Gippsland the Lifestyle Summer 2014-15

the lifestyle. Our pride, Our place™ summer issue 21 WIldlife under threat the People that Care

| $5.50 |

cape paterson

Surfing Community

mark knight

From The Sun to Tonimbuk

buchan caves

Natural Wonder

OVER 40+ FEATURES INSIDE

ISSN 1838-8124

+ REGULAR FEATURES Horoscope | Book Reviews | Canine Corner | Puzzle | Cartoon | Gardening Tips

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170 fully self-contained 1, 2 & 3 Bedroom Apartments Modern ‘hotel style’ Resort Rooms 1, 2 & 3 Bedroom Apartments are equipped with BBQ’s and have large terraces or balconies Indoor heated pool, outdoor pool, gym, spa & sauna Illuminated tennis and basketball courts Games room with table tennis, air hockey and children’s pool table Bouncy jumping pillows Complimentary WiFi

• Open 7 days • Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner • 180 degree views overlooking Westernport Bay • Extensive Wine List • Complimentary WiFi

Resort: 03 5671 9300 / Fax: 03 5671 9301 Address: 17 Potters Hill Road, (PO Box 94), San Remo Vic 3925 E: info@silverwaterresort.com.au W: www.silverwaterresort.com.au

editorial

Welcome to the 21st edition of Gippsland The Lifestyle and Summer in Gippsland Front Cover: Journalists:

Photographers:

Editor: Creative:

Seagull, Inverloch by Alex Smirnakos Chris West, Lyn Skillern, Alexandra McManus, Amber Rhodes, Cherry Prior, Hannah Keily & Ali Fullard Amber Rhodes, James Pell & Hannah Keily Maree Bradshaw Alex Smirnakos

This issue is packed with many free features showcasing some of the wonderful places and people of Gippsland.

Once again our writers and photographers have combined to show Gippsland as it is: emotive, spectacular and colourful. I have had the pleasure to travel many miles through Gippsland, and this remarkable region never fails to surprise. Cassilis near Swifts Creek in the northeast region of Gippsland is a ghost town area, which bestows a rugged beauty and the King Cassilis Gold Mine is awe-inspiring.

Summer brings fun in the sun and Gippsland has great spots to go swimming. We take a look at the Cape Paterson Surf Life Saving Club, one of numerous clubs that offer protection, and we take an indepth look at this club and its history.

There are two notable features - Herald Sun Cartoonist Mark Knight, a resident of Tonimbuk and the State Member for South Gippsland, the Honourable Peter Ryan MP. Both stories are compelling reading and both gentlemen show their love of Gippsland.

As well, we have our regular features; and of course, we are forever grateful to our advertisers and contributors, who are part of the lifestyle that is Gippsland!

On behalf of our team at Gippsland the Lifestyle, we would like to wish everyone a safe and happy Christmas and New Year, and we will see you all again soon!

index

Maree and Doug Pell Our Pride Our Place

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contents Page 8 Page 10 - 12 Page 25 Page 26 - 27 Page 28 Page 30 - 31 Page 32 - 33 Page 36 - 38 Page 40 - 41 Page 46 - 47 Page 48 - 49 Page 50 - 51 Page 56 Page 60 Page 62 - 63 Page 70 - 71 Page 72 - 75 Page 76 Page 78 - 79 Page 80 - 81 Page 84 - 87 Page 88 Page 94 - 95 Page 98 - 99 Page 102 - 104 Page 106 - 107 Page 110 - 111 Page 114 - 116 Page 118 - 119 Page 120 - 122 Page 123 Page 124 Page 126 - 127 Page 132

Mountain View Leongatha Raymond Island Shelter – Wild Devotion Alison Lester Fish Creek Abbas Mehran – Cultures Combine The Dandelion By Terry Guilford Book Review Les Guilfoyle Blacksmith – The Flying Anvil Grassy Spur Olives – Bringing Gippsland Gold Mako Fishing Charters – Gone Fishing Sands of Metung – Far beyond Gifts & Coffee Gardivalia Festival Highlights Inverloch Native Garden Bassine Specialty Cheeses – Straight from the Dairy 1st Blessing of the Bikes with Inline 4 Café Award Winning Traralgon Bowls Club Wildcoast Cruises’ Twilight Cruise – Serenity on the Water A Wildlife Haven in Golden Beach Mark Knight – Drawing on Inspiration Silverwater Resort Watermark Restaurant – Chefs’ Signature Dishes Prom Country Cheese at Moyarra Buchan Caves Reserve – Discover the Natural Wonders Peter Ryan – Unfinished Business Warragul Plaza – Comfort in a Café Sale Greyhound Club - Group 1 GOLD 1242 Sale Cup Summer Carnival of Racing at Stony Creek Racing Club Jindi Natural Beef Farmworld – A Festival for Everyone Tarwin Lower Town Cassilis – Lost & Found in Gippsland High Country Loch Brewery – A Spirited Romance Cape Paterson Surf Life Saving Club Summer Festivals – Sounds of Summer Lindenow Pub – Heritage Hotel Bass Coast Cycle Challenge 2014 RUST – The Past Inspiring the Present

regular features Page 5 Page 6 Page 19 Page 45 Page 109 Page 131 Page 134 - 135 Page 136 Page 137 Page 140 Page 141 Page 142 - 143 Page 143 Page 144 Page 145

Editorial | Features Index of Advertisers Decorating Dilemmas – Treehouse Living | House Prowd Gardening Tips with Craig of Growmaster Traralgon Wonthaggi Medical Group – Health Research Ali Fullard’s Art Page Summer Events Calendar Summer in West Gippsland with Laurie Collins Summer Markets Chrissy’s Summer Horoscope The Book Nook – Foster’s Little Bookshop Canine Corner Cartoon by Steve White Outlets of where you can get your Copy of Gippsland the Lifestyle Summer Puzzle

thelifestyle summer 2014-15

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index advertisers our advertisers Page 113 Page 133 Page 25 Page 34 Page 43 Page 52 Page 16 Page 146-147 Page 133 Page 82 Page 4 Page 13 Page 129 Page 53 Page 92 & 93 Page 139 Page 28 Page 7 Page 21 & 35

Page 24 Page 105 Page 112 Page 39

Page 35 Page 44 Page 55 Page 117 Page 128 Page 67 Page 68 & 69 Page 77 Page 133 Page 138 Page 138 Page 77 Page 128 Page 117 Page 101

AHERNS FRUIT MARKET & FINE FOODS ALI FULLARD ART STUDIO ALISON LESTER BOOKS ANN WALLER REAL ESTATE ALAN WILSON INSURANCE BROKERS BASSINE SPECIALTY CHEESES BELGRAVIA LEISURE: EXPLORE MT BAW BAW BLUE HILLS RISE BRIAGOLONG B & B CORNER COTTAGE CALLEMONDAH CAFÉ BUCHAN COAL CREEK COMMUNITY PARK & MUSEUM COLMAC HOMES CRIKEY TECHNOLOGY DALKEITH HEIGHTS dcsi WE DO INTERNET. DYOLIGY EAST GIPPSLAND MARKETING EDNEYS LEONGATHA – NISSAN QASHQAI ESSO BHP BILLITON WELLINGTON ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE EVANS PETROLEUM FARM WORLD FOSTER SEAFOODS GIPPSLAND LAKES MINISTERIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE GRASSY SPUR OLIVES SOUTH GIPPSLAND GROWMASTER TRARALGON GYPSY CREEK WINERY HAPPY CAMPER GOURMET INVERLOCH INDOOR GOLF INDULGE DESIGNER CAKES ITALIAN AUSTRALIAN CLUB JINKS CREEK WINERY KASAMA DÉCOR KERRY GALEA KERRY SEES LAURIE COLLINS SCULPTURE LEEZART LENTON ON LOCH LEONGATHA RSL

Page 138 Page 148 Page 65 Page 15 Page 9 Page 97 Page 83 Page 54 Page 21 Page 52 Page 77 Page 130 Page 22 Page 128 Page 96 Page 29 Page 66 Page 2 Page 91 Page 42 Page 14 Page 100 Page 145 Page 52 Page 20 Page 61 Page 90 Page 58 & 59 Page 17 Page 18 Page 3 Page 57 Page 89 Page 6 Page 64 Page 108 Page 129 Page 144 Page 117 Page 23 Page 138

LYDIA CLAIRVOYANT MASSARO VOLKSWAGEN – TIGUAN MONTFORT MANOR MOOS AT MEENIYAN MOUNTAIN VIEW LEONGATHA PAINT PLACE GROUP OF STORES PARKS VICTORIA – BUCHAN CAVES RESERVE PARNASSUS GUEST HOUSE | WINERY | EATERY PETER RYAN MLA PORT OF SALE HERITAGE CRUISES Prom Country Cheese RUBY’S RETRO THE RIVERSLEIGH BAIRNSDALE SALA SIAM Thai Imports SALE GREYHOUND CLUB SAM TWITE STONEWORKS SHIMMER MARQUEES SILVERWATER RESORT SPACE FLOORING AND INTERIORS STANDING HOMES STONY CREEK GO-KARTS STONY CREEK RACING CLUB THE 3 CHEEKY MONKEYS THRIFTY EYEWEAR TRARALGON AUTOMOTIVE GROUP - Wights Hyundai TRARALGON AUTOMOTIVE GROUP – Traralgon Toyota TRARALGON AUTOMOTIVE GROUP – Wights Nissan TRARALGON BOWLS CLUB TREASE BUILDERS TREEHOUSE LIVING HOMEWARES & DESIGN VALLEY PRESTIGE BMW – 2 Series Active Tourer VALLEY PRESTIGE BMW – S 1000 R Roadster WARRAGUL HARNESS RACING WINDY RIDGE WINERY WILDCOAST CRUISES WONTHAGGI MEDICAL GROUP WONTHAGGI NEWSAGENCY WONTHAGGI NEWSAGENCY & TATTSLOTTO WUK WUK BEEF Wyndham Real Estate & Livestock ZEST FOR LIFE

SALES & ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES Please contact: Doug Pell Phone: 0404 301 333 Email: thelifestyle@dcsi.net.au Or check out our website at www.thelifestylemagazine.com.au Like Us On Facebook at: Gippsland The Lifestyle Magazine

CELLA R DOOR STOCK C LEAR ANC E SPEC IAL S

Open every weekend | Open daily in January | 10 am to 5 pm 527 Fish Creek Road, Foster. Phone 0416 192 264 6

thelifestyle summer 2014-15

is printed by Graphic Impressions 1 Miles Street Mulgrave Victoria 3170 Australia Telephone: 03 9574 9211 Fax: 03 9574 8029 www.gimpressions.com.au

THE NEW

NISSAN QASHQAI HAS ARRIVED

NISSAN QASHQAI

FEATURES ST & TS

PETROL & TURBO DIESEL ALLOY WHEELS REAR VIEW CAMERA CRUISE CONTROL BLUETOOTH AIR CONDITIONING

Ti & TL

SAT/NAV AROUND VIEW MONITOR GLASS PANORAMIC ROOF LEATHER SEATS INTELLIGENT KEY BLIND SPOT WARNING

1- 5 Roughhead Street, Leongatha, Vic, 3953 P (03) 5662 2327 F (03) 5662 2642 E edney@dcsi.net.au www.edneysleongatha.com.au LMCT 1500

Leongatha

by Ally McManus

If you’re at the age to start looking for a retirement facility, or have a loved one who is over 55 – Mountain View Leongatha could be the perfect place to choose.

Does a resort-style community away from the city but still in a modern, chic and conventional area sound like a good option?

Mountain View is a boutique lifestyle community suited for those after a relaxing retirement in sophisticated premises.

Situated in the heart of South Gippsland, this destination is your go-to for exclusivity, prestige, comfort and enjoyment.

Mountain View was orchestrated to help the retired discover new experiences and enjoy living in a beautiful part of Gippsland.

The facility is made up of 45 villas and a community centre that evokes a country club style. Services include a bowling green and indoor pool, which provide a setting to discover new things, step out of your comfort zone and to enjoy the therapeutic nature of retirement.

with sensational views right across the township and right through to the hills.”

There is a great sense of harmony at Mountain View, with an established connection between not only the residents and each other, but also the residents and the location. “We’re a community within a community. So we’re a part of the Leongatha community but we’re in this elevated position on a hill, where you have this sense of peace and tranquillity. That’s the thing that strikes people,” Fiona says.

The retired occupants are from various parts of Victoria, who have all come to experience the magic of Mountain View.

“We’ve got people here from Castlemaine and from Mornington, and the thing that inspired them to make the move was that boutique nature of the village. They felt that this was home.”

Leongatha is conveniently situated 25 minutes from the beautiful coastline, an hour and 15 minutes from Wilson’s Prom, 50 minutes from Phillip Island and an hour and half from Baw Baw one way, and Melbourne the other. “We’ve got access to all this incredible natural diversity and beauty,” Fiona adds.

Mountain View is the ideal setting to have the best of everything. It has accessibility to the coast and city, while set in the beautiful hills of South Gippsland. The unique facility offers the opportunity to connect with other residents to build friendships, share common interests and have a bit of fun.

The unique retirement property encourages residents to start living a life less complicated, and the first step to fulfilling this philosophy is achieved upon moving to Leongatha. Each new resident brings character to Mountain View to share with everyone, as the retirement community continues to evolve into a sophisticated haven to relax, unwind and have fun.

Fiona Routledge, Property and Sales Manager at Mountain View, believes the location is an excellent selling point when people have a browse of the premises.

“It’s the first thing that strikes you when you walk into the foyer, or when you take a walk outside. We’re in a beautiful elevated position here in Leongatha

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thelifestyle summer 2014-15

Photographs courtesy of Mountain View Leongatha

Leongatha

She used to look after adults with disabilities, but now Susie Pulis has become a modern day Florence Nightingale to the wildlife of Raymond Island.

Separated from the mainland and accessible only by car ferry from Paynesville, Raymond Island is inhabited by an abundance of native Australian species including koalas, kangaroos, echidnas, possums, wombats, snakes, lizards and birdlife.

Together with her partner Stephen, Susie provides a sanctuary for sick and injured animals from their home on the the island.

The couple established the Raymond Island Koala & Wildlife Shelter in January 2013 on a shoestring budget, with the aim of providing compassionate medical care and rehabilitation for animals in need.

“Our first enclosures were purchased with a credit card,” Susie recalls.

“We often have to improvise. Our bathroom has been used as an intensive care ward, with animals on an IV drip in there.”

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thelifestyle summer 2014-15

As a not-for-profit organisation, the shelter relies entirely on donated money to fund its costs.Veterinary expenses along with basic supplies such as medicines, bandages, antiseptic and wildlife milk power amount to in excess of six thousand dollars per year alone.

“The shelter is run by a team of volunteers and registered Wildlife Carers. We try to do at least three fundraising events a year to cover our veterinary costs and other expenses,” Susie says.

A recent Dance Night at the Paynesville Yacht Club was a great success, raising more than $3,000. Every donation or sponsorship helps.

“We do receive regular assistance from the Main Street Veterinary Practice in Bairnsdale, which provides us with free consulations.

Also, Ritchies IGA in Paynesville has always provided us with free goods for our fundraising events, but essentially we rely on the support of donated money to maintain the day-to-day operation,” Susie notes.

She and Stephen have dedicated themselves to being full-time voluntary wildlife carers in

conjunction with their role as parents. They have made a considerable financial sacrifice in doing so, but it is a price that their family has been willing to pay for the satisfaction that comes with helping to make a differerence.

“As a kid I wanted to be a Park Ranger, so this is in keeping with that childhood dream,” Susie says.

To establish the Shelter, Susie first had to become a registered wildlife carer through the Department of Environment and Primary Industries and to work under the supervision of another registered Shelter.

Susie reveals that since opening the Shelter, demand has grown to a level where it is now severely testing the limit of their current facilities.

“We will be at full capacity soon and not have room to house all the animals,” Susie says.

“We have plans to expand, but it is always dependent on having the necessary funds. At the top of our wish-list is to build a treatment room facility on the premises, so we don’t

have to travel to the vet every time. We also need more enclosures and another couple of outdoor pens.”

Susie also harbours a desire to establish an educational facility as a base from which to conduct tours for the public to see local koalas in the wild. Her nearest neighbour Ross Heath has generously offered part of his land to use for this purpose and to build the outdoor areas for the facility at his own cost.

Heath already assists Susie by providing areas for her revegetation plantations, another project for which she has a deep passion. With food for koalas in critical shortage on Raymond Island, it is necessary to grow plantations to provide a future food source. Susie regularly collects seed from island trees and does all her propagation.

But it is tending to the local wildlife that forms the main mission of the Shelter. Sick, injured, distressed or orphaned koalas and kangaroos are the two main animals that come into Susie and Stephen’s care, primarily via contact from Raymond Island residents who find them.

“My phone rings at all times, day and night.

We are also on the register of Wildlife Victoria and can get a call from them from anywhere within a one hundred kilometre radius,” Susie explains.

Last year, Susie and Stephen received 76 animals at the Shelter. Of those, 52 were koalas and given the serious nature of their illness or injuries, sadly 37 did not survive. To date, the patient that has been closest to Susie’s heart was a koala they dubbed Tim, who was the victim of a dog attack in March this year.

“Tim was a real success story. He shouldn’t have survived, but he did,” Susie says.

“He suffered horrendous injuries from a Rottweiler, including a big puncture wound right through the top of his skull. The skin healed over, but he was left permanently with a hole in his skull.”

Tim stayed in Susie and Stephen’s care at the shelter for around 45 days.

“He was an absolute fighter and made a really good recovery. At first, Tim would growl when

we tried to handle him, but after his treatment he turned into this soft teddy bear. I shed a tear on the day we released him. It was so emotional. When I said goodbye to him, he put his head out and gave me a kiss,” Susie remembers fondly with a smile.

At present, a nineteen-month-old male Eastern Grey kangaroo named Ali has the run of Susie and Stephen’s house, as he continues his lengthy recuperation from the distress of being separated from his mother as a young joey.

“Ali is currently in the process of being soft released. He still spends nights inside but free to come and go as he pleases. There is a big mob of kangaroos here and he is slowly starting to take interest in them.”

Both Susie and Stephen are long time residents of Raymond Island and share a passion for wildlife and the environment. Home is a secluded 5 acre property on the far side of the island.

It was Stephen who introduced Susie to Raymond Island after they met. He has lived on the island for almost 20 years, which is twice as long as Susie. Stephen grew up in the Latrobe Valley, but used to travel to the Gippsland Lakes for holidays when he was younger. He spent seven years in Queensland, but the road eventually led him to Raymond Island.

“I always wanted the perfect spot and we’ve found it here,” Stephen comments.

Susie was originally from Melbourne, but moved to Goon Nure near Bairnsdale before joining Stephen on Raymond Island in 2004.

Raymond Island is 6.4 kilometres long and 1.9 kilometres wide, covering an area of 770 hectares. Koalas have inhabited the island since being introduced in 1953, when 32 were translocated from Phillip Island. The most recent koala count on the island in 2013 numbered 305, indicating an upward trend. On current figures, the resident koala population on Raymond Island amounts to more than half the local human population.

Koalas eat between 500 to 1000 grams of leaves per day. The tree species that provide their preferred habitat on Raymond Island are

thelifestyle summer 2014-15

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the Coastal Manna Gum, Forest Red Gum and Gippsland Red Gum. With such large koala numbers on a small island, the impacts on the local habitat are becoming more pronounced.

In turn, koalas are commonly suffering from starvation and disease through a shortage of suitable trees which provide their food supply.

“The island cannot continue to sustain the koala population at this level. The number should be far less, ideally around fifty, which would be better for the koalas and the trees,” Susie asserts.

Crucial to monitoring the koala population on Raymond Island is the annual management program conducted by the Department of Environment and Primary Industries in conjunction with Parks Victoria and with added assistance from a squad of volunteers.

During this program, koalas are captured, tagged and given health checks. Vasectomies are performed on males and hormone implants on females to control the growing population.

Last year 17 koalas were translocated to the mainland through the duration of the program.

According to Susie and Stephen, there has been considerable change to the local environment on Raymond Island since the Black Saturday fires caused a shift in attitudes and alteration of several regulations throughout Gippsland.

“The habitat on the island was once protected prior to Black Saturday, but now the amount of clear felling has become considerable. This then puts more pressure on the remaining trees. Koalas are displaced straight away, rather than by a managed process,” Susie says.

Lending

your support Donations to the Raymond Island Koala and Wildlife Shelter are welcomed from individuals and businesses at any time.

To date, the Shelter has received no corporate sponsorship support.

Online donations can be made via the Shelter’s new website at www.koalashelter.org As a registered not-for-profit organisation, all donations to the Raymond Island Koala and Wildlife Shelter are tax deductible.

The revamped website includes news, reports and feature stories on the animals.

You can also keep in touch via the Raymond Island Koala and Wildlife Shelter Facebook page.

Another way to help is if you have any land spare and would like to plant trees to create a future food source for koalas.

If you can assist in this way, or alternatively if you already have mature Eucalyptus trees available on your property that Susie and Stephen can collect browse off, please contact the Shelter.

“Red Gums and Manna are the main species we use. We are happy to identify species if people are unsure what they have,” Susie says.

“Trees also provide habitat for other wildlife and birds, so it’s a delicate balancing act. We are concerned about the future and so making sure that people understand these issues through education and awareness is a big part of what we’re about.”

t

Photos Courtesy of the Raymond Island Koala & Wildlife Shelter

Wildlife Victoria and Volunteers care for these voiceless animals and is committed to reducing the suffering and providing as many animals as possible with another chance at life.

STAY AWARE AND SLOW DOWN especially at night when visibility is much lower. Don’t be afraid to go slower than the posted speed limit if you can’t see very far in front of you.

BE ALERT. LIVES CAN BE SAVED if you act responsibly!

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thelifestyle summer 2014-15

Stony Creek Go-Karts is now well and truly one of the highlights of South Gippsland.

■ Hire Karts ■ BYO Kart Membership (Day/Yearly Rate) ■ Corporate Days ■ Group Bookings ■ Birthday Parties & Functions ■ Driver Education ■ Phoenix Kart Agents ■ Kart Sales & Spares ■ Café

OPEN 7 DAYS FROM 10am

Please check website for dates and times.

PH : 5664 7272

EM: info@stonycreekgokarts.com.au For more information visit stonycreekgokarts.com.au Please Note: When Stony Creek Racing Club is holding a race meeting the venue will be closed. During the winter period the venue is closed mid week unless prior booking is made. thelifestyle winter 2012

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Moo’s At Meeniyan

Restaurant and Café

Hours of Trading Thursday to Monday 8.30am - 4.30pm Dinner Friday & Saturday Nights from 6.00pm Holiday Season MOO’S Is closed on CHRISTMAS DAY & BOXING DAY Then OPEN 7 Days a Week until the end of January

89 Whitelaw Street, Meeniyan Vic 3956 Phone: (03) 5664 0010 | Email: eat@moosatmeeniyan.com.au visit www.moosatmeeniyan.com.au

Lohr

Multi Award Winning Builders of Custom & Architectural Designed Homes "Our emphasis is on collaborating with specialist Architects & Engineers to design & build innovative, unique homes. Our clients have positive memories of their building experience which exceed all of their expectations through our core values of integrity, reliability, respect for each desired outcome, the ability & skill to achieve the attention to detail required."

Gil Trease

Illawong Munbilla

Freycinet

91 Whitelaw Street, Meeniyan 3956 T [03] 5664 0118 E info@treasebuilders.com.au W www.treasebuilders.com.au

treehouse living Homewares & Design

Always something new to discover

14 Breed St Traralgon VIC 3844 P: (03) 5176 2809 www.treehouseliving.com.au www.facebook.com/TreehouseAU

decorating dilemmas Do you have an uninspiring room with boring walls and floors, dodgy lighting, or just too much stuff going on all at once? I gathered together 3 decorating headaches and their solutions.

Bathroom Bliss

Paint it White

Hello Hamptons

Q. How can we bring function and trend to the new bathroom we’re are planning?

I like the appeal of double basins and a ledge style vanity, but I don’t really need two basins. I would also like lots of bench space.

Q. Can you please suggest a white paint for a large open plan Kitchen/ Living area with a northerly aspect, my floors are timber and I have Crystal Salt Caesar stone bench tops?

Q. We want to decorate our modern townhouse with a beachy, Hamptons look. Do you have any advice?

Pam Bond, via email

A. A large asymmetrical or elliptical basin will look fantastic it will be like a sculpture in your bathroom and it will give your bathroom a modern design feature. You have a couple of options regarding basin placement. If you place your basin a little offset to centre, it will allow for more bench space for displaying pretty perfume bottles and toiletries. Taps mounted on the wall, with an elegant spout overhanging the basin will free up more bench space also.

A full height mirror above the vanity ledge will create a floating impression. If budget allows I suggest you continue the mirror below the vanity as this can also make a small bathroom appear larger.

Ash, via email

A. White can be very complex to work with as there is so many to choose from as they come in so many different tones and variations. Choosing the right white can be somewhat confusing and each has subtle differences that can make or break a room.

To avoid creating a clinical space stick to a warm white. Select a white that has a soft yellow base such as Dulux Whisper White or Antique White USA on walls teamed with White on White for doors, architraves and trims and ceilings. Another option to consider would be to go one step further and use a soft warm grey such as Dulux Grey Pebble ¼ Strength. By adding a variation to the colour scheme palette it will create depth but still retain the crisp feel of a white room. The chosen colour will sit beautifully with your floorboards and bench tops. For more paint colours visit www.dulux.com.au

Claire, Sorrento, Vic. Via email.

A. The idea is to keep things light and breezy. Choose rustic wood flooring that has a sun drenched recycled look. Furniture should be comfortable, mix classic pieces with some vintage finds. Your occasional chairs should complement but not match the sofa. Choose a classic shaped sofa in a plain or neutral colour such as linen.

Select furniture styles that are relaxed and plump, add an assortment of cushions and throws in Navy, white linen shades, and soft greys with a mixture of stripes, checks and plains to set the look. Choose simple shelving in white or in a blonde timber. Add a mix of whitewashed wood and pewter frames. Hide TV’s behind cabinetry if possible. Consider installing a skylight for more natural light, this in turn will also enhance the natural colour scheme. Select light window coverings on the windows such as shutters in white or white washed timbers.

Happy Decorating! Tam x

Tamara Addison 0439 341 520 Find Me On: Blog: ww.houseprowd.com Email: houseprowd.@gmail.com

WIGHTS

Lot 1 Princes Highway, Traralgon (03) 51 757777 www.traralgonautomotivegroup.com.au LMCT 11191

Simply Sinatra starring Tom Burlinson Thursday April 16 at 8.00pm

Presenting Australian star of screen and stage, Tom Burlinson, in his musical production ‘SIMPLY SINATRA’, a swinging celebration of the music and career of the legendary Ol’ Blue Eyes.

Tom sings over 20 of Sinatra’s greatest hits, and talks with considerable knowledge of some of the highlights of his extraordinary career accompanied by his swingin’ band.

From ‘Come Fly with Me’, ‘All the Way’, ‘Lady is a Tramp’ and ‘You Make Me Feel So Young’ to ‘I’ve Got You Under My Skin’, ‘That’s Life’ and ‘New York, New York’ plus many more!

Don’t miss this special performance from one of Australia’s most popular entertainers!

For bookings: Ph: 5143 3200 or www.ebbwec.com.au

John Leslie Theatre

100 Foster Street, Sale

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Backformer to it'sglory

Personalised, attentive service and a sense of tranquil relaxation are among the hallmarks of a stay at The Riversleigh where you’ll enjoy the warmth of a country hotel combined with the luxury you expect from contemporary boutique accommodation.

Located in the heart of Bairnsdale’s central business district on a quiet street over-looking the Mitchell River, The

Riversleigh features elegant period fittings with tastefully-appointed modern rooms, providing a unique accommodation experience to our guests.

With 20 rooms designed to meet every one of our guests’ individual needs, you will enjoy beautifullydesigned rooms, each with ensuite some including spa baths. Relax in

the picturesque courtyard set against the magnificent backdrop of one of the oldest and most unique residences in beautiful East Gippsland.

Built in 1886, this East Gippsland icon is now under new ownership and management and this grand example of Victorian architecture has recently undergone a complete renovation.

1 Nicholson Street, Bairnsdale, 3875 PH: 03 5152 6966 E: info@riversleigh.com.au W: www.riversleigh.com.au

Set in the heart of Destination Gippsland, Bairnsdale is the gateway to glorious East Gippsland, within easy drive of the high country, mountain resorts, rainforest drives, the Gippsland Lakes, Ninety Mile Beach and river, lake and ocean fishing activities.

Riverbend - Nicholson on the East Gippsland Lakes Wyndham Real Estate are proud to be releasing stage 1 of this prestigious subdivision with over 1km of frontage to the Nicholson River.

Riverbend promises country living at its best, with each home site carefully situated to ensure privacy and to take maximum advantage of the views. Riverbend is just a 10 minute commute to Bairnsdale and walking distance to the village of Nicholson.

Nicholson is a small town in East Gippsland, 295km east of the State capital Melbourne. With a population of 1,504, Nicholson is situated between the larger towns of Bairnsdale and Lakes Entrance.

Nicholson is located on the Princes Highway and lies on the banks of the Nicholson River. The town on the west bank of the River has a substantial boat ramp, deep water moorings, general store, retreat hotel and motel and Nicholson River caravan park. The East Gippsland rail trail passes across the north section of the town. Primary school, tennis courts, Nicholson Angling Club and a community hall brings this unique village together.

Lots ranging from 4000sqm to 8000sqm with prices starting from $80,000 - $220,000. *Eighteen blocks have already sold in stage one.

03 5153 0533 169 Main Street, Bairnsdale

BP Service Stations Fish Creek 2 Falls Road, Fish Creek Vic 3959 Tel/Fax: 5683 2521 Email: fishcreek@evanspetroleum.com.au

PINK DAY AT EVANS PETROLEUM FUNDRAISING FOR THE McGRATH FOUNDATION

Foster 94 Main Street, Foster Vic 3960 Tel/Fax: 5682 2008 Email: foster@evanspetroleum.com.au

Inverloch 25 Williams Street, Inverloch Vic 3996 Tel/Fax: 5674 1442 Email: inverloch@evanspetroleum.com.au

Korumburra 2-8 Commercial Street, Korumburra Vic 3950 Tel/Fax: 5655 1668 Email: korumburra@evanspetroleum.com.au

Leongatha 95 Bair Street, Leongartha Vic 3953 Tel/Fax: 5662 2440 Email: leongatha@evanspetroleum.com.au

Muddy Creek Evans Petroleum recently held fundraising activities at their Yarram, Leongatha and Wonthaggi sites.

Some management and helpers provided driveway service, including filling customers’ tanks and cleaning windscreens, and in return asking customers to contribute donations to the McGrath Foundation which BP Australia, including Evans Petroleum, have teamed up to support.

“Our customers were very generous, with the day raising over $700 for this worthy cause.

Thanks go out to all the support shown by our loyal customers.”

The day was so much of a success that Evans Petroleum plan to hold more good old fashioned driveway service days in the not too distant future.

Seen in the photos are Sales Manager John Schelling, with daughter and Leongatha Site Manager Kelsie Schelling, who both looked resplendent in pink.

Also represented on the day are BP Distributors Business Manager, Ben Finkelstein and BP Marketing Specialist, Megan Nassios, who also did a marvellous job lending a hand.

Evans Petroleum is proud to partner with local businesses, community and sporting groups that are committed to promoting and enhancing local communities.

• Committee For Gippsland Representative • Lardner Park – Farm World Strategic Partner • AFL Gippsland Partner • Leongatha & District Cricket Association • Rotary International Participation • Alberton Football League Association

26 Foster Road, Toora Vic 3962 Tel/Fax: 5686 2324 Email: toora@evanspetroleum.com.au

Ridgway 106 Ridgway, Mirboo North Vic 3871 Tel/Fax: 5668 2377 Email: mirboo@evanspetroleum.com.au

Sale 344 Raglan Street, Sale Vic 3850 Tel: 5143 1030 Email: robert@evanspetroleum.com.au

Traralgon 23-29 Shakespeare Street, Traralgon VIC 3844 Tel: 5174 1138 Email: Tim@evanspetroleum.com.au

Westside 7 Anderson Street, Leongatha VIC 3953 Tel/Fax: 5662 2834 Email: westside@evanspetroleum.com.au

Wonthaggi 103-105 McKenzie Street, Wonthaggi Vic 3995 Tel: 5672 3988 Fax: 5672 5229 Email: wonthaggi@evanspetroleum.com.au

Yarram 325 Commercial Street, Yarram Vic 3971 Tel: 5182 6019 Fax: 5182 6458 Email: yarram@evanspetroleum.com.au

Evans Petroleum Head Office 22 Hughes Street, Leongatha Vic 3953 Tel: 5662 2217 Web: www.evanspetroleum.com.au

Alison Lester Words by Cherry Prior

Visit the gallery of award winning Australian children’s book Author/illustrator Alison Lester

Iconic Children’s Writer & Illustrator In the heart of South Gippsland on the busy tourist run between Melbourne and Wilson’s Promontory, a new business has kicked off that is proving a pilgrimage point for Aussies near and far.

Alison Lester, a prolific, iconic children’s writer and illustrator with more than 51 titles to her name, has opened a concept store in Fish Creek where her artworks, memorabilia, gifts and, of course, books are available.

John Cooper is a long-time friend and the manager of the Alison Lester concept store, which he says is one of only a handful dedicated solely to one artist throughout the world.

He says that the appeal of Alison’s work now extends to three generations and that, such is her popularity, interstate travellers, city-dwellers and locals alike are travelling to Fish Creek to visit the store, many of them hoping for the opportunity to bump into the author.

According to John, the store represents a turning point for Alison, who grew up in Foster and still calls Gippsland home. Over the past three decades she has not only written and illustrated dozens of books, she’s also immersed herself in indigenous and community projects throughout Australia, visited countless schools, travelled to Antarctica five times and in 2012, along with Boori Monty Pryor, became the first Australian Children’s Laureate, an ambassador for Australian children’s literature.

While Alison has no intention of putting down the pen, at 62 she does intend to spend more time in her home territory and in the store. “She has spent a lot of the time on the road,” John says. “She became a grandmother for the first time this year. She wants to spend more time with her family...I guess it’s like coming home to where it all began.”

Initially an online venture, the need for a physical store was obvious: “For such a tactile thing as children’s books and prints, you really need to see it, feel it, hold it,” John says.

The Alison Lester store, 1 Falls Road, will be open every day from December 27 until Australia Day with the artist herself in store regularly throughout the Christmas Holiday period.

Alison Lester in Store

regularly throughout the Christmas Holiday period for book signings, and to meet people.

Check the website/facebook page for dates

alisonlester.com Open Thursday – Monday 10 -4 pm, 7 days a week during school holidays or by appointment.

Shop online at alisonlester.com 1 Falls Rd, Fish Creek, Victoria, 3959 P. 03 5683 2352 E. alisonlesteronline@gmail.com

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Cultures combine in the creative world of artist Words and photos by Cherry Prior

Abbas Mehran

From his birthplace in Iran to the country life of leafy Boolarra in Gippsland, artist Abbas Mehran, aged 68, brings a world of experience to the canvas.

His work takes the form of massive paintings reminiscent of traditional Persian carpets overlaid with modern themes and imagery, copper etchings and colourful life-size portraits.

His award-winning art has been showcased at solo and collaborative exhibitions throughout Australia and overseas. His Iranian roots provide the cultural backdrop, while his life’s journey provides the story, told in pictures. It is a journey that is rich and eventful, a mix of sadness and sweet. But through the artist’s eyes, Abbas knows, even suffering can be a thing of beauty and richness.

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the University of South Australia, during which time his first marriage broke down and Abbas met his current wife, Debbie, a nurse, whom he credits with unabated encouragement and support.

The courage it took to chuck in a comfortable lifestyle for an unknown future is something Abbas takes great pride in. “To decide to start from zero and limit your wants, from having a brand new car and everyday going to work with ties and nice clothes and sitting at a desk and working … and have money every other week or month to bring home and not worry about things. And then suddenly you start from zero.

I remember …we did not have any fridge for example, or bed, and stuff for the kitchen we didn’t have. I accepted it… but not necessarily should we be always struggling.”

In 2010 Abbas made the move to Boolarra with Debbie and their son Darius, then aged 11, having visited and fallen head over heels for the local community. In the period since, Abbas has focussed on community art and the egalitarian notion that within everyone is creativity that only needs opportunity to be unleashed. As the organiser of two successful community art exhibitions in his hometown, where anyone who

is a resident can exhibit, he’s planning the next biennial exhibition, in 2015. A mural that adorns the wall of the local milk bar is his work, and he has also travelled and painted in support of the Sunrise Children’s Villages, a charity cofounded by Australian Geraldine Cox to care for Cambodian orphans.

When we visit Abbas at his home, one of Boolarra’s original dwellings, he’s taking a break from painting, and considering a new creative chapter. Over a cup of tea at his dining table, he explains how the death of Marsha, an author of three novels, in April of this year has rendered him unable to pick up a brush. Instead he is looking at writing as a means of creative communication until his grief has passed.

“Since Marsha died I have not touched painting or a brush. I hope that I go back to it. I am still grieving and also I am more in a writing mood than painting.”

There is a sense, however, that Abbas won’t be able to stay away. He recognises the magic that art has woven into his life thus far. “Let’s see what happens,” he says. “I don’t want to restrict myself. I think I will come back to it … I think I will have a brush in my hand when I am dying.”

Abbas’s life began in Iran where he was born the third of seven children and the only boy, a somewhat privileged position in a household filled predominantly with women.

He studied hard to become an auditor, the obligation to family being of utmost importance.

“That was obligation, family and cultural obligation to work and provide. But I always wanted to do something else. I loved my painting. Creating something, that was my nature, but it was not possible,” Abbas says.

“My wife used to paint as a hobby … one day I said ‘Ok, you think you are the only one who can paint’. She said ‘oh OK, this is canvas and paint and brush, if you can, paint’ … I tried and it was horrible! It was absolutely horrible, worse than a kid.

“But after six months or so she and her mum went on holiday for 15 days and I was alone at home. I grabbed everything, a canvas and paint and brush and painted. And as soon as I painted, it was a vase actually, I was so amazed, excited, it came out beautiful. I was so excited I threw that one away and grabbed a bigger canvas and painted a landscape. The painting was so beautiful, but it was not finished and I grab a bigger one. I think three or four of them I painted, none of them finished, but that was enough. I was absolutely hooked.”

With the need to provide for his family still at the forefront of his mind, Abbas and his wife made plans to move with their firstborn, Marsha, then two, to the United States to further their studies at the University of New Mexico. Their plans thwarted by the Iranian Hostage Crisis in which 52 US citizens and diplomats were held for 444 days at the Iranian embassy, they instead left for Argentina, their passage secured by a chance meeting with the Argentinian ambassador to Iran. After four years working in Argentina they again moved - to the US - where son Sam was born.

The life-changer came in 1992 when Abbas, 20 years after he first picked up a paintbrush, quit his job as an auditor in a bank, to study painting full-time. After a year the family moved to South Australia, where he spent another four years at

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book review The Dandelion

The dandelion and its seeds represent growth, and when the seeds scatter they symbolize how from pain comes Psychologist, writer and part time aqua aerobics instructor for the YMCA growth.

Terry Guilford

Terry‘s first foray into writing was, as she says, a dismal failure because when she read what she had written she was bored…..she had set out to write a ‘self-help’ book for women to give them strategies to help work their way through periods of life when they felt they had no control over what was happening. This obviously was not working with what she had written so far, so back to the drawing board.

What came next is The Dandelion which, whilst it is a self-help book, is written in a narrative form and takes shape as a fictional story. The story is told through the voice of the unnamed narrator as she makes her way through a very difficult time in her life when everything she had thought to be true, no longer is.

Throughout the story, with the help of a psychologist, the narrator uses strategies and

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tools to take her from the paralysed feeling of deep mental pain to the point where she is not only able to decide for herself where and what she will now do with her life, but to put actions in place to get there.

The reader comes to know the best and the worst of the narrator and you find you’re cheering her on; wanting to know what comes next. It is an interesting read with some great information and even if all is well in your own world at this time………it may not have been in the past.

Terry describes herself as a mother and grandmother; this is her first novel. She lives and works in a small seaside town in Victoria Australia and is a Psychologist and aqua aerobics instructor for the YMCA and local gym in her spare time. She takes care of her mother

on the weekends and helps with her grandsons whenever she can. Her family migrated to Australia from England in the 1950s; her father is Irish and mother Norwegian.

She says she wrote this novel to entertain and inspire women as they follow the narrator's journey from anguish to exhilaration and I think she has achieved this.

Review by Jan Bull

Foster’s Little Book Shop 5682 2089

Stone Artisan

LES GUILFOYLE BLACKSMITH THE FLYING ANVIL PROFILE

Lured by the country life, a yearning to have space, a couple of cows, some chickens and great views, Les and his partner moved his home and blacksmithing workshop to the rolling green hills of Korumburra in 2009.

Producing both functional and artistic wrought iron works of his own design and working with clients to produce collaborative designs, he makes a large range of bespoke furniture, garden and interior pieces across classical and contemporary styles.

Wrought iron means the ‘item’ is hand made, forged in the fire, hammered by hand or machine and shaped on the anvil. A lot of ironwork is often referred to as wrought even though it hasn’t been heated or hammered.

It is easy to tell the difference between machine made scrollwork and wrought iron scrollwork.

It’s all in the beauty of handcrafted work and the detail. For example, think of Leunig’s Mister Curly and his whimsical ‘scroll’ hair-do, possibly inspired by a wrought iron scroll. Machine made scrolls are simply ‘squared off’ at the end and don’t ‘curl’ around to a point while ‘wrought’ scrolls curl and/or loop around and are finished to a fine point. The finish in the scrolls, and other details in the work, that cannot be achieved by a machine, can determine the quality of a blacksmith’s work.

Decorative and functional wrought ironwork has a long history with blacksmiths making not only their own tools but also those of other artisans.

It was in the latter part of the 1900’s when blacksmiths stopped shoeing horses and farriers took on this role. Not having much experience with horses, this was very good news for Les.

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Ironwork has been used throughout the centuries to express a range of traditional and classical styles including: rococo, French provincial, art deco, art nouveau, modern, and post modern!

Inspired by the great German, Austrian, Swiss and French blacksmiths, artists and artisans, Les’s work alternates from the rigidity and skill of Fritz Kuhn and Otto Schmirler to the much loved drawings by Leunig and the whimsical humour of Diego Giacometti.

Blacksmithing and metalworking for over 20 years has seen Les work solo and collaboratively with other artisans on award winning commissions including: 1997: Victorian Architecture Award Award of Merit working with Chic Metal Works with a team of three blacksmiths for ironwork Regent Theatre restoration, Melbourne.

1998 - 2003: Master Builders Association Award of Excellence working with Chic Metal Works with a team of three blacksmiths, for ironwork including lighting, balustrades and table irons, in the Jewel, St Kilda Road Melbourne the Toorak Corporate Centre, Toorak, and the Exchange Tower, Little Collins Street, Melbourne A range of clients have sought out Les and the Flying Anvil to commission his work from New Zealand wineries, to private residences, restaurants (Spontinos in St Kilda), Bars (Toff in Town, Swanston Street, Melbourne) and more locally The Old Post Office and Fitz Best Realty in Korumburra.

EXHIBITION Taking Tiepolo’s painting The Banquet of Cleopatra as a point of departure, Les is collaborating with other artists, Diana Campbell, Gil Freeman, Anne Middleton and Leonard Ramsay to develop the exhibition Cleopatra’s Banquet. Cleopatra’s Banquet will be at the Inverloch Community Hub in the internal street from 1st December to 31st December 2014.

The exhibition does not seek to reproduce Tiepolo’s painting but rather to take inspiration from the evocative story behind the painting.

To convince Rome that Egypt possessed a heritage and wealth that put it above conquest, Cleopatra wagered Mark Antony she could give the most expensive dinner in history. As the trays laden with delicacies came out one after the other, Mark Antony sat at the banquet table, visibly unimpressed. As the Queen sat with an

Figs by Diana Campbell

Cleopatra’s Banquet Inverloch Community Hub 1st to 31st December

empty plate and a great goblet of (vinegar) wine, she dissolved one of her pearl earrings in her wine and drank it. Astonished, Mark Antony declined the matching pearl – and admitted that she had won the bet. It was not long after the banquet that they became lovers.

Cleopatra’s ‘ingenuity’ is reproduced by this collaboration of artists working in iron, marble, wood, watercolours, acrylics and oil.

The elaborate banquet floor installation will be surrounded by delicious and colourful oil and watercolours of edibles by: Inverloch artist Diana Campbell and Kardella artist Gil Freeman.

Like Cleopatra’s banquet, at the moment in time when she drops the pearl into the wine glass,

there is no food on the table. In this exhibition, the food is on the wall.

This exhibition will celebrate the creative capacity of the region’s artists and artisans for locals and visitors to enjoy and be inspired by, it reveals the artistic ingenuity of what can be achieved through genuine, respectful, collaboration. The works highlight the beauty and creative talent that is possible to enjoy in our everyday lives while acknowledging the great artists of the past.

Exhibition Co-ordinator

Elisabeth Jones

Email: lsbthjones@gmail.com Telephone: 0401 338 549

Macadamia and Pear by Gil Freeman

Kelp Chaos by Anne Middleton

ARTIST PROFILES Diana Campbell, Artist, Inverloch

Diana’s initial interest in art began with photography while living in Canada in the 1970’s and in the late 1990’s she began painting. In 2000, she moved to Inverloch and has participated in several group exhibitions with the Art of Friends.

The group meet weekly at Leongatha South Primary School which offers great inspiration, friendship and support.

Diana held solo exhibitions in 2008 and 2011 in Inverloch. Her love of vibrant colour is evident in all her work. Several paintings depict her love of wonderful fresh local food, in particular the luscious colour and sensuous shapes of local edibles. The challenge of trying something new and pushing boundaries is what really drives her.

Gil Freeman, Artist, Kardella

Gil has been painting all his life; first in oils but for a long time his preferred medium has been watercolours, as it allows the possibility of making art on the move. Simple sketches in pen and wash form the basis of his many travel diaries, and larger watercolours are produced when he is on holidays around the wonderful coastline of eastern Victoria. He has a number of works in private collections and has exhibited in several shows, the last of which was the Freeman family exhibition at the Coal Creek Gallery, Korumburra in 2013.

Gil is deeply involved with the Grow Lightly fresh food project and he has produced a number of fruit and vegetable watercolours, some of which have been converted into boxed set greeting cards, complete with food notes.

Leonard Ramsay, Master Woodsmith, Melbourne

Anne Middleton, Artist, Melbourne

Leonard Ramsay has been working for over 16 years using recycled materials and wood to construct custom made furniture with his work evolving into more ornate and sculptural pieces over recent years. He has been commissioned to design and build interiors for several restaurants and bars and has exhibited at DesignEX at the Exhibition Centre in Carlton and the Fringe Furniture Festival held at Melbourne Museum. He has worked on many properties in the Bass Coast in Dalyston, Kilcunda, Anderson, Wonthaggi and Inverloch.

Len and Les have a long working relationship often collaborating to create bespoke furniture pieces. In this exhibition Len will be crafting the banquet table top amongst other surprises. Len enjoys making work that engages most with the human spirit.

Anne Middleton has been painting professionally for over 20 years both within Australia and on the international stage having exhibited in Hong Kong, Italy, New York and the UK. Anne is a passionate environmentalist and her paintings explore the beauty of the environment and our connectedness to it. Anne’s practice draws richly from the classical, romantic and baroque artistic traditions that flourished in Europe during the 17th and 18th century.

Anne Middleton will be represented through her exquisite work of the seaweed forests of the Bunurong marine park. The painting will be hung to represent Cleopatra’s ‘pearl’, the ‘jewel’ in the exhibition. This extraordinary work by Melbourne artist and regular visitor to the Bass Coast will complete the menu of a most expensive banquet.

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Grassy Spur Olives Bringing Gippsland Gold Words and Photographs by Amber Rhodes

Perched on a hill overlooking Stony Creek sits Grassy Spur Olives, an olive grove that is making waves within the Australian Olive Association. A multi-award winner, in just a few short years, it has truly put Stony Creek, and South Gippsland, on the map.

beating much larger producers, including Australia's largest that has 2.5 million trees.

From a property that was purchased because they wanted space and a country lifestyle, to a simple comment from Peter, “what about olives?” as a way to make it viable, they have perhaps achieved milestones beyond even their expectations.

But these awards have not come easily, and it is their hard work and dedication to the quality and care of their property, the trees and their olives that have got the couple to where they are today. Their olives are hand picked and then cold pressed on site, producing uniquely rich oil with a spicy flavour. Their varieties include Picholine, Picual, Coratina and Frantoio, which are also bottled and labelled on the property by Helen.

They have a team of about 10 pickers who come down from Melbourne each June. They

Peter and Helen Wright, wanting a change in lifestyle, purchased the property in 2004, and what was once a turnout paddock for a local dairy farmer, by the following year saw 800 trees being planted by their two daughters and their partners. In the next few years another 700 went in, with the 27 acres now supporting 1500 trees.

By 2008 their first olive oil was produced, with the couple picking 300 kilograms of olives. As Helen pointed out, “We were terribly excited.”

Now, with the expansion of their grove, they harvest 12 tonnes.

Along with their increased output has come a swag full of medals, with their oil winning gold, silver and bronze awards in every year they have entered the National Australian Olive Association Awards since 2011. Last year they received the highly sort after award of 'Best Olive Oil in Australia' for their Picual variety,

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pick the olives using special electric rakes called Harvesters that strip the fruit from the branches.

One Harvester is equivalent to about 6 people picking by hand. The olives are then taken up to the shed where they process the olives in their own olive press.

Having their own press has given the couple greater flexibility and control. Peter, who will process about a tonne and a half of olives a day, prefers that it is “totally down to us”. Despite the cost of the Italian made machine, and the fact it is only used for about 3 weeks of the year, it was an invaluable investment in the production of their oil. They know that having their own press is part of their success. With the ability to be able to pick when it suits them, and not have to risk the quality of their olives through transporting them to be processed elsewhere, it is also a big bonus as they can pick and then process within 12 hours. As a result of producing completely on farm their quality has

been consistently high, a fact that is reflected in the attention their oil has been receiving on a National level.

“The quality of the olives you get from hand picking is still rated as the best way to treat your olives,” says Peter, who is a firm believer that the less the olives are handled the better, as often when olives are transported they can be triple handled and this can result in bruising.

Caring for their trees is also high on their agenda, and this also includes working towards improving the soil. “We figure what we put in we get out,” says Helen.

was tough, but Helen, who handles all their marketing, has worked hard promoting their oil, speaking to people, making cold calls and presenting potential suppliers with samples.

Now they supply a number of retailers, such as cafes, fine food stores and groceries, with three stockists in Melbourne and one in Brisbane.

They also sell online, with their oil often being sent interstate, and they are just about to launch a range of flavour infused oils, including garlic, lemon myrtle and lime.

They also sell their own honey, with bees being kept so they pollinate the flowers on the trees during Summer. Helen also set up a truffiere, with 83 truffle infected Oak trees being planted two and a half years ago. So far she is yet to

reap the rewards of her efforts, but she thinks that in about 5 to 7 years they should see some results.

Future challenges lie in the growth of their trees, with the canopies getting bigger and the output of olives increasing, therefore producing a larger volume of oil; oil which they will need to find more outlets to sell to. But if the quality of their end product is anything to go by there can only be great things ahead for Grassy Spur Olives.

When asked about their plans the simple answer was “continue to keep producing a really wonderful olive oil.” And wonderful it is.

They use a soil conditioner called Bactivate and they conduct annual soil and leaf tests.

They lime regularly because the pH level on the property is quite acidic and the olives naturally like a neutral soil. Peter also does a fair amount of spraying.

Gippsland, despite contrary belief, is proving to be the perfect location for growing olives, as Peter points out, highlighting the accolades that olive growers in southern parts of Victoria and Tasmania are receiving.

“There's been a theory for some time in the past that there was a sort of line that excluded Gippsland in regards to whether it is good to grow olives, thinking it was too cold and too wet,” he said. “But this theory about not being able to grow good quality olives in the Southern Hempishere has been debunked.” The list of awards they themselves have won, is proof enough.

At the moment they are based in Melbourne, with Peter still working full time in IT, although retirement is on the cards at the end of this year as it has got to the point where the farm is profitable.

Like everything, starting off

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Wishes all a very Happy Christmas 2014 and Healthy and Happy

2015

Ann Waller Real Estate is an independent, boutique agency, achieving excellent results for our sellers, Ann's aim is to make your Sale 'Successful not Stressful" and get you Sold, Happily Pleased, and Moved On. For Buyers, we offer a selection of properties to suit all Lifestyles - We encourage you to call into our warm and welcoming house of real estate and have a chat about your needs. It is great to be able to match a buyer to a particular property - or even find a property for them!

Whether a Buyer or a Seller, you will feel very welcomed by Ann's happy persona, and her knowledge of the Real Estate Market.

Great Block with Postion & Potential Asking $219,000

A Lovely Island Delight Asking $350,000

Take a Long look at ‘PEEP HILL’ (Overlooking the Water) Asking $450,000

Lovely Light & Bright Unit and So Roomy!

Asking $239,000

What goes on behind the Red Door? (Plenty - Renovated, as New) Asking $375,000

Kingfisher Cottage ‘Just a sheer delight’ Asking $450,000

(Jetty Berth Incl.)

ph 03 5156 015 mb 0427 411 660 www.annwaller.com.au 17 Victoria Street Paynesville 3880

RETAIL OUTLETS FOR GRASSY SPUR EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

"Multi-award winning" Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Vaughan's Cafe Deli Inverloch Gaffneys Warragul Moos @ Meeniyan Meeniyan Paddlewheel Koonwarra Bread and Pickles Deli Meeniyan Koonwarra Store Koonwarra Paddlewheel Prahran Market Houghtons Fine Foods Mornington Olio & Pane Hawthorn Gippsland Food and Wine Yarragon

Or email Helen for postal delivery

Photographs by Ian McKenzie

Tel 0413 158 442 Email grassyspur@gmail.com Web www.grassyspurolives.com.au

An Intimate Evening with David Hobson Thursday May 07 at 8.00pm

David returns to The Entertainment Centre with a very special intimate evening doing what he does best...Singing up a Storm.

He has long been Opera Australia's most preferred tenor and a few years ago branched into television with "It Takes Two” and “Dancing with the Stars”.

David will perform a full range of songs from Opera Classics to Celtic ballads to songs from Musical Theatre and a whole lot in between; even the Beatles. David will be accompanied by his long time musical director David Cameron at the piano and acoustic guitar.

So join this true Australian Star for one night only at the Entertainment Centre for a night of stunning music.

For bookings: Ph: 5143 3200 or www.ebbwec.com.au

John Leslie Theatre

100 Foster Street, Sale

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GONE FISHING

Shane Carstairs

Story by Chris West

Few people could claim to know the waters of Lakes Entrance as intimately as Brick Carstairs. Having been a commercial fisherman for his entire working life, for the past 14 years Brick has operated Mako Fishing Charters to continue his involvement on the water in his home town.

Fishing is the Carstairs family tradition and flows freely through Brick’s veins like the changing tides.

“Our family started the commercial fishing industry in Lakes Entrance back in 1886 through my great, great grandfather, so our involvement has now spanned five generations,” Brick reveals.

“They originally worked in Western Port and then Paynesville before coming here to Lakes Entrance.”

The Carstairs family tradition shows no signs of stopping just yet, with Brick and his wife Debbie’s eldest son Shane performing a handson role in the charter business aboard their vessel, Panama II. Seventeen-year-old Shane has shown himself to be a very capable deck-hand and Brick hopes he may one day take over control of the operation.

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“Of our four children, it is Shane that has shown the most interest in the fishing business. He’s been coming out with me since he was about nine,” Brick says.

While Brick and Shane take to the water, Debbie stays on terra firma, as does the couple’s younger son Craig. Twin daughters Emma and Laura are kept busy by jobs in other areas away from Lakes Entrance.

As Debbie notes, Shane is already proving himself to be an asset to the family business.

“People love Shane and he does a great job on the boat,” she comments.

“Often when customers ring to make a booking, they make a point of asking if Shane is going to be on their tour. They like him so much because he has such an easy manner and enjoys helping people. He is especially good with kids and people who are fishing for the first time.”

Shane is not yet qualified to skipper the vessel, but Brick believes he will hand over the wheel to his son at some point in the future.

“He’s got to get his Masters ticket first and they don’t give those away in cereal boxes,” he says.

As popular as Shane is with the customers, it is Brick’s experience and the depth of his knowledge of the local waters that has made Mako Fishing Charters the success that it has been since its launch in 2000.

All expeditions are skippered charters and customers have the choice of ocean or lake fishing. More people tend to opt for ocean trips rather than the more sedate waters of the lakes.

Ocean charter options range from a 5.5 hour offshore reef trip departing at sunrise or a shorter 3 hour afternoon trip commencing at 1pm. Customers who prefer to stay closer to home and fish in the Gippsland Lakes can also book a 3 hour trip.

The boat also has wheelchair access and stablisers for the comfort of all passengers on board. Brick and his crew provide all the necessary fishing supplies including gear, tackle and bait, along with tea and coffee for refreshment.

Brick also gains valuable assistance on board some trips from addtional crewman Tony Groombridge, who has been employed casually for the past three years as a deckhand and relief skipper.

Mako Fishing Charters are available every day of the year, but all trips are weather dependent.

The Panama II does not head out in unsuitable or unsafe conditions, or if the passenger numbers are insufficient. For offshore fishing trips the minimum number of passengers is four, whilst for lake trips the number increases to six people.

Whatever their choice, Brick says that customers of Mako Fishing Charters can expect a memorable experience.

“We think we are are pretty professional at what we do and work hard to make sure everyone enjoys their trip,” he comments.

“If people haven’t fished before, we show them how to do it. They usually get the knack within ten minutes.”

Although the catch size can vary, Brick says his charters have never returned to shore at Lakes Entrance without a feed of fish.

“Everyone always seems to get enough fish to satisfy them,” he states.

Brick’s experience has taught him where to find the spots where the fish are likely to be biting. Customers can expect to hook a variety of different species.

and had become unsuitable for the job the growing charter business required.

“Boats in a commercial survey that carry passengers are pretty hard to get,” he explains.

“We flew up to Darwin to look at this one. It took us four days to get it back down here on a truck.”

Upgrading the Panama II to suit his specific requirements, Brick put in new engines and changed all the electronics.

“It’s a very good boat and does the job we need it to do really well,” he says.

On occasions, the boat is reserved exclsuively by a large group, but at most times forward bookings are not necessary.

“Given the size of our boat and the number of passengers we are able to carry, individuals or small groups and families are usually able to get on right up to the last minute. People can just ring up to make a booking and pay on the day,” Brick says.

The Panama II is moored at Cunningham Quay Jetty, directly opposite the Central Hotel, which makes it easy to find for departure.

As the weather improves during the course of the year, business demand increases.

On board safety and comfort are high priorities on Brick’s trips.

“Winter is quieter, but we start getting pretty busy in October right through to Easter,” Brick comments.

“We are very safety oriented and communicate all the appropriate instructions to our customers.

Everyone has to wear life jackets going out over the bar,” he advises.

Not surprisingly, Debbie says that their bookings reach their highest level in the peak Christmas holiday period between Boxing Day and the first week of January.

The longer ocean trip targets reef fish, including snapper and leatherjackets, whereas the shorter 3 hour ocean charter stays closer to shore and regularly pulls in flathead, mako and gummy shark. On the lakes, the regular catch includes trout, salmon, mullet, bream, flathead, whiting and crabs.

Brick and his crew also help passengers by cleaning and chilling their fish ready to take home.

During a certain period of the year, Mako Fishing Charters passengers often enjoy an added surprise while aboard the Panama II. “We see plenty of whales while we’re out there from around late winter into spring. We don’t specifically take trips for that purpose, but it’s always a real bonus for the customers whenever we sight them,” Brick says.

The Panama II is well equipped to handle groups of varying sizes, being able to carry 17 people on ocean trips and up to 30 on the the lakes.

Brick purchased the Panama II five years ago to replace his previous vessel, which was smaller

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MAKO FISHING CHARTERS GUIDE Off-shore ocean fishing or Gippsland Lakes.

Departing from Cunningham Quay opposite the Central Hotel in Lakes Entrance.

We supply Quality tackle, fishing gear and bait Tea and coffee On-board toilet Full safety gear Stabilisers for on-board comfort Wheelchair access Fishing instruction and assistance

Rates Ocean fishing 5.5 hour Off-shore Reef (departs sunrise) Adults: $150 per person Children 12 years & under: $80 per child 3 hour trip (departs 1pm) Adults: $80 per person Children 12 years & under: $50 per child “The phone runs pretty hot at that time every year,” she confirms.

Customers originate from a variety of locations, whether day-trippers who have made the journey specifically or holiday-makers visiting Lakes Entrance at the time.

“We get a lot of people from Melbourne and the Latrobe Valley, but locals also support the business well,” Brick says.

Debbie adds that they receive a considerable number of bookings from people from around Albury and Wangaratta.

“However, their numbers slow down in winter when they can’t get over to us because of the snow,” she explains.

Operating in a very competitive market that is a well established part of the local tourism industry, Brick believes that Mako Fishing Charters has stood the test of time because of its level of professionalism and commitment to providing an enjoyable and satsfying experience.

“Our business gets a lot of repeat customers.

Many people have been coming back to us for years, which suggests we are doing things right,” he says.

Photographs courtesy of Mako Fishing Charters

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Lake fishing 3 hour trip Adults: $50 per person Children 12 years & under: $20 per child Please enquire for groups.

Prices subject to change without notice.

Bookings and further information: Phone: 0428 397 849 or 03 5155 2219 Email: info@makofishingcharters.com Website: www.makofishingcharters.com

An experience far beyond gifts and coffee Ally McManus

You know that feeling of warmth when you plant your feet into the summer sand, or the soothing nature of the cool ocean on your toes – expect these calming properties upon entering the new café and gift shop called sands of metung.

Sue and Steve Colbeck made the move from Melbourne to Metung for a break from the city, looking for somewhere coastal to settle down.

Little did they know that twelve years later they would be running a successful gift shop with a joint boutique café. “We went to Paynesville, Lakes Entrance, Bairnsdale, but we loved the feel of Metung. It felt right to us,” Sue tells me as we chat over coffee at their love and pride, sands of metung.

Steve’s financial industry experience mixed with Sue’s academic background didn’t offer the best pedigree for a business venture like the one they pursued. Steve was even financially advised against their endeavor, but they couldn’t be happier sitting with me today. There is such lightness, warmth and relaxation in their space, and I feel this the instant I walk into the premises on Metung Road.

“The idea originally was to open a coffee shop; doing coffee, cakes and books,” Sue tells me, but explains that timing was never on their side.

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Upon moving to Metung, they took over an existing interiors business up the road, which they had for six years. “That evolved from interiors and blinds into a gift shop,” Sue says, which inspired them to pursue the gift shop idea even more. They moved into smaller premises in the heart of Metung, and were there for another six years.

They came about the current premises by accident, just as their lease was about to expire, Steve tells me, and overnight they christened it their new shop. The inspiration for the café occurred when Steve developed a taste for baking. The couple’s daughter then told them to incorporate the ‘coffee and cake’ idea into their shop, now that they had the space for it.

And since September, that’s what they’ve done.

I meet some of Sue and Steve’s friends upon my visit, who are also trustworthy colleagues.

Janet and Ian Harris manage the coffee and baking, while Jan Thompson is Sue’s go-to woman for a second hand in the shop. “Jan’s our friend who has been our back stop for the last ten years,” Sue tells me. All three are there to support Sue and Steve with the business, along with having a bit of fun at the same time.

I see such a connection between them as we share a few laughs during the interview.

I’m also told that when Sue and Steve close the shop for an extra day or two, Jan’s mobile number is placed on the door in case there’s a customer who would like to come in for something. Once Jan puts down the phone, she’s down at the shop within minutes.

Janet and Sue have always loved cooking and envisaged bringing work into their friendship, “we decided that we really could work together,” Sue says. She also admits they needed the extra set of hands to successfully manage the gift shop and café concurrently.

Sue, Steve, Janet and Ian also share the same philosophy about food, “being aware of food miles, really wanting to use local and top quality

produce,” Sue tells me, adding that they’ve spent an extended amount of time researching this.

The couple loved the idea of bringing coffee into their shop; they just wanted to execute it in the best way possible. “We didn’t want to be just another coffee place,” Steve tells me.

This process involved copious amounts of research, visiting and studying different cafes and their coffee in Melbourne, undertaking training at the Australian Barista Academy (Janet too), investing in a top quality Synesso coffee machine and using an excellent quality blend (Five Senses Coffee). As a coffee drinker myself, I’m truly impressed with their outcome.

“We’re getting a lot of comments like, ‘this is the best coffee we’ve had in Metung’,” Steve tells me, while Sue adds, “which is what we were hoping for”. They have a joke that they’re the oldest baristas in Victoria, and even if that’s the case, it isn’t at the expense of quality.

To complete their educated coffee experience, they also researched their milk supply, offering the most nutritional and beneficial produce to customers. They came across a local dairy supplier, Miranda Dale Dairy, at their monthly Metung market that suited their café perfectly.

This milk is organic, full of the A2 protein and also isn’t homogenized.

Ian is the baker of the group and his croissants have been very popular since the café’s opening.

I’m treated to an almond croissant straight out of the oven and it sure didn’t disappoint – so fresh, tasty and light. Ian’s lamb pies, leek and parmesan tarts and berry tarts are also popular.

“It’s quite simple, light food,” Janet says, while Sue says, “we’ll never be the bacon and egg breakfast type of place.”

The gift shop has a few brands and products I’m familiar with, but the majority of their stock is unique. Some of it is sentimental to the couple and their experiences, while others have significance to different parts of the world. “We get a lot of comments like, ‘where did you get this from?’ Because people haven’t seen them before,” Steve tells me. Nature’s Cutting Boards are one of their most popular products, and they are one of only three places nationwide that stocks the beautiful boards. “They fly out the door,” Steve says.

Sue and Steve believe Metung is the perfect location for their lifestyle and business. “I think it has a really relaxed, calming and healing feeling to it, and I have watched that over the years with my customers,” Sue tells me, explaining the therapeutic nature of both the town and their business.

“You can see people arrive that are so stressed and tired, they’re here for a week or two and they’ll come in and just look and look. Then at the end of their holiday they’ll come in and purchase what they had their eyes on. You can almost see that they look better, they look lighter when they leave,” Sue says.

all year round from Bairnsdale, Paynesville and Maffra, and are grateful for the combination of business from both locals and travellers.

Sue and Steve love how the sea change has affected them. They live in a relaxed environment, enjoy their family coming down to visit and adore watching their business bring happiness to not only themselves and their friends, but to any visitor walking in for a browse or coffee break. They have truly brought a bit of magic down to Metung.

As well as tourists visiting sands of metung, they also have support a little closer to home. “We’re getting a really lovely response from locals,” Sue tells me. They have their regulars that visit Whether it’s the calming and purifying effect of the café’s saltwater lamp, the gorgeous baby gifts and intricate jewellery in the gift shop, or the mouthwatering fresh sweets on the counter – you’ll walk out of sands of metung a lighter and more refreshed version of yourself than the one who entered. The coastal, chic yet sophisticated business encapsulates the healing properties of Metung and the couple’s adoration for their lifestyle shines through their happy faces.

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YOUR HOME YOUR WAY FOR YOU

Darren & Debbie Fletcher are local people who have been in the building industry for 25 years. They pride themselves on their quality and friendly service.

They have a wide variety of plans, which can be adapted to suit your needs or alternatively they can design a home based on your own requirements and work with you to create the ideal plan to suit your lifestyle.

A new display home will be opening in the exciting Stockdale Fields Estate in Traralgon in February 2015.

They have House and Land packages in all the estates in Morwell and Traralgon and they can also build in most areas of Gippsland. They have won many local building awards and are proud Master Builder Members.

DISPLAY HOME HERITAGE BOULEVARD | 31 SOWERBY ROAD MORWELL OPEN Mon - Fri 1pm-5pm Sat - Sun 12 noon - 5pm

Key features of Standing Homes • Offering over 40 new floor plans, Flexible with designs • Can do custom builds • 25 years experience in the industry • Local knowledge of the area and the needs of customers in this area • Support local community groups including Traralgon Harriers & Traralgon Lions club

Ph 03 51746100 Mobile 0411 425 964 Fax 03 51746446 35 Standing Drive Traralgon 3844 Website www.standinghomes.com.au

Like us on Facebook

In December 2012 a fire destroyed the office & showroom of the Growmaster Nursery in Traralgon. Through the efforts of their Insurance Broker, Alan Wilson together with the owners Craig and Debbie Goodman, the nursery was able to open its doors to the public and continue trading the very next day.

Traralgon residents watched closely, as the new showroom emerged from the ashes bigger and better than ever.

This claim illustrated clearly the advantages of dealing with a Professional Insurance Broker like Alan Wilson Insurance Brokers.

We pride ourselves on our ability to deliver tailored insurance solutions for our clients but more importantly that we are there in the times when our clients need us most.

Insurance claims are stressful enough, but having a Broker like Alan Wilson Insurance Brokers to guide you through the process will help reduce the stress and allow you to concentrate on your business.

“Working For You” 24 Hotham Street, Traralgon

1300 888 111

info@awib.com.au Christmas Hours – Open 5 days a week 9am – 5pm except for Christmas Day, Boxing Day & New Years Day

www.awib.com.au

At Grow Master Traralgon inspiration awaits you.

Wander through the layers of our beautiful Garden Centre, each step leading you into another chapter of ideas for your home, garden and lifestyle.

For advice, range and quality we are your destination. For an experience and a garden encounter that will enchant you, we are your destination. For solutions, inspiration and motivation, we are your destination.

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Hours | Monday to Friday 9.00am - 5.30pm Saturday to Sunday 9.00am - 5.00pm 62 Argyle St, Traralgon Vic 3844 Ph: (03) 5174 2861 Em: growmastertraralgon@yahoo.com.au www.growmaster.com.au/traralgon

thelifestyle spring 2014

GARDENING with Q. What is the best way of taking care of budding plants?

A.

When plants are budding up for new growth or budding up to flower it can be an ideal time for insects such as aphids to settle and feed on the juicy new buds. This can affect the flowering beauty of your plants, stunt or distort plant growth, and in some cases with severe insect attack, the plant can die.

If you notice large numbers of insects on new growth and buds, seek the appropriate spray to eliminate them.

CraigGoodman

Q. Where should I place potted plants?

Q. What do you recommend as the best shade plants?

A. Potted plants do well anywhere around pools and outdoor living areas, patios, front entrances etc

Ideal shade loving plants include: Ferns Azaleas - autumn and spring flowering from whites, pinks, reds, purples Fragrant daphne - late winter flowering Fragrant gardenia - white late spring, summer, autumn flowering Clivias - late spring oranges, cream and soft lemon Cycads - great structural foliage Pieris - winter flowering in pinks and white Camellias - great screen plant in many colours

If the correct plant is chosen for a particular situation and is planted in a suitable size container you will gain maximum enjoyment for long periods.

All plants in containers require more regular feeding with Patio Magic every 2 to 3 months. Potted plants will require more frequent watering than plants in the garden.

Q. When is the best time to water plants?

A. The best time to water plants is early morning or in the evening.

It’s important that plants have moisture available to them before they dry out rather than watering once they are drooping.

Roses and some vegetables i.e. tomatoes do not like moisture on their foliage overnight as this promotes fungal disease. Watering these plants in the morning is best so the foliage dries quickly, or if watering at night, water them at ground level avoiding the foliage where possible.

Q. How much water should I use?

A.

Newly planted gardens need to be kept moist to ensure plants are not put under stress. It takes a few weeks for root systems on newly planted plants to spread out into your garden soil. When watering these new plants it is very important to apply water directly around the trunk and entire root ball ensuring saturation of the root system.

Quite often when watering new plants the water will only saturate the surrounding loose soil not providing moisture to the root zone and as a result plants will suffer or die.

Gardeners should be aware that a 26-degree windy day is more stressful for plants than a 37-degree calm day.

Established gardens can survive long periods without watering.

Many Australian native and South African species can go very long periods without water.

Generally speaking giving your garden one good watering every week should be ample.

NOTE this is not the case for lawns, vegetable gardens and new plants. Watering may need to be done daily or every few days depending on the situation.

Impatiens are a great annual with a vast array of soft and bright colour flowering from November to March ideal low growing plant amongst other plants.

Trailing lasiandra and Campanula are other great colourful ground cover long flowering

This is just a short selection of possibilities.

Hope this information is helpful.

Craig

If you have certain plants or garden beds that seem to dry out a lot, you can add a water saving product to help retain moisture in the soil.

Scan the QR Code to find out some of the great deals we have at Grow Master Traralgon

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GARDIVALIA Festival of Gardens October 2014

WARRAGUL COMMUNITY GARDEN

Growing Together Baw Baw – Eastern Park in Warragul Growing fresh vegetables, as well as producing healthy, nutritious food, it brings the community together to share knowledge and skills and experiences, so that everyone benefits. And it is lots of fun! www.growingtogetherbawbaw.org.au

Donna Hallam, Sustainability Gippsland

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COROMANDEL ARBORETUM Warragul Come for a walk in the woods! Amongst the sustainable forest gardens, large oaks and ancient eucalypts.

Members of Food Relief Neerim District Inc.

WILD DOG WINERY BOARDWALK Warragul

A unique natural garden, vineyard and wetlands, walking trails, fern-gully boardwalk and bush tucker garden.

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PARADISE

Words by Kerrie Johnson

IN OUR OWN BACKYARD

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Kerrie and Terry Johnson began establishing their garden in 2002.

“We really wanted to have a low care garden and peace and seclusion for the back yard.”

The front garden is drought resistant, planted with yukka plants, mondo grass, agave, mini cogs and grass trees. These all require very little water or maintenance, which is ideal in this day and age.

Our back garden is filled with ferns, bird’s nest ferns and staghorn ferns. With the waterfall and water feature, it really gives a sense of calmness.

It is a great place to unwind.

We also enjoy breakfast and BBQs on the deck, and just listening to and watching the birdlife in the bird-friendly space that we have created in our garden.

It’s our little piece of paradise.

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Straight from the Dairy

Bassine

Speciality Cheeses Words and Photographs by Amber Rhodes

What started as a hobby for Kaye Courtney, emerging from a gifted weekend course in cheese making, has turned into a full-blown thriving business on the dairy farm she shares with partner Glen Bisognin. Their dairy farm, and small herd of just under 200 Holstein cows, is located in Bass, on the highway out to Phillip Island.

Bassine Specialty Cheeses is a small cheese making factory built to their exact specifications on their 235 acres, with the milk supplied directly by their own cows. Only opening in June of this year, they are already finding the need to increase their hours of operation.

Having started off making cheese only two days a week, Kaye has now extended this to five times a fortnight and will soon have to increase this to three days a week.

Producing a range of soft cheeses, including Brie, Camembert, flavoured Fettas and Ricotta, they also bottle and sell their own milk under the label “Bass River Dairy”, not only directly to the public but through local supermarkets and general stores around Phillip Island and down the coast to Wonthaggi.

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The farm itself has been in the family since 1966 with Glen's father purchasing the property and starting the dairy farm. Glen, who worked as a civil engineer, eventually came back in 2000 to start running the family farm. Meeting Kaye in 2005 they joined forces, the following year becoming Bass River Dairy. Finally last year Glen's eldest son Luke returned to the farm as well, along with his partner Kirsty Whittaker, and now he is milking the cows while Kirsty helps out in the factory.

The idea of starting the cheese factory began three years ago and as Kaye states, “It's been a long process but three years is not really a

long time.” Initially starting out making cheese in her kitchen, Kaye wanted to produce a similar outcome, but on a slightly larger scale. To Kaye it is important that her cheese maintains that 'home made' quality.

From the weekend courses she attended, run

by Cheese Links, to creating cheese at home, she knew how lucky she was to have access to their own milk. As time went by, and her experience grew, the idea formed for making cheese on the property and selling it to the public. The decision was made to go across to New Zealand and attend the New Zealand Cheese School to complete their theory course and learn the science behind cheese making.

The choice of location to do this course was further prompted by the offer of a week’s work experience for international students, where Kaye got to see how their facility operated.

“The value to me was understanding how people handled different aspects of the cheese making. How an actual factory operated, that was important for me to understand. I also needed to see if that passion for making it in the kitchen at home could translate to making

it in a commercial situation. I wasn't sure, and I had to be sure before I made that investment.”

On coming home the couple decided to dive right in and thankfully, the bank manager jumped right on board. He had the foresight to appreciate what they wanted to do and what the possibilities were. They found that everyone they worked with was really supportive, including the builder who was asked to work with materials he had never worked with before to create the internal walls.

Using a PVC vinyl instead of steel, they felt it was going to be a better product for their operation as it's easier to keep clean and is better for the cheese. Wanting to conserve their power usage they double glazed all the windows and put in extra insulation. They also installed a solar hot water system. Upon their opening in June they held a small gathering for all the trades people and their partners, and all the people that helped them get up and running.

“They did such a great job and we wanted to show our appreciation,” said Kaye. “Because we're not retailers as such we just opened and tried to go in under the radar to get a feel for it.”

Keeping things personal is what drives both Kaye and Glen. From the slow and delicate process of making the cheese, to waiting for it's maturation, this individual touch also extends to how they look at their cows.

“We milk a particular type of cow because we like their temperament,” says Glen. “We prefer Holsteins because of this and they're just an easy going breed as a general rule.” Glen also

likes to keep the herd to under 200 so they can know each cow individually and keep better track of them. They know who has calved, who is unwell and how each reacts. They find it is a better way to care for them and they know if they get too large it would become just like a factory and you risk losing that personal touch.

Staff numbers have increased since their opening, so as well as the family they have also put on two juniors, who are both locals. They work in the shop front and make milkshakes, serve ice creams and chat to customers about the cheese. They also have another casual who works Saturdays.

The shop front, and the cheese making room itself, are surrounded by large floor to ceiling windows, and as well as the customers being able to see all the action of the cheese being made, they can then look on through and out the window to see the cows coming up to be milked, which is a great thing for those from the city to see exactly where the milk for their cheese is coming from.

Kaye is also happy in here, because, as she states, “You wouldn't be able to lock me in a dark room, I'm a farm girl at heart.”

Kaye points out that they don't make the ice cream, however the milk in the milkshakes comes from the farm, to the delight of many, particularly the Baby Boomers. As their milk is pasturised, but not homogenised, it still retains the cream, and it is this that has the older generation heading straight for the counter to re-live the old fashioned style milkshakes of their childhood.

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Bassine Speciality Cheeses

Port of Sale Heritage Cruises Our cruises depart twice daily from the Port of Sale Daily departures: 10am and 2pm for 1.5 hours The Rubeena is available for private charter bookings Relax into The Rubeena’s quiet rhythm and enjoy your voyage along the Sale Canal and Thomson River, surrounded by Red Gums, birdsong and reminders of a fascinating heritage.

Bookings & Charters Port of Sale, Victoria, 3850 Rachel 0400 933 112 or admin@saleheritagecruises.com www.saleheritagecruises.com.au

OPEN from Friday, Sunday and Public/School Holidays from 12noon until 6pm.

Saturdays 10am to 6pm We make soft cheeses on farm from our own cow's milk namely - Brie, Camembert, Coulommiers, Fetta, Halloumi, Ricotta.

Also available: Milkshakes We sell our Pasteurised Whole Milk and Low Fat Milk in 2L and 1L bottles.

A fair price, lasting quality, good looks and a warm welcome.

We would like to acknowledge the support of our stockists:

Kellie 93 Seymour Street TRARALGON, Vic 3844 Open Mon - Fri: 9am – 5.30 pm Sat : 9am – 1.00pm Ph 03 5176 2666 52

Shelley 289 Raymond Street SALE, Vic 3850 Open Mon - Fri: 9am - 5.00pm Sat: 9am - 12noon Ph 03 5144 6464

thelifestyle summer 2014-15

Bass General Store, Hade Avenue Bass Cape Woolamai Xpress, Vista Place Cape Woolamai Corinella General Store, Smythe Street Corinella Cowes IGA plus Liquor, Settlement Road Cowes Dalyston Store, Bass Highway Dalyston Hot Chic Charcoal Chicken, Bass Highway Grantville Island Primary Produce, Ventnor Road Phillip Island xc Kilcunda General Store, Bass Highway Kilcunda IGA, Newhaven North Wonthaggi General Store, Parkes Street Wonthaggi North Mitchell & Co Butchers, Graham Street Wonthaggi Smiths Beach General Store, Smiths Road Phillip Island Soup/NBF Wonthaggi, Watt Street Wonthaggi Surf Beach General Store, Bayview Avenue Surf Beach The Wooli General, Cottosloe Avenue Cape Woolamai Upbeet Health & Wholefoods, Graham Street Wonthaggi

BASSINE SPECIALTY CHEESES 2125 Bass Highway, BASS, Vic 3991 0466 183 513 Find us on Facebook

Catering for your events WEDDINGS | FUNCTIONS | CONFERENCES GUEST HOUSE STAY TWO NIGHTS FOR THE PRICE OF ONE (Breakfast not included)

Hours

Thursday – Sunday Lunch 12.00pm – Late Thursday – Saturday Dinner 6.00pm – Late (Closed Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve)

Open all Weekend for Coffee and Cake, Wine and Cheese and Tastings SUNDAY – ALL DAY BRUNCH Bookings preferred for the Restaurant

180 Lardners Track, DROUIN EAST, Victoria 3818 Phone: (03) 5626 8522

Like us on

CafĂŠ Restaurant

Vineyard Villas B&B

Bookings Essential |

Fully Licensed

Opening Hours

Wed - Thurs Lunch & Dinner 12noon - late PIZZA & PASTA MENU ONLY Friday Lunch & Dinner 12 noon - late Saturday Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner 12 noon - late Sunday Breakfast, Brunch & Lunch 12 noon - 5pm (Brunch must be booked at least 1 day in advance) Public Holidays - 12 noon - 5pm Open Christmas - Day (Lunch bookings only) 12 noon - 5pm Meal Times Breakfast - From 9.30am Brunch - From 10am (Saturday & Sunday booking only Special 5 course @ $35/head) Lunch From 12 noon Dinner 6pm till late

Sam &Mary Dardha

Gypsy Creek Winery | Accommodation 43 School Road, Labertouche, Vic 3816 Winery & Cellar Door (03) 5628 7679 | Restaurant Bookings (03) 5628 7751 info@gypsycreekwines.com.au | www.gypsycreekwines.com.au

held in October 2014 at

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MIRBOO NORTH

Traralgon Bowls Club

Our bistro is open 7 days a week lunch and dinner. Ensure to book to avoid disappointment.

Traralgon Bowls Club... More than just a bowls club!

Join as a member from as little as $5 per year.

Phone: 5174 2156 Email: reception@traralgonbowls.com.au Cnr of Gwalia St & Liddiard Rd Traralgon Vic 3844 For more information about the Traralgon Bowls Club visit www.traralgonbowls.com.au 58

thelifestyle summer 2014-15

MORE THAN JUST A BOWLS CLUB The Traralgon Bowls Club’s fresh new mouth-watering menu is the perfect solution for any occasion. Whether it is just a night out without cooking, or a Birthday or anniversary celebration you can be assured our talented chefs will create meals to remember. The Traralgon Bowls Club has worked extremely hard on establishing a facility that can accommodate a whole range of members, guest and visitors.

Our catering department operates 7 days a week for both lunch and dinner service, with a selection of great value meals there is sure to be something for everybody.

Having completed one of the most comprehensive kitchen refurbishments in the Valley, Traralgon Bowls Club can now provide an extensive range of meals.

To avoid disappointment at not getting a seat, we strongly encourage all customers to ring in advance and book their table.

visit www.traralgonbowls.com.au

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Award Winning Traralgon Bowls Club!

Traralgon Bowls Club as it stands today is a member’s owned sport and entertainment facility. The sport of lawn bowls plays a huge role in the Club's day to day activity, with many club members and visiting bowlers regularly utilising the exceptional bowls facilities on offer.

At a gala event held in October, Community Clubs Victoria presented their 2014 annual awards to Victorian clubs, in recognition of the contributions to their members and local communities.

The highlight of the awards was the presentation to the Traralgon Bowls Club for Club of the Year.

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The prestigious Club of the Year Award is given to the club that best demonstrates benefit to its community through the provision of services, competitions or other common interest facilities, assistance to "outside" organisations, employee skills development programmes as well as commitment to OHS in all areas of operation. The judges recognise the club's tremendous effort in the past year.

Located in the heart of Gippsland, Traralgon Bowls Club is centrally located between Melbourne and Lakes Entrance making it the ideal venue to reach all your guests. Our function rooms, which have a private bar, sound ceiling, and portable dance floor make them ideal for your next corporate meeting, conference, birthday, wedding or black tie event.

The Traralgon Bowls Club prides itself on its reputation for quality products, service and venue presentation. Our catering department operates 7 days a week for both lunch and dinner service, with a selection of great value meals there is sure to be something for everybody.

Come and experience for yourself why Traralgon Bowls Club is more than just a bowls club.

Take a test drive at Traralgon Toyota today

SPECIAL EDITION CAMRY RZ

IT’LL BRING OUT THE BAD IN DAD Traralgon Toyota Lot 1 Princes Highway Traralgon (03) 51 757777 traralgontoyota.com.au LMCT 11191

Atouch of Nature Ally McManus

and serenity on the water Looking for the perfect gift to give a friend who needs a night away from the city, or an excuse to head out onto the water with your loved one?

Look no further than the Twilight Coast Cruise, where you can experience the calming effects of the ocean and the warmth of the sunset.

Departing from the Cowes Jetty in Phillip Island, the cruise takes you on a 19-metre vessel journey with tasty food, beverages, music and sightseeing. Skipper John Dickie and Senior Crew member Melanie (Mel) Gibson take people out every Thursday and Saturday night to experience the magic.

I find out John has been running his cruise business for the last 21 years, as we chat on the boat before heading out into the bay. During these two decades there have also been other cruises developed. John began with just a sealwatching cruise and then expanded to lunch cruises, a whale watching cruise, a Wilson’s Prom adventure and the one I’m about to head out on now – the Twilight Coast Cruise.

“I’ve always worked on the water and I was born into the fishing industry,” John tells me, but after years working out in the Bass Straight, he decided to incorporate tourism into his career in this beautiful part of South Gippsland.

The unique cruise takes place in the bay that is fairly sheltered – and the combination of this with the beautiful marine life acts as the perfect setting for a cruise as the sun goes down.

“The marine life, the bird life, watching the sea around the bay, it’s got a great feel to it.” There are about 9,000 seals out in the rocks and I find out they also often feed in the bay at the time of the cruise.

The cruise lasts for 90 minutes, visiting a variety of different areas around the bay. This includes Sandy Point, a navy base, Stony Point, an old submarine called the HMAS “Otama” and then ending at French Island where there’s a perfect view of the sun setting across the water.

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For those who love a beer or wine at twilight, there’s a licensed bar on board to enhance the calm cruise experience. “We try to get a bit of that social atmosphere going,” John tells me.

Mel’s excellent customer service allows you to sit back and relax, while she personally delivers hot and cold nibbles so you don’t miss a sight.

“We get some people who have some real fun,” he adds.

“We get quite a lot of locals, birthdays and men’s nights, just groups getting together,” John tells me, explaining the clientele of this particular cruise. The experience appeals to those looking for a bit of fun, accompanied with a nice group of people and some food and beverages.

John requires his crew to have a strong passion for the tourism industry and Phillip Island, along with enjoying customer interaction. “We pick people who want to do the job, rather then people who just do the job to make money. It’s a more lifestyle type of job.”

If there’s more than a dozen people on board, John will ask Paul Mannix, another member of the team to come on board, and they can have as many as five working on board when they’re up to full capacity. There’s less than ten of us on board tonight, so it’s just John and Mel looking after us.

The cruise is rated number one on Trip Advisor and their customer feedback has been excellent. John also takes pride in his crew’s

Twilight Coast Cruise revieW

talented ability to interact with the crowd, which enhances the cruise even more. “In this day and age, you don’t always get the interaction in a lot of the places you go,” John admits, which is why he makes such an effort in this area.

I also learn that the picturesque settings of the cruise tend to surprise a lot of customers on board. “We get a lot of people say it’s one of the best things they do on the island,” John says.

There’s something very therapeutic about going on a cruise and being on the water. “It’s good to get out on the water, people just love that,” he adds.

The Twilight Coast Cruise is a great experience in Phillip Island to share with a loved one, an excellent gift for a special occasion or a great setting for a celebration like a birthday or outing with the family. The enjoyable atmosphere, excellent customer service and calming effects of the water will leave you refreshed as you set foot back on land.

Photographs courtesy of Wildlife Coast Cruises

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Wilson’s Promontory Cruise

Twilight Cruise

Cape Woolamai Cruise

PENINSULA Market Cruise

• See the seals up close and p er sonal • Thousand s of seals guar anteed • Seab ird s and regular d olp hin sightings • Histor ic Phillip Island sights • Ed ucational C ap tain’s com m entar y • Fr iend ly p rofessional crew • C om p lim entar y m or ning / after noon te a

Captain's Favourite Cruise

Winter Whale Watching Cruise

Seal Watching Cruises Schedule

27 Dec - 10 Jan 2015 11 am, 2 pm and 4:30pm 11 Jan - 31 Jan 2015 2 pm and 4:30 pm Year round (excl. Aug) 2 pm

Please call us or visit our website to confirm Cruise times

Phone: 1300 763 739 Email info@wildlifecoastcruises.com.au Web www.wildlifecoastcruises.com.au Facebook www.facebook.com/WildlifeCoastCruises Instagram wildlifecoastcruises Twitter www.twitter.com/WildlifeCruises

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A Wildlife Haven in Golden Beach Words and Photographs by Ally McManus

Have you ever looked at a dead kangaroo on the side of the road and wondered if there’s a little joey in its pouch? Furthermore, have you ever wondered where the injured animal goes for care?

Anthony (Tony) and Theresa Matthews run Our Haven Wildlife Shelter in Golden Beach, providing a place to look after injured animals. They mainly look after joeys, with the occasional possum and koala, and nurture them until they’re well enough to go back into the wild.

The couple came into the animal caring business by accident upon moving to Golden Beach from the Mornington Peninsula over four years ago.

“We decided to come down here to have a nice quiet life….wrong,” Tony says through a laugh as we chat at their home and animal shelter in the heart of Golden Beach.

Theresa and Tony were gardening in their backyard when a car pulled up asking if they care for wildlife.

Except for looking after a bird every now and then, they didn’t do anything of the kind. The man in the car then told them he had an injured joey in the back, unsure what to do with it. “So that’s where it started – he handed it to me over the fence,” Tony tells me. They later called the joey Bobby.

Image supplied by Our Haven Wildlife Centre Resting older joeys

Theresa often checked the pouches of injured kangaroos and wallabies whenever an accident occurred, but she didn’t know a thing or two about looking after them. They frantically tried to find somewhere to take Bobby, but had no luck as the closest shelter was miles away and they’re all at full capacity. The couple were then told Bobby would have to be euthanized, but they didn’t take that as a plausible option. From that day on, their lives changed forever.

To have your own shelter, you must first work for a carer in another shelter to gain the experience.

The carer must then give approval for the trainers to have their own shelter. This process took Theresa and Tony about three years to finalise.

Theresa then did basic first aid training at W.R.A.P. to advance her skills and developed a great relationship with the staff at Wildlife Victoria.

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I learn there’s a specific process to looking after a joey. They need the right treatment, appropriate milk and adequate warmth and comfort, which isn’t as easy as it sounds. “Sometimes people do the wrong thing. They don’t mean to, they think they can just feed it normal milk. Sometimes what they’ve done I can’t reverse,” Theresa tells me. They need constant monitoring, as “you can loose them so quick, in 24 hours the whole situation can change,” Theresa adds.

Baby Phe

Our Haven Wildlife Shelter in Golden Beach provides a safe place for injured animals to go to for rest and recuperation. They can be cared for, provided for and loved for until they’re ready to be set back into the wild. But this demanding work is proving its wear and tear on both Theresa and Tony.

Upon successfully creating their shelter, Theresa came up with the name Our Haven Wildlife Shelter. The couple’s address is Haven Way, so the name gave context and purpose to their business. “What we’re trying to do for the babies is make it a haven, until they’re ready to be released,” Theresa says.

They need urgent funding to assist them with food and medication and to also provide a larger place for the animals to stay in. The couple needs more help so the joeys don’t have to be placed on a drip in their living room, or bathed in the bathroom where they brush their teeth. The couple also want their bedside tables and pantry back, which are full of syringes and bottles for the joeys.

They can care for up to 16 animals at once, and the haven is at full capacity upon my visit. Six kangaroos greet me as I enter the gate of the premises. I later learn that these are all just over one year old, weighing about 20 kilos each. I then come across two adorable baby joeys near the back door and another four smaller ones out the back in their slings.

The haven operates by getting calls from Wildlife Victoria about a new injured joey. “Then we go and rescue the animal,” Tony tells me. The joeys have a special formula that they drink to successfully return back to good health. Theresa and Tony supply this themselves – and it doesn’t come cheap. 20 kilos of Wombaroo Milk costs nearly $400 and each joey has four bottles a day.

On average, they go through this amount of milk in merely 18 days. If they have a joey for as long as 18 months, the cost adds up.

Before the joeys are officially set free they are taken to a large enclosure about two acres big.

They stay here for about a week until they’re released into the wild. This offers them a safe transition back into their natural habitat. “The gates are opening, and that’s the main corridor for their freedom, it backs off onto a wildlife corridor. If they go they go, and if they don’t they might go back. But after a little while, a week maybe, they’ll be gone, free, and that’s it. You don’t really want to see them again,” Tony says.

Theresa and Tony name each joey as it comes in, and I can see the beautiful connection they share with their babies when Tony cuddles Phe, one of their youngest ones. They also have a whiteboard in their kitchen with all of the joeys’ names and their feeding schedules, which the couple knows inside out.

Theresa loves to release the joeys, it makes her so proud to see them go back into the wild, “but I cry all the way home too,” she adds. “You can imagine, bottle feeding something for up to 18 months, and then you’ve got to say goodbye and never see it again,” she adds.

“We keep them until they’re about eighteen months old, it’s a really long process,” Tony tells me. They get up at 5am every morning to begin feeding the joeys and can do as many as 32 feeds daily. To organise my interview for the story, Theresa was even busy nursing a joey during our phone call.

When I ask the couple about their favourite parts of the job, I learn about two joeys they released last year that now have their own joeys. I can tell this success story warms their hearts, as they both bring it up with me on different occasions.

“It’s absolutely fantastic. It puts a tear in your eye, knowing that you’ve raised them from two kilos up to about 18 kilos, and now they’ve got their own little joeys. Their names were Bonnie and Lily,” Tony tells me.

I then find out about the hard parts of the job.

Nursing injured joeys that unfortunately don’t make it through due to broken backs, crushed pelvises or damaged legs. “It’s very sad to see it happen,” Tony says.

Next week their older joeys will be set free into the wild, as they’re strong enough to go back on their own. “I think the best thing is to see them stretch their legs and be free, to see them go,” Tony says, loving this final aspect of the caring process. “To know they can do their own thing and become a kangaroo,” he adds.

constant caring for the injured animals, is that they need more shelters to look after the injured joeys and better places to release them into.

“They’ve got to be released onto a good 100200 acres that backs into a wildlife corridor, which goes for thousands and thousands of acres,” Tony says.

Theresa and Tony adore caring for the animals and wouldn’t have it any other way, they’re also so grateful for each other’s help. But the demand for animals into the haven and their lack of finances is reaching its threshold and they need support more than ever right now.

Theresa works as a personal care attendant to support Tony who is on a disability pension after a work accident in 2000. To care for that many animals without little to naught funding, it puts immense stress on the couple. They also pay for medications, x-rays and pathology for the injured animals out of their own pocket.

The couple received a $2,000 grant from the government and Theresa won a Good Citizen Award last year that gave them another $2,000.

They are very grateful for the support, but when they’ve got a full house of 16 joeys, that sort of money doesn’t go very far in terms of supplies and care.

Feeding gear

To ameliorate the high demand Theresa and Tony have for rescuing animals, the public should also take more care on the roads to help prevent what’s becoming too common throughout Gippsland.

Baby Tracey

To gain more money for the haven, Theresa has worked very hard with fundraising. She runs Bunnings BBQs, talks at clubs and schools, bingo events and has implemented donations tins. But this doesn’t come close to what their haven budget requires.

There also aren’t enough places for injured animals to be cared for in Gippsland. To set them free, Theresa and Tony have to drug the joeys and take them up to Nar Nar Goon in the hills, which is too far for the animals to travel. “There’s not enough shelters or people to care for them here,” Tony sadly adds.

These two main issues that Theresa and Tony dealing with at the moment, on top of their

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DRAWINGon

INSPIRATION mark knight Story by Chris West

It is essential for award-winning Herald Sun cartoonist Mark Knight to be tuned into current news and events. The ideas that spark the content of his daily contribution to Australia’s highest selling newspaper need to be fresh and topical.

“I have to work in the moment,” he emphasises.

Knight says his inspiration can come from anywhere and everywhere, while also noting that the immediacy of today’s technology has made it easier to keep his finger on the pulse of the latest happenings in Australia and around the world.

“You have to feed your mind and imagination.

I am constantly on the lookout for the next idea and nowadays the internet and Twitter have become a great source of news and information.”

Upon meeting Knight, it is soon apparent that he has a quick wit and an active mind that can absorb considerable information. Combine that with artistic talent and you have the DNA of a successful cartoonist.

But there is also an art to mastering his art.

“First you have to identify your subject, work out what your idea is and how you are going to say it,” he explains.

“You also have to decide whether the cartoon is going to be metaphor or caption based, or purely visual.”

Generally, it takes Knight several hours to produce each of his cartoons and he has to meet the newspaper’s daily lodgement deadline of around 6-7pm.

“The drawing itself takes a couple of hours, but the longest part is formulating the idea and working through rough sketches,” he says.

Knight uses a combination of traditional materials and modern technology in producing his work. He begins with pencil sketching and then opts for a black ink pen with nib to draw the cartoon, before scanning the image into his computer where he uses Photoshop software for colouring.

Knight’s journey through life has been a colourful and interesting one. Born and raised in the tough south western suburbs of Sydney, his artistic talent became evident at a young age.

A signature element of Knight’s work is the wise-cracking pig that appears in the bottom corner of most of his cartoons.

“During school holidays I was never bored. I could always entertain myself with drawings.

These days, kids have PlayStations and the like, but in my day it was a piece of paper and a pen and you could create all these wonderful worlds. I remember as a kid reading Lord of the Rings and trying to illustrate it. Drawing was always a great companion and came naturally to me.”

“The pig traces back to the Paul Keating days and came about from a cartoon I did about him having an investment in a piggery. Someone said I should keep the pig character and use it somehow. Having the pig to throw in a comment is a good way of introducing a second line to my cartoons,” Knight explains.

On most days, Knight submits his cartoons via email from home, where he works in a studio fashioned from a machinery shed on his idyllic 15 acre property in Tonimbuk.

“I probably only commute into Melbourne one or two days per week nowadays,” he reveals.

“Since my wife Sophy and I made the tree change and moved here seventeen years ago, we have become far more aware of the surroundings where we live. You become more conscious of the seasons.”

“My dad Reg was a pretty good drawer.

Although he made his living as a plumber, he was really a sort of frustrated engineer. He would draw cars and steam trains for me and I would copy them,” Knight remembers.

Encouraged by his art teacher to start drawing politicians, Knight began to broaden his horizons and became the cartoonist for his school magazine.

While Reg Knight viewed his son’s cartoon interest as more of a diversion than a possible career path, his mother Jan thought differently.

“With my dad being in the building profession and given that I could draw, it was assumed that I should be an architect,” he says.

“Dad is a dry character and by his reckoning the first thing anyone’s got to know is how to

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subject of my cartoon. I remember walking into the editor’s office and finding all the executives were in there, including Rupert at the end of the line. I showed him the cartoon and although I think I may have had to explain it to him, I was relieved to get his nod of approval.”

Jeff Hook retired in early 1993 and Knight has continued as the Herald Sun’s premier cartoonist ever since.

Soon after moving to Melbourne, Knight’s life away from work changed when he met his future wife Sophy and took another important turn when he discovered the beauty of the outer western fringes of Gippsland.

“A colleague at the Herald invited me to a day at Tonimbuk Horse Trails. I had never ridden a horse before, but agreed to go,” Knight says.

hammer a nail into a piece of wood. I recall him telling me that I was good at cartoon drawing, but that I would never make a living out of it.”

As it transpired, proud mother Jan Knight followed a hunch and secretly took some of Mark’s drawings to the Art Director of the Sydney Morning Herald during his final year of high school in 1979.

“They were sufficiently impressed to give me a cadetship to commence the following year,” Knight says.

“I began in the art department performing tasks like blacking in the squares of crosswords, retouching photos and race results. They knew I wanted to be a cartoonist but I had to bide my time. The Sydney Morning Herald’s cartoonists at that time were Alan Moir and the great German architect George Molnar, who was on the verge of retiring.”

Knight had progressed to drawing small cartoon illustrations for stories within the paper, when his first big break eventually arrived.

“I had been there about a year when a young editor, Eric Beecher, came down to the art department one evening when I was on a night shift needing someone to draw a cartoon.

A story was hot off the press that Flo Bjelke Petersen was going to the Senate and it had been decided by the paper’s editors that this breaking development was to be the subject of a pocket cartoon. Alan Moir had left for the day and was at the pub and there were no mobile phones in those days, so I stepped in. I did the cartoon and it appeared on the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald the next day.”

Having handled his big moment with aplomb, Knight returned to the back seat but did start to fill in for the paper’s resident cartoonists when they went on holidays, enabling him to build on his experience and confidence.

“We are fortunate here in Australia that our cartoonists tend to help each other out. It’s a fraternity really. Even across different newspaper groups, we’re not competitive in an ugly sense,” Knight observes.

In 1984, the Australian Financial Review in Sydney was looking for a cartoonist to replace Patrick Cook who was diverting professionally

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into scriptwriting. Knight was ready to step up to the challenge.

“I was asked to apply and got the job on a six month trial, so everything worked out really well,” he comments.

Knight spent three memorable years at the paper, describing the political and business landscape at the time as a cartoonist’s dream.

“It was a great era. Hawke and Keating were running the country and characters like Christoper Skase, Alan Bond and John Elliott had come to prominence.”

In August 1987, Knight made the move south to Melbourne to work on the relauched afternoon Herald which had been taken over by Rupert Murdoch. Three years later the Herald merged with the Sun, which had the esteemed Jeff Hook as its cartoonist. Both Knight and Hook were retained to work together for the Herald Sun. Knight vividly recalls his first cartoon for the merged paper.

“The first edition of the Herald Sun was on the Monday after Collingwood had won the 1990 AFL premiership. Collingwood’s victory was the

“The impact this area had on me was immediate. I thought it was amazing. It’s just an hour from Melbourne yet is like The Man From Snowy River country. I fell in love with the place and decided to buy a horse and have it agisted out here. Sophy and I would come up from the city of a weekend to ride and I started playing polocross for Trafalgar.”

The couple married in 1992 and when time came to plan a family, they decided that a rural environment would be a preferable place to raise children over city life in Melbourne.

“We were fortunate that this place in Tonimbuk became available in 1997 and we able to buy it,” Knight says.

The property is located in a picturesque setting on the outskirts of the Bunyip State Park. Mark and Sophy are still slowly transforming the house which is home for the couple and their three children - Jack 18, Elliott 15 and youngest Daisy, who is 11.

Knight loves the attractions of Gippsland and his family has taken a strong involvement in the local community.

“This place is magic and we have embraced all that it offers. Sophy and I enjoy the wonderful restaurants through Neerim and Neerim South and I like nothing better than to go surfing with the boys down at Phillip Island. The boys have

Knight is often privately commissioned to produce caricature portraits for customers. He is also the creator of Leuk the Duck, the widely recognised mascot for kids’ cancer charity Challenge.

After revered cartoonist William Ellis Green (WEG) died in 2008, the AFL and Herald Sun asked Knight if he would like to carry on the tradition of drawing the annual AFL Premiership posters. WEG had held this responsibility from 1954 until his death.

Knight accepted the offer and considers it a huge honour, but concedes that it is a task that carries a considerable amount of pressure.

“It’s one of the hardest gigs going around, I reckon. Football is one of the great passions in this State, and indeed the whole country now, and to symbolise a team’s win in one drawing is no small ask.”

played local footy at both Drouin and Bunyip and I managed a team at Bunyip. Daisy is a Drouin Pony Club member. The kids have all attended schools in this region and I often speak at local Probus and business group functions, so as a family you can say we are fully invested in this area.”

Knight’s artistic talent extends beyond cartoon drawing. He also dabbles in painting and recently produced some Ned Kelly silhouettes for wine labels for the local Jinks Creek Winery.

“The winery ended up turning them into paintings for their gallery,” he says.

Knight starts working on initial sketches and drawings for the competing teams on the weekend prior to the Grand Final. The poster for whichever team emerges as the winner is pre-printed and ready for when the final siren sounds, although the result of this year’s match did not go the way Knight would have privately hoped.

“Being originally from Sydney, I follow the Swans, so was not thrilled at having to sign Hawthorn posters for five hours this year,” he says ruefully.

Knight has his own favourites amongst the many thousands of cartoons he has created, but now gets instant feedback on his work from the public via social media.

girlfriend Gabi Grecko to the Brownlow dinner and being handed an ASADA infraction notice for bringing the AFL into dispute,” he reveals.

Knight acknowledges that the subjects of some of his cartoons have not been happy with how he has depicted them and on occasions his work has offended some readers. He is prepared to push the envelope with some degree of caution.

“We have great freedom of speech in Australia, but you still have to be careful,” he notes.

Many politicians and public figures appear regularly in Knight’s cartoons. He can usually draw these characters from memory, or sometimes refers to a previous drawing or photograph to check for detail.

A current favourite subject is Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop.

“I love drawing Julie with her death stare,” he says.

The nature of the political spectrum in Australia ensures a smorgasborg of colourful subjects for Knight to feast on, with a regular influx of new characters emerging all the time.

“I do miss Kevin and Julia, but no sooner do we lose them and we gain Clive Palmer and Jacqui Lambie,” he laughs.

In Mark Knight’s world of drawing, it seems there always is an upside to brighten his day.

“One of my most popular cartoons this year was one on Geoffrey Edelsten taking his new

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S i lv e r wat e r s i g n at u r e d i s h e s

Kingfish Ceviche

Ingredients

100 gr of Kingfish skin off and dice (as fresh as possible) Juice of 8 limes 20 gr of julienned Spanish onion 20 gr of coriander leaf wash and refresh 1 Rocoto or similar hot chilli Two tablespoons of cold fish stock (Kingfish bones brought to the boil with onion, leek and coriander roots, then strained and cooled down) Sea salt to taste 4 ice cubes

Method

In a medium size bowl place the pieces of Kingfish, sea salt, chopped chillies, Spanish onion, coriander, and stock. + Mix all ingredients together softly, while slowly adding the lime juice. + After 2 minutes the lemon will react with the fish; at this stage add the ice cubes, strain and serve in a cold dish. +

Match this dish with a Pilsener Beer

Pollo a la Brasa ( Pe r uv ia n bla c ke ne d c hic ke n)

Ingredients

For the chicken rub 1 Aji Panca Chili (or red long chilli) 1 Spanish onion julienned 300 gr of peeled garlic 150 gr of cumin seed 150 gr of black pepper corns 300 ml of red wine vinegar 150 gr of coriander roots 300 gr of table salt 100 gr of paprika 300 ml of vegetable oil

One chicken size 1,200 gr or more

Method

With the help of a food processor or a blender, place in all the ingredients and blend until a paste is formed. + Marinate the whole chicken for 12 hours or more, and then pre-heat the oven at 180 degrees. + Place the chicken in a tray and bake for 60 minutes. + Rest and cut. + This recipe goes really well with hand cut potatoes or fries and a fresh salad; it is good even the day after for a breakfast sandwich. + Enjoy and “Provecho” Dan Child Executive Chef

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&

Augustin Ortega Sous Chef

Open 10.00am – 5.00pm weekends and holidays Discover the flavours of handmade local cheese on a tasting plate or ploughman's lunch platter while overlooking the sheep dairy farm that produces your food.

Viewing windows show the cheese making process.

Cellar door sales direct from the cheesery.

P rom C ountry C heese

Burke & Bronwyn Brandon 275 Andersons Inlet Road, Moyarra, VIC 3951 Ph: 03 5657 3338 visit promcountrycheese.com.au www.facebook.com/PromCountryCheese

WINEBAR | GALLERY | ACCOMMODATION | WEDDINGS Open Sundays 12-5pm or by appointment

Jinks Creek Winery 1720 Tonimbuk Road, Tonimbuk 3815

Ph: 5629 8502

www.jinkscreekwinery.com.au

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77

Prom Country

Cheese Words and Photographs by Amber Rhodes

Nestled in a valley of Moyarra, just south of Korumburra, is a cheese factory with a difference.

The custom built factory has stunning views of the surrounding countryside, and the dairy that supplies the milk is only a walk away, although these aspects are not anything out of the ordinary. On further inspection it is the absence of cows that brings you to the realisation that all is not as it seems, and that the orderly line of sheep making their way calmly across the paddocks are, in fact, heading towards the dairy.

Burke and Bronwyn Brandon have always had sheep their whole working lives but it was only around 8 years ago that they started playing around with sheep milk, discovering that it really is a premium milk for making cheese, and after trialling it their operation grew.

Burke's introduction to cheese making came courtesy of his father Trevor, who, along with his wife Jan, founded Red Hill Cheese. Burke and Bronwyn joined the business 14 years ago and remained there until the demand for their sheep cheese grew so much that they needed to buy a bigger farm. In 2011 they purchased the 190 acre property at Moyarra with the view to producing enough milk to produce and manufacture on farm. Initially they sent their milk back to Red Hill to be processed and made into cheese but now, since the opening of their custom built factory this July, everything has been done on the farm.

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For their cheeses they use cow, goat and sheep milk, with organic cow's milk being supplied from Fish Creek and the goat milk coming from the Mornington Peninsula. They make a variety of different cheeses, including both soft and hard cheeses, blue, feta and herb varieties. Each is labelled with their own unique name, drawing from regions of South Gippsland for inspiration.

Everything is done on site, including packaging and labelling. Burke is in charge of the cheese making, for as well as learning his trade from his father, he also completed a few local courses.

His skills were further broadened after spending a year and a half overseas in England, Italy and France. “It gave me a pretty good understanding of how things have been done for generations over there, and then I brought that home and converted that into styles that I think suit the local tastes,” said Burke.

They are currently sending milk off to try and identify unique cultures in their milk so they can develop a cheese making culture of their own. This will enable them to develop their own individual flavours, something completely unique to their region.

“It's a big blend of science and nature,” said Burke, “And trying to guide the path of how milk naturally wants to ripen. Sometimes you can't control it, you just have to have the right environment so it does what it is supposed to be doing.”

Cheese is made 7 days a week, with milk processed every second day. Everyday there is always something that has to be done with the cheese, as it is nurtured along to maturity, which is why having the factory on the property is a huge bonus. As Burke states, “it's all about timing”, with a lot of the work continuing on after hours.

September also saw the official opening of their cellar door and they are now open to the public for tastings and light meals on weekends, public holidays and every day during the school holidays. They are closed in July and August as they are busy with lambing, Bronwyn particularly, who will hand rear up to 200 lambs in the 8 week period. Hand rearing the females is important to ensure they are used to being handled and are quiet for milking.

Currently they have 350 ewes, including this year’s weaned lambs. Like cows, the sheep are milked twice a day, a job that is worked in around the couple's two children's schedules, with the time started depending on the season.

As Farm Manager Bronwyn does the majority of the milking, but with the shop now open Burke milks on weekends. This year they have taken on an apprentice, who will eventually step into the role of manager, leaving Bronwyn free to take more responsibility at the cellar door.

uses locally produced goods, something that is showcased in their popular Ploughman Platters – a spread of olives, home baked bread, sun dried tomatoes, pesto, kabana and a selection of their cheeses. They also hope to have their liquor licence by Christmas, wanting to make the most of the local wines and beers available.

They sell the majority of their cheese through the cellar doors, but some also goes on to delicatessens and restaurants, and they can also be found at the Coal Creek Market and every second month at the Warragul Farmers’ Market.

They are focused on having their cheese widely known throughout Gippsland.

“We're pretty excited about how the food industry is developing in South Gippsland at the moment with all these local producers,” said Burke. “There's so much happening in the area.

It's great that it is finally being made the most of.”

The dairy itself is an old converted cow dairy, which lay dormant for 15 years. They recycled parts from other dairies, but also needed to buy specific equipment. The standard herringbone dairy milks 12 at a time, with each sheep producing about 2 litres a day. The sheep are an East Friesian cross, which are bred for their milk, and are kept in top condition through the use of mineral supplements. They don't use any medications on the sheep as it is important that nothing comes through the milk, so the aim is 'prevention rather than cure'. The farm itself is run as organically as possible, coming under the category of minimal chemical users. Landcare is also a large focus of their operation.

At the cellar door they can accommodate bus tours and groups of people, where they will work out a menu to suit the group, but they also welcome families. The menu is small, generally one or two items, but it is always seasonal home cooked fare made by Bronwyn, who aims to highlight the use of their cheeses in every dish.

Having trained as a chef 20 years ago, she also

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Font of the Gods

Buchan Caves Reserve When you arrive at Buchan Caves Reserve, it’s hard to believe that beneath this green and treelined valley lies a spectacular world of intricate caves, stalactites and stalagmites.

But on a recent visit with family and friends, our cave guide Andrew tells us that the Royal Cave and Fairy Cave in Buchan have been around for hundreds of thousands of years, formed in rock that is about 380 million years old.

Discover the spectacular natural wonders “It’s a fantastic place to visit, whether you’re above or below ground. In the reserve, you can enjoy having a picnic or BBQ, kids can have fun in the playground or you can explore the walking tracks that take you through the beautiful surrounding landscapes.

A visit to these hidden natural wonders will leave you feeling like you’ve been to another world.

After the steep decline into the Royal Cave, we found ourselves in a fascinating underground network surrounded by stalactites, stalagmites, glittering limestone and beautiful calcite-rimmed pools.

“We get a lot of visitors who travel a long way to see the caves including people from interstate and overseas. It’s also great to remind locals that they have this intriguing natural wonder right here on their doorstep. The reserve is a relaxing place to visit at any time of the year. The caves’ mild constant temperature of 17°C offers a cool reprieve in summer and a fun place to go on rainy days,” he says.

The guide’s detailed knowledge was impressive as he pointed out interesting features and explained how they were formed along the way.

We learn that the caves were created by underground rivers cutting through limestone rock. The ‘decorations’ develop when rainwater seeps through cracks and dissolves some of the limestone. As droplets come through the roof, they deposit calcite, which crystallises in a small ring. In time, stalactites are formed on the roof of the cave, and stalagmites build up from droplets, which fall to the floor.

“Our newest visitor facilities include a motorised all-terrain wheelchair that can be used to explore the reserve and a stairclimber chair that will allow children and small adults with limited mobility to see the Fairy Cave for the first time. We’re really pleased that this equipment will allow more people to enjoy Buchan Caves Reserve.”

The youngest among our group enjoyed looking for the giant “crocodile jaw” and “bacon” features on the cave’s ceiling and were sure they were in the magical home of fairies.

“It’s really rewarding to see the look on people’s faces when they get down into the caves and see these amazing natural features,” he says.

Andrew who has worked here as a guide for around 18 months says he loves his job.

Parks Victoria Ranger in Charge, Dale Calnin, has worked here for 40 years and his passion for the place remains strong.

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By Kate Milkins, Parks Victoria

Getting there

Buchan Caves Reserve is near the township of Buchan in East Gippsland, about 360km (five hours drive) east of Melbourne.

Royal Cave - Octopus Chamber

Things to see and do

• Ranger-led cave tours are held daily except Christmas Day (fees apply) • Enjoy the picnic and BBQ facilities • Explore the many walks through the reserve and spot abundant wildlife including kangaroos, birds and goannas • Cool off in the spring-fed pool during summer • Go to the visitor centre for cave tickets, souvenirs and snacks • Stay for a day or enjoy a longer visit.

A range of accommodation is available in the reserve, including powered and unpowered campsites, on-site cabins and five Wilderness Retreats with shared amenities. Book your stay at www.parks.vic.gov.au/stay • Disabled access including a motorised wheelchair that can be booked ahead and a stairclimber chair in the Fairy Cave for children and small adults with limited mobility.

For more information call Parks Victoria on 13 1963 or visit www.parks.vic.gov.au

Photos supplied by Parks Victoria and Doug Pell

Fairy Cave entrance

Camping at Buchan Caves

Royal Cave Entrance

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Callemondah Café

Buchan Friendly Service Breakfast from 8am Lunch, Snacks & Homemade Food Devonshire Teas Milkshakes Selection of Foods for the Kids

Locally Roasted Coffee & Loose Leaf Teas Gluten Free Options & Vegetarian Dine In, Alfresco or Take-Away Phone Orders & Packaged Meals Evening Group Catering by Arrangement (10 persons minimum) BYO + Buses Welcome It is necessary to book in advance

OPEN all Public Holidays except Christmas Day School Holidays Every Day except Tuesday Hours: Wednesday to Monday 8.00am – 5.00pm

Callemondah Café

Steven & Joanne 51 Main Road Buchan Vic 3885

Ph. (03) 5155 9300 www.callemondacafe.com.au

UNFINISHED BUSINESS Story by Chris West

Deputy Premier, National Party Leader & Member for South Gippsland

PETER RYAN Deputy Premier, National Party Leader and Member for South Gippsland, Peter Ryan spoke to Chris West about his life and career ahead of this year’s State election.

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Irrespective of whatever result the election on 29th November ultimately delivers, Peter Ryan has unfinished business.

“As we sit here today, my immediate plan is to ensure we continue to govern, but that is in the hands of the voting public,” he concedes.

“I think there are still many important things to be achieved for the regions of Victoria, including here in Gippsland.”

have work available for those who want to stay. For those who do choose to go away, it is important that we develop our areas to an extent that we can offer opportunities for them upon their return. I think we can do all those things,” he insists.

Now in her ninety fifth year, Marie Ryan lives in an aged care facility in Melbourne.

Peter Julian Ryan was born in Lockington near Echuca on 30th October 1950, the middle of three children. He holds many fond memories of his early childhood.

Soon after his father died, Peter received an opportunity from family friend Jack Sullivan to work at his law firm in Melbourne. The invitation from Sullivan was conditional on Peter also enrolling in the articled clerks’ course at RMIT.

Peter has successfully managed to juggle a number of portfolios and political hats. In addition to holding the position of Deputy Premier in the Napthine Government, leading The Nationals in Victoria and serving as the Member for Gippsland South, Peter is also the Minister for State Development and Minister for Regional and Rural Development.

“I remember roaming Lockington as a boy and reckon I spent half my life below the age of ten on a bike,” he recalls.

Although he has to spend considerable time in Melbourne and other areas in performing his political duties, Peter remains a dyed-inthe-wool Gippslander and serves the local constituents with a genuine passion that has not diminished with time.

Country living agreed with Peter from the outset, as it does to this day.

“I’ve lived here in Sale for forty years and aim to be around for another forty,” he states.

Life took a tragic turn for Peter at the age of twelve when his mother told him that his father was terminally ill.

“I always love coming home, but the reality is that the nature of my job keeps me away more than I would like.”

Ask Peter to identify the challenges Gippsland presently faces and with great positivity his mind springs first to the region’s many attributes and opportunities.

“Gippsland’s sheer diversity is probably its greatest strength,” he suggests.

“In a fifty kilometre radius from my electorate office in Sale we have the RAAF base, the oil and gas industry had its beginnings in Bass Strait and we are still the centre certainly of gas production and a substantial part of our oil production.

“Our agriculture and agribusiness enterprises here in Gippsland are extensive and of absolute top quality. We are also fortunate to have some of the most beautiful natural areas that you’d find anywhere on the planet, including the magnificence of the Gippsland Lakes and Wilsons Promontory are unique in Australia.”

Peter notes that Gippsland’s current challenges do not differ from those faced in other regions of the state.

“While the challenges are the same, we have to maximise our natural advantages,” he says.

“We must make certain we are looking to export markets which are going to be such an important part of our future, as well as making sure we take every opportunity for the growth of our domestic business in its different forms.”

Peter also recognises the importance of attracting and retaining the next generation within local areas. He acknowledges that city life in Melbourne is a strong lure for today’s youth.

“The challenge is bringing them back and making certain in the time to come that we

“My older brother Adrian gave me my first swimming lesson by throwing me into the local channel from one bank and telling me I could get out when I got myself to the other side.”

“The way of life I knew growing up was conducive to outside pursuits in different environments with really good mates,” he says.

“I was old enough to realise that my father was ill. He had been losing weight and was in and out of work due to being physically incapable.

Having worked in stock transport, he had previously been a fit and robust man,” Peter remembers.

“One day when we were living in Shepparton my mum turned off the car engine when we got home from somewhere and told me dad would probably only live another five years.

As it happened, it transpired to be the case almost to the month.”

During the period that Peter’s father battled his illness, his family left Lockington to benefit from the support of relatives, firstly in Bendigo and then Shepparton.

“We are a big clan,” Peter reveals. “Indeed, it is said that in Dookie that Ryans, rabbits and Moylans populate the area in about the same proportions.”

Family connections provided a support network and part-time work for Peter’s ailing father who passed away on the twelfth of July, 1968.

“I am able to get to see her often, but she is failing. Her short-term memory is gone and it is very difficult for her,” he laments.

“I had only received a compensatory pass in my final year of school, so had it not been for Jack’s intervention I would never have gained the opportunity that presented,” Peter states.

Determined to keep her family together, Peter’s mother sold their house in Shepparton in late 1968 and moved to Box Hill South.

“With Adrian having gone into the army, mum was intent on keeping Genevieve and I together,” Peter says.

“It was a huge adjustment to city life for us at first. It’s a complete uprooting of all your associations and you have to start again.”

Peter began his course at RMIT in 1969 and completed it in 1974.

“I have said in Parliament many times before that in my first year of law studies I gained Honours in poker, pontoon and playing centre half back for RMIT’s football team,” he laughs.

“Fortunately, through the agency of some of my mates, I was able to get my act together and elevate my results in the other four years.”

During his studies, Peter was also working with Jack Sullivan’s firm at offices on the fourth floor of a building at 340 Collins Street in Melbourne which no longer exists. Occupying another part of the same floor was Bernie Cusack, a close mate of Sullivan who specialised in selling medical and legal practices.

During holiday periods, Bernie would enlist the help of his daughter Patricia to carry out administrative tasks. Peter met the young lady who would become his future wife in the office kitchen, which was located next to his somewhat makeshift work area under the staircase.

At that time, young Peter Ryan was seventeen and in his final year of school. His brother Adrian had been called up for National Service and was sent to Vietnam later that year.

Younger sister Genevieve was only eleven.

“Mum took on the challenge of raising our family single handedly,” Peter says.

“She is a remarkable, amazing lady. A person of extraordinary inner strength. At a very difficult time for us, she was able to maintain our family unit. She went back to work as a teacher and went on to teach for the Marist Brothers for twenty nine years. She even taught me for two years. On the way through, she raised the three of us on her own and I’m forever grateful for it,” he adds.

“One day this pert looking young thing came into the kitchen and started to wash dishes,” he recalls.

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was a very dynamic practice, extremely busy and highly successful.”

It did not take long for Peter to establish an affinity with the Gippsland region.

“It’s got so many natural attractions which are self-evident. I grew to love Gippsland very quickly and love it more every day. It’s just a beautiful part of the State, and indeed, the nation,” he says.

In 1991, Peter made the transition to politics following an approach from the outgoing Member for Gippsland South, Tom Wallace.

“Tom arranged an appointment to come and see me at the offices of Warren Graham and Murphy. I had no idea what it was about,” Peter remembers.

“He told me he was contemplating standing for The Nationals to try to win the adjoining seat of Morwell which we now hold. But at that time it was a courageous thing to do. He asked me if I would consider a political career, to which I said I would have to think about.”

Peter knew nothing about politics at that stage of his life.

“Some might say nothing has changed,” he laughs.

He describes the career move into politics as a quantum leap.

“Although I was heavily involved in the local issues of the day and active in the community, it was still a significant shift for me. By then Trish and I also had our three children to consider - Sarah who was twelve, James was ten and Julian six.”

It was an introduction that led to an enduring romance.

of the firm’s partners, Tony Stewart, who has now become one of my closest friends.”

“I faced plenty of competition for Trish’s affection from other admirers, but let it be said that so did she!” Peter suggests.

Tony and his partners interviewed Peter and offered him a position. He did not hesitate to accept after learning the terms.

“She has five brothers and two sisters, all of whom I think were barracking for me.”

“I was being paid about forty dollars a week in the articled clerks’ course and I think they offered me twelve thousand dollars a year or something extraordinary. I accepted on the spot because it was more money than I could ever have imagined,” he says.

Their courtship was not a lengthy one. After a matter of a few months they were engaged and six months later on New Year’s Day in 1976 they were married. They remain an inseparable couple.

“I had the great good fortune in life to marry my best friend, we share everything. We laugh a lot. Trish is a person of enormous integrity and charm and a great sounding board.”

Another turning point in Peter’s life occurred in 1974 when he accepted an offer to move to Sale to join law firm Warren Graham and Murphy.

“The opportunity came about through my friend, the late and great Martin Shannon QC, who at that time was a junior barrister I was briefing,” Peter explains.

“Martin was also handling a lot of cases for the firm in Sale and Bairnsdale involving personal injury claims and they were looking for someone as a litigation specialist. Martin was good enough to mention my name to one

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Peter took out a loan to purchase a modest weatherboard house in Simpson Street, Sale.

“It was a foundation which enabled Trish and I to make a start,” he comments.

In the ensuing years, Peter progressed his career at Warren Graham and Murphy to reach the position of managing partner.

“I had a large plaintiff’s common law practice here in Sale. That was my area of expertise.

You wouldn’t have wanted me doing your conveyancing, You would have ended up with your neighbour’s house,” he chuckles.

“But I really enjoyed the cut and thrust of the court cases. For six years I acted for members of the Timber Workers’ Union of Australia, doing many cases involving the hardwood mills here in Gippsland and it was also in the era of the offshore oil and gas development. It

After discussions with Trish, he decided to accept.

“In the end you can only stand around the ring so long before you have to either throw your hat in or go away.”

Peter’s reasoning for choosing to align with The Nationals is emphatically clear.

“I did so principally because it was, and is to this day, the only party in the Parliament which has as its first priority the interests of rural and regional Victoria. That’s been the clarion call of the party for the almost one hundred years of its existence.”

After the Kennett Government lost power in 1999, The Nationals suffered a deflating defeat in a by-election the following year caused by the departure of party leader Pat McNamara.

“That was the lowest ever ebb for the party,” Peter admits.

“I assumed the party leadership in December 1999 and after Pat McNamara had indicated that he would resign his position as Member for Benalla. The Nationals contested the subsequent by-election in early 2000 but lost it to the Labor candidate. At that stage, Steve Bracks was at his absolute zenith.”

As Harrington notes, Ryan also has the common touch with the people he meets.

“One of Peter’s great strengths and natural, personal character traits, is his ability to relate to people from all walks of life. He is generous with giving his time and treats everybody the same.”

Away from politics, Peter has a range of interests, including AFL where he is an avid supporter of Melbourne, a club he came close to joining as a player in his youth.

“I love the game and it is true that the mighty Demons did come calling when I was about 17,” he reveals.

“I played in an Under 18 premiership for Shepparton United and later played suburban footy in Melbourne before spending a season in the seconds with Sale.”

Peter set about the task of restoring the fortunes of The Nationals, a party which then was in danger of becoming irrelevant.

“I felt it was important that we re-establish our own identity as an individual party, so I broke the Coalition,” he explains.

“We have since restored the Coalition with Ted Baillieu in 2008, but the break away in 2000 was the right strategy for that particular time.”

Peter is able to list the values and principles that have underpinned his political career, but does not necessarily rank them in any hierarchical order.

“I carry with me every day memory of and views of politicians before I became one. That is a very good benchmark,” he suggests.

“I am minded to be very straight in the way in which I deal with people. If I say I am going to do something, I do it. Also, I am primarily very respectful of my first obligation, which is to represent the people of the electorate of Gippsland South. They are the people who elected me and sent me to Parliament to represent them. That priority never changes.”

Peter believes that respect for people is fundamental.

“Everybody you meet has something to offer and you owe them the dignity of hearing their point of view.”

He is also respectful of his Parliamentary colleagues, including the other side of the chamber.

“I will oppose the Labor Party and the Greens forever on issues of policy, but that said, I have treated them as individuals very respectfully.

In the main, but with some exceptions, it has been reciprocated. I think bringing those sorts of standards to politics is important.”

Peter is extremely proud of his unblemished record of never once having been ejected from Parliament for inappropriate behaviour in nearly 22 years of attendance.

Someone who can vouch for the personal qualities of Peter Ryan is Sale resident David Harrington, who has been his neighbour and close friend for the past 33 years.

“My wife Heather and I have known Peter and Trish over that time. Our son grew up playing with their children and we have become great friends. We catch up for dinner whenever Peter is home,” he says.

“He leads a busy life, but remains an incredible family man. He has the ability when home to switch off from politics and devote one hundred per cent of his mind to his wife, three children and wider family. Despite his commitments, family is paramount to Peter.

He absolutely adores his elderly mother and takes every opportunity to visit and spend time with her, day and night. It is typical of him.”

Peter’s football days ended with him nursing a broken nose on the Sale Oval after giving lip to one of his opponents all through the match.

“The bloke got me in about the last ninety seconds of the game and it probably served me right. It was the finish of a somewhat nondistinguished career,” he smiles.

Peter still enjoys being active. He plays golf and tennis or goes for a walk whenever he gets the opportunity and likes spending time with Trish in their garden.

“Trish has an absolute passion for the garden.

We enjoy the shared time working in it. I do what I am told and I do not touch any plants without special instructions.”

Another form of escape comes through reading.

“I read something most nights before turning out the light and make sure it has nothing to do with work,” he says.

Peter concedes that at times it has been difficult combining his political career with his family life.

“As is always the case, in all aspects of life there are pluses and minuses. In many respects there’s a price to be paid for Trish and our three children. But equally, we have been able to do things that we would not otherwise been able to do.”

Peter says that he and Trish are very proud of their children.

“They are fine people and each of them makes a great contribution in their respective worlds of influence.”

He considers himself a fortunate man.

“I love what I do. I’m a passionate supporter of the democratic process and everything that goes with it. I have no intention of slowing down at present and will continue as long as I feel capable of doing my job.”

Photographs courtesy of Peter Ryan

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Angela and Steve

Comfort in a Café of travelling before we had our son, and we found the photos were a real conversation starter with customers, and I think like everyone, people like to talk about where they’ve been and what they’ve done,” Angela tells me.

If your idea of an enjoyable café experience involves a personal journey full of comfort, beautiful aesthetics and kind business owners, then head down to the Warragul Plaza Café. Owners Angela and Steve Georgakopoulos are celebrating their café’s fourth birthday next January – and I learn the business has come quite a long way during that time.

Originally from Melbourne, Angela and Steve used to run a restaurant in the heart of the city’s café scene. After deciding their time was up in the big smoke, they relocated to Gippsland to continue the trade, in a location that suited their lifestyle better. “We decided that we wanted to have a bit of a change of pace,” Angela tells me. Within only a few years the couple had moved to Gippsland, welcomed a baby into the world, built a house in Drouin and bought a café in Warragul. Change is exactly what they were after.

“We discussed with Craig that we wanted the transformation to reflect the travel feel,” Angela says, which I can see from the beautiful mural of vintage travel posters that are displayed opposite their photographs. Blending into a beautiful mix of comfort and nostalgia, the café certainly has a dual mix of Craig’s talent, along with Angela and Steve’s history and experiences.

“The reaction from our customers has been just great, everyone loves the café and they really understand the feel of it now,” Angela adds. I even learn of one customer that saw a poster of Portugal in the café and now visits every Saturday morning for a short black, which comes with the opportunity to reminisce over his own travels.

Angela and Steve wanted to evoke the emotion people feel when they talk about their holidays and travels and it seems like they’ve achieved exactly that with the help of Craig. “It feels like you’re inside your own home, and I think that’s why people feel so comfortable and cosy here,” Angela says.

There was already an existing café when they took over the business, but the couple were determined to mark their personal stamp on the place. “We took a gamble and wanted to change it a little bit, modernise it and change the menu,” Angela says.

The café is quaint like it originally was, but with so much more personality. I discover this is a credit to designer Craig Fison, who is renowned in the area for his lively yet sophisticated take on revamping up a space.

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I learn about the café’s weekly specials, which vary depending on the weather, customer demands and what produce is in season. “We change it up a bit and Steve might do some different hot meals like spanakopita or little Moroccan pies.

We keep it interesting like that for the customers.”

Angela tells me. The couple also pride themselves in making the majority of their food from scratch.

To cater for the warmer months, Steve makes a range of different salads. I find out his famous chicken Caesar salad flies out the door. Despite this, he struggles to pinpoint the café’s signature dish. “You can’t just pick one thing because you’ve got certain people that just love their frittatas and others who like their pastas,” he says, while Angela adds that the overall success of their food is because it’s light, healthy and fresh.

Angela and Steve believed what was on offer in the town was a little tired, which fuelled their motivation to revamp the menu. They set a precedent for light and healthy food in the area, which doesn’t only benefit the business, but also the community. “People are changing their tastes, they’re more health conscious now,” Angela says.

They like to use as much local produce as possible, even their meat is purchased from the local butcher and specialist products from the deli next door. Community support is very important to them both. “We keep the business local, you’ve got to support your neighbours,” Angela says, while Steve adds, “because if they go, then we go”.

The couple’s Greek heritage inspired their logo, which sits above their photographs beautifully intertwined with olive trees. “The olive trees remind us where our families are from in southern Greece,” Steve tells me.

Sentimental aspects of the Warragul Plaza Café are visible as you walk in and admire the photographs on the feature wall. They are in fact Angela and Steve’s personal collection from their travels. I see enchanting photos from Egypt, the Greek Islands, the United States and other mysterious destinations. “Steve and I did a fair bit

Ally McManus

Another transformation in the Warragul Plaza Café is their menu. “We decided to change the menu to make it a bit fresher and modern, more take-away friendly too.” Angela says. They still have meals suitable for dining in, but wanted to cater to all the different customers. “We really pride ourselves on knowing exactly what people like and don’t like. We push the boundaries a little bit, but I think they feel comfortable enough to try new things as well. People will automatically tell us if they like it or don’t like it,” Angela tells me.

The couple like to evoke their personal style throughout the café. “We’re cosy and cosmopolitan, with a friendly and warm atmosphere,” Angela tells me, with Steve adding “it’s very homely, we see people daydreaming in here all the time.” That dreamlike sense is a credit to Craig’s beautiful travel mural. There are a lot of things for the customers to resonate with in the café, which is why it seems to feel so homely to everyone. “It brings up people’s own personal memories and experiences,” Angela tells me.

Fresh and tasty food in a worldly environment is what the Warragul Plaza Café prides itself on. Owners Angela and Steve love the intimacy of their café, the healthy meals on offer and the happiness from interacting with their customers.

LET's GO TROTTING LOGAN PARK, WARRAGUL

WARRAGUL Harness Racing UPCOMING RACE MEETINGS

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Monday 12 January 2015 Monday 9 February 2015 Monday 23 March 2015

Warragul Cup East Sunday 5 April 2015 with Fashions on the Field

Logan Park, Howitt St, Warragul warragul@hrv.org.au

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our history 1991 inception

Drouin Computer Services (DCS) opens its doors in Drouin, offering computer systems for sale and associated IT support services to local homes and businesses.

1995 dial-up Your local ISP, since 1995

DCSI is a local Internet Service Provider based in Warragul, Victoria, offering broadband Internet, phone, and webhosting solutions Australia-wide.

We offer a broad range of services and plans to suit homes and businesses, with competitive pricing and a friendly local support team.

We move to Victoria Street, Warragul, and begin offering the first local dial-up internet service – no more long distance call charges. Two Apple Mac servers run the whole show, and our backhaul to the wider internet is provided by a 64Kbps ISDN line, which eventually moved to 128 and finally 256Kbps.

1997 webhosting

We begin providing webhosting services for business and residential customers, powered by Linux-based Cobalt RaQ servers.

1998 broadband

We upgrade our backhaul to a one-way satellite connection, with the satellite link providing the downstream bandwidth, and an ISDN line handling the upstream.

2000 division

As demand for internet services grows, DCS splits its business, with the computer sales and support becoming Leading Edge Computers, and the internet services becoming Drouin Computer Services and Internet – DCSI.

2002 wireless

DCSI starts building its fixed wireless network, beginning with two 802.11b access points in Warragul, and expanding to cover Drouin and Tynong shortly afterward.

2003 adsl

DCSI begins providing ADSL services in Victoria, through wholesale partner Wholesale Communications Group (today known as M2 Wholesale). This year also saw us acquire the internet business of SYM-PAC Solutions Pty Ltd, merging their dial-up customer base with our own.

2004 relocation

DCSI moves to its current location at 64 Queen St, Warragul. The Trango M2400S wireless system is rolled out at towers across Gippsland, offering ADSL-grade performance wirelessly at distances of up to 40KM.

2008 dslams

We complete the arduous process of installing our own DSLAMs at the Warragul phone exchange, allowing us to provide extremely competitive ADSL2+ in Warragul.

2009 3g

DCSI adds 3G mobile broadband to its product lineup, leveraging the Optus network for coverage.

2010 phone & wimax

DCSI begins providing landline phone services to homes and businesses throughout Australia, and begins installing WiMAX and AirMax wireless access points throughout its Gippsland network, offering speeds of up to 12Mbps download.

2011 drouin adsl

We complete our DSLAM build in Drouin, expanding our on-net ADSL service to cover the town and surrounds.

2013 voip

We start to offer voice over IP (VoIP) to residential and business users, bringing super-cheap phone calls to the masses. We now have a 1Gbps fibre link to Melbourne, this is 16,000 times greater than the 64Kbps we started with in 1995.

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DCSI now offers NBN and fibre connections as well as continuing to offer high-performance, competitively priced broadband, webhosting and phone solutions with outstanding local support

WE DO INTERNET HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPETITIVE PRICES BROADBAND INTERNET PHONE WEB HOSTING WIRELESS PHONE SOLUTIONS DIRECT LOCAL SUPPORT YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS NO CONTRACTS

Hours: Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5.30pm Saturday 9.00am to 12.00pm Sunday closed Address: 64 Queen Street, Warragul VIC 3820 Phone: 1300 66 55 75 Fax: 1300 55 65 95 Email: support@dcsi.net.au Web: www.dcsi.net.au Follow us on facebook

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UPCOMING HIGHLIGHTS

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paint place

group of stores

the paint specialists

Cowes

Wonthaggi

215 Settlement Road, Cowes Vic 3922 Tel: 5952 2522 Email: cowes@paintplace.com.au Hours: Monday to Friday 7.30am to 5.00pm

Saturday 8.00am to 1.00pm

Sunday 9.00am to 1.00pm Manager: David Fusinato

5-7 Korumburra Road, Wonthaggi Vic 3995 Tel: 5672 5522 Email: wonthaggi@paintplace.com.au Hours: Monday to Friday 7.30am to 5.00pm

Saturday 8.30am to 1.00pm

Sunday 10.00am to 12.00pm Manager: Rob Geyer

Traralgon

Leongatha

81 Argyle Street, Traralgon Vic 3844 Tel: 5176 1221 Email: traralgon@paintplace.com.au Hours: Monday to Friday 7.30am to 5.00pm

Saturday 9.00am to 1.00pm

Sunday Closed Manager: Kevin Vivian

52 Bair Street, Leongatha Vic 3953 Tel: 5662 2941 Email: leongatha@paintplace.com.au Hours: Monday to Friday 7.30am to 5.00pm

Saturday 9.00am to 12.00pm

Sunday Closed Manager: Luke Watson

SUMMER CARNIVAL of racing at STONY CREEK

Stony Creek Racing Club is the home of a picturesque country racecourse located in the heart of beautiful South Gippsland, about 150kms south east of Melbourne, and is a wonderful place for a family day out.

strengths in business and racing knowledge, an enviable passion for thoroughbred racing particularly in South Gippsland and a vigorous arm to help with the many tasks that must be completed on a regular and honorary basis.

Stony Creek Racing Club Inc. is managed by a committee of community members who bring

It features an undulating course including a rise to the winning post over the final 100 metres.

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The track is very well drained, having undergone extensive drainage works in the last three years.

Many winning horses at Stony Creek manage to continue their success at metropolitan Melbourne tracks shortly after, while a number of trainers from other centres often arrange to gallop their horses at Stony Creek in order to avail of the superior track surface.

Saturday December 6th, 2014 Meeting Join us for a GREAT DAY’S fun and entertainment and celebrate Christmas with us!!

Radio Station SEN 1116 are also coming to the track on Saturday December 6th with its fantastic “Off The Bench” show, starring Hutchy, Pickers and Doctor Turf!! They will do their show live on Saturday morning, then stay and entertain us in the GJ Gardner Homes marquee during the afternoon.

Saturday December 27th, 2014 Meeting Theme: Family Fun focused on both holidaymakers and locals looking for a great day out. Kids entertainment, hospitality packages, and more.

Monday January 5th, 2015 Meeting Theme: Ladies Day, with a great hospitality marquee in place just for the ladies – fashion, fun, great catering and more.

Sunday March 8th, 2015 Meeting Stony Creek Cup Day is the major draw card for the season. Exciting racing is guaranteed which includes several races for quality gallopers. This feature day is one on which many groups hold their social plans, and dress with style for their chance to shine in the Fashions on the Field event.

Ring the Stony Creek Club to enquire about hospitality opportunities, sponsorship, transport arrangements etc.

Photography by Jodie Dalton

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STONY CREEK RACING CLUB DATES DECEMBER

JANUARY

Saturday 6th

Monday 5th

CHRISTMAS WARM UP FAMILY DAY OUT 2014

LADIES DAY

MARCH

STONY CREEK CUP DAY Sunday 8th

Saturday 27th

23 Stony Creek-Dollar Road, Stony Creek VIC 3957 (Just 3kms past Meeniyan, heading east)

P. (03) 5664 0099 F. (03) 5664 7424 E. enquiries@scrc.com.au W. www.scrc.com.au

APRIL

COMMUNITY DAY OUT Tuesday 7th

2009 Licensed Sub-Branch of the Year

Corner of Smith Street & Michael Place Leongatha

New Members Welcome Reciprocal rights with RSLs in Victoria, South Australia & Tasmania

LIMITED BOOKINGS AVAILABLE MEMBERS CHRISTMAS PARTIES

Members discounts on meals and drinks 2 Function Rooms available Fantastic Members nights every Thursday and Friday Members Draw $800-$1000 to be won!

CHRISTMAS DAY 2 Course Buffet with all the trimmings $70 Members $75 Non Members $25 Kids (Under 12) KIDS UNDER 5 – FREE THURSDAY 18TH DECEMBER Entertainment + Great Raffles 2 x $500 Members Draw Must be Won!

Members Happy Hour Relaxed and welcoming atmosphere ½ Serve Meals, Gluten Free, Kids Menu all available Reservations required for most nights of the week

FRIDAY 19TH DECEMBER Entertainment + Great Raffles 2 x $500 Members Draw Must be Won!

Seniors Meals Mondays, Tuesdays & Wednesdays now available Light Lunch options Thursdays & Fridays

NEW YEAR’S EVE 8PM-1AM (No Entry After 10PM) Dress: Neat & Casual Cost: Members – Free Non Members $10.00 Supper Provided See Staff for Bookings

Book YOUR FUNCTION TODAY Weddings, Birthdays Anniversaries, Any special occasion catered for Business Breakfasts Seminars

CALL RICKY TO ORGANISE A QUOTE!

CONTACTS Office: 5662 2012 Reception: 5662 2747 Bistro: 5662 4487 TRADING HOURS XMAS | NEW YEAR Thu 25th Dec 11am - 4pm Fri 26th Dec Closed Wed 31st Dec 10am - 1pm

[no entry after 10pm] Wed 1st Jan Closed All other days trading as normal

NORMAL TRADING HOURS Sun 12 noon - 10pm Mon 10am - 10pm Tue 10am - 11pm Wed 10am - 11pm Thu 10am - Midnight Fri 10am - Midnight Sat 10am - Midnight

Jindi Natural Beef Words and Photographs by Amber Rhodes

A stagnant livestock market, and a frustration with the lack of profits, saw Murray Grey breeder Megan Asling launch her own small business, Jindi Natural Beef. With farmers still making the same returns on their livestock as they had decades ago, she knew there had to be another way.

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“I got sick of working my animals, getting up in the night with calving and then selling them for next to nothing,� said Megan.

Like many small farmers, Megan and her husband Ron, both have other jobs. Megan, a teacher at St. Paul's Anglican Grammar School in Warragul, and Ron, who runs his own business, are first time farmers, although not new to the farming lifestyle. With extended family being involved in the industry they had already been exposed to dairy, beef and cropping.

Their 70 acre property is set in the rolling hills of Jindivick, which they purchased in April 2006, moving in later that same year. They had Murray Greys right from the start, having seen them at Farm World in Lardner. Their first cows came from Dick Pendlebury from Bass, who she remembers him saying that he would only sell to them if he liked them. They obviously made a good impression because they came away with six cows with calves at foot, which were also in calf again.

Eight years later and Megan now runs 40 breeders on her property, with a total of 75 head.

Her product is kept as natural as possible, the cattle being grass fed, with no grain, hormones or antibiotics used. She also hasn't used any chemical fertilisers for about five years, instead using a natural product called Nutri-Soil, which works on the soil rather than the grass, and is a combination of fish emulsion, seaweed and trace elements. They also make sure they rotate the cattle regularly between paddocks, ensuring they eat the grass right down before being shifted, and they only cut hay when they really have too.

Megan likes to keep the production process as local as possible too, with the cattle going to Radford Abattoirs in Warragul.

She is conscious of keeping the mileage down, which less stressful for the animals, but keeps her

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business more environmentally friendly. She uses Ben Curry from the Longwarry Meat Safe as her butcher, who cuts up the meat for her to her specifications, Cryovacs it, and also makes the flavoured sausages and hamburgers.

She sells her meat at Farmers Markets, and after two years in business, is always guaranteed to sell something. Initially she started off at the Rokeby market with just a card table and some flyers.

“I sat there all day and spoke to three people. It was really funny. I thought this is going to be a slow process!”

But gradually it grew, and like everything, Megan has found that persistence has its benefits. She is now finding that people are coming back because they like the meat, and although she mostly sells smaller packs due to people not having big freezers, she will occasionally get a large order for a quarter or half a beast.

Megan will now sell about a beast and a half a month and can be found at the Warragul, Rokeby and Jindivick markets.

“It's been interesting getting the production right, working out how much I need and how to cut it up.”

It certainly seems that what Megan is doing is right, who after thinking they would give it a go for 12 months and see what happened, has now become a permanent fixture within Gippsland.

Jindi Natural Beef Megan and Ron Asling Mason Road, Jindivick www.jindinaturalbeef.com.au info@jindinaturalbeef Ph: 0408 173 813

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HIGHLIGHTS of

Farmworld A Festival For Everyone

In March, 2014, I had my first experience of visiting the impressive pastures of Gippsland’s Farm World. Held at Lardner Park, in the beautiful hills near Warragul, I was staggered by the array of goods and services on display, constituting the fare of a rich backbone, from which Gippsland’s agricultural industry has grown and flourished now, for well over a century.

Walking through the entrance gates led immediately to the cattle, with enclosures and exhibits advertising the ultimate in 21st century enhancements to maximise yields in breeding programs and feeding strategies. Meanwhile, the cows’ gentle lowing invited Farm World’s youngest visitors to enter the stalls, and admire the lustrous coats of these warm and gentle, doe-eyed creatures.

Adults were just as indulged, with impressive examples of countrified life abounding. Fresh from the farm, produce such as food, custom made toys, handcrafts and clothing, helped inspire and tantalise, and maybe even provoke a tree change or two from those visitors not already living our industrious Gippsland dream.

Experts mingled and amiably offered advice, while demonstrators popularly entertained and educated families and investors alike; while stallholders also provided fresh samples of their own scrumptious produce to visitors who idled by. It was a day of fascinating, eye-opening variety, not least being the tremendous cutting edge technology, along with sustainable farming

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and business practices, available to our worldclass producers and smaller landhold farmers.

Fascinating also, were the traditional aspects exhibited over the Expo days, contrasting with their modern equivalents promoted across the venue grounds, such as the charming Clydesdale horse and plough demonstration, which compared dramatically to the high-tech arable cropping equipment also on display.

Comedic wood-chopping events, aero displays, free health checks, even a fishing demonstration provided a colourful, comfortable and inspiring atmosphere which had an innovative flair (ranging from the illustrious modern to the wholesome traditional).

Gippsland was provided with a festival spirit and community pride, as Farm World reinforced its status as one of Victoria’s most valuable experiences, for all its contributors and visitors alike.

Take this opportunity to experience all these delights.

Visit Lardner Park Warragul Thursday March 26 - Sunday March 29, 2015 Photos by James Pell

By Ann Pulbrook

2014

PERSONAL HIGHLIGHTS Australian Royal Flying Doctor Service provided a simulated aeroplane cockpit display, which was very popular with kids, while free health assessments and information helped keep the adults in check.

Animals - from rare pigs to furry rabbits in the petting pen, and disconcertingly honest-looking llamas (whose amazing eyes seem to appraise you).

Food - all the food!

Farming Practices and Skill - spearheaded by the latest advancements, while also reviving appreciation for the humble and effective of yesteryear.

A delightful and informative day for all, and one that could easily translate into profits for all interested in seeking specialised, agricultural advice.

A Plethora of Information and Fun

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Wonthaggi Medical Group

Accredited Providers of High Quality Medical Services to the Bass Coast Community

Your Local General Practice for • Medical Services for the whole family • Obstetrics - Pregnancy Management/Birth • Palliative Care • Aged Care • Vascular Health Assessments • General Health Assessments • Healthy Kids Check • Immunisation

• Diabetes Management, Education and Risk Assessment • Asthma Management & Education • GP Management Plans • Chronic Disease Management - Team Care Arrangements • Skin Checks and Lesion Removal • Travel Health Advice

Opening Hours

42 Murray Street, Wonthaggi

8.30am - 6.00pm Mon - Fri 9.00am - 1.00pm Sat

25 A'Beckett Street, Inverloch Consulting Suites, Wonthaggi Hospital

9.00am - 5.00pm Mon - Fri 9.00am - 8.00pm Mon - Fri

2/1524 Bass Highway, Grantville

9.00am - 4.30pm Mon - Fri early closing 1.00pm Wednesday

Tel: 5672 1333 For Appointments and After Hours www.wonthaggimedical.com.au 108

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WONTHAGGI MEDICAL Group Health Research in General Medical Practice

By John Turner B Soc. Welf., Master Intl & Community Development, MAAPM (Article Courtesy of Wonthaggi Medical Group, 42 Murray Street, Wonthaggi)

When people think about their local medical centre or doctor I doubt whether the notion of Medical Research readily springs to mind. It would perhaps surprise you to find out that general medical practice is at the forefront of a great deal of medical and other health related research.

In order for an accredited General Medical Practice to participate in any medical research, the organisation conducting the research must have received ethics approval in accordance with the National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC) guidelines. Both the NHMRC and the Royal Australian College of General Practice standards, set stringent conditions concerning the way research is to be conducted and the privacy and protection of the personal information of the participants.

At present, Wonthaggi Medical Group and many other practices throughout Australia are participating in two quite different research projects. The two projects are the ‘ASPREE study’ and the ‘ACCEPt’ program; the former involves people over 70 and the latter people between 16 and 29 years.

ACCEPt ACCEPt is an acronym for “The Australian Chlamydia Control Effectiveness Pilot”. For the readers who are not familiar with the term “Chlamydia”, it refers to the most prevalent sexually transmitted infection (STI) in Australia. It is an STI that can have serious health consequences and should be treated and followed up properly.

Chlamydia infects the cervix in women and the penis in men and can also infect the throat and anus in both men and women. If left untreated, chlamydia can cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) in women, which can lead to chronic pain and it can also be the cause of entopic pregnancy, a potentially dangerous condition. Pregnant women can pass chlamydia on to their babies, who can then develop infections of the eye, nose, throat, or lungs.

In men, chlamydia infects the urethra (tube of the penis) and may spread to the epididymis – the tube that carries sperm from the testicles – causing significant pain. Untreated, it can result in sterility in both sexes.

The problem is that many people who become infected show no symptoms at all or the

and treatment. Doctors at the practice have been encouraged to opportunistically identify and treat young people in this age group.

A similar prevalence survey in September 2014 involving more individuals had the remarkable result of nil prevalence of chlamydia in the persons surveyed. While the results Australiawide showed a decline at all the sites participating in the program, ours was the only site with a nil result. This of course does not imply a zero incidence in the community but it is encouraging that the health measures being put into effect in the pilot program at our practice are having measurable results.

For those who are interested, the following web sites provide further information on these studies: www.accept.org.au www.aspree.org For further information on research ethics go to www.nhmrc.gov.au Health Research in General Medical Practice

By John Turner B Soc. Welf., Master Intl & Community Development, MAAPM (Article Courtesy of Wonthaggi Medical Group, 42 Murray Street, Wonthaggi)

ASPREE STUDY Most of us at some time or another will have taken Asprin, although the actual amount of research concerning Asprin is in fact quite sparse except perhaps in relation to the benefits of Aspirin in reducing the risk of heart attack, stroke and other vascular events in middle aged people. Many people are prescribed low doses of Aspirin for exactly that purpose. There is some research that suggests Aspirin may help to prevent cognitive decline, depression and some cancers such as bowel cancer.

Unfortunately it is also a well-known fact that Aspirin can have adverse effects such as bleeding and stomach irritation (dyspepsia). The ASPREE study has been designed to determine if the benefits of Aspirin outweigh the risks in healthy people 70 years old and over.

I will not burden readers with the study details suffice to say that it involves the recruitment of 19,000 patients in Australia and the USA; after an initial health assessment, patients are assigned either Aspirin or a placebo which they take over a period averaging five years and during which time they are being regularly monitored. Who receives the placebo and who receives the Aspirin is unknown to the practice, the patient or the researchers conducting the trial.

The results of the study will be published in 2018. Depending on the results, millions of older people around the world will either be advised to take aspirin or if aspirin is shown not to be of benefit, advised to stop taking an unnecessary medication.

symptoms are so mild as to go unnoticed. The aim of the ACCEPt pilot program is to “assess the feasibility, acceptability, efficacy and cost effectiveness of annual chlamydia testing among 16-29 year olds in the General Practice setting” (ACCEPt, 2014).

When Wonthaggi Medical Group became involved in the pilot program, patients in the age group who attended the practice for reasons other than sexual health were approached and consent gained to enrol them in the study and undertake a simple urine test. From this it was established that some 4.5% were infected with Chlamydia.

This was in February to May 2011 and these results were consistent with results Australiawide. These individuals and their partners were followed-up and received counselling, education

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TARWIN

LOWER the buzz, and excitement of the event starts to brew as the ever-popular summer approaches.

Tarwin Lower’s community is like no other, a great place to relax, wind down and enjoy a spot of fishing, an afternoon waterski or a bushwalk and bird watch at the Fauna Park Nature Reserve.

History

About Tarwin Lower

Tarwin Lower is a small convenient village tucked neatly away among the coastal region of South Gippsland. It has many stunning features, like the popular river that runs from the hills of the Strzelecki’s and winds down into Anderson Inlet. Only a 5 minute drive from the pristine beaches of Venus Bay and a short drive to some of South Gippsland’s greatest treasures such as Inverloch, Wilsons Promontory and Phillip Island.

For many years, Tarwin Lower has remained a hidden treasure, holding the gateway to some of Gippsland’s biggest attractions while holding its own. Tarwin is famous for its prime river fishing offering a range of fishing platforms and a jetty with a boat ramp. The river also offers sublime locations for all watersports, which attracts many tourists from Melbourne and surrounding local areas. Tarwin Lower’s culture is very much arts and craft based, offering many brilliant pieces and outstanding artists that create a wonderful sense of community.

The town may be small, but has an abundance of small businesses to cater for the area, such as an IGA Express Supermarket, butcher shop, fish and chips shop, hairdresser, chemist, bank,

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hardware store, historic hotel, motel, CFA, fuel station, Primary School, Uniting Church and post office.

Many facilities such as a expertly run and maintained recreation reserve which consist of a football oval, netball courts, bowls club, pony club and tennis club down the road all make Tarwin Lower a haven for anyone looking for a quiet, laid back retreat-like lifestyle.

Tarwin Lower is continually making its mark on the map, when this coming summer on Australia Day, Tarwin Lower will provide the location to the UNIFY music festival, crowding up to 3,000 people, hosting some of Australia’s biggest rock bands. The event sold out in roughly 2 hours, which stunned the locals as

Surrounded by lush green countryside, which during winter seems to resemble a swamp, the stories of the Lady of The Swamp come out to play once again. A house located amongst Tarwin’s farming country lays an old Victorian house and property known as ‘Tullaree’, where the story of a rich young lady who went missing in 1952 and was never found, circulates the town in mystery. The Lady of The Swamp whose name is Margaret Clement, was a rich lady who wore glamorous gowns everywhere she went and splashed her money left right and centre, until the day came when the family’s farm began to decline and their fortune dwindled, due to poor judgment, employee chicanery and poor use of their money.

By the 1920s, Tullaree was heavily mortgaged and the Clement family was in serious financial trouble. The mansion was poorly maintained and due to the harsh land the house was crumbling, lacked basic amenities and was surrounded by dense scrub.

Margaret became reclusive, as she still wore her dirty battered old gowns, had her dog as her only companion, carried her basic goods home in a sugar bag and lived on memories of her glorious European past.

When she disappeared in 1952 police and search parties looked for weeks wading through the swamp around her house looking for her body in atrocious conditions, as they failed to find her. The case seems to have never ended, in 1978 police reopened the case when they found the buried remains of an elderly woman in Venus Bay and they also found a spade and hammer 10 years earlier in the same location.

The media circulated the incident for some time as the case went cold and the body was never

found. To this day the case behind the Lady of the Swamp remains a mystery and you only need to pick up one of the few books written about her to find out why.

Back when Tarwin Lower was a remote farming community in the 19th century, supplies would be delivered to the town via the iconic river on a boat called ‘The Ripple’. Now you can find a dedicated estate called ‘Ripple Landing’ which was where the ship would deliver supplies down from Melbourne to the village. Rich with history, Tarwin Lower is filled with hidden stories of the 1800s and 1900s and if you find the right local, they could tell you of all the famous Tarwin Lower stories.

Back in the 1980s and 1990s the Tarwin Lower Pub was roaring and was possibly the most well known pub to ever be established in the area. Hosting some massive gigs involving huge artists such as mid-nineties rock band Killing Heidi, the Tarwin Lower Pub would never disappoint with its classic Australian pub atmosphere and vibe, it was second to none.

People today still come down to see if the pub is running as well as it was; with classic pub meals and live music the pub was a crowd favourite for many.

for commercial use today. The Post Office opened on the first of February 1881, which is now the site of the current IGA Supermarket car park. An old butter factory also existed but was controversially demolished in the 1980s. Tarwin Lower today is a town on the road to bigger and better things, as development in and around the town is continuing to grow as more businesses move in, as the world around us keeps on expanding.

Tarwin Lower is definitely worth a look, whether you’re a day tripper or a weekender, come down, wet a line and enjoy its multiple fishing platforms and pack a picnic; and discover Tarwin Lower’s inner beauty.

Words and Photographs by Hannah Keily

Tarwin Lower’s historic buildings are found in the main street, though they have been renovated

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Foster Seafoods For all the best in fresh seafood, there is none better than Foster Seafoods This shop has everything for the seafood lover. Alice and Lachie Duncan have added new lines to their business along with the freshest and best fish caught locally within Corner Inlet and Bass Strait.

Crumbing: Sardine and Garfish fillets Smoking: Hot Smoked Atlantic Salmon, Chilli Mussels & Smoked Sardines all in Olive Oil Pickling: Local Scallops, Oysters with Tartare and Seafood Sauce, Home Made Chilli Sauce on the Mussels

And you can be assured that the quality and service is still the best!

Specialising in Local Fish

Order Your

Christmas & New Year Seafood Now

For all

the best in fresh Seafood

35 Main Street, Foster, Vic 3960 Tel/Fax: (03) 5682 2815 Contact: Alice and Lachie Duncan 112

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WHOLESALE SUPPLIERS THROUGHOUT SOUTH GIPPSLAND

Monday to Friday 9am – 5.30pm Saturday 8.30am – 12.30pm 29 Toora Road, Foster Vic 3960 Phone 03 5682 2095 | Fax 03 5682 1329 | Email contact@aherns.com.au Web www.aherns.com.au like us on

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Lost and found in the Gippsland High Country

by Lyn Skillern

Very few people are aware that Gippsland has an extensive gold mining history. Yes, Walhalla and Omeo are generally well known but other places with a gold mining past are not.

Foster, for example, began with a gold rush to Stockyard Creek in the 1870s. Many mining settlements were scattered throughout the region and these are now the ghost towns of the Gippsland High Country.

Gold mining had a very significant effect on the environment in the areas in which it occurred.

Creeks had their courses changed to provide water for mining. Massive embankments were constructed, races built and forests were cleared to provide timber for mines and firewood for the boilers running the machinery needed to extract the gold. In the high country today there is little evidence of any of this. Nature has taken back what it lost. In amongst the renewed vegetation one can still find archaeological evidence of these communities and the mining industry that once thrived.

One of these small communities was Cassilis and I personally have a link with this small settlement.

My grandmother lived in the township in its heyday and even attended school there. My great grandmother spent most of her life in small Gippsland mining communities. Her family lived in Crooked River, Bullumwaal, Cassilis and Omeo. They moved from one gold mining community to another in this rugged country.

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in his epic poem “Halloween”. The White Iris is an emblem of the Clan Kennedy and grows prolifically throughout the Cassilis Valley to this day, a beautiful legacy left to the community by John Kennedy.

Once gold was discovered the valley changed forever. As the gold mining developed so did the town and it became, for a short while, very prosperous. People came from all over the world in the hope of making money and having a better life.

So where is Cassilis and what is its history?

Cassilis is located 110 kms north of Bairnsdale.

17 kms south of Omeo and 12 kms north west of Swifts Creek. It was declared a town in the government gazette in 1889 following the discovery of gold nearby. The town took its name from the sheep station that had existed in the area since 1861. John Kennedy, a descendant of the “Earls of Cassilis” in Ayreshire Scotland purchased the northwest corner of one of Gippsland’s earliest grazing properties, Tongio Station.

Kennedy badly wanted the site because it resembled the landscape of the country of his forebears. This was also the home of poet Robbie Burns who describes Cassilis beautifully

Living conditions of course were quite poor and people died of illness and accidents. Louisa Richard, for example, died aged 4 months in May 1870. Little Louisa was the first internment at the now historically listed Cassilis Cemetery and there were to be many more.

The most noted building in Cassilis was the Mount Markey Hotel, which had 16 splendidly furnished rooms. It was first licensed in 1892 and closed in 1920. The townships of Cassilis and Tongio West were near to each other. A school and a store were located in between the two.

State School number 3021 was set up in Cassilis in 1890 with Robert Tate in charge of 18 children. Lessons were conducted in a rented building and this situation continued until February 28th 1903. Cassilis School was replaced by State School 3419 Tongio West,

which opened the next day on March 1st. The teacher was Henry Beck and he taught there until 1906. This school continued on until February 1948.

The peak population of the two settlements and surrounding area was estimated to be 1500 people and at one point there were 2 hotels, a wine saloon, 2 variety shops, 3 general stores, a butcher, baker, barber, chemist, 2 halls, including a Mechanics’ Institute, a coffee palace and 3 churches. When one looks at a

photograph of the township in the peak years you see a road running through a valley with buildings on either side. It is a simple linear settlement. A photograph of the mining area shows how dusty and treeless the place had become.

None of this would have existed without the mines. The Cassilis mine produced 93.374 ounces of gold from 1901 to 1915. The peak years of production were 1909, 1906, 1905 and 1902. At one point it had a workforce of

200 working around the clock and the company used the best machinery and extraction processes. From 1912 the mine went into decline but still operated on a smaller scale for some time.

The most fascinating project related to this mine was the Victoria Falls Hydro Electricity Plant. It was the first hydroelectric plant established in Victoria. The plant was constructed in about 1906 at Cobungra River near the Victoria River confluence. A water race took water to the plant

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Photographs by Doug Pell

from the Victoria River. A power line transported the electricity to Cassilis some 16 miles away.

The electricity supply was intermittent when the water supply was low thus causing problems for the mines.

By the First World War the gold mines had closed. The town rapidly declined and by 1933 there were only 34 inhabitants. The 1939 bushfires destroyed part of the town, and other buildings were moved away. This practice was common in mining communities with some buildings being used in several locations.

In recent years, the population of Cassilis has grown due to the subdivision of farming land into rural allotments. The settlement has been found again. One hundred years after the first official pub was opened in Cassilis The Mount Markey Winery and Micro Brewery was established in 1992 on the former wine saloon site in the centre of town. It produces wine, mead, cider and beer and has a cellar door for free tastings. More cider apples are being planted to expand the product range. Most of this produce is sold locally or at East Gippsland craft and farmers’ markets.

Parks Victoria manage the Cassilis Historic Area.

It consists of 3,600 hectares of mostly forest and is well worth visiting. One can take the Cassilis Wine and Gold Drive road trip. This is a 27km loop that takes you from Swifts Creek to Omeo over one of the lowest points in the Great

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Dividing Range and through the Cassilis “Valley of Gold”. The heritage listed Cassilis cemetery, recreation reserve and gold mining relics can be seen on the drive. These are historic reminders of Gippsland’s past, a past that is worth remembering and visiting.

Those with an interest in the history of the high country gold mining settlements will find, as I did, the following references most informative.

These are: Ghosts and Gold in the Victorian High Country

by R W Christie and Secrets of … Ghost Towns of the High Country

by Luke Steenhuis Historical photos supplied courtesy of Howard Reddish

Homewares, Gifts, Furnishings, Linen, Photography, Art, Mosaic 15 Victoria Rd, Loch, 3945 Phone: 03 5659 4320 Email: lenton.j@bigpond.com

Situated just minutes from the gates of Wilson's Promontory National Park, Tombolo Lodge provides pure rural peace and tranquility with all the comforts of home. Ideally situated as a base to explore The Prom and the surrounding area, the house offers modern, private and flexible accommodation for up to 8 people.

For more details and to book find us on Airbnb. com.au by searching on Yanakie, or contact Tom direct on 0433 446 906.

tombolo lodge 15 Millar Road, Yanakie Victoria, 3960

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A

Spirited Romance

Words and photos by Cherry Prior

In an old, red-brick bank building in the sleepy South Gippsland village of Loch, a culinary revolution is taking place. The movement’s leaders are Mel Davies and Craig Johnson, and they come armed with passion, purist zeal and a respect for the forebears of their craft.

The new love of their life opened up a whole new world for Craig and Mel, who ravenously consumed every small detail of whisky production from that point on, sipping their way through countless bottles of the good stuff.

Well, research is important! After a decade the realisation dawned that perhaps there was a future for them in craft spirit manufacturing.

Welcome to Loch Brewery and Distillery, where traditional English ales and bitters are produced and where, if you enjoy your afternoon tipple indoors, you’ll sit alongside working alembic pot stills made from hand-beaten copper and brewing instruments that pay homage to the origins of the craft.

“At that stage we had been in Melbourne, we’d been working big jobs, we had a small child, we hardly saw each other, we were starting to think ‘oh my God, is this it’,” Mel says. “We started to rethink our long-term plans.”

The brewery and distillery, open since June, is rustic and inviting, with plenty of natural light to set off the shining stills and glassware. But the atmosphere also sparkles because of Mel and Craig themselves, who are bursting to share the story of signature brewing and distilling.

They admit they get so carried away with their explanations that they’ll sometimes overlook a customer’s need for a refill. But this spirited romance was not always so obvious.

Mel grew up in Tarwin Lower, attending what is now Leongatha Secondary College, moving to Melbourne in her early 20s. She met Craig, a city boy, in 1999 at a small pub in Collingwood.

She forged a career in art publishing and project work, he as an operations manager with a truck manufacturing firm. Other than their enjoyment of inner-city bars and pubs, there was not a whiff of their future on the horizon.

And then a workplace discussion changed everything.

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The couple were considering a move to the country to fulfil what seemed a wild dream to produce whisky. “No-one thought it was sensible. Like if you wanted to freak your parents out … you say ‘we are going to move to the country and we are going to start a distillery’,” Mel laughs.

“There was a discussion one day about whisky,” Craig explains. “I said ‘whisky’s rubbish’. My colleague said ‘you don’t know what you are talking about’.” Craig’s friend advised him to try a single malt, which neither he nor Mel had sampled before. “That was it,” Craig says. “You realise there’s this amazing thing out there. It’s not the gut-rot that you get from the bargain basement, there’s a world of quality just like in wine-making and beer-making and as with any food. From there it was just a journey of discovery, and that was about 15 years ago.”

The dream led Craig to Tasmania where he spent time with the man he labels the Godfather of Australian whisky production, Bill Lark. “While I was over there I discovered that basically to make a good whisky you’ve got to know how to make a reasonable beer, because it’s the exact same base, it all comes from malted barley.”

With that revelation Mel and Craig started brewing beer at home – 20-litre boutique batches made with hand-milled grains.

They pursued the option of craft beer with vigour, seeing its popularity increasing and a viable business model in beer and spirit production combined. “At first it was opening a

Loch

Brewery & Distillery

Craig and Mel recommend

Enjoy a Loch Dark Ale off the chill to appreciate the true malt flavours.

Take your gin neat or with a slice of cucumber.

Sip your single malt alongside a Loch Amber Ale for full enjoyment of both.

full on since then,” Mel says. Since they have not looked back, word of mouth carrying their reputation far and wide.

While you can sample three types of locally brewed beer and gin infused with a vast array of botanicals at Loch, if you’re wanting to try the establishment’s first whisky you might have to put your name on the waiting list. Cracking the first barrel, an event not due for another three years, is already a much-anticipated event.

Loch Brewery and Distillery is open 12 noon to 5pm Friday to Sunday.

distillery that we were looking at, and to try and make business sense out of that was difficult because the problem with making whisky is it’s a long-term project, you don’t get a return for years,” Craig says. “We realised that you need to have 80% of a brewery incorporated in a whisky distillery, so why don’t we just get the rest of it and marry the two products together, because they are so similar to make.”

The first concrete step in transforming the dream was when Mel, Craig and daughter Eydie, 10, moved to Loch two and a half years ago, purchasing the old bank building in Victoria Road as their family home as well as the focus

of their business. It was a property with its own story and history, one that they felt would do justice to the story they were trying to tell. Loch too had everything they wanted – a local school for Eydie, friendly locals and a tourism profile that went a little under the radar.

After obtaining their licence to manufacture in April of this year, they “brewed crazily” in order to be ready for the annual Loch Food and Wine Festival, held on the Queen’s Birthday weekend in June. “It was awesome but it was frightening.

There was just so much to do and a big day in the town and we had thousands of people come through. We survived but it’s been pretty

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A strong community upholding the

Cape Paters n Surf Lifesaving Club Ally McManus

Mark Legg in the Viewing Tower

Family ties help keep local community clubs strong, but the family aspect doesn’t necessarily have to mean blood relatives.

Despite no technical relation between many of the members of the Cape Paterson Surf Lifesaving Club – it is akin to one big family.

The Cape Paterson Surf Lifesaving Club is 54-years-old and celebrates its birthday every Australia Day. Mark Legg is a secondgeneration life member, who came into the club in 1977/78 season. His father, Les Legg, is a founding member of the club. “The Legg name was always well accepted, along with all the other generation names,” Mark tells.

“Over the years the Leggs have been involved, but there are also other families that are up to a third generation involved in the club, just from the family friendships that they’ve established,” Mark says.

known as the mad old rescue boat driver,” he says through a laugh. The next round of the school bronze squad begins in December, and then their annual bronze squad takes place over the Christmas and New Year period.

boat training. This is where Mark learnt to swim and surf and was also where his nickname, Doogs was created. Now as his youth is behind him, the club refers to him as Captain Doogs.

There are approximately 450 members in the club. 120 of those members are Nippers, another 100 are associate members are the rest are active members. There are plenty of jobs to do in the club, which range from fundraising to patrolling and assisting with the Nippers.

Les’ best friend Billy Owens, or as Mark knows him, Uncle Billy, had the role of waking up Mark and the rest of the boys every Sunday morning.

He gave special nicknames to each boy, “to my brother David he would say ‘good morning Davey Crockett’, and to my second eldest brother Barry he would say ‘good morning Bags, and then he would come up to me and say ‘good morning Oogle Doogle, time to go surfing. And the Doogs bit has stuck since I was four years old,” Mark tells me through a smile.

The family beginnings of the club explain its strong community ties. Mark says when he was a child; every adult member of the club was referred to as uncle or aunty, despite the lack of blood relations. “We had Uncle Ennio and Uncle Bill and to this day they’re still my uncles, even though I know we’re not actually related. They just had that special place of being a part of the club.”

Mark is still an active volunteer weekend patroller and has adored his job since day one.

“I’m serving the club as much as I can to keep it running,” he says. Mark explains the club is very family orientated and is less competitive than other surrounding surf lifesaving clubs. “It’s always been this way since I was a child. It’s been that same family atmosphere that’s really kept the club such a happy place,” he adds.

When Mark was young, every Sunday his dad took him out with his brothers to the beach for

Mark assists in the training for bronze members and rescue boat drivers, where he’s developed quite the reputation around the club. “I’m

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Another duty Mark carries out is running the club’s Snail Races every January and this event is in its eighth year. “It’s a way of involving the young Nippers in a bit of fun,” Mark says. He gathers up a bunch of garden snails for the kids to race to win the Cape Cup. Mark created this race and says “it’s the most sought-after trophy now”.

Mark sure has gained experience throughout his time at the club. Whether it’s been through resuscitations, water rescues, searching for lost kids or evacuating spinal patients, he’s earned life lessons and words of wisdom to pass onto the younger members. Mark adores this part of the job, “passing on your life experiences to young people that are looking for it,” he says.

The younger kids in the club worship Mark, many looking up to him as a mentor. While Mark has always had the focus on having fun, he’s found out that he’s also played a pivotal part in many of the younger club members’ lives. “If the kids want to learn I take them out into some

Below: Dharshini Brennan, Patrol Member and Laurie Aitken, Chief Instructor

pretty hairy spots,” Mark says, adding that if they can learn to drive in these areas, there’s not much they can’t conquer.

The club’s young female President, Chelsea Bowman, reiterates their focus on supporting younger people in the club. The seniors, the former leaders, take a more mentoring approach with the club. The club’s past President, Dean Manns, recently retired from his role but was looked up to by many in the club, including Mark.

Arthur Phillips is another past President and life member of the club who Mark highly regards.

Mark tells me he did everything he could to help the club, including running the Friday night raffle with his wife Nancye. He held this role for 21 years and Mark has recently taken over the job to keep it running; having the Friday night raffle at the Cape Tavern. “I was his apprentice…he’s been a major influence”.

Mark says patrolling with friends is a sought out activity in the club. Mark is involved in the Retro Patrol, which is for members who have been patrolling for over ten years. “It’s basically made up of older people like me, and we get together and have a fond comradeship amongst us,” Mark says thoughtfully.

The club is looking to raise around two million dollars to update their clubhouse, which has been running since 1968. “It’s showing its age, it’s starting to deteriorate. We’re high on the list in assistance for lifesaving, but we’ve got to raise a lot of money to replace our clubhouse,” Mark tells me.

“Even to this day, other families have come into the club and they always remark that it’s such a warm and welcoming environment for not only them, but their kids, and we try and involve everyone in the club.”

Their goal is to reach the target of funding, pull down the old clubhouse and rebuild on the same premises. “We want to re-establish it in its place where we’ve had the clubhouse for all these years and to carry on our service of monitoring First Surf (Cape Paterson) Beach,” he says.

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“Everyone pitches in and does a lot of work,” Mark tells me, emphasising his appreciation for the local support with the club. He knows the club wouldn’t be around if it wasn’t for the community’s joint contribution and volunteer support. At the end of the day, the Cape Paterson Surf Lifesaving Club is about dedicated volunteers, strong family legacies, and everyone aspiring to have a lot of fun together.

Photographs by James Pell

Photo by Geoff Watt

Club’s Viewing Tower

Photo by Geoff Watt

Cap e P at e rson C O A S T L I N E

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Sounds of summer Words and photos by Cherry Prior*

Late one night, Kev Campbell was looking out across the car park at the Waterwheel Beach Tavern in Lake Tyers to the ocean when he had an inspiration.

“It was three o’clock one morning and I was half pickled and it was a beautiful night and the music was still playing. I thought it would be a beaut place for a festival,” says Kev, one of the tavern’s four owners. “Someone said ‘you will never do it’. Well that’s like a red rag to a bull.”

That was 18 months ago and this summer, Kev’s inspiration comes alive when, for the first time, the Groundswell music festival is held on January 10.

It features a cool mix that will have Aussie rock afficionados salivating. On the bill are legendary acts The Screaming Jets, James Reyne, Ian Moss and Mental as Anything, along with hard rock duo King of the North, alternative rock band Virtue, from Melbourne, and young acoustic artist Josh Cashman. It’s a 12-hour music marathon that’s hardly for the faint-hearted, and the organisers are hoping more than 3000 will show up. Kev says they’re putting on 12 57-seater buses from Bairnsdale just to make sure no one misses out. It’s anticipated the event, which will also raise money for local Surf Live Saving including the club at Lakes Entrance, will be held annually for many years to come.

Todd Cook was one of the attractions at last year's Boolarra Folk Festival, which will again be held in February 2015.

In South Gippsland there’s a crew that’s waiting excitedly for an important arrival, and it’s not the man in the bright red suit. The buzz over this year’s Summer of Soul music festival, also to be held on January 10, began in October, when the Lyrebird Arts Council – with a reputation as the best community-based live music promoters in the region – announced its lineup. Paul Kelly is back to grace Gippsland with his Merri Soul Sessions, but there’s just as much anticipation for The Cat Empire, a Melbourne band whose music is hard to define – a little jazz, a little pop, a little world. But it’s definitely lively and it will definitely have you dancing as audiences around the world will testify. The Melbourne Ska Orchestra, Mojo Juju, Marlon Williams and Perch Creek also perform.

Steve Schulz leading the Boolarra Primary School drummers.

Khristian Mizzi, indie originals artist

Beyond the Valley is Phillip Island’s new offering, taking over from the now defunct Pyramid music festival, and takes place from 30 December to 1 January. With acts such as indie outfit Ball Park Music, electronic duo Hermitude, indie electronica Peking Duck and cracking modern rock band The Preatures, it appeals to a younger audience and is also expected to attract thousands.

Taking it outdoors Beyond the Valley, Phillip Island, 30 December – 1 January Summer of Soul, Mossvale Park, 10 January Groundswell, Lake Tyers, 10 January Unify, Tarwin Lower, 10-11 January Bruthen Blues and Arts Festival, 13-15 February Boolarra Folk Festival, Boolarra, 28 February Inverloch Jazz Festival, Inverloch, 6-9 March Sale Music Festival, Sale, 8 March

If you like it hard, hot and heavy, Unify – a gathering of heavy music heads – will set your world on fire. To be held in Tarwin Lower on January 10 and 11, it features a hard-core list including The Amity Affliction, Northlane and In Hearts Wake. Also on the radar: Yinnar’s Fiddlehead Festival (dates to be announced), Bruthen Blues and Arts Festival, the Boolarra Folk Festival, Sale Music Festival, and the Inverloch Jazz Festival.

If you love live music, then whatever your taste you will find a festival offering to suit in Gippsland this summer. * Cherry Prior, one of this magazine’s regular writers, is also the founder of Gigpig, THE guide to live music in Gippsland.

To find out more go to www.gigpig.com.au

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Lindenow Pub

“A close knit country community,” was what Shane and Sally Lowe were looking for when they went on the hunt for a pub. They knew exactly what they wanted – to be close to the mountains and the ocean, somewhere that had a temperate climate, and that was a beautiful country town. After searching for a long time, and Shane even venturing over to Ireland to have a look, they fell upon the perfect location, and the Lindenow Pub, which has now been in their ownership since July 2013.

Built in 1908, and first owned by the Whitebourne family, it has had several owners since, each putting their own individual stamp on the building. Today Shane and Sally have stayed true to their heritage with one bar acknowledging their Irish background. Shane's immediate family are from Belfast, with his father being Irish.

Despite Sally and Shane being from different regional locations in Victoria, both their families moved to West Heidelberg in Melbourne where they grew up about ten houses apart. Sally worked at the Austin Hospital as a nurse in a managerial role, while Shane spent his days as a machinist working on race car engines in the motor racing industry. Although not having a background in hospitality, having dealt with so many diverse people, and with the experience they have gained in their different roles, this

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combined knowledge has transferred over to dealing with the public in the pub.

To Shane their philosophy is simple. “You need to make people feel really welcome so they want to come and have a drink and something to eat. All the food is locally sourced and the chef is from this area.”

Words and Photographs by Amber Rhodes

strongly support, sponsoring both the football and netball clubs for Lindenow and Lindenow South.

As we sit out the front talking, surveying the gorgeous view across the valley, everyone that drives past waves. “Of course you own the pub and everyone knows you,” says Shane, a fact that is not only testament to their open hospitality and great food but also the relaxed atmosphere they successfully create.

“We tell everybody it's friends and family, and if you're not friends and family you're not welcome,” says Shane with a smile.

They have just come into the Spring menu to accommodate the food that is currently available locally. As well as the usual pub fare chef Grant Mitchell is given a bit of scope to be a bit more experimental, introducing food to people that they might not have tried, although Sally stresses that they aren't a gastro-pub.

Their son James also works in the kitchen making the pizzas in their wood-fired oven as well as managing the place.

They are open every day with live music on the weekends. On Sunday the bistro is open from 12 until 7pm on a limited menu. There is always live music or sports on and both feel it is important to give people somewhere to go in a small town, a community that they

The couple also encourage people to visit other places, as well as other cafés and restaurants in the area. “There's a great big beautiful region out there,” said Sally. “East Gippsland is just magnificent. If we encourage people they just might come back again.”

Perfect weather conditions for the

2014

Stunning cycling surrounds of Bass Coast & South Gippsland

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Metal Sculptures | Water Features | Wall Art | Bird Feeders Wood Sculptures | Quirky Furniture | Custom Letter Boxes Gallery Workshop 32 Cashin St, Inverloch, Victoria 3996 Weekends or by Appointment ph 0407 267 561

Choose from 40 simulated courses to play with friends or hone your swing on our driving range with full swing feedback. All this in the comfort of our family friendly facility.

Our Golf Simulators include Full Driving Range & Chipping OPEN EVERY DAY throughout the SCHOOL HOLIDAYS (Except Xmas Day & Boxing Day)

Inverloch Indoor Golf 11 Bear Street, INVERLOCH, Vic 3996 Phone: (03) 5674 3007 Web: www.inverlochindoorgolf.com.au

SALA SIAM Home Décor 34 Bear St, Inverloch Eric Swift 0402 712 707 Em: admin@salasiam.com.au Web: www.salasiam.com.au 128

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OPEN Thursday to Sunday Thurs & Fri 10am – 5pm Sat & Sun 11am – 4pm Open Christmas Eve till 7pm Find us on Facebook

Closed: Christmas & Boxing Day New Year’s Day

Crikey Technology has recently opened up in Inverloch with a mission to provide professional, honest and affordable services & products.

o Repairs for most smartphones & tablet devices (Apple, Samsung, HTC, Nokia etc), PC and MAC repairs. o Range of computer, networking products, components and accessories available in store and online o Custom built PCs to suit your needs and budget Laptops and Android Tablets Reseller of Telstra prepaid products including wireless 3g/4g broadband and recharges o Same day service on most repairs o Over 10 years industry experience Crikey is committed to providing the local community with quality service for all your technology needs.

Drop in next time you’re in Inverloch and say g’day and see what’s new.

Opening Hours >>> Monday-Friday 9.00am - 5.00pm Saturday 10.00am -12.00pm Crikey Technology >>> 10c A’Beckett St, Inverloch VIC 3996 Phone: 03 5674 6570 www.crikeytech.com www.facebook.com/crikeytech

Wonthaggi Newsagency Monday to Friday 6am to 5.30pm Saturday 6.30am to 4.00pm Sunday Closed

for all your art supplies 31 Murray Street, Wonthaggi Vic 3995 Tel: 5672 1256 thelifestyle summer 2014-15

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ruby's retro RETRO FURNITURE & COLLECTABLES

It was 1990 when I first came to live in East Gippsland. Three years of medical treatment, after a work place accident, left me wondering what the future holds for me. A ceramic workshop with master potter Malcolm Boyd sealed my destination. After two years of working and learning all the different pottery techniques with Malcolm, it was time for me to buy some acerage for my horses, and to build a house come Gallery.

Eight months of making mud bricks and laying them, Providence Ponds Gallery was officially opened in January 1993.

Five years went past; I was doing full time potting, until I decided I wanted to further my education with nursing, to supplement my art income. After 13 years of nursing, I reopened the Gallery.

Hours

With my love and interest in Retro Furniture from the 60's, 70's and 80's, Ruby's Retro was opened in 2009. Then the fun of resourcing and collecting began. "You never know what you are going to find, or stumble across next".

Ruby's Retro stocks famous brands like Fleur, Parker, and Eames furniture. Retro bars and stools, light fittings, clothing, vinyl records and radiograms, kitchenalia, collectables, and lots more. Reproduction items, example clocks, are added to compliment the collection.

Ruby’s Retro is situated halfway between Sale and Bairnsdale, on the Princes Highway at Munro.

See you at Ruby's Retro!

Ruby's Retro FURNITURE & COLLECTABLES HOURS 3501 Princes Hwy, 10:00am to 5:30pm FRI, SAT & SUN (Or by Appointment other days) Munro, VIC 3862 Call 5145 8280 or Mobile: 0418 274 440 Em: philponds@hotmail.com

or check out Ruby’s Retro on Facebook

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ALI'S ART

THE BIG DRAW : SALE GALLERY

Gippsland Art Gallery Community Day

Photography by Lindsay Roberts

By Ali Fullard

The art of drawing is a human impulse, as natural as the impulse to talk.

Art should be concerned more with “life” than “art”. It has to do with the act of observation and physical contact with all sorts of objects through the senses.

Saturday, 18 October saw over 190 people visiting the Gallery to join in the fun at the biggest community event of the year – The Big Draw 2014.

After the enormous success of The Big Draw in previous years, Wellington Shire Council was delighted to invite the community to another day of creativity at the Gippsland Art Gallery.

Venues included the Gippsland Art Gallery as well as the Sale Library, ESSO BHP Wellington Entertainment Centre, Sale Botanic Gardens and Aqua Energy, where people participated in artistfacilitated workshops.

This year’s Big Draw theme was, ‘It’s Our World’, a celebration of our environment – of urban, rural and coastal landscapes.

I had the privilege of organising an activity at the Gallery, using the subject of insects, spiders, butterflies and all manner of bugs which breed in this region. Using enlarged photos of bugs and models as inspiration, a delightful mural was created by children with watercolour, crayons and pencils. I was very impressed with the excitement and confidence the children showed when given this task. It was a lesson for us “oldies”!

Local artists, Claire Marston and Michelle Watson facilitated hands on workshops, also in the Gallery, with visitors drawing images that had a meaning to themselves, on a large leaf and completing a large drawing using any drawing materials that were available. Wellington Shire Youth Councillors assisted children with a messy play activity where they got to walk through paint and across a large sheet of paper. This activity was a favourite!

in Wellington Shire with the Messy Play Road Show. The program was supported by Wellington Shire Council and Uniting Care Gippsland.

Activities at the Entertainment Centre included drawing, where people were able to draw their own urban, rural or coastal landscape on the external brick wall. Those who visited Equus Cafe were able to draw on placemats while they ate and The Friends of the Botanic Gardens facilitated art activities in the Botanic Gardens where participants created their own bark rubbings and leaf splatter paintings.

Visitors to the Sale Library participated in story time and were able to draw on the library windows, using the scene beyond as their subject.

As part of Children’s Week from 20 to 24 October, The Big Draw went on the road visiting communities

Since its launch in 2000, The Big Draw has successfully supported the Campaign for Drawing’s aim, by encouraging everyone to draw.

Big Draw events highlight the power of drawing to help people see, think, invent and take action.

WHAT'S ON “Eye Spy” An exhibition by Briagolong Art Gallery Artists, 6th December to February 2015. Briagolong Art Gallery.

Cnr Forbes and Avon Sts. Briagolong 3860.

Open: Saturday and Sunday 11am – 4pm.

Contact: 03 51 455 439 0427 327 494 Email: briagolongartgallery@gmail.com

“Summer Salon” Gippsland Art Gallery Sale. An array of affordable, high quality works for sale, by local artists.

Open: 29th November to 1st February 2015.

Stratford Courthouse Theatre Everchanging program of theatre and film.

566 Princes Highway, Stratford.

Contact: 0419 323 219 Web: www.stratfordcourthouse.com.au

“Chrisalis” Yarram Court House Gallery. 4th December to 6th January 2015. Chris Josephs and Sally McDonald.

Open: 10am – 4pm daily. Closed Wednesdays.

Contact: 03 51 826 553 Web: www.yarramchgallery.blogspot.com

BRIAGOLONG ART GALLERY Cnr Forbes and Avon Streets, Briagolong 3860 Hours Saturday and Sunday 11am – 4 pm | Contact 03 51 455 439 or 0427 327 494 | Email briagolongartgallery@gmail.com

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The Past Inspiring The Present

It is mid morning and the small township of Briagolong is beginning to buzz with the daily activities of a rural area. Along with the usual offerings of the post office, general store, pub, café and gift shop, another heritage building is opening its door to begin another day of trading.

The proprietors of “RUST EMPORIUM” have already completed a day’s work before the doors have opened. Five enterprising young mums, somehow have summoned the energy to start up this unique business. As is the case in rural Australia, isolation from the big centres and lack of employment opportunities, often lead individuals to become creative and be proactive about providing for their lifestyle.

Some months ago, a building became available and these young mums got together to have a talk about making their dreams and aspirations become a reality, by deciding to rent the premises. The character-filled building was originally the old general store and comprises four main rooms, which are now a veritable “Aladdin’s Cave of Delights”. Anyone who is interested in antiques, retro articles, clothing, recycled objects, food, garden features, plants and garden needs will find a blissful hour or two browsing the available wares.

Cheerful Nadine Pleydell, mum to a son and a daughter, has amassed a large, forever

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changing collection of rustic and vintage items, which fill the retro shelving and surfaces of two rooms. Ornaments, plates, canisters, of times gone by, evoke delighted responses from customers who start reminiscing about their own past and items available for sale. Nadine will also be opening a renovator’s shed filled with reclaimed doors, windows and building materials.

Ella Wharf, mum to a daughter, has an eclectic range of kitsch and vintage items including quirky clothes, scarves and other textile items.

This room is a visual delight, the colour and sheer amount of items truly overwhelming.

from their own childhood. This room shows “country” style with a modern, quirky twist.

The mums have all worked out a roster to be behind the counter and acknowledge the support of family.

The girls source items locally or wherever their travels take them. Many items are “donated”.

Being a rural area means the prices are extremely reasonable compared to city prices for retro and vintage items. Word, however, is spreading, thanks to facebook and customers are beginning to travel from Melbourne to browse and pick up a bargain.

Penny Turnbull, mum to a son and daughter fills another room with her wares under the name of “Wicked Pixie”. Penny specialises in retro, vintage clothing, some home wares and her “Fairy Garden” range of foods. This includes a range of nuts, Chai teas and spices all attractively arranged for a good browse.

The business will also host an exhibition by local artist, Ken Roberts in January 2015.

Melissa Conway, mum to four boys and Dorothy Ridding, share another room which has a definite feminine quality. Melissa has creatively recycled beautiful old china into original cake stands and quirky objects. Dorothy has created and designed original items such as lines of bunting and wreaths using pages from “Golden Books” which many readers may remember

Rust Emporium Forbes St. Briagolong Open Wednesday-Sunday 10am – 5pm Contact: 0425 761 019 Email: rust.briag@gmail.com Find us on facebook

If you love a good old fossick with a forever changing array of quirky items, and a lovely chat from these cheery and outgoing owners, this is the place to come!

Words and Photographs by Ali Fullard

Kasama Décor Unique Gifts & Home Décor

Kasama Décor Unique Gifts & Home Décor 3/31 The Esplanade Paynesville Vic 3880

Phone: 03 5156 1209

Monday to Friday: 10.00am to 5.00pm | Saturday - Sunday: 10.00am to 3.00pm Summer Times or by appointment (The store is closed every Tuesday.) See you soon, Sue Clementson

Briagolong Corner Cottage

Modern spacious B&B has all the comforts, ideally located in the township and close to the many nearby attractions.

Bookings essential.

63 Forbes Street, Briagolong Vic 3860 Tel: 5145 5426 Mobile: 0417 737 709 Contact: Sally & Steve White

Like us on Facebook www.wix.com/briagolong3860/briagolong

Prints | Drawings | Watercolours | Mixed Media | Digital images | Original cards “I work across a range of media inspired by the natural world and dramatic landscape of the Gippsland region.”

Open: By Appointment | All Welcome 75 Landy Lane Briagolong 3860 Ph. 0427327494 | Email alifullard@bigpond.com thelifestyle summer 2014-15

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your events guide DECEMBER 2014 A JOYOUS CHRISTMAS Date: Friday 12 December Time: 11am Location: West Gippsland Arts Centre Warragul Contact: Box Office 5624 2456 CAROLS BY CANDELIGHT SAN REMO Date: Friday 12 December Time: 7pm Location: Foreshore San Remo Contact: loisbalka@hotmail.com DYSON, STRINGER & CLOHER Date: Friday 12 December Location: Meeniyan Town Hall Contact: Book with lyrebirdarts@hotmail.com 43RD CAROLS BY CANDLELIGHT Date: Friday 12 December Time: 7.30pm – 10pm Location: Victory Park, Princes H’way, Traralgon Contact: Traralgon Lions Club 5176 4102 CHRISTMAS AT THE BAY – CORONET BAY Date: Saturday 13 December Time: 5pm Location: Foreshore Coronet Bay Contact: Joy Button (03) 5678 0602 CAROLS AT THE DOME Date: Saturday 13 December Time: 5.30 for games | 7.30 for Carols Location: Leongatha Rec Reserve,

Wild Dog Valley Rd Contact: Paul Bauer or Nanette Gale

0400 853 868 or 0409 624 020

JANUARY 2015 MAFFRA CAROLS Carols Singing and a visit from Santa Date: Sunday 21 December Time: 7pm – 12am Location: Maffra Recreation Reserve, Newry Rd Contact: John Crockford on 5147 2114 TROSP WALKS @ THE PROM – MT VEREKER Date: Sunday 21 December Time: 9.30am Location: Five Mile Track Car Park Wilsons Prom Contact: Dana Hughes 0427 808 540 GOLDEN SPURS RODEO Date: Friday 26 December Time: Gates open at 11am

Main Events 4pm – 11pm Location: Myrtleford Showgrounds Contact: Darren Murphy 0409 170 020 FOSTER GOLF CLUB – OPEN MIC Jam Session with The McCrackens Date: Sunday 28 December

(Last Sunday of Month) Time: 2pm – 6pm Location: Foster Golf Club, 7 Reserve Rd Contact: Foster Golf Club (03) 5682 2272 GLENMAGGIE GOLD CUP POWERBOAT RACE MEETING Date: Sunday 28 December Time: 10am – 5 pm Location: Glenmaggie & District Boat Club Inc Contact: 0418 397 618 gdbccommodore@iprimus.com.au

CHRISTMAS TWILIGHT MARKET & FAMILY FUN NIGHT Date: Saturday 13 December Time: 5pm Location: State Coal Mine, Garden St, Wonthaggi Contact: Vicki Villella (03) 5672 3053 INVERLOCH COMMUNITY CAROLS Date: Tuesday 16 December Time: 7pm Location: 16 A’Beckett St, Inverloch Contact: Rev Graeme Peters 0468 696 253

CAROLS BY CANDLELIGHT Date: Sunday 21 December Time: 6pm with a BBQ Location: Wishart Rec, McBride Ave, Wonthaggi Contact: Pastor Barry Smith 0411 518 740

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PIDRM MODEL TRAIN SHOW Date: Saturday 10 – Sunday 11 January Time: 10am – 5pm (Closes 4pm Sunday) Location: Cowes Civic Centre Hall Contact: Peter Foden (03) 5956 9513 ANNUAL ST JAMES CHURCH SECONDHAND BOOK SALE Date: Monday 5 – Saturday 10 January Time: 9am – 4pm Location: St James’ Hall, Orbost BASS COAST SUMMER AGRICULTURAL SHOW Date: Saturday 10 January Time: 9am Location: Cnr Wonthaggi-K’burra Rd

And Wentworth Rd, Wonthaggi Contact: Peter Foden (03) 5956 9513 GROUNDSWELL MUSIC FESTIVAL James Reyne, Ian Moss, Mental as Anything and The Screaming Jets Date: Saturday 10 January Time: 10.30am – 11.30pm Location: Waterfront Lake Tyers Beach Contact: 5156 5855 info@groundswellfest.com.au

Tickets on sale via OZTIX MOSSVALE PARK: ‘Summer of Soul’ The Cat Empire and Paul Kelly presents the Merri Soul Sessions Date: Saturday 10 January Time: Gates open 12 noon | Music 3pm Location: Mossvale Park

(14kms out of Leongatha) Contact: Tickets on sale via OZTIX lyrebirdarts@hotmail.com

GIPPSLAND GEEKFEST AT COAL CREEK “Come to where the awesome is!”

CAROLS AT THE CREEK Date: Friday 19 December Time: 7.30pm – 9pm Location: Coal Creek Community Park & Museum Contact: (03) 5655 1811 DUNCAN’S RUN HUNDRED A memorial running event for local runner Duncan Orr Date: Saturday 20 December Time: 6am Start Location: Balook Visitor’s Centre, Grand Ridge Rd Contact: 0408 025 220 skootnsubie@gmail.com

PHILLIP ISLAND MULTISPORT FESTIVAL Date: Saturday 2 January Time: 8am Location: Phillip Island Race Circuit Contact: Scott Hollow 0458 151 306

Date: Saturday 17 January Time: 10am – 6pm Games & Competitions Location: Coal Creek Community Park & Museum Contact: (03) 5655 1811

NEW YEAR’S EVE FIREWORKS at Coronet Bay Date: Wednesday 31 December Time: Approx. 9.15pm Location: Foreshore Reserve Contact: Chris Hutton (03) 5678 0738

SUMMER events FEBRUARY 2015 PIDRM MODEL TRAIN SHOW Date: Saturday 10 – Sunday 11 January Time: 10am – 5pm (Closes 4pm Sunday) Location: Cowes Civic Centre Hall Contact: Peter Foden (03) 5956 9513 CAPE PATERSON SURF LIFE SAVING CLUB CAPE AQUATHON Date: Sunday, 18 January Time: Registration: 8.00am to 9.30am Location: Cape Paterson SLSC Clubrooms Contact: Bookings see www.cpslsc.org.au The Cape Aquathon is a 400m surf swim followed by a 3.5km run around the Cape Paterson Estate. It is one of the three races in the Bass Coast Summer Series. Race Entry: Internet or postal entries preferred to avoid disappointment. Postal entries to be received by last mail Thursday 15th January 2015. Entries will be accepted on the day if field limit has not already been reached.

must must see must go do

UPCOMING EVENTS 2015

SAN REMO CHANNEL CHALLENGE Date: Saturday 7 February Time: 4pm Location: San Remo Contact: Michael Sullivan 0409 798 867

Various Venues throughout Drouin Thursday 26 – Sunday 29 March 2015 Thurs – Sat | 8.30am – 5.00pm Sun| 8.30am – 4.00pm Lardner Park Warragul www.lardnerpark.com.au/farmworldmain.html

The main attractions are the Friday Frenzy Sale, Poetry Night, Street Parade, Party In The Park, CWA Craft Exhibition, Artist Studio Tours, Golf Completions, 20/20 Cricket Matches, 3BBR Radio Open Day, Movie Under The Stars and many more.

CAPE PATERSON SURF LIFE SAVING CLUB “The Cape Cup” Snail Races Date: Saturday, 24 January Time: 6.30pm Location: Cape Paterson SLSC Clubrooms Contact: www.scpslsc.org.au Purchase your 'thoroughbred' on the night.

Hundreds of Snails will be available from the stables. At the end of the evening YOU could be holding aloft the 'Cape Cup'. No need to book just be there.

KILCUNDA LOBSTER FESTIVAL Date: Sunday 25 January Time: 9am – 4pm Location: Kilcunda Foreshore Car Park Contact: 0400 065 253 secretary@kcda.org.au

BRUTHEN BLUES AND ARTS FESTIVAL Date: Friday 13 – Sunday 15 February Time: 7pm Friday – 6.30pm Sunday Location: Bruthen Township SERENADE AT SUNSET Date: Saturday 28 February Time: 5pm Location: Grantville Rec Reserve Contact: Chris Hutton (03) 5678 0738 COWES CLASSIC Date: Saturday 28 February Time: 2pm – Race Start Location: Start/Finish Line outside Hotel

on The Esplanade Contact: John Weston 0418 366 324

Find us on Facebook Contacts: Organising Committee Chair

Deb Gray 0428 393 786 Publicity & Promotion

Vanessa Facey 0438 757 803 With so much happening in South Gippsland, we need two weekends to fit it all in!

If you require your event to be promoted please email Gippsland the Lifestyle thelifestyle@dcsi.net.au

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west gippsland

SUMMER in

with

LAURIE COLLINS Summer is a coming in

Next year arrives 2015 …not sure I can believe it is here already

January January 10th to 11th Mt Baw Baw has a mountain bike festival.

There really is an abundance of artistic talent in the area and it is worth catching up with some of the more reclusive ones. Download a map and list of artists from www.openstudioswestgippsland.com February 21st to 22nd is a Sprint Tarmac event.

Well its coming up to summer… and spring has sprung..What’s happening in West Gippsland over this time…well pretty much everything.

Music, nature, markets, sports yep it all continues in some form or another.

The range of markets continue with Longwarry on the 1st Sunday of the month, Rokeby on the 2nd Saturday, Warragul Farmers Market and Art Market on the 3rd Saturday (as well as Drouin), Yarragon (4th Saturday) and Hill End markets also continue.

MARCH

December

March 7th is a trail run festival www.mountbawbaw.com.au

December 1st is Harness Racing at Logan Park Warragul from 12.00 (I think horses are in the harnesses) but it could be a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. www.letsgotrotting.com

March 6th Dan Sultan is playing at the WGAC (get in quick for tickets) and he is followed on 14th March by the Mamas and the Papas show not the originals but sure to be good.

December 2nd to 24th Crystal Water (not the estate but art inspired by crystal patterns) art exhibition at West Gippsland Arts Centre www.wgac.com.au

February

I won’t mention Summer and going to the beach but if you want a cool place to swim, Blue Rock Lake is a great place to take the kids (no surf) but spectacular surroundings.

February 14th is another Season of Pain.. (isn’t that Valentine’s Day?…maybe this will suit some couples better than others!)

Good on ya ... Laurie Collins

Dec 10th to 11th I would mention Jimmy Barnes also at WGAC but its all sold out www.wgac.com.au December 25th… Xmas!! (Happy Xmas) December 26th Drouin Picnic Races (at Drouin Racecourse) usually a wonderful fancy and relaxed way to spend the day. Not quite the Melbourne Cup but they give it a fair run for its money.

December 31st Happy New Year Wild Dog Winery will have a party with Issy Dye starting from 7.00 (Just to see if he still has the afro would be worth it!) www.wilddogwinery.com

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February 15th is the open studios in West Gippsland. A whole palette of artists (surely that isn’t the right collective noun) open their studios for you to see their work places and processes.

Your Market Guide to Summer BAIRNSDALE FARMERS’ MARKET

HILL END MARKET

OLD GIPPSTOWN HERITAGE PARK MARKET

1st Saturday of every month – 8am-12noon Location Bairnsdale Secondary College Oval,

McKean Street Rain or Hail - Farmers' Market is under cover Contact John 5156 9342 or Ian 5152 3698

3rd Sunday of January and March – 8am-1pm Location Former Hill End School Contact Chris 5635 2256

3rd Saturday of month – 9am-2pm Location Lloyd Street, Moe Contact 5127 3082

INVERLOCH COMMUNITY CENTRE ROTARY CLUB MARKET

PAYNESVILLE LIONS CLUB MARKET

BERWICK AKOONAH PARK MARKET Every Sunday – 8am-1.30pm Location Akoonah Park, cnr High & Cardinia Sts, Berwick Contact Gary Maker (03) 9796 1455

Saturday, 3rd and 24th January and 7th March - 9am-3pm Location Community Centre, A’Beckett Street Contact Ken Fisher 5663 5256

INVERLOCH COMMUNITY FARMERS' MARKET

2nd Sunday of month - 8.30am-1.30pm Location Gilsenan Reserve Contact Lions Club 0400 327 526

PAYNESVILLE FARMERS MARKET

Saturday 7th March – 11am-8pm Location Centenary and Railway Park, 175 McIntosh Road

Last Sunday of the month – 8am-1pm Location The Glade, Opposite Inlet Hotel, Inverloch Contact Tennille 0448 327 637

3rd Saturday of month - 8am-12pm Location Paynesville Football/Cricket Oval

59 Main Road Contact Scott 0409 524 399

BRIAGOLONG MAKERS MARKET

INVERLOCH FARMERS’ MARKET

REH CORK CLUB CRAFT MARKET

BOOLARRA FOLK FESTIVAL MARKET

2nd Sunday of month – 9am-1pm Location Behind Riverstone Café Contact 5145 5260

BRUTHEN VILLAGE MARKET 4th Saturday of month – 9am-1pm Except December is held as a twilight market with Community Christmas Carols and February is held on 3rd Weekend with Blues Festival Location Bruthen Mechanics’ Hall and Grounds,

Main St, Bruthen Contact 5157 5665

CALLIGNEE COMMUNITY MARKET

3rd Sunday of the month – 8am-1pm Location The Glade, Opposite Inlet Hotel, Inverloch Contact Peter Arnold 5664 0096

JINDIVICK COUNTRY MARKET 1st Saturday of month except January – 9am-1pm Location 1070 Jackson’s Track, Jindivick Contact Jindivick Harvest Kitchen 5628 5227

JOHNSONVILLE COMMUNITY MARKET 1st Saturday of month - Starts 9am Location Johnsonville Hall, Princes Highway Contact Perry 5156 4162

3rd Sunday of month – 8am-1pm October to May Location Callignee Hall Reserve Contact Lex 5147 3808

JUMBUNNA BUSH MARKET

CHURCHILL ISLAND FARMERS’ MARKET

KONGWAK MARKET

4th Saturday of month - 8am-1pm Location Visitors’ Centre on Churchill Island

off Phillip Island Contact Peter Arnold 5664 0096

COAL CREEK COMMUNITY PARK & MUSEUM FARMERS’ MARKET 2nd Saturday of month - 8am-12.30pm Location Coal Creek Community Park

and Museum Car Park, Silkstone Rd, Korumburra Contact 0459 629 000

FREE Entry/Ample Parking

COWES ISLAND CRAFT MARKET 2nd Saturday of month - 9am-2pm Location St Phillips Parish Hall and grounds,

Thompson Ave, Cowes Contact Monica 0412 710 276 or 5678 8784

COWES MARKET ON CHAPEL 4th Saturday of month – 8.30am-2pm Location Uniting Church, Chapel St, Cowes Contact Faye 5952 5905 or Graham 5952 5213

COWES NIGHT MARKET Sunday 28 December, 4 & 25 January, 22 February – 5-9pm Location Cowes Jetty Contact Anne-Marie 5952 1131 or 0419 560 293

DROUIN CRAFT & PRODUCE MARKET 3rd Saturday of month - 8am-12.30pm Location Civic Park, Civic Place, Drouin Contact John 0419 428 564 Drouin Rotary Club

FARMERS’ MARKET @ THE OLD CHEESE FACTORY 2nd Saturday of month – 8am-12.30pm Location The Old Cheese Factory, 34 Homestead Road, Berwick Contact Market Manager: Geoff Rankin 0407 968 841

FOSTER FARMERS’ MARKET 3rd Saturday of month - 8am-12pm Location Foster War Memorial Arts Centre, Main Street, Foster Contact 03 5680 8509

FOSTER/PROMONTORY MARKET Sunday, 25 January and 8 March– 8am-2pm Location Foster Showgrounds Contact Max Parnell 5682 2654

GRANTVILLE COMMUNITY MARKET 4th Sunday of month - 8am-2pm Location Grantville Recreation Reserve Contact John Hulley 5678 8438

HEYFIELD COMMUNITY MARKET 1st Saturday of month – 8am-1pm Location John Graves Memorial Park, Temple Street Contact 5148 3408 or 5148 2394

1st Sunday of the month – 9am-1pm Location Public Hall, Cruickshanks Road Contact Mrs. Smith 5657 3241 or Mrs. Wylie 5657 3253

Every Sunday – 10am-3pm No Market - 21 December Location Korumburra Road, Kongwak Contact Jane 0417 142 478

KOONWARRA FARMERS' MARKET 1st Saturday of the month – 8am-12.30pm Location Memorial Park off Koala Drive

Held in adjoining Halls on wet days) Contact Rod 0408 619 182

KOOWEE COMMUNITY MARKET

2nd Saturday of month until May – 7am Location Kay Street Gardens, Traralgon Contact Chris Van Der Meer 0487 342 675 Proceeds go to Good Friday Appeal in aid of The Royal Children’s Hospital

ROKEBY COMMUNITY MARKET 2nd Saturday of month – 8am-1pm Location Main Road, Rokeby Contact 5626 8523

ROSEDALE COMMUNITY MARKET 2nd Sunday of month - 7.30am-1.30pm Location Prince Street Reserve Contact George Sharp 5199 2709

SALE PRODUCERS’ MARKET 3rd Saturday of month - 8am-1pm Location Sale Showgrounds enter from Maffra Rd Contact Malcolm Forsythe 0427 456 477

SALE CHARITY VARIETY MARKET 3rd Sunday of month - 7am-1pm Location Canal Reserve Contact 5144 1258

SAN REMO CUPPA & CHAT MARKET 2nd Friday of month - Bric-a-brac, cakes & jams 9am-1pm 2nd Saturday of month - Sausage Sizzle 9am-12pm Location St. Augustine’s Anglican Church, Marine Parade Contact Roma Caulfield 5678 5386

1st Sunday of the month - 8am-1.30pm Koo Wee Rup Community Centre Cochrane Park Location Cnr Rossiter Rd & Sybella Ave Koo Wee Rup Contact 0418 289 847

STRATFORD VARIETY & FARMERS MARKET

LAKES ENTRANCE SURF CLUB FORESHORE MARKET

Public Holidays Mondays - 26 January and 9 March 7.30am-2pm Location Tarwin Lower Memorial Hall, Riverside Drive Contact John 5663 7505

1st Sunday of the month – 9am-3pm Location Near the Rotunda - Foreshore, Lakes Entrance Contact Tom Morris 0407 098 805 or 5153 1916

LARDNER PARK CRAFT MARKET Sunday, 15 February – 9am-2pm Location Lardner Park, Burnt-Store Road,

Drouin (Mel X912U8) Contact 5626 1373

LATROBE COUNTRY MARKET Every Sunday - 8.30am-1.30pm Location Latrobe Road, Morwell (near Holmes Road) Contact Debra 0412 042 069

LOCH VILLAGE SUMMER MARKET Starts October to April– 2nd Sunday of month – 9am-1pm Location Loch Railway Siding Contact Noel Gregg 5627 5576

LONGWARRY FIRE BRIGADE MARKET 1st Sunday of the month except January and February - 8am-1pm Location Longwarry Fire Station, Bennett St Contact Janine 5629 9636 or 0419 158 946

4th Sunday of month - 9am-1pm Location Apex Park, Princes Highway, Stratford Contact 0408 057 772

TARWIN LOWER MARKET

TARWIN LOWER LOCAL SEASONAL MARKET 2nd Sunday of month at 10am Location Tarwin Lower Primary School, School Road Contact 0410 466 260

TOORA COMMUNITY MARKET 2nd Saturday of month - 7.30-1pm Location Former Bonlac Store, Jetty Road, Toora Contact 5686 2690

TRARALGON FARMERS’ MARKET 4th Saturday of month - 8am-1pm Location Kay Street Gardens Contact 0409 232 715 Traralgon Lions Club

WARRAGUL ARTS MARKET 3rd Saturday of month - 10am-2pm October to March Location Civic Park Warragul Contact Jessie McLennan 5626 7045

WARRAGUL FARMERS MARKET

LUCKNOW MARKET

3rd Saturday of month – 8.30am-1pm Location Civic Park, Warragul

4th Sunday of the month - 8am-1pm Location Howitt Park, Princes Highway, East Bairnsdale Contact 0432 602 007

WONTHAGGI ROTARY MARKET

MAFFRA VARIETY & FARMERS’ MARKET

2nd Sunday of month - 8am-1pm Location Apex Park, Murray St, Wonthaggi Contact Max Williams 5672 5204

1st Sunday of month - 9am-1pm Location Main St/Johnson St, Maffra Contact 5144 1108 or 0408 057 772

YARRAGON COMMUNITY CRAFT & PRODUCE MARKET

METUNG FARMERS’ MARKET 2nd Saturday of month - 8am-12.30pm Location Village Green in Metung Contact Damien Waters 0458 431 844

MIRBOO NORTH COUNTRY MARKET Last Saturday of month + 13 December – 8.30am-1pm Location Baromi Park, 49 Ridgway Contact Bev Cook 5668 1688

4th Saturday of month – 9am-2pm (Except December is held on 21 December) Yarragon Public Hall, Campbell St Contact: Alison Butterworth 5634 2209

YARRAM VARIETY MARKET 1st Sunday of month - 8am-1pm Guide & Scout Hall, Yarram Contact: Rinda 5182 5679

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Kerry Galea

Clairvoyant Readings with Lydia

My motto in life is “fore warned, is fore armed”.

Sometimes we need a little helping hand to point us in the right direction.

Psychic / Medium Readings With over 24 Years Experience

Astrology & Palmistry Readings what's in the stars for you?

For appointments contact Dyoligy 5174 7576

or contact Lydia | 0477 820 402

Email kerry@kerrygalea.com.au Web kerrygalea.com.au Phone 0419 382 131

Kerry Sees THE ART OF SCRYING OR CRYSTAL BALL GAZING

My life as a psychic medium and crystal ball reader began with my late mother’s encouragement. Margaret, besides being a loving mother was an amazing woman and very good psychic right up until her death and always encouraged me wholeheartedly to continue the work.

Throughout the trials and tribulations of my own life, spirit has always been there with me, holding my hand and teaching me and encouraging me to keep going with my special gifts.

Crystal balls have been used for thousands of years and sometimes I feel like I may have lived a past life as a gypsy as it has always been so easy for me to work in this art. Scrying is the art of looking into a reflective surface, such as a mirror, crystal, water or a crystal ball.

Kerry Sees is an International psychic medium Australia wide. She works in radio, runs Psychic Dining in Victoria and NSW and also works all over Australia and overseas in spiritual fairs.

For crystal ball readings contact Dyoligy (03) 5174 7576 at Shop 2, 1 Post Office Road, Traralgon 3844

0434 238 336 www.kerrysees.com

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• Do you keep repeating negative patterns?

• Are you lacking purpose, meaning or life direction?

• Do you seem to attract bad luck in everything you do?

Holistic Coaching can create amazing changes & growth in all areas of life!

Contact Erin 0418 328 441 visit www.zestholisticcoaching.com Follow me on Facebook

Take a step into a more relaxed way of shopping, with a tranquil atmosphere and the heady scents, your mind will feel pampered.We have an eclectic feel about us, our door and ears and minds are always open.

Our motto: Not what you can do for us but what can we do for you.

Dyoligy is a place you can come, no matter what your desire or reason may be. We have a large range of 100% essential oils. A full jewellery service and some astounding hand crafted jewellery by Donna as well.

We also provide after hours corporate evenings that are a lot of fun, just pick a date and you and your friends or work colleagues can have Dyoligy for the evening, with discounts and freebies.

So, if you are at a loose end why not call in and see us, have a browse, you never know what you may find. You will get helpful service, or even if you need to have a chat, pop in and say hello.

“Your Mind is like a Parachute:

Functions Better When Fully Open�

OPEN 7 DAYS 1 Post Office Place, Traralgon Vic 3844 ph 5174 7576 www.dyoligy.com.au Find us on facebook

Chrissy’s Positive Horoscope Aries Mar 21 - Apr 20

Libra Sept 24 - Oct 23

Oh my goodness what a busy time is coming up for you, and seeing that you love to be kept quite busy whilst having an abundance of energy, this can be a time to practise how you expend that energy. Connecting with old friends will be in the pipeline, just remember that not everyone has the same energy levels that you have, so you may require some patience as others may not always be as reliable and forthright as you can be. A good way to deal with this is to drop your expectations and be more aware of your own reactions to others. Be proud of your achievements and look at business as you have the ability to bring out the best in others. Allow some holiday time where you can expend your energy outdoors and have fun enjoying the good things in life!

The world IS your Oyster!!

Oh now here’s the thing, because you Librans are so very intellectual you tend to seriously overthink situations that can cause disharmony for you as in the sign of the scales it is quite important for you to feel balanced in life. As when unbalanced you may get frustrated or feel like you are a little out of control. On a positive note when you get out of your head and in touch with your mind, body and spirit by recognizing people and situations that do not serve you, your senses will come to LIFE! So this is a time for you to be really honest with yourself, your partner, family and friends about some of your true desires. This will help to bring clarity into your daily decision-making and allow a feeling of peace to come into your world, make sure you notice and move towards the things that bring pleasure to you, music, art, doing something with your hands of a creative nature. You are a quick learner and quite the perfectionist, so don’t wait until something looks perfect before getting it out there, and yes ask for help when it is required rather than trying to cope with it all alone!

Secret Desire: To lead the way for others

Taurus Apr 21 - May 21

Secret Desire: To have a secure, happy and wealthy life/marriage

Well on the move for you, things are changing almost daily for a lot of Taureans, remember this is a time to bring forward the amazing skills you have in communicating with others and remind yourself not to get to self-righteous as this can backfire with your outcome. Being the earth sign you do have a love and appreciation of the planet and what you can do to assist in taking care of it on a daily basis as you have the awareness that you want future generations to be able to enjoy the beauty that surrounds us. You are learning to be the person you want to be and knowing your likes and dislikes for this reason that is what others most admire in you. Follow your intuition it will be SPOT ON!! So when you feel drawn to a person, thing or place, allow yourself to go there. Others will follow your lead. Stay Confident!

Gemini May 22 – June 21

Secret Desire: To be ahead of the crowd

As a Gemini, you are a bowerbird, mentally, and take an interest in all sorts of different things. Anything that gets your mind ticking over will grab you. You constantly try to challenge your mental abilities and will make extra efforts to understand anything you put your mind to. This is a time of growth for a lot of Geminis especially in learning to express yourself and get in touch with your creative side. You will find this a time of celebration and change over this next quarter, some of this can be challenging for you, however when you let go of expectations it will allow you to enjoy yourself more and not worry so much about what other people think of you. FREEDOM for you!

Cancer Jun 22 - July 22

Secret Desire: To feel safe (emotionally, spiritually, romantically & financially)

Woohooo is what l would like to say to you, this next quarter can be a time of much fun and appreciation for you, however you have to allow it in, sometimes because of your emotional strengths you feel you are required to always make yourself available to others, this is okay when it is what you want. However, if you are feeling any negative energy around it, you can become resentful, and then make yourself feel bad because of it. This is a time to seriously honour your truth to yourself and to your loved ones by letting yourself be proud of that as this will help you to feel and see the enjoyment with people and things more on a daily basis in your life today. APPRECIATION is the KEY!

Leo July 23 - Aug 23 Secret Desire: To be a star

A true Leo has a strength of character that can make quite an impact on others, if you yourself are in a positive place you can just SOAR with everything you are doing, you can attract goodness, abundance and Love into your life. Your kind-heartedness can at times let others take advantage of you, as it is easy for you to want to make others’ lives happy, this makes you feel a sense of importance. So you’re learning here is to be gentle, give others confidence in themselves by having a little more patience, letting them learn the repercussions of their own actions. When you learn the balance, focus more on your own stuff rather than other people’s lives, you will find yourself moving in directions that you would never have imagined your life to become. AWARENESS of self will bring with it CLARITY!

Virgo Aug 24 – Sept 23

Secret Desire: To love and be loved in return

Virgos can be very fastidious with an extremely analytical mind and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that as you have the ability to process well whilst being well organised, this is a wonderful trait to have when running a business, a home or anything for that matter. Just have the awareness of it and let others know your strength in this area so you can use it to your advantage knowing what you love and where you can really be of benefit. Be real with yourself and allow the love, guidance that is within you to be seen by others. LOVE!

Chrissy’s Positive Horoscope Phone: 0414 735 165 Email:malmch@bigpond.com Website: www.positiveretreats.com.au and Mindfulness Meditation Classes visit www.lotuschiro.com

Secret Desire: To live an easy, uncomplicated life

Scorpio Oct 24 - Nov 22 Secret Desire: To triumph

Some magic moments coming up for you Scorpios, keep practising being as present as possible. Your star sign is probably one of the most misunderstood signs of the zodiac. It has had a pretty bad rap over the years, but that’s just because what people don’t understand, they tend to fear. Below the surface of your cool exterior is a scorching and passionate fire you know it and others sense it too. You are an emotional being, and you take it to the limits. In fact you need overkill to feel really alive.

You also want approval, though you don’t often verbalise that. You give 100 percent of yourself to those you love. There are definitely no half measures in your attitude to love. Lots of exciting times ahead for you in the coming months and although you may feel fearful at times of the speed that things are moving for you, just roll with it and as always you will manifest magical things coming to fruition you are very magnetic and people trust you so let yourself be seen and do what you do best most of all let yourself ENJOY THE JOURNEY!! Life is full of SURPRISES!!

Sagittarius Nov 23- Dec 21

Secret Desire: To make a difference in the world

Sagittarius is undoubtedly one of the most positive of the star signs. You were born under the ninth sign, which is ruled by Jupiter. Jupiter’s traditional name was Jove, hence your jovial attitude. You have a great sense of timing, and know just when to make your move. This is because Sagittarius also governs knowledge, wisdom and spirituality. You know you can trust your gut feeling, so call on it when you need it.

Personal growth and understanding is a key aspect of your personality. This seems like a bit of a contradiction, because you’re quite a party animal too, but you do have this deeper side to your character. So the idea here is not to go to deeply, lighten up with your own self allow calmness into your world, this will hold you in good stead with decision making ahead. Have FUN in the SUN!

Capricorn Dec 22 – Jan 20

Secret Desire: to be admired by their family, friends & the world at large

I guess the big thing here for this next quarter is to learn where your own strengths and weaknesses are, as hard as that might be given, your need for wanting to be regimented and knowing what is happening. You are an extremely loyal friend and business partner and can at times feel disappointment in others due to their lack of honesty. Keep practising being present wherever you are and this will help you to understand your choices in life and a sense of knowing what is really important to you.

Trust in your intuition and know it is okay to surround yourself with beauty, passion whilst knowing you have your closest family and friends’ admiration. EMBRACE CHANGE NOW!

Aquarius Jan 21 – Feb 19

Secret Desire: To be unique and original

You know it is such a great time to notice your uniqueness, most Aquarians find it difficult to conform to society, which l think is a great quality. You have that lovely ability to go and try things that others may fear whilst being able to know that it is okay to say no to certain things, ask questions to educate yourself to create something in a new way. You do have the ability to find the goodness in others and want to help them, however you might like to let go of a situation if someone is not conforming to your wants by accepting that they may not be ready yet. Focus your attention inward, involve yourself in activities that you Love then you will shine! Let yourself SHINE!!

Pisces Feb 20 - Mar 20

Secret Desire: To live their dreams and turn fantasies into realities

This is a time in your life where you are recognising how intuitive and sensitive you are, as it is in your Piscean nature to care deeply for others as you have much empathy and compassion, however in doing so this may not necessarily be your true desire.

Pisces can base their decision making in a fleeting moment, this is why it is so important to get yourself grounded and notice some other options. This will allow you to share yourself without being drained. Remember when there is a full moon that your emotions and senses are quite heightened so keep your awareness button switched ON! Your destiny is primarily connected to wisdom, self-knowledge and compassionate service to the world. You’ll feel secure within yourself whilst bringing great satisfaction to those who know you. Keep your Awareness button switched ON!

the

Book NOOk

ontheshelfnow

Already Dead by Jaye Ford Journalist Miranda Jack is finally attempting to move on from the death of her husband by relocating up the coast with her young daughter, Zoe. Then a single event changes everything. On a Monday afternoon as she waits at traffic lights, a stranger jumps into her car and points a gun at her chest. Forced to drive at high speed up the motorway, Miranda listens to the frantic, paranoid rants of Brendan Walsh, a man who claims he's being chased and that they're both now running for their lives. Two hours later her ordeal is over in the most shocking fashion. Miranda is safe but she can't simply walk away - not without knowing the truth about that terrifying drive. As a journalist Miranda has always asked questions.

But this time the questions are dangerous - and the answers might get her killed. This is a fast paced, very tense thriller and Jaye Ford at her best.

Personal by Lee Child Jack Reacher walks alone. Once a go-to hard man in the US military police, now he's a drifter of no fixed abode, but the army tracks him down. Someone has taken a long-range shot at the French president. Only one man could have done it. And Reacher is the one man who can find him. This new heartstopping, nailbiting book in Lee Child's number-one bestselling series takes Reacher across the Atlantic to Paris - and then to London. The stakes have never been higher - because this time, it's personal. If you’re a Jack Reacher fan you will really enjoy this latest chapter in the big man’s life. There are some, who say the author has lost the feel of his earlier Reacher novels, I’m not sure that’s the case. Read this one and decide for yourself.

Hades by Candice Fox WINNER of the 2014 Ned Kelly Award for Best Debut Crime Novel.

A dark, compelling and original thriller that will have you spellbound from its atmospheric opening pages to its shocking climax. Hades is the debut of a stunning new talent in crime fiction. Hades Archer surrounds himself with the things others leave behind. Their trash becomes the twisted sculptures that line his junkyard. The bodies they want disposed of become his problem - for a fee. Then one night a man arrives on his doorstep, clutching a small bundle that he wants 'lost'. And Hades makes a decision that will change everything... Twenty years later, homicide detective Frank Bennett feels like the luckiest man on the force when he meets his new partner, the dark and beautiful Eden Archer. But there's something strange about Eden and her brother, Eric. Something he can't quite put his finger on. At first, as they race to catch a very different kind of serial killer, his partner's sharp instincts come in handy. But soon Frank's wondering if she's as dangerous as the man they hunt.

And in December look for the next in the series Eden.

Eden Candice Fox

These are some of the crime fiction I’ve enjoyed over the last few months; I hope you find something interesting here. There are some great titles out now and coming soon, particularly for the holiday reading season.

And always remember….the best gift (at any time) is a book!

featuredchildren’s bookauthor MEM FOX

As a mature age university student in her early thirties, Mem Fox studied children’s literature at Flinders University and it was during that course that she wrote the first draft of her first book Possum Magic, as an assignment.

It was rejected nine times over five years but went on to become (and continues to be, to this day) the best-selling children’s book in Australia, with nearly 5 million copies sold. In 2004 its 21st birthday was celebrated with parties and events in thousands of schools and other places around Australia, and a new re-designed edition was launched.

Mem says one of the best moves she ever made was to re-train, in 1981, out of drama into literacy studies, to find out how children best learn to read and write. Literacy has become the great focus of her life, If you’re the parent of a child aged from 0-7 you will enjoy her bestselling book for parents, Reading Magic, how a child can learn to read before school and other read aloud miracles.

My favourite Mem Fox book, after Possum Magic is Wombat Devine we will always have copies of these titles on our shelves and we will continue to push Reading Magic to all new parents.

watch for these coming soon…

Foster’s Little Bookshop

The Last Time We Say Goodbye Cynthia Hand

Revival Stephen King

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issue 21 SUMMER crossword puzzle ACROSS

DOWN

1. Serpent (5) 4. Taper (5) 7. Wicked (9) 8. Exhale (4) 9. Beehive (6) 12. Insipid (6) 13. Vaunt (4) 16. Conceded (9) 18. _ _ _ _ _ courage (5) 19. Impoverished (5)

1. Cotton (5) 2. Bassinet (7) 3. Puckered (4) 4. Impetuous (6) 5. Since (3) 6. Thesis (5) 10. Truncate (7) 11. Acknowledge (6) 12. Tiresome (5) 14. Unsavoury (5) 15. Starched collar (4) 17. Permeate (3)

issue 20 Spring puzzle Answers

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Looking for the best way to spend your retirement, Blue Hills Rise offers six unit designs with modern furnishings and fittings. If you want to downsize our two bedroom Stephanie Apartments, may just be the answer. Live independently, within a secure, caring environment.

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Well, if you are looking for a quality home with access to some of the most amazing onsite facilities, then Blue Hills Rise is the best choice for you. This family owned and operated 55 plus resort, has a variety of home designs, all offering something just a little different to the last. You will quickly realise that the Resort Owners, Judy and Ivan Clarkson and family, are serious about the homes they build in their very popular resort in Cranbourne East. No expense has been spared; all fittings and furnishings are of an extremely high standard.

fantastic Onsite facilities Swimming Pool / Spa Indoor Bowls Dance Floor Tennis Courts Alfresco CafĂŠ - Orange Leaf Gymnasium Library Restaurant Sports Bar Cinema Arts and Crafts Centre Administration Centre ATM Computer Room BOWLING GREEN

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