Newsangle Issue 148 Summer 2021

PUBLICATION OF THE ANGLESEA COMMUNITY HOUSE

ISSUE 148 SUMMER 2021

Repair Cafe volunteers gain great satisfaction from knowing that repaired items have been saved from landfill and can be re-used for years.

Photo by Patrick Callow

Making a difference for community

By Penny Edmanson

If you are keen to make a difference, pay it forward, get to know your community or simply improve your own wellbeing, you don’t have to go far from home. Local community groups are crying out for your assistance.

As a result of COVID, the volunteering sector has faced a huge setback. There is an important challenge ahead to reinvigorate our community to volunteer.

Compelling research from Volunteering Australia and the ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods (CSRM, May 2021) suggests that voluntary work has been impacted harder by the COVID recession than paid work, with a huge drop off in volunteering.

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Professor Biddle from ANU CSRM says, ‘an estimated 2.3 million less Australians volunteered in April 2021 than in late 2019’.

Volunteers clearly make an enormous difference: improving people’s wellbeing, assisting the disadvantaged, and protecting the environment as well as the creatures that live in it.

What is less well known is the positive impact on the volunteers themselves.

Continued on page 4 >

Highlights Endangered Mammals

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Ellie Pashley in Tokyo

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Profile: Jeff Wilson

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Following Burke & Wills

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Profile: Robyn Seymour

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Profile: Ryan McKnight

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From the House

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Great Reads

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History Spot

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Community Corner

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Arts Scene

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The Anglesea and District Community Bank has been very proactive in supporting large community fundraising efforts, but they never take their eye off our smaller community groups. Staff members Caitlyn Oakley and Bec Young recently presented Sue Whitelaw from Foodlink with $500 to support their fantastic work in the community.

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NewsAngle | Publication of the Anglesea Community House | Community Houses are for Everyone

Hello! … from the House

NewsAngle NewsAngle is a free, quarterly magazine published by the Anglesea Community House for the communities of Anglesea, Aireys Inlet, Fairhaven and Moggs Creek.

Its purpose is to strengthen connections across our community by writing about the diverse people, businesses and activities that make us who we are.

NewsAngle aims to inform, entertain and educate readers, and to provide a voice for local groups and individuals to share information about events, activities and achievements.

Editorial If you have feedback or comments about articles, or would like to make a suggestion, please contact the editor at newsangle@anglesea.org.au or leave news items / notices for the editor at the Anglesea Community House.

Distribution NewsAngle is offered free to the community. You can read a digital version online at anglesea.org.au Hard copies are distributed via Australia Post using home delivery in Anglesea and PO Boxes in Aireys Inlet. NewsAngle can also be found at local shops/ cafes in both towns.

Deadlines for Next Edition Issue: Casual ad bookings:

Autumn, 149 28 February 2022

Articles/Contributions: Distribution:

2 March 2022 6 April 2022

Advertisers If you would like to book an annual or casual advertisement, please email Julie at advertising@anglesea.org.au

Anglesea Community House 9.00am - 2.30pm Monday - Friday 5 McMillan Street, Anglesea PO Box 43, Anglesea, VIC, 3230 Tel: 5263 2116 Email admin@anglesea.org.au

Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the Community House.

By Julie Martin, Operations Coordinator Anglesea Community House (ACH)

WELCOME TO NEW COMMITTEE At our AGM in October, we reflected and celebrated the past year. We said farewell and thank you to three of our committee members: Samantha Gault, who has been a longstanding member, including President for the past five years; Lucy Lincoln, a committee member who served two years; and Wendy Clark who served one year.

We appreciate all the amazing work these members contributed on behalf of the Community House, and we look forward to continuing to collaborate and engage with retiring committee members, as they stay involved as volunteers and participants in programs and activities on offer through the House. It has been said that once you become involved in the Neighbourhood House sector you stay involved for a long time (because it is awesome!).

We were fortunate to retain five of our long-term committee members and we have welcomed five new committee members, making a strong committee of 10 for our 2021/2022 year.

We are pleased to welcome new committee members Tony Revell (President), Gary Carson, Rachael Marano, Lina Libroaperto and Deb Elliot. And we thank our returning committee members Beth Davidson (Vice President), Sandra Mitchell (Secretary), Keith Perkin (Treasurer), Annette Dwyer and Michael Varney (general members).

Each committee member brings their own unique connection to the community and together we know they will do incredible work to support the House and our communities.

You can read more about each committee member in the ‘About’ section on our website at anglesea.org.au.

Neighbourhood Houses across Australia rely on the generosity of dedicated volunteers to support governance and operation, and we are grateful to those in our community who put their hand up to ensure that Anglesea Community House can continue to carry out its core business of creating an inclusive, connected and caring community.

Volunteers Morning Tea To recognise the contribution of volunteers from a range of community groups, sporting clubs, school and businesses across the community, we recently introduced a monthly thank you to volunteers.

Join us every second Thursday of the month from 11am to 12pm for an infor mal cuppa and mor ning tea to connect with other volunteers. Everyone welcome!

Make sure you check out our website, Facebook and Instagram for information on all our upcoming events and programs.

The House will close from 23 December for a Christmas break but we will be back up and running from Monday 10 January 2022.

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Volunteers lend a helping hand > continued from page 1

Professor Biddle says, ‘The data shows that volunteers had a higher level of life satisfaction prior to COVID than nonvolunteers’.

Help the elderly One organisation desperate to revitalise their volunteer program is Cordelia Grove, the J apar a Aged Car e home in Anglesea. Particularly hard hit by COVID restrictions, lifestyle coordinators Jacquie Fidler and Susie Sutton have been without volunteers since March 2020. Consequently, 20 activities a month were removed from the residents’ lifestyle program.

Jacquie and Susie would love a full and varied program to be up and running in 2022 with activities such as music, library, gardening, arts and crafts, shopping, and bus trips all requiring volunteer assistance.

Volunteers can give as little or as much time as they want. The coordinators put out a monthly program according to availability and certainly don’t expect volunteers to be available every week.

‘We are very flexible and grateful for any time, even if it’s only once a month,’ they said.

Male volunteers are always in demand.

Even just going in for a chat is an invaluable social connection for the residents.

Volunteers do need to be vaccinated against flu and COVID. After filling out a Volunteer Application Form, head office organises the necessary police checks and then you’re good to go.

Jacquie and Susie would love to be inundated with enquiries. Just call Cordelia Grove on 5263 9300 and ask for ‘Lifestyle’.

Help refugees Another group hit hard by COVID was the local EAL (English as an additional language) teaching group.

An adjunct of AIRAR (Aireys Inlet Rural Australians for Refugees) and brainchild of one member, a group of dedicated locals from along the Surf Coast attend Cloverdale Community House from 10am–12noon on Mondays and Fridays through each school term.

The main aim is to teach everyday English to refugees, to assist them to feel part of the wider community so they are not afraid to do everyday 4

Mentors volunteer with Ocean Mind to support young people through surfing, with programs operating locally in Anglesea..

things like shopping, partaking in school activities with their children or going to the doctor.

volunteers support young people in the development of skills and personal growth while acting as role models.

Each class has a team leader who is experienced in teaching English as a second language, so assistants do not require qualifications, just the desire to help refugees settle into their new country.

The charity started in 2016, piloting a UK-based surf therapy model. It has demonstrated outstanding results in helping young people with difficulties to feel more accepted, positive and comfortable with their lives.

As students often bring their preschool children with them, two child minders are rostered for each teaching session.

Child minding is essential for the success of the program, as it allows the students to focus on their learning.

Ocean Mind operates on weekends and school holidays, and is based at Anglesea Main Beach and Ocean Grove.

There is no set expectation of commitment – some volunteers like to go weekly, others less often. A term roster is drawn up well in advance, which allows for amendments due to changed circumstances. Car pooling is often arranged, with volunteers drawn from all over the Surf Coast.

All teachers, assistants and child minders do require a Working with Children Check (free for volunteers).

Classes will resume in term one of 2022 and volunteers are needed.

Contact Fran Coker on 0409 444 019.

Help our young people Ocean Mind is a community sur f movement creating therapeutic surfing programs. It provides early intervention programs for young people experiencing mental health challenges, social isolation and disabilities. The

Surf mentor volunteers are required to have swimming abilities and be confident in the ocean environment. It is a physical role and if you have any underlying medical conditions, it would be recommended that you volunteer in another area such as event support or fundraising. Ocean Mind provides training opportunities for its volunteers including surf mentor training, youth mental health first aid training and other surf rescue training where available.

Ocean Mind is always on the search for amazing humans who would like to help out with the programs. As their founder and CEO Rachael Parker says, ‘Our volunteers join the Ocean Mind community. Here you will find a group of likeminded people excited to help others and be in and around the water’.

See the Ocean Mind website for more information at oceanmind.org.au or contact Rachael Parker email rachael@oceanmind.org.au or mobile 0422 703 592.

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Help an endangered species

Help in the great outdoors

Just a decade ago hoodies were almost locally extinct. Largely helped by volunteer efforts, these little birds are bouncing back.

The Friends of Eastern Otways (FEO) is an organisation with members who share an interest in the natural environment and who would like to learn more about the Great Otway National Park and its flora and fauna, particularly its Eastern section.

The Friends of the Hooded Plover help raise awareness among beach users, monitor the birds’ progress and help protect eggs and chicks during the breeding season – August to April. The main duties coincide with hatching times, usually between November and April and typically on weekends or summer holidays.

There are resident hoodies at known spots from Pt Impossible (north Torquay) all the way to Moggs Creek, and volunteers usually help out with birds that live on their local beach.

When the chicks hatch, a roster system swings into action. Shifts usually last 60–90 minutes.

Friends of Eastern Otways help monitor wildlife using remote cameras within the Great Otway National Park .

Formed in 1991, FEO is committed to protecting the Park for all to appreciate and enjoy, working in partnership with Parks Victoria and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP). The Friends are involved in a variety of environmental activities protecting flora and fauna: from removal of environmental weeds and revegetation with indigenous species, to monitoring flora and fauna within the Park through surveys, spotlighting activities and the use of remote cameras.

FEO runs regular weeding around

Anglesea on the second Tuesday of the month, as well as conducting walks in different parts of the Park on the third Saturday of each month.

Volunteers helping with weeding do not need any specialist skills, but will be taught to identify the correct weeds and provided with gloves and any necessary tools. Volunteers do need to have a Working with Children Check and register with the Parks Victoria ParkConnect website.

If you would like to do something good for the local environment, share your passion for nature with like-minded souls or simply enjoy an educational walk, contact FEO through their website feo.org.au

Help keep weeds away Angair celebr ated its 50th anniversary in 2019 and currently has about 700 members.

Angair volunteers help with planting.

Many of us have enjoyed its renowned Annual Wildflower Show, its nature Continued on page 7 >

Volunteers help protect and monitor the local Hoodie population.

All you need to bring is a love for wildlife and conservation, a friendly nature and an ability to be on the beach in most weather. It doesn’t need to be a regular commitment, some volunteers love it so much they put their hand up as often as possible, others may only be able to commit to one shift a month or two or three shifts over the season.

For those who are unable to help on the beach, people with social media, writing or advocacy/PR skills are also appreciated. Volunteers receive training through Birdlife Australia. They also become part of a local interest group, which is a meaningful connection to community. It’s a triple win situation – the birds, volunteers and community all benefit.

If you can help, contact Janice Carpenter on 0418 375 561 or email janicejohnoz@yahoo.com.au NewsAngle | Publication of the Anglesea Community House | Community Houses are for Everyone

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Volunteers make a difference for community taught himself to sharpen garden tools.

He is always in demand.

> continued from page 5

rambles and guided bird walks. If you’d like to give a bit back, join their regular Monday morning working bees to assist in removing invasive plant species and to do occasional revegetating.

A certain level of fitness and mobility is required, but the work is generally not hard. For those who would like a less active role, Angair is keen for assistance with their monthly newsletter, social media posts and database management.

Volunteers speak of the many benefits of belonging to this group: from a sense of connection to the local community and feeling useful by contributing to a wider cause, to staying physically and mentally active. And of course, there’s that cuppa and cake at the end of a morning’s work!

Contact details: Phone 5263 1085 or email admin@angair.org.au

Helping with your hands Have you always been handy, loved tinkering with things or even teaching yourself new skills? Join The Repair Cafe for a gr eat sense of satisfaction

Volunteers at the Repair Cafe

in helping visitors fix their items or to give advice on how they can fix it themselves.

Now in its fifth year, The Repair Cafe opens one Sunday a month (except in Jan and June) from 10am to 2pm at the Anglesea Memorial Hall.

Volunteers bring with them a wide range of backgrounds and skills.

Generally they are can-do types who have enquiring minds, enjoy sharing their knowledge and helping others.

Not only are there ‘jacks of all trades’ but repairers of electrical and mechanical items, jewellery and furniture and sewers. One of the volunteers was so keen to get involved that he watched YouTube clips and

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Volunteers and visitors are united in the satisfaction of knowing the repaired items can continue to be used for years to come and have been saved from landfill. No item is too big or too small.

In fact the volunteers ‘love to see what comes through the door and are generally up for anything from the most basic to the most unusual’.

Young ones are catered for in the Kids’ Tinkering Zone where volunteers help dismantle a range of items, and teach kids to use tools and to see how things work. They also get the challenge of trying to put things back together!

The Repair Cafe welcomes volunteers with a wide range of repair skills and, in particular, is looking for one or two people to look after PR (traditional media, social media, photography and possibly a website).

Can you help? Drop in for a chat or make contact through Facebook: repaircafesurfcoast or email repaircafesurfcoast@gmail.com

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Endangered mammal close to home

By Mary Bremner

As we travel between Point Roadknight and Urquhart Bluff, our eyes are drawn across the white caps to the lighthouse.

But who knew that the narrow stretch of vegetation that covers the sand dunes under our gaze is home to some of our region’s rarest and most endangered mammals?

Not I, at least not until I spoke with Aireys Inlet resident, Dr Barbara Wilson, about her four decades of investigation into some of our extraordinary native fauna.

Barb is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Deakin University and runs her own ecological consultancy, working on national, state and local government projects.

Barb’s passion for our local wildlife was ignited when she started a longterm study based in the Eastern Otways, as part of a PhD at Deakin University.

She completed seven years researching the impact of the 1983 ‘Ash Wednesday’ bushfires on mammals and plants, finding out how long it took them to recover.

There are two very special small mammals that make Barb’s eyes light up. They are nocturnal, very shy and you must be very fortunate to see them.

We’re talking about the swamp antechinus and the New Holland mouse, both listed as threatened species.

The New Holland mouse could easily be mistaken for the common house mouse, to which it is actually no relation. It is fluffier, has large eyes and a longer tail. Best of all it doesn’t smell mousy. The slightly larger swamp antechinus is a carnivorous marsupial – it has a pointy snout, short ears and a long tail.

Barb’s studies showed that both species, which existed in good numbers prior to the 1983 fires, had been decimated. Two years later, the researchers happened by chance upon a small population of the New Holland mouse, which had survived in a tiny 8

The native bush rat (Rattus fuscipes). Photo by Fern Millen

unburnt patch. However it took about 12 years for the swamp antechinus to reappear, albeit in small numbers.

It was a project Barb took on for the Western Australia government, driven by the state’s need to conserve its threatened water supplies, that led to her understanding of the impact of climate change on biodiversity.

On returning to Victoria, Barb was interested to see how the local mammals were faring and quickly realised they were in trouble. Surveys conducted between 2013 and 2018 revealed 67 per cent of sites exhibited large to severe decreases in numbers, with only eight individual swamp antechinus at sites where previously they’d been in abundance. Further there has been no record of the New Holland mouse since 2003. The research found strong evidence that, for both species, reproduction is related to rainfall, and the millennial drought had a huge impact on their decline.

A recent project for Parks Victoria has

found Barb looking specifically at the impact of climate change on the flora and fauna of the Eastern Otways, where many species are reducing in numbers.

Barb’s work involves studying the effect of the loss of vegetation through impacts such as the devastating plant pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi and variations in rainfall and temperature on the populations.

It was during this project that Barb and her team discovered, to their surprise and delight, thriving populations of a variety of mammals in our local sand dunes, adjacent to the Great Ocean Road. Barb describes it as ‘one of the richest remnants and refuges for mammals in the Eastern Otways that we’ve found – very small and very important’.

Animals found there include the swamp antechinus, brown bandicoot, longfooted bandicoot and white dunnart.

Barb had known that some animals had recovered there after the 1983 fires but only recently discovered that they’d survived in such numbers.

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‘It was such a relief,’ Barb said. The animals have also been found in the gullies leading up from the sand dunes, such as Hutt Gully, and these are important refuges that allow their migration inland. Barb is working with Parks Victoria and now the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) to have these areas protected.

Barb often works on projects with her ecologist husband, Dr Mark Garkaklis.

A typical day in the field will involve Barb and her co-workers setting up mammal traps. A favourite food for our furry friends consists of peanut butter, rolled oats and honey fashioned into little balls and used for bait. Cameras are also used to capture vision of the animals, and baits are sometimes laid to lure them into view.

Helpless to do anything about changes in weather patterns, much of Barb’s work focusses on managing the other impacts. Preservation of the known animal habitats is crucial but Barb’s projects are taking it one step further with the construction of man-made refuges.

Research students have built tunnels and placed them in burnt areas to see whether mammals will use them. So far they have been successful, with white-footed dunnarts, dusky antechinus and echidnas all sighted in residence, suggesting these refuges may

won’t be surprised to find continuous populations up the valley, giving further strength to arguments for revegetation of this rich natural environment.

Dr Barb Wilson with husband Dr Mark Garkaklis in the field. Photo by Fern Millen

become part of a long-term strategy.

While Barb is sad that such measures are necessary, she can also see the potential for use in areas where vegetation has been removed in ways other than fire – such as the damage caused by Phytophthora.

Barb continues to work closely with PhD students at Deakin University and has also been part of the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority’s Wild Otways Initiative – a project aiming to conserve threatened mammals. This involves analysing the data already gathered and going out to do more surveys to see if they can locate bandicoots, potoroos and native rodents such as the broad-toothed rat, smoky mouse and New Holland mouse – all very rare across the Otways.

The recent discovery of three swamp antechinus in the dunes at the head of the Painkalac Valley, along with a dead specimen on a privately-owned conservation area further up the valley, has caused a stir among local naturalists. Once in good numbers, this species hadn’t been recorded in the valley in the past decade.

Female swamp antechinus.

Photo Credit Kristen Agosta

Investigations show they have their cousins, the agile antechinus, along with bush, swamp and water rats for company. Barb is planning to do some trapping and more camera work and

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Asked what excites her most about her work, Barb said she loves the moment when she can hold a species she hasn’t seen for a long time in her hand. She had this thrill on rediscovering our small populations of swamp antechinus.

However Barb hasn’t held the elusive New Holland mouse in her hand since 2003. She hasn’t given up hope though – the Wild Otways project includes consideration of whether they could be reintroduced to the Eastern Otways from populations in Gippsland. It is the influence that she can have to improve and make sustainable our wildlife communities that continues to motivate Barb in her work.

Asked what we can do to help aid the survival of our precious native fauna, Barb suggested being mindful of our environment as not just a place for us to enjoy, but also as a habitat for animals.

As most of them are nocturnal, we won’t be aware of their presence.

Report any observations to Parks Victoria or DELWP. Avoid contributing to the spread of Phytphthora by cleaning your boots and staying on the tracks. Plant indigenous species in your gardens and bush blocks and, where applicable, design your fences to allow for the passage of native animals – in accordance with Surf Coast Shire Council guidelines.

With our environment in such a precarious position, Dr Barbara Wilson’s main focus now is to train people for the future.

It’s one of the joys of her work, to be out in the bush working side by side with enthusiastic research students from the universities and young people from Parks Victoria and DELWP. They are keen to soak up all that Barb has to share with them.

With so much good work going on, it might not be long before Barb can hold a New Holland mouse in her hand.

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Local athlete Ellie Pashley takes us inside the Tokyo Olympic Games

By Penny Edmanson

We were lucky enough this year to have our very own local participant in the Tokyo Olympics. Ellie Pashley, a resident of Aireys Inlet and physiotherapist in Torquay, took part in the women’s marathon, running a commendable 23rd out of 88 participants from 44 nations.

Ellie always loved running but it wasn’t until 2015 that she transitioned from social running and cross-country events and started preparing for a marathon under the coaching of Julian Spence – another local.

In late 2016 she ran her debut marathon in Melbourne. Fast forward to June of 2021 and she had been selected for her first Olympic Games. One of only three women to qualify for the team, Ellie credits Julian with her development from an okay runner to Olympic level.

‘Julian and his wife Bri were a huge help to me in the build-up. We spent a lot of time away training together in Queensland. They rode and ran all sessions with me and spent a long time away from home to help me prepare.

Jules saw more of my training than he’d ever seen so it was probably a good learning experience for both of us.

Aireys Inlet resident Ellie Pashley raced in the Women’s Marathon in Tokyo this year.

‘He was also instrumental in setting up all of my heat acclimatisation work and ensuring I did it properly. His attention to detail is second to none, and I think this was extremely important with such a hot marathon where there are so many extra variables to consider.

‘He was back home for the last few weeks of my training but by then all of the hard work was done,’ said Ellie.

A COVID impacted world meant a

very different Olympics from those that past athletes have experienced. During preparation and training Ellie was faced with a lack of racing opportunities, gym closures that meant she was unable to do her usual strength training and limited chances to train in a group.

However, she considers herself fortunate compared to athletes in other sports as she could still run.

‘I have a very nice radius near my house for running so it really wasn’t too difficult.

‘I spent the last few months in Queensland adapting to the heat so we had a little more freedom up there for training.’

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The Japanese Olympic Committee had a huge number of measures in place to try and keep both the athletes and the Japanese public safe. This meant the team was in a form of lockdown even at the holding camp in Cairns, where they could train but were not allowed to go out to restaurants or have any contact with the public. They had daily COVID tests leading up to departure and once they arrived in Japan.

Arriving at the airport in Tokyo involved five to six hours of processing and testing before they were even allowed into the country.

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The location of the marathons was moved north, from Tokyo to Sapporo in an attempt to get cooler conditions.

Ironically the two cities turned out to have almost the same temperature on the day, as Sapporo recorded 25 °C at 6am when the race started, and it reached 29°C at 8:30am.

Stringent restrictions continued in Sapporo with the athletes only leaving their hotel to attend the training venue, which was an old speed-skating rink.

Once they had raced, they flew back to Tokyo for a couple of days in the village, before flying home for two weeks hotel quarantine in Brisbane.

Ellie loved the Olympic village life.

‘I think it’s what you dream about as a kid, being in the Olympic village with athletes from all over the world.’

‘And even though we weren’t allowed to leave the village it was so big that it really didn’t feel too restricted in there.

It’s like an entire town. All of the countries have their own apartment building and common areas, there’s a shopping area, a couple of food halls, and lots of activity.

‘The rules inside the village were pretty strict though, so we weren’t really allowed to socialise with people from other nations. Luckily there were times when we were in the same place and could mix to a degree, such as the training venue for the marathon where we could run with people from other countries so I got to meet plenty of the world’s top marathoners including the American Molly Seidel who won bronze.

‘It was good to be back in the village for a couple of days at the end too when the atmosphere was fairly relaxed, as everyone had finished their events and was enjoying the final few days of the Olympics. The Boomers were in the village then and had just won their medal so we got to meet them.

‘The village was a real highlight for me and I’d love to go back and experience that again in different times. The food in the dining hall was amazing and just the buzz around the whole village, and being around so many of the best

Local resident Ellie Pashley has always loved running and now performs at the elite level.

athletes in the world was really special for a sports fan like myself.’

One of the disappointments (inevitable because of COVID) was the separation of the athletes from the real Japan. As Ellie says, ‘There was no sightseeing apart from the race itself, where we got to run around Sapporo and see some of the city’. Mixing with other athletes was also forbidden. ‘We were supposed to keep ourselves within small groups within our team. This was especially important pre-race because if you were considered a contact of a COVID case you risked not being able to compete.’

Another hardship was not having the support of family and friends. ‘I left home in May and returned back at the end of August. I got so see my husband for a few stints within this time, but I didn’t get to see him for the last seven weeks. I coped okay, it’s a long time to be away from home, but with the big focus being on the Olympics it went quite quickly. The toughest bit was quarantine at the end when all you want to do is to get home and see family,’ explained Ellie.

Curfews on the locals meant that it didn’t feel a lot like the Olympics until race day. However, Ellie points out that ‘being a part of the Olympic marathon in a country where marathon running is very popular was an amazing experience. We were lucky to have some spectators for our race too, which created the atmosphere you need to get you through a hot marathon.’

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‘The race was so much fun. It was extremely hot, up into the low 30s and high humidity. But Julian and I had prepared really well for the heat in case it was worst-case scenario. And I felt confident going into it that I’d done everything I could. It’s still pretty nerve wracking running a marathon in those conditions. But yeah, I was pleasantly surprised with how I felt for most of the race, and really got to enjoy my first Olympic experience.

‘I survived, and managed to kick the pace down a little in the last 10km. I would have loved to have finished a few places higher, but I’m also really happy that I raced the way I did and got through it unscathed. The atmosphere was great out on course – I’m sure nowhere near as loud as a normal Olympics without cheering and due to spectators being discouraged from going, but they were still lining the course and clapping. And our support staff were a welcome sight at every drink station on course with lots of encouragement.

‘So I loved every second of it. And felt a huge sense of relief when it was done.’

With an Olympic experience now under her belt, Ellie is keen to have another go at it and says she hopes to take a few more risks next time round. The bonus is she only has three years to wait!

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LOCAL PROFILE: JEFF WILSON

Enjoying life’s opportunities

By Liz Clark

They don’t call Australia the land of opportunity for nothing. Who would expect a little boy who spent his first years in Blackwood Forest, a tiny hamlet in Gippsland (famed for having cross roads, a one-teacher school and a hall) – to become a man who has travelled, lived and worked in places as widespread as Ballarat, Camperdown, Tasmania, Melbourne, Antarctica, Geneva, China, Russia, France, United Kingdom, Africa and Anglesea?

Who could have known that this little boy was to become an excellent student, a Queen’s scout, a glaciologist, a meteorologist, a director of the World Meteorological Organisation’s Education and Training Office, a husband and father, recipient of the Polar Medal, and secretary of the Anglesea Men’s Shed?

Little did he know when he finished high school in Camperdown what opportunities life held.

Jeff Wilson attended school from the age of three as his father lived and taught at the Blackwood Forest School, and he could wander from the schoolhouse across the footy oval to join in classes with the 12 other students.

The family moved to Ballarat when he turned five, and his brother and sister were born there. Life seemed like one big adventure, from panning for gold, exploring the bush and mine shafts and wandering the storm water drains under the town in fairly carefree days.

His father was transferred to Camperdown and Jeff completed his schooling there, not always finding this an easy time as he was more studious than sporting.

He joined the Scouts, finally becoming a Queen’s Scout. To achieve this prestigious award, a Venturer Scout must be able to set personal goals, as well as plan and organise activities for themselves and others. They are required to maintain a high level of determination to reach milestones and complete attainment to the very best of their abilities. The award encourages recipients to ‘look wide’.

This stood Jeff in good stead for his future, as well as providing an 12

Anglesea resident Jeff Wilson has travelled, lived and worked in places across the globe.

inspirational opportunity for Jeff who was chosen to travel to Antarctica with one other Queen’s Scout.

This experience opened his eyes to the wonders of travel, glaciology, and later meteorology, and set the foundation for his study of science at Melbourne University, with a focus on glaciology and climate studies.

After graduation, Jeff applied to work in Antarctica with the Australian Antarctic Division (Melbourne) at Casey Station. Life there was fairly basic and for five months he worked and wintered with three other people away from the main base, living in small vans, relying heavily on generators for light, power and heat, and on radio telephone communication, which though reliable was spasmodic and extremely expensive.

Their task was to set up a drilling rig and recover specimens of the ice core to study the chemical composition of the ice and use the bore hole to assess the speed and direction of the ice flow at various depths. They were able to gauge the age of the ice and record information about climate change.

Jeff had two tours of duty in Antarctica (winter 1977 and summer 79/80) as a glaciologist, and three summer tours as a weather forecaster. He loved the place.

As he said ‘who wouldn’t want to travel to Antarctica, get to operate bulldozers, cranes and other heavy equipment, occasionally get to fly around in helicopters, live out in the wilderness for extended periods, and experience the wildlife and Antarctica while being paid for it?’

The downside of these jobs meant leaving his family, living in isolated conditions, as well as living closely with many and varied people from such

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a range of backgrounds. Jeff was studying for his Masters degree throughout these hard but fascinating times.

providing a fellowship program for poorer countries, training and running programs in China, Russia, France, and the UK among many others.

In 1980 Jeff was selected as a trainee weather forecaster with the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM). The Bureau in Melbourne had its own school, teaching physics and mathematics, basic weather observation, meteorological forecasting and the use of radars and satellites.

He found this a very privileged post and enjoyed the learning, the teaching, the travel, frequent visitors from Australia, return trips home and the lifestyle in general.

After a 40-week course, Jeff came to realise that weather forecasting is all about science, but experience is just as important. He began work with the Bureau in Tasmania as a junior weather forecaster. His tasks included broadcasting weather information for the public, for aviation, shipping, fishing, agriculture and fire services.

His wife Kaye joined him in Tasmania, and then in 1984 Jeff was seconded to Melbourne for 12 months as a lecturer at the Bureau’s Training Centre, and their first daughter Lillian was born.

They returned to Hobart in early 1985 but were back permanently in Melbourne the following year following another Antarctic adventure, this time on the Nella Dan, which was due to be away for six weeks but ended up being nearly four months as it became stuck in the ice for several months.

Jeff and Kaye’s daughters (Lillie, Rose and Ruby) also enjoyed having the family home in Brunswick to themselves, as well as a place in the middle of Europe to visit each year.

In 2013 Jeff and Kaye returned to Australia for his mother’s 80th birthday and began to look at houses for sale in Anglesea in which to retire.

Childhood summer days had been spent at the caravan park or in private accommodation in Anglesea and they had brought their own children to the Surf Coast for holidays.

They were looking for somewhere familiar to settle, and soon found a house to purchase.

It was not until 2016 that Jeff left Geneva to return home. He is now contracted to WMO as a consultant to assist a group of researchers with a 10-year project to improve environmental predictions in polar regions.

He finds this both intellectually challenging and very satisfying, and enjoys being able to continue to contribute skills back to this field of study. In May 2022 he is hoping to attend a face-to-face conference as a culmination of this 10-year project.

After such a busy and intense career, one would imagine Jeff would be sitting with his feet up taking a break.

But that’s not so. He is currently Secretary of Anglesea Men’s Shed, a member of the local CFA unit and of the Community Garden.

He is learning new skills as well as sharing his own expertise. Jeff enjoys the interaction with local people, seeing the other side of meteorological events through the eyes of the CFA, and adding his unique contribution to the community.

Jeff notes that none of this would have been possible without the key support of Kaye and his daughters.

He found this work enjoyable, rewarding and engaging, so much so that from 1986 to 2007 he continued in the training area, and ended up as Principal of the Training Centre.

Through the Bureau’s training program, he became involved with the World Meteorology Organisation (WMO), a UN affiliate, where he helped develop and deliver training programs, including online programs about satellite systems and data, and how to be a trainer.

In 2008 Jeff was appointed Director of Education and Training for the WMO and moved with Kaye to Geneva. Here he was responsible for helping the organisation set standards for meteorological training worldwide, NewsAngle | Publication of the Anglesea Community House | Community Houses are for Everyone

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Travelling in the footsteps of Burke and Wills

By Mary Bremner

With international travel only existing in our dreams and state borders closed for much of the year, many of us have satisfied our wanderlust within our own state.

As travel Plan A, became Plans B and C, the Silo Art Trail was popular, and towns such as Bright and Beechworth have been heavily booked.

As for my husband and me, our Plan A was a camping trip to south-west Queensland. Destination – the Burke and Wills Dig Tree. A visit to this location has been on my travel bucket list ever since I learned the story of this ill-fated expedition as a child.

It was impossible not to be moved at the utter despair that must have been felt by the party of three explorers, who stumbled into the depot camp on the banks of Coopers Creek to find no one there and the coals of the fire still warm. The support party had waited over four months, but gave up hope on the lives of their fellow explorers and departed for home only nine hours before.

Burke, Wills and King were three survivors of the party of four that had set out for the Gulf of Carpentaria, thus

Queensland – a route that became impossible under COVID-induced border closures. Not to be deterred, we decided to stick with the Burke and Wills theme, and follow their journey from Melbourne to the point where they crossed the Murray River.

Burke & Wills ‘Dig Tree’ explanatory board at Mt Hope

achieving the purpose of the expedition – to cross Australia from south to north.

They found the word ‘DIG’ carved into a tree and unearthed some basic supplies buried at its base. Burke and Wills later died in the desert, while King survived, thanks to sustenance supplied by the local indigenous people.

It is still possible to see the tree and its famous blaze, and to camp near the location of these dramatic events. Our journey was supposed to take us into New South Wales, South Australia and

A guide book provided us with maps for the roads that most closely follow the explorers’ actual route. It also contained background information with excerpts from their diaries.

To complete the experience we listened, while driving, to an informative podcast about the expedition from the Explorers series.

The Victorian Exploration Expedition, consisting of 19 men, 23 horses, 26 camels and six heavily laden American wagons, left to great fanfare from Royal Park in Melbourne on 20 August 1860. Robert O’Hara Burke had been selected to lead the party, notwithstanding his complete lack of exploration or outback experience.

Their first camp was at Queens Park in Moonee Ponds and their second camp is now covered by a runway at Tullamarine Airport. With Melbourne out-of-bounds, we picked up the trail on the Lancefield road, near Sunbury, close to the site of Camp 3.

The cold and showery weather resembled that experienced by the expeditioners. From the comfort of our Ford Ranger, we had pity for the men and their animals – the overloaded wagons soon became bogged, while the camels, purchased at huge expense for their abilities in the desert, struggled to walk on the muddy ground.

The ‘officers’ on the expedition took full advantage of hospitality offered at station homesteads and available hotel accommodation along the route.

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The remainder of the party camped in rain-soaked tents. We enjoyed the comfort of our well-appointed caravan, settled into parks at strategic points along the route.

Our maps showed all the significant locations, including buildings from the era still standing and the many signs and memorials scattered along the way.

Terrick Terrick National Park, to the north of Bendigo, but the party’s Camp 11 was nearby. Like Burke, we wanted to climb to the top of Mount Terrick to take in the view of the surrounding plains. A delightful camping ground, hidden within the woodlands and native grasslands, attracts bird watchers from far and wide.

Keen to bask in some of the reflected glory of the expedition, the major towns in proximity to their route erected impressive monuments. A granite obelisk in Castlemaine, where Burke had been stationed as a police officer, commands a fine view of the town. The good citizens of Bendigo contributed a shilling each towards a monument in the form of a Grecian column, located in the cemetery. More recently, the 150th anniversary of the expedition prompted local shires to erect explanatory signs at the location of the overnight camps.

Our travel theme led us off the main roads and into some experiences that we could normally have bypassed.

This did include testing out the fourwheel drive capacities of our vehicle on some ‘dry weather only’ roads – there was no shirking a bit of mud for these modern-day explorers.

We were fortunate to have our own experience of the hospitality of strangers in the form of a warm welcome at the Burke and Wills winery. Attracted by the winery’s name, we were invited in, not only for a wine tasting, but seated at the kitchen table for a delicious lunch which included borsch (beetroot soup) made by our hosts’ friend and neighbour, Peter Russell-Clarke.

A 160-year-old fig tree in Swan Hill, said to be planted by Robert Burke.

Within our five kilometre range, we visited the local points of interest, including the ancient Moreton Bay fig, supposedly planted by Burke at the doctor’s residence, where he had resided during the party’s week-long sojourn in the town.

The red and blue flashing lights of police cars stationed at the bridge brought a halt to our time with Burke and Wills. As for the Dig Tree – that will be an adventure for another time.

Mary Bremner summits Mt Terrick.

The explorers came to rest at Swan Hill and so did we – due to Victoria’s lockdown number 6. They made Camp 15 on the banks of the Murray River – we camped nearby at the Big 4 Riverside Caravan Park. There could have been worse places to be locked down.

References: The Dig Tree – the story of Burke and Wills, Sarah Murgatroyd, Text Publishing 2002 Burke and Wills Across Australia – a touring guide, David Phoenix, CSIRO Publishing 2015 The Explorers Podcast – The Burke and Wills Expedition, June 2020

It would have been easy to drive past

The modern day explorers relaxed by the Murray River.

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LOCAL PROFILE: ROBYN SEYMOUR, CEO – SURF COAST SHIRE

Settling in on the Surf Coast

By Moreen Dainty

Victoria was hit by wild weather on Friday 29 October, just as the state was preparing to come out of another period of extended lockdown.

Traders were getting ready for the Melbourne Cup weekend when wind gusts of over 100 kmh caused property damage across Victoria. Homes were damaged up and down the Surf Coast and uprooted trees and branches caused power outages. It was the last thing anyone needed.

I was scheduled to interview Robyn Seymour, the Surf Coast Shire’s new CEO, that afternoon. When she appeared on my Zoom screen, we agreed it had been ‘quite a day’.

Robyn had woken up to trees swaying dangerously in the garden of her home in Anglesea. She had quickly abandoned any idea of an early morning walk and set off early to the Shire offices in Torquay.

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‘My heart sank as I drove past some of the local shops. They were without power. I just hoped that it would come back on quickly so they wouldn’t lose their stock ahead of the anticipated bumper Cup weekend.’

By midday, the Shire Council had fielded over 130 calls from the community, mostly from Anglesea to Torquay. There were more than 120 jobs to be done to clear local roads. In the west of the state, some 180,000 Powercorp customers were without power.

Robyn took on the role of CEO in early July. I was keen to find out a bit more about her and how she was finding the transition into local government.

When she applied for the job, she was really excited about the possibility of the role, but wasn’t sure she would get it. As she talked me through her career to date, however, it was easy to see why others felt this slightly built, personable woman would be up to the task of heading up one of Victoria’s largest and fastest growing Shire Councils.

Robyn grew up on a small country property near Warrandyte. Her father is a forester working for Melbourne Parks and Waterways and her mum is a medical scientist.

‘We often went camping, visiting the most scenic parts of Victoria and New South Wales. Dad would teach me about the wildlife and the rich diverse plant life.

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From there she moved to VicRoads where she worked on a number of support programs, including the development and delivery of the flagship L2P - learner driver mentor program.

The largest youth mentoring program in Victoria, it provides trained volunteers to help young people who face significant barriers completing the 120 hours of on-road driving experience required to gain a licence.

'A program like this is about much more than someone just getting a licence. There is a lot of social benefit in having vulnerable young people spending a significant amount of time with trained volunteer mentors from their local community who are helping them achieve something they really want.

‘The program helps break the cycle of disadvantage because of the really strong relationships young people forge with their mentors. At any time it is helping over 1800 young Victorians.’

Other jobs within VicRoads followed and Robyn steadily worked her way up to the position of Chief Executive. From there she moved to head up Road Safety Victoria and Deputy Secretary for Network Planning at the Department of Transport, responsible for all transport planning in Victoria.

Robyn and her partner Adam have been regular visitors to the Surf Coast for the past 10 years. ‘I reckon we’ve rented just about every dog-friendly house from Aireys to Moggs Creek,’ she said. They had been looking for an opportunity to move here for some time.

She is genuinely excited about her new role. ‘It’s such an honour and a responsibility.’ It gives her the opportunity to work with people, contribute to the community and be in an environment she can help care for and enjoy.

Robyn Seymour was appointed CEO of Surf Coast Shire last July.

For now, Robyn lives in Anglesea, which she describes as ‘a wonderful discovery’.

‘I learnt the importance of connecting with the natural world around me – something that influences me to this day.’

‘Being able to walk to the beach, walk along the heathlands, see the carpets of wildflowers which change from one weekend to the next during Spring. It’s been incredible.’

Another lifelong passion has been what she calls ‘people watching’, trying to understand what motivates people, how to get the best out of them and why people behave in very different ways.

Robyn has joined the Surf Coast Shire Council at an important point in time. After months of extensive community consultation and in-depth engagement, the 2021–2025 Council Plan was released in September.

She was drawn to the social sciences, studying psychology at university. When she graduated she went into the community sector working in ‘community facing jobs’.

‘It’s an important and foundational document that sets the priorities and direction for all the things that we do. It contains some ambitious aspirations. We need to hold ourselves accountable to progressing and achieving these,’ said Robyn.

‘Feeling like I am contributing and making a difference to people's lives is fundamental to any role that I do.’

The early part of her career was spent in trauma counselling, and then road trauma counselling and coordinating the provision of an after-hours emergency respite service for the frail, aged and people with disabilities.

She then spent several years with the RACV working on a number of initiatives to improve road safety for drivers and other road users in different age groups.

‘We have an amazingly talented and able community on the Surf Coast. People have strong views and expectations about what we should and shouldn't be doing, but are also very willing to participate, assist and contribute.

‘And so when I ponder some of the challenges we have regarding our financial position in Council and how we balance and meet all our needs, I realise that if we can keep people actively involved we can really extend our capacity to get things done.’

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BUSINESS PROFILE – RYAN MCKNIGHT

A love for Anglesea

By Jenna Crawford

If having a love for the town you grew up and live in qualifies you to be a successful tradesperson, then Ryan McKnight from McKnights Painting and Decorating has passed with flying colours.

Ryan is the third generation of his family to call Anglesea home. His grandfather was in a car business in Colac and then retired to Anglesea. His father, who was born in Colac, but went on to manage the Australia Post office in Torquay, finished up buying land in Anglesea and building a house to occupy in his retirement.

Ryan has been inspired with the history of Anglesea since completing a project as a 12-year-old at Anglesea Primary School. His project saw him produce a book comparing past Anglesea scenes with the present ones. It was motivated by a book called ‘A Street Through Time’.

Since then, he has developed a really keen interest in Anglesea's history and natural beauty. He is a member of the

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for a long time and are happy to discuss the differences they have witnessed over those years. Mrs Butterworth and Mr Hickford are just two he has interviewed. He collects old photos and gets them professionally copied by his neighbour who is a forensic photographer, so they can be saved forever. He even showed me a photo enlargement of the street in which I live, taken in 1970 when it was barely inhabited.

Anglesea painter, Ryan McKnight

Anglesea Historical Society, taking photographs for them and interviewing townsfolk who have lived in the town

Ryan's desire to remain in Anglesea and build his business has emanated from his love of history and the natural environment. He wants to grow old here. He has always had a love of houses. His first word was ‘house’ and his first drawing was that of a house.

He thought he could fulfil his love by becoming a carpenter. He went to a

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technical school and completed two years of a carpentry apprenticeship, but found it unfulfilling.

clients, often using before and after photographs, and he is obsessed with client satisfaction.

His parents suggested that painting may fulfil his dream through the beautification of houses. He completed a four-year apprenticeship and worked with W.P. Painters before deciding to register McKnights Painting and Decorating as a business.

If he has made an error he is happy to admit it and correct it. Punctuality is also important to Ryan, so he likes to keep customers in the picture. His friendliness allows him to get along with a variety of clients, and he must be confident he can successfully complete the task in hand.

Trust is something else he values highly, as he and his team are often working in unoccupied houses.

Initially he completed some jobs around the town, free of charge until his talents were recognised. He now employs two full-time painters, one of whom is completing his apprenticeship, and a part-time painter. He has successfully completed some big jobs around the town, such as the Anglesea Resort, Anglesea Golf Club (inside and outside) the inside of Anglesea IGA and the Aireys Inlet Primary School, as well as many individual houses around the town.

Ryan's priorities in his painting business are to communicate with his

Ryan claims that he is a preferred tradesperson because of his good reputation and his ability to recommend local tradespeople to complete other tasks that need attention. Referrals are the best form of advertising and he wants to give back to his community.

He employs locals and wants to beautify streetscapes through his house painting.

I spoke recently to Christine and

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Geoffrey Warren, who have recently used McKnights Painting and Decorating. They kindly wrote this glowing appraisal.

‘In March 2021, Ryan was employed to complete an external paint job on our house and the experience could not have been better. He instilled confidence in his expertise right from the initial meeting to discuss types of paint and a suitable colour.

‘His wide experience is what steered us away from a colour that we think would not have been as successful as our final choice. He communicated thoroughly at all times so we knew what was happening and when.

‘He and his team were always friendly and considerate. Nothing appeared to be too much trouble. Ryan's well chosen workers were polite and easy to have around. The work was completed ahead of schedule in just under two weeks with excellent attention to detail.

The diligent work ethic and high standards resulted in a very happy outcome for us.’

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From the House …

By Marcelle Renkin, Program Coordinator

Activities and events Once again we have a variety of meetups, courses and activities on offer, something for everyone!

Yarning Sessions on Wadawurrung Country

Check the events section on our website for more details.

The final session in this program for 2021/22 will be held in conjunction with our last Farmers’ Market of the season on 18 March.

Check out our Activities, Courses and Events guide in this issue for ideas on how you can get involved in our local community through some of our regular and welcoming groups.

Come along and join in our Music and Storytelling session as we provide a safe inclusive space to learn more about First Nations culture and connection to land.

Anglesea Twilight Farmers’ Market The Farmers’ Markets have started again for the season. We farewelled our previous market manager James McLennan and wish him well.

We have welcomed a new market manager, Mic Stapleton, and look forward to working with him throughout the season. We’ve had a variety of new stall holders and many of our regular favourites attend our first few markets, and we look forward to seeing you join us at our future markets on the first and third Fridays until March 2022.

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In February we will be holding a ‘Discomforting Truths’ session.

Power saving bonus

We have been overwhelmed by the support for this program, an initiative bought to us by volunteer Wendy Clark. Demand for our Walk on Country sessions was very high, so for those who missed out please keep a look out for extra dates in 2022.

We have had the opportunity to help our community members access the state government funded $250 Power Saving Bonus. This is available to anyone in any of the following concession programs: Centrelink Pensioner Concession; JobSeeker; Youth Allowance; Austudy/Abstudy; or Department of Veterans Affairs Pensioner Concession. This is on offer until 31 January 2022.

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The Check Up

By Dr Stuart Jones and Dr Skye Hueneke, Anglesea Medical

WHAT IS MEDICARE? WHAT IS A GAP FEE? Medicare is our hard-working public health insurance system. It funds a range of services such as GP visits, blood tests, X-rays and treatments.

Through the COVID-19 pandemic, it has provided testing, treatment and now vaccines for COVID. In a GP clinic, Medicare reimburses you the cost of your doctor’s visit. This rebate amount is set by the Australian Government. If you are bulk billed for a medical service, you will pay no out-ofpocket costs. This means that the health professional accepts the Medicare benefit as full payment for the service.

However, there is often a gap between what patients pay for services and the amount that Medicare reimburses. For example, Medicare reimburses $39.10 for a standard 15-minute GP consultation, but currently the standard midweek cost of this service is $80.

That means a privately billed patient will be charged $80 and receive a $39.10 rebate from Medicare, leaving them $40.90 ‘out-of-pocket’.

So why is the gap getting bigger?

In 2013, the government introduced a temporary ‘Medicare freeze’ to save money. Instead of your Medicare rebate increasing each year in step with indexation, it was frozen at 2013 levels.

At the last election in 2019, the government agreed to finally end the ‘Medicare freeze’, which means that GP item numbers will be indexed every year. However, the government’s indexation of Medicare rebates has not

kept pace with CPI (consumer price index) which is placing unsustainable pressure on general medical practices.

circumstances. Please discuss your situation at the time of consultation with your doctor if this applies to you.

This has led to a large difference in the cost of services compared to the Medicare rebate that is received, which is depicted in the graph above.

We look forward to continuing to provide high quality care to Anglesea and to expanding and improving the health services we can provide to the community into the future.

As you can see the cost of running a GP medical centre has increased at a rate much greater than the rebate received from Medicare. So, in order for us to continue to provide the high quality care and services that we are committed to at Anglesea Medical, the gap between your fee and your Medicare rebate has increased over time.

However, our doctors understand and are aware that individual circumstances vary and some out-of-pocket costs may be reduced or waived in special

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Some useful sources of information: https://ama.com.au/media/prof-brianowler-ama-tv-2-july-2015-medicarerebate-freeze http://yourgp.racgp.org.au/Your-GP/ antifreeze https://croakey.org/health-budgetanalysis-part-1/ – for wider discussion of budget implications for health https://www.racgp.org.au/health-ofthe-nation/downloads

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Banking on our community

By Rob Cameron Bendigo Community Bank ®

HELPING LOCALS TO PROSPER The local Anglesea and District Community Bank has been in operation for 16 years now, and with the recent move to a new location in the central shopping precinct, we thought it might be timely to remind our current and potential customers of how the bank has been able to provide its high quality banking service, while supplying financial support back to the local community.

Although branded as a Bendigo Bank, the business is actually owned by local shareholders and managed by a board of volunteers who have a passion to see their community prosper and grow.

The management company is called Corangamite Financial Services and was set up in 2003 with the support of local investment to kick off the first branch at Winchelsea. This company franchises the Bendigo Bank products and shares the profits that are made from your banking.

The Anglesea community then supported the opening of the second branch, in Anglesea, in May 2005 and the company opened a third branch at Lorne in December 2018.

These three locally owned Community Bank branches now hold in excess of $400 million of your banking business and have returned more than $3 million in community grants to schools, kindergartens, sporting clubs, community service groups, hospitals and environmental groups.

As well as these benefits, the local shareholders who originally purchased company shares to kick start the project, have received a regular dividend since 2006 that has further rewarded these investors for their willingness to embrace the community banking concept.

The company has been delighted to service the banking needs of this region in partnership with the Bendigo Bank, and even more delighted to share the profits of the local business back to the user groups that keep our community functioning.

We hope to continue growing our customer base in the region, allowing us to share more of our success back to you.

If you would like further information about connecting to the Anglesea and District Community Bank please telephone us on 5263 3906 or drop into the new branch at the eastern end of the Anglesea main shopping centre.

Thanks to all who have supported us and we hope to have more customers sharing in this wonderful community story.

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Great Reads Brought to you by Nicole and the team at Great Escape Books

The Lincoln Highway

by Amor Towles

My new personal favourite read, from the author of ‘A Gentleman in Moscow’, The Lincoln Highway beautifully captures the fresh open innocence of youth and the moral and ethical challenges that life throws up as boys move to adulthood. Emmett has just emerged from a juvenile work farm where he served 15 months detention for involuntary manslaughter. The farm repossessed, his father dead and his mother long gone, he is nevertheless hopeful, and he immediately heads back to his childhood home to pick up his beloved younger brother Billy. He is fiercely determined to turn both their lives around and plans to head to California to start what he hopes is a golden new life. This is 1950s America, and unbeknown to Emmett or the kindly prison warden driving the car back to the farm, two fellow inmates have stowed away in the trunk. They too want to start a new life, but have very different ideas to that of Emmett. Brimming with charm, this novel feels so young and fresh with life. The Lincoln Highway will make you smile and wish you were on this great epic road trip across America with Emmett and Billy and his two wayward, but hugely likeable friends, Duchess and Wooly. Fabulous!

Review by Nicole @ Great Escape Books

Shackleton

by Ranulph Fiennes

Biographical books and documentaries on the life of Sir Ernest Shackleton are not uncommon, however rarely are they written from such a perspective that fellow polar explorer Ranulph Fiennes has produced.

Fiennes is an excellent storyteller, which Shackleton was famous for, and this kindred spirit has produced a highly readable book that retells the Shackleton story with a realistic and engaging narrative. For those who have a fascination for the great exploration era of the early 20th century, this is a great refresher that highlights the many struggles and flaws and ultimate triumphs of the enigmatic Ernest Shackleton and his contemporaries from an age that will never be seen again.

Review by Marty @ Great Escape Books

Devotion

by Hannah Kent

Opening in a remote village on the edge of a forested woodland in Prussia 1836, Devotion immediately sweeps you into the sensory world of Hanne, a young girl ill at ease with the rigid rules and tedious religious practices of the strict Lutheran hamlet, but perfectly at one with the natural world. Hanne is on the cusp of womanhood but feels deeply unloved and rejected by her beautiful mother and stern father. Misunderstood, she is content to retreat into the wildness of the natural world, when one day another young family with a daughter move into their community. Their warmth and humanity completely shake the foundations of her world. As with Burial Rites and The Good People, Hannah Kent’s masterful research of the plight of evangelical Lutherans fleeing religious persecution in Prussia is effortlessly woven into this complex love story. Devotion explores many types of love … the potential love (and its absence) between a mother and daughter, the unconditional love between brother and sister, and most tellingly the absolute love and trust between two young women, Hanne and Thea – which in the early 1850s is absolutely taboo. A rare and beautiful story that will resonate for the longest time.

Review by Nicole @ Great Escape Books

If Not Us

by Mark Smith - Signed editions available

Mark Smith’s new stand-alone novel If Not Us is a shout from the youth of today to take action. Hesse loves to surf. He lives in a coastal town, busy with weekenders from the city and quiet mid-week. He lost his dad at an early age and now it’s just him and his mum. His biggest problem is finding a great wave and coping with the local bruising bully in the water … until he overhears about the dirty politics and illnesses plaguing the township when he sits in on one of his mum’s environmental action group evenings. He meets Fenna, an international exchange student, and his eyes are opened to mounting global issues outside of his small sphere of friends and school. A call to action, but also a joyous story of youth and change, and of course a homage to the wonder and might of the sea. It moves with Mark’s trademark breakneck pace, and will delight his large fellowship of readers. Great for any age, but perfect for 14 to adult.

Review by Nicole @ Great Escape Books

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Tech Angle

By Chris Dos

HIGH COURT FACEBOOK CASE A few months ago the High Court made a decision that could have a profound impact on social media users. In a landmark defamation case, it ruled that publishers of comments on platforms like Twitter and Facebook are legally responsible for them.

I’d take it for granted that the barely coherent insults coming from my own page would be my responsibility, but it also means that if you are the administrator of a larger group, you are the publisher and therefore liable and can be sued for any slanderous comments aired.

It can take up a lot of time being the Admin of a Facebook group and given the explosion in popularity of community based ones over the last 18 months or so, there’ll be many who decide it’s all a bit much and throw in the towel rather than expose themselves to this serious legal jeopardy.

At any rate, I’m sure it will calm down some of the more malicious gossip in my chess club group (‘Knights of Pawn’).

The year in review In other highlights of the year, Apple made tracking your loved ones (and others) affordable to all by virtue of their AirTag. Families found a way to add more anxiety to their lives by investing in Cryptocurrencies.

The second richest man on the planet (second is pretty good too, you know!) inspired us all by blasting into space in a vehicle seemingly designed in a Dr Evil/Austin Powers collaboration, only to touch down wearing a ridiculous hat that certainly got him noticed.

And more recently, the extremely human-like Mark Zuckerberg announced a rebranding of his fleet of social experiments. It’s called ‘Meta’ and aims to make more compliant consumers of us all, shielding us from reality from the day we are born until the moment we get deleted.

All of which makes me yearn for a less Orwellian time like, ummm … 1984.

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HISTORY SPOT

Henry Buckhurst

By Jan Morris, Anglesea and District Historical Society

There is almost no sign left of where Henry Buckhurst once had two houses and an orchard at Urquhart Bluff. At age 54, Henry selected Lot 20a of 309+ acres at Urquhart Bluff in 1889. allotment. This land was transferred to his name on 26 May 1904.

In 1896, Henry selected Lot 20c of 10+ acres situated on the western side of Sunnymead Road. He fenced this site and planted an orchard. He brought his two youngest daughters there, while the remainder of his family stayed in Melbourne. Henry was described as a selector, a farmer and an orchardist. His holding included an additional 70 acres of Crown Land under lease along the foreshore. His daughter Catherine (Mrs George Cutler) and her young son Osbert lived with him for some years after her husband George died in 1899.

Henry was chairman of a group of locals who approached the Education Department for a school at Aireys in March 1892. At that time, he had two children Gertie and Eva. The school roll shows their ages as 13 and 12 years respectively. Their birth index shows their ages would have been 17 and 15!

Henry was also a Commissioner for taking affidavits. His widowed daughter Catherine entertained friends at Urquharts on 10 June 1905. It was reported as Music by ‘The Captain’ (Carl Carlgren).

Henry Buckhurst

Henry Buckhurst was born in 1837. He died at Caulfield on 4 March 1911, aged 74. He spent 40 years in Victoria after coming from Stoke in England.

He was aged 34 when he arrived here in 1871. His wife, Sarah Susan (nee Hicks), was born in 1846 in Canada.

She died at Caulfield in 1909 aged 63.

Sarah Susan was aged 23 when she arrived in Australia.

Buckhurst children Elizabeth Raymond (Walters) born 1866 (aged 23 when Henry went to Urquharts). She married Herbert Henry Walters at Hobart in 1886. Their only child Herbert Henry, born 1887, died aged 10 months.

Frank born 1869 (aged 20 when Henry went to Urquharts). Chemist at Mutual Store Melbourne, and later at Burke Road Camberwell. He married Edith Mary Simpson in 1897. Frank died at Hawthorn in 1929, aged 60. His wife Edith Mary died in Melbourne in 1954, aged 85.

Orpha Catherine (Cutler) born 1873, died 1930, aged 57, at Malvern East.

She married George Cutler at Melbourne South in 1890 when she was 17. She came to live at Urquharts when her husband died in 1899. Her son Osbert Cutler was born 1891. He attended Aireys Inlet school, and he worked at the Aireys lighthouse. Osbert died in 1956, aged 65, at Wangaratta.

Florence Mabel (West) born 1874 at Emerald Hill. She died at Windsor in 1964, aged 90.

Gertrude Ethel born 1875. Gerte listed at Aireys School 1892 as aged 13 years (actually aged 17). She married William Henry Smith at Port Melbourne in 1903 (aged 28). She died in 1921 at East Melbourne, aged 45.

Following Henry’s death in 1911, the land that was transferred to his name on 26 May 1904, went to the name of his son Frank Buckhurst, a chemist in the Mutual Stores building in Melbourne and later at Burke Road Camberwell.

After the 1919 fires, Frank Buckhurst sold the property to C.J. Lane. Ivan Roadknight moved the two cottages on the property into Aireys Inlet.

It remains a mystery as to why Henry Buckhurst came to Urquhart Bluff and arrived there with only his two youngest children, leaving the rest of his family in Melbourne. They all visited Urquhart Bluff regularly.

Ermine Eva born 1877. Eva was listed at Aireys School in 1892 as aged 12 years (actually aged 15). She died at Malvern in 1969, aged 91.

Henry Buckhurst’s block Lot 20a 309+ acres was immediately east of Oscar Brandt (later C.J. Lane) Lot 2a, and ended a couple of hundred metres east of Urquhart Bluff. It stretched from Gilbert Road back to the ocean.

He selected this in 1889 and utilised only a small portion of the large

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TWITCHERS’ CORNER Written and illustrated by Kaye Traynor

Singing Honeyeater Gavicalis virescens Length: 175 – 190 mm Other names: Black-faced Honeyeater, Forrest’s Honeyeater Probably more widespread than any other honeyeater, this breed is found over much of the inland areas of Australia. It also occurs on the southern and western coasts. In fact, it is quite common along our coastline, especially in the clifftop vegetation. Often walkers on bush tracks are alerted to the presence of a Singing Honeyeater by their loud calls. More often than not, they can be seen perched conspicuously on top of a bush or a high branch while calling.

Generally it is a bold and inquisitive bird, being adaptable to any type of habitat except dense forest. While it hardly lives up to its popular name of ‘Singing’, it does have a varied series of calls. It can be melodious with drawn-out calls, especially at dawn, however, other calls can be a loud ‘terrick, terrick’.

Another is a hoarse creaking call, others rattling, and a series of rapid ‘criks’ when alarmed.

Appearance: Crown, greyish-brown, with the rest of the upper parts brownish-olive. The wings and tail are brown with an olive-yellow wash on their margins. A broad black line runs from the bill through and behind the eye. The ear-covets are yellow with a narrow white patch behind them and, beyond the white, a larger patch of grey. The chin, throat and remainder of the underparts, yellowish, with the abdomen and undertail covets brownish-white, streaked with pale brown. Eye, brown.

Bill, black. Legs, blue-grey.

Food consists mainly of nectar, fruit – wild and cultivated – insects and spiders. Insects include beetles, weevils, moths and caterpillars, wasps, flying ants, house flies and lerp scales.

Breeding season is between July and January. The nest is rather untidily built with grasses, rootlets etc, consolidated with cobwebs. Lining may be plant down, fur, wool or hair. The clutch consists of two or three eggs, buff-white to salmon in colour with a few chestnut-red specks at the larger end, which is usually darker in shade.

(Ref. Australian Honeyeaters by Brigadier Hugh R. Officer)

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NewsAngle | Publication of the Anglesea Community House | Community Houses are for Everyone

Surf Coast Shire Council

By Mayor Libby Stapleton, Anglesea Ward

It’s a great honour to have been elected mayor for a second year, and I thank my fellow councillors for their support and vote of confidence in me to continue leading our Council. Particular thanks to my fellow Anglesea ward Councillor Mike Bodsworth, who has helped me enormously in responding to the needs of our local community.

Thanks also to you, our community, for your support and guidance in what has been a rather challenging year for us all.

Needless to say, COVID threw us another curve ball in 2021 but the dedication of our Council officers and the ability of our community to persevere has been inspiring. As the pandemic took hold for a second year, we threw around words like adapt and pivot, as we navigated our new normal.

And although the impacts of COVID will linger and challenge us for some time – years in fact – I am proud of the way our community has responded.

You have continued to engage, to encourage and to excel in all that you do to help make the Surf Coast such a fantastic place to live, work and visit.

Despite the challenges of COVID, our Council has achieved much over the past year – from the big ticket items like People Place Future, development of our four-year strategic plans and the appointment of our new CEO, to really significant moments like the launch of our Reconciliation Action Plan, releasing our climate emergency corporate response plan, securing the final stage of funding for the aquatic centre, and the declaration of a

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key-worker accommodation crisis on the Surf Coast.

There have been moments of laughter and joy, and moments of tears, but all these moments have combined to make this a great year of learning and achievement.

Surf Coast is a terrific place, and one that I am so grateful to represent again as mayor. I really am hopeful that the next year will allow me to do more of the things that I love – like getting out and meeting with people in our community, while also working hard to help Council deliver on our Council Plan and fulfil the vision of our community.

I look forward to seeing more of you in person during 2022.

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Community Corner NEWS AND UPDATES FROM YOUR CORNER OF THE WORLD

Anglesea Community Network – four years on Following its launch in 2017, the Anglesea Community Network (ACN) has now firmly established itself in town.

ACN set itself the aim of better facilitating the communication and information flow within and across the community. Prior to the emergence of COVID, it held a large number of public meetings across topics such as:

A series of public forums were conducted by Zoom to help monitor the welfare of the town during the pandemic.

 Affordable housing developments especially for workers in the business sector.  Pedestrian safety linked to footpaths and seating.

 Bushfire preparedness, eight sessions with the CFA from 2018 to 2020.

 The establishment of Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority.

 Two of our members sit on the Great Ocean Road coastal towns network group, to help protect towns along the coast.

 Establishment of a Movie Club in Anglesea.

It is well worth remembering that ACN is not:

 A presentation on water issues from Barwon Water’s CEO.

 The driver of any issue.

 Sustainable water strategy for the Anglesea River.

 A political lobby group.

 Streetscaping and planning group to preserve the character of Anglesea.

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

 A peak organisation for the town.  A replacement for any other group.

More recently, we entered discussions and activities around:

You can join the discussions about any or all of the topics and keep up-to-date with any public forums by subscribing to our regular Bulletin.

 COVID recovery via a series of ‘flashes’ to rapidly feed relevant information into the community.

info@angleseacommunitynetwork.org.au www.angleseacommunitynetwork.org.au

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ANGLESEA ART HOUSE NEWS

RUBBISH RANGERS UNITE!

We have had a challenging year like most of the community.

Our connection was strengthened looking after each other and providing Zoom classes where appropriate.

Now that we are back at the Art House our 16 sessions each week are fully booked and well attended.

The Annual Art Exhibition was held in August, and inbetween lockdowns we provided members and the community with some creative relief.

Around 30 volunteers from the 3231 and 3230 Rubbish Rangers joined forces on a recent Saturday morning to tackle the roadside rubbish along the mad mile section of the Great Ocean Road, up from the Chocolaterie.

This year was the inaugural presentation of 3D art and we know that this will go from strength to strength.

Feedback is that they continue to collect a staggering amount of rubbish each Saturday morning, so more volunteers are always welcome to join in occasionally – or regularly – on a Saturday morning. See local community Facebook pages for more details.

Plans are well underway to hold the Kids Art Bash from 2 – 23 January. We are looking forward again to seeing local families and visitors.

AIREYS PRIMARY SCHOOL

There will be many art activities for children and teenagers to choose from.

Bookings will be through Eventbrite and we will provide a COVIDSafe event.

Our volunteers will be ready to welcome you.

It’s been another year pivoting back and forth from face-toface to online teaching and learning, but with all students now back on site, the school looks forward to celebrating the end of the year with families and a year of learning in 2022 with fewer restrictions.

The AGM was held on 23 October and the Committee was re-elected for 2022.

We wish you all a happy, safe and healthy Christmas.

Jennifer O’Sullivan, President

The Year 2/3 students at Aireys Inlet Primary School have been working hard on their ‘Environmental Warrior’ stories.

They have designed characters inspired by the local flora and fauna and are writing stories about how these characters save the world from an environmental issue.

Arts Victoria creatives Scarlet and Rebecca partnered with the school children to help create models of characters and animate them using a stop-motion app. The kids have had great fun learning new creative skills.

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COMMUNITY CORNER

The whole of 2021 has been a challenge given the recurring lockdowns, but Zoom has enabled U3A to keep in touch with many of its members.

putting their hands up to offer volunteer hours and possibly two new committee members will join.

So rather than the year of disruptions discouraging members, it appears to have had the opposite effect and so U3A looks forward to continual growth in 2022. The term one 2022 program will be released in early December.

The term four program was more ambitious than ever, with 29 classes on offer. Apart from regular classes, U3A also planned some additional activities including:  A contribution to the Surf Coast Shire’s Positive Aging month in October, showcasing classes in Art, Ikebaba, Poetry and a Trivia Quiz.  An Occasional Lecture covering the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen program at Torquay Primary School with Terri Mintram.  A tour of the Australian National Surfing Museum, led by local surfing icon, Bob Smith.  Family History Research – a practical course for people who wish to learn more about how to access and use online Family History resources with Toni McCormack.

From left: U3A members Helen Seymour and Jean Bohuslav.

 Launch and readings from the poetry group’s anthology ‘Wondering and Wandering’ and two poetry pamphlets by members Jean Bohuslav (Strings) and Helen Seymour ( Shot Silk to Gun Shots ) There were still interruptions to some of these events but the committee is now preparing the term one 2022 program with determination. Thanks to the many people who have encouraged and inspired the group over two difficult years. New members are

For further information and enrolments, go to Courses & Activities – U3A SurfCoast or call 0435 374 139 or email info@u3asurfcoast.org.au

IN BRIEF Red Cross welcomes new members Aireys Inlet/Anglesea Branch of Victoria Red Cross meets every second month on Monday morning at Aireys Inlet Community Hall . We enjoy a range of Red Cross fund raising and occasional social activities together.

New members are very welcome.

If you’d like further information, please contact a delegate from the Committee: President Chris Walker 0408 444 199 Secretary: Trish Gough 0413 321 839 Treasurer: Margo Davey 0412 742 117

$500 community donation to Foodlink The Community Bank Anglesea is pleased to donate $500 to Anglesea and Aireys Foodlink (see photo page 2).

Foodlink is a non-denominational, community aid organisation coordinated through and supported by the Anglesea Community House. It provides emergency food relief for Anglesea and Aireys Inlet residents.

The group does not receive any government funding and relies totally on public donations. To make a donation please call the Community House on 5263 2116.

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COMMUNITY CORNER

Fun at Playgroup Children attending the Community House playgroup have been able to have some great fun on a new Hart Mini Climber Set. Platypus Toy Library kindly thanks the Anglesea Lions Club and Seaside Seconds for this wonderful donation.

Platypus Toy Library has an extensive range of toys, games, puzzles, games and dress ups. Larger items are available for play at the Community House playgroup held on Thursdays 9.30 to 11.30am. Come along and join the fun!

This term the Platypus Toy Library has been open every second week on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. Please check our Facebook page for details.

If you are having an end-of-year clean up, the toy library is happy to accept toys, games or puzzles in good condition.

Please contact: platypustoylibrary3230@gmail.com, or phone 0408 147 217 to arrange item pick up or drop off.

The sun rises on Stabb’s Butcher wall complete. For Deb, the highlight was talking to people as they walked past the mural.

‘I loved creating the mural. At 6.5m x 2.5m, the mural is eight times bigger than anything I have painted before,’ said Deb.

The mural on the wall of Stabb's Butcher Shop was created as part of the Surf Coast Shire Council's Creative Coalitions project. The project enabled a local artist and a small business to work together. Deb Elliott, artist and photographer, and Katrina Stabb from Stabb's Butchers worked together.

Katrina had seen many of Deb's artworks on Facebook and asked for a mural depicting an early morning sunrise. The council provided Deb with a $1,000 grant to cover the cost of paint and anti-graffiti coating. The mural was painted over six weeks and took approximately 45 hours to

‘Many thanks to the Stabb family for accommodating it and to the Surf Coast Shire Council Creative Coalitions project for providing the funds to buy the paint and equipment required.’

The finished mural is a gift from both Deb and Katrina to the residents of Anglesea and for visitors to the town or people passing through.

McMillan Street Hub car park renewal The Surf Coast Shire Council is finalising plans for car park renewal works at the McMillan Street Hub in Anglesea. The works will make it safer and easier for pedestrians and vehicles to move throughout the precinct, and will include: new road pavement, pathway improvements and line marking; minor landscaping works, which will be undertaken in consultation with ANGAIR (noting that the hero tree out the front will be retained); changes to car park entrance and exit locations; and new signage at the entrance and throughout the precinct to improve way finding.

The concept design reflects Council’s earlier community consultation with precinct user groups. All works are scheduled to take place during April 2022.

To view the concept designs in more detail, or if you have any questions or comments please call 5261 0600 or email info@surfcoast.vic.gov.au 34

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Volunteering with Seaside Seconds – ‘the best op shop in Victoria’

By Marianne Messer, Seaside Seconds

‘Thank you’ said the young dad on his way to the sorting room out back, overloaded with bags of baby clothes. ‘Glad to pass these on to someone else.’

‘Thank you’ my next customer added seconds later, thrilled with her collection of kids’ books. ‘I come from Lara. This is the best op shop in Victoria.’

fashionistas find vintage, book worms find best sellers, collectors find treasures.

But our greatest joy is being able to provide grants and a helping hand back to our community. As a not-for-profit, this year Seaside Seconds has gifted new toys for a library, shirts for a basketball team, and a dishwasher for a community group, to name but a few.

As one of around 50 volunteers who regularly work at Seaside Seconds, ‘thanks’ is the word I most often hear.

Thanks for the chance to recycle and not add to landfill. Thanks for changing small change into something useful. Thanks for looking after the planet!

games, all for a few dollars, cash or eftpos!

Known as Anglesea’s department store, Seaside Seconds regularly helps customers caught short for dishes or cutlery for weekend guests. We entertain families with books, toys and

We supply warm tops or beachwear to our visitors when the weather changes. We help parents clothe kids without breaking the bank. We help handymen and women find tools,

Op Shop volunteer Marianne Messer

We have also helped those who suddenly had no income, unexpected bills to pay, not enough food or sadly to relocate.

And it’s great fun! Thanks for the bargains I’ve found, the friendships I’ve formed and the chance to volunteer at the ‘best op shop in Victoria’.

Anglesea – a place for all to live Co-written by Michael Varney and local housing working group members – see email below for further contact details

No doubt, if you call Anglesea home, you’ll agree we are the jewel in the Surf Coast crown. A place of beauty, rest and restoration, where the bush meets the sea. Anglesea has the ‘vibe’ but our world is changing.

How do we keep Anglesea a place where:    

the older can stay? the next generation can remain? workers can live? we can continue to thrive as a healthy, vibrant and diverse community?

Housing affordability is a national challenge that is impacting Anglesea in a way that has the potential to shape our long-term future. The availability of diverse and affordable housing options are important considerations for a sustainable future, and local councils are already working with communities to face the challenge.

What is changing?

Rental Affordability: According to the Domain June 2021 Rent Report,

Anglesea had the highest increase in rent for Victoria at 31.1%. The current median weekly rent for Anglesea is $590, significantly higher than the Victorian regional median of $380.

What can we do?

Local real estate agents confirm that demand for rental properties is ‘high to very high’. There has been little change to the total number of houses that are available for long-term rental over the last year.

How can we increase housing diversity and affordability so Anglesea is a place for all to live?

Housing Affordability: Median house prices have also risen substantially, currently at $1.18m, a 73% rise over five years compared to 45% for regional Victoria.

Population Age: The age distribution within our community is predicted to get progressively older. Surf Coast Shire population forecasts predict the largest increase in age demographic between 2016 and 2026 to be those aged between 70 to 84.

These forecasts pre-date the COVID-19 pandemic and do not incorporate the large move to regional Victoria.

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We can begin by starting the conversation, raising awareness and asking some questions:

How can we increase access to suitable housing for an ageing population?

How can we make Anglesea affordable for the next generation to live here?

There are no quick answers but there is a strong desire to look after the community we are and ensure a future for all.

A working group of concerned local individuals has formed and begun a conversation with representatives from the Surf Coast Shire and BATA (Business and Tourism Anglesea).

Are you interested to join?

What concerns you? If you are interested or have an opinion to share please email housingchallenge3230@gmail.com

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COMMUNITY CORNER

Supporting the Anglesea River

By Greg Woodward, DELWP

Extraction of water from the Anglesea River started in late September 2021.

The water will be stored and released over the upcoming summer period to maintain water levels in the estuary and deliver social, economic and environmental benefits for the local community.

Since 2016, the Department of Environment, Land, Water and

Planning (DELWP), Barwon Water, Corangamite CMA and Surf Coast Shire Council have worked together to collect and store water from the river during the winter-spring period and pump it back in over the drier summer months.

For 46 years, Alcoa had extracted groundwater for use in power generation and subsequently discharged

it into the Anglesea River. With the station’s closure, water levels in the lower river and estuary would drop quickly over the summer period without these planned releases.

Alcoa has continued to support DELWP and the broader Anglesea community with ongoing support for the Anglesea River height management process.

Another view of Anglesea River Co-written by Dick O’Hanlon (Anglesea River working group member & Estuary Watch volunteer) and Keith Shipton

The Anglesea River is in trouble. The water is now permanently too acidic to sustain fish life, leading to more mosquitos. The acidity and metals content is marginal for swimming and repulsive algal blooms are increasingly persistent.

The general view of the many authorities involved is that these problems are the inevitable consequence of a changed climate and nothing can or should be done. However, we believe there is strong historical and climate data that indicates the current problems are not caused by climate but by local factors. We believe the long-term future of the estuary is good. The next 10 to 20 years however will remain problematic unless serious actions are taken.

The most recent investigations have attributed acidity spikes in the Marshy and Salt Creek tributaries to seasonal drying out of the lower swamps and consequent oxidation of Acid Sulphate Soils (ASS). Additional monitoring equipment installed in 2016 showed, surprisingly, that water entering the estuary from both creeks, especially Marshy Creek, is always highly acidic. It wasn't until Alcoa stopped pumping pH neutral water into the estuary in 2016 that the threat posed by this acidity became clear.

Strains on aquifers From 1994 until now, the Upper Eastern View (UEV) aquifer level has dropped dramatically by about 7m locally in the area of the lower Salt Creek swamp. The drop in UEV aquifer level local to the Marshy Creek lower swamp is around 60–80m since 1968. Away from the extraction wells the UEV aquifer levels have remained more or less constant.

This localised ‘Cone of Depression’ is caused by the longterm extraction of water from the UEV by Alcoa. See Figure 2 (noting it is quite small but we can provide a better copy if you text Dick—see mobile at end).

The lower swamps are contained in perched water tables, which are surrounded by the UEV aquifer. Prior to mining, the UEV aquifer level was meters higher than the lower swamp levels. If the perched aquifers were fully impermeable the water level in the UEV aquifer would have no effect on the flow and level in the two creeks. The data however suggests that the perched and UEV aquifers were strongly connected pre-mining.

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Figure 2— Cone of Depression

From 1968 to 1981, the average annual Salt Creek flow was 3175ML/year with 17 no-flow days. For the period 20102017, the average annual Salt Creek flow was only 466 ML/ year with 233 no-flow days. This reduction is much larger than changes in rainfall and evapotranspiration would explain. Lower swamp water now leaks down into the UEV aquifer. During wet periods the swamp becomes saturated and flows, but drains without replenishment during dry periods. This now exaggerated seasonal loss of level in the lower swamps exposes fresh soil to oxidation. When the rain returns, levels rise and acidic water flows into the estuary.

Alcoa is still using 1.5 million litres from this source to fill the old mine pit, in a trial ending in May 2022.

Suggested next steps  Independently review the effect of extracting UEV water on the swamps prior to extending the Alcoa entitlement.  Jointly develop solutions to reduce the acidity in the estuary.

The science around groundwater is complex. The above review was done in conjunction with a leading environmental scientist and hydro-geologist.

We would like to share our data at an information session at the Community House at 7:30pm on 13 December.

Please contact Dick O’Hanlon on mobile 0417 816 602 for further information or to discuss this issue.

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Arts Scene Compiled by Deborah Elliott, local resident, oil painter, photographer and textile artist

Below you will find a summary of the Art Scene in Anglesea for the next couple of months. Please go to each organisation’s website to confirm the details of the events listed.

Eagles Nest Art Gallery 48 Great Ocean Road, Aireys Inlet www.eaglesnestgallery.com.au

BOX HILL CLAYWORKERS: Started last month but continuing through December.

Lost Foreshore 4 by Elaine d’Esterre, currently on exhibition at Eagles Nest Gallery

Traditional sea and tree scapes by Louise Price Fractal photography by Mollie Vaughan Paintings by Sara Paxton

Anglesea Art House Ceramics from the Box Hill Clayworkers’ exhibition, now showing at Eagles Nest.

Opening 4 December: THE EDGE: abstract mixed media paintings and studies by Elaine d'Esterre AWAY WITH THE BIRDS: paintings, jewellery and sculpture by Marina Fox TIDES, TEXTURE + TOUCH: paintings and pastels by Jill Shalless

23 Cameron Road, Anglesea www.angleseaarthouse.com.au

The Art House has members attending a variety of sessions every week. For more information on classes and the Anglesea Art House in general, please see its website.

Anglesea Indoor Market 143c Great Ocean Road, Anglesea Please see Facebook for details of all workshops - www.facebook.com/ Angleseaindoormarket

The following workshops are coming up at the Anglesea Indoor Market:  Beginners macrame  Mandala wall hanging  Macrame chandelier  Paint poured wave

Anglesea Art Space

 Beginners resin art

Shop 2, 103 Great Ocean Rd, Anglesea www.surfcoastartspace.com.au

 Paper mache sculpture  Driftwood art

Opening 5 February:

Wed 1 Dec – Sun 5 Dec: Geoff Soames (long-time local resident)

Contemporary figurative landscapes by Zory McGrath

Surf Coast Arts Trail ‘SUMMER EXHIBITION SERIES’

 Revamping

Thur 9 Dec – 16 Dec: 2D Wor ks

 Decoupage Christmas tray

Sat 18 Dec – Tues 28 Dec: Cer amics, Textiles and Jewellery

 Beginners Christmas macrame

Thurs 30 Dec – Wed 5 Jan: 2D Works Fri 7 Jan – Thurs 13 Jan: Sculptur e

 Make your own coconut shell candle  Christmas crafts for children

Thur 15 Jan – Sun 23 Jan: 2D Wor ks

 Tie dyeing

Tues 25 Jan – Mon 31 Jan: Anglesea Snappers Photography – The Natural Environment

 Learn to crotchet.

Tues 5 Feb – Wed 23 Feb: Pat McKenzie and her watercolour students

Gulls by Eagles Nest's own Marina Fox, on exhibition from 4 December.

 Chalk paint furniture

Thu 24 Feb – Sun 13 Mar: Marian Young, Maria Cook, Barbara Roe Hebb Three artists who work with textiles, paint, weaving, quilting and drawing.

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Anglesea Snappers Photography Club Convenor Deb Elliott – 0439 686 585

The Snappers meet at 7:30pm on the first and third Tuesday of the month at the Anglesea Community House, 5 McMillan Street, Anglesea.

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Write Angles

By Melva Stott

Eden – nature's garden I've visited the Eden Project in Cornwall – it was an amazing experience; housed in uniquely designed ‘bubbles’ for each of the climate zones in the world. I was really impressed by the Australian rain forest recreation with a waterfall plunging over a high rocky precipice flanked by mature native trees. The surrounding area has beautiful landscaped gardens with a large variety of well-tended plants and walking paths. I have the highest regard for the team who planned this concept and brought it to life. Anglesea will have an attraction unlike anything else in Australia. I can assure Cr Mike Bodsworth that the Eden Project will not detract from Anglesea's natural appeal (NewsA ngle Spring edition) but will actually enhance it. As it won't be located in the township, it will not encroach on our idyllic way of life.

Name changes The aged care home in Weir Street has another new title and is now named Cordelia Grove. In 2000 when the Lions Club established this amenity, they consulted the Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative in Geelong for a suitable name as it was set in Kuarka Dorla Reserve, which was the Aboriginal name for this area. Altjera was suggested as this word means 'where old people live', so it was named Altjera Grove for some time, until Blue Cross took it over. It changed hands again recently, and is now Cordelia Grove.

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Community spirit There we were on a Friday in September with a public holiday that meant nothing as no-one could go anywhere or do anything. My family (in Melbourne and Geelong) had just decided that the only way we could do anything together over the long weekend was to have a pie during the Grand Final.

Then out of the blue, a neighbour turned up, in full footy gear, with two beautifully decorated little cakes 'to eat during the footy' – just the thing to go with a pie! That's typical of Anglesea – a true caring and sharing town, and so much appreciated in these days of isolation and lockdowns.

Showing the flag During January I'll have an Australian flag on the front porch.

This flag represented Australia and the Surf Coast around the world for over 20 years. It was hoisted multiple times at various occasions in New Zealand, England, Canada and America as the Surf Coast town criers represented Australia at the World Town Crier Championships and other events, including the millennial celebrations in Belgium.

At all these gatherings we extended the hand of friendship to the local people and their tourists, inviting them to visit Australia.

I wish you all a happy Christmas and a merry New Year.

Keep Smiling!

Melva

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Mondays, Tuesdays & Fridays at the YMCA

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