LifeStyle Wimmera 2019, Edition 5 by The Weekly Advertiser

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Cadet journalist Lotte Reiter and her dog Jack

Our wonderful patch T

he Weekly Advertiser’s annual Wimmera LifeStyle magazine provides an annual opportunity to document stories about some of the people who help make our wonderful region tick. A 2019 exploration into the region’s sub-culture for the magazine has largely been in the hands of The Weekly Advertiser cadet Lotte Reiter. Wimmera born and bred and in her first year as a journalist, Lotte jumped at the opportunity to take the lead as a primary storyteller for this year’s edition. Here are her thoughts on what she has experienced. – Dean Lawson, editor

On our doorstep

ike many things in life, my knowledge of the world that has existed around me for most of

LifeStyle 2019

my 20 years barely scratches the surface. A year ago, I jetted off across the globe for six months, hoping to experience something ‘new’ – I daresay I even used the words ‘more exciting’. But as I’ve collated stories for the 2019 LifeStyle Wimmera magazine I’ve realised that I brushed aside undiscovered gold right at my back door. I’ve spoken to creatives and heroes, adventurous spirits and soulful business owners. I’ve ventured to towns I never knew existed, tried new food and shared laughter. Funnily, that is the description I often use to sum up my other short but beautiful adventure I had last year. This experience was a lovely reminder that this region and its people will always be a waiting treasure trove. I hope you too enjoy their rich stories within. – Lotte Reiter

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Cover photo: A 15-metre-tall, collapsible marionette puppet made from nylon, fibreglass and flexible poles, pictured in Murtoa Stick Shed, was the brainchild of a man eager to continuously challenge his creativity. Read Natimuk artist Dave Jones’ story on pages 20 and 21.

Dave Jones

Editor, Dean Lawson; sub-editor, Georgia Bailey; writers, Lotte Reiter, Dean Lawson, Colin MacGillivray, contributors; designers, Barry King, Kelly Laird; photography, Paul Carracher; advertising, Mark Sulic, Lee Meadows, Liz Luy, Chris Thomas, Mark Clyne, Tristan Cameron. Produced for free distribution by The Weekly Advertiser – ACE Radio Broadcasters Pty Ltd. ACN 064882 042. Printed by Newsprinters Pty Ltd, 7940 Melbourne Road, Shepparton.

Page 3

Anthony Kumnickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Great Western Granary bread, lovingly created through a desire to capture the old-world flavour and texture of heritage grains while throwing new or lost ideas into the mix, is quickly gaining popularity. He mills his own grain and collaborates with biodynamic farmer Peter Jackman at Dadswells Bridge, pictured, to grow his heritage grains.

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LifeStyle 2019

Grain seeds new passion I

By Dean Lawson

t is more than fair to say that Anthony

Kumnick of Great Western enjoys pursuing the odd project.

And anyone catching the delightful aroma or taste of freshly baked sour-dough loaves coming out of the Wimmera wine village would suggest his latest venture deserves a mighty tick of approval. Anthony’s Great Western Granary bread, lovingly created through a desire to capture the old-world flavour and texture of heritage grains while throwing new or lost ideas into the mix, is quickly gaining popularity. But the delicious bread is only part of a much larger story. Anthony’s journey through life is one of curiosity, inventiveness, application and a desire to ‘give things a go’. The information-technology specialist, 52, who grew up in Horsham before gaining a science degree, has a habit of pursuing interests and ideas with rare zeal. It is a passion that has led him to experience a variety of environments, circumstances and industries, before finally settling in the Wimmera’s famous highway town. From the noisy classrooms of Horsham High School, Anthony has gone on to explore the world with his profession and interests. It’s an exploration that, like any of life’s journeys, has had its highs and lows, peaks and troughs. He has had lengthy stints in Canberra, England and Canada, spending many years working for agencies and also himself, and now plies his experience as a business analyst with Northern Grampians Shire Council. Anthony’s story becomes fascinating when discussions turn to his broad range of interests and ventures. While working and living in England he ran a pub-restaurant in Woodchester where, at the same time, he met his wife Amanda. His profession then took him to Canada where he ran an IT consulting company.

He and Amanda decided to return to Australia and the region, and with other family members on board took up a farming enterprise at Greenvale Farm at Willaura. “We’ve always had a passion for good food. In Toronto the broad range of local produce was phenomenal,” he said. “We decided to specialise in heritage freerange pigs, which in turn produced high-end smallgoods. At its peak we were running about 2000 heritage pigs.”

On the move

Circumstances changed and the Kumnicks changed direction. With Amanda working at East Grampians Health Service, the family moved briefly to Moyston and then Anthony shifted into the world of local government to help Northern Grampians council. At the same time the family decided to make the move to Great Western. “Great Western had always fascinated me with it history and wine,” Anthony said. Of course, in typical Anthony style and despite enjoying his new municipal role, he was far from done in exploring alternative ideas and opportunities. Working on the Greenvale Farm had continually fuelled his interest in heritage produce, in which grain had obviously played a major role. “I had been looking at heritage grain from about 2010 and had acquired some red fife, which was huge in Canada. We had a couple of disasters and the pig operation took up most of the time,” he said. “But after I renewed my interest in heritage grains I started looking at the end products – and the end products are usually baked.” Anthony started exploring baking and made the most of an opportunity to use a commercial kitchen at Stawell Town Hall. “If you are going to produce flour you have to understand the end product you want to market to the customer. I started playing with that idea, creating a few products and people started wanting it. Not too many people were doing what

I was doing, so it was quite unique,” he said. “What kicked it off was when I went to a Small World Baker seminar in South Australia, which involved a congregation of a lot of well-known Victorian artisan bakers. That’s what got me going. I thought, ‘I could do this’. “I realised I couldn’t keep baking at Stawell Town Hall and in the process we had moved to Great Western. “I had this whopping great shed we used only for storage, which we decided to turn into a bakery. “After all the necessary renovations I managed to get hold of an industrial-scale oven and mixer, which was a big financial decision, but also a measure of commitment. “It was delivered before Christmas and the business started firing up in January.” Anthony mills his own grain and collaborates with biodynamic farmer Peter Jackman at Dadswells Bridge to grow his heritage grains. He also taps into grain from Burrum Biodynamics run by Marnoo’s Steve and Tanya Walter. “Peter’s been growing out my heritage wheat – initially sourced from 3000 seeds I managed to get from the Australian Grains Genebank,” Anthony said. “Grain is generally now grown for yield and to some extent we’ve lost some of the old heritage varieties. I’m trying to bring some of that back with my bread. “We produce phenomenal products in our region and the bulk goes off to goodness knows where. The theory behind what we’re doing is ‘why not recognise that and promote it here?’”

Continuous experimentation

Anthony said the project involved continuous experimentation with his products. “I’ve been introducing heritage oilseeds that pre-date Canola, dehydrating grapes, experimenting with olive waste and created a brewers loaf among other things,” he said. Anthony, who also has help from and shares ideas with Salingers Café chef Bryden

Buckingham and enjoys the daily transition from his day-to-day job to his passion, bakes twice a week and so far delivers his bread to general stores and other outlets from Beaufort to Dimboola. All his breads are sour-dough products, including his trademark wedgetail loaf, and he is also exploring other baking delicacies. “I’ll just see where it takes me. I’m starting to do coffee scrolls and pastries with sour doughs. It’s a constantly evolving product line – experiments based on percentages, colour, aroma and flavour,” he said. Great Western Granary is also entering products in competitions and has won an Australian Fine Foods award for a crisp bread made from wine flour. “The business has reached a point where it has become self-sustainable. We’re even at a stage where we are contemplating employing people to capitalise on different opportunities,” Anthony said. “It is massively rewarding when you get it right – but you do get your hiccups. “One time we had to throw out 50 kilograms of dough because it went wrong. There are so many things that can impact on what you’re doing – heat, ingredients, water temperature, chemical process. If you get any of it wrong, it will go wrong.” Anthony said as well as pursuing his sideline business he, his wife and children Natalie and Ben, enjoyed supporting Great Western. He is on the town’s Great Western Future Committee and the family barracks hard for the town’s football and netball club. “It’s where we’ve settled the family and it’s great,” he said.

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Walking into a better life A

By Lotte Reiter

rid greens and browns, jagged mountain peaks, rocky terrain and uniquely rippling skies. It is a certain type of beauty that dominates the Grampians scenery, and one in which Horsham’s Kylie Zelley, 53, finds herself at her happiest. The avid bushwalker moved to the region from Creswick, near Ballarat, about six years ago and quickly joined the Horsham-based Wimmera Bushwalking Club. She said an old adage came to mind... ‘if you don’t use it, you lose it’. For her, the hobby was an easy way to keep moving and participate in everyday life. “Bushwalking for me is a really enjoyable way of keeping active,” she said. “I’m just happier. When I haven’t been out for a walk in a while, I can get – not grumpy – but I notice it.

“When I come back from a walk I’m refreshed and reinvigorated. You can be out there with a group, but there’s still that feeling of solitude. I just enjoy the quiet – although it might not even be quiet, you hear the birds and the wind in the bushes.” Kylie said she enjoyed a variety of sports and, before moving to Horsham, spent time weight training and bike riding – ‘but it’s just a bit too flat here for that now’, she said. Kylie and her partner Michael plan holidays around the best places for bushwalking – both in Australia and abroad. “If we’re going on a holiday we’ll go somewhere where we can go bushwalking, like New Zealand,” she said. “We are currently toying with the idea of going to Nepal to do Annapurna Massif. “It’s one way of seeing what a country has to offer.” She said she had always loved the mountains and scenery of the Grampians,

and felt lucky to being living so close. Kylie remembered when she first moved to Horsham fires had just swept through the Wimmera, leaving much of the area’s national parks and environment in devastation. She said it was incredible, as a bushwalker, to watch nature change and flourish across the years. “When I first moved here, the Black Range had just been burnt. But the difference with what you see now is just amazing,” she said. Her favourite part of her new home, however, might be the community she became a part of, including the Wimmera Bushwalking Club. She said members, while typically ranging in age from about 45 to their late 80s, always welcomed new walkers, young and old, and she encouraged anyone interested to join the walks. “I’ve loved moving to Horsham. I think

it’s the people, the people here have always been really friendly,” she said. “The club goes bushwalking once a fortnight and if there is a long weekend coming up the group might go away for that too,” she said. “Members are on the older side, but even so, that doesn’t limit the difficulty of walks. “They do a mix of challenging courses and easier ones. “There’s no pressure to complete walks you don’t feel up for, either. There’s a person who leads the walk who will give you guidance about whether that walk might be good for you, or not. “Anybody who is interested is more than welcome to join us.” People keen to join Wimmera Bushwalking Club can find more information and contacts online at wimmerabwc.org.au.

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Paramotoring enthusiast Peter Hart travelled 3000 kilometres across Australia, taking plenty of spectacular pictures along the way, including this shot between Menindee and Broken Hill.

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LifeStyle 2019

Sky-high adventure H

By Lotte Reiter

orsham’s Peter Hart is unsure of the ‘point’ behind making the longest paramotoring trip in Australian history, but did it ever need one? Loosely following the ‘Burke and Wills trail’, the flying enthusiast took part in a 20-day, 3000-kilometre escapade across Australia with a group of mates. From Knowsley near Bendigo to the town of Karumba in Carpentaria, Queensland, they clocked up about 60 to 70 hours of flying in their motorised, paragliding contraptions. Put simply, Peter said the journey was ‘just a bit of an adventure’. “I don’t know what the point was to be honest. I think it’s the closest thing to flying like a bird. You’ve got uninterrupted views and you look down and see your feet dangling over the landscape,” he said. “It lets you see the country from a completely different perspective. The scenery is amazing.” Peter said a paramotor was the combination of a paraglider with fabric wings, and a caged engine strapped to the flyer’s back.

“The motor helps with the take-off part… the rest is up to the wind,” he said. “You’re essentially running into the sky. Once you’re in the air, you just lift your legs and sit down like in a deck chair.” Peter said the learning process was a bit of a challenge. “In the United States you don’t need a licence, you just teach yourself. But here you need to do a course,” he said. “You need to do 20 hours in 12 days and about 30 flights.” While Peter was able to successfully fly the entire 3000 kilometres without hiccups, other members of the group had no such luck. He said most problems that occurred with the adventure sport came back to the fact that paramotors were generally built for much shorter trips. “The idea was that we wouldn’t move forward if we weren’t flying,” he said. “But some of the other guys had engine problems and mechanical issues. One guy blew up his motor on the second day. We had spare machines that we were able to take parts from. “These are machines that aren’t really meant for flying long distances. You can take them on a cross-country journey if

you’ve got the time and support crews, but not everyone wants to sit in a car and watch guys flying above them for 20 days.” Peter said the group averaged a speed of 55 kilometres an hour, flyers spending most of their time between 500 and 1000 feet above ground. Even so, he described the adventure sport as a relatively safe recreation, and cheap too. “General aviation is expensive. But paramotoring, once you have all the gear, is only about $30 to $40 a flight,” he said. “Where you can land is amazing. Compared with aircraft engine failure where you’d need to have a good landing site, you can land in someone’s back yard if you want to. You don’t need a lot of room.” Peter said the group he travelled with had made an annual event out of paramotoring across the country, including a recent journey from Lake Eyre to Kosciuszko, and it was already planning for next year. “The trips have gotten bigger and bigger,” he said. “We’re currently toying with the idea of flying the length of the Murray River, so from source to coast or coast to source, depending on the wind.”

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At home among the gums By Lotte Reiter

t is often a good reminder when speaking to people who have relocated to or spent time in the Wimmera that being able to call this part of the world ‘home’ is something to envy. From sprawling national parks and trails to community spirit and compassion, our region offers an eclectic mix of possibilities and fervour. It is a lifestyle that Spanish national and master’s student Eva Carreras believes is often mistakenly rejected. The 24-year-old moved to Australia in 2017 to study food science at the University of Melbourne. As part of her degree, she spent seven months living, working and studying in Horsham, with a placement at Grains Innovation Park to complete her thesis experiments. Eva has lived in big cities her entire life, so moving to a regional centre, she admitted, was scary. “I didn’t know what it was like to live in a smaller city and in a rural area. But honestly, I’ve been impressed,” she said. “Some people are really scared of moving to regional areas, perhaps because of how far it is from the city, and in terms of fewer opportunities for shopping, restaurants and events. “But I find that it is quite a mistaken idea. I think you can have all that here, in Horsham. “It has exceeded my expectations by one-thousand million. I’ve loved it so much I want to come back, potentially in a proper job from December or January.”

Perfect combination

For Eva, Horsham ticked the boxes. She said the municipality was the perfect combination of the ‘right people, the right place and the right job’, making her short experience memorable, and providing her with a transformed view of what regional life had to offer.

“I found peace here,” she said. “My lifestyle in Melbourne was really stressful. I had to travel perhaps one hour from my house to university every day, another 30 minutes to go to work, and after work I would do the same trip back home. “That really stressed me, and the people are also stressed in Melbourne and that is contagious. Everyone is always running from one place to the other and in the end, you can’t just peacefully go for a walk because everything is so hectic. “Here, I feel like I have more time to enjoy doing what I want to do, and I can put much more effort into doing it because I have that time.”

Spoilt for choice

A self-confessed ‘outdoorsy person’, Eva said she particularly enjoyed being so close to many national parks and activities. From wine tasting at Great Western to the Grampians’ many hiking trails, she said she always had opportunities for adventure and recreation, even in the coldest months of the year. “There are a lot of things to do at the weekend. You can always take your car and explore, because you’re always in contact with nature, whereas in Melbourne that’s really hard,” she said. “I’ve been to Halls Gap many times. My housemate and I did a hike there and went to see Mackenzie Falls, which was really nice. “My boyfriend really enjoys fourwheel driving and we have a big car, so we went driving at Little Desert National Park. I think it’s a really nice landscape. “I have been here during winter mainly and it has still been great. “I can’t imagine how it would be in summer, to do grills outside by the river… I think it would be amazing.” At the heart of any town, though, is its people. English novelist Anna Sewell penned

the quote: ‘it is good people who make good places’. Support and compassion from the people who surround you can be one of the most valuable things in life, and for Eva, it is the number-one reason why her ties with the Wimmera’s capital became so strong. “What I most like about Horsham is the sense of community,” she said. “People invite you to events, like at the art gallery or just for drinks at the pub. “I feel continuously supported. If I have a problem or I’m facing difficulties to keep up with my master’s subjects, people are worried about me. “People actually care about me, and for other people. “My housemate introduced me to a lot of people and made me feel really comfortable and at home. “That is something really strange, because in Melbourne I didn’t feel that. “I think a good experience is not about the place itself, but about the people.”

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Tin Lizzie a vintage rarity H

By Lotte Reiter

enry Ford is said to have been able to roll one off the production line every 93 minutes, but it has taken more than a century for Ralph and Merna Zwar’s 1912 Model T Roadster to find itself at home, and close to original condition, in Harrow. Owned by a ‘fanatic’ Lutheran parish pastor, traded in, crashed, pulled apart, used as a porch seat and – eventually – restored, the roadster has a lively history. And while the car is now ‘pretty ancient’, Mr Zwar, 84, said ‘she goes like a wristwatch’. “I’ve rebuilt it to the best of my abilities and I’m pretty proud,” he said. The Harrow couple, originally from South Australia, spent about five years restoring the model, assembling the vehicle with parts they bought from the United States or created at home. Mr Zwar said the result was a collaboration between the couple, their family members and Model T enthusiasts and friends across the region. And it was a project, at the end of it all, that he has had the ‘utmost fun’ completing. “It wasn’t until a couple of years ago, when I was semi-retired, I thought ‘I’ve got to do something with it’, so I started to restore it,” he said. “Overall it took five years on and off. I never worked constantly on it. I would spend a week restoring one wheel, taking out all the spokes, cleaning them up, priming and painting. “I had to make the doors myself from measurements from two blokes in America. My son helped me make those. We used a tin-smith roller and made up some dyes.” Mr Zwar said the roadster’s parts, bar the engine, were all original, including the upholstery on the seat, which Horsham’s Peter Mitton helped him repair. “I assembled the engine all by myself. I found and restored the original radiator, but Model T experts told me it wouldn’t cool,” he said.

widely adored for its timeless beauty. Mr Zwar said the model had won multiple prizes, including a people’s choice prize at an Edenhope car and bike club event, a red-gum trophy at a Balmoral Lions Club Show and Shine, and, most recently, ‘best in parade’ at the Warracknabeal Y Fest. “My wife and I were pretty happy with that. We got dressed up, it was quite a great day for us,” he said. “It’s about the third time the car has been in a parade. The first time it kept cutting out and carrying on and it turned out there was a wasp nest in the fuel tank. We had to clean out the fuel lines and it ran good then. “The roadster is so unusual and pretty rare. It creates a bit of fun wherever it goes.”

Fanatic

ith their 1912 d Merna Zwar w an ft, est. le h, lp Ra arracknabeal YF Harrow’s r at this year’s W ste ad Ro T el od Ford M “The cooling system ran very hot – you couldn’t keep it from boiling. So, I bought another original radiator. That was probably one of my bigger expenses. “What I’ve spent on it I wouldn’t have a clue; it would probably give me a fright.”

Family love

Ford Motor Company produced Model Ts, fondly known as ‘Tin Lizzies’, between 1908 and 1927. Mr Zwar ticketed his father’s own Ford Model T – a 1927 model and one of the last made – as a likely spark for his own old-car passion. “I guess my interest started when I was about eight or nine years old,” he said. “My father had the 1927 Model T. I learnt to drive in that thing and got my licence at 16. “After the war he traded in the Model T

so we could afford an ex-army Ford truck. And I asked him ‘why did we have to sell it?’, but things were pretty tough. “I think there were about 15-million 1927 Model Ts made.” Unlike his father’s later model, Mr Zwar said his 1912 roadster was a rare and undoubtedly unpopular design. “There were only a few made, I think about three-to-four thousand,” he said. “I’m a member of the Ford T Club in Melbourne, and they believe my 1912 is the only one in Australia that has survived; there’s still quite a few in America. “But they weren’t popular because they were only a two-seater and more people wanted a four-seater to transport a family.” The roadster might have struggled to impress owners in its time, but more than 100 years on, this ‘ancient’ car is now

Mr Zwar said the Pine Creek Lutheran Parish in South Australia bought the car for a pastor Ortenburger in 1914. “The pastor was a bit of a fanatic, he loved the car, apparently,” Mr Zwar said. “It was sold in 1928 or 1929 and a Mr Noske purchased it. He was unfortunate to have crashed it, and his sister cut the body off it and used the seat on the veranda. “That’s the main thing that prompted me to restore it. I had several other Model T Roadsters at the time. She said, ‘I won’t sell it to you, I’ll give it to you’. “She told me where most of the parts were and where it was wrecked. The only thing I regret about it is that I wasn’t able to get it running in her lifetime. I was very grateful to her. If she hadn’t had the thought to cut the body off the car, I would have never owned it.” Mr Zwar said he previously owned a much larger vintage car collection, including a 1949 Ford Single Spinner, but had sold them across the years. His 1912 Model T, though? He’ll hang on to that one. “I don’t regret selling the others,” he said. “But I won’t get rid of this one. One of my daughters really loves it. We’re just going to keep it until we’re no longer here.”

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Page 13

Capturing the I

By Lotte Reiter

f anyone has ever taken a walk down Horsham’s Jos Lane in the city’s centre, they might have noticed a sculpted flock of ravens perched above them. ‘Aerial’, installed in 2009, is the creation of Banyena artist Dónal Molloy Drum, and one of hundreds he attributes to the influence of the Wimmera’s unique landscape. Big blue skies and a ‘sheer vastness’ of beauty and fragility, the Wimmera backdrop is completely different to the housing estate Dónal, 54, grew up in in Dublin. But it is a landscape which has, across the past 22 years, refined his practice to what it is today. “When I first came here my work was certainly a continuation of what I was doing in Ireland – very much related to Celtic mythology and art,” he said. “I continued in that vein and it was really popular. A lot of people of Irish descent were certainly very interested in it and all the stories behind the mythology.

“But over the years my work has gradually become more refined and abstract, and I completely relate that to the landscape and vast space of the Wimmera and Mallee. “What I seek out are the very small details in the landscape, like a knot in a tree, a stone, or an interesting shape. I am interested in how little things like that can stand out among the big space that they’re in.” This trajectory of Dónal’s artwork has evolved over time, as he lives and works in this ‘different environment’. Born in Ireland, he attended Cork’s Crawford School of Art, studying Fine Art and majoring in sculpture. As was common for people in an economically bleak 1980s Ireland, he moved to work in London for two years where he met his wife Andie, from Banyena. The following years were spent living in Melbourne and Dublin, and though there was always intention to return to and live in Australia, the pair had envisioned a more regional location to call home. “We had our eyes set on central Victoria, like Ballarat, but when we

came back, we unexpectedly settled in the Wimmera,” Dónal said. “It wasn’t our intention at all, but we just got involved in the small community, started renting a local farmhouse – which we eventually bought – and just enjoyed the way of life.” The Wimmera and Mallee regions have weaved an increasingly stronger influence into Dónal’s art over time, but his work is still equally as composed by his life overseas. Pieces predominantly feature building materials including stainless steel, wood, plaster and concrete. Dónal said that while such materials might seem quite removed from the rural landscape he lives in, they were a strong reminder of another life lived in busy cities and a suburban upbringing. In fact, he said he often saw his London experiences, where he worked as a welder and on building sites, coming out in his work. “I like trying to convert something very harsh and used for building into an aesthetic piece,” he said.

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Step Outside and Live LifeStyle 2019

Wimmera in art “Transforming the material in such ways as making it malleable, and looking softer and lighter than it actually is, is an important part of the work.” The process of forming ideas and creating his ‘organic’ art pieces, he admitted, was hard to explain in words. He said he was inspired by micro and macro sources – micro being plant and human cells seen through a microscope, macro being small details in the landscape – but what emerged was never a mimicry of any specific specimen. “I do lots of drawings, and then I move onto drawing with chalk on my workshop floor, then move onto steel and work from there,” he said. “A lot of what I look at in the environment is the vulnerability of the landscape, how the smallest thing can upset the balance. So, a lot of my work I relate to that – the balance, the beauty of nature, but also the fragility of it as well. “The temporal nature of life is reiterated in my work, through

the balancing act of one shape encountering another. Either supported or supporting, these shapes evolve as enduring structures and forms. “The marked surfaces of the shapes make reference to the passing of time, scars, stories and events. “But I’m not so much seeking to make a statement. I think it’s just life and what I see around me, and what emotion is there at the time.”

Noisy, dusty and dirty

They are the three words Dónal used to describe his workshop, where, most commonly, late ’70s punk blares for 12 hours a day, a grinder for six, and the remains of pieces of work from years ago lay waiting to be used. “It’s really important to have in your workshop a lot of detritus sitting around to eventually use,” Dónal said. “It’s recycling as well. In my workshop, certainly stainless-steel wise, nothing gets wasted. “Similarly, I make a lot of wood veneer, so it’s like putting layers and

hermans

layers of plywood together and quite often they don’t work out. You can spend a couple of days on one little shape, but if it doesn’t work, I often come back to it, maybe in a year’s time, and think, ‘well if I just cut that in half that’s perfect for what I want’.” In addition to exhibiting at least once annually and constantly being commissioned for work or creating new displays, Dónal said he has also been Banyena Hall’s president for eight years and part of the community’s tennis club. “They are the kind of things, when I first came here, that I never thought I would do,” he said. “I had never played tennis before, in fact, I had never been on a tennis court in my life because Irish weather doesn’t suit such an activity. I always thought it was something rich people did.” Dónal said the contrast, particularly visually, between Dublin and the Wimmera was so great it is hard to put into words.

gifts

Despite being here for more than two decades, he said the beauty of his Australian home never ceased to amaze him. “The other day I just went ‘wow!’ After some rain we had like four different bands of weather, which you could see in the vast landscape and horizon,” he said. “That’s pretty rare to be able to see all that. I still am amazed by it.”

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Active Adult Members

I had a dream

Sofia Laursen Habel

By Lotte Reiter

colossal horseshoe theatre richly decorated and embellished by rows of seats and tiers of balconies... A suit-and-gown couple perched on red velvet thrones... A small pair of binoculars hovering delicately above their noses... Voices of performers rising and falling – with and against – an orchestra below. This is, for many people, the niche image the word ‘opera’ evokes, and a misconception that classical singer Sofia Laursen Habel wants to dismantle. Sophia, 23, who grew up on a grain farm at Boolite near Warracknabeal, returned to her Wimmera roots for a one-night concert in Horsham earlier this year. The ‘Celebration of Spring’ performance raised more than $2700 for the Wimmera Health Care Group Foundation as it celebrated its 30-year milestone. The opportunity was undoubtedly special for Sophia, because along with raising funds for an important cause, the event was also a chance for her to give rural Victorians an opportunity to experience opera – a musical genre she believed was often in short supply in the region. “It was really special to come back home, sing solo for an audience and curate a program for rural Victorians,” she said. “It had such a positive response, there’s definitely that demand there. “Opera has usually catered to the upperclass – the ‘rich white people’. That’s where it sits in its niche, and I want to be a part of dismantling that. “I’m really passionate about making classical music, especially opera, more accessible to rural areas, bringing opera into schools and changing up venues as well – like opera in the park – it doesn’t have to be in a theatre or on a big stage. “I would like to tackle those misconceptions.” Sophia said she had always wanted to be a LifeStyle 2019

‘

It probably sounds cheesy, but after that concert, I felt like my purpose as a singer and performer was clarified

’

– Sofia Laursen Habel

performer, an interest she largely attributed to her musical upbringing. “I was interested in music from a young age, probably because my mum always had a piano in the house,” she said. “I started piano lessons from eight years old, and singing lessons from about nine or 10. Singing became my main instrument. “In high school I was really loving music and knew I wanted to pursue it further, there just wasn’t the access to it in Warracknabeal, so I started boarding school in Ballarat from year 10, and that has led me to study at Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. “It’s pretty cool. It’s taken me to a variety of places.” Sophia said some of her most recent performing roles were ‘Yum-Yum’ in The Mikado by Gilbert and Sullivan and ‘Germano’ from La Scala di Seta by Rossini. But despite such experience, she said her Horsham performance was equally notable because it ‘clarified’ her purpose and passion in classical theatre. “My passion as a singer really lives in making people feel through music,” she said. “At the Celebration of Spring performance, I really got that feeling that I was making a difference and taking the audience on a journey with me. “It probably sounds cheesy, but after that concert, I felt like my purpose as a singer and performer was clarified.”

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Take part in something BIGGER, create CHANGE

Volunteering is at the heart of any vibrant, thriving community, binding people and groups and creating social cohesion. The benefits of volunteering include increased social inclusion and participation, physical and psychological wellbeing, gaining new skills and creating a sense of meaning. For organisations, volunteering generates energy and interest, stimulates connections and creates a positive image in the community. If you are retired, have newly retired, or are thinking about finally taking that leap, Centre for Participation would love to have you on board. The centre runs programs including: the Wimmera Social Support program which assists seniors to get out and about, maintain their social connections and attend Memory Lane Cafe. It also assists learner drivers to gain their 120 hours of on-road practice through volunteer mentor drivers as part of the Licencing the Wimmera program. Running regular “Introduction to volunteering” sessions, which assist potential volunteers in understanding their rights and responsibilities, duty of care and legal requirements, attendance is vital in maximising your volunteering experience. Once you have attended the session, an appointment will then be made with our Volunteer Resources Coordinator who will guide you through the paperwork including the National Police Check, while teasing out your skills, knowledge and areas of interest. Volunteering brings rich rewards including new friendships, new skills and community integration. So, if you have some time to spare, we’d love to have a chat.

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Advocate for the country By Lotte Reiter

ulia Barling knows life can get very real, very quickly. At 21, when many young Australians are still fledglings in life – flying the nest, exploring career paths and experiencing newfound freedom – Julia was a fully qualified and practising lawyer. At 25, she became Victoria’s youngest Legal Aid managing lawyer. Now 37, Julia is a project manager for Victoria Legal Aid, advocating for justice for everyday Australians. It has been an interesting and unexpected trajectory. One, on reflection, she would probably advise people against. “I suppose I did grow up a little too quickly,” she said. But it is also a path that led to a husband and seven-year-old son, a fulfilling career and the power to change other people’s lives for the better. “Growing up in Horsham, I saw firsthand a lot of people struggle to navigate the legal system and access support. They just wanted to be treated as a person, not as a number,” she said. “I thought I could use my skills and passion for helping others to make a

difference – be someone to stand between the authorities and the person trying to access legal help. “I certainly built up that skill very quickly. I’ve worked with Victoria Legal Aid for 12 years now. It can be exhausting, and emotionally draining at times, but very fulfilling. When I was practising I got the chance to make people’s lives a little bit better.” Julia said she felt there was a sense of community support unique to regional towns. She attended Horsham’s 298 Primary School and Horsham College, and wanted to study journalism. But after missing the opportunity and receiving a scholarship to study law at Queensland’s Bond University instead, she flipped career directions. “I ended up changing what I wanted to do halfway through year 12,” she said. “The scholarship meant I would be able to do a law degree in two years and eight

months instead of five to six years. So, I finished that and started practising law at 20. “I spent a bit of time working in a law firm in Brisbane, but it was really the idea of returning to the country that excited me.” Julia said she had a passion for country living and a desire to advocate for post-code injustice and the benefits of regional Victorian life. “I’m doing what Julia I can to ensure Barling people in the country have access to the help they need,” she said. “I practised in Hamilton for about five years. When offered the position of managing lawyer of the Victoria Legal Aid Horsham office, it meant I could use my experience to help those in my hometown. “At that time Legal Aid had briefly been in Horsham. It was a big responsibility. “I was managing staff who were older than I. But I learned pretty quickly.

“A lot of people had supported me to get to where I was, and I suppose I wanted to live up to their expectations.” Julia said being raised in a country community, where people were connected from an early age, fuelled her fight for greater justice in regional centres. “I think a lot of people spend a period of time in areas like Horsham and get exposure to regional life through their professional lives, but they don’t get involved with the community,” she said. “Whether it’s football, netball, school or something else, you realise how much support communities like Horsham have to offer, particularly in terms of starting a family. And that is really valuable.” Julia now lives in Cavendish and quite like her 17-year-old self, she has a foggy picture of what her future might hold. “I’ve got another 12 months in my current project and they’ve kept the role open for me in Horsham,” she said. “The person currently filling that role is doing a really great job so I’ll see what opportunities come up. “Sometimes things just work out how they’re meant to.”

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Dave Jones

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LifeStyle 2019

A desire to reimagine and reinvent By Lotte Reiter

ost of Natimuk-based artist Dave Jones’ work is born from a desire to create something completely incomparable to what he has made before. In one of his most recent displays, this came in the form of a 15-metre-tall, collapsible marionette puppet. Led by string through the Murtoa Stick Shed during one of the town’s biggest yearly events, the puppet, made from nylon, fibreglass and flexible poles, was the brainchild of a man eager to continuously challenge his creativity. He is an artist who believes the best way to thrive is to venture into the unknown. “I think I make my best work when I am doing something I haven’t done before,” Dave said. “I like problem solving and challenging myself to a point where it tests me but isn’t too stressful. “I think it’s easy to get stuck if you stay doing the same thing all the time and don’t challenge yourself. Rather, you should constantly come up with something new, reinvent yourself and be a bit more imaginative.”

Film and animation

Dave, 46, was born in Melbourne and eventually trained and worked in the city in film and animation, making music videos and advertisements among other projects. But like many in the Natimuk community, it was the town’s climbing culture that attracted him. Dave said for a period of about five or six years he would complete a work contract, ‘get cashed up’ and travel overseas until he was almost out of money. With the small amount he had left in the bank he would go to Arapiles, before eventually returning to Melbourne and completing the cycle again. But he said as the internet and broadband came along, he realised he could do his work remotely. So, he moved to Natimuk. He said while his first few years were spent working on international projects, the Natimuk community became a ‘really good creative base’ for his art. “When I first moved here, no one in Natimuk needed animations made,” he said. LifeStyle 2019

‘

They get a sense of the ins and outs of what is involved, and it is a chance to try something new and for them to think, ‘it is possible to do it in my own town’

’

– Dave Jones

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Career highs While Dave’s marionette puppet might be the largest structure he has created, his professional career has hit many heights. He has won awards at both Melbourne International Film Festival and Melbourne International Animation Festival. He said he also made a film and travelled to Singapore for the 50th anniversary of the country’s independence. When it came to his work with regional communities though, such as in his artist residency at Murtoa Stick Shed and building shows for Natimuk’s Nati Frinj Biennale, he enjoyed being able to build other people’s skills. He said involving community members in his projects and shows was a way to help them create their own work and ‘open their eyes to the possibilities’. “Rather than just coming out and doing a show and that’s it, I’m working with the people there to build the show,” he said. “They get a sense of the ins and outs of what is involved, and it is a chance to try something new and for them to think, ‘it is possible to do it in my own town’. “I suppose in regional towns there are fewer opportunities to do these things, so it can be really empowering. “And, hopefully in the future, when people have learned some of the skills they need, they can actually put on some shows of their own. That’s the end goal.”

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A proud reflection By Majella Ballantine

he old steam train pulled into Murtoa station on its way from Melbourne. For 14-year-old Barry Scully it had been a long trip filled with both imagination and hope. As instructed by his father, the railway guards pointed young Barry in the direction of the Railway Hotel where the publican was calling ‘last drinks’ before 6pm closing. Hitching up his strides and taking a deep breath, Barry entered the hotel. It was midharvest 1952. “I was told to ask for Mr Delahunty,” Barry recalled. “Half the heads in the bar turned, but then Jack came over and we headed out to the farm in the old Land Rover. We pulled up at the stable just on dark. “Hop on her and let’s see how you ride,” Jack said, pointing to an old mare. “He legged me on bareback with just the bridle and the bloody thing took off down the driveway and

slammed the brakes on at the water trough. “I jumped off and led it back. Jack said, ‘you sit on all right’ and that’s where it all started.” Barry had done it tough. His father Patrick, a cabinet maker at St Vincent’s Hospital, was left with five mouths to feed when his wife departed. Barry was dropped off at an orphanage at Mornington at just four years old. After a short stint at St Bede’s, Mentone, he spent his final school years at Rupertswood Boys Home, run by the Salesian Brothers at Sunbury. “You hear all the stories, but in my time at Rupertswood, I was only hit badly once – for being cheeky when the Bishop was there,” Barry laughed. But in a stroke of luck Patrick Scully met Jack Delahunty’s two sisters who were nursing at St Vincent’s. “Next thing dad came out to Sunbury and said, ‘pack your bag. I’ve got a job on a farm for you. Hurry, we have to catch the train’.” Barry thrived at the farm. He rode the racehorses, learnt all aspects of farming and enjoyed some good times with his new family. His proudest moment was becoming an apprentice jockey, and winning a couple of races from about 20 rides. Form guides had him listed as ‘Mr B. Scully’ from which he became known as ‘Mr B’, a nickname that has withstood the test of time.

A new role

Barry Scully

Page 22

After turning 21, Barry was granted a trainer’s licence. He managed a farm at Tooan for Perc Coutts, trained and drove pacers with success and met and married his stunning bride Ann McIntyre.

The pair and their brood of five children survived on rabbits and fish, cooked as many ways as Ann could imagine. “Vin Delahunty got me back to Murtoa,” Barry said. “We ended up having nine kids and he gave me a good house, all our milk and the odd sheep to kill. “He knew I was a good worker but I think he was more worried about the numbers in the Catholic school, and my kids would help it stay open.” Eventually Barry gained employment at Grain Corp in Murtoa where he stayed for 28 years. He was well known with his ready smile and helpful nature. But as anyone with racehorses knows, the highlights of any trainer’s life are their pursuits on the race track. And Barry had many. Most notable was his success with of one of the state’s best jumpers: Bush General. ‘Bushy’, as he was affectionately known, firmly put Murtoa on the map with his tough wins in Victoria’s premier steeplechases. Piloted by Wal Wal jockey Hughie O’Sullivan, Bushy blitzed his rivals in taking out the 1987 Hiskens Steeplechase – the ‘Cox Plate of jumping’. Headlines were made as Barry and owners Tom Magee and Kevin McIntyre were still celebrating on course, with Bushy asleep in the stall as the trotters arrived for the trots meeting that same night. Perhaps his most significant of wins was the 1987 Waterford Crystal Steeplechase, again at Moonee Valley. Lining up against his old master Jack Delahunty’s ‘Vim’, Barry had Bushy at his top. Lugging 72 kilograms, Bushy emerged but was challenged by Vim over the last three furlongs. The two battled it out, with Bushy just getting the nod to make it five wins on end. In a quiet moment heading back to Murtoa

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that night, Barry thought of his first trip to Murtoa. He remembered looking back in the fading light, watching the overwhelming charge of steam and the chugging pistons as the train departed for Adelaide. He recalled chancing a look at his skinny blonde-haired, blue-eyed reflection in the window of the Railway Hotel.

A colourful life That night when he walked into that same hotel almost 40 years later, he had a great story to tell. At 81, Barry Scully has certainly lived a full and colourful life. He has never lost the smile that endured years in orphanages, droughts and floods, and the challenges of raising a large family in hard times. Never one to seek the limelight, Barry is a popular member of Murtoa’s strong community. And he can tell a good story – like the time he rolled ‘Elsie’s Customline’ in 1954 after a drinking session with local police Sergeant Pidgeon, known as ‘The Bird’, on a long trip home from Ararat via hotels at Stawell, Lubeck and Rupanyup after winning his first race aboard ‘Longerenong’. He remembers a mini tornado hitting the Mallee and blowing the roof off Jack’s float after they won a race at Wycheproof in the 1950s, and the time the eight-horse team towing the newly stooked sheaves of hay bolted and lost the lot. Barry is not one to focus on the hardships he has endured but rather the good times, the funny times and the big life he has lived. The scrawny boy who stepped onto the platform at Murtoa Railway Station all those years ago can look proudly on how he has lived his life and the man he became.

LifeStyle 2019

Dancers perform at Horsham’s first Karen New Year’s Day celebration at Horsham Town Hall earlier this year.

Cultural smorgasbord... Hser Wah KAREN Yellow Chicken Curry – ‘Chaw Nya Gathoo’

The Wimmera, Mallee and Grampians regions are evergrowing multicultural communities. Backgrounds extend from parts of Germany and Italy to our country’s more geographically closer neighbour in Asia, among many more, resulting in a region that boasts a variety of traditions. Many of these traditions come in the form of food. From memories of a dish savoured once a year to family-night favourites, the meals people eat are an important part of their culture and lives. In this edition of LifeStyle Wimmera, with the help of regional migrant services and willing families, we have captured just a few of the cuisines and dishes that form part of our region’s heritage.

LifeStyle 2019

Ingredients, all to taste: Red onion, garlic, turmeric powder, carrot, broccoli, capsicum, olive oil, coconut milk, beans, chicken breasts Method: Peel and slice red onions and garlic and pound together with turmeric powder in a mortar and pestle. Roughly chop onion, carrot, broccoli and capsicum. Chop chicken into pieces. In a pan, heat oil and add onion, garlic and turmeric powder mix. When slightly cooked, add coconut milk and heat. Add chicken to the coconut milk mixture. When the chicken is cooked, add in vegetables and cook. Serve when everything is cooked.

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Page 23

Anubha Jalla Das

Anubha Jalla Das INDIA

arfi is made up of simple ingredients and is also known as ‘Khoya Barfi’ in some parts of India. “One of the most famous Indian sweets are Barfis,” Anubha said. “Serve this lip-smacking barfi to your friends and family on special occasions such as festivals, game nights and ‘kitty’ parties to enrich their tastes.”

‘Milk Powder Barfi’

Ingredients: 1/4 cup ghee or clarified butter 3/4 cup milk 21/2 cups milk powder 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 tsp cardamom powder or elachi powder 2 tbsp almonds or cashews, chopped 2 tbsp pistachios, chopped Method: In a large kadai or wok, add

ghee or clarified butter and milk. Keeping the flame on low, add milk powder and sugar. Mix well, making sure everything is combined well. Stir continuously, keeping the flame on low, so no lumps form and the sugar dissolves, until the milk thickens. The milk will form a dough after 10 minutes of stirring, and the dough will separate from the pan. Add cardamom powder or elachi powder and combine well. Transfer the prepared dough into a greased pan lined with baking paper. Set well, forming a block. Top with chopped almonds and pistachios and press slightly. Allow to set for two hours, or until it sets completely. After setting, unmould and cut into pieces to serve, or store in an airtight container.

Sachita Pudasaini NEPAL

epali Thali is a lunchtime meal made up of a selection of dishes served separately on a platter. Components: • Boiled rice • Cauliflower fry with potato and onion, seasoned with spices including cumin and coriander • Potato aachar – Aloo ko aachar, cubed potatoes boiled and mixed with chilli, lemon, salt and coriander • Daal, a soup of lentils and butter • Chicken choila, boiled chicken marinated with spices including chilli, lemon and coriander • Mutton curry, can also use goat, lamb-mutton cooked with all spices including cumin coriander and chilli • Salad or poppadom

Above from left, Rushil Upadhyaya, Sachita Pudasaini, Samragyee Upadhyaya and Ram Upadhyaya, and left, Sachita with her Nepali Thali.

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Ryan Walker THAILAND

family recipe – I don’t normally cook my mother’s dishes, but this one is too good not to,” Ryan said. “Quick and easy, it’s perfect for a weeknight meal or easy to take to the next level for a special occasion.”

‘Thai beef stir fry’

Ingredients: • Steak marinade: 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp peanut oil 2 tbsp lemon juice 1 tsp brown sugar 1 small spring onion, finely chopped 6 cloves of garlic, minced 1 tsp cracked black pepper • Stir fry: 800g beef steak, eye fillet or porterhouse, preferably with good marbling 1 red onion, sliced 2 cloves garlic, crushed 10 shitake mushrooms, sliced 1 red capsicum, sliced 4 tbsp soy sauce 2 tbsp oyster sauce, add to taste

3 spring onions, finely chopped 1/2 head of broccoli, chopped 2 tsp brown sugar, to taste 1 tbsp cornflour Water Vegetable oil 2 cups of rice, dry, enough to serve four Method: Stir marinade ingredients together in a bowl and let sit for five minutes. With steak, salt and pepper both sides, then cut into centimetre slices and trim off any fat, but don’t be too precise, keeping some fat on tenderises the meat and adds flavour. Put steak slices in a zip lock bag, add the marinade and massage it into the steak, seal the bag and let sit in the fridge for two to 12 hours, taking out 15 minutes before cooking to bring to room temperature. When ready to cook, bring a large pan or wok to a medium-high heat. Put rice in large saucepan, bring to boil and allow to cook until soft. While that’s cooking, start preparing the vegetables. Thickly slice the onion, thinly slice the mushrooms, capsicum and spring onion and place ingredients into individual bowls to add separately. Thinly coat the bottom of the pan with

vegetable oil and crush two cloves of garlic and add, cooking until the scent of the garlic starts to come out. Before the garlic has fully browned add the steak to the pan. Sear the meat until it has colour on all sides, remove from the pan and leave to rest, ensuring the inside is pink. Add onions, let them sear for roughly 40 seconds, add mushrooms, cook for another 30 seconds. Add broccoli, wait roughly 40 seconds and add capsicum. Make sure to stir the vegetables every now and then, but not too much, allow them to get colour. Add in oyster sauce and soy sauce and mix to coat. Re-introduce steak to pan with any of the juices. Stir and let cook for another minute until a thick sauce begins to form on bottom of the pan, and add sugar. If you want more sauce or feel like it is too thin, add cornflour to about 50ml of water and add to pan. Season to taste, adding more soy sauce and sugar if needed. Add spring onion to garnish and serve with rice.

Ryan Walker

Mary-Ann Kardogeros FILIPINO Mary-Ann Kardogeros, middle, with her daughters Maria Venetia, left, and Julia

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Take the ‘tail’ off of the prawns and cut in half. Heat 4 tbsp olive oil in a pan. Add garlic and brown, then add onions, prawns and vegetables – capsicum, cabbage, carrots, beans. Bring separate saucepan with water to a boil and add noodles, add magic sarap. Add pepper and soy sauce to vegetable mix and let cook. Add chicken stock, and then chicken, before mixing with noodles. Add lemon for flavour.

Noodles - ‘Pancit’

Ingredients, all to taste: Onion, garlic, prawns, chicken, olive oil, capsicum, cabbage, carrots, beans, chicken stock, noodles, soy sauce, Magic Sarap – Filipino seasoning available at Asian grocers, lemon, for flavour. Method: Chop onion and garlic. Pre-boil chicken with salt and magic sarap and chop before setting aside.

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Forgotten golfing history F

By Lotte Reiter

or a casual passer-by today, an empty paddock a few kilometres south of Rupanyup might appear as nothing more than, well, an empty paddock. Look through the eyes of former Rupanyup resident Merna Dunlop, however, and fairways bustling with rural golfers eager for a Sunday tee-off emerge. Where, as the image continues, a six-hole course surrounds the Dyer estate family farmhouse and players – teachers, storekeepers, bank employees and farmers – travel from surrounding areas for some friendly competition in the colder months. It’s a story, Mrs Dunlop said, known and told by few – the story of defunct Dalcross Golf Course. “I don’t think many people know about Dalcross anymore,” she said. “And I suppose nobody else has ever thought to research it. But this place existed and there are many more defunct golf courses in our regional area that have stories to tell.” Mrs Dunlop, who lived in Rupanyup for 40 years and has an even longer-lasting golfing passion, said she always knew the Dalcross story. She said the course, built on a Mr W.J.L. Dyer’s farm in the Dalcross area, operated about 100 years ago, during the time of the First World War. Mr Dyer constructed the small private course around his home. Rupanyup had a public golf course at the time, but golfers were not allowed to play on a Sunday, so they would make the trek to Mr Dyer’s property for a hit instead. The Dalcross story was a fragmented one, mainly spread by word of mouth. But Mrs Dunlop started to collate its history, with the help of friend Amy Hurley, and gathered a few pieces of Rupanyup golfing memorabilia over time. “I moved to Horsham with my husband Norm and we had the golf shop – Dunlop’s Golf Land – in Firebrace Street,” she said. “Jessie Florence, who lived firstly on a

farm north of Rupanyup, used to ride her bike to golf on a Saturday, with her golf bag slung over her shoulder. “When living in Horsham several years later, she had a garage sale, where someone bought her small golf bag she would play with, and they brought it into our shop. “Then Jessie came in one day and realised – ‘oh, that’s my bag’. It had her initials on it as well. There were two golf balls in there, they would have to be about 100 years old now.” Mrs Dunlop said the golf balls were ‘altogether’ different from those that golfers hit today and provided a small snapshot into what golfing would have been like in Rupanyup and other regional courses a century ago. “One has round dimples and one square dimples, both in their original Spalding packers – it’s the first one with square dimples I have ever seen,” she said. “And these are smaller balls than what they use nowadays. I think the inside of the ball would be rubber or elastic wound around a core. Everything has changed, and for the better. Golf bags back then could have had one or two woods, a few irons and a putter. In Jessie’s bag for example she had a Bobbie Locke No. 2 wood, and a Mid Iron No. 2 Defiance iron, which has 180 yards written on the base of the iron. “The other iron was a Mashie, a No. 5 iron with 145 yards written on the base of the club. These two irons and the putter had hickory shafts, there was four rubber golf tees, and of course, a scraper, which had to be 21 inches wide, usually home-made.”

Far from average

The holes and game-play of Dalcross were far from a typical course many golfers would be accustomed to today. Mrs Dunlop has an original golf card from the defunct golf course, with handwritten ‘local’ rules on the back, scribed in

pencil. A round of golf typically consists of 18 holes. The Dalcross Golf Course only had six. Mrs Dunlop said golfers had to play through the course three times to make up 18 holes. “Amy Hurley’s friend recollected the position of each fairway around the home, with the first hole starting near the kitchen,” she said. “The second hole went down to the windmill dam and hole three crossed the channel. Hole four, probably a dogleg, went through a paddock near where a crop was sown, and continued around behind the pig sty. Golfers then had to hit over the tennis court near the house – I dare say the tennis court fence was not too high! “The last two holes golfers hit toward Stawell-Rupanyup road. There was also a rope with a tin attached down the well, to retrieve any stray balls.” On occasions, golfers and perhaps tennis players in the summer months would stay for tea and have a ‘singalong’ around the piano.

Dalcross, the local team, won the event. After playing, the visitors were entertained with an afternoon tea provided by Miss Dyer. Mrs Dunlop said she was unsure of why Dalcross eventually closed – ‘I suppose they must have said you can play in Rupanyup on Sunday perhaps’ – but her research shows there are many interesting stories hidden in history, even in an empty paddock a few kilometres south of Rupanyup. Mrs Dunlop is now busy exploring the history of other defunct courses in the region. A former Lubeck course is next on the list.

A newspaper clipping of the time reported there was a foursome golf competition between Rupanyup and Dalcross, with teams of seven pairs each.

Merna Dunlop

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Dogs allowed

Yes

No – caravan park only

Yes

No – caravan park only

Yes

Yes – camping areas only

Yes

Moora Moora reservoir#

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Yes – camping areas only

Rocklands reservoir#

Yes

Yes – camping areas only

Yes

Taylors Lake#

Yes

Yes – camping areas only

Yes

Lake Toolondo#

Yes

No – caravan park only

Yes

Lake Wartook#

Yes

Green Lake#

Yes

Beulah weir pool*

Yes

Yes – camping areas only

Yes

brim weir pool*

Yes

Yes – camping areas only

Yes

warracknabeal weir pool*

Yes

donald ‘foletti’ caravan park lake*

Yes

Yes – on leads

Lake Lascelles*

Yes

Lake marma*

Yes

Yes – but no jet skis

Yes

walkers lake*

Yes

Yes - but no jet skis

Yes

Lake Bellfield#

Yes

Lake Fyans#

Yes

Lake Lonsdale#

Dock Lake^

EMPTY

Pine Lake

NOT IN SERVICE

Natimuk lake^

EMPTY

Yes

Lake Hindmarsh

LOW LEVEL

Yes

Lake Albacutya^

EMPTY

Batyo Catyo

LOW LEVEL Yes

Yes

# GWMWater storage.

EMPTY *Supplied by the Wimmera-Mallee Pipeline.

^Lakes empty at time of printing.

Some conditions might be subject to change.

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Water Body

GREEN HILL lake

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Page 29

recreational water lake albAcutya

Beulah Weir Pool

Jeparit

lake hindmarsh

Horsham

wimmera

natimuk lake

dock lake green lake

LAKE WALLACE lake toolondo

pine lake

river

LAKE BULOKE

mbiack

Warracknabeal Weir Pool

Dimboola

EEK

Brim Weir Pool

Donald Caravan Park Lake

yarria

lake lascelles

BATYO CATYO taylors lake

MARMA LAKE

Huddlestons Weir

zie

will iam cre ek

Riv

glenelg

lake lonsdale

rocklands

Radial Gates

Catfish

Lake wartook

Stawell Diversion Weir

Wannon Diversion Weirs

Page 28

www.theweeklyadvertiser.com.au

Dogs allowed

Yes

No – caravan park only

Yes

No – caravan park only

Yes

Yes – camping areas only

Yes

Moora Moora reservoir#

Yes

Yes – camping areas only

Rocklands reservoir#

Yes

Yes – camping areas only

Yes

Taylors Lake#

Yes

Yes – camping areas only

Yes

Lake Toolondo#

Yes

No – caravan park only

Yes

Lake Wartook#

Yes

Green Lake#

Yes

Beulah weir pool*

Yes

Yes – camping areas only

Yes

brim weir pool*

Yes

Yes – camping areas only

Yes

warracknabeal weir pool*

Yes

donald ‘foletti’ caravan park lake*

Yes

Yes – on leads

Lake Lascelles*

Yes

Lake marma*

Yes

Yes – but no jet skis

Yes

walkers lake*

Yes

Yes - but no jet skis

Yes

Lake Bellfield#

Yes

Lake Fyans#

Yes

Lake Lonsdale#

Dock Lake^

EMPTY

Pine Lake

NOT IN SERVICE

Natimuk lake^

EMPTY

Yes

Lake Hindmarsh

LOW LEVEL

Yes

Lake Albacutya^

EMPTY

Batyo Catyo

LOW LEVEL Yes

Yes

# GWMWater storage.

EMPTY *Supplied by the Wimmera-Mallee Pipeline.

^Lakes empty at time of printing.

Some conditions might be subject to change.

Bulk Meats – Old Fashioned Smoked Smallgoods fya

Yabbies Trout

Toilet

lake fyans

Murray cod

Caravan Park

Lake Buloke^

Lake Bellfield

Yellowbelly

Camping permitted

Green Hill Lake

moora moora

Silver perch Redfin

iv ar er

Dad and Dave Weir

Boat ramp

Swimming

Glenorchy Weir

Distribution Heads

river

Weirs

walkers lake

Power boats Water skiing allowed & jet skis

Water Body

GREEN HILL lake

cre

*Map not to scale riv

LifeStyle 2019

• Home-made cabana, stras & salami

• Chorisos • Kransky

• Christmas homecooked ham on bone

sts Roast meat speciali

• Discount bulk meats

In-Shop Smokehouse

• Lamb • Beef • Pork • Chicken

Fresh Seafood every Wednesday & Thursday LifeStyle 2019

Family owned and operated butcher shops for more than 39 years

56 Darlot St, Horsham | 5381 1021 or 5382 6170

www.theweeklyadvertiser.com.au

Page 29

Hearing Aid Specialists Geelong has been proudly owned and family operated for more than 25 years. The practices’ philosophy is a simple one, “we are not happy unless you are”. We are proud to be one of the few privately owned practices that can give independent advice, offering unbiased guidance on the best hearing devices to suit your needs. Hearing Aid Specialists – Marcel Timmers is accredited to provide services to Non Pensioners, Pensioners, Veteran Affairs and WorkCover.

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What happens at an appointment? A hearing assessment takes 30-45 minutes and we explain the results in easy to understand language. Don’t have 30 minutes? Then come in and have a 10 minute screening test with one of our 3 practitioner’s. Hearing Aid Specialists Geelong can help guide you to better hearing health. We offer leading hearing aid technology from all over the world and our commitment does not stop there. Today’s hearing devices are more sophisticated and are able to cope with a large variety of listening situations. We take the time to ensure that your hearing device is performing effectively by offering continual guidance, support and follow up consultations . Our commitment to you is backed up with a 60 Day Satisfaction Guarantee. The main office is located at 77 Yarra St, Geelong however we provide visiting services to the Greater Geelong region, the Surf Coast, Western District and Wimmera on a regular basis.

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Hearing Aid Specialists visiting clinic – Wimmera Medical Centre, 6-12 Read St, Horsham

Community contributor A

By Lotte Reiter

sk anyone who knows Peter Solly, and they will likely describe him as an affable character who is always willing to help. The 68-year-old has toiled for much of his life as a Country Fire Authority, CFA, group officer, overseeing the Rainbow, Werrap, Pigick and Kenmare fire brigades. A National Medal recipient and CFA lifemember, Peter was behind the management of major incidents including Black Saturday and the 2015 Moyston fires. And looking back on about half a century of service – so far – he said the biggest reward was the knowledge that he had made a positive difference in other peoples’ lives. “This is something that has always interested me, and something valuable that I can contribute,” he said. “I find it a challenge, but there’s a sense of achievement out of doing something for others.”

Peter joined Werrap Fire Brigade eight days after his 18th birthday. He said at the time, Jim Sleep was the brigade captain, and he enlisted Peter’s help to install the first VHF two-way radios used in the area. Peter then attended university to study maths, science and electrical engineering, shifting to the Western District in 1975 to work as a secondary school teacher at Lake Bolac. It was soon after that he experienced his first major fire, and learned invaluable lessons he would take with him through the rest of his CFA career. “On February 12, 1977, several major fires occurred in the Western District. With other teaching friends, I joined the Lake Bolac brigade that afternoon and immediately went out to Streatham as potential relief crew,” he said. “There was little that we could do that evening. But we spent many sessions during the following weeks carting donated hay, cleaning up burnt farm sheds and doing other relief work. “I learned a lot from experiencing the impact and aftermath of those fires.” In the years following, Peter joined the Rainbow brigade, worked as a brigade and group communications officer and group secretary, before becoming group

Peter Solly

officer in 1991 – a role he left this year. “Prior to becoming group officer, I had been a member of the newly formed CFA District 17 operational planning committee as a representative with an interest and experience in communications,” he said. “This committee was the forerunner of the current district planning committee. For much of my time on the commitee, I was chair or deputy chair, part of the executive and several sub-committees, and represented District 17 at state level.” Peter said District 17 encompassed 13 CFA groups in western Victoria. Retired District 17 operations manager Dale Russell worked with Peter during his time on the district planning committee. “With me being executive officer on the committee, we worked very closely together,” Dale said. “I came here in 1996, so I’ve known Peter since then. He’s a very community-minded person and always willing to give his time. “And we’ve got a number of these guys who, to be perfectly honest, fly under the radar. In a broader sense, the general community probably doesn’t know how much they’re contributing.”

Contribution

Having worked as a group officer and taken on ‘more of a management role’ in the CFA, Peter knows there is more to the organisation than simply putting water on to flames. “We look at what needs to be done to manage the spread of fires and how we can get information to the public,” he said. “You also have to learn to set up a team in such a way that you’re able to work in any person’s presence or absence, with people who will step up when it is needed.” In the CFA, working together as one is vital, and a big part of being able to do so is having effective communication. Peter said he had witnessed many changes to the way the CFA operates since starting his career in 1969. He said when he first started as Rainbow rural brigade

communications officer, they had two AWA six-channel radios and a magneto phone, connected to a manual telephone exchange. “I would sit at the radio base and keep track of what was going on. I rapidly learned that the tone of the response told you as much about what was happening, if not more, than what was actually being said,” he said. “With access to VicFire, incident channels and mobile smart phones, we now have far better communication available from our forward control vehicles than we have from our group headquarters, with the advantage of being able to see what is happening. “Mobile phones and the internet have changed the way we do business.” Peter said community expectations and the importance of volunteer safety had also largely evolved. “Things are changing all the time,” he said. “The number-one thing that is different is the community’s expectations. People expect to know what is going on and they expect better protection. “And there’s far more emphasis on volunteer safety. Something the chief is really pushing now is making sure everyone comes home safe.”

Valuable volunteer

Peter, now a member of Werrap Fire Brigade after a recent transfer from Rainbow, is a well-versed volunteer. During his time as group officer, he also completed a stint as a community ambulance officer, on-top of being a member of other community organisations and sporting groups. While he said he was aware of being time poor in managing family, work and volunteering, it was rewarding to have an opportunity to get to know and work with a wide range of people, and something he could continue to look back on proudly. “The best rewards are being able to look back and see that you have achieved something, made a positive difference and helped out when there was a need,” he said.

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Page 31

Find a wondrously E

By Lotte Reiter

very piece of art that leaves Drover’s Hut Gallery and Gardens at Lascelles is one of a kind. At the home of Phil and Marlene Rigg – a couple with zero shortage of creativity and ingenuity – visitors exploring the upper reaches of the Silo Art Trail have likely stumbled upon curious corrugated iron creations, hand-made toys and cot quilts. The Riggs don’t have a computer. Anything anyone knows about the gallery is passed by word of mouth and plastered online by intrigued visitors. “It’s not our fault,” Phil said. But even so, this modest hut is gathering interest from people across Australia and beyond, because what you find inside – and outside – is unique. ‘Uniqueness’ is the basic artistic philosophy for Phil; he never has and never will mass produce his art. In fact, he would ‘rip up a million-dollar check’ in the face of anyone who tried to persuade him otherwise. “As far as my stuff is concerned, I’ve been privileged to a point where you can’t get it anywhere else,” he said. “I don’t want people ‘spending’ their money on my art, I want them investing their money. And for them to invest their money the least I can do is ensure their artwork is one of a kind.” Phil, 76, said he specialised in pioneertype art, using a mix of corrugated iron

Phil and Marlene Rigg

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one of a kind and paint to create three-dimensional art works and nationally celebrated sculptures, many reminiscent of the Australian bush and its settlers’ history. He said art was a passion from an early age, and something he started professionally about 40 years ago. “My mother used to tell me it began at four years of age. You couldn’t get a pencil and paper out of my hands,” he said. “It’s a weird, weird industry to be involved with – it owns you. “A professional artist can never retire. I’ve tried, and it lasted three days before I had something going around in my head to a point where I had to do it. “And there are times when you think, ‘I’d love to be able to shut if off every once in a while’. But don’t get me wrong, I’m not crying about it. It owns you, you don’t own it.” Phil’s wife Marlene is a craftswoman, and many of her soft creations are tucked inside Drovers Hut, from quilts and hand-knitted teddies, to other more ‘controversial’ creations. “You can get a bit of opposition every now and then,” Phil said. “But she puts in so much time and effort,

she has more patience than I have, and they are the most beautiful works you have ever seen. “She does baby clothes too, crocheted bedspreads, quite a selection. She’s always doing something to be put up for sale in the gallery.” Wander around the garden outside, and ‘questionable’ political statements can also be spotted on Phil’s sculptures. From references to obesity to all sorts of artistic political statements, Phil admitted much of what he would like to write and put on display gets the flick by Marlene. He said such ‘stirrers’ were a way to make visitors ‘reconsider their own life or politics.’ “And people are fascinated with it,” he said. “While we’re open, I’m usually working in the workshop, because when people come here I want them to be part of the experience, and they’ll come up to me afterwards and say, ‘I agree with everything

you have written, I wish I had the guts to say it’. “And you just think ‘what’s stopping you?’. Too many people in this world are too afraid to say things.” The couple set up the gallery and garden about 10 years ago – which now sits beside, and Phil admitted welcomely gains some of the traction from, the Lascelles Silo Art. “I’d be a liar if I said it didn’t help,” he said. “We’ve got coaches booked in

until March from all over Australia.” But even so, Drover’s Hut is an attraction in its own right, particularly Phil and Marlene’s home, which, standing in the centre of it all, is the last remaining railway station master’s house in the Wimmera-Mallee in its original form. “It’s 106 years old,” Phil said. “It’s a beautiful old home, solid as a rock. We pour a lot of time and money into the garden, giving people the opportunity to wander around for $5 a person, and in that they’re offered a complimentary coffee or tea and a bickie. “Unless we’re away for appointments or shopping, we’re always open.”

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Passion that packs a punch P

By Lotte Reiter

eople have been telling Percy Walsh to retire since the day he turned 50. The Crescendo Walsh Dojos teacher, who instructs weekly classes at Horsham and Stawell, has trained martial artists for 40 years. He has broken countless bones, spent time practicing six hours a day at a world-leading martial arts school in Thailand, and, as an eighth-degree black belt, holds the fourthhighest rank in his organisation. Now, at 77, he’s admittedly starting to slow his pace. “But why stop doing something you love?” he said. “When I turned 50 people started telling me to retire. And I’ve been told this year too, but whether it’s going to happen is another thing. It’s too much fun.” Percy went into the sport later than most. He practised judo for a few years but it was cut short when he had an accident, landing on the back of his neck on a concrete floor and braking five vertebrae. “So that was the end of that,” he said. About eight years later however, living in Maryborough and aged 36, he came across

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an advertisement for a karate demonstration at the town hall. “I found it too late, the demonstration had already started, so I put a jumper on over my work clothes and shot up to the town hall and watched. I thought it was really good,” he said. “They said they’d be back in a month to start up classes. So, I went along. “As soon as I walked in I saw young kids lined up and I thought ‘oh no, why am I here?’ But six months later they were all gone, and I was still going. “That was 40-something years ago, so I must have done alright.” Percy, who gained his black belt in six years, has since taught a combined 1500 students in Horsham and Stawell, over 40 years. He said the Horsham school had about 140 students enrolled at one stage. “I love it. I do six lessons a week now – four in Horsham and two in Stawell. They’re great kids. They’ve kept me young.”

Tough love

Percy said people often had a misconception that martial arts training was brutal and dangerous. He admitted while the practice was

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‘rough as guts in the early days’, karate now had significantly fewer injuries and accidents than more popular sports such as netball or basketball. “Forty years ago, when I first started, martial arts were on the blood-sport list,” he said. “When we talk about blood-sport lists, we’re not talking about killing one another, we’re talking about who is having all the accidents. At the moment, top of the list is ballet. Second place is netball, there are knees and ankles going all the time. “There are 20 sports on the list and karate went right off.” In fact, maybe the toughest part of training in karate is the mental side. Percy said he taught under the idea of ‘tough love’ – a harsh tone, healthy criticism and the occasional, and completely bogus, threat. “When we do what we call sparring, they need to learn four rules,” he said, counting them off on his fingers: “No touching. No touching. No touching. And no talking. “They all have to call it out before they start fighting, and if anybody doesn’t, they go and sit out. Why? By not saying the rules you’ve not followed the rules.

“I get them to show a lot of respect, make them do their bows, say yes and no and talk properly. “You need to treat them like they’re your best friend and you have to growl at them if they do something wrong. Only then they know that they’ve done something wrong and they won’t do it again.”

Growth Percy said a rewarding part of teaching was being able to see his students grow interpersonal skills as a result. “The kids change. They come out of their habits,” he said. “My top boy at the moment in the junior class is 15. It took him three years before he spoke to me. It was really, really bad. You couldn’t have a conversation with him. “He came up to me one day and he was stuttering away, and I was very harsh on him. I said, ‘if you’re going to learn how to talk to me, go and learn how to speak without stuttering’, and he went into shock. “Three years later he was talking to me like I was his best buddy. Now, I get him to take the class. He’s out the front, and you’d think he’d been doing it for 100 years.”

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Percy Walsh has taught a combined 1500 students in Horsham and Stawell over 40 years. He is taking six lessons a week – four in Horsham and two in Stawell.

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Slug, Snail rev lutionise By Colin MacGillivray

hat makes an ideal sports nickname? For many teams it is a zoological talisman – an animal mascot that conjures images of strength, power or athleticism. Wimmera Netball Association side Ararat is an excellent case in point; the moniker ‘Rats’ has connotations of quickness, agility and cunning. But for two of the club’s great netballers of yesteryear, this nickname theory could not be further from the truth. Gail Dunn and Gayle Dadswell, honoured with association life memberships during September’s best and fairest vote count, were instead known as a pair of lethargic gastropods – Slug and Snail. “I got my nickname growing up in Ballarat through playing hockey, and it was just Gayle-Snail,” Dadswell said. “When I moved to Ararat, people I’d played against in country week hockey already knew me as Snail. “I got called Snail here because they didn’t even know what my real name was. “Then I started playing netball and met another Gail, who was called Slug.

“At school they had started calling her Snail as well and she didn’t like Snail. She told them, ‘I don’t want to be a Snail, I want to be a Slug!’ “It was totally separate – mine came from Ballarat and I brought it with me to Ararat, and Slug’s started with her school friends. “Then we played millions of years together as Slug and Snail, which used to totally confuse everyone because they could never remember which one was which.” Despite their aliases implying slothfulness, the pair was anything but. During careers spanning three decades they were two of the primary architects of a golden era of Ararat netball. Dunn started her tenure with the Rats in 1973 and retired in 1996, missing only one of the intervening 23 years. She won four A Grade team best and fairest awards in 1975, 77, 79 and 94, and played in a remarkable 20 grand finals, winning 12 of them. A fast and agile centre and wing player, she was often a matchwinner for the Rats. Dunn also had stints as the association’s secretary and treasurer, and was named Wimmera-Mallee Netball Region netball administrator of the year in 1990.

Dadswell’s resume is no less impressive. Moving to Ararat in 1977, she had never played netball in her life but had a strong athletic background in hockey and basketball. She began her netball career with the Rats in B Grade but was quickly promoted. An amazingly accurate goalie, Dadswell played in 14 grand finals for eight premierships and was the association best and fairest in 1983. She later served as club president and then association president. But arguably Dadswell’s greatest talent was coaching. Coaching the Rats both before and after her playing career finished, Dadswell guided the club to 10 grand finals and eight premierships in A Grade, one B Grade grand final and two under-16 grand finals. As Dunn recalls, Dadswell helped revolutionise the way the sport was coached in the Wimmera by bringing her basketball nous to the netball court. “Snail’s influence over the club in the years I played was absolutely phenomenal,” she said. “She was a great coach, but also a great player and mentor. “Her strategies and her game style were

well in advance of what anyone else was doing at the time, and I’d attribute a lot of our success to her skill and coaching style. “She was one out of the box, was Snail.” Dadswell said applying strategies from other sports to netball seemed obvious. “I guess I was a basketballer playing netball, so things like screens and layups just came naturally,” she said. “I’ve always been a lover of all sports and enjoy tactics. “At that stage basketball and netball were totally separate – a lot of people didn’t consider them in the same vein, whereas now people use basketball skills in netball. “It was a natural progression to coaching for me because I was a teacher, so you’re used to addressing people and it doesn’t faze you being the leader. “I think Slug is a bit shy and would have made a fabulous coach but didn’t necessarily feel comfortable giving her perspective. “But she was always my offsider and we talked through every coaching decision.” Dunn said the pair had been ‘shocked’ to learn of their nomination for life memberships but were grateful to be nominated by their good friend and former team-mate Donna Spalding.

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Rats Dadswell described Spalding as their ‘protégé’, a younger player who quickly rose through the ranks to join them as a key member of several A Grade premierships. “It was fabulous that she was the one who got the ball rolling on the nominations for both of us because we were a trio – she was our little apprentice and she took over from us,” she said. “It was total shock when she told us – it came like a bolt out of the blue. It was great to see the pleasure she got out of it. She got emotional just telling us about it.” Dunn said life-membership recognition afforded her a chance to look back on a great career. “We used to go to country week and other tournaments, and we had a lot of success over the years,” she said. “Travelling and staying with one another was great fun. We were lucky that we always had a core nucleus of players. People came and left, but we managed to keep a core going and that led to a lot of our success.” As for Dadswell, she was simply happy it all happened at Ararat. “I’m very proud to be a one club and one association player,” she said. “I played all of my netball with Ararat in the Wimmera association and absolutely loved it.”

Gayle ‘Snail’ Dadswell, left, and Gail ‘Slug’ Dunn.

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LifeStyle 2019

Opening new doors By Lotte Reiter

hen Emily Canning welcomed Japanese exchange student Hono Naiki into her family, she was unaware of how quickly her own world would change. As part of a Japanese language program at Horsham’s St Brigid’s College, the Matsudo International High School student lived with Emily, her husband Glen Hobbs and children April, Thomas and Charlie for three weeks. From Halls Gap Zoo to a classic Australian fish ‘n’ chips lunch, Hono became a member of Emily’s family, incorporating her English study into experiences of

Australian life, sights, food and culture. But it was an adventure Emily never intended to have. At the start of the year, when Emily’s oldest son Thomas asked if the family could host a student, her response was immediate: no! “We had just moved out to my husband’s family farm, and we’re crazy in the mornings because we’ve got that extra drive. I didn’t feel like we would be the right fit,” she said. “But Thomas just kept hassling me and really enjoying Japanese studies. He was learning it in his own time, borrowing books and audio tapes and I said to him, ‘put our name down just to scope it out’. Before I knew it, we had pretty much signed up and I really started to warm to the idea.” Hono, 17, provided the family with its first experience in hosting

an exchange student, and Emily said the unknown had her creating excuses. As Hono’s date of arrival drew closer, though, she said she began to realise her worries were unwarranted. In fact, opening her home to the world could offer her family a chance to ‘take a step back’ from themselves, reinvigorate their love for their surroundings and their interest in each other. “It just worked out 100 times better than what I ever could imagine,” she said. “I know it might sound silly because it was such a short time, but Hono had an impact on each and every one of us. “Sometimes when you get busy you don’t always sit down at the tea table at the same time, and you might not have all those chats that you might like to have. “Whereas when we had Hono, every night we all sat down and we’d have discussions, sometimes until 9pm. We’d be sitting there for hours, talking about our day, about Hono, about different things. “It made us look at where we live in a different way as well, because we were talking about why we love the Wimmera and all the different landmarks and the history. We were taking more of an interest in what we were doing, our life and hers.”

Part of the family

Emily Canning with her husband Glen Hobbs and children, from left, April, Thomas and Charlie and their Japanese exchange daughter-sister Hono Naiki.

LifeStyle 2019

Emily said Hono, a ‘spirited girl’, was adventurous and prepared to try anything, especially Australian food. “Hono was always smiling, always happy, and always ready to give everything a go,” she said. “But I know she really enjoyed the food here. The last night she was here I took her to Safeway, and she was there for an hour just exploring the isles. And she loved broccolini. At least one child enjoyed their greens.” Like any experience, there

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were still challenges that arose for the family and Hono. Despite using Google Translate, Emily said Hono would sometimes get lost in conversation at the dinner table, and she worried what would happen if there was an emergency. But that language barrier also became a way of bringing them closer together. “Some days I would have to pack a lunch for her. I would pack healthy snacks, and every day she would come home, and everything was eaten,” she said. “But one day I had given her raw carrot sticks and she came home and was very apologetic. She said, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t eat’. And I said, ‘that’s okay – you don’t like carrot?’, and she went on, ‘ah no, no, I don’t eat raw… I only like…’. She was getting her words mixed up and eventually said, ‘I only eat raw cat’. “I said ‘I’m sorry, I can’t dish that up’. She was getting raw confused with cook, and carrot confused with cat, but it was a moment where we just looked at each other and burst out laughing and we carried that joke through for the rest of her time here.” In life, sometimes expectations can exceed results. Other times, as in the Hobbs’s case, results exceed expectations. And while the experience was short, Emily said it was clear that Hono, and all the other exchange students, had left a lasting mark on their host families’ hearts. “My middle son, Charlie, had to give up his room when Hono was here. On the last day when Hono was leaving, he said he would gladly give up his room for the rest of his life if she could stay,” she said. Emily said she understood that families might have reservations about hosting exchange students. “They will probably say they’re busy and don’t have time, and I did wonder about how we would go. But in the end, it was just natural and fell into place,” she said. “We have excuses for everything, don’t we? But take that leap of faith, because it can have a really amazing result. We’ve all made a life-long friend in Hono.”

Page 39

Part of something bigger S

By Lotte Reiter

tawell’s John Pye believes volunteering is all about perspective, and perhaps a personal inability to say ‘no’. From the Country Fire Authority and Stawell Interchurch Welfare, to community-based Landcare network Project Platypus, the retiree has spent more than three decades contributing to Wimmera communities and environmental and social justice. “I see it as a personal responsibility,” he said. “All people are generous in terms of their friends, family and community. But many stop there, they don’t extend it and put themselves in another person’s shoes. “We can very easily end up in a state of mind where what is immediately around you is all that there is. “But the world is bigger than that, and it’s about thinking ‘what’s my role in it?’” As a science teacher at Stawell Secondary College from the early 1980s until he retired in 2012, one of John’s many roles and ‘more significant doings’ was as a volunteer for a student constructed and managed Grampians Rail Trail project.

The 11-kilometre bicycle and walking track is based on the former railway line linking the historic Grampians’ Mt Difficult Quarry with Stawell. John said the massive task, an outcome of a Past, Pleasant and Future project, involved about 300 students working across six years. At the time, John was teaching three days a week and volunteering the rest of his week on the project. “I spent six years on it and another four years intermittently. It is one of the more significant things I’ve done,” he said. “It certainly challenged everything I did as a teacher and created a whole different learning setting for the children. I had year-eight students as masters of ceremonies for events with hundreds of guests from Powercor, businesses and councils. “As tiring and stressful as it was, it rates as the highlight of my teaching career.” For his involvement in the project, John was a Herald Sun Teacher of the Year finalist in 2003. But he said, just as with any of his awards and achievements, the final result and his ability to create change was more important. “It is the doing, not the awards, that is my motivation and reward,” he said. Some of the fuel for his volunteering

also comes from a self-confessed inability to say ‘no’. In fact, earlier this year in an acceptance speech for his 2019 Victorian Landcare Individual Landcarer award, John said, ‘if there is an award for a poor suffering spouse who has a partner who can’t say no, I have a worthy applicant!’ His nomination for the award largely came back to his refusal to stand by and watch when Project Platypus was at crisis point. Established in 1994, the umbrella organisation supports 11 Landcare groups across 3000 square kilometres of the Upper Wimmera Catchment, tackling conservation issues that continue to threaten both the natural environment and social fabric of the region’s communities. John said problems at Project Platypus first arose in 2014, when the Federal Government cut environmental funding ‘basically to zero’. “Project platypus is a community, not-forprofit group which has no direct funding to run the organisation,” he said. “We went from having a heap of grants to a few, and it was going into slow decline. “Project Platypus had gone from having a full-time manager to a part-time manager and faced the prospect of not having a

manager at all. So, I put my hand up for the job. It was a hell of a steep learning curve. We were in crisis management for six months, but I couldn’t just stand by and watch it fall. The network can act and get things happening. No other organisation has that capacity.”

Always a volunteer

While John said he retired again after Project Platypus was restructured and a new manager took on his role, he still continues to volunteer. He has been involved with Stawell Interchurch Welfare, which provides emergency food and services for people who struggle to make ends meet or whose circumstances are dire, for about five years. He is also Stawell Urban Landcare Group president, after being one of the founding members in 2004. “We’re about to have our first grandchild soon, and I wonder what sort of world we’re leaving for her,” he said. “We are so lucky in this country and so wealthy compared to others, and a lot of that wealth is being built on plundering other countries. “We’ve positioned ourselves nicely, but maybe we should also be giving back.”

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Retiree John Pye has spent three decades volunteering in the Wimmera.

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The heart of By Lotte Reiter

ome afternoon, a little factory awakens in the heart of Halls Gap. With pans clanging and stock pots bubbling, the scents of the Kookaburra Hotel rise in its kitchen. It is a restaurant that has been delighting the region’s taste buds for 40 years, thanks to a mix of traditional cooking and a much-loved menu, with a good handful of friendliness on the side. And owners Rick and Vonne Heinrich credit these factors as the key ingredients of their recipe to success. “We don’t change the menu very often, because traditional food has never gone out of fashion,” Vonne said. “Though restaurants now are opening up with their fandangle food, they don’t last long. “We put a lot of effort into cooking stocks for a period of time as a basis for sauces, so everything is packed with really good flavour, and everything is made by scratch. Every schnitzel is made by scratch each day. We don’t mind spending a bit extra for high quality.” Rick, originally from Horsham, and Vonne, who grew up in Balmoral, took over the business on October 22, 1979, when it was

Kookaburra Hotel owners Vonne and Rick Heinrich

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Page 44

still called the Kookaburra Café. Vonne said from the very first day she treated customers like friends coming to her own home. And in the following 40 years, through many major rebuilds and a name change, the humble restaurant has grown what could almost be termed as a cult following of happy stomachs. So much so, Vonne said they would struggle to compile a guest list if they had decided to have an official 40-year-anniversary celebration. “It’s a welcoming atmosphere here. We have a lot of long-term customers who have become great friends,” Vonne said. “We’ll often have people coming in saying, ‘oh, I ate your duck here 25 years ago and loved it, I can’t believe you’re still here.’ And I reply, ‘well, I love repeat business, but do you think you can come a bit more often?’” Vonne said because the couple rarely changed the restaurant’s menu, there were many signature dishes that Rick, the kitchen’s head chef, had been cooking – and undoubtedly perfecting – across their 40-year history. “We have traditional Italian, German and some Asian dishes too,” she said. “One dish Rick has cooked for the past 40 years is our baked duckling. He’s boned thousands of ducks. That’s a traditional French dish, with brandy and green peppercorn sauce.”

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1979

Halls Gap Despite the highs and a clear passion for food and wine, Vonne said the industry was also ‘a bit of a grind’, particularly after 40 years and with both herself and Rick past retirement age. She said their children, who all grew up in the kitchen, had ‘wisely fled’, leaving them without a succession plan, and she admitted the couple would like to sell in the future. “In this industry people expect you to be perfect all the time,” she said. “With Facebook and Trip Advisor now, if you’re not perfect you get called out – ‘oh, they were a bit grumpy that day’. “You could be doing 10 things at once and if a grumpy customer comes in it can be a very difficult thing to stay pleasant 100 percent of the time. “It’s been a bit of a grind, day in day out. But it’s been growing, we’re as busy now as we probably would have liked to have been 40 years ago. “Forty years in this industry is just unheard of. But we’ve also been very blessed. Something special happens pretty much every day.”

1984

2014

Vonne and Rick Heinrich, 1979

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Page 45

Flying solo C still the same price, week in, week out Free every week, delivered to your door and online

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The Weekly Advertiser

By Anne Taylor

hoosing the right travel companion can make a world of difference to your holiday experience. But what if you have an incurable case of wanderlust and don’t have a travel companion? The prospect of solo travel might seem daunting but is far from it – it can be a richly rewarding experience where you can follow your heart and do the things that interest you. You can stay somewhere longer or not go there at all, and you don’t need to keep pace with anyone else. You also avoid some of the stresses that can arise when holidaying with loved ones; there are not many of us who haven’t had the odd issue arise over navigation in an unfamiliar location.

Solo travellers come in many guises. It’s a common misconception that when we are talking about solo travellers we are referring to singles, but this is definitely not the case. Sometimes a keen traveller has a partner who is not so keen on the idea of travel, or is not able to travel due to health or work commitments. Let’s face it, it can sometimes be a challenge trying to persuade workaholics to leave their desks or farmers to leave their land for even a few days, so why not make the decision to set off on your own adventure? Going outside the comfort zone of travelling with family or friends brings benefits and experiences you would not otherwise have and you’ll be more inclined to talk to people and make new friends along the way.

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italk Travel Horsham consultant Jeremy Taylor has gone on various trips around the world, some of them as a solo traveller. He said being an independent traveller often had its advantages. “It encourages you to push your own boundaries and get out of your comfort zone,” he said. “It also allows you to do what you want to do and see what you want to see while having fresh experiences by meeting new people.” Jeremy is pictured at New York’s Central Park and right at Times Square. LifeStyle 2019

has many benefits So what are the options when it comes to setting off on your holiday adventure as a solo traveller? The world is your oyster, you get to call the shots, choose your itinerary and travel at a pace to suit yourself. Volunteering is ideal for solo travellers and is both a great way to visit a destination and have an opportunity to give back to local communities at the same time. Solo travel is one of the fastestgrowing sectors in travel and this is great because it means more operators are offering deals for people travelling alone. But travelling solo doesn’t always mean travelling alone. Joining in with a group tour provides security and an opportunity to meet like-minded people to share your experiences. Some tour operators offer special departures just for solo travellers. They provide a safe and comfortable environment, especially for the firsttime solo traveller. There are ways to get around this though, and this is where a trusted

travel advisor can prove invaluable. They have access to a wide range of deals which can save a single traveller paying extra supplements that can add to the cost of a holiday. We are often asked why it costs more to travel as a single person. The simple answer is that hotels and cruise lines work out their costs on the assumption that rooms or cabins will be occupied by two people, so if you have the whole space to yourself you often have to pay all, or nearly all, of the total to cover costs. Some tour operators offer ‘guaranteed share’ reservations where they will match you up with a fellow traveller of the same sex to share a room with on tour. Most people who are open to sharing are friendly and approachable types and it can lead to great friendships. In most cases if they can’t find a match for you it’s your lucky day and you have the room to yourself at no extra cost. Of course, if you prefer your own space, there’s always the option to book a single room for a little extra.

It’s not always a case of being the third wheel on a tour as we see a growth in departures offered only for solo travellers. River cruise operators have also embraced this growing part of the tourist market, with many offering discounts or waiving the single supplement altogether. You might have to be a little flexible with your travel dates to secure these deals, but it also means there will be more singles on board who you can team up with at meal times and on excursions. Onboard security and smaller numbers of passengers make river cruising an attractive option for solos. Smaller ships make it easier to strike up a conversation as you’re not just another face in the crowd but part of a small group of travellers enjoying a shared experience. Travel is a gift and travelling solo could be your greatest travel experience yet. Why not give it a try? •Anne Taylor is italktravel Horsham managing director.

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Page 47

How is your knowledge? 1. Wimmera-Mallee children have forever found slaters, those curious woodlice that curl up into balls, fascinating. Are they more closely related to: A. Crabs. B. Spiders. C. Centipedes. D. Ants. 2. Australian war hero Brigadier Arnold Potts, DSO, OBC, MC, despite masterminding what famous successful battle campaign, had, for his efforts, the ridiculous misfortune of being sacked by General Sir Thomas Blamey? 3. Don Rush, Don Fritsch and Henry Gunstone rate as three of the most outstanding country cricketers to have played the game in the region. What were their respective home clubs? 4. True or false? The pollen from our native acacia or wattle trees is the primary culprit responsible for major outbreaks of seasonal hayfever in the Wimmera. 5. How much more toxic than cyanide is the venom of the tiny blue-ringed octopus we warn children about when fossicking in rock pools while visiting our southern beaches? A. 10 times. B. 100 times. C. 1000 times. D. 10,000. 6. Which Pacific Ocean-driven weather system, El Niño or La Niña, often leads to wet conditions in parts of eastern Australia? 7. What word is used to describe people who originated in northern and central Asia such as the Mongols, a type of culinary sauce, and also the substance that can build up on teeth? 8. Nocturnal pangolins are mammals of the Pholidota order that have large keratin scales covering their skin. How many species of pangolin are native to Australia?

9. What is the name of the primary villain of Walt Disney’s 1959 film Sleeping Beauty who had a modern reprisal in movies starring Angelina Jolie? Spell the character’s name. 10. Cleopatra was a member of Egypt’s Macedonian ruling dynasty. The dynasty was created by one of Alexander the Great’s seven primary deputies. This deputy was known as what? 11. Is the moon gradually moving away or getting closer to Earth? 12. Which mammals in the animal kingdom boast the longest hair? 13. In 1845, brothers with the last name Scott established their ‘run’ next to a creek and named the place after a supposed Aboriginal word describing gum trees shading the watercourse. What is the name of the place? 14. Gum San Chinese Heritage Centre is in Ararat. What does Gum San roughly translate to in English? 15. What is the only type of insect, a skilful and intelligent predator, that can turn its head a full 180 degrees? 16. Common Australian lizards of the pogona genus are otherwise known as what? 17. What is the capital of Lebanon? 18. The Altair 8800 developed by New Mexico company MITS Inc is considered the first what? 19. In what country was the first human heart-transplant operation? A. United Kingdom. B. United States of America. C. France. D. South Africa. 20. What famous American actor, renowned for portraying rugged characters, was born Marion Morrison?

21. Still on movies, the famous 1960 American western The Magnificent Seven, remade again for contemporary cinema, was based on what original film? 22. Australia’s first successful shipment of frozen meat to the United Kingdom happened in what year? A. 1832. B. 1879. D. 1915. C. 1938. 23. The game of cricket has existed since what century? 24. How is your knowledge of the origins of food? From what country starting with ‘A’ did apples originate? 25. True or false? The dreaded and mutilating disease leprosy is highly contagious, easily passed on by even the subtlest contact between people. 26. What Japanese car company made a subtle change to its name because the new name took ‘a lucky’ eight brush strokes to write in Japanese, was visually simpler, and had a voiceless or clear consonant instead of a voiced on one? 27. James Lawson and Sir William J. Bracewell have a claim as being the first official what in the Wimmera? 28. True or false? Many years ago a study revealed a group of Aboriginal people living in remote Western Australia had 6/1.5 vision, which meant they could clearly see at six metres what an average person could see clearly at 1.5 metres. 29. Thomas Austin is considered responsible for doing what in 1859 that has ultimately cost the country millions, if not billions of dollars? 30. Where do you find and what is cerumen?

A snapshot from the archives of The Weekly Advertiser’s regular quiz can be found below. While some questions will be easy, some of the answers aren’t as obvious as they might seem.

Enjoy.

31. Englishman Edward Teach or Edward Thatch, 1680 to 1718, who had strong connections to the West Indies and the east coast of North America, was better known as who? 32. What is the name of blood cells responsible for clotting? 33. A triangular pyramid has how many faces? 34. What’s wrong with this statement? The diving bell spider, which curiously dives beneath the water’s surface, can hold its breath for up to a minute. 35. What is the nickname of Wimmera Football League club Minyip-Murtoa and what was previously the nicknames of Murtoa and Minyip before the clubs merged? 36. What historical landmark running along the 36th parallel roughly separates the Wimmera from the Mallee? 37. Parts of the Wimmera are home to large earthworms. What is the difference between male and female earthworms? 38. The Ararat district gold-mining settlement of Mafeking reached a population of 10,000 in the early 1900s. What is it named after? 39. Who were the leading male and female actors in the movie The Dressmaker, which was filmed in the Wimmera? 40. Mount Byron is in what 11,700-hectare Wimmera State Park?

ANSWERS: 1. They are crustaceans so A, crabs. 2. The Battle of Kokoda in New Guinea. Many historians credit Australia’s fighting withdrawal over the Owen Stanley Range, which frustrated Blamey and despotic American General Douglas MacArthur, as one of the most critical triumphs in Australian military history. Wimmera soldiers involved in New Guinea and Bougainville under Potts’ command rated him highly. 3. Don Rush played for Jung in Horsham association, Don Fritsch for Nhill Blue in West Wimmera and Gunstone for St Andrews in Grampians association. 4. False. Wattle pollen is quite heavy in comparison with many other plants, which means it rarely gets airborne – it doesn’t float in the air. It does however, flower at the same time as many grasses, which aren’t as visibly obvious but produce considerable airborne pollen, the main culprit behind allergic reactions. 5. D. 10,000 times. The molluscs are small enough to fit in your hand but a bite is deadly, causing severe paralysis and suffocation within minutes. The main neurotoxin, tetrodotoxin, is also found in pufferfish and some poison dart frogs. 6. La Niña. 7. Tartar. 8. None. They are confined to Africa and Asia. 9. Maleficent. 10. Ptolemy. 11. It is moving away from Earth at a rate of 3.8 centimetres a year. 12. Humans. 13. Warracknabeal. Warracknabeal’s main street is Scott Street. 14. Hill of Gold or Golden Mountain. 15. Praying mantis. 16. Bearded dragons. 17. Beirut. 18. Commercially available microcomputer. The company launched the computer in kit form in 1975. It had no software and users had to program it to perform calculations by flipping a row of switches. Commercial computers had previously been available. Among the first buyers of the affordable machine was Harvard student Bill Gates. 19. D. South Africa. Charismatic cardiac surgeon Christian Barnard transferred the heart of a 25-year-old woman into 55-year-old Louis Washkansky at Cape Town’s Groot Schuur Hospital. The patient survived for 18 days. 20. John Wayne. 21. Seven Samurai. Japan’s Akira Kurosawa directed the original movie in 1954. 22. B. 1879. 23. The 13th century. The first laws of the modern game were established in 1787 with the formation of the Marylebone Cricket Club. 24. Apples are native to Afghanistan. 25. False. The disease is only mildly contagious and acquisition usually occurs after long-term contact with untreated people. It passes from person to person via droplets from the nose and-or mouth. 26. Toyota. Company president Rizaburo Toyoda, who married into the Toyoda founding family, made the decision in the mid 1930s. 27. They were the first official European settlers in the Wimmera. Bracewell made the first claim, 100,000 acres at Dooen on August 10, 1842. Captain Chris Lewis was the Wimmera’s first European resident, settling at Ledcourt Station at Glenorchy in 1840. Aboriginal people of course lived in the region for tens of thousands of years. 28. True. Science guru Dr Karl Kruszelnicki explained in one of his books that if a non-Aboriginal could see a tree a few hundred metres away, a member of the study group could see a small animal on the ground in the shade of that tree. 29. He released 25 grey rabbits and five hares near Geelong to provide him with sport. Fastidious records of his hunts revealed he killed 14,263 rabbits on his property eight years later. 30. In your ears. It is earwax. 31. He was a notorious English pirate. Blackbeard settled in the Bahamas and built on his pirate trade under Benjamin Hornigold. His famous pirate ship, manned with 40 guns, was called Queen Anne’s Revenge. 32. Platelets. 33. Four. Three on the sides and one on the bottom. 34. The diving bell spider, like all spiders, can’t hold its breath and uses a special web ‘pocket’ to drag air bubbles underwater from which it breathes. 35. Burras. Murtoa was the Magpies and Minyip the Royal Blues. 36. A rabbit-proof fence. 37. Nothing. Earthworms, despite needing to mate to produce offspring, are hermaphrodites, producing both sperm and eggs. They also have a brain, no lungs and five hearts. 38. It was named after the siege and relief of the South African settlement of Mafeking during the Boer War in South Africa. 39. Kate Winslett and Liam Hemsworth. 40. The Black Range State Park. Mount Byron has an elevation of 520 metres. Page 48

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LifeStyle 2019

Solve the crossword. Each answer has four letters.

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

14 18

11 5 20

O+G V+U H-T G-L L+U J-U E÷V S-D D-H I×V I+U I+L H+G

O I Y F U S R X D U X L X

M W H R O A Q B A W O K E

ACROSS 1 Esteem shown 6 Make effort 10 School of whales 11 Falsehood 12 Bird 13 Sink down 14 Dash 17 Refusing consent 19 Connected 21 Colour 22 Church seat 23 Marsh 25 Vegetable 27 Patterns 30 Reticent 31 Gone by 33 Common to both sexes 35 Fruit of the oak 37 And not 38 Spoil 39 Slender supports 40 Dispirit

18 21

20 22

6 8 2

30 32 33

37 39

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

Tow Twigs Urged Usually Walker Word

C T A S T N E E D W D V E F N E N D

P R E E N S

ALFAKODO R O S T E R

E S P P O N I P R L A N E L A V P E A E S E P P I C O R T E M

T E R R I E R S E D E N

E M U B R G A C F E E S D D A M E P

X E R L I S I D X T I V R E N I I G N P A S L C O R A R R E S

S T U N T S T E E M E D

ORDINARY CROSSWORD

20 20 5 5

X X Y Y Z Z

J S M U S U A L L Y M M E

B Q M T G D M E S S I U W

L E E O N I B A H X T O D

L L 13 13 R V X G I A E G C H M O I

E W A Q N I U E U H E A K

O I Y F U S R X D U X L X

WORD FIND

I+U I+U I+L I+L H+G H+G

Q I J D D Q M U T V N W W

TARGET TIME adorn, anti, darn, drain, into, iron, nadir, ordain, radiant, RADIATION, radon, rain, rand, rant, ration, rind, roan, tana, tarn, torn, train.

M M 20 20 M W H R O A Q B A W O K E

D I G A R G E L A T O E X

K E P T R O V Z K K T R H

D E E I U H C M I S B A D

P A N N S E I X T W I G S

G T E R W K M T C L R R A

MINI CROSS ACROSS: 1 Rose, 5 Area, 6 Rats, 7 Else. DOWN: 1 Rare, 2 Oral, 3 Sets, 4 Ease. 5 3 4 2 1

1 2 1 3 5

5 3 5 4 2

4 2 1 3 1

1 3 4 2 4

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K K 5 5

2 22 19 24 23

I J I J 11 25 11 25

H H 7 7

3 21 17 6

G G 16 16

26 10 1

T U V W X

F F 4 4

N O P Q R S

E E 12 12

LifeStyle 2019

D D 9 9

W X Y Z W X Y Z 22 19 24 23 22 19 24 23

15 14 18 9 12 4 16 7 11 25 5 13 20

A B C A B C 15 14 18 15 14 18

L M

G T E R W K M T C L R R A

V V 2 2

U U 8 8

T T 6 6

F G H

P A N N S E I X T W I G S

Solutions R S R S 21 17 21 17

004

D E E I U H C M I S B A D

DOWN 1 Duty list 2 Helix 3 Mild explosion 4 Paradise 5 Tested flavour 6 Hugs 7 Cure-all 8 Disencumber 9 Rained heavily 15 Riverside embankment 16 Short sleep 17 Fresh 18 Blood vessels 20 Small dogs 23 Nourished 24 Pinch 25 Grooms the feathers 26 Be eager to do 27 Protect 28 In abundance 29 Showy deeds 32 Moist 34 Container 36 Vehicle

Q Q 3 3

003

A B C D E

K E P T R O V Z K K T R H

705

Sudoku

D I G A R G E L A T O E X

Mud Named Need Oxen Risk Sat Soap Surroundings

Grin Hail Hit Kept League Lot Mess Mix

Aid Awoke Bad Bridge Dutch Eat Fair Got

E W A Q N I U E U H E A K

M÷F M÷F T+H T+H Z-Q Z-Q

F+I F+O D×V C-D W-O M-G W-T B÷V V+D X+T M÷F T+H Z-Q

Q I J D D Q M U T V N W W

Ordinary Crossword

1253

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

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

DOWN 1 Uncommon 2 By mouth 3 Places 4 Lessen pain

ALFAKODO Alfakodo

R V X G I A E G C H M O I

K K L L M M

3 4

ACROSS 1 Moved upwards 5 Subject of study 6 Rodents 7 Other than

L E E O N I B A H X T O D

SUDOKU

003

B Q M T G D M E S S I U W

P P 1 1

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

D A R I N T A O I

Mini Cross

012

J S M U S U A L L Y M M E

180

O O 10 10

Target: Average 12 • Good 17 • Excellent 20+ Using the nine letters in the grid, how many words of four letters or more can you list? The centre letter must be included and each letter may be used only once. No colloquial or foreign words. No capitalised nouns, apostrophes or plural words ending in ‘s’. Reference Source: Macquarie Dictionary

Suguru

Word Find

003

N N 26 26

Target Time

Page 49

Creating a treasure trove By Lotte Reiter

endy Donald has countless personal memories. It is a bank of information she continually refers and adds to, using the memories, recollections and records of other people. As a Horsham Historical Society researcher and editor, Wendy, 68, has sifted through hundreds of documents, photographs and stories about Horsham and district. It is a never-ending job, the LowerNorton retiree explained, because ‘today is tomorrow’s history’. But, like many society members, she has experienced both the good and bad of time gone by. Most notable, she found, was Horsham’s infrastructural evolution. “What I notice most is the changing of times. They’ve pulled down some beautiful buildings here, we’ve lost a lot,” she said. “The society runs history street walks, and we have to say, ‘this is where this was, and this is where that was’, and take photos to show people what it used to look like. “I think it’s tragic. I can see why it’s done perhaps. But buildings like the old hospital that were pulled down – I worked there

for so long – I really felt that.” Wendy loved growing up in Haven in the 1950s. She remembers the district’s community spirit, where everyone seemed to be friends. It wouldn’t matter if a family was poor, because no one was really that rich anyway, and the school and hall were the centre of everything. “The school was quite different from today,” she said. “There were peppercorn trees in the yard, and we had a vegetable patch and a dam. Can you imagine a dam these days with children in grades prep to six? “And the toilets were called the long drop, they were just a hole. That was very flash; before that there were pans and the boys got paid a schilling or so for emptying them into a hole down the back of the school.” Friend and society member Janet Allen grew up with Wendy and her sisters Joan and Marlene, who she said could often be found at Horsham’s swimming pool. “When it opened in 1957, all the kids in Horsham lived at that pool,” Mrs Allen said. “I remember Wendy and her sisters were always there. Because we both have this passion for history, we know each other better now, we’ve got quite a lot to do with

each other. And just like Wendy was, I sent my daughter off to someone else’s place to ride horses.” Growing up in a family that couldn’t afford a horse, a young Wendy would ‘beg and borrow’ from her cousins. Now, she owns several, is a life member of both Riding for the Disabled Association and Wimmera Equestrian Club, and is active with Horsham Pony Club. Her passion for horses has extended beyond her years with Horsham Historical Society and has left her with countless memorable experiences. But it might have been her lifelong nursing career where she discovered the most ‘marvellous’ memories of all. Wendy worked at Horsham’s Wimmera Base Hospital for 38 years. She started her training in the 1960s, before working at the day centre for 26 years and eventually securing work in district nursing homes. She can still recall memories of people she nursed in the early 1970s. “Like Mrs Puls,” she said, pulling the name to mind. “She told me once that she kept her youngest child alive and warm by putting him in the wood stove when the fire died

Not a member?

down at night. That’s how she reckons she saved his life.” Horsham’s Barry McCourt worked as a laundry truck driver for the hospital when Wendy worked as a nurse. Barry said he remembered running into Wendy as he unloaded a truck full of supplies. “Wendy and another girl would always cross my path when I was unloading the truck, and we talked about the old times of the hospital. She would have a lot of memories about it,” he said. “She’s really got her head down among it now at the society. She’s always been putting stories to paper. She follows up research and goes through the old papers. “I remember she would come to me in meetings and say, ‘do you remember this?’, and I’d say, ‘I remember that quite well’, and we’d back each other up. That’s the thing, somebody has got to spark you to make you remember things and stories.” Wendy might simply be a volunteer with a passion for putting stories to paper. But just as she has found through her time at the society, a small collection of memories can quickly become a treasure trove for future generations. “The details will be lost forever unless people write down these things,” she said.

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LifeStyle 2019

Lower Norton’s Wendy Donald has sifted through hundreds of other people’s memories during her time at Horsham Historical Society.

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For your chance to WIN this amazing luxury Broome getaway, simply fill in this form and send to: The Weekly Advertiser Kimberley Sands Competition, PO Box 606, Horsham 3402 Or drop your entry into our office at 2 Stawell Road, Horsham. Alternatively enter online at www.theweeklyadvertiser.com.au using the code: Lifestyle2019 Entries close Monday, January 6, 2020 at 5pm. Winner will be announced in Wednesday, January 8 edition of The Weekly Advertiser, and contacted by phone. Winner must be minimum 18 years of age.

Name _____________________________________________________________________ Address ___________________________________________________________________ Phone _____________________________________________________________________ Email ______________________________________________________________________ I would like to receive information on news, events and competitions from 3WM, MIXX FM and The Weekly Advertiser.

*Prize terms and conditions: Prize includes flights from Melbourne, 7 nights accommodation and breakfasts for two people. Accommodation package is subject to availability and is not transferable or redeemable for cash or other services. Prize must be used in one transaction. Accommodation valid until August 28, 2020. Excludes Easter period, New Years Eve and June 1 to August 28, 2020 (inclusive).

Village evolution A

Advertorial

major redevelopment project enhancing Eventide Homes Stawell’s reputation as a premier lifestyle village in the region continues to tick off major milestones. Workers have completed the first stage of renovations, a small part of an overall master plan for the centre. Eventide Homes chief executive Sue Blakey said the work represented ongoing dedicated efforts to consolidate the centre’s strong standing in the Wimmera and broader regional community.

Marg and Allan Schaper

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“These latest works are just a small part of the master plan for Eventide Homes,” she said. “The master plan will guide capital works at Eventide in the next three-to-five years with the main priority a 12-bed memorysupport wing.” The project will next focus on the establishment of a second storey for the village hostel, which will become a staff administration area. The stage will also include a new entrance, chapel, kitchen, dining area and new entrance to the centre’s Warne wing. Ms Blakey said the new $3.6-million wing would be a stand-alone house based on a concept where residents were involved in cooking, cleaning and daily activities. She said the new wing would offer a potential shift away from traditional models of dementia care. Ms Blakey said Eventide Homes also had a goal to increase a licence for its hostel from 100 beds to 120. She said the establishment was driven by a strong desire to meet the needs of people in the district. “We have a large number of people on the waiting list. We want to be able to

provide local people with the accommodation needs they require and we are making all efforts to help them to live in the familiar surrounds of their joy a chat. home-town area,” she said. ine Thompson en ra Lo d an ht rig Dorothy W “We take pride in our dedicated care and maintaining a clean modern facility that our judges. Having such a history and direction residents enjoy living in.” meant major renovations were essential and Plans are also on the table for the a works program started about 12 months second stage of The Plantation Village at ago in response to resident needs. Eventide, which will include 23 to 26 new As a result, an Eventide team has been independent living units, which will be sold busy with hostel refurbishment, which is from the plans and built as required. steadily progressing. Eventide Homes has been part of Stawell Ms Blakey said the interior environment since 1953 and its longevity has ridden on was undergoing a major transformation. the back of a reputation as one of western “Plaster is replacing dark brick walls and Victoria’s most progressive senior lifestyle new furniture is providing a greater homevillages. like atmosphere,” she said. It has offered independent residential “The new walls look amazing with living options, with an aged-care hostel on enhanced colours and new furniture site, and is an integral part of the Stawell throughout. district landscape. “The hostel was looking a bit sad and Its dedication to the community has also definitely needed a freshen up. Everyone led to consistent social-enterprise accolades has enjoyed watching the transformations in regional business awards, where processes and we have been inundated with glowing and approaches in supporting residents, reviews from our residents and their their families and staff have impressed families.”

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