground to be oneone at the bell, then continued forward to be outside the leader Primz Luck, Neil McCallum, heading into the last bend.
Shortly before straightening, Primz Luck broke under pressure, causing interference to several runners and Boutika powered to the line unchallenged, to score by 18 metres in a rate of 2:04.2.
The Ainsworths race Boutika on lease from breeder Greg Hargreaves, and the Charlton victory takes her record to six wins and 10 minors from 64 starts.
Stawell trainer Jason Ainsworth made it a driving double later in the afternoon with the Lynch family’s owned and bred nine-year-old gelding, The Regulator.
Ainsworth took over the pacer about 12 months ago, last season managing just a couple of placings from 11 outings in the purple-and-white.
Returning to racing with renewed zest after a decent spell, The Regulator has posted three wins and six minors this season and looks to have a few more in store.
The St Arnaud district training team of Shaun and Jason McNaulty also landed a winner at Charlton, when five-year-old gelding Terror Eyes came off a three-wide trail at the 500 metre mark to round up the opposition in the $6000 Fitzpatrick Transport Pace.
The McNaulty stable took on Terror Eyes for the Dickson and Munro families early this season and since returning to racing have notched up two wins and four minors from eight starts.
Driver James Herbertson enjoyed a great afternoon, with Terror Eyes his fourth winner.
Horsham owner-trainer Aaron Dunn is campaigning up in Queensland with his two-year-old colt Forty Love, set for next Saturday night’s $500,000 Prostar, but in his absence, the stable was successful at the Bendigo meeting, relocated to Melton on Wednesday last week.
Hamilton horsewoman Jackie Barker stood in for Dunn with the reins and took out both the $8000 Amaze App Pace with three-year-old gelding Komodo and $8000 The Douglas Deck Mares Pace with three-year-old filly Sweetnikkilou. The lightly raced pair have their fair share of ability, as shown by their records to date of four wins from 12 starts and three from six, respectively.
its sights on Los Angeles in 2028, but more importantly Brisbane – hopefully – in 2032.
France, Poland and Japan are the three highly favored teams to progress in the men’s draw, with Brazil, Italy and France in the women.
Players to watch in the men’s draw include Jean Patry and Earvin N’Gapeth of France, Bartosz Kurek of Poland, Ran Takahashi and Yuji Nishida of Japan.
On the women’s side of the draw, Italian Paola Egonu is ranked the best player in women’s world volleyball and she will carry the hopes of her nation on her broad shoulders.
The experienced Brazilian pair of Gabi and Roberta are good to watch, along with Karakurt from Turkey and American pair Dana Rettke and Anne
Drews. Volleyball has been in the Olympics since 1964 with beach volleyball admitted in 1996.
The crowd involvement at the games, no matter whether it’s indoor or on the sand brings enormous energy and entertainment for viewers, and with the ever expanding platforms available now, enthusiasts can watch all the time, which is a tremendous boost for all sports, not just volleyball.
Winter season entries
Entries close on Friday of this week for teams and individuals interested in playing in the Horsham winter season. Visit the Volleyball Horsham website for the registration link, with enquiries to info@volleyballhorsham. com.au.
Pickleball is being introduced to the Stawell and Horsham communities this weekend with free, adult-only sessions hosted by Wimmera Regional Sports Assembly.
Volunteer coaches from Pickleball Victoria’s affiliated clubs are supporting the introduction of the sport.
The initiative aims to encourage the community, particularly those aged 50 years and older, to be more active and engaged in physical activities.
Pickleball, a paddle-based game played on a
badminton-sized court, can be played in singles format, with two players, or doubles format, with four players.
The Horsham event will take place on Friday from 5pm to 8pm and Sunday from 9am until noon at Horsham Primary School’s gymnasium in Baillie Street. The Stawell event is on Saturday from 9.30am to noon at Stawell Sports and Aquatic Centre.
People aged 18 years and older can register their interest at forms.office.com/r/0qKKWZC65z.
The Laharum FNC is excited to announce that we are pursuing the fielding of women’s football teams in 2025
★ Players for each grade
★ Support staff for each grade ★ Coaches for each grade
★ Women’s Football Director to serve on the LFNC board
Wednesday, August 14 @ Laharum Clubrooms, 6pm
★ All interested players/ families, support staff invited.
★ Presentation of the Laharum FNC and details on how our 2025 Womens Football Program will look.
★ All players that sign on receive a free Laharum beanie!
Senior Women, U18 & U15 Enquiries can be directed to President – Hamish Roberts
Checking on a mate should be as easy as tying your shoe laces.
is an opportunity for clubs and their communities to embrace and learn more about mental health in our local community.
This weekend, every player in adult teams throughout the HDFNL and WFNL will receive an individual pair of laces to help carry the message that collectively we can all check in on one another to ensure we are on top of our mental health.
BY COLIN MacGILLIVARY
Grampians Cricket Associa-
tion’s next 12 months are secure, but its multi-year outlook remains uncertain after a crisis meeting in Ararat last week.
Association president Matt Dean said the competition would continue in the 2024-25 season after all existing clubs put forth teams.
But he said the association’s longterm survival was contingent on finding more players, especially in the junior ranks.
About 50 people attended the meeting, with all clubs represented.
“The response to the crisis meeting
was really good. It shows the fact people care about cricket,” Mr Dean said.
“We walked away quite impressed.
“Obviously we don’t want to see cricket disappear. We’re going to do everything in our power to make sure cricket stays. Disbanding is our very last resort. We’ve just got to find some answers and some extra help.”
Mr Dean said the association’s retention of junior players entering senior ranks had been poor, leading to a lack of senior players between the ages of 16 and 30.
“Whether kids are feeling that step out of under-16s to senior cricket as being too big a jump, I’m not 100 per cent sure,” he said.
Murtoa’s Marma Cup will be run on Saturday, the only country Victorian race meeting for the week.
With seven races on the card, the feature race of the day will be the Marma Cup BM78 Handicap over 2050 metres.
Gates open at Murtoa Racecourse at 11.30am, with plenty of indoor and outdoor seating for those looking to watch the races from a prime spot. Catering, a heated bar, TAB services and bookies are available on-course.
The Marma Cup has a strong history at the Murtoa-Marma Racing Club.
Industry awards
In other news, Horsham-trained Captain Envious is one of three horses vying for Country Racing Victoria’s Horse of the Year.
Winners will be announced at an awards night on August 24.
Captain Envious, trained by Paul Preusker, was second in Ballarat’s Golden Nugget before taking out
the Murtoa and Ballarat cups last year.
Three Wimmera racing clubs have also been announced as finalists in the Community Club of the Year award.
The category is for clubs with a turnover under $1 million, who are deemed to have achieved the best overall performance for the 202324 racing season.
Great Western, Horsham and St Arnaud racing clubs are among seven finalists.
Great Western Racing Club chairman Carl Barry said it was a great honour to be nominated.
“The club is run by a team of passionate thoroughbred racing enthusiasts and a committee who volunteer their time for the love of our great sport and for the Great Western community,” he said.
Horsham Racing Club manager Charmayne Parry said the club was delighted to be nominated as a finalist.
“You’ve got guys who are in the 30 to 40 age group who are really keen, and then guys who are 40 to 50 or sometimes 60 who are still there trying to keep clubs going but would rather move into the background and let the younger kids take over.
“A few clubs are having some issues trying to keep board positions filled. Grampians Cricket Association is having those issues as well. There are multiple people wearing multiple hats to try to keep things running.”
Mr Dean said it was important for the association to boost junior participation in Ararat.
“We’d love to see a couple more under-16 sides from Ararat. We’ve got a
town of more than 10,000 people and there’s not one under-16 side from the whole town,” he said.
“Trying to get that junior participation up is going to have to be a big focus.
“We had the Woolworths Cricket Blast a couple of years ago at Alexandra Oval and we had 60-plus participants. That says there’s definitely interest from kids, but there’s a lot of competition out there from things like futsal and basketball.
“It could be a matter of finding a better day that works. We’ve tried a couple of different days, but maybe we need to try one that we haven’t and see if we can improve the numbers.”
The next veterans’
Club, with registrations from 9.30am for
Mr Dean encouraged people to consider becoming involved in the association as an administrator or junior coach, even if they did not currently play cricket.
“Just because you’re not playing for a side, doesn’t mean you can’t be involved. We’re hoping people want to put their hands up and help out,” he said.
“People can send enquiries through to us. We’re planning to hold our AGM on Monday, August 18.
“All members of the public are welcome to attend – it’s not just for the cricket clubs, anyone who wants to come along and have a say is welcome.”
Horsham Cricket Association has avoided a recess after securing four new board members.
Justtin Combe will be the association’s new president, taking the reins from Travis Hair.
David Hopper was elected vice-president, with Peter Carter named secretary and Andrew Sostheim as an additional board member.
The association faced collapse after receiving no board nominations at its annual general meeting last month, but new board members were elected at a special general meeting on July 10.
Mr Hair, who ran the competition as the sole fulltime board member for the past two seasons with support from his wife Kate, and Tony Wills, said it was ‘a really good result’.
“The new board members are good people and are doing it for all the right reasons,” he said.
Mr Combe said he stood for president out of a desire to ensure his sons were able to continue playing cricket.
“I’ve been involved in cricket for so long that it was time to give something back,” he said.
Mr Combe thanked Mr Hair for his contributions, as well as the new board members for stepping up. He said the board also expected to name a new treasurer before its first meeting.
– Colin MacGillivray
BY COLIN MacGILLIVRAY
Great Western is out of finals contention in the Mininera and District Football League’s senior competition, but can play spoiler for its rival from 15 minutes down the Western Highway as it prepares to host Ararat Eagles at Stawell’s North Park.
The Lions lost a heartbreaking 11.10 (76) to 10.7 (67) clash against Glenthompson-Dunkeld on Saturday, dropping to a 3-9 record for the season.
While a top-five finish is out of the question for Great Western with only four rounds remaining in the home-and-away season, it is still firmly in play for Ararat, which defeated SMW Rovers 10.19 (79) to 7.8 (50) to solidify its grip on fifth place.
The inaugural round dedicated to raising awareness about mental health will be embraced by Wimmera and Horsham district football and netball leagues this weekend.
CheckMate Round came to fruition after a group of keen football followers were inspired to implement a similar initiative to Spud’s Game in the AFL.
Spud’s Game honours St Kilda great Danny Frawley, who died from suicide in 2019 after battling mental health issues.
Brendan O’Loughlin, general manager of 3WM, MIXX FM and The Weekly Advertiser, who are major sponsors of the Wimmera and Horsham District leagues, teamed up with fellow Horsham-based football supporters Gavin Morrow and Nathan Henry to form a working group with league representatives to introduce the CheckMate Round.
Mr O’Loughlin said every player in senior and reserves football, and senior grades of netball would wear the checked shoe laces to remind everyone to check in on one another from time to time.
“As well as raising awareness, it’s also about raising money to go
But with Woorndoo-Mortlake trailing the Eagles by only four premiership points, Ararat cannot rest on its laurels and faces a danger game against Great Western this weekend.
Among the players the Eagles will lean on to get them across the line is co-captain Naish McRoberts, who has been superb all season and claimed best-on-ground honours against the Bulldogs.
Tom Taurau had his best outing in front of goals for the season, finishing with five, and Tom Cousins was influential.
For Great Western, Dylan Witney was excellent in defeat against the Rams, kicking four goals, and Nick Dunford was prominent in the midfield.
Tatyoon kept its faint finals hopes
flickering at the weekend, beating Woorndoo-Mortlake 9.6 (60) to 4.7 (31) to remain within two wins of Ararat Eagles.
David Brady played one of his best games of the season and Hayden Walters was excellent for the Hawks, with Marcus Darmody and Charles Murrie kicking three goals each up forward.
The Hawks have a chance to boost their percentage against winless Caramut this weekend, with the Swans coming off a miserable 32.20 (212) to 0.1 (1) loss against ladder-leader Penshurst.
A single behind in the opening term was all Caramut could manage, as Bomber forward Ian Milera had a day out with 11 goals.
Moyston-Willaura was no match for Lismore-Derrinallum at the
weekend, with the Demons winning 20.13 (133) to 5.4 (34) behind a dominant outing from midfielder James Halloran and five goals each to Lachie Constable, Liam Rigby and Blake Scott.
Wingman Ryan Heard and defender Ned Bohner were the Pumas’ best players.
Wickliffe-Lake Bolac defeated Hawkesdale-Macarthur 7.8 (50) to 4.5 (29) in a low-scoring affair at Lake Bolac, with Charles Vallance leading the way for the Magpies, who will be on the road against SMW Rovers this weekend.
Lismore-Derrinallum will host Glenthompson-Dunkeld, Hawkesdale-Macarthur will play Woorndoo-Mortlake and Moyston-Willaura will visit Penshurst in other matches.
SUPPORTERS: CheckMate Round working group members, from left,
Brendan O’Loughlin, Jennie French and Gavin Morrow with promotional items.
into local mental health programs, which will ultimately help our wider community,” he said.
“It’s such an important issue in our community, as it is everywhere, and the more we talk about it, the more it helps people get the help they need.”
The leagues have also partnered with AFL mental health program Tackle Your Feelings, led by highprofile player and coach ambassadors to deliver the mental health initiative.
The first session was at Warrack Eagles last week, where mental
health experts presented information to players and volunteers.
Other clubs involved in this year’s sessions are Laharum, EdenhopeApsley, Nhill and AFL Wimmera Mallee Umpires group.
Next, another five clubs will be involved, and the leagues will receive funding to invest back into local mental health programs, such as mental health first aid, donations to local providers or directly to clubs who need support.
Tackle Your Feelings is a free mental health program formed by the AFL Coaches Association, AFL
Players Association and Zurich Insurance in 2018 to help participants gain the tools to understand, recognise and respond to signs of mental ill health in themselves and each other.
For more information or to take a mental health test, visit www. tackleyourfeelings.org.au.
• If you, or someone you know needs help, phone Lifeline on 13 11 14, Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, 13YARN on 13 92 76, Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636 or Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467. In an emergency, phone Triple Zero.
with Kuges, Cobba, Easty & Hugh Match in review
Nhill 6.8 (44) d Stawell 4.8 (32)
It was a ripper of a game. Nhill has definitely arrived as a real, strong finals contender. They’ve been knocking on the door for the last year or two, but right now they’re genuine contenders to play finals. Within a year or two they could even be a premiership prospect if they maintain the side they have, which is a high-quality young side.
They’re really well coached by Jake McQueen, and David Flood is a perfect person to have heading up your bench. He can mentor Jake and also guide from the sidelines.
I really like their game-plan – the way they run the ball and their endeavour to work back.
In days gone by they might have been content to run hard forward but not work hard defensively.
On the weekend their forwards and midfielders pushed back deep to help the defenders, which they had to do because they were only just in front at three-quarter time and kicking into a stiff breeze.
Stawell threw everything they had at them for 80 per cent of the last quarter, and to their credit they withstood the Warriors’ onslaught. Then they went forward and kicked a couple of late goals to seal it.
Stawell was gallant in defeat and didn’t lose any admirers. They’ll be there when the whips are cracking, without a doubt. Sean Mantell and coach Tom Eckel performed at a high level.
The standout player: Jordan Zeitz was probably Nhill’s best, ably supported by Mitch Dahlenburg.
Zeitz played on a wing and ran non-stop up and down the ground.
Defensively he laid some really good tackles and smothers when he didn’t have the ball, and I loved his run and carry and use of the footy when he had it in his hands.
He made good decisions and was a real go-to player on the wing all day.
The rising star: Nhill and District Sporting Club as a whole is my rising star for their perseverance in the way they’ve worked through some difficult times. They’ve been rewarded with a full contingent of junior footy and netball.
To their credit, the club seems to be in a brilliant spot, and both A Grade netball and senior football are knocking on the door of playing finals.
What’s Chiropractic got to do with football?
In a game of football, it’s important that each team-player play their role. They are experts in what they do. Defenders, mid-fielders and forward players they all have their game. If, however we stack the defence to stop the opposition scoring the ball gets stuck in the backline and there is noone to kick it to. Health choices can be like that. When there is pain, some people just take medication or wait for it to go away. That’s like playing only defence. It’s a low scoring game.
Chiropractic is designed to move the vertebrate and get the nervous system responding to all states of play.
Chiropractic keeps you moving so the rest of your body can work better.
BY COLIN MacGILLIVRAY
Blustery conditions made for
low-scoring games in the Horsham District Football Netball League at the weekend, with three teams failing to top 20 points.
Natimuk United managed only a single behind after quarter time in its match against rival Noradjuha-Quantong, losing 12.11 (83) to 1.3 (10) in front of a home crowd at Natimuk Showground.
The first quarter was competitive, with the Rams notching 1.3 to the visitors’ 3.2, but thereafter it was all one-way traffic.
Noradjuha-Quantong coach Damian Cameron said he was pleased with the way his charges handled the conditions.
“It wasn’t much of a day weatherwise. There was a pretty strong wind going towards one end, so obviously it affected our game plans and game styles a little bit,” he said.
“The boys responded really well. We only kicked 12 goals ourselves, but we did a good job.
“We want to see consistency in the weeks leading up to finals. We played some really good footy against sides
through the middle of the season and then we had a pretty poor performance against Harrow-Balmoral, which was disappointing.
“We want to get back to that consistency and leave that as one little hiccup and get back on track.”
Impressing for the Bombers were in-and-under midfielder trio James Gregg, James Hallett and Jayden Besford, while Connor O’Beirne had a day out with six goals.
“It was good to see Connor kick a bag of goals. He’s always in amongst the action, but it was good to see him get reward for effort on the weekend,” Cameron said.
For Natimuk United, it was again senior leaders Callum Cameron and Jono Lovel who led the way, with Cody Frizon kicking the team’s only goal.
With the Bombers facing an important match against second-placed Swifts this weekend, followed by a bye and a game against fellow finals contender Rupanyup, Cameron said health and consistency would be key.
“Hopefully we’ll get Dylan Shelley, Wade Francis and Brandon Ellis back in the next few weeks,” he said.
“They’re top-quality players and
they leave big holes when they’re not in there.
“Hopefully Brandon will play this weekend and Dylan and Wade will be back after the bye to play the Rupanyup game. They’ve both been out for quite a long time now, so it’ll be good to get them back in.”
Scoring was similarly low in Laharum’s clash with Kaniva-Leeor United at Cameron Oval, with the Demons prevailing 11.6 (72) to 2.1 (13).
Pat Lattanzio was a major ball winner for Laharum and Cody Richards held down a key defensive post, while Kaniva-Leeor United’s Dylan Natt did
his best to quell the Demons’ forwards at centre half back.
Laharum will travel to play Taylors Lake this weekend, while the Cougars host Rupanyup, which is fresh from an 11.11 (77) to 6.3 (39) win against Kalkee.
Little separated the teams in the first half, but the Panthers finished strongly with four goals to one in the final term, with Connor Weidemann playing strongly in only his second appearance for Rupanyup this season amid commitments for the Talent League’s Greater Western Victoria Rebels.
The most lopsided match of the round was Harrow-Balmoral’s 21.19 (145) to 2.3 (15) demolition of Edenhope-Apsley, spurred by a stellar performance from newly re-signed coach Jai Thompson and five goals apiece from Michael Close and Rhys Daffey. Josh La Rocca and Bernie Kealy were the Saints’ best on a bleak day. Edenhope-Apsley will welcome a bye this weekend as a chance to regroup, while in other matches Kalkee will host Pimpinio, and Natimuk United travels to Balmoral to play the Roos.
Edenhope-Apsley’s A Grade netball premiership defence appears likely to continue into the finals this season after the Saints secured an important win against Harrow-Balmoral on Saturday.
Entering round 14 eight premiership points ahead of sixth-placed KanivaLeeor United, the Saints improved their position by beating the Roos 3934, while the Cougars faltered against Laharum, losing 70-41.
It was a gutsy win for EdenhopeApsley, which trailed by three goals after a low-scoring first quarter before clicking into gear.
Defender Rebecca Heath also grabbed several tough defensive rebounds, limiting Harrow-Balmoral’s second-chance opportunities.
For the Roos, midcourter Febey McClure and goalie Tori Dunstan played well, keeping the game neck-and-neck until the final quarter.
In the end however, the Saints firepower was too much, with Fox netting seven goals in the last quarter and Tahlia Sailor sinking six alongside her.
Caitlin Jones-Story leading the way.
Kaniva-Leeor United goalie Blair Burke was strong at the other end in her second game back from injury, finishing with 30 goals, while Zoe Hawker battled hard in the midcourt.
Rupanyup earned an important win against a potential finals opponent, beating Kalkee 35-27 at Rupanyup Recreation Reserve.
affected Kalkee shots, while Bianca Drum proved an able foil to Zanaiya Bergen at the other end of the court with 12 goals.
Noradjuha-Quantong had little trouble against Natimuk United, winning 66-32 with big performances from goal defence Brooke Pay and centre Holly Nuske.
The Saints began to force HarrowBalmoral turnovers with midcourt pressure, and star goal attack Lavinia Fox was the beneficiary.
A finals position now appears to be Edenhope-Apsley’s to lose, following the Cougars’ heavy defeat at the hands of Laharum.
The Demons led by 13 goals at quarter time and cantered to the finish line, with a 56-goal performance from
The Panthers trailed by five goals at half time but flipped the game on its head with a stifling defensive performance in the second half, conceding only three goals in each of the third and fourth quarters.
Rupanyup defenders Lucy Bussenschutt and Victoria Taylor made the most of blustery conditions, grabbing plenty of rebounds from wind-
For the Rams, keeper Ebony Rintoule and goalie Emma Uebergang, 26 goals, were best. Round 15 will see the Bombers host Swifts, while the Rams will travel to play Harrow-Balmoral.
Other matches see Kalkee hosting Pimpinio, Rupanyup on the road against Kaniva-Leeor United and Taylors Lake at home to Laharum. – Colin MacGillivray
BY LAUREN HENRY
Horsham Demons will try to end Nhill’s winning streak on Saturday as it takes on the in-form side of the Wimmera league.
The Tigers chalked up their fourth consecutive win on Saturday, beating Stawell by 12 points in a low-scoring tussle at Davis Park.
Following a heavy loss to Ararat in round eight, Nhill has since scored wins against Horsham Saints, MinyipMurtoa, Dimboola and Stawell.
The 6.8 (44) to 4.8 (32) scoreline showed the grit required by Nhill to tough out a win over the Warriors –one of three teams on equal points at the top of the ladder.
Jordan Zeitz, Daniel Batson and Xavier Bone shone for the Tigers, who kicked four goals straight in the first term before conditions deteriorated as the wet and windy weather set in.
It’s not often that a side doesn’t kick a goal for two quarters but still wins the match, but that’s exactly what Nhill did, adding another two goals in the final term.
This week it will be the Demons’ turn to take on the Tigers, and Horsham coach Jordyn Burke is under no illusions of the challenge.
“They’re playing really good footy and getting a lot of confidence,” he said.
“They’ve got some pillars that when they play well, their team plays well, so we’re going to need to look after a few of them.
“Nhill tips the ball around and sort of possess the ball, so for us we’ve got to make sure we really have our accountability in the forefront of our minds.”
With the Demons having four match-
es to play this season, every game is important in the context of finals.
“I’m fairly comfortable with where we’re at, but the fact of the matter is that you can see how even it is. So there’s still a lot of work to do in those last four games,” he said.
“The main thing is, I think you can see how even the comp is, we’ve just got to take it a week at a time.”
Nhill holds a firm grip on third place on the Wimmera league A Grade netball ladder after scoring a 39-34 goal win against Stawell.
Played in wet and windy conditions at Davis Park, Nhill, the two teams battled it out all matches with no more than two goals separating the sides at each break.
The Tigers were able to pull away in the last quarter to extend their lead out to five.
Nhill co-coach and goal shooter
Emma Hawker said the Tigers always had a great contest with Stawell –who are in fifth place but knocked off fourth-place Dimboola the week before.
“Although we weren’t entirely happy with our first quarter, we found our rhythm in the following quarters, playing our style of netball and
gaining more control,” Hawker said.
“Ellen Bennett in centre was pivotal, her intensity and determination throughout the game motivating the team to lift our performance to her level.”
Hawker said players on both teams were forced to adjust to the wintry conditions, with the wind and rain playing havoc.
“Every win this season has been crucial,” she said.
“Finishing third would secure us a home final, and a great way to kick off a finals campaign.”
But first the Tigers take on ladder leaders Horsham at city oval this Saturday.
“We’re looking forward to playing Horsham and will focus on our game, playing our style of netball,” Hawker said.
The Demons are coming off a ninegoal win against Dimboola.
After just three goals separated the two teams at quarter time, the Demons skipped out to an 11-goal lead at half time before the Roos swung several positional changes in the second half.
But with superior skills and experience, the Demons held strong to score their 11th win for season.
In other round 13 action, Horsham Saints were too good for Southern Mallee Thunder, scoring a 67-41 win. Saints wing attack Megan Byrne and goal attack Abby Hallam, who shot 31 goals, led the way for the home side as the Thunder tried several different combinations to tackle the reigning premiers.
The Saints this Saturday travel to Ararat, who are coming off the bye, while the Thunder play a home game
The Demons’ 81-point win over Dimboola on Saturday showed some pleasing signs – particularly with the emergence of its two-pronged forward line as Ryan Kemp kicked eight goals and Jordon Motton booted five majors.
In windy conditions at Dimboola Recreation Reserve, Horsham had a solid start and then ran away with
the game in the final quarter, booting eight goals to Dimboola’s one.
“It was good to keep them to a low score, like our defence was really solid and we probably let them have a few opportunities in that second quarter, but overall, we were able to put enough pressure on them in their forward 50 to either miss the goals or we were able to rush them through,” Burke said.
The Roos face an interesting match this weekend against Warrack Eagles, who are still chasing their first win of season 2024.
The Eagles lost to Minyip-Murtoa on Saturday by 61 points, but it wasn’t all good news for the Burras with their young gun Oscar Gawith taken from the field in the first quarter with a knee injury.
Tanner Smith, with five goals, again led the way as Luke Fisher and Jye Walter were also named in the best.
The Burras have the tough task of travelling to Hopetoun to play Southern Mallee Thunder this Saturday.
The Thunder were in cruise control against Horsham Saints on Saturday, taking a 45-point win as coach Kieran Delahunty, onballer Billy Lloyd and the ever-reliable Coleman Schache led the way.
The Saints’ season doesn’t get any easier, this weekend playing Ararat, who comes off a bye.
at Hopetoun against Minyip-Murtoa, who will be hoping for consecutive wins after it downed Warrack Eagles 63-41 at Murtoa.
The Burras had their noses in front for the entire match, as goal-keeper Lauren Dodghun continued her good
form and Ashlee Rintoule,
tack, were among the best.
The Eagles face another tough task this weekend when they take on
boola
BY COLIN MacGILLIVRAY
Horsham Football Netball Club
is premier of the Western Victoria Female Football League for the first time after overcoming South Warrnambool in a hardfought grand final on Sunday.
The Demons were the competition’s hottest team in the second half of the season and brought plenty of confidence into the clash, but the low-scoring 3.3 (21) to 1.10 (16) slog tested the resolve of every player.
Playing in blustery conditions on a heavy oval at Mortlake, the Demons struck first with two goals to none in the opening term.
But thereafter the scoring dried up as a wasteful South Warrnambool failed to capitalise on opportunities in the second quarter and Horsham added only two behinds in the third.
With a four-point lead at the final change, coach Sam Rintoule and a large contingent of Horsham supporters urged the Demons to give everything they had left.
Horsham responded with a fierce display of defensive football as the Roosters kicked with the wind at their backs.
Crystal Summers played in the ruck and across half-back, taking several key marks, while Vanilla Ika, who kicked one of Horsham’s three goals, also went behind the ball in the final
term. Holly Nuske was sent forward, using her speed to set up the matchwinning goal.
Nuske and Summers were jointly awarded best-on-ground medals following the game, but Rintoule said a complete team performance had won Horsham the game.
After losing in the grand final in 2022 and falling in a preliminary final last year, he said he was ecstatic to see the team break through for its first premiership.
Horsham
Closing date: July 30, 2024
Duties Include:
• Answer and respond to all incoming phone call and enquiries
• Look after all visitors and clients
• Co-ordinate administrative duties and prioritise tasks
• Liaise with members of the team undertaking all duties required
• Accounting /bookkeeping tasks associated with relevant training and mentoring
Requirements:
• Competency in MS Office, sound computer and keyboard skills
• Excellent communication and able to work in a team
• Current driver’s licence and reliable transport (desirable)
• Willingness to commit to work and study
“It was a really good team effort. Everyone played their role well,” he said.
“It’s so hard to describe moments like that. I still don’t think it’s really sunk in yet, the fact that we ticked it off.
“With the addition of the girls who came over from Stawell, along with the progression of the girls who have been here over the last two or three years, it’s a big testament to their growth and commitment to each
other. It was just fantastic. It was a 50-50 game heading into it and it was just going to be about who wanted it more.
“When the game was there to win, our girls were cracking in all day.”
Rintoule thanked Horsham and its sponsors for supporting a women’s team, as well as the supporters who travelled to cheer the team on in the grand final.
“I was talking to one of our girls after the game and she said she had
a look around the huddle at threequarter time and it was four to six people deep right around the outside,” he said.
“We had such a massive following. Every time something good happened there was a massive cheer around the ground.
“To see how many people were in our corner was part of the reason the girls got over the line.”
For more information contact Daryl Eastwell on 0407 364 654
Closing date: July 23, 2024
Duties:
• Provide personal care to assist participants to meet their daily living needs per each resident’s plan
• Implement activities which maintain and promote the physical, mental, social, creative and psychological aspects of the participants
• Observe the condition of the participants and report any changes
• Cook and serve meals, clean premises, wash, iron and perform other household tasks
Requirements:
• Patient, caring, responsible, supportive, flexible and resilient
• Ability to communicate and work well with people of all ages
• Ability to work both autonomously and well in a team
• Hold & maintain a current First Aid & CPR Certificate
• Current NDIS Worker Screening Clearance
• Evidence of Up to Date COVID vaccinations
For more information, please contact Kate Clark on 0428 971 821.
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BY LAUREN HENRY
The Wimmera Football Netball League will next year play its preliminary final on a Saturday, moving from its usual Sunday fixture.
At a league meeting on Monday night, the 2025 fixture was approved, with the season to kick off on April 12, 2025.
Round one will also include a Good Friday clash between Stawell and Ararat, followed by round two on April 26, which also includes the Anzac Day match between Horsham and Horsham Saints on Friday, April 25.
The King’s Birthday weekend will also be a general bye for all clubs on June 7.
The 2025 finals series will start with a qualifying final on August 30, proceeding to a preliminary final on September 13 and the grand final on September 20.
In past seasons, the Wimmera league preliminary final has been played on a Sunday so it did not clash with the Horsham District league grand final.
Wimmera league chairman Peter ‘Billy’ Ballagh said the league wanted to make the decision about its fixture and finals date changes to ensure that Horsham District league had plenty of time to consider the impact.
“It’s been raised by clubs for the last couple of years that they thought it was a distinct disadvantage to clubs that are playing in the prelim on the Sunday going into the grand final, especially these days with the amount of travellers that certain clubs have,” he said.
“At this stage, there is potentially a clash
depending on how Horsham District wants to schedule its calendar for the year, and that’s why we thought we would come out as early as possible – generally we don’t release those dates this early in the year, but because we’re aware that this could cause some angst at certain levels, we wanted to give everyone as much notice as possible.
“This has been a contentious issue for some time, especially when the effort and the commitment to get a team to a prelim final now is so significant in so many ways for volunteers and clubs.
“We want to give everyone the best opportunity to compete at that level and then go onto a grand final in the best condition they can be.”
Mr Ballagh said the league was preparing for this year’s finals series, and had cemented dates for its junior and senior vote count and presentation nights.
The junior vote count will be at Horsham Demons’ clubrooms on September 2, and the senior vote count will be on September 16, this year at Maydale Pavilion at Horsham Showground.
“We’re going there for its capacity – we’re going to try and push to have 200 people there, so we’ll try and grow the Toohey Medal and Hatcher Medal nights into a significant night on the calendar,” he said.
“This year we’re having the team of the year again. We’ve slightly changed the criteria to how that will be selected, so it’s always a contentious issue, no matter who gets in the team, but it’s a good talking point and we’re looking forward to announcing that on the night.”
Laharum Football Netball Club will next month host a community meeting for women and girls of all ages interested in playing football as it seeks to become the second Wimmera-region club to join the Western Victoria Female Football League.
The area already has strong representation in the league, with the Horsham Demons this month winning their first WVFFL senior premiership on Saturday, and Laharum president Hamish Roberts said he believed women’s football was poised to continue growing.
“I talk a lot of football with a lot of people around the traps, and I think there is strong demand,” he said.
“Horsham is a big town, so I think there is well and truly enough women who want to play football. Horsham has done a great job getting a foothold in this area, but I think it’s time – and the demand is there – that we start to expand to more teams.
“We’ve always had a fairly strong representation of Laharum girls in football, so it made
sense that we go down this avenue.” While Mr Roberts acknowledged Laharum would need to jump through ‘a lot of hoops’ to establish senior and junior teams, he said the club was committed to doing everything it could to join the WVFFL in 2025.
“I’m really confident with the senior numbers based on the early interest and women who are committed. If everything goes okay, we’ll have a senior team no worries,” he said.
“With the juniors, it’s too early to say. Over the last month or so I’ve been having quiet conversations and gauging interest. Our aim is to have all grades, but we’ve only just started the process.”
Mr Roberts encouraged potential players and volunteers to attend Laharum’s community meeting, on August 14 from 6pm at the Cameron Oval clubrooms.
“We’ll provide a map and more details on how our women’s program will look,” he said.
People wanting more information can contact Mr Roberts by calling 0455 211 844 or emailing hamishroberts@hotmail.com.
Wednesday, July 24, 2024
Tress Walmsley, Dave Watson, Renato Pellicano, Nunzio Pellicano, Craig O’Connor and Adam Spasic at the construction site of Horsham’s state-of-the-art InterGrain facility, part of the company’s seed breeding sites across Australia, which will bring
and
to growers in the Wimmera and beyond. Story, page 3.
Picture:
BY BRONWYN HASTINGS
Stakeholders of Australian plant breeding company InterGrain are celebrating the start of construction of a new state-of-the-art plant breeding facility in Horsham.
A leading cereal breeder in Australia, InterGrain offers wheat, barley and oat varieties for growers.
Its successful wheat and barley breeding programs, and a new oat breeding program, are designed to target the major cereal growing regions of Australia.
The significant investment in Horsham is part of InterGrain’s triple-node commitment to breeding programs across Australia, which also includes a new facility in Perth, Western Australia, and a seed production site at Narrabri, New South Wales.
InterGrain chief executive Tress Walmsley said the project extended the Horsham operations, which started in 2010.
“This facility is a crucial hub for our breeding activities,” she said.
“As our breeding programs continue to grow significantly, this new custom-built facility with increased capacity and efficiency will support our future growth.
“We are so pleased to get construction underway.
“The new build will not only increase operational efficiency but also greatly improve the working environment for our team.”
Secured with a 20-year lease and additional options, the facility is engineered to optimise operational ef-
ficiency through expanded storage capacity, enhanced pest control, and the implementation of advanced temperature control and dust extraction systems.
“It’s a super-exciting day for us – it’ll be even more exciting in 12
months’ time when we launch the new building,” Ms Walmsley said.
“We’re also really impressed and pleased that we got Wimmera builders – it’s wonderful.”
Pellicano managing director Renato Pellicano said his company, a property
“As our breeding programs continue to grow significantly, this new custom-built facility with increased capacity and efficiency will support our future growth”
– Tress Walmsley
development group based at Mount Waverly, had owned the Stawell Road block for some time.
“We built next door, and have been waiting for the right occupier to come along for this site,” he said.
“Pellicano is proud to partner longterm with an Australian plant breeding pioneer such as InterGrain, providing them with an end-to-end solution that made sense for both of us.
“InterGrain building here means more jobs, and more growth for Horsham.
“It’s a very exciting day to be onsite and underway, after quite a few hiccups.
“We see Horsham as a real growth area over the next 10 to 20 years – we have a larger piece of land available next door for regional occupiers to continue our ongoing investment in the region.”
Work at the new facility at Lot 4, 142-150 Stawell Road, Horsham is expected to be completed by mid2025.
Wellbeing workshops for farming communities will be delivered across Victoria as part of Agriculture Victoria’s Farm Business Resilience program, with the first at Dimboola on August 7.
Agriculture Victoria statewide agriculture recovery manager Tess McDougall said the ‘Take a Wellbeing Break’ workshops aimed to support social connection and collaboration in farming communities.
“The workshops will provide occasions to support farmers, farming families and rural communities with mental health, wellbeing and self-care,” she said.
“Farmers have faced a series of challenging events over recent years, with the current dry seasonal conditions in some regions the latest one to confront them.”
The National Farmers Federation’s 2023 wellbeing report found burnout and exhaustion were commonly reported in the farming community, with almost three quarters of farmers experiencing burnout of some kind in the past five years.
With a background in agricultural science, experienced coach and facilitator Cynthia Mahoney said the workshops were designed to be fun and practical.
“They will bring farmers together to provide them with wellbeing tools and information, connect them with others and share ideas, and identify practical strategies they can immediately implement to positively impact their well-
Facilitator
Cynthia Mahoney
OPEN DAY:
Longerenong College will open its campus to prospective students and their families on August 11.
Longerenong College’s courses, facilities and community will be showcased at its annual open day next month.
being,” she said. “People often associate wellbeing with the serious topic of mental health and expect another workshop full of the same stuff.
“It is a weighty subject, and I have created something that is meant to be fun while also providing an opportunity for participants to talk about wellbeing in a serious way while they are doing it.”
The workshops are supported by Wimmera Women Connect, Birchip Cropping Group, Hindmarsh Shire Council and Wimmera Southern Mallee Development.
To register for the Dimboola workshop, people can visit www.trybooking.com/events/ landing/1247534.
Other workshops are being planned for southwest Victoria, northern Victoria, and Gippsland, with details available on Trybooking and Agriculture Victoria website.
College training manager
Angela Wait said people considering studying agriculture next year or beyond were invited to attend.
“Prospective students can hear from course co-ordinators across Certificate III and IV in Agriculture, Certificate IV in Wool Classing, as well as Diploma of Applied Agronomy and Advanced Diploma of Agribusiness Management,” she said.
“There will also be sessions on our traineeship and apprenticeship program.
“Our other courses highlight-
ed will be the secondary school VDSS program and our short courses of AusChem, chainsaws, side-by-sides, and tractor operations, to name a few.”
People can join guided tours of the college’s accommodation, study centres, dining room – where students are provided three meals a day –and learning areas, including classrooms, workshops, and operational farm facilities.
“The dorm accommodation has a single room with a single bed, desk, cupboard and storage, split-system heating and cooling, and a small fridge,”
Ms Wait said.
“We also have new shared accommodation units, that have single rooms, multiple
Did you know we also do windscreens for tractors, trucks, buses and other farm machinery!
Contact Horsham Autoglass today to organise prompt repair or replacement.
bathrooms and shared kitchen and living areas.
“Students have their own social spaces, both indoors and outdoors, and the college has done some great work in all these spaces over the past few years. We will also present information on our support services and the logistics on becoming a student at Longy.
“People who aren’t able to attend the open day are welcome to call us and book a guided tour, or have a chat over the phone.”
People are asked to register for the August 11 open day, which will run from 9am to 3pm, by calling 5362 2222 or via the website at www.longy. com.au.
BY BRONWYN HASTINGS
Farmsafe Australia hosted a long lunch for Horsham’s broad farming community last week to promote the supports and strategies farmers can use to maintain their wellbeing.
This year’s campaign, ‘In Safe Hands’, extends the regular work, health and safety conversation beyond physical safety to address the role of wellbeing in people’s capacities to make safe decisions on farm.
Farmsafe Australia executive officer Stevi Howdle, who facilitated the event, said the organisation’s role was to raise awareness of issues farmers could try to tackle and find solutions to on their own properties.
“I think a lot of people intuitively recognise how important sound mental health, or being in the right frame of mind, is to making safe decisions,” she said.
“If we’re thinking about something like the argument we’ve just had with our wife or our husband, that’s when we’re more likely to do something like stick our finger into moving parts.”
Ms Howdle said it was important for people to be able to recognise and make the link between how they are feeling and what’s going on in their heads, to making sure they are consciously doing their job in the safest way possible.
“Today we’re focusing on support and wellbeing – we know a huge part of safety is feeling confident to have important conversations, and we know you don’t feel confident with people who you aren’t comfortable talking to about anything outside of work matters,” she said.
“People really need to build those relationships in the workforce, and be able to have conversations where they feel they can say they don’t think something is safe.
“Today is about raising awareness that a foundational part of safety is being able to have those conversations.”
Farmsafe Australia has grown from a Victorian farming organisation in
the late 1980s – the first campaign to Canberra was on behalf of the rollover protection on tractors at the time.
“The founders realised they needed an orchestrated voice to Canberra, so it was initiated as a one-issue advocacy situation that grew into realising there was a number of issues that needed to be tackled,” Ms Howdle said.
“It has led to a national organisation with members including state and national farmers federations, university researchers, and health specialists, so it’s a really great, broad section of experience and advice we have at our fingertips.”
Guest speakers at the lunch were Mike Rolls and Ben Pettingill – a
MESSAGES SHARED: Guest speakers Mike Rolls, Ben Pettingill, Farmsafe Australia executive officer Stevi Howdle and NFF president David Jochinke at a Farmsafe lunch in Horsham.
Picture: PAUL CARRACHER
duo with a profound understanding of overcoming adversity.
Mr Rolls battled a deadly disease resulting in the loss of his legs, and for Mr Pettingill, a headache one day resulted in 98 per cent of his eyesight gone forever.
Both Melbourne-based, Mr Pettingill said he and Mr Rolls had been speaking individually for about 10 years, but decided to speak together about six years ago.
“We thought we’d have more fun and have a bigger impact if we were doing it together,” Mr Pettingill said.
“We both have a passion for getting out to areas that don’t have easy access to mental health support services – in metro it’s all around and easily accessible.
“Out here we know the stats are twice as bad around suicide in rural and regional areas, so we want to focus on these areas and with down-toearth people, with some of the toughest people, who are actually the worst about talking about the tough stuff.”
Mr Pettingill said Farmsafe Australia had a different theme for each day of Farm Safety Week.
“They thought we would be a good fit to kick-off on the Monday with wellbeing, and it’s been great to cruise up to Horsham and be part of it,” he said.
“We are having conversations about partnering to run a heap of workshops next year, which will be cool.”
The ‘In Safe Hands’ campaign recognises the unique challenges faced by farmers, their families and the broader farm workforce, and aims to ensure farmers know vital, practical support is available to them.
For more information on farm safety initiatives and strategies, people can visit farmsafe.org.au.
People in need of crisis support and suicide prevention services can call Lifeline’s 24-hour hotline on 13 11 14.
“Having the duo and calling ourselves ‘legless and blind’, you get people laughing, but it’s also relatable, it’s that sense of Aussie humour to it. We are on a mission to get tough people talking about tough stuff.
Raintotals in the northern Wimmera are mostly about average for this time of year, but the southern Wimmera and southwest Victoria still lag behind.
Agricultural Victoria’s seasonal risk agronomist Dale Grey said predictions from the June model forecast average weather in July, August and September for three-quarters of Victoria, except the south-west.
“There was a stronger, drier signal for the south-west quarter of Victoria, and particularly coastally, which was just a continuation of what we had been seeing in the previous three to four months ... which is a concern if that continues,” he said.
But in positive news, the weather
could turn for the south-west in August, September and October, as Mr Grey said most models predicted conditions to be a bit wetter.
Mr Grey said there was ‘very few signs of a La Niña ahead’.
“Things have been very dry in the previous four to five months, particularly in the south west,” he said.
“That’s really been as a result of the high pressures sitting south of the Great Australian Bight, and very strong ones, such that northern and eastern areas have been getting average-ish rain, but that south western areas have been completely missing out on its frontal activity, and that’s been affecting the whole of the South Australian grain belt as well.
Organisers of the Glenelg Regional Merino Field Day at Balmoral are looking forward to their annual event following the success of last year’s field day and ram sale where two rams were top sellers at $7000 each.
Field day president Warren Russell said the Glenelg group welcomed three new studs last year – Gringegalgona, Rockbank South and Kurra-Wirra.
“The addition of these local studs to the group further add to the depth and quality of the studs involved, as well as an injection of youth and enthusiasm that will hold the group in good stead into the future,” he said.
“This year the Glenelg group will welcome a further two new studs to the group – Glenpaen and Rock-Bank.”
Last year’s sale saw 74 registered buyers purchase 99 of 107 rams for a 92 per cent clearance.
“The average price was $2439, to a top price of $7000, twice, for both Mount Yulong and Stud Park South rams,” Mr Russell said.
Last year also saw the end of the long and greatly valued relationship with founding group member Valleyella Merino Stud.
Maree and Peter FitzGerald have both been an integral part of the group’s workings since the beginning.
“Peter’s role of sponsorship officer has been invaluable to the group and endured since the inception of the Glenelg Field Day Group,” Mr Russell said.
“Maree’s role of chief administrator for the Glenelg Field Day Group for 15 years started in 2008, doing every job, from thanking sponsors
“We’ve been dominated by pressure patterns rather than the tropical oceans during the previous four or more months, and we just have warm ocean everywhere to the north of us, particularly in the coral sea to our northeast, but also up off Sumatra in Indonesia.
“To our northwest, the ocean is warmer than normal, which means it has to be evaporating more moisture.
“So the moisture sources to our north are better than normal, it’s just that we’ve been completely unable to get a connection to them.
“It’s really about those pressure patterns moving on and allowing us to get a connection to some of that tropical moisture, and it would seem like
the models predicting the blockage to not getting a connection might be going to change, but I’d be waiting to see a bit more evidence for that to be the case.”
Mr Grey said rain was widespread across Victoria in most of the state in June – except the south-west region –but across the Mallee and East Gippsland was wetter.
“Our south-west area is still pretty much underdone. Many of our soil moisture probes down there are only just starting to wet up now at 10 and 20 centimetres, which is nothing like what you would expect for this time of the year,” he said.
“Much of our northern areas have got good soil moisture levels, and the
moisture and the rain that we’ve had has joined those up.
“The crops that have generally been going a bit later, are ticking away, but things have just been so cold at this time of the year.
“Growth is generally slow in both crops and pastures, but it’s really that southwest area, which has got a very dry profile and it’s just only starting to wet up, and there’d be no runoff into dams or things either.”
July rain totals, until Friday, July 19, were as follows: Ararat 27 millimetres; Warracknabeal 16mm; Stawell 15mm; Nhill 16.4mm; Longerenong 9.8mm; Kanagulk 17mm; Horsham 5.8mm; Edenhope 25.6mm; Hopetoun 17mm.
to booking tents for Sheepvention and buying gifts for judges.
“We all appreciate everything both Maree and Peter have done for the group.
“The Glenelg Field Day Group has been very fortunate to have received their dedicated help and support.”
This year’s field day and auction will include studs – Elmbank Poll, Glendonald, Gleneden, Glenera North Poll, Glenpaen, Gringegalgona, Kalenea Poll, Kevlyn, Kurra-Wirra, Melrose, Mount Yulong Poll, Rock-Bank, Rockbank South, Stud Park South, Thornlea and Wurrook.
The Glenelg Field Day Group will also have a display at Hamilton Sheepvention on August 4 and 5, sites 317 and 318, promoting some of the group’s top auction rams that are on offer at Balmoral.
For more information on the August 12 event at Balmoral Recreation Reserve, people can call Warren Russell on 0427 881 204.
ANNUAL EVENT:
Organisers of the Glenelg Regional
Field Day are looking forward to welcoming studs and buyers to the August 12 showcase at Balmoral Recreation Reserve.
Newmembers have been appointed to the second term of the Victorian Agriculture Climate Change Council, with experienced rural, agricultural and community leader Alexandra Gartmann to continue as chair of the council.
The former BCG chief executive will be joined by Mark Wootton, a leading beef and wool farmer experienced in carbon neutral farming at Jigsaw Farms, who will continue in the role as deputy chair.
“I’m honoured to continue this critical work with new and reappointed members to the council,’ Ms Gartmann said.
“Victoria’s agricultural sector continues to grow its engagement with the challenges and opportunities that climate change presents.
“I look forward to working with the council to advise on how we can further strengthen the agricultural sector’s capability and capacity to mitigate the risks and execute on the opportunities.”
The new and returning members reflect a broad cross-section of expertise and networks across Victoria’s diverse farming communities, supply chains and academia intersecting with climate change issues.
Other members include – Fiona Conroy, a sheep and cattle producer with experience of carbon-neutral farming practices; Professor Richard Eckard, a globally recognised climate scientist focusing on emissions reduction in the agriculture sector; Gillian Hayman, a dairy industry leader with experience in natural resource manage-
“Victoria’s agricultural sector continues to grow its engagement with the challenges and opportunities that climate change presents” – Alexandra Gartmann
ment, agriculture extension, and facilitation and engagement activities; Jack Holden, a sustainability and dairy supply chain professional with extensive networks across industry in Australia and New Zealand; Luke Hooke, a sustainability manager with knowledge of Victorian farming systems, their linkages to global markets, and supply networks; Catherine Jenkins, a farmer, consultant and regional leader experienced in working with farm businesses to manage risks and mitigate impacts of climate change; and, Professor Lauren Rickards, an inter-disciplinary academic focusing on climate adaptation and the social complexities of managing climate change in agriculture and rural communities.
The council provides independent, expert and strategic advice to the Agriculture Minister about the challenges and opportunities facing the Victorian agriculture sector due to climate change.
Members bring valuable industry perspectives and will continue to help government work in partnership with industry to deliver meaningful and collaborative action on climate change for agriculture.
For more information about the council, people can visit agriculture.vic.gov.au.
People with a keen interest in shaping the future of Victoria’s wine industry are encouraged to share their insights to contribute to the development of a new Victorian Wine Strategy.
The State Government and Victorian wine industry are co-designing the new strategy as part of a 2023-24 State Budget commitment.
The new strategy will address the key issues the industry faces, while working towards a more economically and environmentally sustainable
sector. To offer additional context to contributors, an engagement paper, outlining the primary challenges and opportunities within the wine sector, is available on the Engage Victoria website.
There will also be industry consultation forums from late July and August to engage with interested parties.
The western Victorian forum is at Mount Langi Ghiran Winery at Bayindeen, from 11am to 2pm on August 5.
There will also be online forums on August 28 and 30.
BETTER VINTAGE: This year’s vintage was challenging for the region’s wine producers. While the fruit ripened slowly, which was favourable, it was followed by heat that would drop and then increase like a rollercoaster. Winemaker Jacob Parton, centre, from Best’s Wines at Great Western, described the vintage as a ‘tale of two stories’. “It was very cool and wet coming into Christmas and then got very warm in February. But what that meant was we produced some great wines and the two pillars of our industry, riesling and shiraz, are looking spectacular,” he said. Mr Parton said overall it was a good vintage – better than 2023. He predicted the standout for Best’s to be the riesling, with Best’s having harvested more than 100 tonnes of riesling compared to 30-40 tonnes last vintage.
Wine Strategy Steering Committee member and Wine Victoria chief executive Stephanie Duboudin said she encouraged wine industry participants from across Victoria to attend a forum and make a submission.
“The strategy is for everyone in the wine industry – from grape growers and wine makers, through to wholesalers and exporters, and hospitality, retail and consumers,” she said.
“Victoria has one of the most exciting and innovative wine sectors in the world, and this strategy is a fantastic partnership between the Victo-
rian government and wine industry to shape the future of our sector.”
Wine Strategy Steering Committee chair Traci Griffin said the committee was looking to determine the best path forward for Victorian wine.
“By inviting industry input, we aim to create a comprehensive and inclusive strategy that not only strengthens the wine sector, but also enhances tourism, creates jobs and drives economic growth across the state,” she said.
Following industry engagement, a draft strategy will be released for public consultation later this year.
The final strategy is expected to be ready by early 2025.
People can have their say on the future of the Victorian wine industry and register for a forum, via www.engage. vic.gov.au/victorian-wine-strategy.
“While many of our wineries continue to perform strongly, this strategy is about addressing key challenges and enabling opportunities to ensure a vibrant, diverse and flourishing wine industry in Victoria.”
Eligible farmers and small related enterprises who are experiencing, or are at risk of, financial hardship, can access a free and confidential financial counselling service
Farmers,
It’s the Western Australian equivalent of
‘Don’t mention the war’ – raising the topic of the live sheep export ban.
Forget reasoned discussion and prepare yourself for a diatribe against the ignorance and arrogance of the Federal Government decision to phase out the trade.
I’ve just spent two weeks in WA and the Northern Territory – the first time I’ve been in some of Australia’s most stunning countryside since the mid 1980s where I started my career as a rural journalist.
I stayed at the iconic cattle station, Diggers Rest, nestled in the Cockburn Ranges in the East Kimberley.
The land is covered in red sandstone, boab, wattle, kapok, bloodwood trees and numerous native grasses, plus of course crocodiles and extraordinary birdlife.
If you’re thinking of scenery reminiscent of the movie Australia starring Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman and Jack Thompson, you’re right. All the cattle station scenes were filmed there.
Talk to just about any West Australian with rural roots and they see the ban on the live sheep trade as a decision by city folk thousands of kilometres away with no knowledge or experience of the sheep industry in the West.
It took me back to the similar outrage when the Gillard Labor government banned the live cattle trade in 2011 after the exposure of footage of cattle being treated cruelly in abattoirs in Indonesia.
Any attempt by a journalist to play the devil’s advocate, to question both sides of the argument, was invariably met with hostility and anger.
There is enormous scepticism towards the government’s pledge – it won’t go down that path again with live cattle exports.
with Libby Price
And yet there is another side to the argument among a quiet few of the cattlemen.
I spoke to some who admitted they’d far rather the cattle weren’t exported live, but rather processed locally and shipped as boxed meat.
Sadly, the Wyndham meat works, the largest in the country in its day employing up to 2000 workers, was closed in 1985.
Now the only option is for cattle to be trucked to ports that have cattle handling facilities, and for Diggers Rest, that’s Broome, a 12 hour, thousand kilometre journey in huge road trains.
For 400 steers, it cost in the league of $20,000 just to get them to port. The buyers are also fussy, refusing to take horned cattle or any with obvious scars or lumps. The agents quickly reject any, no matter how minor the blemish. Of course, if they were to be processed domestically, no one would be the wiser.
The cattle breeds that can survive the incredibly tough conditions aren’t favoured by our domestic market, so they are destined for export.
It’s a tough life for cattle and the pastoralists, many of whom are barely making a buck.
Perhaps WA farmers would be a tad less enraged if the Federal Government settled the compensation claim the cattle industry has been waiting nearly 15 years for, after the live cattle ban was ruled as ‘capricious and unreasonable’ by the Federal Court.
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BY BRONWYN HASTINGS
This year’s Mallee Machinery Field Days will present the largest number of exhibitors yet – with more than 350 from across Australia expected to showcase the latest technology and advances within the agricultural industry.
Organised by Speed Lions Club, Mallee Machinery Field Days secretary Matt Brady said the event continued to be a major fundraiser for the club.
“We’re happy we will be able to provide an economic boost to many community groups and organisations who have been hit hard in recent years,” he said.
“Proceeds from past events have been donated to the Royal Children’s Hospital, Royal Flying Doctor Service, local hospitals, schools, sporting clubs, community groups and not-forprofit organisations.”
At the purpose-built field days site, located two kilometres south of Speed, in an area renowned for dryland cropping and prime Mallee lambs, the 44th annual event will feature broadacre farming equipment and machinery worth more than $100-million.
Football legend Terry Daniher is guest speaker and will open the event, and there will be demonstrations of the first Fendt autonomous tractor of
its kind in the Mallee, a Proud Poppy pop-up store, and Turbo Gallery paint and sip sessions.
work year-round to bring the event to fruition.
The first Mallee Machinery Field Days featured 39 dealers exhibiting their broad acre agriculture machinery and equipment in a paddock, brought together by the Speed Lions Club in a bid to fundraise, placing the club in a sound financial position to serve its community.
For six years, Lions Club volunteers put up and took down all the amenities, hosting the event at different sites, before a permanent site was established.
The club constructed permanent amenities and acquired the historic Speed railway station as its main office.
Throughout the years, buildings and utilities were added to meet the demand of the ever-increasing crowds and exhibitors.
The unique, circular layout of the site showcases a variety of exhibits, from crafts and interests, to central demonstrations and displays.
A special guest opens the event each year, and shares experiences, information and anecdotes with the crowd.
Today, the Mallee Machinery Field Days is one of the Mallee’s biggest events, and is a major feature on the agricultural calendar.
The event continues to enable the Speed Lions Club in its work, financially supporting charities, groups and projects across its community.
This year follows the trend of past years – increasing numbers of exhibits and visitors, ensuring the 44th annual Mallee Machinery Field Days will be an event not to be missed.
Key information
Date: July 31 and August 1, 2024.
Time: 8.30am to 5pm.
Location: 2574 Sunraysia Hwy, Speed, Victoria 3488, two kilometres south of Speed.
Admission: $15 and children under 15 years no cost.
Exhibitors travel far and wide to be a part of the Mallee Machinery Field Days, showing a variety of crafts, machinery, agriculture and marketing, banding together to showcase their products in the paddock, and in the cloud.
The annual field days have evolved and stood the test of time, which has been no mean feat for the small but dedicated group of volunteers who
The first event, in 1979, featured 39 exhibitors and raised $2800.
The Speed Lions Club was named the Awards Australia Community Group of the Year 2021 at Victorian Community Achievement Awards.
It is the largest agricultural and agribusiness trade show run by farmers for farmers, and features the latest agricultural machinery to finance and brokering, clothing and safety gear – the exhibits cover all facets of farm-
ing. Organisers of the Mallee Machinery Field Days believe the longevity of the event can be attributed to the fact the club has never steered away from its main agricultural focus.
This year’s two-day event, on July 31 and August 1, is expected to attract more than 8500 patrons.
Gates open at 8.30am and close at 5pm, with entry $15 an adult and children under 15 years can enter free of charge.
Facilities: On-site parking and toilets, food and refreshment stalls, first aid and Victoria Police, phone and mobile phone service and EFTPOS facilities. Accommodation: No camping on site. Accommodation at Lascelles, Patchewollock, Woomelang, Sea Lake and Hopetoun. Camping facilities at Tempy, Lascelles, Woomelang, Ouyen, Sea Lake, Hopetoun and Nandaly.
For more information, people can visit www.mmfd.com.au.
More information: www.mmfd. com.au
BY BRONWYN HASTINGS
Football great and Motor Neurone Disease
advocate
Terry Daniher is guest speaker of the Mallee Machinery Field Days, and will officially open the event this year.
Field days president Chris Monaghan said Mr Daniher would speak about his life’s journey, through ‘farming, footy and FightMND’.
“Terry is off a farm in New South Wales – his brother still lives and works there,” Mr Monaghan said.
“He will speak about going from the farm to league football, and supporting his brother’s battle with MND.”
Mr Daniher is one of four brothers to play Victorian Football League – he was recruited to South Melbourne Swans in 1976, before being traded to Essendon at the end of that season.
Australian Rules history was made when all four brothers – Anthony, Chris, Terry and Neale –played together for Essendon.
Terry Daniher was awarded a best and fairest, was a dual-premiership player, team of the century member and an inspired coach.
He also participated in the Big Freeze at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2022, sliding into the ice pool as movie favourite Crocodile Dundee.
Mr Monaghan said he would like to see people wearing FightMND
Big Freeze beanies at the event. Terry’s brother Neale suffers from MND, and along with his family has raised more than $100-million for MND research.
“It would be great to see people supporting Terry and the MND cause by wearing the FightMND
beanies at the field days,” Mr Monaghan said.
“We’re looking forward to hearing from such a down-to-earth bloke.”
For more information on FightMND, people can visit fightmnd. org.au.
“It would be great to see people supporting Terry and the MND cause by wearing the FightMND beanies at the field days”
– Chris Monaghan
RYAN NT’s revolutionary double disc system saves time, money – and shed space – the retrofit system removes the need for buying a seeder or planter.
RYAN NT national sales manager Paul Ryan said the system was strong enough to handle most conditions, particularly when planting through heavy stubbles.
“Whether it’s canola, cereal stubbles or wire weed, this will cut through. Being a double disc, it will cut and tear, unlike a big single disc, where you need a lot of weight,” he said.
“The leading serrated front disc will slice through thick stubbles, meaning no hair-pinning, it will allow you to drive in all soil types and not stop turning, and you will be able to simply switch back to your cultivator tine if conditions require it.”
Built from cast steel, RYAN NT discs are faster to set up than existing tine systems, and will double-chute.
“The system comprises three spaces that are two millimetres wide, which means as the discs wear, you can chase the gap in. The axle is 30 millimetres with two Timken tapered bearings,” Mr Ryan said.
Mud will not impact the front boot and will keep firing grain into the furrow, while there is an option to use outside scrapers.
“Before searching for the latest planter for sale, get in touch with us,” Mr Ryan said.
“We believe our discs could be the perfect upgrade for your air seeder system.
“You can easily retrofit this to most air seeder systems made in the past 40 years, whether it’s a Flexicoil, Bourgault, Morris, John Deere, RFM, Seed Hawk, Gason or something else, we have different legs to suit most models – all your common machines that we see around in Australia.”
For more information, people can visit ryannt. com.au or visit site 192-193 at the field days.
Farming brothers Jack and Sam Gall joined forces with Primary Sales Australia and harvester specialist Brett Asphar to maximise harvesting productivity and efficiency by upgrading their four Case 8240 and 8250 headers.
The key modification involved centring the concave ‘pinch point’ and installing hooked rasp bars – the factory ‘centred’ position is measured during pre-delivery for flexibility in harvesting a range of different crops.
For the Galls, who mainly harvest wheat and canola, altering the pinch point to a better position enhanced the machine’s performance in hard or difficult threshing conditions, delivering separated material to the sieve more evenly and reducing engine load.
Mr Asphar has many years’ experience working with Case headers, and said the hooked rasp bars created a stirring effect to the crop mat.
“Replacing original rasp bars with hooked rasp bars will introduce a stirring effect and increase separation performance in most crop conditions,” he said.
“It’s important the rotor maintains balance during rasp bar installation – the bonus of using
SHARED KNOWLEDGE:
specialist Brett
pictured with Brian Legg, will be at the field days to talk to farmers about refining farming practices to be more efficient and get the most out of their harvests.
Primary Sales hooked rasp bars is that they are uniform in weight.”
Jack Gall said the installation process, which was facilitated through phone consultations with Mr Asphar, was quite simple.
“The first one took us a little while, but it was quite simple and easy once you knew what you were doing,” he said.
Comprehensive instructions and support means growers across Australia can make these changes.
Mr Gall said the outcomes of the revamped setup were ‘nothing short of impressive’.
“We’ve had excellent results, better performance out of the machine, a lot less grain loss and more capacity with less horsepower,” he said.
To meticulously gauge grain loss, the Gall brothers have each equipped their headers with the Bushel Plus SmartPan System from Primary Sales.
“We love Bushel Plus, it’s very good and it’s been a cheap asset to buy,” Jack Gall said.
“We bought one each and transfer them between our different headers, so we can test a couple of machines on the go.”
The Primary Sales team will be joined by Brett Asphar and John Deere harvester specialist Kassie van Der Westhuizen at next week’s Mallee Machinery Field Days. Meet the team at site 137.
Davimac’s chaser bin model continues the Davimac Group’s tradition of excellence in harvest productivity and efficiency, adding to the features of a grain cart already packed with innovation from more than 40 years of experience.
Marketing manager Joshua Whalan said the bins’ high-quality construction withstands the demanding conditions of Australian farming.
“Australian farmers need dependable, sturdy equipment to get the job done efficiently, especially during harvest,” he said.
Available in 25- to 35-tonne capacities with single or dual axle undercarriages, Davimac bins feature a low-profile height for easy loading from headers and reduced auger collision risk.
The design also lowers the centre of gravity, ensuring a sturdier ride and simpler road transport.
New features include a rubber-auger chute for precise grain output, a grain sampling valve for easy quality monitoring, a larger gearbox for increased efficiency, and a single cleanout lever controlling all six cleanout doors.
Optional upgrade packages are available.
“We use a simple, robust undercarriage design to ensure long-lasting performance. During harvest, reliability is crucial, and our bins allow farmers to focus on maximising their grain yield,” Mr Whalan said.
Chaser bins boost field efficiency, reclaiming unloading time and ensuring the combine harvester operates at full capacity.
Davimac bins’ versatility extends beyond wheat to carrying corn, rice, beans, peas, and even fertiliser, with an optional auger hopper chute for spreading animal feed year-round, maximizing return on investment.
For more information, people can visit davimac. com.au or view the machine in person at Mallee Machinery Field Days.
Precision spraying with:
G-Hub – Goldacres integrated system.
TriTech RivX boom 36-42m – composite symmetrical with even more stability. TriTech V boom 48m.
Fast Fill – liquid induction & distribution.
G-Hub system. TriTech Fast Dynamic Weedetect
Dynamic Drive - highly efficient mechanical direct drive system.
Weedetect green on brown or green on green camera technology option.
Ultimate control just got easier with Goldacres G6 Crop Cruiser Series 2 – Built just down the road.
BY KYLIE ZANKER, YARRIAMBIACK SHIRE MAYOR
The Speed Lions Club has done it yet again in organising the Mallee Machinery Field Days, attracting more than 350 exhibitors from across the country and a crowd of more than 8500 to the small town of Speed in the north of the Yarriambiack Shire.
From humble beginnings in 1979, this hardworking band of volunteers have developed the event into not only the shire’s largest event, but also one of the biggest and most respected field days in the state.
It is a great example of volunteerism and our agricultural industry working hand in hand as the combined lifeblood of our economy and community.
On behalf of Yarriambiack Shire Council, I’d like to congratulate the Lions Club of Speed for its continued efforts and hard work to provide the agricultural industry the two-day event that provides such an economic boost to our region.
Yarriambiack Shire councillors and staff will again be in attendance this year to answer your questions and share your ideas on projects, issues and ideas that impact our community.
Visitors to our stand will be able to get further information on our council plan and other strategies, current and completed projects, and share feedback on issues available for public comment.
Council’s engagement van will again be in at-
tendance and jam packed with fun activities, new release books and information on how to utilise our wonderful mobile library service. The child and maternal care team will also be on hand to have a chat to parents from across the shire.
Council acknowledges the hard work and volunteer hours that go in behind the scenes to deliver these events and wish the committee, exhibitors and patrons a wonderful Mallee Machinery Field Days.
See you at Speed!
Organisers are ramping up for another key agricultural sector event when Sheepvention Rural Expo is staged at Hamilton on August 4 and 5.
Despite the ram sale not going ahead this year, there will still be a jam packed schedule on the cards as part of the two-day event.
The organising committee announced a strategic decision to cancel this year’s ram sale, describing it as a ‘proactive move’ aimed at re-evaluating and enhancing the event for future success.
Sheepvention president David Botterill said despite the challenges, this year’s event would still be a fantastic event.
“We are disappointed that a longstanding aspect of Sheepvention has succumbed to the changing nature of ram sales, with the increase of on-property sales and the postCOVID rise of online platforms,” he said.
“We are, however, still very excited to showcase the merino breed through a number of merino stud exhibitors on display and the Merino Sheep Show.”
The ram sale had been a highlight of the annual event for more than 40 years, drawing breeders and buyers from across the country.
However, Mr Botterill said this year’s entries did not reach anticipated levels.
“Rather than proceeding with a
“We are disappointed that a longstanding aspect of Sheepvention has succumbed to the changing nature of ram sales, with the increase of on-property sales and the post-covid rise of online platforms”
– David Botterill
suboptimal sale the committee has chosen to take this opportunity to regroup and come back stronger,” he said.
The decision presents an opportunity for the committee to gather feedback, explore new ideas, and implement strategies to enhance interest and participation into the future.
Mr Botterill said the committee was confident the cancellation would lead to improved and more exciting event components that continued to support and engage the agricultural community.
Sheepvention Rural Expo will continue to host a number of highly anticipated competitions, including the Virbac Hamilton and Western District Sheep Show, Coprice Victorian Farm Dog Championships, Proway Wool Handling Competition, Inventions Competition, interactive demonstrations, children’s entertainment and more than 500 trade exhibits.
The Hamilton and Western District Sheep Show is renowned for
showcasing the finest sheep breeds in the region. The competition attracts top breeders who present their best stock, vying for recognition and awards that highlight their dedication to genetic excellence.
This year’s event will showcase Hampshire Downs as the feature breed.
Another highlight will be the farm dog championships, which will exhibit the skills of working dogs and their handlers.
The competition tests the agility, obedience and intelligence of working dogs as they navigate sheep into yards, a thrilling event that demonstrates the vital role these dogs play in modern farming operations.
Innovation is at the heart of the agricultural industry, and the Inventions Competition invites inventors and entrepreneurs to showcase their cutting-edge technologies and solutions designed to advance farming practices.
From machinery to software, the competition provides a stage for groundbreaking ideas that could shape the future of agriculture.
The 2024 competition will include the launch of three new compressed categories: South West TAFE New Invention, Sinclair Wilson Improved and Modified Invention; and the Rural Bank Primary School Invention.
For more event information, people can visit www.sheep vention.com.
The One Cleaning Service owners Jenni and Michael Tucker clean it all, and have done for a quarter of a century.
Mrs Tucker said moving into their new premises in Bradbury Lane six months ago had seen an increase in business, with more employees on the books now than ever before.
“Since moving in here, we are getting more people coming in off the street,” she said.
“At the moment we are employing 11 people casually – but we are always looking for more staff, for part-time and fulltime work, too.”
The One Cleaning Service offers services to people who want anything from a one-off domestic clean or exit clean, to NDIS clients, and commercial cleaning contracts.
“We cover a big radius – from Horsham, Edenhope, Jeparit, Rainbow, Ararat and Stawell,” Mrs Tucker said
“We are fully insured and our staff have working with children checks.
“We have a very inclusive working environment, and welcome anyone to get in touch with us if they’d like to work.”
The One Cleaning Service also offers carpet and upholstery steam cleaning, the stripping and sealing of vinyl floors, and tile and grout cleaning.
“There is very little we don’t do,” Mrs Tucker said.
People can call 5382 2387 for more information or a free quote.
The Heliodor is a true all-rounder: it is ideally suited not only for shallow stubble culti-vation of light and medium soils, but o ers outstanding performance even in seedbed preparation for mulch seeding and after ploughing!
The Heliodor is a true all-rounder: it is ideally suited not only for shallow stubble culti-vation of light and medium soils, but o ers outstanding performance even in seedbed preparation for mulch seeding and after ploughing!
The Heliodor is a true all-rounder: it is ideally suited not only for shallow stubble culti-vation of light and medium soils, but o ers outstanding performance even in seedbed preparation for mulch seeding and after ploughing!
The Heliodor is a true all-rounder: it is ideally suited not only for shallow stubble culti-vation of light and medium soils, but o ers outstanding performance even in seedbed preparation for mulch seeding and after ploughing!
Bene t from its numerous other advantages:
Bene t from its numerous other advantages:
The Heliodor is a true all-rounder: it is ideally suited not only for shallow stubble culti-vation of light and medium soils, but o ers outstanding performance even in seedbed preparation for mulch seeding and after ploughing!
Bene t from its numerous other advantages:
Bene t from its numerous other advantages:
■ The optimum angle adjustment of the discs ensures good penetration and intensive mixing
Bene t from its numerous other advantages:
■ The optimum angle adjustment of the discs ensures good penetration and intensive mixing
■ The optimum angle adjustment of the discs ensures good penetration and intensive mixing
■ Maximum clearance to prevent clogging
■ The optimum angle adjustment of the discs ensures good penetration and intensive mixing
■ Maximum clearance to prevent clogging
■ The optimum angle adjustment of the discs ensures good penetration and intensive mixing
■ Maximum clearance to prevent clogging
■ Maximum clearance to prevent clogging
■ Low lifting power requirement due to low weight
■ Maximum clearance to prevent clogging
■ Low lifting power requirement due to low weight
■ Low lifting power requirement due to low weight
■ Low lifting power requirement due to low weight
■ Flexible uses for both soil cultivation and tillage
■ Flexible uses for both
■ Low lifting power requirement due to low weight
■ Flexible uses for both soil cultivation and tillage ■ Hydraulically adjustable
■ Flexible uses for both soil cultivation and tillage
■ Flexible uses for both soil cultivation and tillage
■ Hydraulically adjustable levelling tines for optimum levelling lemken.com
■ Hydraulically adjustable levelling tines for optimum levelling lemken.com
■ Hydraulically adjustable levelling tines for optimum levelling lemken.com
Stawell Toyota Exhibitor profile
Get
ready for the all-new
Toyota LandCruiser Prado, arriving later this year.
Set to redefine Australia’s favourite large SUV, the Prado combines timeless LandCruiser reliability with modern innovation.
The latest iteration of the beloved SUV promises to elevate the driving experience with a blend of iconic design, modern engineering, and unparalleled off-road capability.
Whether you are navigating the streets or exploring the rugged outback, the new Prado range is designed to meet every challenge head-on.
The Prado introduces a striking retro-inspired design alongside advanced 48-volt technology and enhanced off-road capabilities across its range, captivating both enthusiasts and families seeking the ultimate blend of rugged capability and everyday comfort.
The five-variant lineup showcases Toyota’s commitment to innovation and reliability.
Featuring the GX, GXL, VX, Kakadu, and the exciting new Altitude grade, each model is packed with enhancements that make the Prado more appealing than ever.
The introduction of 48-volt technology across the range ensures
improved efficiency and performance, while the retro-inspired styling pays homage to the Prado’s storied legacy.
Toyota Australia vice-president of sales, marketing, and franchise operations Sean Hanley said the Prado had enduring appeal.
“The Prado has become a favourite for Australians in need of an SUV that can transport the whole family during the week and go off the beaten path on
the weekend, all with signature Toyota reliability,” he said.
This new generation continues that tradition, offering advancements that make it a standout choice for families and adventurers alike.
Safety remains paramount, with the Prado boasting a comprehensive suite of Toyota Safety Sense technologies.
Features such as adaptive cruise control, lane trace assist, and a
panoramic view monitor ensure peace of mind on every journey.
Be among the first to explore this exceptional SUV and prepare for your next adventure with Toyota’s legendary reliability and innovation.
People can visit Stawell Toyota at 72-76 Longfield Street, Stawell, or call 5358 1555 to register their interest.
It is a dry season, and for some, there is not much joy in the long-term forecast.
Most farmers in the region are probably praying for rain but planning for none, while weighing up the amount of hay in the shed, the cost of feed or seed, the size of the herd or flock, and current stock or grain prices.
Farmers are thinking there’s too much maths in this job when all they want to do is jump in the ute and check on the fences.
That’s where Rural Financial Counselling Service, RFCS, can help.
They won’t do the bookwork, but they will sit down at the kitchen table and work through a financial management system.
Accurate information, after all, leads to informed decisions.
Setting up a cash flow budget is one of the most important tools. It shows what income is likely to land in the bank account and when. It shows if a loan can be serviced, expenses paid, or credit applied for. It can help avoid penalties and to keep the farm running.
An RFCS counsellor can show how to develop a detailed cash flow budget and how to use it.
Farm Household Allowance, FHA, started a new cycle on July 1.
FHA is a fortnightly payment for a farmer or their partner. It is paid for up to four years in a specific 10-year period.
There are eligibility rules, but RFCS can assist you to gather the information and help you apply.
Budgets and income support are not the only thing that rural financial counsellors help with. They also help a client to understand their financial position, explore options and opportunities, help with succession planning, and negotiate with creditors and insurers.
People can call RFCS on 1300 735 578 for a fast, face-to-face, and free appointment.
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Birchip Cropping Group’s Cultivating Futures in Farming mentor program aims to arm growers with the skills to run sustainable and profitable farm businesses.
Hosted in partnership with Agriculture Victoria, the program is run by experienced Pinion Advisory consultants and aims to build confidence in on-farm decision making.
BCG project manager in extension Demi Taylor encourages growers aged 18 to 40 years to apply for the free program, valued at $4000, to develop key financial, business and people-management skills.
“One of the key benefits of the program is that you can bring a mentor with you, whether that be a parent, your farm business advisor or agronomist, or an existing farm manager,” she said.
“This creates a more personalised business-centred approach to the program and provides participants with support in benchmarking their management performance and business for future production years.
“If you have recently returned to your farm business, are learning the ropes of management, or have been working in the business for a few years but are transitioning to
“One of the key benefits of the program is that you can bring a mentor with you, whether that be a parent, your farm business advisor or agronomist, or an existing farm manager”
– Demi Taylor
a management position – this program is for you.
“We’ve already had a couple of local growers sign up, which is really exciting to see.”
Participants will have the opportunity to attend face-to-face workshops, farm tours, a series of webinars, and gain valuable one-on-one coaching time with experienced business consultants.
The program will cover areas such as benchmarking, business foundations, people management, succession, leasing and share farming, risk management, opportunity identification, business cases, and natural resource management.
People can visit www.bcg.org. au/services/bcg-young-farmernetwork/cultivating-futures-infarming-mentor-program for more information – applications close August 7.
SHOWCASE:
The fully autonomous Fendt 936 G7 tractor, tested for more than a year and available now, will feature at Traction Ag’s Mallee Machinery Field Days site.
The team at Traction AG are excited to present the way of the future – the fully autonomous Fendt 936 G7 tractor, their featured product which will be doing live demonstrations at the Mallee Machinery Field Days.
Traction AG general manager Vince Carbone said the fully-autonomous tractor had been tested for more than a year and was now on the market.
“It’s a machine that will navigate your fields with pinpoint accuracy, avoiding obstacles, and working seamlessly – and all without a driver,” he said.
“This isn’t science fiction, it’s the reality of autonomous tractors powered
by cutting-edge technology.” The Fendt tractor, fitted with the autonomous kit, has extensive features including: 360-hp MAN engine, 3m wheel centres, dual hydraulic pumps, front and rear wheel weight, infotainment package and sound system, independent front suspension, air-suspended cab, superior comfort seat, exhaust brake, cooler box, telescopic mirror and marker lights, and a three-year or 3000-hour warranty.
“It’s like having a tireless, super-
skilled farmhand working and maximising efficiency and maintaining consistent performance that can be measured conveniently from your phone or tablet,” Mr Carbone said.
“Traction AG is a leader in the distribution of agricultural machinery and precision ag technology, so come and see us and talk to the sales team about how we can help you move forward in your farming business.
“We have your technology and equipment needs covered, now and into the future.”
The Traction AG team will be at sites 229 and 230.
$9,542 $38,748 $38,748 $47,410 $47,410 $41,388 $41,168 $41,168 $44 935 $44 935
The Action Steel team is manufacturing and installing more purpose-built sheds across the Wimmera-Mallee this year, at a time when compliant chemical storage is more important than ever.
Cropping enterprises looking to improve on-farm safety and gain sustainable grain certification is increasing.
The demand is largely driven by Sustainable Grain Australia implementing International Sustainability and Carbon Certification, ISCC, to audit growers and certify Australian grains, such as canola, as sustainable.
The auditing process for sustainable grain covers cropping rotations, paddock inspections, waste management, general farm safety and chemical use and storage.
The ISCC system provides growers and exporters with access to international markets, such as the European biofuel market, which pays a premium for certified canola – making it worthwhile to have compliant chemical storage.
Action Steel sales manager Lennie Grace said there were several requirements in the Sustainable Grain Australia ISCC grower self-assessment and audit checklist for people to consider when looking to gain sustainable grain certification by upgrad-
ing their chemical storage. “Firstly, chemical sheds need to be a secure lock-up structure that is suitable for storing chemicals,” he said.
“For example, it should be manufactured from inflammable materials and have a RE30 rating, which means it will resist a fire for 30 minutes.
“Additional details to address include installing the required signage, ensuring the shed is well-ventilated and well-illuminated and having a sealed, bunded concrete slab with the appropriate storage volume and drainage.
“Compliant chemical storage does seem to be a topic with limited information available, however, the building consultants at Action Steel can provide advice and recommendations.
“Action Steel recommends paying attention to shed access points to ensure the shed can be safely exited in the case of an emergency.
“The shed layout is also an important detail to consider, such as storing flammable chemicals away from access points and installing pallet racking to allow solid fertilisers to be stored above liquid fertilisers.
The building consultants at Action Steel have also developed a range of standard chemical sheds to address the lack of information and options available for compliant storage.”
The Action Standard Chemical Shed Range includes three configuration options for varying operational requirements such as sprayer bays and undercover wash down areas.
Sizes available range from 50 shuttle spaces to more than 70 shuttle spaces and the designs include lockable doors, ventilation and bunded concrete slabs for compliance.
“If upgrading on-farm chemical storage is a requirement for your cropping enterprise, the standard chemical shed range is an excellent starting point,” Mr Grace said.
A standard chemical sheds brochure, which includes sizes, prices and design options and inclusions is available at actionsteel.com.au.
The team at Action Steel will also have information available at the Mallee Machinery Field Days – visit site 98 to learn more about and discuss a farm shed project.
Hindmarsh Shire Council representatives will further consult with farmers to prioritise and collect maintenance requests and feedback before committing funding.
Chief executive Monica Revell, infrastructure service director Ram Upadhyaya, and works and operations manager Daniel Griffiths will host five sessions across the municipality to gather information.
The trio will present an overview and intention of the consultation, before a workshop.
Mrs Revell said it was important to prioritise road maintenance to accommodate large farming equipment.
“Agriculture forms the economic backbone of our region,” she said.
“With changes to farming practices, including increases to truck mass and larger equipment, it is important we work with our farming community to prioritise where we focus our road maintenance and tree trimming, and identify priorities for future grant applications to upgrade our road network.”
Council hosted a series of consultation sessions in June to inform the farming community of council operations, as well as to understand farmers’ challenges in farming operations.
The second round of consultations will review identified priorities, and take new requests into consideration.
Two-hour consultations are at Jeparit Memorial Hall, 9am on July 31; Yanac Hall, 9.30am August 6; Rainbow Mecca, 9.30am August 12; Nhill Memorial Community Centre, 9am August 22; and Dimboola Library, 9am August 23.
BY COLIN MacGILLIVRAY
Representatives from more than 40 of Victoria’s top merino and poll merino studs will converge on Marnoo on Friday next week for the annual Victorian State Merino Field Day.
Organiser Trent Carter said the field day would be a must-attend event for merino breeders and agricultural enthusiasts of all kinds, with plenty of displays and more than 600 rams for sale.
Mr Carter said spirits were high ahead of the field day, with positive news for merino breeders.
“Things are looking good. Everyone’s season is starting in the right way from feedback I’ve received from all over the country,” he said.
“Everyone’s outlook on the year has certainly improved with the lift in the current mutton and lamb market, which is great.
“Pretty much all of the biggest and best Victorian stud producers will be there. We have nearly every stud that’s selling large numbers of rams attending the day.
“They’ll all have good examples and exhibits of their styles of sheep on offer for this year for everyone in springtime to top up and keep breeding merinos into the future.”
Mr Carter said a variety of caterers would give attendees plenty of eating options, while Marnoo Cricket Club representatives would operate a licensed bar.
He said agricultural displays would cover a range of topics.
“We have a wide variety of trade displays for livestock and grain handling, and sheds with other displays – everything is agricultural-based,” he said.
“Reps will be there to answer any questions on administering any drugs or any other questions on livestock health and husbandry.
“There will be sheep-handling equipment.
“There will be a wide variety of agricultural businesses there to help answer questions or demonstrate any new developments or technologies that could help assist people with their workload on the farm.”
Merino judges will crown the top sheep in the state from 2pm, with more than $3500 of gate prizes to be
announced during judging. Mr Carter said all money raised from a $5 entry fee would go to the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
“Hopefully everyone can work towards having a relaxing, educational and enjoyable day,” he said.
People can find more information by visiting www.facebook.com/Marnoostudbreeders.
Horsham Regional Livestock Exchange witnessed a significant increase in sheep and lamb sales at last week’s auction, following a quieter period throughout 2024.
The sale attracted a much higher yarding, with sales up by more than 12,000 head.
Buyers from across the region flocked to the afternoon sale, reflecting the surging demand for livestock.
Horsham Rural City Council commercial enterprises co-ordinator Paul Christopher attributed the surge in numbers to shifts in supply and demand.
“We’ve seen low lamb production throughout the year so far. But now the supply and demand equation has moved in favour of producers,” he said.
“We only had 1500 head last week, and 13600 this week. So it was a significant lift.
“Confidence in the market is high with buyers reacting positively despite the increasing prices trends, and that’s a sign that we are in for a strong few months ahead.”
As the major regional exchange for the Wimmera-Southern Mallee region, Horsham’s saleyards can attract vendors from as far afield as the South Australian border and southern-New South Wales.
Solar Water Pumps Australia started modestly in 1989, as a personal need to pump water efficiently.
It has progressed as the increase in demand for solar powered water pumps across all agricultural sectors continues, exceeding expectations.
Growing from a one-man operation in a shearing shed to a current team of five taking up much larger industrial spaces in Kapunda is proof the business must be doing something right.
Continuing the many years of hard work and dedication which have been put into the business, Solar Water Pumps Australia continues to improve and develop the range and solutions on offer. Every system is custom-designed and built to suit the requirements of the customer.
Solar Water Pumps Australia staff work hard to get it right and ensure the product provides complete satisfaction.
With pumps in every state of Australia and throughout New Zealand, it gives Solar Water Pumps Australia immense pride knowing its product has a trusted and proven name.
Its Hardi transfer pumps range in sizes to suit a wide variety of needs.
From the basic pump to supply a substantial garden to large systems pumping distances about 20-kilo-
metres for station requirements –the business can design a system to suit any requirement.
The mountainous territory and high heads of the New Zealand countryside prove no problems either, with a pump designed to suit.
Becoming more popular is the range of mobile trailer units.
The units provide a quick setup at any water source, but also offer the ability to be easily shifted later to other sites and is ideal for leased properties.
The pontoons have been added to the range of solutions offered –mounting the pump and often the panels on the pontoon allows the entire unit to float on the dam and safely move with the water level, reducing the risk of pumps becoming submerged during storms.
The ultimate unit is the trailer including mounted solar panels and provisions to winch the pontoon onto the back and transport the entire system to another site.
While the Hardi transfer pumps are the heart and soul of the business, Solar Water Pumps Australia has access to a broad range of pumps including 240V household and transfer pumps, while the Nastec, Grundfos and Lorentz solar submersible pumps form part of the offering.
Flexibility is a speciality, as Solar Water Pumps Australia branches out into solar and battery systems and retrofitting failed existing pumping systems.
Understanding how critical water supply is, Solar Water Pumps Australia prides itself on its backup service.
The business does its best to ensure any emergencies are dealt with in a swift and prompt manner.
Having a skilled team of technicians means any of their staff members can attend situations, giving customers confidence any issue will be dealt with in a professional and satisfying manner.
Becoming a Bushman tank agent recently has added to the business in providing customers with another option and often, a complete package.
Offering poly tanks ranging from 1000 litres up to 46,400 litres in a choice of colours and the Bushman range of Aqualine Steel Liner Tanks means there is something for everyone.
People can give the staff at Solar Water Pumps Australia a call, send an email or visit site 13 at the field days to discuss water pumping and storage solutions for their individual situation.
Meat and Livestock Australia has produced a guideline for producers to ensure they know livestock is fit for travel before being loaded for transport.
Titled ‘Is the animal fit to load?’, the guide outlines what deems an animal unfit for transport, including if an animal is not able to walk normally or bear weight on all its legs, is suffering severe distress or injury, is blind in both eyes, is in late pregnancy, or in a condition that could cause it increased pain or distress during transport.
Agriculture Victoria senior veterinary officer Jeff Cave said the person in charge of the animal was responsible for its welfare.
“If people are in doubt about an animal’s suitability for transport, they can ask a private veterinarian or any Agriculture Victoria animal health officer or veterinary officer if livestock are fit to load,” he said.
Dr Cave said if an animal was unfit to load, people had options.
“The animal can be treated and transported when it has recovered and is fit to load. Naturally this is not an option in cases that are not readily treatable,” he said.
“Alternatively, the animal could be humanely destroyed. A knackery service is available in many areas to help with this option.
“Finally, a veterinarian could be consulted, and the animal transported under their advice.”
People wanting further information on animal welfare can call animal health staff at Agriculture Victoria on 136 186.
Standard guidelines for the land transport of livestock and other information can be found via go.vic.gov.au/45RZ6uQ, while ‘Is the animal fit to load?’ can be viewed on MLA’s website www.mla.com.au/extension-training-and-tools/ resource-hubs/fit-to-load.
National company Ahrens has added a new business to its expansive portfolio of construction, manufacturing, engineering and rural infrastructure divisions, acquiring Safety Steel Structures in Victoria.
The deal, completed on July 1, has been strategically designed to boost Ahrens’ national presence as a leading rural infrastructure company, with Safety Steel Structures complementing its 27 existing divisions across Australia, Asia and the United States.
Safety Steel will solidify Ahrens’ capabilities in the rural sector through their strategically located manufacturing sites at Dandenong and Tarranyurk, Victoria; Goombungee and Withcott, Queensland; Gilgandra, New South Wales; Shea-Oak Log, South Australia; and Bellevue and Northam, Western Australia.
The acquisition will also bolster Ahrens’ manufacturing footprint in Victoria, with more than 20,000m2 of rural infrastructure facilities in Dandenong, Tarranyurk and Nhill.
Ahrens commercial and investment manager Riley Ahrens – a fifth generation Ahrens – said Ahrens’ strong national presence would ensure Safety Steel’s 60-year history for producing quality steel rural and industrial structures continued.
Mr Ahrens said the latest addition followed the company’s historic trend of acquiring businesses to en-
sure it remained a standout in the industry.
“We are excited to be extending our national manufacturing footprint as Australia’s leading rural infrastructure company and extending our steel structure offering in Victoria to the rural, commercial and industrial markets,” he said.
“We remain committed to our cus-
tomers, and this acquisition will enable us to continue to offer highquality, Australian-manufactured steel products to protect their most important assets.”
Safety Steel Structures has a workforce based in Dandenong, which now joins Ahrens Group of experienced employees of draftspeople, boilermakers, welders, trades assistants and
sales and administrative support. The new business transaction brings Ahrens’ total workforce to more than 1400 employees.
“Our businesses complement each other well and the acquisition gives us the ability for both companies to offer each others’ services to both client bases,” Mr Ahrens said.
“The merger of Safety Steel with
“We are excited to be extending our national manufacturing footprint as Australia’s leading rural infrastructure company and extending our steel structure offering in Victoria to the rural, commercial and industrial markets”
– Riley Ahrens
Ahrens’ current portfolio of divisions also provides us the competitive edge to ensure our key clients are delivered high-quality and cost-effective products and services on time and on budget.”
Former Safety Steel Structures proprietor and managing director David Hartley said he was excited to have a strong family business as the new owner of Safety Steel.
He said Safety Steel’s key staff were supportive of the sale and remained positive about the future.
“I look forward to seeing the business flourish and working with the team in the future,” he said.
Since beginning in 1902, Ahrens has grown to become a nationally recognised, full construction, engineering, mining services, sheds and silos, water storage and property investments company, providing complete turnkey project solutions for inner city complexes to rural remote regions.
•
Adifficulty in finding workers, particularly staff from overseas, has stood out in a GrainGrowers annual policy survey.
Workforce and recruitment questions in the survey of 663 growers across Australia provided a detailed snapshot of the issues that exist and opened the door to exploring options.
GrainGrowers chief executive Shona Gawel
said while there was previously plenty of anecdotal evidence, the survey provided detailed evidence and data from the people directly affected by the current problems.
“To effect change we need accurate data to underpin our requests and to support our discussions. This survey has delivered that foundational information and is an important step forward for the grains industry in terms of workforce and recruitment,” she said.
The survey results outlined that more than two thirds of growers employed someone on the farm, with 31 per cent of respondents stating they had attempted to source workers in the 12 months to March 2024.
Ms Gawel said a breakdown of those who advertised and successfully filled positions highlighted a shortfall of available workers.
Of those growers seeking workers, 77 per cent advertised for grain farm workers, yet only 47 per cent successfully filled the position.
For the position of tractor or harvester operators, 45 per cent of growers advertised, while 58 per cent successfully filled the position.
The third top category of workers required was truck drivers, with 31 per cent advertised and 45 per cent successfully filling the position.
The survey revealed greater demand for labour
from larger farms, with 45 per cent of farms greater than 3000 hectares seeking employees.
Ms Gawel said the survey results provided additional evidence of workforce issues across the grains industry.
“While some of the issues are common to seasonal roles, there remains a large number of full-time, ongoing or permanent positions that are simply unable to be filled,” she said.
Ms Gawel said a case in point was for the heavily-advertised position of grain farm worker.
“For grain farm workers, three-quarters of respondents advertised for full-time positions, with 62 per cent for ongoing or permanent positions and just 39 per cent for seasonal roles,” she said.
“This data highlights a real gap in the grains workforce. We need to carefully consider how this can be addressed across the longer term.”
Ms Gawel said an important component of grain farm labour was access to overseas workers.
She said the survey indicated that nationally, one in five respondents were looking overseas for workers.
The report highlights a diversity of countries with similar cropping supply chains and workforce skills, with Germany, United Kingdom, France, New Zealand and Denmark listed as the top five countries of origin for overseas workers.
“The results show the need for tailored solutions for different cropping regions and the opportunity to establish accessible migration pathways to assist how the grains industry can access international labour,” Ms Gawel said.
She said the issues raised by the survey component would feed into existing work underway to improve workforce access.
HIGHLIGHTS: More than 8000 people made their way to the Mallee Machinery Field Days last year. Organisers are hoping for a similar crowd at this year’s event, located twokilometres south of Speed, on Wednesday and Thursday next week.
Pictured enjoying the 2023 showcase are, clockwise from above:
Warracknabeal Secondary College students Isaac Credlin, Oliver
Harrison
and
Anne
