Profile: Aaron Tabone

LOCAL PROFILE: AARON TABONE Discovering the Community Garden

By Liz Clark The history and layout of Anglesea has meant that in various little pockets of the town different facilities have evolved and developed over the years.

We have the Art House in Cameron Road, a truly wonderful place for budding artists to learn new skills and display their work, but how many people know where it is? It’s off the main road and in a place where many locals don’t go.

The same is true for the Men’s Shed, tucked in at the end of the Bowls Club, the Community House nestled well out of sight behind the Medical Centre, and the Community Garden in the same precinct. The football/netball clubs are also off the beaten track, so many people may not go there either.

Residents love the fact that Anglesea is natural and beautiful, offers both seaside living and bush lifestyle too.

It hasn’t been planned like a modern suburb with sporting facilities all in one place, community hubs for various allied activities, churches and medical facilities all together, or one large shopping centre – thank goodness! As creatures of habit, we tend to stick to our own territory – especially since COVID began, when we have had little choice. We wander the usual track to the shops and back, meet with friends at our coffee shop of choice, go to our favourite beach. And there’s nothing wrong with this. But is it time to branch out, make some new discoveries, find out what Anglesea is really like?

Perhaps NewsA ngle should introduce you to one of these hidden gems in our community.

More than 18 months ago, Aaron Tabone was a newcomer to town, looking for community engagement and a place to meet some new people. He had recently moved here from Melbourne, forced by COVID to set up his business from home, and he needed to find some new friends and activities.

He is not sure what drew him to the Anglesea Community Garden initially, as he knows nothing about gardens –and it is on the other side of the river from where he lives – but the reputation of this group for a fun social life was quite tempting. He was immediately made welcome and embarked on a steep learning curve to discover how gardening works.

The Community Garden has a good percentage of retirees in their membership, so a young, healthy and energetic addition to their gardening group was most welcome, especially the ability to dig, bend and do a bit of heavier work as it comes along.

Aaron enjoys his interactions with members, and is picking up lots of hints about what to sow when, where to plant what, how to make a garden work.

Such was his enjoyment of the garden, that Aaron was happy to temporarily take on the role of convenor, after Winsome Coutts stepped down.

His work as an IT consultant in a large company supporting aged care service means he is a good organiser.

He sees the role of the Garden Convenor as being a conduit between the Council, Community House and the

Aaron Tabone has enjoyed getting his hands dirty after discovering the Anglesea Community Garden.

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Community Garden group, providing responsible oversight of how things are running, rather than anything in the sphere of actual gardening. He says that’s best left to the experts, of whom there are many who are skilled and experienced.

Funding of projects is always high on the list for community groups, and Aaron is well aware that although the Council is very generous with grants and general support, as is Anglesea Community Bank, there is a limit to how much they can hope for to support everyday activities.

To build a sustainable future requires a larger membership, more community activities and fundraising, and hopefully a few donations from outside the group.

The prospect of endless sausage sizzles is not appealing and, although they enjoy occasional shifts at the Resale Shed (a great source of income for them), the constant demand for more soil/plants/manures and so on, means there is an ongoing need for additional funds. Aaron would love to see more young families join the garden group. As a proud father of a one-year-old son, Aaron hopes that opportunities can be developed to encourage other young families to be part of a wide range of activities. He is very keen for the garden to become a place where people can just go for a walk or join various social activities rather than have members consider they need to be working whenever they come through the gate.

Aaron encourages all members of the community to call in and visit the Anglesea Community Garden and give it a try – find out how friendly they are, walk through the garden, and learn some new skills, as well as share in the bounty from the garden once they become members.

OPENING HOURS Anglesea Community Garden First Saturday of the month: 9am – working bee + morning tea Second Friday of the month: 5pm – drinks by the fire (BYO drinks and snacks to share) Enquiries to angleseacommunitygarden@gmail.com

LOCAL PROFILE: PHILIPPA HESTERMAN Finding food for the soul

By Liz Clark

Born in Western Australia, primary school educated in South Australia, then secondary and tertiary educated back in WA, Philippa Hesterman discusses her extraordinary life. After studying geology and zoology for two years at the University of Western Australia, she found a job teaching at a private girls’ school in Perth.

In 1957 she married Donald Hesterman, a member of the Royal Australian Air Force, who was soon posted to Wagga Wagga. She found a position with the Wheat Institute there, assisting with research into fungicides.

In 1958 they were posted back to Western Australia. Philippa worked in the Agriculture Department at the University of Western Australia examining sheep and their consumption of a grass called Phalaris tuberosa, which caused ‘Phalaris Staggers’ due to toxicity of the young growth if consumed in large amounts.

In another of several moves, Don (who had grown up in Indonesia on a tea plantation) was selected to take part in an intense course in Indonesian at the School of Languages at Point Cook in

Philippa Hesterman Victoria, little realising that he would continue to work there as a teacher for a further 17 years. Philippa remained in Perth for that year, then joined Don in Victoria, and soon found a job at the S.S. Cameron Laboratory in Werribee.

They rented a farm property in Mount Cottrell, and after seven years their daughter Heather was born. The family had very happy years there, assisting the owner of the property with the sheep work and keeping the water systems working.

Heather attended school at Mossfiel in Hoppers Crossing, and Philippa took a job at Mt Derrimut, focusing on analysis of animal feeds.

When Don retired from the School of Languages, he returned to Western Australia and set up a company designed to assist new investors and businesses to understand and interpret local law in Indonesia. This meant he travelled to Indonesia quite frequently and Philippa enjoyed stays there over the years.

On returning to Western Australia, Philippa found many of her friends in Perth were now working, so she decided to get a new job in a new field, starting a course in industrial psychology then transferring to welfare studies. On completion of her studies, she began a new career at the main psychiatric hospital in Perth in the social work department and continued working there for 13 years.

Philippa was challenged by a wide range of issues in this work, as at that time mental health and head injured patients/clients were all ‘lumped together’ in sheltered workshops in psychiatric services, a part of the Health Department of Western Australia.

Obviously the differences between patients’ needs were vast, but the staff had to manage as well as they could. Philippa commented that at that time little could be done to bring about any change, as there were ‘no votes in these people’ – a dire predicament.

Her work was largely in rehabilitation, finding patients jobs, assisting them with new skills and work behaviours, and advising and assisting employers about provision of helpful and meaningful support to her clients.

She travelled to outer suburbs of Perth, visiting clients at hostels and in various sheltered workshops where they were trained to work in spray painting, elementary mechanics and sewing –small businesses set up within the department to help support the needs of the clients.

Ten weeks after she retired, Philippa’s husband died and she really forgets what happened for the next three months. However, one morning she got up and decided she ‘was going to get on with my life’. Her daughter Heather had been chosen to represent Australia in a printmaking exhibition in Amsterdam, so together they embarked on a 10-week tour of England and Europe prior to returning to Western Australia via Singapore.

Heather and her family were in Victoria, she was in Perth, and she missed them.

She decided to sell her home, and within two weeks had found a new home in Anglesea, 21 years ago.

A visit to the ANGAIR Art and Wildflower Show opened the door –firstly to a membership, then to a lot of good friendships, a deep love for the local flora, hours of gardening and weeding, position as Secretary of ANGAIR and a deep appreciation of this beautiful place she had chosen as home.

Friends introduced her to a book club and many hours of delightful reading and companionship, and then to the Anglesea Art House.

Here she took watercolour painting lessons with Ray Woods, a wonderful teacher who showed her how to find the essence of a subject, how to use her imagination, and how to notice and enjoy her surroundings.

She has also tried her hand with Louise Price and landscapes, Lee Powell with printmaking, and is enjoying honing new skills and finding new ways to fill each day. She claims she will never be an artist, but she is well on the way.

With a large garden of her own, gardening duties at ANGAIR, art and books, Philippa has found food for her soul and a great deal of joy in being a resident of this beautiful town.

BUSINESS PROFILE: COASTLINE ADVICE Getting the right advice

Almost 20 years a local, Coastline Advice is a highly regarded financial advice firm and we’re excited to have Darryn Jacobs talk to N ew sA ngle about his business and the economic landscape.

The important role of financial advice in our community

In 2002, I established Coastline Advice with a vison to improve the financial wellbeing of our community. From humble beginnings in Anglesea, my team and I have helped shape not only the livelihoods of the Surf Coast, but thousands of lives across the region.

What role has Coastline Advice played in our community?

While it sounds cliché, the most common feedback we get from our clients is that they wish they had found us sooner. The right financial advice can lay the proper foundations to some of the most important decisions we make, whether that’s buying a home, setting up our children’s future or planning a comfortable retirement.

Managing your own financial affairs isn’t simple. The intricacies of investments, ever-changing financial regulations, and the complexity of navigating your financial future can weigh heavily on your shoulders. We pride ourselves on building long-term partnerships with clients within the community so that we can understand their goals, and together, pave the way.

Darryn Jacobs, Coastline Advice

How can we capitalise on the booming Surf Coast property market?

With interest rates at a record low, property is on the tip of everybody’s tongue. House prices are soaring to new highs making it difficult for first-home buyers, however, it has given many of our clients an opportunity to kick-start their retirement.

As an example, one of our clients had a long-term goal to retire between Queensland and Victoria and took advantage of the seller’s market to achieve this. With the right advice and planning, they were able to downsize their coastal property and purchase two homes, one in Queensland and one on the Surf Coast. Their surplus funds and compounding investments were injected into their super, creating a healthy retirement nest egg. They now happily enjoy retirement, following the sun along the East Coast.

How have Coastline’s community values attributed to your success?

We are a team of more than 20 locals with a joint passion for ensuring the best financial advice is attainable for everybody. By sharing a community with our clients, we can build long-term partnerships and see firsthand when they achieve their retirement goals or take their dream holiday. By staying true to our values, we are proud to be able to give back to local clubs and programs, returning the support our communities have shown us over the years.

How does Coastline add value to its clients’ financial position?

Coastline prides itself on providing clients access to the best superannuation, investment and insurance solutions on the market. We start by understanding clients’ goals, and through innovative advice strategies, we help turn these goals into reality. We are also a one-stop-shop for all home loan requirements for purchasing a home, investment property or refinancing to a more competitive interest rate.

If you have any questions about your finances, we look forward to hearing from you. Contact our team on 5264 7700, or enquire through our website coastlineadvice.com.au.